A Study of the Impacts of Welfare Reform in Philadelphia: Public Shelter Utilization, Demand for Public Housing Programs, and Public Housing Program Recipient Outcomes

The use of public shelters in Philadelphia was examined both before and after the implementation of Act 35, Pennsylvania’s response to the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. Univariate interrupted time-series analyses were conducted to determine if trends in shelter utilization (the number of families admitted, by family size, by race, by age of household head, by income, by disability indicator, and by average length of stay) changed significantly after March 1997, the month in which Act 35 was implemented, or after 3, 6, 9, and 12 months of implementation. Results indicate that family size and household head age increased after the implementation of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, although not at consistent lags. A small negative effect on self-reported substance abuse and a small positive effect on the proportion of household heads with a disability were found, but at inconsistent lags. As is the case with most evaluations of welfare reform, it is difficult to separate the effects of welfare reform and Philadelphia’s economy during the study period. To tes