Personal, Family, And Multiple Barriers of Long-Term Welfare Recipients‪.‬

The passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-193) initiated a series of events that resulted in millions of welfare recipients being permanently denied public cash assistance (Duncan, Harris, & Boisjoly, 1997). At the time of the bill's passage, it was asserted that former welfare recipients would be able to find work, maintain employment, and provide financial support for their families. Studies of welfare from a macro perspective, including the views that emphasize labor market and human capital variables (for example, Lerman & Ratcliffe, 2000; Maryland Department of Human Resources, 1998; Rockefeller Institute of Government, 1999), may support the notion that welfare recipients can be trained to work and absorbed into a labor market in which their skills are needed. This approach grossly underestimates the effect of personal and familial barriers for some welfare recipients. Specifically, long-term welfare recipients exhibit complex issues that limit their ability to find and maintain employment. The study discussed in this article explored personal and familial barriers to employment for long-term recipients and the presence of multiple barriers. The study was unique in that the sample included only long-term welfare recipients. Data were collected through interviews with a representative statewide sample of urban and rural long-term recipients, and administrative data were obtained to supplement interviews.