“Without this help it would be very hard. We would be struggling”: Families' Perspectives on Experiences of Poverty and Interactions with Social Safety Programs

• In Event: Programs and Policies to Support Families Experiencing Challenge

Abstract

A large body of research documents the consequences of poverty for family and child well-being. Yet little is known about how parents and children view their daily experiences of living in poverty and their interactions with social safety net programs. To address this gap, this qualitative study sought to understand:
1. How families…
a. Interact with public assistance offices and workers?
b. Talk about public assistance benefits such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)?
2. What parents think about how their economic circumstances and benefit receipt affect their families and children?
3. What children understand about their families’ economic circumstances?

Methods:

Participants included 30 racially and ethnically diverse families with children ages 7-17 from Los Angeles, New York City, and South Central Appalachia. Table 1 shows sample characteristics.

In-person, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 31 parents and 47 children and adolescents. Interview transcripts were coded and analyzed using iterative and deductive approaches to identify themes relevant to the research questions.

Results:

• Parents valued and recognized the role public assistance benefits played in easing their family’s experiences of material hardship. Families relied on a mix of public assistance programs, especially the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid. Parents reported both value and drawbacks to participating in public assistance programs. They reported mostly positive interactions with program staff, were grateful to receive benefits, and saw them as essential to meeting their family’s needs. However, they were aware of the stigma associated with these programs, and some felt uncomfortable receiving benefits.

• Children’s and adolescents’ understanding of the benefits the family received was limited, except for SNAP. Both children and adolescents knew that their family received food assistance from SNAP. But they were less familiar with other public assistance programs, especially TANF.

• Parents worried about but were resourceful in dealing with economic hardship. They placed a priority on basic needs such as rent and food, and tried to meet their children’s needs and wants. They considered carefully when, how, and what to share with their children about their family’s economic circumstances. Parents tried to shield their children from their financial worries and difficulties, but were more forthcoming with their adolescent children. They tried to help their children understand the importance of prioritizing needs over wants. Figure 1 shows parents’ and adolescents’ reports of material hardships.

• Children and adolescents were aware that their families struggled financially and could not always afford to meet all their needs and wants. They knew their parents worried about finances, but they did not describe their families as “poor.” Instead, they said they were “doing okay.” They – especially adolescents – understood the need to prioritize needs over wants and to delay purchases.

The findings underscore the distinction between being eligible for public assistance and receiving public assistance. Findings highlighted that although parents valued the benefits they received, benefit use was not universal among this sample, resulting in families struggling to make ends meet. Additional research building on this study could inform outreach and efforts to increase public assistance utilization.

Authors

• Rashmita S. Mistry, University of California - Los Angeles

• Marissa Strassberger, MDRC
  Presenting Author

• Osvaldo Avila, MDRC

• Asil Yassine, University of California - Los Angeles

• Rachael Metz, MDRC

• Carolyn J. Hill, MDRC