Health status among women heading TANF households: Looking inside the walls of California “child-only” TANF cases

Since adoption of the federal TANF program as the California Work Opportunities and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs)program ten years ago, the composition of the California welfare population has changed radically. Currently 54% of CalWORKs cases now provide aid just for the children because the adults are excluded from cash aid and receipt of services. One observer posits that the limited assistance is intended only to keep a roof over the family. This five-county 2007 study surveyed a random sample of 143 mothers speaking English, Vietnamese, or Spanish who had timed-out of benefits or been sanctioned for non-compliance with program requirements. Questions focused on demographics and health, human capital, family responsibility, material hardship, and logistic statuses identified as potential barriers to work. We report on prevalence of these potential barriers and their association with several employment measures. In addition to the barrier of poverty, study participants had a mean of 4.3 barriers. Barriers most prevalent were logistic (transportation,), material hardship (reliance on emergency food programs), and family responsibility (child under age 6). But the strongest negative association with work was found for health problems (substance abuse, mental health, partner control). Understanding that we cannot attribute causality, we nevertheless discuss who has responsibility for addressing health and other problems in this population and conclude with a discussion of policy and program implications aimed at protecting the well-being of both the women and their children.