LIFE AFTER WELFARE - WOMEN, WORK, AND REPEAT DEPENDENCY

I examine the process by which single mothers who have ever experience d and ended a spell on welfare return to welfare for further economic support. My analyses address the permanency of welfare independence by type of exit and identify those women who manage to stay off welfare. I use the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) for the years 1983 to 1988; the data contain monthly reports of welfare receipt (AFDC) and employment status. Returns to welfare are quite common and often occur soon after leaving: Over one quarter of the women in this study retur n to welfare within one year of exiting, and 42 percent return within two years. I find that repeat dependency on welfare is determined by s ocial isolation, child-care responsibilities, human capital, and famil y economic status. Moreover the route by which women exit welfare is l ess important to their chances of remaining off welfare than is the se quence of life events and changing circumstances that occur after thei r welfare exit.