Welfare Reform Conflict on Low-Income Single Mothers

An editorial by Carolina Rojas

While a large percentage of single mothers and their children in the El Paso area live in poverty,
it does not have to be that way all the time. Studies show that single mothers in the United States
are the worst off due to the lack of support in policies that offer both economic and social
assistance. According to the U.S. Census American Community Survey. in El Paso about 44.5
percent of all single mothers lived in poverty in 2005. A 2007 El Paso Times article notes that a
big reason for this is lack of higher education, nearly 60 percent of poor women in El Paso did
not have any postsecondary education leading them to low paying jobs. Although many single
mothers do work a significant amount, many of them have jobs that pay poorly and do not have
benefits. Being able to earn a college degree can be the most effective route to a high-paying
career and a path out of poverty for them and their
children. However, policymakers are implementing
strict requirements making it harder for single
mothers to further their education and get a career
that will allow them to better their childrens life.
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act of 1996, also know as the
Welfare Reform changed the way welfare
recipients received benefits. The purpose of this
reform was to eliminate cash assistance and
enforce work requirements. This new policy
created difficulties for single mothers in poverty to
A single mother living in poverty comforting
access and succeed in postsecondary education.
her children.
For single mothers who rely on government
assistance, college classes do not count as work, and for those who would decide to go to
school would lose access to benefits such as childcare vouchers and financial aid making their
transition difficult. Not only is college tuition rising, but single mothers already have many
responsibilities to begin with, and getting stripped away from the benefits and support they relied
on makes it tough for moms to advance and thrive. Low income single mothers either chose to
stay with their low-paying jobs living off welfare or go to college but have a hard time
succeeding and finishing school.
Through the research I have found and analyzed, I believe that a strong solution to decrease the
number of single mothers and their children living in poverty would be to extend work
requirements to four years of postsecondary education. Meaning that welfare programs would
count enrollment in college as work activities and participants would still be allowed to receive
the benefits with no penalties. With this policy change on the strict work requirement, it would
give low-income single mothers the opportunity to go to college and still receive support while
going through the journey of receiving a higher education to obtain a better paying career which
will lead to giving their family a better life in the long run. This would also lead to a path out of
poverty and stop complete reliance on welfare benefits. A 2015 article in The Atlantic showed
that a study of 158-single mothers college students in New York, found that 100 percent of

former welfare recipients who earned four-year degrees stopped relying on public benefit
programs, therefore proving that receiving an education was key to single mothers and their
families getting out of poverty. There are many policy changes and the creation of new policies
that would help and benefit low-income single mothers. This solution is just the start and I
believe that it would make a huge difference. Education is associated with higher earnings which
can potentially help many single mothers living in poverty.

References
Gilot L. (April 8, 2007) Single mothers face added difficulties. El Paso Times. Retrieved from
http://archive.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_5620110/
Freeman, A. (2015, August 18) Single Moms and Welfare Woes: A Higher-Education Dilemma.
The Atlantic. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/08/whysingle-moms-struggle-with-college/401582/
Policy Insights. (2015) Welfare Reform in the States: Where is Higher Education? Retrieved
from http://www.wiche.edu/Policy/PolicyInsights/WelfareReform/background.htm
Delmore, E. (2014, November 4) Single Mother. [online image] Retrieved from
http://www.burlingtongazette.ca/?p=34896