Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Foundation Website
  • Journal Home
  • Issues
    • Current Issue
    • All Issues
    • Future Issues
  • For Authors and Editors
    • Overview of RSF & How to Propose an Issue
    • RSF Style and Submission Guidelines
    • Article Submission Checklist
    • Permission Request Form for Authors to Request Permission from other Publishers
    • Terms of Contributor Agreement Form and Transfer of Copyright
    • RSF Contributor Agreement Form
    • Issue Editors' Agreement Form
    • RSF Policy on the Use of AI
  • About the Journal
    • Mission Statement
    • Editorial Board
    • Comments and Replies Policy
    • Journal Code of Ethics
    • Current Calls for Articles
    • Closed Calls for Articles
    • Abstracting and Indexing
    • Privacy Policy
    • Copyright and ISSN Information
    • Terms of Use
    • Contact Us
  • Publications
    • rsf

User menu

  • Log in

Search

  • Advanced search
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences
  • Publications
    • rsf
  • Log in
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences

Advanced Search

  • Foundation Website
  • Journal Home
  • Issues
    • Current Issue
    • All Issues
    • Future Issues
  • For Authors and Editors
    • Overview of RSF & How to Propose an Issue
    • RSF Style and Submission Guidelines
    • Article Submission Checklist
    • Permission Request Form for Authors to Request Permission from other Publishers
    • Terms of Contributor Agreement Form and Transfer of Copyright
    • RSF Contributor Agreement Form
    • Issue Editors' Agreement Form
    • RSF Policy on the Use of AI
  • About the Journal
    • Mission Statement
    • Editorial Board
    • Comments and Replies Policy
    • Journal Code of Ethics
    • Current Calls for Articles
    • Closed Calls for Articles
    • Abstracting and Indexing
    • Privacy Policy
    • Copyright and ISSN Information
    • Terms of Use
    • Contact Us
  • Follow rsf on Twitter
  • Visit rsf on Facebook
  • Follow rsf on Google Plus
Research Article
Open Access

Three Decades Since Making Ends Meet: How Single-Mother Families Survive Today

Elizabeth O. Ananat, Carolyn Y. Barnes, Sandra K. Danziger, Kathryn Edin
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences May 2026, 12 (2) 1-32; DOI: https://doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2026.12.2.01
Elizabeth O. Ananat
aMallya Professor of Women and Economics, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York City, United States
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Carolyn Y. Barnes
bAssociate professor, Crown School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Sandra K. Danziger
cEdith A. Lewis Professor Emerita, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Kathryn Edin
dWilliam Church Osborn Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs, Princeton University, Princeton, United States
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • References
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

