Taylor & Francis

This paper examines the association between poverty and food insecurity among children, using two different definitions of poverty – the official poverty measure (OPM) and the new supplemental poverty measure (SPM) of the Census Bureau, which is based on a more inclusive definition of family resources and needs. Our analysis is based on data from the 2001–2011 Current Population Survey and shows that food insecurity and very low food security among children decline as income-to-needs ratio increases.

Several U.S. social policies identify kinship care as the preferred out-of-home placement. However, financial assistance to defray the cost of kinship caregiving is limited. One option is the child-only welfare grant. This study investigates kinship households' eligibility for, utilization of, and educational benefits associated with these grants. Most kinship households are eligible for these grants, which in 2003 provided a median monthly benefit of $227.

Only in the last few years have researchers begun to pay close attention to the child-only cases that fall under the provision of the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program. Few attempts have been made to talk directly to kinship caregivers to understand their day-to-day lives. This triangulated study utilizes multiple strategies to assess the needs of child-only recipient caregivers in one northeast county.

Since the United States implemented Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), or ‘welfare reform,’ the number of assistance cases without an adult receiving aid has risen dramatically. In states like California, these child-only cases now constitute the majority of all TANF cases. Despite this increase, existing research sheds little light on the composition of child-only caseloads and the status of the adults and children in such cases.

Poverty and hunger are increasingly significant issues facing the United States. An additional trend, the consolidation in food retail, also contributes to food insecurity. This qualitative study of rural food insecure households investigates how assistance services and retail consolidation affect hunger for households in a changing rural environment. The data shows disparities exist in the amount of food assistance available based on household levels of social integration and social capital, leaving less connected residents experiencing hunger. (author abstract)

Using in-depth interviews with 17 women raising young children in urban poverty, two separate standards were examined—“making it” and satisfaction. “Making it” referred to one's perceived ability to meet the basic physical needs of her children. In contrast, satisfaction referred to how closely one's current life circumstances align with her personal notions of success.

Substantial increases in income inequality contributed to the financial crisis of 2008 according to many researchers. We focus here on negative externalities from inequality that make financial well-being decline more rapidly than real income measures indicate. Housing, with its relatively inelastic supply, relationship to local public goods, role in establishing status and dependence on mortgage finance is used to illustrate the negative trickle-down effect. Increasing concentration of economic power results in political power that alters the regulatory structure.

This qualitative study examines low-income African-American fathers' perceptions of their parenting role and the strategies they employ to bring up children in poor urban neighborhoods. Focus groups and individual interviews were conducted with 36 fathers who had contact with their children at least twice a month. Men in the study expressed conventional views of their fathering roles as provider, nurturer, and teacher, but placed the most emphasis on ‘being there’ for their children, as their financial circumstances limited other forms of involvement.

Understanding how low-income households manage their finances is critical to designing effective antipoverty interventions. This study used data from a 2008 follow-up survey of 326 low-income households in Hawaii who participated in an Individual Development Account (IDA) intervention from 1999 to 2005. Self-reported cash flow (five items) and savings (four items) practices were explored using latent class analysis.

Although many adults and children are resilient after divorce, it is common for marital breakups to precipitate the need for government assistance for families who had been self-sufficient. This study focuses on the economic costs of divorce associated with means-tested welfare programs in Texas, which fall into five central areas: medical assistance; cash assistance; food assistance; housing, energy, and utility assistance; and child care and development assistance.