Survey of Those Leaving AFDC or W-2, January to March 1998

WISCONSIN

Wisconsin Works Survey of Those Leaving AFDC or W-2 January to March 1998
Date of Report:	January 1999 (web address not available)
Methodology:	Survey: Interviews were conducted with 375 individuals who left either AFDC or W-2 during the 1^st quarter of 1998 and who stayed off. (69% Response Rate)
Study Timeframe:	Interviews were completed in the fall of 1998. Respondents had been off welfare between 5 and 9 months.
Investigator (Contact):	Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development and the University of Wisconsin's Survey Research Laboratory (Jean Rogers 608-266-3035)
Study Objective:	Determine what happened to individuals who left AFDC or W-2 during the 1^st quarter 1998 and had not returned to welfare prior to the time of the survey.

Comparable State Findings:	Former Recipients
Percent employed at time of interview	62%
Median hourly wage of those employed ("best job")	$7.00
Percent receiving Food Stamps/Medicaid at time of interview	49% / 71%
Percent who disagreed with statement that life was "better" while on welfare	68%
Percent receiving cash assistance in first year since exit	N/A

Employment & Income

Employed leavers reported working a median of 40 hours per week on their "best job" (either current or prior) and worked a median of 34 weeks.
21% of those not working when interviewed had worked since leaving while 17% never worked since leaving welfare.
Unemployed respondents reported not working due to trouble finding a suitable job (33%), physical/mental illness (27%), child care problems (20%), wanting to stay home with children (12%), and lack of transportation (12%).
18% of non-working leavers lived with a working spouse/co-parent. The median hourly wage for a working spouse/co-parent was $9.66 and the median number of hours worked per week was 40.
The most commonly held "best jobs" were food service/retail (25%), service-related (23%), manufacturing (15%) and health services (12%).

Other Supports (at time of interview)

47% of leavers participated in the school lunch program, 27% received child support and 25% received rent subsidies or resided in public housing.
Families where no adult worked participated more often in Medicaid (84%), food stamps (58%), and SSI or SSA (47%).
66% of preschool-aged children were in child care. 34% of these families used relative care while 22% depended on child care centers and 19% relied on friends to care for their children.
30% of school-aged children had before or after-school care. Again, relative care was the most commonly used type of care (47%), followed by child care centers (25%), and friends (16%).

Family Well-Being

While 60% of leavers said they did not think they would need welfare again, 68% reported that they were just barely making it day to day.
48% said they had more money now than they had on welfare and 50% disagreed with that statement.
Many families suffered more hardships after leaving welfare. More fell behind in rent or housing payments (37% after welfare compared to 30% while on welfare). More had no way to buy food (32% v. 22%). About the same number had gotten behind on a utility bill (47% v. 49%) and fewer had had their telephone cut off (27% v. 38%). Fewer had to share housing and expenses (30% v. 35%) and fewer went to a homeless shelter (3% v. 5%). And a few more had somebody in their home who had to go without medical care (11% v. 8%).