Rural Dimensions of Welfare Reform PDF
Preview Rural Dimensions of Welfare Reform
Rural Dimensions of Welfare Reform Rural Dimensions of Welfare Reform Bruce A. Weber Greg J. Duncan Leslie A. Whitener Editors 2002 W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research Kalamazoo, Michigan Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Rural dimensions of welfare reform : welfare, food assistance, and poverty in rural America / Bruce A. Weber, Greg J. Duncan, Leslie A. Whitener, editors. p. cm. “This book presents revised versions of about half of the papers presented at a conference on the title topic held in May 2000”—summary p. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-88099-239-5 (pbk. : alk. paper)—ISBN 0-88099-240-9 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Rural poor—United States. 2. Social service, Rural—United States. 3. Public welfare—United States. 4. United States. Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. I. Weber, Bruce A. II. Duncan, Greg J. III. Whitener, Leslie A. HC110.P6 R855 2002 361.6′8′091734—dc21 2002016815 © 2002 W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research 300 S. Westnedge Avenue Kalamazoo, Michigan 49007-4686 The facts presented in this study and the observations and viewpoints expressed are the sole responsibility of the authors. They do not necessarily represent positions of the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. Cover design by J.R. Underhill. Index prepared by Nairn Chadwick. Printed in the United States of America. Contents Foreword ix Introduction: As the Dust Settles: Welfare Reform and 1 Rural America Leslie A. Whitener, Bruce A. Weber, and Greg Duncan Part 1: Welfare Reform, Rural Labor Markets, and Rural Poverty 1 Approaching the Limit: Early National Lessons from 25 Welfare Reform Sheldon Danziger 2 Rural Labor Markets in an Era of Welfare Reform 51 Robert M. Gibbs 3 Rural America in Transition: Poverty and Welfare at the Turn 77 of the Twenty-First Century Daniel T. Lichter and Leif Jensen Part 2: Welfare Dynamics in Rural and Urban Areas 4 Reducing Food Stamp and Welfare Caseloads in the South: 113 Are Rural Areas Less Likely to Succeed Than Urban Centers? Mark Henry, Lynn Reinschmiedt, Willis Lewis, Jr., and Darren Hudson 5 Seasonal Employment Dynamics and Welfare Use in 147 Agricultural and Rural California Counties Henry E. Brady, Mary Sprague, Fredric C. Gey, and Michael Wiseman 6 Location and the Low-Income Experience: Analyses of 177 Program Dynamics in the Iowa Family Investment Program Helen H. Jensen, Shao-Hsun Keng, and Steven Garasky v vi Contents 7 Small Towns and Welfare Reform: Iowa Case Studies of 201 Families and Communities Cynthia Needles Fletcher, Jan L. Flora, Barbara J. Gaddis, Mary Winter, and Jacquelyn S. Litt 8 Where All the Counties Are above Average: Human Service 231 Agency Directors’ Perspectives on Welfare Reform Ann Tickamyer, Julie White, Barry Tadlock, and Debra Henderson Part 3: Employment and Family Well-Being under Welfare Reform 9 The Impact of Welfare Policy on the Employment of Single 257 Mothers Living in Rural and Urban Areas Signe-Mary McKernan, Robert Lerman, Nancy Pindus, and Jesse Valente 10 Welfare Reform in Rural Minnesota: Experimental Findings 287 from the Minnesota Family Investment Program Lisa A. Gennetian, Cindy Redcross, and Cynthia Miller 11 Will Attainable Jobs Be Available for TANF Recipients in 313 Local Labor Markets? Evidence from Mississippi on Prospects for “Job-Skill Matching” of TANF Adults Frank M. Howell 12 Whose Job Is It? Employers’ Views on Welfare Reform 345 Ellen Shelton, Greg Owen, Amy Bush Stevens, Justine Nelson-Christinedaughter, Corinna Roy, and June Heineman 13 The Short-Term Impacts of Welfare Reform in Persistently 375 Poor Rural Areas Mark Harvey, Gene F. Summers, Kathleen Pickering, and Patricia Richards Part 4: Food Assistance and Hunger: The Rural Dimension 14 Food Stamps in Rural America: Special Issues and 413 Common Themes Sheena McConnell and James Ohls Contents vii 15 The Decline in Food Stamp Use by Rural Low-Income 433 Households: Less Need or Less Access? Mark Nord Part 5: Lessons Learned 16 Lessons Learned: Welfare Reform and Food Assistance in 455 Rural America Greg Duncan, Leslie A. Whitener, and Bruce A. Weber The Authors 471 Cited Author Index 477 Subject Index 485 About the Institute 501 Foreword The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) changed welfare as we knew it, dramatically altering the so- cial safety net for poor Americans. PRWORA repealed the entitlement welfare program, Aid to Families with Dependent Children, replacing it with a new federal block grant program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. The act also introduced program cuts and changes in the nation’s food assistance programs. With these changes came new roles, responsibilities, and expecta- tions for low-income families, their communities, and their local governments. With new opportunities come a great number of challenges to implement- ing welfare reform. Many issues resulting from welfare reform confront rural and urban areas alike. Meeting work requirements, achieving economic inde- pendence, and maintaining family and child well-being are concerns for both rural and urban people. Once employment is secured, ensuring the availabili- ty and affordability of child care, transportation, health care, housing, and oth- er support services is needed. However, rural areas have unique demographic, economic, and geographic characteristics that may translate into unique chal- lenges for welfare reform implementation. Compared with urban areas, many rural communities have higher poverty levels, greater unemployment, lower education levels, lower incomes, and longer distances between home, child care, and work sites. Because of lower population density, rural areas tend to have higher costs for services and frequently lack a full range of services. These characteristics all present a unique context in which to implement wel- fare reform. In May of 2000, the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Northwestern University/University of Chicago Joint Center for Poverty Research, and the Rural Policy Research Institute joined together to sponsor a research conference in Washington, D.C., on the rural dimensions of welfare reform. The Economic Research Service has a long history of distinguished research on rural America and is recognized as an eminent source of knowledge on rural population, labor, and income, and on place-attentive policy research. The Joint Center for Poverty Research is the premier poverty research center in the United States, committed to advancing an understanding of the causes and consequences of poverty and the effect of ix
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