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H

CHQfiflCTERISTICS OF ”CHRONiC” FAMIL‘ES KNOiN
fbthE INGHAM COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIA
WELFARE FOR FIVE YEARS OR MORE

by

Donald David wilder

 

CHARACTERISTICS OF "CHRONIC" FAMILIES KNOWN
TO THE INGRAM COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL
WELFARE FOR FIVE YEARS OR MORE

by
Donald David Wilder

A PROJECT REPORT

Submitted to the School of Social werk
Michigan State University
in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
0

MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK

June 1960

Approved: W W “1““

Chairman, Research Committee

irector o oo

[HESS

LIBR.r-1P Y

Michigan State
University

 

~—___—.—

 

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The writer wishes to extend his appreciation to
the many persons who contributed their time, interest, and
encouragement to this project. Particularly, he would
like to thank Mr. Daryl V. Minnie, the director of the
Ingham County Department of Social Welfare, the workers,
and administrative personnel for their active part in this
study. Also, the writer would like to express his gratitude
to Mr. Morris Gluckin, committee chairman, and mr. Arnold
Gurin who gave thoughtful consideration to the writer's

concerns in focusing the project.

11

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 0 ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 0 iii
LIST OF TABLES o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 0 iv
Chapter
I. INTRODUCTION 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 1
II. METHODOLOGY 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 16
III. FINDINGS o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 31
Sex Of Head Of HousehOld o o o o o o o o o 32
Age 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 36
Education 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 38
Race 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o #0
Occupation o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o #7
Major Illness and Behavior Problems . . . 52
Dependents o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 54
Indebtedness o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 58
The Sex and Employment Status of Head of
Household on October 30, 1959 . . . . . 59
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o o 63
APPENDIX A - CASE SCHEDULE 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o 70
Operational Definitions and Coding In-
StrUCtions o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 72
BIBLIOGRAPHY o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 78

iii

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE Page

1. NUMBER OF YEARS KNOWN TO THE DEPARTMENT OF
328 CASES BY PERCENTAGE . . . . . . . . . . . 18

2. TEN FAMILIES WHO RECEIVED THEIR ASSISTANCE IN
DIFFERENT YEARS WITH THE MONTHS OF ASSISTANCE
PER YEAR 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 22

3. THE RESULTS OF THE INDEX OF DEPENDENCY FORMULA
ON THE TEN FAMILIES PRESENTED IN TABLE 2 . . 26

A. SAMPLE PERCENTAGES IN EACH INDEX CATEGORY . . . 28

5. NUMBER OF YEARS KNOWN OF 328 CASES BY PERCENTAGE
AND DEPENDENCY INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

6. THE SEX OF HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD AT TIME OF INITIAL
ASSISTANCE OF 328 CASES BY INDEX . . . . . o 33

7. THE NUMBER OF YEARS 82 FEMALE ONE-PARENT FAMILIES
WERE KNOWN TO THE DEPARTMENT BY PERCENTAGE AND
DEPENDENCY INDEX RELATED TO 328 CASES . . . . 3h

8. CHARACTERISTICS OF 82 FEMALE ONE-PARENT FAMILIES
BY PERCENTAGE AND DEPENDENCY INDEX . . . . . 36

9. AGE OF 328 CASES BY INDEX . . . . . . . . . o o 37
10. EDUCATION OF 322 CASES BY INDEX . . . . . . . o 39
11. NUMBER OF YEARS KNOWN OF 322 CASES BY EDUCATION 40
12. RACE OF 328 CASES BY INDEX . . . . . . . . . . 41

13. CHARACTERISTICS OF 33 NEGRO FAMILIES BY PER-
CENTAGE COMPARED WITH TOTAL SAMPLE . . . . . 42

1A. OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION OF 2A5 MALES BY _
INDEX 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 48

15. INITIAL REASON OF 328 CASES FOR ASSISTANCE BY
INDEX 0 O C O C O O O O O O O O O O C O O O O 1‘9

iv

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE Page

16. REASON FOR INITIAL ASSISTANCE OF 245 MALES BY
PERCENTAGE AND INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

17. NUMBER OF YEARS KNOWN OF 178 MALES WITH UNEM-
PLOYMENT AS INITIAL REASON BY DEPENDENCY INDEX 50

18. DEPENDENCY OF 101 MALES KNOWN FOR 20 YEARS OR
MORE WITH UNEMPLOYMENT AS INITIAL REASON BY
ILLNESS AND BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS IN PERCENTAGE . 51
19. MAJOR ILLNESS OF 2h5 MALES BY INDEX . . . . . . 53
20. BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS OF 2A5 MALES BY INDEX . . . . 53
21. DEPENDENTS OF 328 CASES BY INDEX . . . . . . . . 55

22. NUMBER OF YEARS KNOWN TO THE DEPARTMENT OF 328
CASES BY DEPENDENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

23. THE TOTAL NUMBER OF CHILDREN WITHIN A FAMILY OF
328 CASES BY INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

24. INDEBTEDNESS OF 328 CASES BY INDEX . . . . . . o 59

25. THE SEX OF HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD OF 328 CASES AT TIME
OF INITIAL ASSISTANCE AND ON OCTOBER 30, 1959
BY INDEX 0 O O O O O C O O O O O O C O O O O O

26. ILLNESS AND BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS OF MALES OF 102
TWO-PARENT FAMILIES TOGETHER AT TIME OF INITIAL
ASSISTANCE AND ON OCTOBER 30, 1959 BY DEPENDENCY
IN PERCENTAGE O O O O O O O O O O O O I O O O 61

27. EMPLOYMENT STATUS OF 175 MALES ON OCTOBER 30,
1959 BY DEPENDENCY INDEX 0 O O O O O O O O O O 62

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

Families who have found it difficult to be self-
sufficient have evidently been a problem fOr many years.
Initially, families receiving assistance were perceived as
having personal family faults and also as lacking in moti-
vation. Befbre the depression of the 1930's personnel en-
gaged in public and private agencies began believing that
there were other factors that caused dependency. The de-
pression verified their thinking and the fecus shifted to
environmental and economic reasons as causing dependency.
The Social Security Act adopted in August 1935 was created
to alleviate future family financial problems. After unem-
ployment decreased, many families were still relying on
public assistance as a means of existence. The theory of
cause of dependency once again shifted to the person who
was receiving assistance and away from environmental fac-
tors. Frequently the term "chronicity" is now used to‘de-
note these families who continually rely on public assist-
ance when related factors are quite favorable.

The problem of chronicity within welfare departments

is not a local problem. The welfare dilemma is widespread

-1-

-2-

in the United States with many programs, especially Aid to
Dependent Children, beginning to show signs of abuse.1 One
of the purposes of the Social Security Act with frequent
amendments was to aid the needy and afflicted.2 There are
still many inadequacies in welfare services. The services
which are most needed either to prevent dependency and

family breakdown, or to rehabilitate are, in many communities,
in their infancy.

Some communities have recognized the problem of
chronicity and have attempted to meet it. Other communities
have recognized the problem but lack the support and in-
terest necessary to carry out the projects. One community
concerned about chronicity was St. Paul, Minnesota result-
ing in the study conducted by Bradley Buell and Associates3
which viewed the problems and services of the community.
Other agencies are using social workers to seek out the
families who are in need of service but unable or unwilling

to come to an agency for help.“ Nevertheless a project

 

1The Wall Street Journal, June 9, 1959.

21. S. Falk, "Public welfare Today and Tomorrow,"
Social Work, Vol. 1, No. 1 (January 1956), pp. 27-33.

3Bradley Buell and Associates, Communit Plannin
for Human Services (New York: Columbia UnIversity Press,
I952).

“Welter Haas, "Reaching Out-~A Dynamic Concept in
Cisiwork," Social WOrk, Vol. A, No. 3 (July 1959), pp.
A - 5-

-3-
conducted by the New York City Ybuth Board5 to this purpose
experienced initial resistance and lack of interest on the
part of social agencies. This lack of willingness on the
part of some communities to accept change only extends and
prolongs the well developed patterns of dependent families.
It would seem that Chronicity is a problem not only
to welfare recipients but also to the community. The,
approach by various welfare departments to the problem of
helping these families varies considerably. The article by
.Mr. Schorr6 attempted to describe certain major problems in
ADC which seemed to be interrelated. There seems to be an
implication in the fOur problem areas that there is confusion
on the part of welfare recipients as well as welfare de-
partments. Chronicity is one of the major concerns of the
public agencies, but they are also concerned with misuse of
funds by welfare recipients, population growth causing an
increase in clientele, and a growing disinclination on the

public's part to question welfare policies.7 The complacency

 

5Kermit T. Wiltse, "The Hopeless Family," So ial
WOrk, Vol. 3, No. A, (October, 195 ), p. 12, quoting SyIvan

S. Furman, Reachi the U eached (New York: New YOrk City
Youth Board, I952i.

6Alvin L. Schorr, "Problems in the ADC Program,"
Social Work, Vol. 5, No. 2, (April 1960), pp. 3-15.

7The wall Street Journal, June 10, 1959.

-4-
of public attitudes toward Chronicity will have to change
before communities and their welfare departments will be
able to effect change in the chronic family.

Now that it has been indicated that one of the major
concerns of the welfare department is the long-term depend-
ent family, it would be well to turn to the discussion of
this group. Those persons who continually receive public
assistance have always aroused interest as well as created
heated differences of opinions. Since there are many
families receiving assistance, it is to be expected that
there would be many different types of families. There are
a variety of terms used to characterize these dependent wel-
fare families. Such terms are, fer example, "chronic”, a
family that continually receives assistance through the
years; "hopeless", a family that has difficulty in becoming
involved in a casework relationship that has substance and
holds potential fer movement;8 "multiproblemfl, a family
with social and emotional distress of varying kinds; "hard
to reach", a family beset by many problems and that seems

unable or unwilling to handle them;9 "very dependent", a

 

8Kermit T. Wiltse, "The Ho less Family,” Social
Work, Vol. 3, No. A, (October 1958 , pp. 12-22.

