We need to help mothers not only get jobs but keep them

Former welfare mothers who are unable to keep a steady job are more likely to have a teenage child drop out of school, according to a new Florida State University study.

Karen Randolph, an assistant professor of social work at FSU, and researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that teenagers whose mothers change employment status five or more times in a four-year period are 36 percent more likely to drop out of school than other students.

Randolph and her colleagues sought to find out whether welfare reform work requirements affected the children of these families. Randolph's study, co-authored by Roderick Rose, Mark Fraser and Dennis Orthner, all of UNC-Chapel Hill, is published in the September issue of the Journal of Family and Economic Issues.

"Evidence is beginning to suggest that, as a consequence of welfare reform, many families cycle back and forth between work and unemployment," Randolph said. "This creates a situation in which income is far less stable than when they relied solely on public cash assistance."

The researchers studied 675 teens from poor families affected by the 1996 welfare reform laws that require work in exchange for time-limited assistance. The teens were all enrolled in ninth grade at the start of the study in an urban public school district in the Southeast. Their mothers received federal assistance or participated in the national Job Opportunity and Basic Skills program. All the mothers were single at the start of the study.

"These are moms who have entry level jobs that may not be very stable," Randolph said. "They also may have difficulty managing their households, become ill or have transportation problems that cause them to lose their jobs."

While having a steady income has a positive association with keeping disadvantaged youth in school, employment instability puts children at risk of dropping out. Each time mothers move in or out of employment, their children's risk of dropout increases by 6 percent relative to other students.

These students are at greater risk because they may have to take on more household responsibilities or work to supplement the family income, the researchers theorized. They also may have less supervision and parental help with homework and have more exposure to negative peer influences.

There are other factors that play a role in why some poor youth complete high school and others do not, Randolph said. School problems early in life posed a problem, and those who were retained in first grade were more likely to drop out of school later.

On the positive side, the researchers found a strong correlation between extracurricular activity participation and staying in school.

"Our findings suggest that participation in clubs, band or sports may buffer the effects of required parental work," Randolph said.

While the initial phase of welfare reform has increased employment among former welfare recipients and led to dramatic declines in welfare rolls, this study points to the need for the next phase of reform to focus on the effects on children, particularly adolescents, Randolph said.

"If the cycle of welfare dependence is to be disrupted, this must become a centerpiece of moving families from welfare to work," she said. "We need to help mothers not only get jobs but keep them."