Substance Abuse and Welfare Reform, a Policy Brief by the National Poverty Center

Authored by Rukmalie Jayakody, Kristin Seefeldt, Sheldon Danziger, and Harold Pollack. Citing new estimates of the extent of substance abuse among welfare recipients, the authors suggest that policymakers and analysts have likely overstated the contribution of substance dependence to welfare receipt. The authors note that while substance use, abuse, and dependence are barriers to self-sufficiency, so are poor education, lack of transportation, physical and mental health problems, and other difficulties that are more common than substance dependence among welfare recipients. The authors stress the need for comprehensive services to address the multiple barriers faced by the most disadvantaged welfare recipients.