S298: Assessing Impacts of Welfare Reform on Individual, Family, and Community Well-Being in the Rural South

(Multistate Research Project)

Status: Inactive/Terminating

Project Menu

SAES-422 Reports

Annual/Termination Reports:

[04/01/2003] [08/02/2004]

Date of Annual Report: 04/01/2003

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 02/03/2003 - 02/03/2003
Period the Report Covers: 02/01/2002 - 02/01/2003

Participants

Brown, Bill (bbrown@agctr.lsu.edu) - Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station; Valentine, Nancy (nvalentine@reesusda.gov)- CSREES; Singelmann, Joachim (joachim@lsu.edu)- Louisiana State University; Monroe, Pam (pmonroe@lsu.edu) - Louisiana State University; Parisi, Domenico (mimmo.parisi@ssrc.msstate.edu) - Mississippi State University; Tiller, Vicky (vtiller@lsu.edu)- Louisiana State University; Worthen, Dremal (dworthen116@hotmail.com) - Florida A&M University

Brief Summary of Minutes

Nancy Valentine welcome and comments: "CSREES‘s FCS Research and Integrated Extension Programs Overview for Mulitstate Projects." February 2003, Prepared by: Mel Mathias. Presentation for all multi-state projects. Provided update on CSREES including staffing changes, funding, opportunities and challenges, and the NIMMS web-based reporting system. There are white papers on the topics of food safety; improving food, nutrition and communities for better health; agricultural opportunity and rural prosperity on the website www.csrees.gov. And, suggested how the group can interface with extension.

Bill Brown, report: October 1, 2000, first organizational meeting held in Baltimore in Nov. 2001, then last year, 2002, met in Orlando. We do use NIMSS system in authorizing the meetings. When Bill entered authorization of meeting into the system it went to all participating states and CSREES personnel. NIMSS is an effective source for reporting. Within 60 days, minutes and reports must be submitted as well as a progress report, to the NIMSS system. Interested in a potential group project and idea of directing some potential topics for joint work.

Participant Research Reports.

Questions raised: Could we interface with extension or NC-223? Recommended S-298 group present research findings to federal agencies in D.C. Suggestion was made for a separate S-298 meeting from SAAS - potentially going to Washington for the meeting and maybe making the presentations to various agencies while there. Potentially that S-298 would put on a symposium presenting findings, assembled into a written report. Documents of maximum five pages in length. Conclude with policy suggestions. The primary emphasis should be to pull S-298 together. There was a recommendation for waiting an additional year (2005) to work with NC-223. The suggestion was made to possibly hire an editor to edit and synthesize working papers of group.

All those in attendance agreed that Julie Zimmerman will serve for another year of service as leader of the S-298 group.