REFERENCES

  1. ↵
    1. Abbott, Erika, and
    2. Laura Tach
    . 2026. “Recipients’ Experiences of the Evolving Tax-Based Safety Net: The Case of the 2021 Expanded Child Tax Credit.” RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 12(1): 172–91. https://doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2026.12.1.07.
    OpenUrl
  2. ↵
    1. Aizer, Anna,
    2. Shari Eli,
    3. Joseph Ferrie, and
    4. Adriana Lleras-Muney
    . 2016. “The Long-Run Impact of Cash Transfers to Poor Families.” American Economic Review 106(4): 935–71.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  3. ↵
    1. Aizer, Anna,
    2. Shari Eli, and
    3. Adriana Lleras-Muney
    . 2020. “The Incentive Effects of Cash Transfers to the Poor.” NBER Working Paper No. 27523. National Bureau of Economic Research
  4. ↵
    1. Almond, Douglas,
    2. Hilary W. Hoynes, and
    3. Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach
    . 2011. “Inside the War on Poverty: The Impact of Food Stamps on Birth Outcomes.” Review of Economics and Statistics 93(2): 387–403.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
  5. ↵
    1. Ananat, Elizabeth O., and
    2. Anna Gassman-Pines
    . 2021. “Work Schedule Unpredictability: Daily Occurrence and Effects on Working Parents’ Well-Being.” Journal of Marriage and Family 83(1): 10–26.
    OpenUrl
  6. ↵
    1. Ananat, Elizabeth O.,
    2. Anna Gassman-Pines,
    3. John Fitz-Henley , II, and
    4. Rebecca Daniels
    . 2022. “Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Access to Pandemic-Era Unemployment Insurance: Implications for Health and Well-Being.” Health Affairs 41(11): 1598–1606.
    OpenUrlPubMed
  7. ↵
    1. Ananat, Elizabeth O.,
    2. Anna Gassman-Pines, and
    3. Olivia Howard
    . 2025. “Work Requirements Penalize Workers in Volatile Occupations.” May 22. The Hamilton Project, Brookings Institution. https://www.hamiltonproject.org/publication/post/work-requirements-penalize-workers-in-volatile-occupations/.
  8. ↵
    1. Ananat, Elizabeth O.,
    2. Anna Gassman-Pines, and
    3. Yulya Truskinovsky
    . 2021. “Increasing Instability and Uncertainty Among Low-Wage Workers: Implications for Inequality and Potential Policy Solutions.” In The Politics of Distribution, edited by Frances Rosenbluth and Margaret Weir. Cambridge University Press.
  9. ↵
    1. Ananat, Elizabeth O.,
    2. Benjamin Glasner,
    3. Christal Hamilton,
    4. Zachary Parolin, and
    5. Clemente Pignatti
    . 2024. “Effects of the Expanded Child Tax Credit on Employment Outcomes: Evidence from Real-World Data.” Journal of Public Economics 238: 105168.
    OpenUrl
  10. ↵
    1. Angel, Ronald,
    2. Linda Burton,
    3. P. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale,
    4. Andrew Cherlin,
    5. Robert Moffitt, and
    6. William J. Wilson
    . 2012. Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three-City Study (ICPSR 4701). Version 7. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research. https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/DSDR/studies/4701.
  11. ↵
    1. Averett, Susan, and
    2. Yang Wang
    . 2018. “Effects of higher EITC Payments on Children’s Health, Quality of Home Environment, and Noncognitive Skills.” Public Finance Review 46(4): 519–57.
    OpenUrl
  12. ↵
    1. Bailey, Martha J.,
    2. Hilary W. Hoynes,
    3. Maya Rossin-Slater, and
    4. Reed Walker
    . 2020. Is the Social Safety Net a Long-Term Investment? Large-Scale Evidence from the Food Stamps Program. April. NBER Working Paper No. 26942. National Bureau of Economic Research. https://www.nber.org/papers/w26942.
  13. ↵
    1. Baker, Dean
    . 2022. “This Is What the Minimum Wage Would Be If It Kept Pace with Productivity.” January 26. Center for Economic and Policy Research. https://cepr.net/this-is-what-minimum-wage-would-be-if-it-kept-pace-with-productivity/.
  14. ↵
    1. Barnes, Carolyn Y
    . 2021. “‘It Takes a While to Get Used To’: The Costs of Redeeming Public Benefits.” Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 31(2): 295–310.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
  15. ↵
    1. Barnes, Carolyn,
    2. Sarah Halpern-Meekin, and
    3. Jill Hoiting
    . 2023. “‘I Used to Get WIC … But Then I Stopped’: How WIC Participants Perceive the Value and Burdens of Maintaining Benefits.” RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 9(5): 32–55. https://doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2023.9.5.02.
    OpenUrl
  16. ↵
    1. Barnes, Carolyn Y., and
    2. Julia R. Henly
    . 2018. “‘They Are Underpaid and Understaffed’: How Clients Interpret Encounters with Street-Level Bureaucrats.” Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 28(2): 165–81.
    OpenUrl
  17. ↵
    1. Barnes, Carolyn,
    2. Jamila Michener, and
    3. Emily Rains
    . 2023. “‘It’s Like Night and Day’: How Bureaucratic Encounters Vary Across WIC, SNAP, and Medicaid.” Social Service Review 97(1): 3–42.
    OpenUrl
  18. ↵
    1. Bartram, Robin
    . 2022. Stacked Decks. University of Chicago Press.
  19. ↵
    1. Bastian, Jacob, and
    2. Katherine Michelmore
    . 2018. “The Long-Term Impact of the Earned Income Tax Credit on Children’s Education and Employment Outcomes.” Journal of Labor Economics 36(4): 1127–63.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
