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Welfare Reform and Substance Abuse

In 1996, federal legislation known as the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) was passed. This legislation represented a sea change in welfare policy. Key changes made by PRWORA legislation include shifting funding for welfare benefits from a federal entitlement to a state block-grant program and incorporating time-limited benefits and the addition of work requirements for receipt of benefits. The state block-grant program resulting from PRWORA legislation is known as the Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF) program. Since the passage of PRWORA, research to date has focused on identifying barriers to employment among recipients of welfare that include mental health, substance abuse, human capital deficits, and domestic violence. The current entry (a) presents a brief history of welfare legislation, culminating in TANF legislation; (b) discusses barriers to employment among welfare recipients of which substance abuse may be one; and (c) presents an outline of one state's welfare program developed in response to federal legislation: California's Work Opportunities and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program.

Brief History of Welfare Legislation

Established in 1935 under the Social Security Act, Aid to Families with Dependent Children, commonly known as welfare, was originally conceptualized as a means to provide support to women with children without a male wage earner. In 1957, with the passage of the Work Incentives Program, recipients with children over 6 were required to seek employment or face loosing their benefits. A training component was added in 1988 with the passage of the Family Support Act, which created the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program. With the passage of PRWORA in 1996, a major change occurred in the welfare program. This legislation changed funding for welfare from a federal entitlement to one funded by block grants to states. Work requirements were formalized and required increasing percentages of welfare recipients over a number of years, and benefits were limited to 60 months lifetime, with the stipulation that states could exempt up to 20% of their welfare caseloads from this time limit. In addition, a portion of funds under the new legislation can be used to address client needs that may interfere with meeting work requirements, such as mental health problems and substance abuse problems. Failure to meet work requirements can result in sanctions (i.e., reduction in aid).

Between 1997 and 1999, a 38% reduction in welfare caseloads occurred, which some have attributed to the 1996 welfare reform package. However, during this time period economic conditions in the United States improved and possibly resulted in increased employment among former welfare recipients. Some studies suggest that nearly three fourths of former welfare recipients report at least half-time employment 1 year after leaving the welfare rolls; however, just over 50% report employment at the time of discontinuation of benefits. In addition to problems such as educational or job skill deficits, childcare needs, substance abuse, and mental illness may be barriers to finding and maintaining employment among TANF recipients.

Substance Use among Welfare Recipients

Most estimates of substance involvement among welfare populations indicate that approximately 20% of welfare recipients report recent drug use, and approximately 10% report use of hard drugs such as metham-phetamine or opioids, which have a high risk for dependence. These numbers suggest that a relatively small percentage but numerically large subgroup of welfare recipients may be in need of referral for assessment of and treatment for a substance-related disorder. Women receiving welfare benefits who also have a substance disorder are generally older, have more children, are less likely to be employed, and have lower levels of education or job skills than their non-substance involved counterparts. In addition, they may have unstable or temporary housing or be homeless. With regard to welfare tenure, women with substance problems are more likely to leave welfare as a result of state-imposed sanctions than women without substance disorders. It is unlikely that a single barrier impedes employment among welfare recipients. It is more likely that multiple barriers exist, and a large-scale study of barriers to employment done by Sheldon Danziger and colleagues suggests that 37% of women with children on welfare rolls in the Michigan Family Independence Agency had two or three barriers to work, 24% had four to six barriers to work, and 3% had seven or more barriers to work. Thus, nearly two thirds of women sampled from welfare rolls may have complex service needs that impede employment opportunities.

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