The Impact Of Single Mothers On Welfare

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In understanding the impact that single mothers who go from welfare to work and back to welfare have on society (Livermore, Powers, Davis, and Lim, 2011), we should first look at the welfare system and the impact welfare to work has on single mothers. We also should consider how financial shifts affects their perception of welfare to work (Moffitt. 2008 p.18). The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act (PRWORA) was set up to do two things; reduce dependency by putting single mothers to work, and to encourage marriage (Moffitt, 2008 p.29). After PRWORA was established in 1996 by the Federal Government (Livermore, Powers, Davis, and Lim, 2011), Single mothers on welfare receive benefits that sustained only a minimal quality of life …show more content…

Also, single mothers who do have the opportunity to finish high school, then college creates barriers. These barriers can include unfamiliar college environment, childcare needs, transportation and affordable housing (Megan and Hartmann, 1997), as a result it appears, single mothers upon completion of these programs find it hard to get jobs that generate enough income to support their family (Purmort, 2010 pp. 15-16 ). Another divergent with the labor force of single mothers this research seems to reveal is the sudden shift from financial incentives to dependent on working earning alone (Moffitt, p.17). Working mothers generate larger budgets and find it more difficult to make ends meet than when they received welfare (Edin and lein p.254).
Single working mother’s perception of work and welfare appears to follow the downward slope of the 2013 Beveridge (Litzenger, Morris, and Dunn, 2015 p.8). This is where matching workers with jobs was not very successful and resulted in a high long term rate of unemployment. The welfare to work cliff effect shows the return to welfare for single mothers and their long term unemployment due to increase in income and decrease in benefits. According to researchers single mother’s economic situations affected their perception of welfare to work when looking at the benefits of both (Edie and Lein, 1997, p

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