Accomplishments

Reflecting both the complexities and multitude of changes brought with welfare reform and the research strengths of the region, research by members ranges in topics and often overlaps individual project objectives. Results relating to the spatial distribution of caseloads in the South and the impact of local economics include findings from Mississippi indicate that the rural poor that are most likely to be affected are those who live in socially, economically, and spatially disadvantaged communities and that TANF participation rates tended to be higher in communities with high concentrations of African Americans, less Faith-based activeness, more employment in retail trade, spatial concentration of the poor, and located in the Delta. Research from South Carolina further indicates that caseloads are sensitive to economic conditions in both the rural county and proximate urban counties. Moreover, rural areas are linked to urban growth patterns in complex patterns that depend on the size and growth rate of the urban core and periphery. The current slowdown in the economy has resulted in growing caseloads in selected regions. This is important as other Additional results from Mississippi indicated that the average duration on each TANF spell was approximately 12 months and that African-Americans constituted the largest portion of TANF clients and were more likely to have multiple spells. Moreover, thirty-one percent of TANF clients resided in the Delta region of Mississippi, twenty-eight percent resided in metropolitan areas, and the remaining forty-one percent of exiters resided in non-metropolitan, non-Delta areas of Mississippi. In relation to findings concerning workforce participation, barriers, and access to support services, findings from West Virginia indicates that the economic well-being of non-metropolitan single mother families increased during the period of welfare reform; linked mainly to levels of education and improvements in economic conditions. While this research found that barriers to employment do not appear to be greater in non-metropolitan areas than in metropolitan areas, young children in the family did create greater barriers to employment in non-metropolitan areas. Finally, lower hourly earnings reduce incentives for single mothers to exit welfare in non-metropolitan areas relative to metropolitan areas. Findings from Louisiana indicate that more women left TANF in metro areas than in nonmetro areas. Most current and past TANF participants said that term limits and work requirements will bring changes that are good for them and most leavers reported that they are doing better than they did before. There don‘t appear to be any differences between leavers and stayers in the extent to which women faced economic hardships in the recent past. Other results indicate that mental health is a key issue for a successful welfare-to-work transition but hardly any of the leavers have income that lifts them out of poverty. In Mississippi, results indicate that the extent to which the policy impacts the decline in the number of people using Food Stamps is partly contingent upon the local social and economic context in which the clients are situated. In communities with poor economic conditions, not only do low-income people have limited access to resources provided by local nongovernmental organizations, they often find resistance from local DHS offices. Following up on the role of faith based organizations, research from Florida focuses on techniques used by African American clergy ministries and organizations to assist individuals in their communities as they transition from welfare to work. Preliminary results indicate that while the formal programs and series found in Angle denominations do not exist in their churches; many informal services are available for their members as well as individuals in their communities. In addition to similar research in Louisiana, research on micro level obstacles to self sufficiency indicates that in the interviews in South Carolina, 50 percent of the women were "welfare-reliant" and the vast majority of these women had only recently begun to receive TANF benefits. TANF participation was low for many reasons. First, TANF benefits are very low; TANF participation is discouraged by county welfare department procedures and locations; and the prevailing attitude in this section of the state is distrust/dislike of government. Personal obstacles include lack of transportation, education, and child care. Many of the women relied on family members to provide child care. Finding and paying for child care once they had a job would be more problematic. Many of the women relied on family members for more than child care- they lived with extended family, ate meals with extended family, or received money from extended family. Some had boyfriends who helped out. Questions regarding food security revealed that some mothers cut back on their own consumption when food was scarce. Twenty-five percent of the women were food-insecure with hunger; 32 percent were food insecure without hunger; and 44 percent were food secure. A higher percentage of food stamp participants were food insecure with hunger. Women who were not using food stamps and were food secure were more likely to know the components of a "balanced meal." Food stamp participants were more likely to be poorly nourished. Research in West Virginia examined challenges faced by grandparents rearing grandchildren receiving TANF and the influence of social welfare policies on rural Appalachian grandparents. Results found that Appalachian grandparents were rearing their grandchildren largely because of parental abandonment (28%), substance abuse (18%), incarceration (16%), and child maltreatment (12%). Mental illness, divorce or separation, domestic violence, and illness were less frequently reported reasons (14%). On average, TANF ($266) and Food Stamps ($226) provided the least amount of cash assistance; housing and food were the greatest expenses of Appalachian grandparents. Findings have been presented at several conferences during the year, including the National Council on Family Relations, Southern Regional Science Association, Rural Sociological Society, Southern Agricultural Economics Association, Southern Sociological Society, National Association for Welfare Research and Statistics, and the Southern Demographic Association. In addition, one dissertation was produced from the data; the person awarded the PhD was previously involved with the development of S-298 and is now a faculty member at Rutgers University. Future Actions for the group: Explore holding a symposium in DC to present results, consider producing a white paper and policy briefs. Future work by individual researchers include but are not limited to subsequent rounds of evaluation of the Louisiana Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program, research in West Virginia focusing on identifying the causes of increases in working poverty in the US, further interviews of participants in their WIA sponsored programs in Puerto Rico, second round of interviews in South Carolina examining barriers to employment, and in Louisiana, new research has begun which will examine job-search strategies of people in Louisiana who are (or have been in the past five years) looking for work with a special emphasis on the way social networks relates to this search strategy.