9Helen W. Hallinan, "Co-ordinating Agency Efforts
in Behalf of the Hard-to-Reach Family," Social Casework,
Vol. XL, No. 1 (January 1959), p. 9.

-5-

family who relies upon public assistance fer their existence;
and "hardcore", a family who is extremely difficult to reach
and necessitates skillful handling by the worker. These

are a few of the terms which are commonly used to depict the
long-term welfare client. As is usually the case in dealing
with persons, the terms are interchangeable and more than
one can be applied to a single family. Therefore, the
families referred to in the study can be either one or a
combination of these terms or possibly cannot be categorized
at all.

In the preceding paragraph types of welfare families
were briefly defined. Now the question can be asked, “What
are the factors involved in causing these families to be-
come dependent?" As was stated previously categorization
involving individuals cannot be completely accurate, but far
convenience, simplicity, and practicality, terms will again
be applied. Two very general nomenclatures involving pre-
cipitating factors could be "internal" and "external". The
internal elements could include those families that are
damaged enough psychologically to cripple their work habits,
but are not disturbed enough to be committed to an insti-
tution. It was found in the study conducted by the New
YOrk City Youth Boardlo that the multiproblem family had

 

lolbid. . 9 quoting A 3 ud 9: Some of he Char-
te ; s of M_tio ob 6 2.9.35 :: ‘ew or: ew
'or, ity Yout =oaro, '5 .

-6-

more than its share of emotional problems and retardation.
It may also refer to those social problems such as divorce,
desertion, and separation which may be the end result of
prior psychological disturbances. If the wage earner be-
comes absent in these families, it is likely that they will
become dependent on public assistance. The external com-
ponent could refer in the main to the marginal income group.
What are the reasons fer a family coming within this classi-
fication? Some of the reasons may be that the wage earner
has a limited education, limited work skill, and/or is able
to obtain only common labor. Also these families may not
be able to save or prepare fer unemployment, and, therefbre,
they tend to lose their self-supporting status very quickly
when earnings are reduced. Because these families are in
the marginal income group and lose their self-supporting
status frequently, the impact on the children receiving
assistance would seem to cause a degree of conflict regard-
ing their training for future employment. It would appear
that children in families receiving assistance would drap-
out of school for economic reasons.11 Periods of unemploy-

ment may keep recurring because of the head of the family

11Eleanor M. Snyder, Public Assistance Reci ients in
New York StateI January-Februa§§ I252 (New York: Inter-
epartmenta ommittee on w' ncomes, 1958), p. 48.

 

-7-
being employed in low wage positions with industry. There-
fbre, it would seem to be indicated that an intermittent
need fer assistance might come about whenever seasonal lay-
offs, dismissals, cut backs in working force, or illnesses
reduce the earnings of the wage earner. Consequently, it
would seem to be that the marginal families tend to make up
a large proportiOn of the assistance recipients. Some of
these questions come within the focus of the study and will
be discussed at that time. Now that the types of families
and their types of problems have been touched upon, the
county agency which comes into daily contact with these
families will be discussed.

The figure on the next page shows the structure of
the Ingham County Department of Social welfare (it will be
referred to, subsequently, as the Department). The per-
sonnel can be placed into two classes: (1) administrative,
and (2) casework. The administrative positions would include
the director, typists, receptionist, file clerk, et al. The
casework staff includes the casework supervisor, intake
workers, and caseworkers.. These are the persons involved
with assistance.

There are three main assistance programs administered
by the Department. They are: (1) General Assistance, (2)
Adultliospitalization, and (3) County Hospital. Each pro-
gram will be discussed briefly in the following paragraphs.

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-9-

Cenera1.Assistance is usually issued to the family
in the form of "help in kind". That is, the type of assist-
ance the family needs is placed on an order which is
taken to a vendor by the client. Such things as foOd, cloth-
ing, fuel, and medical needs are placed on the order. In
a few instances cash relief is given to a family. This
latter farm of assistance would exist in unusual circum-
stances. Thus, an older person unable to work, not eligible
for Old Age Assistance, and capable of handling cash or a
handicapped person, also unable to work, ineligible for
Aid to the Disabled, and capable of handling cash would be
two examples of such circumstances.

The Adult Hospitalization program is payment of
hospitalization of persons twenty-one years of age or over
who can establish their eligibility for assistance. This
program is handled by the intake worker and casework super-
visor. Persons under twenty-one receive help through the
Michigan Crippled Children's Commission, and, therefore,
are not part of this program.

The<33untyliospital program is carried out through
the use of the Ingham County Convalescent Hospital in
Okemos. The hospital not only maintains a complete medical
staff but occupational therapy, physical therapy, rehabil-
itation facilities and staff. The main purpose of the
hospital is to take care of the indigent aged persons.

-10-

Another important though not a major agency program
is wage relief. wage relief is an attempt to have the
male wage earner repay the Department for help the family
receives, by working in various capacities for the Depart-
ment. Male employables are assigned to the program by
their caseworker. The actual assignment of work to the
clients is done by persons other than caseworkers. The
clients work in the parks,.Chest Hospital, County Home, cut
wood for relief families, et cetera. Three days per week
on wage relief is generally the maximum with one day as
the minimum. They work an eight hour day. .Male employables
are required to work the assigned days per week to qualify
for their family assistance.

The dilemmas of welfare departments are numerous.
How to help the welfare recipients to become self-dependent
is their main concern. This is not a localized problem,
but a problem that is present in most states. many indi-
vidual welfare departments have taken it upon themselves
to try and remedy the situation. Two examples will be used
to illustrate what welfare agencies have done in trying to
correct the situation.

One such instance was the Narin County12 project

 

12California Department of Social welfare, A Study

of Ma in Count California: Buildin Serv c 3 into a
PEEIIC AssIstance )ro ram an a .

 

-11-
which employed professional staff, reduced caseloads, and
gave intensive casework which involved handling the prac-
tical aspects of daily living. The results were very favor-
able in that total costs were reduced, troubled people were
helped to find more constructive ways of living, and the
total number of welfare recipients receiving assistance from
the agency were reduced.

Another example of what welfare departments are
doing to combat Chronicity is the Richmond, Virginia13 pro-
ject which has been underway since August 15, 1956. This
welfare department used a selected staff of four caseworkers
and a supervisor, and reduced the caseloads tOufifty. The re-
sults were very impressive. Not only did the rate of clos-
ings double but there was a better use of community resources
by the selected workers, the community was more responsive
when given a better understanding of the program, and many
families were helped to secure better health care, vocational
counseling and increased income.

Welfare departments have been and will always be
confronted with these problems of long-term dependent
families unless they are willing to try new methods. Other

 

13American Public Welfare Association The Count
De artment of Welfare A Service A enc (1958), p. II, quot-
ing IIIe itimac in Richfiond Vir Inia 1 10-1 (Richmond,
gérginia: Department 0 c We fare, C ty 0 Richmond,
57 .

-12-
agencies have tried various methods and have found very
satisfying results. Although these two studies were not
pertinent to the purposes of this study, they were included
and need some consideration to offer some of the background
in which this agency also finds itself.

The writer's interest in making the study came
through employment in the Department which included working
‘with these dependent families. A need seemed to be indi-
cated for finding information on these families. The records
used fer the study date back to 1932. (Many'workers have
been involved with the families and have inserted infbrma-
tion about their contacts in the records. The case material
is generally of a factual nature limited to the assistance
granted to the family. Some workers include personal
Opinions but to no great degree. The file room at the De-
partment houses the records. A means was needed fer ex-
tracting the material. Many records were voluminous making
a schedule imperative. A schedule was devised in which to
get the information (see Appendix A). The schedule was
pre-tested using randomly selected records with many changes
occurring before the final schedule was selected for use
on the sample. A means was needed to transfer the informa-
tion after extracting it from the records. Separate cards
were used for each case, A" x 6" size, because of the amount
of information that was to be obtained.

The writer's objective in making the study was to

-13-
find more information on families classified as dependent
welfare recipients. A "chronic" family is the term commonly
used to identify these families. The study was trying to
determine whether the very dependent families were signifi-
cantly different in their characteristics from the not very
dependent families. All welfare families that are identi-
fied as "chronic" do not necessarily come within the classi-
fication. The term has come to be used very loosely when
discussing welfare families.

There are many different degrees of Chronicity of
the families that have received assistance from the welfare
department. A family could be known to the agency for
twenty years, but the family may have received only a few
months of assistance during that time. This family cannot
be considered a chronic or very dependent family. Another
family known forthe same length of time may have continu-
ously received assistance for the entire period. This
family could be referred to as a chronic welfare family.
Then there are the families that would come somewhere in
the middle of the two examples. The same situations would
exist for families known for a lesser number of years than
the two examples just mentioned. All of the families are
referred to and considered chronic recipients of assistance
whether they are or are not chronic families. As can be
seen by the examples, all welfare families are not "chronic".

The different degrees of Chronicity were expected

-1A-
to evidence different characteristics which would distinguish
one group from the other. The different characteristics
for the various levels of Chronicity would separate the
groups indicating the characteristics which create long-term
dependency. If such characteristics evolved that would
identify the very dependent families, it would establish a
means of predicting a family's dependency prior to the
family's well-developed welfare pattern.

One such attempt to identify the potential chronic
at intake was the study done in Ramsey County, St. Paul,
Minnesota.14 The study found that there were nine attributes
at the time of intake that would characterize those cases
that would subsequently become chronic. They were:

1. The case head was fOrty years of age or over.

2. The case head was unskilled and not in the labor
force (neither employed nor seeking work).

3. The case head had an eighth grade education or
see.

A. The case was granted its first assistance during
the milder season of the year, between May 1 and
November 30.

5. The case had indebtedness of $50 or less.

6. The case had lived in Ramsey County less than
three years.

 

1“Ethel Harrison, Identifying the Potentiallfi Chronic
Case at Intake (St. Paul, Minnesota: apartment 0 esearc

and StatIstics, Amherst H. Wilder FOundation, 1955), p. 21.

