Impediments to employment under welfare reform: the importance of physical health and psychosocial characteristics

Abstract

The impact of Connecticut's welfare reform program (Jobs First), physical and mental health status, personal resources and household violence on employment was examined 18 months after women were randomized to either the welfare reform or the older AFDC program. Multivariate analyses showed that although the Jobs First program was statistically significantly associated with women having worked sometime since assignment to the welfare reform program, the Jobs First program was not associated with women currently working or having worked at some point but no longer working. Rather, women were more likely to be working at the 18 month interview if they reported frequent help from their social networks (OR = 1.52; p = .009), they had at least a high school degree (OR = 1.65; p =.002) and they were in good physical health (OR = 3.41; p = .009). Women who had worked sometime since random assignment but were no longer working at the 18 month interview reported few social contacts (OR = 1.33; p = .042), did not pay rent or own their own homes (OR = 6.94; p = .025), reported receiving AFDC for 2 years or more prior to randomization (OR = 1.83; p = .035) and reported high levels of household violence (OR = 1.52; p = .035). The need for attention to be focused on the importance of health problems, household violence and personal resources for the successful transitioning from public income support to employment is discussed.