Report California’s Welfare Recipients: Family Circumstances, Income, and Time on Aid among CalWORKs Families By Caroline Danielson May 8, 2012 What does a typical CalWORKs family look like? This report provides key details on some of the state’s most vulnerable residents.
Report What Happens to Families When They Leave Welfare? By Thomas E. MaCurdy, Margaret O’Brien-Strain, Grecia Marrufo Sep 12, 2003 More than 1.4 million people left California's welfare rolls between August 1996 and September 2001. Although this dramatic decline in the caseload in the early years following welfare reform was seen by some as heralding the triumph of the new rules, others saw it as an alarm bell regarding the well-being of former welfare recipients. This report presents the findings of telephone surveys conducted in the late 1990s among one-parent and two parent families approximately 6 months and 12 months after they left welfare. The report presents snapshots of how well these families are doing during each of these periods, describing the families' economic security, use of public assistance, and difficulties encountered in maintaining employment and coping with adverse conditions. In addition to comparing circumstances over time, the report also identifies factors that might predict a return to welfare and other poor outcomes for families.
press release Many Families Rise Above Poverty Line After Leaving Welfare, But Conditions for Others Are Bleak Sep 11, 2003
Report Expensive Children in Poor Families: The Intersection of Childhood Disabilities and Welfare By Marcia K. Meyers, Henry E. Brady, Eva Y. Seto Oct 1, 2000 Although disabilities affect children of all income groups, poor children are far more likely to suffer from them. In this study, Marcia K. Meyers, Henry E. Brady, and Eva Y. Seto provide important new estimates of the private costs and public effects of childhood disabilities among welfare recipients. Based on over 2,000 interviews with household heads in Los Angeles, Alameda, San Joaquin, and San Bernardino Counties, their estimates cover direct expenditures by families and indirect costs due to employment reductions. They also examine participation rates in public assistance programs and estimate the likelihood that families with disabled children will exit these programs to independence. They conclude that public assistance may be an essential part of an income-packaging strategy for many of these families.
Report The Impact of Health Insurance on Poverty in California By Caroline Danielson, Patricia Malagon, Shannon McConville Mar 27, 2023 The Affordable Care Act has helped millions of Californians gain health insurance over the past decade. In addition to improving access to care, the ACA has increased financial well-being. This analysis focuses on the significant contribution of publicly funded health coverage—particularly Medi-Cal—to family resources across the state.
press release Surprising Surge In “Child-Only” Cases Slows Decline In California’s Welfare Rolls Jun 22, 2000
Fact Sheet Income Inequality in California By Tess Thorman, Daniel Payares-Montoya Apr 17, 2024 California’s income gap narrowed in 2022, but the disparity between high and low incomes is wider in California than in most other states. Over the longer term, income inequality has been driven by earnings growth among college-educated workers.
Fact Sheet Poverty in California By Sarah Bohn, Caroline Danielson, Sara Kimberlin, Patricia Malagon Oct 18, 2023 With the end of many pandemic relief programs, poverty rates—especially for children—have gone up in the last two years.