Poster #61 - Predictors of TANF Receipt in Families with Young Children

• In Event: Poster Session 04

Abstract

Although poverty is a risk factor for healthy child development (NASEM, 2019), cash assistance provided to families through government programs can improve child development outcomes (Duncan, 2011), especially in areas of cognitive, language, and social-emotional development (Trisi, 2022). One such program is the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), through which the federal government provides block grants to states to support families experiencing economic adversity. Though evidence shows TANF assistance may support child development, there have been recent declines in the reach of TANF assistance despite increasing rates of poverty. In 2020, 21% of families experiencing poverty received TANF assistance compared to 68% when TANF was introduced in 1996 (Shrivastava & Thompson, 2022). Furthermore, research shows that barriers to TANF participation may disproportionately affect families of color (Shrivastava & Thompson, 2022). Recent literature, since the financial crisis of 2008, is sparse on who receives TANF assistance and what characteristics they may share that set them apart from other families experiencing poverty but not receiving TANF assistance. This study aims to bridge that gap.

This project uses data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-K:2011 (ECLS-K:2011), a publicly available, nationally representative dataset that followed students from kindergarten (2010) through fifth grade (2016). Information was collected from children, their families, teachers, childcare providers, and school administrators. The dataset includes metrics related to children’s development, family characteristics, participation in government programs, and home and school environment. Utilizing this data, we will conduct logistic regression analyses on a sample of families (n = 2,496) with incomes below the federal poverty line (FPL) to see how family demographics, reports of food or housing insecurity, and parental employment status assessed for each school year, kindergarten through fifth grade, may predict TANF receipt. We will address missing data using the full information maximum likelihood model.

We conducted preliminary analysis examining TANF enrollment and initial predictors of TANF receipt in kindergarten for families with incomes below the FPL. These analyses found that 17% of families experiencing poverty reported receiving TANF benefits in the past 12 months, and among those, 55% reported receiving these benefits for the entire 12-month period (Table 1). Additionally, child race and urbanicity were significant predictors of TANF receipt (Table 2). We expect results from future analyses to be consistent with these findings, while also demonstrating that additional factors such as housing instability and characteristics of the family unit may also predict TANF receipt beyond experiences of poverty. We will also use the longitudinal nature of the data to examine how timing of experiences shapes TANF receipt.

The results of this study will illuminate which TANF-eligible families do not access this government assistance program. This insight is critical to informing future policy efforts to connect families in need to cash assistance benefits, with an overall goal of better supporting child development in families experiencing poverty. Results from this study may also replicate findings from earlier research and further elucidate barriers to participation in TANF.

Authors

• Maria Y Abdul-Masih, Ohio State University
  Presenting Author

• Erin Grace Fox, Ohio State University

• Kelly M Purtell, Ohio State University

• Sarah Naomi Lang, Ohio State University