  20. ↵
    1. Bauer, Lauren,
    2. Chloe East, and
    3. Olivia Howard
    . 2025. “Low-income Workers Experience—By Far—The Most Earnings and Work Hours Instability.” January 9. Brookings Institution. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/low-income-workers-experience-by-far-the-most-earnings-and-work-hours-instability/.
  21. ↵
    1. Bauer, Lauren,
    2. Abigail Pitts,
    3. Krista Ruffini, and
    4. Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach
    . 2020. “The Effect of Pandemic EBT on Measures of Food Hardship.” July. The Hamilton Project, Brookings Institution. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/P-EBT_LO_7.30.pdf.
  22. ↵
    1. Berger, Lawrence M.,
    2. Sarah A. Font,
    3. Kristen A. Slack, and
    4. Jane Waldfogel
    . 2017. “Income and Child Maltreatment in Unmarried Families: Evidence from the Earned Income Tax Credit.” Review of Economics of the Household 15: 1345–72.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  23. ↵
    1. Bitler, Marianne P., and
    2. Janet Currie
    . 2005. “Does WIC Work? The Effects of WIC on Pregnancy and Birth Outcomes.” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 24(1): 73–91.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
  24. ↵
    1. Blake, Jessica
    . 2023. “Proposed Welfare Rule Change May Alter State Scholarship.” Inside Higher Education, November 6. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/government/student-aid-policy/2023/11/06/welfare-rule-change-may-alter-state-scholarship.
  25. ↵
    1. Blank, Rebecca M
    . 2002. “Evaluating Welfare Reform in the United States.” Journal of Economic Literature 40(4): 1105–66.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
  26. ↵
    1. Bowden, Victoria,
    2. Diana Azevedo-McCaffrey and
    3. Maria Manasala
    . 2025. “AFDC and TANF Caseload and Poverty Data 1978–2023.” April 11. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. https://www.cbpp.org/research/income-security/afdc-and-tanf-caseload-and-poverty-data.
  27. ↵
    1. Brodkin, Evelyn Z., and
    2. Malay Majmundar
    . 2010. “Administrative Exclusion: Organizations and the Hidden Costs of Welfare Claiming.” Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 20(4): 827848.
    OpenUrl
  28. ↵
    1. Bruch, Sarah K.,
    2. Arun Chaudhary,
    3. Colin Gordon, and
    4. KaLeigh K. White
    . 2026. “Fifty Worlds of Welfare: State Discretion and Social Citizenship Since 1994.” RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 12(1): 34–66. https://doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2026.12.1.02.
    OpenUrl
  29. ↵
    1. Burden, Barry C.,
    2. David T. Canon,
    3. Kenneth R. Mayer, and
    4. Donald P. Moynihan
    . 2012. “The Effect of Administrative Burden on Bureaucratic Perception of Policies: Evidence from Election Administration.” Public Administration Review 72(5): 741–51.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
  30. ↵
    1. Burns, Alice,
    2. Jared Ortaliza,
    3. Justin Lo,
    4. Matthew Rae, and
    5. Cynthia Cox
    . 2025. “How Will the 2025 Reconciliation Law Affect the Uninsured Rate in Each State? Allocating CBO’s Estimates of Additional Uninsured People Across the States.” August 20. Kaiser Family Foundation. https://www.kff.org/uninsured/how-will-the-2025-reconciliation-law-affect-the-uninsured-rate-in-each-state/.
  31. ↵
    1. Burnside, Ashley, and
    2. Elizabeth Lower-Basch
    . 2024. “Use TANF Funding for Cash Assistance, not Crisis Pregnancy Centers.” April 17. Center for Law and Social Policy. https://www.clasp.org/publications/fact-sheet/use-tanf-funding-for-cash-assistance-not-crisis-pregnancy-centers/.
  32. ↵
    1. Campbell, Andrea Louise
    . 2014. Trapped in America’s Safety Net: One Family’s Struggle. University of Chicago Press.
  33. ↵
    1. Carlson, Steven, and
    2. Joseph Llobrera
    . 2022. “SNAP Is Linked with Improved Health Outcomes and Lower Health Costs.” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Report. https://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/snap-is-linked-with-improved-health-outcomes-and-lower-health-care-costs.
  34. ↵
    1. Charles, Rebecca,
    2. Sophie Collyer, and
    3. Christopher Wimer
    . 2022. “The Role of Government Transfers in the Black-White Child Poverty Gap.” Poverty and Social Policy Brief (6)3. Center on Poverty and Social Policy, Columbia University. https://povertycenter.columbia.edu/publication/2022/black-white-child-poverty-gap.
  35. ↵
    1. Chauvenet, Christina,
    2. Molly De Marco,
    3. Carolyn Barnes, and
    4. Alice S. Ammerman
    . 2019. “WIC Recipients in the Retail Environment: A Qualitative Study Assessing Customer Experience and Satisfaction.” Journal of Academic Nutrition and Diet 119(3): 416–24. www.doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2018.09.003.
    OpenUrl
  36. ↵
    1. Christensen, Julian,
    2. Lene Aarøe,
    3. Martin Baekgaard,
    4. Pamela Herd, and
    5. Donald P. Moynihan
    . 2020. “Human Capital and Administrative Burden: The Role of Cognitive Resources in Citizen–State Interactions.” Public Administration Review 80(1): 127–36.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  37. ↵