-15-

7. The case had previously been registered by an
assistance agency (outside Ramsey County).

8. The classification of marital status of the case-
head fell in the following categories: single,
married with both caseheads in the home, widowed,
or divorced.

9. The case had a housing problem. .

Therefore, because of increased ability to identify the
potential chronic at intake, an increase in casework could
be administered when the family first received assistance
to help the family become and remain self-dependent.

Although the agency settings were the same, the rel-

evance of these attributes to the writer's study was mini-
mal because of different environmental factors, the use of
different periods of years, a different number of cases, a
different method for including cases in the study, and
different characteristics. On the other hand both studies

were similar in attempting to learn more about the families

known as "chronic" or "very dependent".

CHAPTER II
METHODOLOGY

Since there had been some 28,000 families that had
received assistance since 1932, a method was needed for
selecting cases that were presently active with the Depart-
ment and had become very dependent on welfare. Through
conferences with the director and caseworkers five years
was selected as the minimum number of years a family could
be known to the Department and also to have established a
very dependent pattern. It was felt that a family known to
the agency for five years or more implied dependency. These
families were unable to remain self-dependent because of
social or emotional factors or both. Therefore, the study
was concerned with the characteristics of families active
on October 30, 1959 (this date is significant in that the
cases were obtained on this day), and were known to the
Department for five years or more.

It was found upon examination of the files that
the number of cases active on October 30, 1959 and known to
the Department for five years or more was 353. It was also
discovered while reading the records that seven cases were

not usable in the study because of insufficient family

-16-

-17-
information, and, therefOre, had to be deleted from the
total sample. After reading the records eighteen more cases
were omitted because these families received one of the feur
state categorical assistances prior to receiving their initial
assistance from the Department. The eighteen cases had be-
gun a dependency pattern before applying to the agency for
aid. The total number of cases used for the study was 328.
The study sample made up 33% of all active (active refers
to any case that received monetary assistance for that month
from the Department) cases for the month of October 1959.
The study title was also changed as follows: the study was
concerned with the characteristics of families active on
October 30, 1959 who received their initial assistance from
and were known to the Ingham County Department of Social
Welfare for five years or more.

As was stated previously the study covered a
twenty-eight year period. The length of time a family was
known to the agency was expected to be a sufficient criterion
for determining a family's dependency. The total number of
years a family was known to the Department was arrived at
by counting the first year of initial assistance as one through
1959 inclusively. The maximum and minimum number of years
a family could be known to the welfare department was twenty-
eight and six years respectively. Table 1 shows the per

cent of the sample in each "number of years known to the

Department" category.

-13-

TABLE 1

NUMBER OF YEARS KNOWN TO THE DEPARTMENT
OF 328 CASES BY PERCENTAGE

r

 

 

Number of Years Percentage
Known of Sample
6-9 0 O O O O O O O O O 2 5
10-19 0 e e e e e e e e 29

20+eeeeeeeeee 9:6
TOtaleeeeeeeeeee 100

 

According to the table the largest percentage of
the sample had been known to the agency for twenty years
or more, but it was also known from former experience that
many of the families had not been receiving assistance for
the entire length of time. A method had to be developed
which would show how much assistance a family had received
during the period known to the Department.

There were two ways that could reveal the period
of time in which assistance was received by a family. First,
through a form which is attached to the record stating when
the case was Opened and when it was closed. Second, from
the financial cards which were located in the accounting
department which shows how much assistance was issued to
the family, the period of time the assistance was issued,

and the type of service received by the family. The first

-19-
method was discarded because of a greater amount of error
being involved in determining the periods when the family
was receiving assistance. Also the absence of these forms
from the records tended to imply more dependency than was
actually the case. The second method was, therefore, used
to secure the total number of months a family was active.
The period of time during which assistance was issued to the
family was the only information taken from the financial
cards.

There is no set pattern that indicates when a
family begins or discontinues assistance. Therefore, the
financial cards would indicate various dates when the
family received their first assistance as well as its dis-
continuance. Some objective criteria were needed to de-
termine whether a given month was or was not to be counted.
One criterion was used, namely, the fifteenth of the month.
If assistance was issued fer a period of time through the
fifteenth of the month then the month was not included in
the total. If assistance was issued through the sixteenth
or more of a month, then the month was included in the
total. The process was reversed in determining whether or
not to add the month when the case was opened for assistance.
For instance, a family that received assistance prior to
the fifteenth of the month, the month was included in the
study. If assistance was begun on the fifteenth or after

of a month the month was not included. Also any case that

-20-
was "opened and closed" within a given month was counted as
one full month of assistance or "opened and closed" any
number of times within a given month was counted as one full
month of assistance.

The Department has other monetary obligations to
the families who have legal settlement in Ingham County.
The Department reimburses other counties who issue assistance
to Ingham County residents in their counties. The agency
3 also supplements families receiving categorical assistance
if the state budget does not cover the family's needs.
Therefbre, it was felt that any out-county assistance re-
ceived by the family was important in determining to what
extent a family was dependent on public assistance, and
any state aid received was equally important in determining
dependence. The out-county assistance issued to a family
was found in the case record. The same type of form was
used for keeping the out-county assistance months separate
as was used when extracting the months from the financial
cards. The categorical assistance issued to a family was
found either in the Department records or the Bureau of
Social Aid card files. 'The categorical assistance informa-
tion was recorded on the back of each family's card. The
tota1.number of months a family received assistance included
the Department assistance, out-county aid, and any assistance
received from the Bureau of Social Aid.

It has already been mentioned that the purpose for

-21-
getting the total number of months a family received assist-
ance was to determine to what extent a family was dependent
on welfare. After computing the total number of months of
welfare assistance, out-county aid, and categorical assistance
received by the family, observation of the figures suffi-
chmmly explained that the length of time a family was known

to the agency was not an effective means of determining a
family's dependence. Fer illustrative purposes only, ten
actual cases are pictured in Table 2 to show such results.

The months of assistance per year are the only actual
material taken from.the master farm. All other identifying
material is hypothetical.

As Table 2 shows the ten families received their
initial assistance from the agency in different years. There
are two important factors in discussing the table. These
are: (1) the number of years known to the agency, and (2)
the number of months of assistance received by each family.

Comparison of Family C and Family J shows the number
of years known to the agency is approximately the same.

The fact that Family J received only a few months of assist-
ance indicates that the years of assistance alone is not
sufficient to define Chronicity.

Comparison of Family H and Family C shows that
Family C was known many years to the agency and received
many months of assistance while Family A was known only

a few years to the agency and received many months of

-22-

 

 

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mN oH N o m H H m NHHaoN
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NHH m H NH NH NH NH NH NH NH NH NH 4 a AHHane
om a HH N NH NH a N aHEN..-
NN 0H s NH H H n AHHanm
HNN 0H NH NH NH NH NH NH 0H NH NH NH NH NH NH NH NH NH NH NH N o NHHane
m _N H m AHHsoN
mo 0H NH NH NH NH HH < NHHenm

mofiflfinfimmdw 6 09 L 0/ C- h! (.- 3 .L O 6 09 I“ 9 C. (e 70 T- 0 6

noHe: nH
amp-Ho: Hopes muse»

 

 

53g mam moaemHmma. ho mmBzoz was
webs mm<mw BZEEEHQ 2H mofiemHmms. mHmmB nmSHmHomm OE» mmsgm zme

N mama-.9

-23-

assistance. Thus,both are apparently chronic though on the
basis of months alone Family A has many fewer months than
Family H.

Therefore, neither months nor years alone is ade-
quate to serve as a measure of Chronicity. Another method
is needed in determining how dependent a family is upon
welfare. It is necessary to develop an Index of Dependency.

Before going into the writer's Index of Dependency,
an explanation should be brought forth why the Harrison
formula was not used in this study.1 The Harrison Study
found defining Chronicity as the initial problem of the
study. A formula was needed to distinguish the chronic
from the non-Chronic case. Chronicity was measured in the
variation of continued receipt of public assistance in terms
of time. Four factors were used: (1) duration, (2) inci-
dence, (3) intensity, and (A) increasing versus decreasing
intensity. A mathematical formula was formulated whereby
variation in each of the four factors could be measured con-
sistently from case to case. Each case was given a "C" score
with the scores ranging from 0.1 to 100.0. Any score that
was over 10.0 was classified as chronic. All General Assis-

tance cases new to the agency in 19A6 and were ”at risk"

 

1Ethel Harrison, Identifying the Potentiall Chronic
Case at Intake (St. Paul, Minnesota: Department of Researéh
agd itatistics, Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, 1955), pp.
A -5 .

-2h-
till 195A when the data were gathered were used for the
study. This involved 120 cases which met the risk test.

The condition of being "at risk" was defined to mean that
the case continued to exist as a unit outside of an insti-
tution which would preclude granting public assistance. For
one person cases, death or institutionalization terminated
or interrupted risk. For family cases, even though death

or institutionalization occurred in the family, if a family
unit continued to exist and was potentially eligible for
public assistance, the case remained at risk. If a case
left Ramsey County, and its whereabouts and receipt of
public assistance during the balance of the study period
could not be determined, it was classified as "risk unknown"
and eliminated from the study. If a family was completely
broken up as a unit, parents separated and children placed
in institutions or foster homes, risk was thereby considered
to be terminated.

The Harrison formula was constructed to use the
four previously mentioned factors. The formula was related
to the cases but were "at risk" for the eight year period
to determine a family's "C" score. The 328 cases in the
'writer's study contained many families that would be con-
sidered not at risk and were not known to the agency for
the same number of years, therefore, the formula could not
be used for the study. An Index was indicated to determine

a family's dependency. Discussion of the process involved

 

-25-
lin the develOpment of the Index of Dependency follows.

