Indicators of Welfare Dependence: Annual Report to Congress, 2003.

This sixth annual report provides welfare dependence indicators through 2000, reflecting changes since enactment of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act in 1996 and highlighting benefits under Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), now Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF); the Food Stamp program; and Supplement Security Income (SSI). Data from the Current Population Survey and administrative data provide updated measures through 2000 for several dependence indicators. In 2003, 3.0 percent of the total population was dependent (receiving more than half of total family income from TANF, food stamps, and/or SSI). This rate fell considerably from 5.2 percent in 1996. Preliminary data suggest that 2001 dependency rates will remain approximately 3.0 percent. The drop in dependence parallels the drop in AFDC/TANF and food stamp caseloads. In an average month in 2000, 59 percent of TANF recipients lived in families with at least one family member in the labor force. Comparable figures for food stamp and SSI recipients were 56 and 37 percent, respectively. Spells of AFDC/TANF receipt in the second half of the 1990s were shorter than spells of AFDC receipt in the early 1990s. As the dependency rate fell between 1996-2000, the poverty rate for all individuals fell from 13.7 to 11.3 percent. Three appendices present program data, alternative definition of dependence based on income from TANF and food stamps, and additional non-marital birth data. (SM)