Understanding the Lives and Challenges of Women in Poverty after TANF

Abstract

Welfare Reform has caused a dramatic change in the lives and health of single mothers living in poverty. This qualitative study explored the health and socioeconomic lives of 22 community-dwelling women in poverty in the years after they were terminated from the current work-based welfare program intended to move women from welfare to work and independence. The instruments were a semistructured interview guide, the HANES General Well-Being Schedule, and a demographic data form. Data were analyzed using multistage narrative analysis and descriptive statistics. These primary source data showed participants had multiple barriers that precede or follow poverty. Their voices of how they survive are a rich source of data to assist providers and policy makers in devising evidence-based solutions for reducing poverty in America.

Keywords: TANF welfare; federal policy; poverty; public health nursing; state policy; women’s health.