Now that it has been established that an Index of
Dependency is needed, a formula has to be devised which
will produce an accurate picture of each family's dependency.
There were three factors that seemed important which needed
to be viewed and the importance of each determined. These
were: (1) the number of years a family was known to the
Department, (2) the number of years in which assistance was
granted to each family, and (3) the total number of months
in which assistance was received by each family.

The three factors were tried in various combina-
tions in order to produce an accurate Index of Dependency
for each family. Each factor alone would not produce the
needed results because of the number of cases in the sample
which included so many variations. The first and third
factors were finally used to determine the dependency of
each case. The first factor, the number of years a family
was known to the Department, was changed into months by
taking the number of years times twelve. The formula that

was used for the study in determining dependency was:

no. of months in which assistance was granted

Index of . to each family
Dependency possi e no. 0 months eac ami y co ave

received assistance

A dependency score was given to each case. The

ten families presented in Table 2 will be used in Table 3 to

-26..

illustrate the results of the Index of Dependency formula.

TABLE 3
THE RESULTS OF THE INDEX OF DEPENDENCY FORMULA

ON THE TEN FAMILIES PRESENTED IN TABLE 2

 

 

Actual Number of

Possible Number

 

Months of of’Months Dependency

Name Assistance of Assistance Index
Family A 69 72 .96
Family B 3 96 .03
Family C 231 252 .92
Family D 28 . 120 .23
Family E 50 132 .38
Family F 118 192 .61
Family C 120 156 .76
Family H 25 168 .15
Family I 75 180 .A2
Family J 27 228 .12

 

The ten families presented in Table 3 received

their initial assistance in different years.

By using the

Index of Dependency Family A indicated the greatest degree

of dependency with Family B indicating the least degree of

dependency.

A number of reasons could account for such

variations in the Index of the ten families used for the

illustration.

These reasons caused the families to either

receive continuous assistance with only short periods of

 

-27-
being self-dependent, intermittent assistance, or temporary'as-
sistance. A few of the reasons will be mentioned at this time.

Some of the reasons for such differences in the
amount of assistance received by each family could have been
the loss of the wage earner through death, divorce, deser-
tion, or separation with continuous assistance being im-
perative: periodic unemployment of wage earner with the
family receiving assistance intermittently; and temporary
major or minor illness, brief period of institutionalization,
or temporary incarceration with the family receiving assist-
ance only temporarily. These stated reasons are not
mutually exclusive, thus,making it impossible to assign
any one of them as a cause of a particular family becoming
dependent. There was no attempt to categorize the initial
reasons for assistance in relation to the length of time a
family would receive assistance because of the overlapping,
involvement of other variables, and the variation of reasons
that brought a family to the Department at different times.
The reasons were taken into consideration in relation to
other family characteristics in determining a family's de-
pendency.

It was explained previously and illustrated in
Table 3 how-a family received a particular Index (hereafter,
the term Index will be used to refer to the Index of De-
pendency). The sample Indexes were arranged in numerical

order. Four categories were composed in which to place

-28-

TABLE A
SAMPLE PERCENTAGES IN EACH INDEX CATEGORY

AA A-

 

Index of Dependency Percentages
in of
Percentages Sample

 

0'19 0 e e e e e e e e e e e 25
20-39 e e e e e e e e e e e e 25
[to-'69 e e e e e e e e e e e e 27

70+ 0 O O O O O O O O O O 22 V
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

 

each of the sample's Indexes. Table A indicates the four
categories that were created and the percentage of the sample
in each category.

Now that the Index was fermulated and was going
to be used in the study, a method was needed for applying
it to the characteristics to determine whether or not the
characteristics had significance. The median was felt to
be the best way of relating the Index to a characteristic.

There were two reasons that seemed to validate the
use of the median. These were: (1) the simplicity of re-
lating the median to scores in a table, and (2) large or
small Index scores would not affect the meaning of a char-
acteristic when using the median. The Characteristic In-

dexes would be related to the total sample median which was

-29-
.39 to determine significance.

The simplicity in using the median would be that
one score could be used in a table which would identify the
group as being very dependent, evenly distributed, or not
very dependent. To illustrate the median, ninety-nine
families born in the South will be used for explanatory
purposes only. Each family has an Index number. After
arranging the family cards in an array from the lowest to
the highest Index, it would be essential to count to the
fiftieth card because of it being the mid-point of the ninety-
nine family cards. If the Index on the fiftieth card was
.8h this would indicate many very dependent families with
this characteristic. The one score of .8h would be inserted
in the table next to the characteristic of families born
in the South. This Index would be related to the total
sample median in determining significance.

Also, since the median cannot be affected by large
or small scores, this was another reason for using it as
the method of presentation. By using the median as the
method for indicating a characteristic's significance, each
family's Index number could be counted as only one unit in-
stead of using the value of the Index. Therefore, one or
two extremely large or small scores could not skew the.
characteristic's significance by numerical values alone.
Each family Index would have equal value in determining in

which direction, high or low Dependency Index, the

-30-

characteristic's Index would move.

CHAPTER III
FINDINGS

The study began with the conception of multiple
patterns of characteristics evolving which would distinguish
the extremely dependent families from the casual welfare
families. Characteristics generally associated with de-
pendent families are low education, large families, illness,
behavior problems, and lack of settlement. These char-
acteristics were felt to be important factors in determining
a family's dependency. The characteristics were compared
with the Index to determine the significance of each char-
acteristic.

An important factor in determining to what extent
a family relied upon assistance was dependency. Since a
family known the longest to the agency was not always the
most dependent, the Index was devised to indicate a family's
dependency. Table 5 will illustrate the percentage of
cases and dependency Index of the three periods.

The table indicates that the longer the families
were known to the Department, the less dependent the
families were on assistance as a means of maintaining their

families. A comparison of group characteristics in Table 5

-31-

-32-

TABLE 5

NUMBER OF YEARS KNOWN OF 328 CASES BY PERCENTAGE
AND DEPENDENCY INDEX

Percentage of Cases

Dependency Index

 

 

Number of

Years Known Under .hO .h0+ Total
6-9 . . . . . . . 24 76 100

10-19 . . . . . . 53 #7 100

20+ooooooo 61+ 36 100

 

which indicated significant percentages will not be gone

into at this time. They will be analyzed under the appro-
priate sections which seem to indicate further exploration
of the family characteristics in relation to the number of

years they were known to the welfare department.
Sex of Head of Household

The welfare department issues assistance to families
' with both parents present as well as with only one-parent
present. With both parents present when applying for wel-
fare, unemployment can be assumed as the precipitating
factor for the majority of the families applying fer assist-
ance. When a one-parent family applies for welfare, the

loss of the wage earner can be assumed as the primary cause

-33-
for the family to make application at the Department. Table
6 shows the percentages of the head of household for the

sample and their respective Indexes.

TABLE 6

THE SEX OF HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD AT TIME OF
INITIAL ASSISTANCE OF 328 CASES BY INDEX

 

 

 

Head of Household Percentage Index
M319 0 o o o o o o 12 035
Female 0 o o o o o 25 o 55
Both Parents Present 63 .3h
TOtal :- o o o o o 100

The female group presented a very high Index. Many
of the one-parent families receive temporary assistance from
the agency because of the loss of the wage earner. There
are various reasons why this is true: (1) death, (2) sepa-
ration, (3) divorce, and (A) desertion. After the families
receive temporary aid from the welfare department, they may
be eligible for state categorical assistance such as Aid to
Dependent Children. Since one-fourth of the sample had
only the female parent present and indicated a high Index,
further exploration was attempted to look for various rea-
sOns why the families would be very dependent other than not

having a male parent in the home.

-34-
The study covered twenty-eight years. It was con-
sidered that the years the families received assistance might
be indicative of societal changes. Table 7 shows the per-
centages of the female sample and dependency of the three

periods related to the total sample.

TABLE 7

THE NUMBER OF YEARS 82 FEMALE ONE-PARENT FAMILIES WERE KNOWN
TO THE DEPARTMENT BY.PERCENTAG§ AND DEPENDENCY INDEX RELATED
TO 32 C SES

 

 

Percentage of Cases Percentage

 

 

 

 

of 82 Percentage
Dependency Index Female One- of
Number of Parent 328
Years Known Under .LO .AO+ Families Cases
6‘9 0 o o 32 57 51 25
10-19 . . 50 28 31 29
20+ . . . 18 15 18 L6
Total . . . 100 100 100 100

 

The number of females who were heads of households,
recently receiving assistance, increased almost three times
over that of the families receiving public assistance in
the 1930's. The newer families have a higher percentage of
the very dependent group. Some reasons for the difference
might be an increase in family disorders, social disorgani-

zation, increase in pathology, or the agencies' acceptance of

-35-

non-paternal support. As Mr. Schorr indicates,1 the in-
surance programs have become increasingly effective in
meeting the needs of the better organized families.

There is a grouping of characteristics generally
associated with the female one-parent family. These are
that they are young women applying for assistance, who have
many children in the family, and who eventually receive
state aid. They are associated with these families because
they are considered related to a family's dependency. Table
8 illustrates the results of the three characteristics men-
tioned.

The very dependent families met two of the three
characteristics which are often associated with dependency
upon a welfare department. There were more older women
with many children in the very dependent group who eventu-
ally received state aid. It would seem that the older women
would find it more difficult than the younger ones to ob-
tain employment because of their age. The mothers with
many children would find it harder to work outside the home
because of the responsibility of having to care fer children
without a male parent present. The mothers in the very

dependent group eventually received categorical assistance

 

1
Alvin L. Schorr, "Problems in the ADC Program,"

Social Work, Vol. 5, No. 2 (April 1960), p. 5.

