Gender-Specific Barriers to Self-Sufficiency Among Former Supplemental Security Income Drug Addiction and Alcoholism Beneficiaries: Implications for Welfare-To-Work Programs and Services

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.

KEYWORDS:

• Welfare reform
• Supplemental Security Income
• self-sufficiency
• gender

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.