Bridging the Gap: Is Welfare a Parental Leave Alternative for Low-Income Families?

This brief from the Family Welfare Research & Training Group profiles cash assistance cases in Maryland that were designated as “child under one cases” and eligible for the federal Age of Youngest Child (AYC) exemption, which permits single parents to abstain from work requirements for up to 12 months while caring for an infant. Overall, the clients from these cases were substantially younger than the typical cash assistance client in Maryland, many of them were new to the cash assistance program, just over half had been employed before receiving benefits, and the typical parent only used the exemption for 7 months.