CSWS Publications

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https://hdl.handle.net/1794/464

This collection contains occasional publications from the Center for the Study of Women in Society.

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Browsing CSWS Publications by Subject "family income"

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    Oregon Families Who Left Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) or Food Stamps: A Study of Economic and Family Well-Being From 1998 to 2000 (Vol. 1)
    (University of Oregon, 2001-01) CSWS Welfare Research Team; Acker, Joan; Morgen, Sandra; Heath, Terri; Barry, Kate; Gonzales, Lisa; Weigt, Jill
    What happens to families that leave or are diverted from cash assistance or Food Stamps in Oregon? Dramatic reductions in public assistance caseloads after welfare reform have raised public concern about poor families. Our study indicates that the effects of welfare -to-work policies are neither simple nor uniform. The experiences of families suggest that it is unwise to paint a picture of welfare reform without attending to the diversity of families’ experiences and needs. Two years after leaving or being diverted from Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) or Food Stamps, a substantial proportion of respondents are employed. However, their earnings are low and families struggle mightily to make ends meet. Our sample was nearly evenly divided between those with household incomes above and below the federal poverty level. Safety net programs such as Food Stamps, the Oregon Health Plan, housing and child-care assistance and federal and state earned income tax credits are critical for family well-being. These essential resources often disappear before a family’s need for them diminis hes because of income eligibility limits and unaffordable co-payments associated with the programs. Non-employed respondents often live in communities without sufficient good jobs, have chronic health problems or they need job training or education. The state of Oregon, and these families, would be well served by intensified efforts to reduce poverty, sustain and improve safety net programs and foster more living wage jobs across the state.
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    Oregon Families Who Left Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) or Food Stamps: In-Depth Interview Themes and Family Profiles (Vol. 2)
    (Center for the Study of Women in Society, University of Oregon, 2001-01) CSWS Welfare Research Team; Acker, Joan; Morgen, Sandra; Heath, Terri; Barry, Kate; Gonzales, Lisa; Weigt, Jill
    The success and limitations of Oregon’s welfare reform policies are best measured by an examination of the effects of these policies on the economic status and well-being of families whose lives have been most directly affected by those policies. Ironically, the voices of poor people themselves are often neglected in public debates about welfare policy. This report, a companion to Oregon Families Leaving Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and Food Stamps: A Study of Economic and Family Well-Being From 1998 to 2000, consists of profiles of seventy-eight families who participated in both telephone surveys and in-person interviews, following them for almost two years after they left or were diverted from Food Stamps or TANF in the first quarter of 1998. Their lives are vivid portraits of families who have to live on incomes that position most of them in or near the bottom quintile (one-fifth) of the economy. The experiences of most of these families do not confirm the stereotypes so often used to characterize the poor. Nor do they speak in one voice about work, family, public assistance, Adult and Family Service programs or the juggling act of daily life. However, they were loud and clear about one point: the vital importance of public assistance programs for their economic survival and family well-being.
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    Valuing Families: The State of Oregon's Families
    (Center for the Study of Women in Society, University of Oregon, 1999-06) Harris, Leslie; Morgen, Sandra; Leeper, Nancy
    The purpose of this paper is to provide a wide variety of information about families in Oregon. The paper presents data which illuminate important issues affecting Oregon families. We hope this information will assist law and policy makers, family advocates, interested members of the community and scholars to help all Oregon families thrive. The first chapter after this introduction provides information about the diversity of Oregon families. The second part of the paper examines the economic well-being of Oregon families. It begins with a descriptive section about availability and distribution of income, followed by sections on wages, child support for children not living with both parents, the tax burden on families, the incidence of poverty and Oregon's public assistance programs. It concludes with a discussion of access to health insurance, since, for most people, having insurance is essential to obtaining adequate health care. Both employment- based and publicly funded insurance programs are included here.
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