The Impact of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Benefit Requirements and Sanctions on Maternal Material Hardship, Mental Health, and Parental Aggravation

• Published in: Maternal and child health journal Vol. 27; no. 8; pp. 1392 - 1400
• Main Authors: Walker, Andrew, Spencer, Rachael A., Lemon, Emily, Woods-Jaeger, Briana, Komro, Kelli A., Livingston, Melvin D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.08.2023; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Anxiety; Caregiving; Child; Childhood; Children; Employment; Families & family life; Female; Gynecology; Health research; Humans; Income distribution; Job requirements; Low income groups; Maternal and Child Health; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental depression; Mental Health; Mothers; Parents & parenting; Pediatrics; Population Economics; Public Assistance; Public assistance programs; Public Health; Sociology; State policies; Surveys and Questionnaires; United States; Welfare services; Well being; Working mothers; United States; Policy; TANF; Maternal mental health; Welfare benefits; Benefit requirements
• ISSN: 1092-7875; 1573-6628; 1573-6628
• DOI: 10.1007/s10995-023-03699-0

Introduction Temporary Assistance for Needy Families requirements can be stress-inducing, difficult for families to complete, and may be detrimental during early life. We assessed the impact of TANF requirements on primary caregiving mothers’ experiences of material hardship, anxiety, depression, and parental aggravation in the first year of a child’s life. Methods Survey responses were selected from mothers in the Future of Families and Childhood Wellbeing Study, who received TANF in the first year of their child’s life (N = 1085). Results Survey-weighted regression models showed associations between: presence of any requirements and increased material hardship, work requirements and increased material hardship, requirement to name the father of their child and increased depression, benefit cuts and increased parental aggravation, and benefit cuts and increased material hardship. Discussion Federal and state policies should revise requirement programs to increase program accessibility and support the mental health and financial stability of mothers applying for TANF to facilitate sustainable movement into employment. Significance Previous research has demonstrated negative health impacts associated with TANF implementation and distribution for low-income families. This study is one of the first to examine the relationship between experiencing specific TANF benefit requirements and maternal mental health, parental aggravation, and material hardship outcomes within a nationally representative sample. Findings showing significant associations between presence of requirements, driven by specific requirement types, with increased rates of material hardship, depression, and parental aggravation. Results suggest state level policy changes are needed to reduce unnecessary harm being done to vulnerable families.