Female-Headed Families on AFDC: Who Leaves Welfare Quickly and Who Doesn’t

As national policymakers once again contemplate welfare reform, one of the measures being discussed would place limits on the amount of time that a family could receive benefits from Aid to Families With Dependent Children (AFDC), the nation's largest cash welfare program.1 The debate over moving to a time-limited welfare system raises questions about who is likely to leave welfare quickly and who is likely to remain on AFDC for longer periods of time. To answer these questions, data on single-parent, female-headed AFDC families were analyzed at the U.S. General Accounting Office to determine the demographic, economic, and other factors that affect the rate at which such families leave welfare. This paper (1) provides background information on the AFDC program and recent efforts to help welfare families leave AFDC, (2) examines how various factors influence female-headed families' length of stay on welfare, and (3) assesses the implications of this for welfare reform.