Mental Health and Employment in TANF Families
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Date
2021-08
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Abstract
One of the main goals of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is to return parents to work, yet parents receiving TANF experience various barriers to employment that are not easily remedied. One of those barriers is an increased incidence of mental health issues. Previous literature has established a strong connection between mental health and employment, but widespread rigorous studies have not yet determined that mental health care can improve employment outcomes. Using data from California’s CalWorks program and multiple regression analysis, this paper demonstrates that for every six individuals from two-parent families referred for mental health services, an additional TANF recipient received a job three, six, nine, and twelve months later. The same results were not demonstrated for non-two-parent families and the TANF population as whole. With this information, states can use their block grant to spend more on mental health to better reach their goal of returning parents to employment.
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TANF, mental health, women, welfare, therapy