Maryland’s Department of Human Services oversees the provision of safety net benefits to thousands of families each year. Our research focuses on two of these two important safety net programs: 1) the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and 2) Temporary Cash Assistance, Maryland’s version of the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. Reports focus on the families and individuals who participate in these programs and their outcomes.
SNAP Population
The federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—commonly known as SNAP and formerly known as Food Stamps—is the largest food assistance program in the United States. In recent years, Maryland’s SNAP program has served more than 600,000 individuals each month. Our studies examine households and adult recipients of the SNAP program in Maryland as well as those who have left Maryland's SNAP program.
Welfare Leavers
Life After Welfare Series
Maryland's large-scale, longitudinal study of what happens to families after they exit the TANF rolls. Measured outcomes include employment, returns to welfare, receipt of transitional benefits, and involvement in the child welfare system. Each subsequent report includes additional samples and additional follow-up data.
Annual Updates
Special Issues
Caseload Exits at the Local Level Series
A series of reports that examines the universe of cases that have left cash assistance in Maryland since the state's welfare reform program, the Family Investment Program (FIP), began in October, 1996.
Annual Updates and Special Issues
Current Welfare Population
Life on Welfare Series
Who is using welfare today? The Life On Welfare series examines aspects of the active TANF caseload in Maryland, including studies on the characteristics of families who are receiving benefits and whether and how the profile of active cases changes over time. The reports in the series are based on administrative data from TANF cases that in Maryland that are active in the month of October each year.
Annual Updates and Special Issues
The Active TANF Caseload in Maryland
This study combines administrative and survey data to provide policy makers and program managers with a comprehensive profile of the characteristics, circumstances, and prospects of single adult families receiving cash assistance. The report was prepared by the University of Maryland School of Social Work’s Family Welfare Research and Training Group, and funded by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Reference Grant No. 01ASPE367A) through a grant awarded to the Maryland Department of Human Resources. Similar grants were awarded to four other states and the District of Columbia, and the six grantees used a common interview instrument developed by Mathematica Policy Research (MPR), called the TANF Caseload Survey.
Main Report and Special Issues
Additional Welfare Topics
Welfare Baseline
Sanctions
Time Limts
Diversion
Assessment
Barriers to Employment
Legal Issues
Domestic Violence
Work Supports and Initiatives