The Impact of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Benefit Requirements and Sanctions on Maternal Material Hardship, Mental Health, and Parental Aggravation.

INTRODUCTION: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families requirements can be stress-inducing, difficult for families to complete, and may be detrimental during early life. We assessed the impact of TANF requirements on primary caregiving mothers' experiences of material hardship, anxiety, depression, and parental aggravation in the first year of a child's life. METHODS: Survey responses were selected from mothers in the Future of Families and Childhood Wellbeing Study, who received TANF in the first year of their child's life (N = 1085). RESULTS: Survey-weighted regression models showed associations between: presence of any requirements and increased material hardship, work requirements and increased material hardship, requirement to name the father of their child and increased depression, benefit cuts and increased parental aggravation, and benefit cuts and increased material hardship. DISCUSSION: Federal and state policies should revise requirement programs to increase program accessibility and support the mental health and financial stability of mothers applying for TANF to facilitate sustainable movement into employment.

Association between Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and child maltreatment among a cohort of fragile families.

BACKGROUND: Child maltreatment disproportionately affects families experiencing poverty and structural discrimination, including African American (AA) families. The generosity of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) may reduce child maltreatment disparities. OBJECTIVE: Our aim is to understand TANF's impact on the mother's perpetration of child maltreatment and whether the effect differs across AA and White mothers. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Participants are 2457 primary caregiving mothers participating in waves 3 (2001-2003), 4 (2003-2006), and 5 (2007-2010) of the U.S.-based Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing birth cohort study. METHODS: We use a difference-in-differences study design to estimate overall and race-specific effects of TANF policies on caregivers' self-report of child neglect and physical and psychological maltreatment measured by the Child-Parent Conflict Tactics Scale. State-level TANF policy exposures include the TANF-to-Poverty Ratio (TPR), maximum cash benefits, time limits, sanctions, diversion payments, and family caps. RESULTS: A $100 increase in TANF benefits was associated with a reduction of 1.8 reported physical abuse events (Beta = -1.80, 95% CI (-3.29, -0.31)). Imposing a time limit on TANF receipt was associated with an increase of 2.3 reported physical abuse events (Beta = 2.27, 95% CI (0.04, 4.50)). No significant differences were found for AA mothers versus White mothers. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Increasing TANF cash benefits should be prioritized to reduce poverty-related child maltreatment disparities. TANF time limits should be reconsidered.

The impact of temporary assistance for needy families, minimum wage, and Earned Income Tax Credit on Women's well-being and intimate partner violence victimization.

Women experiencing poverty and women of color disproportionately experience intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization. Economic policies targeting women at this intersection of poverty and IPV, including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Minimum Wage (MW), and Earned Income Tax Credits (EITCs), may be powerful violence prevention tools. Using data from waves 1 (1998-2000) through 4 (2007-2010) of the U.S.-based Fragile Families and Child Well-being (FFCW) birth cohort study, we apply a difference-in-difference (DD) study design to estimate both the overall and race-specific effects of state-level economic policies on non-physical IPV and several intermediate outcomes. In DD models analyzing the difference in violence outcomes by intervention group (i.e., TANF exposure based on women's educational attainment, ≤high school vs >high school) and by race (African American (AA) vs White) few state-level TANF policies were associated with IPV victimization and the MW had no differential effect, but the refundable EITC was protective against IPV. Of the few TANF policies associated with IPV - sanctions and the ratio of families receiving TANF for every 100 families in poverty (the TANF-to-Poverty Ratio (TPR)) - those linked with fewer TANF restrictions seemed to increase coercive victimization, especially among AA women. With regard to intermediate variables, we found no overall impact of economic policies on depression or economic hardship, while monetary benefits and the TPR, were associated with a decrease in employment. The effect of TANF policies by race on intermediate outcomes was complex and analyses suggest that while White women are more likely to be employed when TANF time limits are in place, they also experience larger increases in economic hardship events compared to AA women. Research into the effects of cash transfer conditionality on mediators, including economic instability, perceived stress, bargaining power, and coercive IPV to interfere with TANF compliance, is needed.

Family Economic Security Policies and Child and Family Health.

In this review, we examine the effects of family economic security policies (i.e., minimum wage, earned income tax credit, unemployment insurance, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) on child and family health outcomes, summarize policy generosity across states in the USA, and discuss directions and possibilities for future research. This manuscript is an update to a review article that was published in 2014. Millions of Americans are affected by family economic security policies each year, many of whom are the most vulnerable in society. There is increasing evidence that these policies impact health outcomes and behaviors of adults and children. Further, research indicates that, overall, policies which are more restrictive are associated with poorer health behaviors and outcomes; however, the strength of the evidence differs across each of the four policies. There is significant diversity in state-level policies, and it is plausible that these policy variations are contributing to health disparities across and within states. Despite increasing evidence of the relationship between economic policies and health, there continues to be limited attention to this issue. State policy variations offer a valuable opportunity for scientists to conduct natural experiments and contribute to evidence linking social policy effects to family and child well-being. The mounting evidence will help to guide future research and policy making for evolving toward a more nurturing society for family and child health and well-being.

Women's help seeking for intimate partner violence in Jordan.

Little is known about Jordanian women's help seeking for intimate partner violence (IPV), despite local and international investment in victim services. Using a clinic based survey (n = 517; response rate 70%) and focus group discussions (FGDs, n = 17) we explored Jordanian women's nonfamily help seeking for physical or sexual IPV. We evaluated survey data using bivariate and multivariate regression and examined FGD transcripts using open coding methodology. Nonfamily help seeking was uncommon, an option only in serious circumstances after familial help was ineffective, and correlated with violence severity and relative violence. Nonfamily resources are underutilized but critical for vulnerable Jordanian women.