I need some help with research...?

Question

i would like to know what percentage of single parents receive welfare in the united states. i'm having trouble... if you can help me find this information online i'd really appreciate it.

Answer 1

This is a big question!

because it varies from state to state what "welfare" actually consists of, doesnt it?

In mine(Massachusetts),anyone unable to work, can get  EAEDC  (Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled and Chidren).

That's what WE call welfare. But  it's only $300 per month, plus $150 in food stamps.

A single parent, however, can ALSO get WIC along with that.(WIC is another (150?) worth of food vouchers, for the purpose of ensuring proper nutrition for the child)  (it has to be a toddler, to get the WIC)

And that's all welfare is! In my state.

-So if you were a single parent, and you couldnt work, you'd have 600 a month and thats all - for everything, food rent car clothes all.

I dont know how anyone can do it!

((Oh. I did leave one element out. If they are truly disabled,they can get into subsidized housing, where they only pay 30% of whatever income they've got, as their rent and utilities. THAT can make 600 a month go a lot further))

I never understand why there are those who freak out over us giving this to people, because it SURE isnt enough to discourage anyone from trying to get work!

______________________________________...

It was long ago, now. But back when Bill Clinton was running for office the first time, there was also hopes that the then Governor of New York, Mario Cuomo, would run. As eloquent and convincingly heart-touching a speaker you'll rarely hear.

It saddened many when he said no to running  .

Anyway- he gave a speech on CSPAN(their archives are available) (even just by transcript) where he laid out just what the statistics were of welfare use in his state (it put the bashers to shame, because apparently there just ISNT an abuse problem, and the vast majority of those who get on it, proved that they needed it,in order to get on it at all (I can personally attest-it's hard to get) and then they get off it within 2 years.And back to work.

So the system was working as it was designed, he said. And NO one managed to say he was spinning any of this.

(((AND he made the point of just exactly what percent of the state's budget was going to welfare...that it was so small it couldn't  credibly be considered a drag on the system, or to blame for the recession which was happening. It was a statistically negligable percentage of total spending,

.

Of course you can't quote figures that old NOW, but---if you get the new ones...and say it the way he did!...(It was very impressive)

_____________________________________

EDIT - this is why it varies state to state ( the Clinton-era welfare reform)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/pol...

and from this org http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_Insti...

here's what they say has resulted 10 years later

http://www.urban.org/welfare/index.cfm

(*I cant personally vouch for the urban institute as being biased ,or not. I just dont know. Thats why I looked them up at wikipedia)

Answer 2

Try the website of the U.S. Census Bureau; you can probably find some valuable information there.

Answer 3

This is a little bit dated (2000) but should give some idea:

"Single-parent families make up 6.1 percent of all families. Of

these single-parent families, 38 percent receive assistance."

From: http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2000/05/art2...

Answer 4

That must be the only statistic missing from the Census Bureau, I can't find it anywhere!

I found this though, which I thought was interesting.

"The proportion of custodial mothers taking part in the nation's public assistance programs -- a ratio of 4-in-5 are single -- fell from 26 percent to 11 percent over six years (1993-1999), according to a new report on child support released today by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau."

- Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support: 1999

This is from a few years ago, but the trend was that the number of single mothers receiving welfare was falling.