Challenges of welfare reform( have at least one child and are requir...),Health

--Substance use and dependence are significant, but exaggerated problems among recipients of public aid.

NHSDA data indicates that 21 percent of welfare recipients have used at least one illegal drug during the prior year. Although 16 percent of recipients report some marijuana use during the year, only about one-tenth report use of any other illegal drugs. Researchers found that academic skill deficits were a greater barrier to self-sufficiency than substance use.

"Substance abuse is a marker for unobserved problems, such as depression or family stress. Harsh policies that move substance users from welfare are insufficient because substance use is only part of the underlying problem. Drug treatment should be one part of a set of services provided by welfare-to-work programs," Pollack said.

--Many welfare recipients suffer from depression and other mental health problems. NHSDA data indicates that 19 percent of welfare recipients met diagnostic criteria for either major depression, general anxiety disorders, agoraphobia or panic attack. The NLSY survey found that 40 percent of long-term recipients were at risk of depression.

--Many welfare recipients are expected to exceed mandated time limits for federally funded cash aid. Currently, states may exempt up to 20 percent of recipients from the five-year limit. In contrast, 38 percent of young NLSY mothers who received welfare exceeded the five-year limit. "The recent decline in welfare caseloads, though encouraging, do not imply that we will have similar success in helping long-term recipients who face greater obstacles to self-sufficiency," Pollack said.

These results suggest that policy-makers should proceed with caution in imposing sanctions against welfare recipients who may be casual users of illicit substances, he said.

This study is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation an
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Contact: Amy Reyes
amelynr@umich.edu
734-647-4411
University of Michigan
1-Nov-1999