New York After Welfare

NEW YORK

After Welfare: A Study of Work and Benefit Use After Case Closing
Date of Report:	December 1999 (http://www.otda.state.ny.us/otda/welfare/welfarestudy.pdf)
Methodology:	Administrative Data: 8,983 cases
Study Timeframe:	Cases were examined one year after leaving welfare in the first quarter of 1997.
Investigator (Contact):	The Nelson Rockefeller Institute of Government (Richard Nathan & Terrence Maxwell - Rockefeller Institute)
Study Objective:	Examine what happens to leavers, gain a better understanding of the factors that impede self-sufficiency after leaving welfare, and compare single-parent cases to all cases.

Comparable State Findings:	Former Recipients
Percent employed in 4^th quarter after exit	53%
Mean hourly wage of those employed	N/A
Percent receiving Food Stamps/ Medicaid 12 months after exit	23% / 43%
Percent who say life is "better" after welfare	N/A
Percent receiving cash assistance at any time in first year since exit	21%

Employment & Income

Single-parents had lower earnings in the 4^th quarter after exit compared to all leavers statewide ($3,602 compared to $4,230). This is a 17% difference.
40% of the closing cohort was employed continuously in all four quarters after exit.
Fewer recipients in single parent households were working in the 4^th quarter after exit than the entire sample (48% v. 53%).

Other Benefits

The percentage of cases that continued to receive Food Stamps in the 4^th quarter after exit was comparable for those who had earnings (28%) and those who did not have earnings (30%).
The percentage of cases that utilized Medicaid in the 4^th quarter after exit was comparable for those who had earnings (46%) and those who did not have earnings (49%).
Single parents were less likely to utilize Food Stamps (21%) and Medicaid (40%) in the 12^th month after exiting cash assistance than all close cases (23% and 43% respectively).
There is a positive relationship between the size of a family and the need for additional benefits for working families. For example, 59% of working families with five or more individuals received Medicaid benefits in the 4^th quarter after exit compared to 39% of working families with two individuals. Similarly, 39% of working families with five or more individuals received Food Stamps in the 4^th quarter after exit compared to 19% of working families with two individuals.

Family Well-Being

The rate of return to cash assistance was higher for families with more than four children (26%), families that did not report earnings in the 4^th quarter after exit (24%), and for families with a child under the age of one (22%).
Cases with the lowest rate of return in the 12^th month after exit (5%), were those in which the individual request that the case be closed (17% of closed cases).
21% of cases closed due to the earned income of the parent/caretaker, however 19% of this population returned to cash assistance in the 12^th month after exit.