    1. Constantino, Sara M.,
    2. Ajay Chaudry, and
    3. Jonathan Morduch
    . 2026. “Guaranteed Income Programs: Single Parents, Spending, and Debt.” RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 12(1): 220–46. https://doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2026.12.1.09.
    OpenUrl
  38. ↵
    1. Congressional Research Service
    . 2019a. Overview of Federal Housing Assistance Programs and Policies. March 27. CRS Report RL34591. https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/RL/PDF/RL34591/RL34591.24.pdf.
    1. Congressional Research Service
    . 2019b. Poverty in the United States in 2018: In Brief. November 8. CRS Report R46000. https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R46000.pdf.
  39. ↵
    1. Cook, Jason B., and
    2. Chloe N. East
    . 2023. The Effect of Means-Tested Transfers on Work: Evidence from Quasi-Randomly Assigned SNAP Caseworkers. June. NBER Working Paper No. 31307. National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w31307.
  40. ↵
    1. Cooper, Melinda
    . 2017. Family Values: Between Neoliberalism and the New Social Conservatism. Princeton University Press.
  41. ↵
    1. Danziger, Sandra,
    2. Mary Corcoran,
    3. Sheldon Danziger, et al
    . 2000. “Barriers to the Employment of Welfare Recipients.” In Prosperity for All? The Economic Boom and African Americans, edited by Robert Cherry and William M. Rodgers , III. Russell Sage Foundation.
  42. ↵
    1. Danziger, Sandra K.,
    2. Sheldon Danziger,
    3. Kristin S. Seefeldt, and
    4. H. Luke Shaefer
    . 2016a. “From Welfare to a Work-Based Safety Net: An Incomplete Transition.” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 35(1): 231–38.
    OpenUrl
  43. ↵
    1. Danziger, Sandra K.,
    2. Sheldon Danziger,
    3. Kristin S. Seefeldt, and
    4. H. Luke Shaefer
    . 2016b. “Increasing Work Opportunities and Reducing Poverty Two Decades After Welfare Reform.” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 35(1): 241–44.
    OpenUrl
  44. ↵
    1. Davies, Gareth, and
    2. Martha Derthick
    . 1997. “Race and Social Welfare Policy: The Social Security Act of 1935.” Political Science Quarterly 112(2): 217–35.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
  45. ↵
    1. Dwyer Emory, Allison,
    2. Lenna Nepomnyaschy,
    3. Maureen R. Waller, and
    4. Daniel P. Miller
    . 2026. “Fathers’ Socioeconomic Precarity and Mothers’ Ability to Make Ends Meet.” RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 12(2): 140–70. https://doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2026.12.2.06.
    OpenUrl
  46. ↵
    1. Edin, Kathryn
    . 2018. “Child Support in the Age of Complex Families.” Issues in Science and Technology 34(2). https://issues.org/child-support-in-the-age-of-complex-families/
  47. ↵
    1. Edin, Kathryn, and
    2. Laura Lein
    . 1997. Making Ends Meet: How Single Mothers Survive Welfare and Low-Wage Work. Russell Sage Foundation.
  48. ↵
    1. Edin, Kathryn J., and
    2. H. Luke Shaefer
    . 2015. $2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America. Mariner Books.
  49. ↵
    1. Edin, Kathryn J.,
    2. H. Luke Shaefer, and
    3. Timothy J. Nelson
    . 2023. The Injustice of Place: Uncovering the Legacy of Poverty in America. Mariner Books.
  50. ↵
    1. Eissa, Nada, and
    2. Jeffrey B. Liebman
    . 1996. “Labor Supply Response to the Earned Income Tax Credit.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 111(2): 605–37. https://doi.org/10.2307/2946689.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
  51. ↵
    1. Ellwood, David T
    . 1988. Poor Support: Poverty in the American Family. Basic Books.
  52. ↵
    1. Enriquez, Brandon,
    2. Damon Jones, and
    3. Ernie Tedeschi
    . 2023. “Short-Term Labor Supply Response to the Expanded Child Tax Credit.” AEA Papers and Proceedings 113: 401–5.
    OpenUrl
  53. ↵
    1. Evans, William N., and
    2. Craig L. Garthwaite
    . 2014. “Giving Mom a Break: The Impact of Higher EITC Payments on Maternal Health.” American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 6(2): 258–90.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
  54. ↵
    1. Fannin, W. Clay,
    2. Colleen Heflin, and
    3. Leonard M. Lopoo
    . 2024. “The Effects of Waiving WIC Physical Presence Requirements on Program Caseloads.” Social Service Review 98(3). https://doi.org/10.1086/730818.
  55. ↵
    1. Flanagan, Emma, and
    2. Sarah Halpern-Meekin
    . 2026. “Uncertainty as a Psychological Cost: Mothers’ Perceptions of Financial Resources During the COVID-19 Pandemic.” RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 12(2): 34–56. https://doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2026.12.2.02.
    OpenUrl
  56. ↵
    1. Fong, Kelley, and
    2. Nora McCarthy
    . 2026. “Child Protective Services as Gateway and Gatekeeper in the New Welfare State.” RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 12(1): 122–43. https://doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2026.12.1.05.
    OpenUrl
  57. ↵
    1. Fox, Liana,
    2. Christopher Wimer,
    3. Irwin Garfinkel,
    4. Neeraj Kaushal, and
