Rising Extreme Poverty: Social Exclusion of Welfare Families in Georgia, U.S.

One of the most widely debated issues in welfare reform has been whether welfare families achieve economic well being via employment. Although this question has greatly advanced our understanding of welfare recipients, it has neglected the aspect of poverty that comes from diverse exclusive social relationships. This study raises the question of social exclusion in the prediction of poverty, and applies three dimensions to answer this question: labor market, informal networks, and welfare support system. Using the data from Georgia Welfare Reform Research, we found that extreme poverty rates among former welfare families increased steadily after 1999, leading to one out of four families having nodisposable income. The results show that high levels of extreme poverty are concentrated among families with a nonworking single parent, disabled child or parent, those families who are members of a distrust group and those who do not attend church. The most powerful policy effect came from SSL, whereas other public assistance programs were not effective at preventingextreme poverty. Our findings suggest that poverty can be approached through a process of social integration that establishes partnerships with local nonprofits, neighborhood initiatives, and public programs. Establishing supportive environments for the extremely poor is the key to reducing poverty and facilitating the transition from welfare to work.