The private safety net: The role of charitable organizations in the lives of the poor

As welfare reform unfolds, nonprofit social service agencies will increasin gly be called upon to help fill the gap between what unskilled and semiskil led mothers can earn in the low-wage labor market and what they need to mee t their monthly expenses. This article draws on in-depth interviews with lo w-income single mothers and multiyear observational studies of two nonprofi t social service agencies. Using these data, the authors show what kinds of resources these agencies p rovide low-income single mothers, how mothers mobilize the resources availa ble, to what degree agencies actually contribute to mothers' cash and in-ki nd resources, how agencies distribute their resources, and what effect agen cies' distribution practices have on these women. The analysis shows that a lthough nonprofit social service agencies are a crucial part of many low-in come mothers' economic survival strategies, they cannot come close to subst ituting for the eroding public safety net.