-36-
TABLE 8

CHARACTERISTICS OF 82 FEMALE ONE-PARENT FAMILIES BY
PERCENTAGE AND DEPENDENCY INDEX

 

 

Percentage of Cases

 

 

 

 

Characteristics Dependency Index
Under .40 .AO+

Age
Under29............ 69 LC
30-hhooooooooooooo 22 31
“5-600000000900000 9 21
61+...OOOOOOOOOOO O 8
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 100

 

Number of Children

 

 

 

Less than A} o o o o o o 510» 43
if" 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o o 0 \L6 57

Total 100 100

Categorical Assistance

ADC o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 14.6 56
0AA o o o o o o o o o o o o o o O 10
AB 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o l; O
AD 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o O 1
None 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o o 50 31

TOtal o o o o o o o o o o o o 100 100

 

which seems to be where they remain, with the state assuming

the role of wage earner.

Age

The expectation prior to the study was that a large

-37-
percentage of the sample would come within the older age
groups. It was assumed that older persons would have to be
assisted by the Department over a longer period of time.
Illnesses and handicaps, thus, would tend to be important
factors in an older person's dependency. Younger persons
were expected to be in the minority because of their ability
to maintain self-dependency after the receipt of temporary
aid.

There was a positive relationship between the age
groups and the Index indicating that the older they were when
they became active with the Department, the more dependent

they would be on assistance.

TABLE 9
AGE OF 328 CASES BY INDEX

__—

 

 

 

Age Percentage Index
Under 29 . . . 38 .3h
BO-LA . . . . A2 .38
A5-6O . . . . 16 .55
61+ . . . . . A _ .87
Total . . . . 100

 

The significant section of this table is the Index

rather than the percentage of the sample. The age group

-33-
medians deviated only slightly from the sample median. Youth-
fulness is no indication of a person's self-dependence.

Since the study covered a twenty-eight year period, it ap-
pears that many persons who were elderly when they became
recipients were leaving the welfare rolls through death.
This would diminish the percentages in the two older age
groups and leave high percentages of the sample in the
younger groups. Therefore, the sample distribution in per-
centages has little significance unless the entire welfare

population is taken into consideration.

Education

The education of head of household was assumed to
be low. Education is very important for Opportunities
available to the wage earner. The opportunities for low
educated persons has decreased considerably. many jobs have
become automatically closed to persons because of low edu-
cation.

The study showed that a large percentage of the
sample were very low educated individuals. There was a
negative relationship between the educational factor and
the Index. This was to be expected because one generally
thinks of persons with an average or above average education
as not needing assistance.

Table 10 indicates that the low educated heads of

households were very dependent upon assistance. Education

-39-
TABLE 10
EDUCATION OF 322 CASES BY INDEX

W

 

Education Percentage Index
0“} o o o o 11 065
5-8 . . . . 58 .43
9-12 0 o o 29 ell-1
13+ . . . . 2 .22

 

T0133]. 0 o o 100

 

is important to a family in order that its members find
better jobs and job opportunities. Communities are trying
to find ways to cape with such families. They are faced
with the problem of trying to retrain and place these
peOple who lack basic education in new jobs. Education is
necessary before training for other jobs can be considered.
Another consideration that was examined was whether
the length of time a family was known to the agency as
compared to educational level, would reveal a direct relation-
ship. If this would prove to be the fact this would indicate
the advancements that have taken place through legislative
action, community attitudes, agency responsibilities, and
the welfare family's attitude toward educating the chil-
dren. -
Table 11 shows an increase in education of the

head of household through the three decades although the

-40-

TABLE 11
NUMBER OF YEARS KNOWN OF 322 CASES BY EDUCATION

 

 

Percentage of Cases

Number of E d u c a t i o n Total
Years Known

 

 

 

8 or less 9+
6-9 0 o o o o 59 it]. 100
10-19 0 o o o 61 39 100
20+ . . . . . 81 19 100

 

percentage differences are not too great. Apparently, there
has been a change in attitudes toward education on the part
of the community of which agency clientele is a part. Com-
munities will still have to determine how to equip a low
educated wage earner well enough so that he is able to sus-
tain his family. Families continue to receive public assist-
ance while communities continue looking for better methods

of coping with the problem of their education.

Race
Dependent families are generally thought of as
having a disprOportionate number of minority families (mi-
nmfity refers to Negroes although Mexicans and Indians were
included in the study). The latter two minority groups had
an insufficient number of families in the sample to try and

attempt to show significance, therefore, further analysis of

-hl-
the latter two groups will not be done. The minority groups
are thought of as being unable to care for their family
needs. They receive assistance because of their many dis-
abilities. Other factors generally associated with Negro
families are lack of legal settlement, large families, low
education, and the migration of Southern Negroes to the
North for the purpose of receiving assistance. These are a
few of the general comments heard about the relationships
of minority groups to assistance. Similar results were ex-
pected from the study.

The study indicated that the minority groups were
very dependent on assistance. The percentage of the sample
that were Negroes compared to the Negroes living in the
Lansing area based on the 1950 Census was three—plus times
as great. Negroes made up 3.5% of the area population in
1950. (The 1960 census was not available at the time of

typing).

TABLE 12
RACE OF 328 CASES BY INDEX

 

 

 

Race Percentage Index
White 0 o 87 035
Negro o o 11 .71
Other 0 o 2 .L9

 

TOtal o o 100

-42-

TABLE 13

CHARACTERISTICS OF 33 NEGRO FAMILIES BY PERCENTAGE COMPARED
WITH TOTAL SAMPLE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Percentage Percentage
Characteristics of Negro of Total
Cases Sample
1. Number of Years Known
6-9 . . . . . . . 73 25
10-19 0 o o o o o o o o o o o 6 29
20+ 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o 21 56
T0133]. 0 o o o o o o o o o 100 100
2. Education
8 or less 0 o o o o o o o o o 51 69
9+ 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o 0 A9 _31
Total 100 100
3. Birthplace
South 0 o o 63 18
I'IidWQSt o o o o o o o o o o o 28 72
SOUthweSt o o o o o o o o o o 9 1}
TOtal o o o o o o o o o o 100 9A..
A. Legal Settlement
Yes 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o 85 87
N0 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o 15 12
TOtal o o o o o o o o o o 100 100
5. Residence
Less than 3 Years 0 o o o o o 30 53
3 Years Plus 0 o o o o o o o 70 A]
TO'tal o o o o o o o o o o 100 100
6. Children Within Family
A or less 0 o o o o o o o o 55 65

5+ooooooooo

Total ' — goo

 

i

-43-
TABLE 13 (Continued)

fifiJ—‘fi
-—-.—_-:*-—_—I— r —-—i

 

 

 

 

 

Percentage Percentage
Characteristics of Negro of Total
Cases Sample
7. Head of Household

MaleOOOOOOOOOOOO 7 12
Femaleooooooooooo 51 25
Both Parents Present . . . . 42 63
TOtaloooooooooo 100 100

 

Negroes had a very high Index indicating extreme
dependency on assistance. The majority of the Negro families
live in one section of Lansing within the city limits. The
majority of Opportunities for them seems to be limited to
low income jobs in the foundries and factories, or cleaning
positions for the Negro women. Housing for Negroes is very
poor with exorbitant rents paid by the families. Other
factors that might be considered as contributing to their
‘dependency are cultural, economic, and social which were not
included in the study. As Negroes were extremely dependent,
further analysis of this group seemed indicated (Table 13).

Table 13 shows that the majority of Negroes were
recent recipients of assistance. They were fairly well edu-
cated, and also had settlement in Ingham County before re-
ceiving assistance. The statement about Negroes migrating

to the North with their large families to receive assistance

-gg-
seems to be a fallacious one according to the table, but

the study also indicated that minority groups are very de-
pendent on the Department. Since the Negro clientele had

a very high Dependency Index and many positive character-
istics, an analysis of records seemed indicated in an
attempt to find factors related to the family's dependency.
The two families selected will be referred to as Family A
and Family B.

Mr. A., 36, and his wife received their initial
assistance because of illness. He had formerly done general
labor, and after recovering he returned to his former em-
ployment. It was not very long before the family returned
for more assistance. The doctor diagnosed Mr. A. as having
bronchial asthma, aneurysm of the thoracic aorta, malnu-
trition, and urinary stricture. Within a short time Mr.

A. died. Mrs. A was able to find private housework while
living with her relatives. She had a stroke which prevented
her from continuing employment. She is presently receiving
assistance, and is considered unemployable by the agency.

Family A illustrated an unemployable chronic
family due to illness. Illness can be a direct cause for
Chronicity. The type of illness would be very important
in determining a family's dependency as a terminal case of
cancer, or a cystectomy. The wage earner with cancer who
receives assistance would appear to be potentially chronic.

After the wage earner's death the family would continue to

 

~A5-
receive assistance. The wage earner having a cystectomy,
ordinarily a minor Operation, would be expected to return
to his employment after his recovery. He would not be con-
sidered chronic.

Family B consisted of Mr. B., 25, a factory worker,
Mrs. B., and four children. Mr. B. had two years of college
and his wife had obtained one and one-half years of college.
Mr. B. was born in the midwest, had legal settlement, no
indebtedness, and the family received their initial assist-
ance because of Mr. B.'s unemployment. The reason for this
being excessive absenteeism without reporting. They moved
in with the wife's parents which made the living conditions
extremely crowded. Shortly after receiving assistance Mr.
B. was arrested for drawing unemployment compensation under
false pretenses. He was fined and placed on probation.

Sporadic employment continued with intermittent
periods of receiving assistance from the agency. The family
began buying their goods on credit without the means to
make the payments. The creditors attempted to collect from
the family without success. When Mr. B. gained employment
his checks were garnisheed. As a result of this procedure,
he was frequently dismissed from employment. Following
these attempts at employment, Mr. B. was arrested for
forgery, convicted, and sentenced to the state prison at
Jackson, Michigan. Mrs. B. applied for and received Aid

to Dependent Children while he was in prison. She seemed

-46-
to be capable in managing her assistance checks. It was in-
dicated in the record that the children received very good
care from Mrs. B.