    5. Jane Waldfogel
    . 2015. “Waging War on Poverty: Poverty Trends Using a Historical Supplemental Poverty Measure.” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 34(3): 567–92. https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.21833.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  58. ↵
    1. Garfinkel, Irwin,
    2. Laurel Sariscsany,
    3. Elizabeth Ananat, et al
    . 2022. “The Benefits and Costs of a Child Allowance.” Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis 13(3): 335–62. https://doi.org/10.1017/bca.2022.15.
    OpenUrl
  59. ↵
    1. General Accounting Office
    . 2025. Factsheet.
  60. ↵
    1. Gonalons-Pons, Pilar,
    2. Kelly Musick,
    3. Jennifer Glass, and
    4. Aida Villanueva
    . 2026. “Income Dynamics and Income Inadequacy at the Transition to Parenthood, 1983–2019.” RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 12(1): 96–121. https://doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2026.12.1.04.
    OpenUrl
  61. ↵
    1. Gupta, Poonam,
    2. Kassandra Martinchek, and
    3. Elaine Waxman
    . 2025. “SNAP Increase Kept 2.9 Million People Out of Poverty after Thrifty Food Plan Update: A Summary of Research Findings.” April 21. Urban Institute. https://www.urban.org/research/publication/snap-increase-kept-29-million-people-out-poverty-after-thrifty-food-plan.
  62. ↵
    1. Gupta, Poonam, and
    2. Elaine Waxman
    . 2025. “Cuts to SNAP in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Would Widen the Persistent Gap between Benefits and Food Costs.” July 16. Urban Institute. https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/cuts-snap-one-big-beautiful-bill-act-would-widen-persistent-gap-between-benefits-and.
  63. ↵
    1. Ha, Yoonsook,
    2. Pamela Joshi,
    3. Kate Giapponi Schneider, and
    4. Erin Hardy
    . 2020. “Can Administrative Changes Improve Child-Care Subsidy Stability?” Social Service Review 94(2): 285–338.
    OpenUrl
  64. ↵
    1. Hallett, Nicole
    . 2018. “The Problem of Wage Theft.” Yale Law & Policy Review 37: 93–152. https://yalelawandpolicy.org/sites/default/files/YLPR/2_hallett_final.pdf.
    OpenUrl
  65. ↵
    1. Halpern-Meekin, Sarah,
    2. Kathryn Edin,
    3. Laura Tach, and
    4. Jennifer Sykes
    . 2015. It’s Not Like I’m Poor: How Working Families Make Ends Meet in a Post-Welfare World. University of California Press.
  66. ↵
    1. Hamilton, Leah,
    2. Stephen Roll,
    3. Mathieu Despard, et al
    . 2022. “The Impacts of the 2021 Expanded Child Tax Credit on Family Employment, Nutrition, and Financial Well-Being.” Findings from the Social Policy Institute’s Child Tax Credit Panel (Wave 2). April 19. Tax Policy Center. Brookings Global Working Paper No. 173.
  67. ↵
    1. Hardy, Bradley L.,
    2. Rhucha Samudra, and
    3. Jourdan A. Davis
    . 2019. “Cash Assistance in America: The Role of Race, Politics, and Poverty.” Review of Black Political Economy 46(4): 306–24.
    OpenUrl
  68. ↵
    1. Harvey, Hope
    . 2026. “Economic Exchange and Relational Work in Doubled-Up Households.” RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 12(2): 84–108. https://doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2026.12.2.04.
    OpenUrl
  69. ↵
    1. Herd, Pamela,
    2. Hilary Hoynes,
    3. Jamila Michener, and
    4. Donald Moynihan
    . 2023. “Introduction: Administrative Burden as a Mechanism of Inequality in Policy Implementation.” RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 9(5): 1–30. https://doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2023.9.5.01.
    OpenUrl
  70. ↵
    1. Herd, Pamela, and
    2. Donald F. Moynihan
    . 2019. Administrative Burden: Policymaking by Other Means. Russell Sage Foundation.
  71. ↵
    1. Herd, Pamela, and
    2. Donald Moynihan
    . 2023. “Implementing the Expanded Child Tax Credit: What Worked, What Didn’t, and How to Move Forward.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 710(1): 58–74.
    OpenUrl
  72. ↵
    1. Hero, Rodney E., and
    2. Morris E. Levy
    . 2018. “The Racial Structure of Inequality: Consequences for Welfare Policy in the United States.” Social Science Quarterly 99(2): 459–72.
    OpenUrl
  73. ↵
    1. Hill, Heather D.,
    2. Marci Ybarra,
    3. Julia Goodman, and
    4. Elizabeth Pelletier
    . 2026. “Are State Paid Family and Medical Leave Programs a Safety Net for Working Single Mothers?” RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 12(1): 146–71. https://doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2026.12.1.06.
    OpenUrl
  74. ↵
    1. Hoynes, Hilary, and
    2. Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach
    . 2015. “US Food and Nutrition Programs.” In Economics of Means-Tested Transfer Programs in the United States, Volume 1, edited by Robert A. Moffitt. University of Chicago Press.
  75. ↵
    1. Hughes, Cayce C.,
    2. Simon E. Fern,
    3. Marbella E. Hill, and
    4. Rachel T. Kimbro
    . 2026. “Place, History, and Food Apartheid: Reframing How Low-Income Black Mothers Make Ends Meet.” RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 12(2): 109–37. https://doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2026.12.2.05.
    OpenUrl
  76. ↵
    1. Internal Revenue Service
