A primary goal of the 1996 welfare reform law is to move aid recipients off the welfare rolls into economic self-sufficiency for themselves and their families through employment. Various studies suggest that many welfare recipients face numerous daunting barriers to finding and keeping work, much less achieving self-sufficiency. The roots of some barriers lie in people's past. In a random sample of CalWORKs recipients in Alameda County, California (N=512), individuals who were abused as children (including physical, emotional and sexual abuse, and neglect) are less likely to be working the minimum number of hours mandated by welfare reform. We propose to explore the route for this association by testing two pathways which preliminary analyses suggest might explain a sizable portion of the relationship between childhood abuse and labor force participation. First, we will test whether individuals who suffered abuse during childhood are more likely to abuse alcohol, other drugs or experience mental health problems and therefore be less able to work. Second, we will explore whether the negative association between childhood abuse and working operates through the increased likelihood of experiencing domestic violence in adulthood, which is also inversely associated with working. Multivariate regression analyses will be used to test these hypotheses. Results will provide more detail about how past experiences make it difficult for people to leave welfare rolls and become self-sufficient.
Learning Objectives: Learners will gain a greater understanding of how childhood abuse affects the ability to work of parents who have been welfare recipients who are now being required to enter the workforce due to welfare reform
Keywords: Domestic Violence, Welfare Reform
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.