Life after Welfare: Disconnected Leavers who Reconnect

This brief from the Family Welfare Research and Training Group looks at the experience of individuals after participation in Maryland’s Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA) program. The findings indicate that a substantial number were “disconnected leavers” with no source of income after they exited the program. Disconnected leavers are those who are simultaneously not participating in the workforce and not receiving cash assistance, whether TCA benefits or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. The brief provides a profile of short-term disconnected leavers and shows how they differ from longer-term disconnected leavers.