ies with Dependent Children (AFDC) with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) in 1996 compelled all working age family members (regardless of whether they have children) to work in order to receive TANF services that have a five-year life-time limitation. Although the country has succeeded in reducing the number of welfare recipients, the general quality of the lives of these former welfare recipients, many of whom are single parents, and their families have decreased (Howe and Pidwell 171).
For single parents, this legislation has placed them at a tremendous disadvantage because many low-income welfare recipients do not have sufficient education and training, as well as work experience, to acquire good jobs. Forced to take up part-time, casual and low-paying work, many of these single parents are unable to earn any types of benefits such as sick leave and annual leave. Their situation is further exacerbated by the fact that they often encounter difficulties with obtaining adequate childcare. Because of their need to pay for childcare and transportation to work, these single parents are unable to earn sufficient income to lift their families above the poverty threshold (Howe and Pidwell 171; Seguino and Butler 197).
Employers who are unwilling to provide full-time work to single parents so that they can receive health benefits also contribute to the poverty of single parent families. Their insensitivity towards the plight of single parents is also reflected in absence of family-friendly work policies such as flexible hours on jobs, school holiday leave, compassionate leave and provision of childcare. All of these factors can combine to make it difficult for single parents to provide a decent standard of living for their children (Howe and Pidwell 174; Seguino and Butler 197).
Apart from the economic problems, single parents are also undermined by social institutions due to social stigma. Single parents oft...