Child Well-Being in the Early Years of Welfare Reform: What Really Mattered?

This is a longitudinal study of the effect of welfare reform on children's wellbeing. The 974 children in study had mothers or caregivers enrolled in TANF, and who left during the three years of the study. Using a multi-level analysis to model the effect of time on child wellbeing, we identified the specific factors that explained changes in the health status of children. The research questions focused on the changes in child wellbeing in the context of specific social policy approaches considered to be most effective in influencing wellbeing of younger and older children. The results showed that welfare status had no relationship to the health status of children. Parental education influences the health status of children differently, by the child's age, with adolescents being significantly worse off. Of the social policies that guided welfare reform, the resources social policy approach was the most influential in affecting child wellbeing. Material resources of child support, Medicaid and secure food made a significant difference in child health status. The marital status of the parent was also associated with higher health status outcomes. The importance of social resources found by this study corroborate the Kamerman and Kahn's social exclusion theory, and suggests that there is a need for further research and innovations in case management to determine what and how particular aspects of resources can improve the lives of children living on welfare.