TO WORK OR NOT TO WORK - IS THAT THE RIGHT QUESTION

This paper applies thematic analysis to survey data obtained from a sa mple of AFDC recipients to investigate the complexities of single-pare nt decisionmaking in low-income households. A basic needs budget is de veloped to determine the adequacy of women's wages to provide for chil dren's minimal material needs. Ln surveys, parents indicate their prim ary goal is the well-being of the children, determined by the adequacy of several types of resources, which we categorize into four groups: 1) material resources, 2) caring resources, 3) community resources, an d 4) the macro-level environment. Using this framework, we develop a s chematic model of single-parent decision-making, incorporating the ass umption that children's level of need and well-being are determined no t only by the cost and availability of material resources but also by psychological factors such as gender conflicts, neighborhood safety, a s well as parents' time and social networks that provide caring labor.