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How do low-income single-mothers get by when unemployment strikes: Patterns of multiple program participation after transition from employment to unemployment

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  • Chi-Fang Wu
  • Yu-Ling Chang
  • Soohyun Yoon
  • Salma Musaad

Abstract

Little is known about longitudinal patterns of welfare program participation among single mothers after they transition from employment to unemployment. To better understand how utilization patterns of these welfare programs may change during the 12 months after a job loss, we used the 2008 Survey of Income and Program Participation to examine the patterns of participation in Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and unemployment insurance among 342 single mothers who transitioned from employment to unemployment during the Great Recession. Using sequence analysis and cluster analysis, this paper identified four distinct patterns of program participation: (a) constantly receiving in-kind benefits; (b) primarily but not solely receiving food stamps; (c) inconsistent unemployment insurance or Medicaid-based benefits; and (d) limited or no benefits. Almost two-fifths of our sample of single mothers received inconsistent, limited, or no benefits. Results of the multinomial regression revealed that race, work disability, poverty, homeownership, and region of residence were significant factors that influenced whether study subjects participated in or had access to social safety net programs. Our findings illustrate the heterogeneity in patterns of multiple program participation among single mothers transitioning from employment to unemployment. Better understanding these varied patterns may inform decisions that increase the accessibility of US social safety net programs for single mothers during periods of personal economic hardship.

Suggested Citation

  • Chi-Fang Wu & Yu-Ling Chang & Soohyun Yoon & Salma Musaad, 2022. "How do low-income single-mothers get by when unemployment strikes: Patterns of multiple program participation after transition from employment to unemployment," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(9), pages 1-22, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0274799
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0274799
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Marianne Bitler & Hilary Hoynes & Elira Kuka, 2017. "Child Poverty, the Great Recession, and the Social Safety Net in the United States," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 36(2), pages 358-389, March.
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    5. Yu-Ling Chang & Chi-Fang Wu, 2021. "Examining Low-Income Single-Mother Families’ Experiences with Family Benefit Packages during and after the Great Recession in the United States," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-19, June.
    6. Scott W. Allard & Maria V. Wathen & Sandra K. Danziger, 2015. "Bundling Public and Charitable Supports to Cope with the Effects of the Great Recession," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 96(5), pages 1348-1362, November.
    7. Bradley Hardy & Timothy Smeeding & James P. Ziliak, 2018. "The Changing Safety Net for Low-Income Parents and Their Children: Structural or Cyclical Changes in Income Support Policy?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(1), pages 189-221, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Chi-Fang Wu & Jeehae Kang & Soohyun Yoon & Steven Anderson, 2025. "When One Is Not Enough: Exploring the Intersection of Multiple Public Benefits and Multiple Material Hardships in Low-Income Single-Mother Families," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 46(2), pages 598-612, June.

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