Battered and on welfare: the experiences of women with the Family Violence Option

Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, June, 2004 by Judy L. Postmus

Noting the incidence of battered women on welfare, lawmakers passed the Family Violence Option (FVO), which allows states to offer waivers from welfare program requirements. Assumptions were made that many women would seek relief under the FVO. However, reports indicate that less than 5 percent of welfare recipients are receiving waivers. This paper presents the findings from a qualitative study that sought to explore the experiences of 29 battered women with the welfare system and the FVO in New York State. Their experiences suggest that changes in FVO screening process are necessary to fully implement the program in the way legislators intended.

Key words: Battered women, welfare, Family Violence Option, domestic violence

Introduction

Welfare reform drastically changed how women in poverty receive cash assistance. No longer entitled to benefits, women now must meet certain program requirements including workforce participation, cooperation with child support enforcement, and agreeing to drug and alcohol assessments and treatment within a limited time frame. Predictively, these changes caused a stir among a variety of advocacy groups, including battered women advocates who questioned how women victims of domestic violence would fare under these new requirements.

Research indicates that 20 to 32 percent of welfare recipients report current intimate partner violence and between 55 and 65 percent of recipients have experienced recent or past intimate partner violence (Allard, 1997; Browne & Bassuk, 1997; Lidman, 1995; Lloyd, 1997; Raphael, 1996). Noting the incidence of battered women on welfare, lawmakers passed the Family Violence Option (FVO) as part of welfare reform in 1996. The FVO allows states the option of responding to battered women on welfare by providing waivers from program requirements. Almost all states have adopted the FVO or made specific provisions for battered women in their welfare plans (Raphael & Haennicke, 1999).

Based on the incidence of domestic violence among welfare recipients, assumptions were made that many women would come forward to seek relief under the FVO. However, early reports indicate that less than five percent of welfare recipients are receiving waivers (Raphael & Haennicke, 1999). In New York, one of many states that adopted the FVO, all applicants and recipients of welfare are screened with the Domestic Violence Screening Form (New York State, 1998). New York State tracked the number of welfare recipients who screened positive for domestic violence and received waivers. Between April 1998 and June 1999, 5,700 of the over 500,000 welfare recipients in New York State indicated during the screening process that they were in current danger of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse (New York State, 1999).

The rates of screening for domestic violence in New York State seem especially low in light of the organizational and financial relationship between the state and the shelter system. Domestic violence shelters in New York State rely on funding from the Department of Social Services (DSS), based on client eligibility for public assistance (Davis & Hagen, 1988). Thus, most, if not all, shelter clients in New York State are required to apply for welfare. In a situation in which screening is supposedly universal, the low rates at which New York State welfare recipients screen positive seem surprising. This paper presents the findings from a qualitative study that sought to explore and report the experiences of 29 battered women with the welfare system and the FVO in New York State. As will be seen, their experiences suggest that changes in FVO screening process are necessary to fully implement the program in the way legislators intended.

Review of the Literature on the Implementation of the FVO

The discrepancy between the number of battered women who receiving the FVO waivers raises several questions about the implementation of the FVO. First, could the disparity between the incidence of domestic violence among welfare recipients and those receiving waivers be explained as a problem of victims not self-disclosing? If women view front-line workers as unsupportive or even judgmental, they may be unwilling to divulge highly personal and potentially embarrassing information about their abuse experiences.

To date there are no published studies that examine the perspectives of battered women on their interactions with frontline workers. In fact, very few studies exist that record welfare recipients' experiences of their treatment by front-line workers. Kingfisher (1996) asked welfare recipients in Michigan how they characterized the front-line workers. The recipients reported that front-line workers make arbitrary decisions, do not explain policies or procedures, and punish recipients if confronted. The recipients also characterized the workers as lazy, concerned with their own statuses, inaccessible, ignorant, and naysayers. Some recipients indicated that the workers were nice and helpful; however, the positive comments seemed minimal when compared to the long list of negative characterizations (Kingfisher, 1996).