Publications

Seab, S., Smith, J., O‘Neil C.E., Tiller V., Monroe P.A. (2002). Diet quality and number of eating episodes (EE) in low socio-economic (SES) Louisiana (LA) women receiving or not receiving food stamps (FS). The FASEB Journal (Abstracts Part 1) 2002: 16:A252. Smith, J., Seab, S., O‘Neil, C.E., Tiller, V., Monroe PA. (2002). Nutrient intake at the beginning and end of the monthly resource cycle (RC) in rural low socio-economic (SES) Louisiana (LA) women receiving or not receiving food stamps (FS). The FASEB Journal (Abstracts Part 1) 2002: 16:A254. Monroe, P.A., O‘Neil, C., Tiller, V., & Smith, J. (2002). The challenge of compliance: Food security in rural households affected by welfare reform. Monograph #5 in the Food Assistance Series of the Southern Rural Development Center. Available on-line at http://srdc.msstate.edu David, S., O‘Neil, C.E., Smith, J., Tiller, V., & Monroe, P.A. (2002). Nutritional and monetary impact of fast food on low socioeconomic status women. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 102, (Suppl 2): A-47. O‘Neil C.E., David, S. Smith, J., LSU Community Nutrition Class, Tiller, V., & Monroe, P.A. (2002) Food spending patterns by low income women who receive or do not receive food stamps or who are food secure or insecure. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 102, (Suppl 2): A-48. Mills B. and G. Hazarika, 2003. Do Single Mothers Face Greater Constraints to Workforce Participation in Non-metropolitan Areas? American Journal of Agricultural Economics. (In press). Mills, B. 2002. Welfare Reform and the Well-Being of Non-Metropolitan Single Female-Headed Families: A Semi-Parametric Analysis. Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics. 27:2: 515-538. Henry, M. S. 2002. Civic Community Approaches to Rural Development in the South: Comments Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 34(2): 343-347. August. Henry, M. S. 2001. Impacts of Welfare Reform on Rural Families and Implications for the Reauthorization Debate: Comments. American Journal of Agricultural Economics. 83(5): 1310-1311. Henry, M. S., W. Lewis, L. Reinschmiedt and D. Lewis. 2001. Is There A Rural Disadvantage in Reducing Welfare and Food Stamp Participation in Mississippi and South Carolina? Rural America. 16(3): 37-43. Henry, M. S. and W. Lewis. 2001. Welfare Reform: Remedy for Persistent Poverty in the Rural South? Rural America. 15(2): 59-67. Henry, M. S., L. Reinschmiedt, W. Lewis and D. Hudson. 2002. Reducing Food Stamp and Welfare Caseloads in the South: Are Rural Areas Less Likely to Succeed Than Urban Centers? in Rural Dimensions of Welfare Reform, eds. B. Weber, G. Duncan and L. Whitener. Pp. 113-146. Upjohn Institute Press. Barkley, D. L., M. S. Henry, and M. Warner. 2002. Targeting Growth Opportunities For Lancaster County, 2002. REDRL Research Report 10-2002-04, Regional Economic Development Research Laboratory, Clemson University, Clemson, SC. October. Barkley, D. L., Y. Kim and M. S. Henry. 2001. Do Manufacturing Plants Cluster Across Rural Areas? Evidence From a Probabilistic Modeling Approach, REDRL Research Report 10-2001-01, Regional Economic Development Research Laboratory, Clemson University, Clemson, SC. October. Barkley, D. L., M. S. Henry, and M. Warner. 2002 The Community-Level Impacts of Economic Development: The Role of Local Labor Market Adjustments. The Rural South: Preparing for the 21st Century. Vol. 24:1-8. September. Southern Rural Development Center. Mississippi State, MS. Zimmerman, J. N. 2002. Guest Editor, Special Issue. Southern Rural Sociology, Welfare Reform and the South. Zimmerman, J. N. 2002. Contextualizing Cash Assistance and the South. Introduction to the Special Issue. Southern Rural Sociology. 18(1):1-20. Zimmerman, J. N. and T. A. Hirschl. Forthcoming. Welfare Reform in Rural Areas: A Voyage Through Uncharted Waters. Chapter in Challenges for Rural America in the 21st Century. David L. Brown and Louis Swanson (eds). Rural Sociological Society. Rural Studies Series. Penn State University Press: University Park, PA. Zimmerman, J. N. and T. A. Hirschl. 2002. What do We Know? Welfare Reform in Rural America. Rural Issues Brief. No. 8. May, 2002. 4pp. http://www.ca.uky.edu/snarl Zimmerman, J. N. and T. A. Hirschl. 2002. Why Don‘t We Know More? Research and Welfare Reform in Rural America. Rural Issues Brief. No. 8. May, 2002. 4pp. http://www.ca.uky.edu/snarl Harris R. P., and D. I. Worthen, Forthcoming. African-Americans in Rural America: Dilemmas and Challenges for Rural America in the 21st Century David L. Brown and Louis Swanson (eds). Rural Sociological Society. Rural Studies Series, Penn State University Press: University Park, Pa. Harris, R. P. and D.I. Worthen 2002. Working Through the Challenges: Struggle Resilience Within the Historically Black Land Grant Institutions. Education, December. Singelmann, J., T. Davidson, and R. Reynolds. 2002. Welfare, Work, and Well-Being in Metro and Nonmetro Louisiana. Southern Rural Sociology. 18(1):21-47.