Mr. B. returned to the home after completing his
sentence in prison. Since the family was re-united, Mrs.
B's ADC was cancelled. Thus, the B family applied for assist-
ance from the welfare department. Mr. B. was not too
cooperative with agency workers or in complying with agency
policy of employable males working on wage relief. Marital
troubles began with.Mr. B. leaving the home. His employment
continued to be sporadic, but he was never willing to sup-
port his family. During this time Mr. and Mrs. B. re-united
and separated many times. The last separation ended in Mr.
B.remaining away from the home with his present whereabouts
unknown.

Mrs. B. was again referred to and received ADC.

She has problems in planning her finances so her assistance
checks will last out the month. She continues to go in

debt and make payments out of her checks. She is buying a
very nice home instead of renting. Mrs. B. is very COOpera-
tive with agency workers, complies with agency policies,

and seems to be doing very well even though the husband is
not in the home. The children are always neat and clean,
.and she does exceptionally well in taking care of the house.

She works occasionally outside the home.

-#7-

The family was selected as an example because of
having so many positives in relation to Table 13. Nothing
can be mentioned about the family prior to receiving assist-
ance because of insufficient information. From what has
been previously mentioned there seems to be a strong indi-
cation that the problems and family difficulties were more
internal as opposed to external. The internal problems
seemed to exist while both parents were in the home and re-
ceiving assistance. It would appear that families having
positive external factors, are not, therefore, necessarily

less dependent.

Occupation

An important factor is the type of employment
these families can Obtain. Due to their limited work skills,
their ability to find better than marginal income positions
is extremely limited. They are the first to be relieved of
their work duties making assistance almost imperative if
no other means of income is available to cover the family
needs. The families tend to be restricted to the low in-
come jobs. Since the economy is becoming very mechanized
and extremely technical, the consensus of community thinking
has been to retrain them so they can work in other capacities.

The study brought out that a high percentage Of
males were in the common and farm labor classifications.

The category Index deviations were only slightly lower than

-43-
the sample Index. The category Indexes indicated that the

families were almost evenly distributed between the very

and not very dependent families.

TABLE 1h
OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION OF 2A5 MALES BY INDEX

 

 

 

 

 

 

Occupation Percentage Index
Common Labor O O O 83 O35
Farm Labor . . . . 6 .31
Other O O O O O O 11 O37

TOtal O O O O 100

 

There were many families able to manage with only
intermittent and minimum amounts of assistance even though
the types of employment were limited. Many jobs referred
to as common labor jobs are not always low paying positions.
Construction is one that tends to pay quite well. These
families are able to secure them, too, because the positions
generally involve only manual labor. They are the first to
be relieved of work when a reduction in force occurs or the
job has been completed. Then exists a period of unemployment
for the wage earner and his family.

Unemployment is a frequent occurrence for the wel-
fare families. The wage earner is the first laid off and

the last to be recalled to work as he is lacking in seniority.

-49-
A large percentage was expected to begin their initial
assistance because of unemployment.

Table 15 shows a high percentage of the sample
received assistance because of unemployment. Unemployment
alone is not conducive to extreme dependency. Continuous
unemployment can cause discouragement in the family result-
ing in extreme dependency. The Indexes of illness and loss
of wage earner were expected to be high because both are
direct reasons for dependency. These two factors can de-

bilitate a family with assistance becoming a necessity.

 

 

 

TABLE 15
INITIAL REASON OF 328 CASES FOR ASSISTANCE
BY INDEX
Reason Percentage Index
Unemployed . . 58 .33
1113333 O O O 12 O46
Loss of Wage
Earner O O O 12 Oh?
Other O O O O 18 O5].

TOtal O O 100

 

There were many families initially receiving assist-
ance because of unemployment. It was mentioned previously
that unemployment was not a direct cause of dependency, but

through continuous unemployment could cause discouragement

-50-
ending with continuous receipt of assistance. (See Table

16).

TABLE 16

REASON FOR INITIAL ASSISTANCE OF 245
MALES BY PERCENTAGE AND INDEX

 

Reason Percentage Index
Unemployed . 75 .37
Other O O O 25 033

 

Tatal O 100

 

Unemployment was a determining factor fer the
wage earner and his family to receive their initial assis-
tance. Since the study covered the period of the most recent
"Depression", a high percentage of the unemployed males was
expected to come within that period.
TABLE 17

NUMBER OF YEARS KNOWN OF 178 MALES WITH UNEMPLOYMENT
AS INITIAL REASON BY DEPENDENCY INDEX

 

 

 

 

 

Percentage Percentage of Cases

Number‘Of 0f Dependency'Index
Years Known 178 Males Under .£07 .40+ Total
6-9 . . . 20 39 61 100
10-19 . . 23 6° “0 10°
20+ . . . 57 67 33 10°

 

Total 100

 

 

-51-

Families known for twenty years or more consisted
of a high percentage of unemployed males. The least de-
pendent group would be considered the families with less
pathology than the very dependent group. Lack of income
brought the least dependent group to the Department. When
jobs were plentiful the wage earner returned to work to
support his own family. A greater degree of pathology
would be associated with the very dependent. Table 18

was formulated in relation to this assumption.

TABLE 18

DEPENDENCY OF 101 MALES KNOWN FOR 20 YEARS OR MORE WITH UN-
EMPLOYMENT AS INITIAL REASON BY ILLNESS AND BEHAVIOR
PROBLEMS IN PERCENTAGE

 

Either

Illness

and/or

Behavior Behavior

Dependency Percentage Illnessa Problemsb Problems
underOhO O O O 67 53 102 75
.AO+ . o . . . 33 70 51 88

 

Tatal O O 100

 

SMental, physical or both.
bMild or severe.
The very dependent group had a higher degree of

.illness and problems than the least dependent group. Ill-

ness and behavior problems appear to be contributory to

-52-
extreme dependency. The least dependent group had lower
percentages than the other group, but the illness and be-
havior problems could have been only temporary for this
group. The least dependent group was able to re-unite and
continue as a family unit. Some reasons for the differ-
ences of the two groups could have been the differences in
family strengths, differences in the males' illness and
behavior problems, or the differences in the caseworker's

ability in helping the family.
Major Illness and Behavior Problems '

It has been mentioned that illness and social
problems appear to be related to a families extreme depend-
ence on assistance. The assumption was that major illnesses
and behavior problems could impair family relationships so
badly that dependency would be the end result. Table 19
shows a high percentage of the sample had physical prob-
lems and Table 20 shows a high percentage with severe be-
havior problems, but the deviations from the sample median
were very minute indicating no real significance in relation
to a family's dependency. Therefore, both are contributing
causes to dependency, but neither are direct causes in
determining whether a family will or will not be very de-

pendent on welfare.

-53-
TABLE 19
MAJOR ILLNESS OF 2A5 MALES BY INDEX

h.—

 

 

 

 

Illness Percentage Index
None O O O 55 035
Mental O O 5 th
PhYSical O 36 03’.
80th O O O A OI+8
Total 100
TABLE 20

BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS OF 245 MALES BY INDEX

 

Problems Percentage Index
None O O O O “5 .34
Mild . . . . 17 .19
Severe . . . .38 .AB

 

Total . 100

 

The physical illness and severe behavior problem
categories showed no real significance. Some of the ill-
nesses and problems were only temporary with the families
able to continue as a unit after the wage earner was released
from.the hospital or institution. Other families were unable

to meet the challenge and were lacking in strength to continue

-5g-
as a family unit. Making generalizations in regards to de-
pendency and serious illnesses and/or behavior problems
does not seem to be very feasible due to the existence of
numerous variables. It would be necessary to isolate those
behavior and major illness problems that are directly re-
lated to dependency before significant generalizations

could be made.

Dependents

The number of dependents in each family looking
to the head of household for total or partial support at
the time of intial assistance was certainly expected to
have high percentages and Indexes in the very large family
categories. It seems to be a fact that "welfare recipients
have large families". The large family is a heavy burden
for the wage earner which tends to make their stay on wel-
fare much longer than a family with only a few dependents.
This type of discussion generally centers around the im-
plied inability on the part of the wage earner to support
such a large family.

The study showed that generally it is the small
family that first receives public assistance. The Index
indicated no set pattern fer establishing dependency.
Therefore, large families receiving assistance will become
no more dependent on welfare than families with few

dependents.

 

-55-
TABLE 21
‘DEPENDENTS OF 328 CASES BY INDEX

 

 

Dependents Percentage Index
1 . . . . . 22 .47
2 . . . . . 26 .27
3 . . . . . 18 .36
A . . . . . ll .35
5 . . . . . 8 .51
6 . . . . . 7 .37
7 . . . . . A .A6
8+ . . . . A .51
Total 100

 

That larger families are more dependent than
smaller families was not evident in the table. Another
prOposition was that many public assistance families were
not only large but they first received assistance during
the 1930's.

The larger families were not prevalent in the
families known the longest to the Department. The prOpo-
sition was not supported by Table 22, but firm conclusions
cannot be drawn from the table since there were many other
families that had established dependency patterns but had

not been on the Department's rolls when the sample was

-56-
TABLE 22

NUMBER OF YEARS KNOWN TO THE DEPARTMENT OF 328
CASES BY DEPENDENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ego Percentage of Cases
Years Dependents
Known Percentage 5 Or 183; ITB+ Total
6-9 . . 30 64 36 100
10-19 . 26 81 19 100
20+ . . Al. 81 19 100
Total 100

 

selected. Since the number of dependents within a family
at time of initial assistance evidenced no differentiation
between the very dependent and the not very dependent fami-
lies, the number of children within the family during their
time of receiving assistance seemed to be the next logical
area to explore looking for characteristic significance.
Another accepted idea was that "welfare families
tend to have more children than non-welfare families". A
comparison was not made between the number of children in
a welfare and nonawelfare family. The reason for using the
characteristic was to see how many children were in welfare
families and whether a welfare family with many children
would more likely to be associated with dependency than a
family with only a few children. Births alone were not

counted from the time of initial assistance to the data used

 

-57-
for the selection of the sample. The totals also included
children that returned to the family or became part of the
family after assistance was issued. It was decided to in-
clude all children who were part of the welfare family.

