State Welfare Policies and Children’s Living Arrangements

Changes in welfare legislation throughout the 1990s attempted, among other things, to promote marriage and decrease single parenthood. However, little research considers how such policies influence children's living arrangements. This article uses data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation to relate welfare reform policies to the likelihood that children live in one of three living arrangements: with married parents, with a single parent, or with a parent and another adult. Unlike previous work, the study differentiates the ways in which various types of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) policies, such as time limits, sanctions, and income disregards, predict children's living arrangements. Overall, results show very few robust associations between welfare policies and children's living arrangements.