Impact Statements

Date of Annual Report: 08/02/2004

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 06/09/2004 - 06/09/2004
Period the Report Covers: 03/01/2003 - 06/01/2004

Participants

Tammy Henderson (thender@vt.edu) - Virginia Tech; Lisa Collins (lisa.collins@uky.edu) University of Kentucky; Dreamal Worthen (dworthen116@hotmail.com) - Florida A&M University; Joachim Singelmann (joachim@lsu.edu) - Louisiana State University; Patricia Duffy (pduffy@acesag.auburn.edu) Auburn University; Mark Henry (mhenry@clemson.edu) Clemson University; Nancy Valentine (nvalentine@reesusda.gov) CSREES/USDA; Edna Droz (edroz@uprm.edu) - Agricultural Experiment Station Puerto Rico; Pam Monroe (pmonroe@lsu.edu) - Louisiana State University; Marge Kondroski and Janet March (jmarsh@clemson.edu) Clemson University, Julie Zimmerman (jzimm@uky.edu) University of Kentucky

Brief Summary of Minutes

1. Welcome

? Comments from the CSREES Advisor -- Nancy Valentine

a) NIMSS Website ? Contains information on multi state projects and individual projects. Each member should check it and update their information.

http://www.lgu.umd.edu/login.cfm

b) CSREES ? some universities require proposals for individual projects within multistate projects (similar to Hatch projects). This varies by university. None have come through Nancy?s office yet. The group reported that to their knowledge, none of their universities require this.

c) UPDATE: Grants.gov is a new website for access to federal grants. It is a government-wide system to solicit and receive grants electronically. Soon, everyone will need to use this. Contact person at CSREES: Jason Hitchcock 202-720-4343. http://www.grants.gov/

d) CSREES Website: is updated regularly. Check it out

http://www.csrees.usda.gov/

e) The NRI has some focus areas on rural development. Could be a source of funding. NC223 was successful in securing an NRI grant

f) New program: Small Business Innovation Research program (SBIR). Info is on the CSREES website

g) Last April, the National Rural E-Commerce Conference was held. Tom Tate, national program leader, was involved.

h) Interagency Rural Prosperity Commission ? Contact Sally Maggard

i) USDA Rural Development has loans for rural access to high speed technology

j) John Allen is the new director of the Western Rural Development Center

? Comments from the Experiment Station Advisor -- Lisa Collins

a) Lisa introduced herself, is excited to be the new advisor for the group, has spoken with Julie about the group and our work, and is looking forward to working together.

2. Reports from members: (In all cases, for more detailed information, see the reports submitted by individual members.)

Joachim Singelmann

In process of data analysis with linked dataset on job search strategies. This dataset is expanded beyond low income individuals allowing for comparisons of strategies and networks utilized.

Mark Henry

Has been working with Willis Lewis (recently completed his Ph.D.) on methodological developments in caseload analyses using spatial econometrics.

Edna Droz

In process of the second round of interviews on participation in the job readiness program as provided for under WIA. Described her results.

Dreamal Worthen

Interviewing ministers and examining the role of faith-based organization, specifically African American churches, as role of serving as referrals or as providing direct assistance.

Pam Monroe (w. Vicky Tiller)

Finished 2nd round of interviews for a statewide evaluation of TANF from the perspective of administrators. In collaboration with SUNY-Stony Brook, conducting the Louisiana part of a study looking at faith based organizations participation with TANF. With Carol O?Neal (sp?), received continued funding from SRDC to work on food security, nutrition, and obesity among low income individuals.

Janet Marsh (w. Marge Kondroski (sp?))

Started out working on project similar to Pam?s at LSU. Conducted two rounds of interviews. Despite high attrition (from 52 to 26 respondents) most of the change analysis is complete. Current focus is on the nutrition status analysis using 24 hour food recall. Have been finding results similar to Pam?s in the high use of pre-prepared foods.