The total number Of children within a family was
expected to indicate a high Index for those families with
many children and a low Index for those families with few
children. However, Table 23 showed that this relationship
did not exist. Families with the largest number of chil-
dzal do have a slightly higher Index than the families withthxee
or less children. On the other hand, families with four
children have as high an Index as families with seven and
eight children. Thus, there is no indicated trend or re-
lationship in either direction.

TABLE 23

THE TOTAL NUMBER OF CHILDREN WITHIN A FAMILY
OF 328 CASES BY INDEX

 

 

Children Percentage Index
None O O O O O O 20 Oh].
O O O O O O O 13 o36
2 O O O O O O O 8 O26
3 O O O O O O O 12 037
lb O O O O O O O 12 Otis
5 O O O O O O O 12 O31+
6 O O O O O O O 10 O33
7 O O O O O O O 6 OLA-8
8+ O O O O O O O 7 Oil"?

 

Total 100

 

-53-
Indebtedness

Indebtedness was considered to be a good indicator
for dependency. The indebtedness of the family at the time
of initial assistance was expected to be of a positive re-
lationship to the Index with the very dependent families
having the largest amount of indebtedness. The typical
welfare family is thought of as spending very unwisely.
They place a high value on material goods, therefbre, they
buy goods without sufficient means to meet the payments
due to their low income status. A vicious cycle results
with the family going farther into debt to buy more material
items with the business organizations redeeming their
goods because the family cannot make the payments. The
‘welfare family's resources never reach the stage of being
stable enough whereby they can pay for the goods. A high
amount of indebtedness is the result of the cycle.

Table 2b indicates that there was no signficant
difference in the amount of indebtedness between the very
dependent and the not very dependent welfare families. The
positive relationship between indebtedness and Index did
not materialize. The individual medians fell very closely
to the sample median.

Indebtedness does not seem to be a means of de-
termining dependency. The amounts used in the table indicate

that the majority of the families were not very much in

-59-

TABLE 21+
INDEBTEDNESS OF 328 CASES BY INDEX

 

Indebtedness Percentage Index

 

None . . . . . 34 .39
3&9 or Less . 19 .42
$50 - $99 . . 14 .37
$100 - $199 . 12 .37
$200 - $399 . 9 .36
$h00+ . . o o 12 .39

Tatal O O 100

 

debt. The figures may suggest that the welfare families
were unable to secure very much credit because of low in-
come or insufficient collateral. The families having
exhausted their resources may not have tried to secure
credit because of personal reasons.

The Sex and Employment Status of Head

of Household on October 30, 1959

There were two characteristics included in the
study present on October 30, 1959: (1) sex of head of
household, and (2) employment status of head of household.
They were included in an attempt to show the status of the
sample on the date used for the selection of cases. The

sex of head of household table included at the beginning

-60..

TABLE 25

THE SEX OF HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD OF 328 CASES AT TIME OF
INITIAL ASSISTANCE AND ON OCTOBER 30, 1959 BY INDEX

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At Time of
Head of Initial Assistance October 30, 1959
HOUSGhOld Percentage Index Percentage Index
M319 O O O O 12 O35 15 O29
Female O O O 25 O55 [+6 O52
Both Parents
Present 63g .3h 39 .31
Total . . 100 100

 

of the study will be entered at this point, too, as a means
of comparison of percentages and Indexes between the two
tables.

As can be seen in Table 25, the percentages of the
families with the female or with both parents present
changed considerably with only minor changes occurring in
the Indexes. The families with both parents present made
up a fairly large percentage of the sample in both sections
of the table. Of these families having both parents in
the home, the very dependent families were expected to have
higher percentages of illness and behavior problems. Only
illness and behavior problems will be conSidered because
of their direct relationship with dependency. These two
characteristics were explored with the results presented

in Table 26.

-61-

TABLE 26

ILLNESS AND BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS OF.MALES OF 102 TWO-PARENT
FAMILIES TOGETHER AT TIME OF INITIAL ASSISTANCE AND
ON OCTOBER 30, 1959 BY DEPENDENCY IN PERCENTAGE

 

 

H

Dependency Index

 

Illness and Problems Under .AO .AO+
TataIOOOOOOOOlOO 6A» 36
Illness (mental, Physical, or Both) 29 62
Behavior Problems (Mild or Severe) no 46
Both and/or Either . . . . . . 63 78

 

The males of the very dependent families had more
problems which would cause the families to have a higher
Index. These characteristics were used because of their
direct relationship to dependency. The males of the least
dependent families had fewer illnesses and behavior problems
than the very dependent group. These illnesses and prob-
lems could be considered of a temporary nature and would
account for them being less dependent on assistance. The
employment status of the males could also have a very
important effect upon a family's dependency.

Table 27 illustrates almost an equal per centage
came within each category. Unemployability would, there-

fore, appear not to be a criterion for determining a family's

-62..
TABLE 2?

EMPLOYMENT STATUS OF 175 MALES ON OCTOBER 30, 1959
BY DEPENDENCY INDEX

 

 

Percentage of Cases

 

Dependency Index

 

 

 

Status Percentage finder .10 .40? Total
Employable 52 67 33 100
Unemployable g8 6A 36 100

Total 100

 

dependency on any selected date. The other variables in-

volved must also be taken into consideration. The table

indicates that families with male unemployables on a date

selected will become no more dependent than families with

male employables.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

In summary it might be stated that a number of
characteristics were taken into consideration to determine
significance in relation to a family's dependency. In ex-
amining the characteristics and relating them to the Index
of Dependency, certain findings became evident. The followe
ing paragraphs will elucidate the findings.

It had been assumed prior to the study that the
longer a family was known to the Department, the more de-
pendent the family would be upon assistance. It was found
that families known the longest were the least dependent.
Further exploration was done of the three periods when it
seemed indicated and under the appropriate sections.

The female head of household presented a very high
Index indicating very dependent families. It was found
that the majority of families were recent recipients of
assistance and very dependent. This might be due to a
public better infbrmed about agency function, increase in
social disorganization, or a greater incidence of family
disorders. Also the very dependent group consisted of
older women and larger families. Families with these char-
acteristics tend to end with receipt of categorical

assistance since the mother is unable to obtain employment

-63-

-6g-
outside the home. These factors seem to contribute to a
welfare family's dependency pattern.

The age of head of household was expected to show
an older age group of welfare recipients, but the clientele
were very young in age according to the findings. There
was also a positive relationship between age and Index al-
though little significance can be placed on the sample be-
cause of elderly persons dying, who were consequently not
present when the sample was collected. The entire welfare
population would have to be taken into consideration before
proving significance.

The education element was assumed to be low. A
negative relationship evolved between families with a
better education and the Index. Education, therefore,
appears to be essential for employment, better opportunities,
and for situations where re-training becomes necessary. It
was found that there has been an increase in the number of
persons receiving more education which seems to have come
about through legislative action, community attitudes,
agency responsibilities, and the welfare family's attitudes
toward educating their children.

.The race of head of household brought forth a high
Index for the Negro group. The Negroes were very dependent
on assistance for their existence. The Negro group had
only recently received their assistance and had many positive

factors in relation to the total sample. The positive

-65-
factors were more education, legal settlement, residency,
and smaller families. The majority of the Negroes were
born in the South with the female head of household apply-
ing for the initial assistance. The implications seem to be
that: (l) Negroes are extremely dependent, (2) Negroes do
not migrate to the North to receive assistance, and (3)
there are other factors besides observable characteristics
causing their dependency.

The occupations of the males consisted mainly of
common and farm labor. Unemployment was their main reason_
for their initial assistance. The wage earner tends to be
the first laid off and the last to be called back making
welfare almost imperative because of their economic status.
The welfare clientele is generally employed in low wage in-
dustry and tend to be restricted to marginal income positions.
The highest percentage of very dependent males consisted of
recent recipients of assistance. The very dependent group
also had more major illnesses and behavior problems which
appear to be related to dependency, than the least dependent
group. Other factors contributing to the family's dependency
might be the family's limitations,the type of illness, and
the type of behavior problem. All these factors have to
be considered in any discussion of dependency.

It has been mentioned that major illnesses and
behavior problems are related to dependency. It was

found that the Index indicated no real significance regarding

"6.

(1x

illnesses and behavior problems as direct causes of depend-
ency, therefore, a better statement might classify the two
characteristics as contributory to dependency. Another sig-
nificant statement might be related to dependency and the
isolation of a family's problems.

The number of dependents in a welfare family is
generally associated with dependency. It was found that
there were mostly small families when first receiving
assistance with the larger families being no more dependent
than the smaller families. Also the number of children
within a family was expected to show a high percentage and
high Index which would indicate dependency. The families
with many children were no more dependent than the families
with few children, therefore, the concept that many chil-
dnm.are associated with dependency does not seem to be
supported by the study.

Indebtedness was felt to be a good indicator of
dependency. The welfare family is thought of as spending
unwisely. Thus, the family's indebtedness rises. It was
found that there was no significant difference between the
Index and family dependency. Indebtedness does not seem
to be a means of determining dependency. The families were
not very much in debt when first receiving assistance which
might have been due to their being unable to secure credit,

insufficient collateral or not trying to secure credit.

-67-

The sex of head of household was observed at the
time of initial assistance and on October 30, 1959 when the
sample was obtained. It was found that the Indexes remained
quite constant, but the female head of household percentage
almost doubled when comparing the two periods. The two-
parent families also made up a rather high percentage of
the sample. The two-parent cases were further explored re-
garding male illnesses and behavior problems because of the
factors having a direct relationship on dependency. The
Table revealed that the very dependent families had higher
percentages of these problems than the least dependent
families which might indicate reasons for family dependency.

