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ABSTRACT
This study examines barriers to economic self-sufficiency among a panel of 219 former Supplemental Security Income (SSI) drug addiction and alcoholism (DA&A) recipients following elimination of DA&A as an eligibility category for SSI disability benefits. Study participants were comprehensively surveyed at six measurement points following the policy change. Generalized estimating equations were used to examine full-sample and gender-specific barriers to economic self-sufficiency. Results indicate that access to transportation, age, and time are the strongest predictors of achieving self-sufficiency for both men and women leaving the welfare system. Gender-specific barriers are also identified. Future research needs to assess the generalizability of these results to other public assistance recipients.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
At various stages, project funding has been provided by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (Grants 030792, 031596, 037375, and 038803); San Francisco Community Substance Abuse Services and California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs in coordination with the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment; Social Services Agency, County of Alameda; the University of California, San Francisco, under a task order with the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment; the University of Akron, with funding provided by Westat, Inc., the Curators of the University of Missouri, and the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment; the Graduate Research Training on Alcohol Problems Predoctoral Fellowship at the Alcohol Research Group, Berkeley, CA (NIAAA Grant T32 AA07240); and California State University, Fullerton. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the view of any of the funding agencies.