Tammy Henderson

Focus is on kinship care. Black grandparents has been the first focus. Second round of interviews expected in February. With colleague, also conducting food security data analysis. Has found that many don?t realize that TANF could impact the elderly.

3. Introduced Patrica Duffy (our newest member).

Her focus has been on food assistance programs, mostly food pantries, but some on food stamps. Has found that welfare reform has indeed increased demand for food pantries.

4. Book update from Mark Henry

The RSS Rural Studies series is a possible publisher. Has spoken with Leif Jensen, but he is the outgoing editor.

Next steps:

i. Fill out remaining abstracts or any additional potential chapters so that by mid July, can have a document to circulate

ii. The group agreed to have multiple editors to reflect the 3 objectives of the group. Mark, Joachim, Pam, Dreamal, and Julie volunteered to help out. Each editor who represents an objective would write an introduction for each section and to direct the external review of the relevant chapters.

iii. Time frame for the book could extend beyond the remaining year for the S298 project. Lisa will check on if and how a 1-year extension could be obtained.

5. Vote for a New Chair

Mark Henry was voted the new chair for S-298. Julie agreed to serve as secretary/vice chair to help provide some continuity.

Accomplishments

Joachim Singelmann In process of data analysis with linked dataset on job search strategies. This dataset is expanded beyond low income individuals allowing for comparisons of strategies and networks utilized. Mark Henry Has been working with Willis Lewis (recently completed his Ph.D.) on methodological developments in caseload analyses using spatial econometrics. Edna Droz In process of the second round of interviews on participation in the job readiness program as provided for under WIA. Described her results. Dreamal Worthen Interviewing ministers and examining the role of faith-based organization, specifically African American churches, as role of serving as referrals or as providing direct assistance. Pam Monroe (w. Vicky Tiller) Finished 2nd round of interviews for a statewide evaluation of TANF from the perspective of administrators. In collaboration with SUNY-Stony Brook, conducting the Louisiana part of a study looking at faith based organizations participation with TANF. With Carol ONeal (sp?), received continued funding from SRDC to work on food security, nutrition, and obesity among low income individuals. Janet Marsh (w. Marge Kondroski (sp?)) Started out working on project similar to Pams at LSU. Conducted two rounds of interviews. Despite high attrition (from 52 to 26 respondents) most of the change analysis is complete. Current focus is on the nutrition status analysis using 24 hour food recall. Have been finding results similar to Pams in the high use of pre-prepared foods. Tammy Henderson Focus is on kinship care. Black grandparents has been the first focus. Second round of interviews expected in February. With colleague, also conducting food security data analysis. Has found that many dont realize that TANF could impact the elderly. Plans for the coming year are focused on developing and publishing an edited book reflecting the projects research.

Publications

Henry, Mark S., David Barkley and Haizhen Li, 2003. Fiscal Trends: Implications for the Rural South. Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 55(2):237-250. Henry, Mark S., David Barkley and Haizhen Li, 2003. Education and Nonmetropolitan Income Growth in the South. Southern Perspectives. 6:3: 3-5. Summer. Southern Rural Development Center. Parrisi, Domenico, Dianne McLaughlin, Steven Michael Grice, Michael Taquino, and Duane A. Gill. 2003. "TANF Participation Rates: Do Community Conditions Matter?" Rural Sociology 68(4): 491-512). Parrisi, Domenico, Dianne McLaughlin, Steven Michael Grice, Michael Taquino, and Duane A. Gill. Forthcoming. "Does the TANF Work-First Initiative Help Low Income Families Make Successful Welfare-to-Work Transitions?" Journal Of Poverty. Harris, Rosalind, and Worthen, Dreamal I. 2003. African-American in Rural America: Challenges for Rural America in the 21st Century David L. Brown and Louis Swanson (eds). Rural Sociological Society. Rural Studies Series, Penn State University Press University Park, PA (2003). Zimmerman, Julie N. and Tom Hirschl. 2003. Welfare Reform in Rural Areas: A Voyage Through Uncharted Waters. Chapter in Challenges for Rural America in the 21st Century. David L. Brown and Louis Swanson (eds). Rural Sociological Society. Rural Studies Series. Penn State University Press: University Park, PA.