What the Fragile Families Study Tells Us About Maternal and Child Health, Material Hardship, and Welfare Participation

Background: The goal of this study is to analyze the relationship between maternal and child health measures and the welfare (TANF) and material hardship experiences of low-income, unmarried mothers.

Methods: We analyzed the baseline (n=4,898), year one (n=4,365) and year three (n=4,231) data from the Fragile Families Study, a longitudinal study representative of non-marital births in US cities with populations greater than 200,000. We examined the association between maternal and child health with TANF participation and material hardship. The findings reported are all significant at the p<.05 level or better.

Results: In the Year One analyses, there was a negative association between maternal physical and mental health status and TANF receipt, such that mothers who reported worse physical health and depression had higher current rates of TANF receipt. Additionally, those who were in worse health or were receiving TANF reported more material hardship. In the Year Three analyses, the association between maternal physical and mental health and TANF receipt persisted, such that mothers who reported worse physical health and depression had higher rates of current TANF receipt. This finding was supported by the positive association between mothers' non-preventive health care utilization (ie, visit to an ER or hospitalization in past year) and TANF receipt.

Policy Implications: These findings will provide health and social services practitioners, and policy-makers, with a greater understanding of the relationship between maternal and child health, material hardship, and TANF participation in order to improve the well-being of poor and low-income women and children.