Welfare recipients in Illinois are surprisingly upbeat about their lives after sweeping reforms of the welfare system compelled them to find jobs and move toward self-sufficiency, ac-cording to a report issued in November by the Illinois Consortium on Welfare Reform headed by Dan Lewis (IPR-Education and Social Policy).

More than half of the former recipients are working and report job satisfaction and improved financial situations. Nearly all said they expect to be working within a year. A sizable portion reported stable housing conditions and satisfaction with their neighborhoods. And nearly all approve of the welfare reforms.

These findings emerged from the first phase of the Illinois Families Study, an independently funded six-year panel study by university researchers at North-western, Northern Illinois, Roosevelt, and the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Despite these positive findings, many current and former recipients worry about having enough money in the future. They continue to struggle with low wages, few employer-sponsored benefits, confusion about the new welfare rules, and services and education programs that many find unsatisfactory or inaccessible.

The results come from a unique partnership between universities and the state of Illinois that was mandated by the legislature in 1997. Funded by five foundations, the study’s goal is to discover how Illinois families have been faring since the state began the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program and other welfare reforms.

“The study will provide information to the legislators, the Governor’s office, the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), and advocacy organizations that they can use to assess the progress of welfare reform and improve policymaking,” Lewis said.

Working closely with IDHS, researchers interviewed a random sample of 1,362 TANF recipients from nine Illinois counties between November 1999 and September 2000.

One of the clearest findings is that current and former TANF recipients value health insurance more than any other benefit potentially available to them, and it is associated with positive employment outcomes. Most families had health insurance, although significant gaps remain and employer-sponsored coverage is rare. Of those interviewed, 76% had Medicaid coverage, and 7% had employer-sponsored coverage.

If money and medical coverage were the same, nearly all respondents (95%) said they would prefer to work rather than receive welfare. In fact, most respondents approved of reforms like work requirements and improved work supports. More than half (60%) were positive about imposing time limits.

However, training and education programs may not be adequate. Many who requested these services did not receive them, and those who participated in job search and job training programs gave them mixed reviews.

Many respondents found the specifics of welfare rules confusing. More than one-third did not know of time limits on TANF benefits. Some were unclear about their eligibility for Medicaid and Food Stamps. Nearly 30% did not know it was possible to continue getting Food Stamps while working, and 23% did not know it was possible to continue getting Medicaid while employed.

Caseworkers, in general, got positive marks from recipients. Three-fourths of recipients reported that their most recent welfare worker treated them with dignity and respect, and more than two-thirds said their worker explained the rules.

The interviewees most frequently cited TANF service delivery as the area in greatest need of improvement. Revising the TANF rules and providing better access to training and education also were mentioned often.

More than two-thirds of respondents had worked in the past year, but half (53%) were employed at the time of the interview. Because of low wages and lack of job benefits, “merely getting a job cannot be equated with self-sufficiency,” the report concluded.

Although Illinois allows some families, depending on income, to get benefits while working, many study respondents felt frustration with low-paying jobs.

“It’s hard to find a job with enough money to take care of your children, rent, light, gas,” one respondent said. “Most of the jobs pay $6 hourly and they may give you 12 hours weekly. What can you do with that?”

Other findings:

Workforce participation. Among the 53% currently employed, 38% had full-time jobs. The average work week for respondents was 33 hours. The median hourly wage was $7 and median monthly earnings were $960. A third of respondents had to commute one hour or more to their job.

Experiences with welfare. More than half (55%) of respondents were still on TANF and 23% were combining work with TANF at the time of the interview. Of those who left the TANF rolls, 42% said they left because they had found jobs or because their earnings were too high. Some lost their benefits because of missed appointments, or failure to file paperwork or meet work requirements.

Health and well-being. Though 25% of respondents reported a period when they were uninsured during the previous 12 months, 83% had health insurance, and 88% of their children had coverage (84% on Medicaid or KidCare).

Housing and neighborhoods. Overall, the study showed the respondents’ housing was relatively stable. Three-quarters had lived in the same residence over the past 12 months. Only 7% reported they had been homeless or living precariously (in a car, abandoned building, or homeless shelter).

Future reports will draw upon state administrative data, follow-up surveys, and in-depth interviews to explore workforce attachment, service use, and child well-being.

Other investigators are Paul Kleppner, executive director of the Office for Social Policy and Research at Northern Illinois University; James H. Lewis, executive director of the Institute for Metropolitan Affairs at Roosevelt University; and Stephanie Riger, professor of psychology and women’s studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

The report was funded by the Joyce Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Woods Fund of Chicago, the Polk Bros. Founda-tion, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

The summary (free) and technical report ($15) are available at www. jcpr.org or from IPR’s publications department.