    . 2025. “EITC Participation Rate by State.” Last updated August 21, 2025. https://www.eitc.irs.gov/eitc-central/participation-rate-by-state/eitc-participation-rate-by-states.
  77. ↵
    1. Jencks, Christopher, and
    2. Kathryn Edin
    . 1990. “The Real Welfare Problem.” American Prospect, February 19. https://prospect.org/1990/02/19/real-welfare-problem/.
  78. ↵
    1. Jones, Jordan W.,
    2. Jessica E. Todd, and
    3. Saied Toossi
    . 2025. The Food and Nutrition Assistance Landscape: Fiscal Year 2024 Annual Report. July 10. EIB-291, US Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. https://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details?pubid=112883.
  79. ↵
    1. Joughin, Charlie
    . 2021. “Economic Data Underscores the Need for Significant, Sustained Investment in Child Care and Early Learning.” December 17. First Five Years Fund. https://www.ffyf.org/resources/2021/12/latest-economic-data-underscores-the-need-for-significant-sustained-investment-in-child-care-and-early-learning/.
  80. ↵
    1. Katz, Michael B
    . 2013. The Undeserving Poor: America’s Enduring Confrontation with Poverty. Oxford University Press.
  81. ↵
    1. Katznelson, Ira
    . 2005. When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America. W. W. Norton.
  82. ↵
    1. Kearney, Melissa S
    . 2023. The Two Parent Privilege: How Americans Stopped Getting Married and Started Falling Behind. University of Chicago Press.
  83. ↵
    1. Kessler, Courtney,
    2. Andrew Bryant,
    3. Kate Munkacsy, and
    4. Kelsey Farson Gray
    . 2023. “National- and State-Level Estimates of WIC Eligibility and WIC Program Reach in 2021.” US Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service.
  84. ↵
    1. Kim, Byungkyu, and
    2. Richard C. Fording
    . 2010. “Second-Order Devolution and the Implementation of TANF in the U.S. States.” States Politics & Policy Quarterly 10(4): 341–67.
    OpenUrl
  85. ↵
    1. Kwon, Sarah Jiyoon,
    2. Julia R. Henly, and
    3. Suh Kyung Lee
    . 2026. “Aligning Work and Care in a 24/7 Economy: The Childcare Arrangements of Low-Income Families Working Nontraditional Hours.” RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 12(1): 192–219. https://doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2026.12.1.08.
    OpenUrl
  86. ↵
    1. Lambert, Susan J
    . 2008. “Passing the Buck: Labor Flexibility Practices That Transfer Risk onto Hourly Workers.” Human Relations 61(9): 1203–27.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
  87. ↵
    1. Larrimore, Jeff
    . 2011. “Does a Higher Income Have Positive Health Effects? Using the Earned Income Tax Credit to Explore the Income-Health Gradient.” Milbank Quarterly 89(4): 694–727.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
  88. ↵
    1. Lee, Jiwan,
    2. Dolores Acevedo-Garcia,
    3. Sophie Collyer, et al
    . 2024. “The Role of Government Transfers in the Child Poverty Gap by Race and Ethnicity: A Focus on Black, Latino, and White Children.” Poverty and Social Policy Brief 8(2). Center on Poverty and Social Policy, Columbia University; Institute for Child, Youth and Family Policy, Brandeis University. https://povertycenter.columbia.edu/publication/2024/black-latino-white-child-poverty-gap.
  89. ↵
    1. Lieberman, Robert C
    . 2001. Shifting the Color Line: Race and the American Welfare State. Harvard University Press.
  90. ↵
    1. Linos, Elizabeth,
    2. Allen Prohofsky,
    3. Aparna Ramesh,
    4. Jesse Rothstein, and
    5. Matthew Unrath
    . 2022. “Can Nudges Increase Take-Up of the EITC? Evidence from Multiple Field Experiments.” American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 14(4): 432–52.
    OpenUrl
  91. ↵
    1. Michelmore, Katherine
    . 2013. “The Effect of Income on Educational Attainment: Evidence from State Earned Income Tax Credit Expansions.” SSRN Electronic Journal. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2356444.
  92. ↵
    1. Michener, Jamila
    . 2018. Fragmented Democracy: Medicaid, Federalism and Unequal Politics. Cambridge University Press.
  93. ↵
    1. Michener, Jamila
    . 2019. “Policy Feedback in a Racialized Polity.” Policy Studies Journal. Published online March 19. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/psj.12328.
  94. ↵
    1. Morgan, Erin R.,
    2. Heather D. Hill,
    3. Stephen J. Mooney,
    4. Frederick P. Rivara, and
    5. Ali Rowhani-Rahbar
    . 2020. “State Earned Income Tax Credits and General Health Indicators: A Quasi-Experimental National Study 1993–2016.” Health Services Research 55: 863–72.
    OpenUrlPubMed
  95. ↵
    1. Mueller-Smith, Michael G.,
    2. James M. Reeves,
    3. Kevin Schnepel, and
    4. Caroline Walker
    . 2023. The Direct and Intergenerational Effects of Criminal History-Based Safety Net Bans in the U.S. NBER Working Paper no. 31983. National Bureau of Economic Research.
  96. ↵
    1. National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)
    . 2025. “State Minimum Wages.” Updated January 5, 2026. https://www.ncsl.org/labor-and-employment/state-minimum-wages.
  97. ↵
    1. Neuberger, Zoë,
    2. Lauren Hall, and
    3. Linnea Sallack
    . 2024. “WIC’s Critical Benefits Reach Only Half of Those Eligible.” February 21. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