The employment status of males on October 30, 1959
was also explored because of the importance in determining
family dependency. An unemployable male on the selected
date might indicate past status of the family tending to-
wards dependency. It was found that almost an equal per-
centage of families fell into the very dependent and not
very dependent categories. The indication might be that
there are other variables that must be taken into consider-
ation before stating definitely that an unemployable male
will form a dependency pattern.

In conclusion it would appear that there are factors
causing family dependency other than observable characteris-
tics. These factors might be of an internal nature causing

the families to become dependent. It seems to be indicated

-68..
that further study of welfare families is needed with the

focus on the effects of casework on welfare family dependency.

APPENDIX

l.
2.
3.
A.
5.

7.
8.

9.
10.

ll.

12.
13.

15.
16.

17.

APPENDIX A
CASE SCHEDULE

Number of years known

Total number of years in which assistance was granted
Total number of months

Case name

Case number

Receipt of state aid
1. ADC 2. OAA 3. AB A. AD

Age of head of household
Education of head of household
Number of dependents I

Race of head of household
1. W 2. N 3. M a. O

Birthplace of head of household
1. E 2. MW 3. S A. SW 5. W 6. FB

Initial reason for assistance

Sex of head of household
1. M 2. F 3. BPP

Head of household absent
Occupational classification

Legal settlement
1O Yes 2O NO

Residence
1. Less than 12 2. 12-23 3. 24-35 h. 36-h? 5. L8 or.
more

-70-

18.

19.

20.
21.
22.

230
2h.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.

30-

-71-

Amount of indebtedness
1. Round to nearest dollar 2. None

Childrens' education terminated

Ma or illness or handicap

Ma e ) 1. None

Female 2. Mental

Children 3. Physical A. Both
Behavior problems

Male 1. None

Female 2. Mild

Children 3. Severe

Total number of children within family

Card number of parents

Card number of child(ren)

Sex of head of household on lO/30/59

Employment status of head of household on lO/30/59

l. Employable
2. Unemployable

1.

2.

3.

A.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

-72-

Operational Definitions and Coding Instructions

Number of years known to the Department. Count initial
year of assistance as one through 1959.

Total number of years in which assistance was granted.
Exclude all years when no assistance was granted.

Total number of months on relief. Include all assistance
received from the Department, out-county aid received,
and state aid received.

Case name-last name and first name(s) of head of house-
hold (head of household" refers to the male if present
at time of intial assistance or the female if the male
is absent).

Case number-the number assigned by the agency.

The type of state aid received. The years and months
when aid was received will be placed on the back of the
family's card.

1. Aid to Dependent Children

2. Old Age Assistance

3. Aid to the Blind

L. Aid to the Disabled

The age of head of household on the last birthday pre-
ceding the receiving of initial assistance.

The highest school grade completed by head of household.
If there is special training, as commercial school,
etc., add one year. All years of education beyond the
last number of vertical numbers will be added up and
inserted in the bottom box.

All persons looking to the head of household for partial
or total support. Must be in the home at the time of
initial assistance. Also include the head of household.

Race of head of household

1. White

2. Negro

3. Mexican

A. Other (include those of mixed races)

-73-

ll. Birthplace of head of household. The classification

12.

13.

was derived through the concerted effort of the welfare

caseworkers who felt that these groupings would be

best suited for the locality of the study.

1. Eastern-Maine,New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts,
Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland,
and District of Columbia.

2. Midwest-Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin,
Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, Kansas, and
Nebraska.

3. South - West Virginia, South Carolina, North Caro-
lina, Georgia, Florida, Virginia, Kentucky,
Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas,
Louisiana, and Missouri.

h. Southwest-Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.

5. West - Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah,
Nevada, Washington, Oregon, and California.

6. Foreign Born

Initial reason for assistance. Taken from a combination
of the present Classification Code fOr DirecfifEEEEfifi.
used by the Department and the revfsed code 0 .

l. Supplementation to another assistance payment

2. Change in economic circumstances during last 6 mo. of:
Discontinuance of unemployment compensation to
person in assistance group
Decreased earnings of person in assistance group

3. Illness or disablement

h. Layoff, discharge, or other reason

5. Loss of wage earner in assistance group

. Depletion of savings or other resources

7. Loss or decrease of contribution from relatives

8. Other change in economic circumstances (including
increased need without change in resources)

9O Other

Sex of head of household
1O M313

2O Female

3. Both parents present

1A.

15.

16.

17.

-74-

Head of household absent. Will apply to either head
of household, whichever may be absent at time of initial
assistance.

1O NO

,2. Dead

3. Divorced

a. Separated

5. Deserted

6. Incarcerated

7. Institutionalized

8. Armed fOrces

9. Other (include unmarried parent, student)

Occupational classification of head of household. It
shall be based on job currently held or job last held
prior to the time of initial assistance up to one year.
The job classification shall be in accordance with that
used by the U. S. Census Bureau as contained in Alpha-

 

betical Index of Occu ations and Industr , U. S. Gov't.
Printing Office, I955.

1. Professional, technical, and kindred workers

2. Farmers and farm managers

3. Managers, officials, and prOprietors, except farm
h. Clerical and kindred workers

5. Sales workerS'

6. Craftsmen, foremen, and kindred workers

7. Operatives and kindred workers

8. Private household workers

9. Service workers, except private household

10. Farm laborers and foremen
ll. Laborers, except farm and mine
12. Not reported

Legal settlement in Ingham County. Will be found on
the face sheet whether a family is or is not a resident
of the county. The proper square will then be checked.

1. Yes
2O NO

Residence-the length of Ingham County residency prior
to receiving initial assistance.

1. Less than 12 months

2. 12 months through 23 months

3. 2h months through 35 months

A. 36 months through 47 months

5. A8 months or more

18.

19.

20.
21.
22.

23.

2A.
25.

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Amount of indebtedness at time of intial assistance
1. Bound to nearest dollar
2. None

Childrens' education terminated. Include those leaving
high school prior to graduation for any reason other
than death. Verification of same on the face sheet or
in the dictation by the worker will be considered suf-
ficiently reliable. Use all vertical numbers on card
and check the appropriate number. Leave blank if no
mention is made in the record by the worker.

Major Illness or handicap. Include conditions at time
of or after the initial assistance was given and
up to October 30 1959. Exclude acute, temporary
illnesses, as colds,"flu," childhood diseases,
minor surgery. Include mental illness if there
is a committment, a medical diagnosis, or medical
treatment for a suspected illness. Include mental
handicap if there is a mental test and/or a pro-
fessional evaluation of sub-normality.

Male ) 1. None
Female ) 2. Mental illness or handicap
Children ) 3. Physical illness or handicap
A. Both mental and physical illness or
handicap
Behavior problems
Male ) l. None-recording on behavior indicates
no problem.
Female ) 2. Mild-recording indicates difficulty
Children in interpersonal relationships,

as frequent quarreling in the

home or neighborhood, at school

or work. Poor discipline or
training of children, inadequate
care of children, as leaving them
alone without adequate supervision,
failing to secure available and
needed medical attention, irre lar
meals, occasional drinking, ma ing-
ering, cohabitation, separation,
divorce, mismanagement of funds,
constantly losing jobs through '
neglect or other irresponsible
behavior.

3. Severe-alcoholism or other addiction,
conViction of law violation,re-
peated truancy or running away,
juvenile court hearing, or deten-
tion for delinquency or neglect,
non-support or warrant issued, etc.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

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Total number of children within family. Include all
children within the assistance family from time of
initial assistance through October 30 1959. This would
include all children born to the family illegitimately,
socially illegitimately, and babies that necessitate
proper burial. Also children that returned to the
family or became part of the family after assistance

was issued and were considered part of the assistance
family. Mark apprOpriate vertical square under this
number.

Card number of parents. Each card will have a number
from one through 353. The number of the parent's card
will be inserted in the number one square. The card
numbers will be located in the top right corner.

Card number of child(ren). Same as number 27 except
the child's number will be inserted in the number one
square.

Sex of head of household on October 30, 1959.
1O Male

2O Female

3. Both parents present

Employment status of head of household on October 30, l959
l. Employable-include anyone capable of working, semi-
employable, or women who have small
children in the home but are working.
2. Unemployable-include anyone not considered capable
of working, disabled persons, or women
who have small children in the home and
are not working.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BIBLIOGRAPHY

American Public Welfare Association, T e C t De artment
of Welfare, A Service Agency .

Buell, Bradley, and Associates, Community Plannin for
Human Services (New York: Columbia Univer31ty
ress, 952 . '

California Department of Social Welfare, A Stud of Marin
Count California: BuildinggServIces Into a
Puinc Assistance Program Can Pay Off (I956).

Falk, I. 8., "Public Welfare Today and Tomorrow," Social
Work, Vol. 1, No. 1 (January 1956).

 

Hass, Walter, "Reaching Out-~A Dynamic Concept in Casework,"
Social Work, Vol. A, No. 3 (July 1959).

Hallinan, Helen W., "Co-ordinating Agency Efforts in Behalf

of the Hard—to-Reach Family " Social Casework,
Vol. XL, No. 1 (January 1956).“

Harrison, Ethel, Identif in the Potentiall Chronic Case
x at Intake (St. PauI, Minnesota: Department of
Research and Statistics, Amherst H. Wilder Founda-
tion, 1955 ) O

Schorr, Alvin L., "Problems in the ADC Program," Social WOrk,
Vol. 5, No. 2 (April 1960).

Snyder, Eleanor M., Public Assistance Reci ients in New York
State JanuaryrFeEruary I957 (New York: Interde-

partmentaI Committee on Low Incomes, 1958).
The Wall Street Jougna; (June 1959).

U. 8. Census Bureau Al habetical Index of Occupations and
Industry (l950).

Wiltse, Kermit T., "The HOpeless Family," Social Work, Vol.
3, No. A (October 1958).

 

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