Non-parental Child-Only Cases within Temporary Assistance for Needy Families: Using Economic Interventions to Support Informal Kinship Care.

Christopher Larrison
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
School of Social Work
1207 West Oregon Street
Urbana Illinois 61801
USA
Phone: 217-244-5237
FAX: 217-244-5220
Email: larrison@uiuc.edu
 
Steve Anderson
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
School of Social Work
608 South Matthews
Urbana Illinois 61801
USA
Phone: 217-244-5242
FAX: 217-244-5220
Email: larrison@uiuc.edu
 
Purpose:
Child-only cases, which are not subjected to work requirements and time limits, are a growing part of the TANF population.  Within child-only case there are non-parental caregivers who are typically grandparents and are considered vulnerable by policy makers.  The objective of the research was to examine the health, economic and psychological well-being of non-parental child-only cases compared to other families receiving TANF (parental child-only cases and family cases).

Methods:
A longitudinal panel design with a stratified proportionate sample (N = 201) was used. Data were collected at two points of time over an 18-month period.  Health and economic information were collected using a questionnaire.  Psychological well-being was measured by six self-report scales

Results:
A chi-square comparing the presence of health problems among the three groups indicated that adults in non-parental child-only cases have significantly more health problems than adults in the other case types.  ANOVAs were used to compare the three cases on psychological well-being and economic status as measured during the first point of data collection.  Findings show that the adults from non-parental cases tend to have significantly higher levels of self-esteem, perceived control over life’s events, and general life satisfaction.  In terms of economic status, non-parental child-only cases on the average have $569 more monthly income than family cases (M = $888.74, SD = $512.13) and $498 more monthly income than parental child-only cases (M = $987.11, SD = $556.42).  Repeated measures GLM was used to examine monthly income for change during the 18-month period. Findings indicate that income was relatively stable for all groups.

Implications:
The findings indicate that kinship care supported by TANF offers a good intervention method for children displaced by problems within their nuclear family.  However, health concerns among this group raise some serious questions about their ability to provide long-term care.