The impact of TANF on poverty among women and their families: Estimates using official and alternative measures of povert

The 1996 welfare reform legislation, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) with the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program. This dissertation examines the impact of TANF on poverty among women using the March Current Population Survey (CPS). The examined years are from 1991 to 2002 to cover periods of both pre and post welfare reform.;First, among women with less than a high school education, TANF significantly increased poverty. TANF significantly decreased both official and alternative incomes, thereby increasing both the official and the alternative poverty rates among these women. TANF also significantly increased both the official and the alternative poverty gaps. Thus, it can be said that consistent results were found across both (official and alternative) measurements of income, poverty rate, and poverty gap. However, in terms of significance or size of the TANF effects, the effects captured by alternative poverty measures were more significant or greater in size, especially for incomes and poverty rates, than those captured by official poverty measures.;Second, among women with a high school education, consistent results were found between income and poverty, except for the case of official income. TANF lowered alternative income and raised the alternative poverty rate. However, the significant increase in the alternative poverty rate did not lead to a significant increase in the alternative poverty gap among women in this group; TANF showed no significant effects on the alternative poverty gap among women with a high school education. In terms of official poverty measures, TANF increased both the official poverty rate and the official poverty gap among women with a high school education. However, TANF increased official income among women with a high school education, which is not consistent with the finding for official poverty among these women.;Third, among women with more than a high school education, who should have been least affected by welfare policy, TANF(in effect) and other state policies generally showed insignificant effects on income and poverty. Only exemptions and time limits showed significant effects; Exemptions increased official income; Time limits decreased official poverty (the official poverty rate and the official poverty gap) among women with more than a high school education; however, these effects are marginally significant. In terms of alternative poverty measures, exemptions showed somewhat significant effects; exemptions increased alternative income and decreased alternative poverty among women with more than a high school education.