  98. ↵
    1. Pac, Jessica, and
    2. Lawrence M. Berger
    . 2024. “Quasi-Experimental Evidence on the Employment Effects of the 2021 Fully Refundable Monthly Child Tax Credit.” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 43(1): 192–213.
    OpenUrl
  99. ↵
    1. Parolin, Zachary,
    2. Christina J. Cross, and
    3. Rourke O’Brien
    . 2023. “Administrative Burdens and Economic Insecurity Among Black, Latino, and White Families.” RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 9(5): 56–75. https://doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2023.9.5.03.
    OpenUrl
  100. ↵
    1. Parolin, Zachary,
    2. Giulia Giupponi,
    3. Emma K. Lee, and
    4. Sophie Collyer
    . 2024. “Consumption Responses to an Unconditional Child Allowance in the United States.” Nature Human Behavior 8: 657–67. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-01835-6.
    OpenUrl
  101. ↵
    1. Payne-Patterson, Jasmine, and
    2. Adewale A. Maye
    . 2023. “A History of the Federal Minimum Wage.” Working Economics Blog. Economic Policy Institute. August 31. https://www.epi.org/blog/a-history-of-the-federal-minimum-wage-85-years-later-the-minimum-wage-is-far-from-equitable/.
  102. ↵
    1. Pilkauskas, Natasha V., and
    2. Kevin Bruey
    . 2026. “Making Ends Meet Thirty Years Later: How Single Mothers Survive on Low Incomes.” RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 12(2): 57–82. https://doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2026.12.2.03.
    OpenUrl
  103. ↵
    1. Quadagno, Jill
    . 1988. The Transformation of Old Age Security: Class and Politics in the American Welfare State. University of Chicago Press.
  104. ↵
    1. Quint, Janet,
    2. Kathryn Edin,
    3. Maria L. Buck, et al
    . 1999. Big Cities and Welfare Reform: Early Implementation an Ethnographic Findings from the Project on Devolution and Urban Change. April. MDRC. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED456175.
  105. ↵
    1. Ratcliffe, Caroline,
    2. Signe-Mary McKernan, and
    3. Sisi Zhang
    . 2011. “How Much Does the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Reduce Food Insecurity?” American Journal of Agriculture Economics 93(4): 1082–98. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajae/aar026.
    OpenUrl
  106. ↵
    1. Ray, Victor,
    2. Pamela Herd, and
    3. Don Moynihan
    . 2023. “Racialized Burdens: Applying Racialized Organization Theory to the Administrative State.” Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 33(1) 139–52.
    OpenUrl
  107. ↵
    1. Ritchie, Lorrene D.,
    2. Shannon E. Whaley, and
    3. Nancy J. Crocker
    . 2014 “Satisfaction of California WIC Participants with Food Package Changes.” Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 46(3): S71–S78.
    OpenUrlPubMed
  108. ↵
    1. Rothstein, Jesse, and
    2. Ben Zipperer
    . 2020. The EITC and Minimum Wage Work Together to Reduce Poverty and Raise Incomes. January 22. Economic Policy Institute. https://www.epi.org/publication/eitc-and-minimum-wage-work-together/.
  109. ↵
    1. Saenz, Matt
    . 2021. “Research Note: Economic Security Programs Significantly Reduce Poverty in Every State.” August 10. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. https://www.cbpp.org/research/poverty-and-inequality/economic-security-programs-significantly-reduce-poverty-in-every.
  110. ↵
    1. Schmidt, Lucie,
    2. Lara Shore-Sheppard, and
    3. Tara Watson
    . 2025. “Did Welfare Reform End the Safety Net as We Knew It? The Record Since 1996.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 39(1): 101–28.
    OpenUrl
  111. ↵
    1. Schneider, Daniel, and
    2. Kristen Harknett
    . 2019. “Consequences of Routine Work-Schedule Instability for Worker Health and Well-Being.” American Sociological Review 84(1): 82–114.
    OpenUrlPubMed
  112. ↵
    1. Schoeni, Robert F., and
    2. Rebecca M. Blank
    . 2000. “What Has Welfare Reform Accomplished? Impacts on Welfare Participation, Employment, Income, Poverty, and Family Structure.” RAND Labor and Population Program Working Paper Series No. DRU-2268. RAND Corporation. https://www.rand.org/pubs/drafts/DRU2268.html.
  113. ↵
    1. Schram, Sanford F
    . 2005. Welfare Discipline: Discourse, Governance and Globalization. Temple University Press.
  114. ↵
    1. Sentencing Project, The
    . 2024. Report: Mass Incarceration Trends. https://www.sentencingproject.org/reports/mass-incarceration-trends/.
  115. ↵
    1. Shaefer, H. Luke,
    2. Kathryn Edin,
    3. Vincent Fusaro, and
    4. Pinghui Wu
    . 2020. “The Decline of Cash Assistance and the Well-Being of Poor Households with Children.” Social Forces 98(3): 1000–25.
    OpenUrl
  116. ↵
    1. Shrider, Emily A., and
    2. Christina Bijou
    . 2025. Poverty in the United States: 2024. September 9. Current Population Reports, P60-287. US Census Bureau.
  117. ↵
    1. Smith, Katherine A
    . 2023. “A (Brief) History of Health Policy in the United States.” Delaware Journal of Public Health 9(5): 6–10. https://doi.org/10.32481/djph.2023.12.003.
    OpenUrl
  118. ↵
    1. Soss, Joe,
    2. Richard Fording, and
    3. Sanford F. Schram
