How benefit sanctions push single parents further from work

Benefit sanctions encourage job-seeking behaviour, successive governments have claimed. Yet in the case of single parents, sanctions actually move parents further from work, write Sumi Rabindrakumar and Laura Dewar. They draw on Gingerbread's research to show how parents are often penalised despite seeking work, caught out by unrealistic expectations from jobcentres and poor administration

Unemployment in the Great Recession: single parents and men hit hard

This brief discusses the sweeping impact the Great Recession has had on Americans, particularly men, single parents, young adults, and people with less education. Using data from the 2007 and 2010 Annual Social and Economic Supplement of the Current Population Survey, the authors report that unemployment is highest among men and among unmarried adults, regardless of place or parenting status. Although this was also true before the recession, gaps between men and women, and the unmarried and married, have widened considerably during the recession. Also during the Great Recession, unemployment rose more in central cities and suburban places than in rural places, perhaps because rural unemployment was already high prior to the start of the recession

Is Welfare Reform Succeeding?

Welfare Reform and the Earned Income Tax Credit have apparently caused a dramatic increase in the labor force participation rates of single parents. Between the first quarters of 1994 and 1998, labor force participation rates rose 25.4 percent for never-married women caring for children, rose 15.5 percent for mothers separated from their spouse and rose 4.9 percent for divorced single mothers. By contrast, unmarried individuals and separated and divorced women who were not caring for children lowered their rates of participation in the labor market. The rise in the labor force participation rates of single parents between 1994 and 1998 increased the labor force by 1,111,000. The total increase in the labor force due to changes in participation rates was 1,178,000. Thus, single parents, who accounted for only 6.2 percent of the labor force in 1994, were responsible for almost all of the increase in the overall labor force participation rate between 1994 and 1998. This unanticipated increase in labor supply may be one of the reasons why wage inflation has been so moderate since 1992. The EITC and welfare reform have increased the level of output that is consistent with non-accelerating inflation and may have even shifted the NAIRU, though probably not by much

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF): Characteristics of the Cash Assistance Caseload

[Excerpt] This report examines the TANF cash assistance caseload, focusing on how the composition and characteristics of families receiving assistance have changed over time. It first provides a brief history of cash assistance for needy families with children, discussing how policy became focused on moving the predominately single parents who headed these families from welfare to work. It then traces the changes in the caseload composition since the 1996 welfare reform law, from a caseload dominated by unemployed single parents to a diverse caseload that had different routes to the benefit rolls as well as different circumstances on the rolls. It provides detail on caseload characteristics in FY2010, using data that states are required to report to the federal government. The report is intended to complement tabulations of these data already released by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

PROFIL KARAKTER COURAGE ANAK USIA DINI PADA KONDISI KELUARGA SINGLE PARENTS (Studi Fenomenologis pada Anak dengan Ibu Single Parents dan Ayah Single Parents yang Bercerai)

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui profil karakter courage anak usia dini pada kondisi keluarga single parents dengan latar belakang bercerai. Karakter courage yang dimaksud dalam penelitian ini adalah kekuatan emosional yang melibatkan pelaksanaan kehendak untuk mencapai tujuan dalam menghadapi oposisi, baik itu tantangan eksternal maupun tantangan internal. Karakter courage terdiri dari keberanian, kegigihan, integritas dan vitality yang ada pada anak. Penelitian ini dilakukan melalui studi fenomenologis, dengan melakukan wawancara dan observasi kepada subjek penelitian, yaitu ibu single parents dan ayah single parents. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan di sekolah dan rumah subjek, di Kota Bandung. Melalui analisis grounded theory, penelitian ini mendapatkan hasil bahwa profil karakter courage anak usia dini pada single parents dipengaruhi oleh respon single parents terhadap anak, kontrol single parents terhadap anak, nurturance dari orangtua yang terpisah, dan peran significant other sebagai figur pengasuh pengganti. Permasalahan yang sering ditemui di lapangan adalah, kesulitan dan keterbatasan single parents dalam menjalankan perannya sebagai ayah, dan juga sebagai ibu. Biasanya kesulitan dan keterbatasan single parents akan menghasilkan karakter yang cenderung berlawanan dengan karakter courage, seperti pengecut, tidak percaya diri, kecemasan, kemalasan, menyerah, tidak mau mencoba, berbohong, memaksakan kehendak sendiri kepada orang lain, kurang mampu bersosialisasi, perilaku agresif, depresi, lamban, lesu, dan merasa tak bernyawa. Bagi orang tua single parents diharapkan dapat melakukan pengasuhan yang tepat bagi anak dalam rangka mengembangkan karakter courage pada anak. Selain itu, dibutuhkan penelitian selanjutnya di lapangan untuk mengkaji lebih jauh terkait dengan pembentukan karakter courage anak pada kondisi keluarga single parents. ---------- This study aims to investigate courage character profile of early childhood in family condition of single parents in divorce situation. Courage character means the emotional power which involves the desire implementation of achieving their goals in order to face oppositions, both external and internal challenges. Courage character consists of bravery, persistence, integrity, and vitality in their selves. This study was conducted through phenomenology study by using interview and observation to the subject which were mothers and fathers who take the role as single parent. This study was carried out in the subject school and house, in Bandung. Through the analysis of grounded theory, the results showed that courage character profile of early childhood in single parents are influenced by the response and control of the single parents to their children, the nurturance from the parents who divorce, and the role of significance other as the substitute caregiver figure. The problems which often occurred in the field are the difficulties and limitations of single parents in their role as a father, as well as the mother. Usually, the difficulties and limitations of single parents will produce a character which tend to be contrary to the courage character such as coward, insecure, anxiety, laziness, give up, unwilling to try, lied, impose their own will to others, less able to socialize, aggressive behavior, depression, sluggish, lethargic, and feeling lifeless. Thus, single parents are expected to undertake appropriate care for their children in order to develop the courage character in their children. In addition, further research on this field is needed to assess the study deeply related to the formation of the courage character profile of early childhood in family condition of single parents

Pola Komunikasi Orang Tua Tunggal dalam Membentuk Kemandirian Anak (Kasus di Kota YOGYAKARTA)

Communication is one aspect that can be considered in transforming children\u27s independency. The aims of thisresearch are: (1) examining communication pattern of single parents in transforming children\u27s independency; (2)analyzing the correlation between surroundings and the characteristic of single parents to communication pattern;(3) analyzing the correlation between surroundings and the characteristic of single parents to children\u27sindependency. This research employes qualitative approach and survey method by collecting data throughquestionnaires with 25 single parents who are determined by having legal documents issued by YogyakartaReligious Court, in-depth interview with 10 single parents. Then, data is analyzed descriptively. The results of thisresearch showed that: (1) the interaction and transaction communication pattern played a dominant role intransforming children\u27s independency by internalizing consciousness to be independent and giving children sometraining; (2) there is no correlation between surroundings factor and communication pattern but there is correlationbetween the characteristic of single parents and communication pattern; (3) there is correlation betweensurroundings factor and the characteristic of single parents to children\u27s independency

How has welfare to work reform affected the mental health of single parents in Australia?

Concerns raised about the inadequacy of income support payments in Australia have chiefly centred on the increased poverty experienced by highly vulnerable recipients, such as single parents. This poverty not only increases the risk of social exclusion, but has broader implications for health and wellbeing.This research was funded through a grant - ARC Grant #DP120101887