an Urban Institute project
Over 13 million American families with children have incomes under 200% of the federal poverty level. These families have difficulty making ends meet even if they work full-time. The Low-Income Working Families (LIWF) project tracks the well-being of low-income families over time and analyzes the risks these families face. Our researchers identify the factors that contribute to poor outcomes for these families and policy options that would reduce barriers and promote meaningful work for adults and positive outcomes for children.
The LIWF studies cover the experiences of low-income working families in their struggle for economic security; the components of a safety net that will support working families trying to provide adequately for their families and advance to higher paying jobs; better life chances for children; and the role of racial and ethnic disparities in economic outcomes.
The Low-Income Working Families project builds on more than a decade of research under the Assessing the New Federalism project, which followed struggling families as many left welfare.
Highlighted Research from the Low-Income Working Families Project
Safety Net
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, the nation's primary safety net program for families with children, is due for reauthorization this year. The Urban Institute held a roundtable of experts from federal and state governments, academia, and policy organizations to discuss the program's current status and effectiveness. Highlights and reflections from the roundtable are presented in the LIWF brief, "Next Steps for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families."
Risk and Recovery
The paper, "Risk and Recovery: Understanding the Changing Risks to Family Incomes," builds on an earlier brief funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The paper examines the characteristics and circumstances of families vulnerable to substantial income drops and those most likely to recover financially. Using data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation, the study finds that more than 13 percent of nonelderly adults in families with children will see their incomes fall by half at some point over the course of a year, and about 40 percent fully recover within a year.
Vulnerable Youth
The fact sheets, "Transition to Adulthood: African American Youth and Youth from Low-Income Working Families," examine the transition to adulthood for two groups of youth using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 cohort. Low-income African Americans are compared to low-income white youth, and youth from low-income “high-work” families are compared to low-income youth from moderate-work and nonworking (i.e., low-work) families.
Ongoing Research
A New Safety Net for Low-Income Families: Work Supports and Advancement
America’s low-income working families are struggling to get by, too often forced to make impossible choices among food, housing, health care, and child care. Government safety nets were reformed in the mid-1990s with the promise that work would pay. But that promise remains unfulfilled for many families. These essays explore the challenges these vulnerable households face and suggest ways to protect them and help them thrive—urgent goals with far-reaching benefits for children, families, and the nation's economic future. Ongoing work examines programs for work supports and advancement to better jobs.
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