    . 2011. “The Organization of Discipline: From Performance Management to Perversity and Punishment.” Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 21(Supplement 2): i203–i232.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
  119. ↵
    1. Soss, Joe, and
    2. Vesla Weaver
    . 2017. “Police Are Our Government: Politics, Political Science, and the Policing of Race–Class Subjugated Communities.” Annual Review of Political Science 20(1): 565–91.
    OpenUrl
  120. ↵
    1. Sykes, Jennifer,
    2. Katrin Križ,
    3. Kathryn Edin, and
    4. Sarah Halpern-Meekin
    . 2015. “Dignity and Dreams: What the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Means to Low-Income Families.” American Sociological Review 80(2): 243–67.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
  121. ↵
    1. Tach, Laura, and
    2. Kathryn Edin
    . 2017. “The Social Safety Net After Welfare Reform: Recent Developments and Consequences for Household Dynamics.” Annual Review of Sociology 43(1): 541–61.
    OpenUrl
  122. ↵
    1. Tiehen, Laura,
    2. Dean Jolliffe, and
    3. Craig Gundersen
    . 2012. Alleviating Poverty in the United States: The Critical Role of SNAP Benefits. April. ERR-132. US Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
  123. ↵
    1. Tillmon, Johnnie
    . 1972. “Welfare as a Women’s Issue.” Ms. https://msmagazine.com/2021/03/25/welfare-is-a-womens-issue-ms-magazine-spring-1972/.
  124. ↵
    1. US Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division
    . n.d. “History of Federal Minimum Wage Rates Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 1938–2009.” https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage/history/chart.
  125. ↵
    1. van der Naald, Joseph,
    2. Sarah K. Bruch, and
    3. Janet C. Gornick
    . 2026. “Poverty Disparities and the Reconfiguration of Social Provisioning: White, Black, and Latino Single-Mother Families, 1996–2018.” RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 12(1): 67–95. https://doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2026.12.1.03.
    OpenUrl
  126. ↵
    1. Vinh, Ryan,
    2. Danielle Wilson,
    3. Sophie Collyer,
    4. Megan Curran, and
    5. Christopher Wimer
    . 2025. Assessing the Potential Impacts of Refundable State Child Tax Credits on Child Poverty. April 21. Center on Poverty and Social Policy, Columbia University. https://povertycenter.columbia.edu/publication/2025/refundable-state-child-tax-credit-designs.
  127. ↵
    1. Ward, Deborah E
    . 2005. The White Welfare State: The Racialization of US Welfare Policy. University of Michigan Press.
    1. Wimer, Christopher,
    2. Liana Fox,
    3. Irwin Garfinkel,
    4. Neeraj Kaushal,
    5. JaeHyun Nam, and
    6. Jane Waldfogel
    . 2021. “Trends in the Economic Wellbeing of Unmarried-Parent Families with Children: New Estimates Using an Improved Measure of Poverty.” Population Research and Policy Review 40: 1253–76.
    OpenUrl
  128. ↵
    1. Wimer, Christopher,
    2. Sophie Collyer,
    3. Liana Fox, et al
    . 2024. Historical Supplemental Poverty Measure Data. Center on Poverty and Social Policy, Columbia University. https://povertycenter.columbia.edu/historical-spm-data.
  129. ↵
    1. Wimer, Christopher,
    2. Sophie Collyer,
    3. David Harris, and
    4. Jiwan Lee
    . 2022. “The 2021 Child Tax Credit Expansion: Child Poverty Reduction and the Children Formerly Left Behind.” Poverty and Social Policy Brief 6(8). Center on Poverty and Social Policy, Columbia University. https://povertycenter.columbia.edu/publication/2021-child-poverty-reduction.
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences: 12 (2)
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences
Vol. 12, Issue 2
1 May 2026
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • Cover (PDF)
  • Index by author
  • Front Matter (PDF)
Print
Download PDF
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Three Decades Since Making Ends Meet: How Single-Mother Families Survive Today
(Your Name) has sent you a message from RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
17 + 3 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.
Citation Tools
Three Decades Since Making Ends Meet: How Single-Mother Families Survive Today
Elizabeth O. Ananat, Carolyn Y. Barnes, Sandra K. Danziger, Kathryn Edin
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences May 2026, 12 (2) 1-32; DOI: 10.7758/RSF.2026.12.2.01

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
Three Decades Since Making Ends Meet: How Single-Mother Families Survive Today
Elizabeth O. Ananat, Carolyn Y. Barnes, Sandra K. Danziger, Kathryn Edin
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences May 2026, 12 (2) 1-32; DOI: 10.7758/RSF.2026.12.2.01
del.icio.us logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Abstract
    • POVERTY AND WELFARE THEN AND NOW
    • EVOLVING POLICY CONTEXT FOR INCOME SUPPORT
    • FURTHER QUESTIONS AND POLICY CONCERNS
    • FOOTNOTES
    • REFERENCES
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

Similar Articles

Keywords

  • poverty
  • welfare policy
  • inequality
  • children
  • single mothers

© 2026 RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences

Powered by HighWire