Effects of welfare reform on maternal engagement and involvement with young adolescents

Objective: This study investigates the effects of welfare reform in the U.S. on positive parenting-related outcomes and potential pathways. Background: The 1996 welfare reform legislation sharply restricted eligibility for benefits with a strong emphasis on employment over cash assistance. The legislation led to dramatic declines in welfare caseloads and increases in employment. Much less is known about the effects of welfare reform on dynamics within families that affect children. Method: Using data on low-educated unmarried mothers in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 linked to information on their 10- to 14-year-old children, we exploit variations in welfare reform implementation across states, over time, and between treatment and comparison groups to identify plausibly causal effects of the legislation on children's reports of activities with parents and closeness of the maternal-child relationship. The analytic sample includes 3,172–3,737 observations for boys and 3,089–3,619 for girls, depending on outcome. Results: We find modestly negative effects of welfare reform on children's reports of activities with parents and closeness of the maternal-child relationship, with stronger effects for boys than girls. We find no evidence that the effects operated through employment. However, we found suggestive evidence that decreases in income play a role. Conclusion: Welfare reform compromised maternal involvement and engagement with adolescents, particularly boys, which could adversely affect their development and long-run success.