References

FAQs
What does it mean to
experience poverty?
Families and
their children
experience poverty when they
are unable to achieve a
minimum, decent standard of
living that allows them to
participate fully in mainstream
society.
What is the percentage of lowincome single mothers in the
United States?
According
to
U.S.
Census
Bureau,3 out of about 12 million
single parent families in 2014,
more than 80% were headed by
single mothers.
How will receiving a higher
education help out low-income
single mothers?
By getting a higher education
single mothers will be able to
gain the knowledge and skills
needed to obtain a good, high
paying job which will lead them
to be financially stable, be able
to support their family, and start
making their way out of poverty.

Gilot L. (April 8, 2007) Single mothers face added

difficulties. El Paso Times. Retrieved from
http://archive.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_5620110/
Freeman, A. (2015, August 18) Single Moms and Welfare

Motherhood
Should Not Cause
Poverty

Woes: A Higher-Education Dilemma. The Atlantic.

Retrieved from
http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015
/08/why-single-moms-struggle-withcollege/401582/
Dickinson, A. (2015) Single Mom Wants to Grow Up.
[Online image]. Retrieved November 25 from
http://amydickinson.com/page/2
Grill, J. (2015) For some single parents, going back to
school can be practically impossible without financial
assistance. [Online image]. Retrieved November 25
from http://money.howstuffworks.com/personalfinance/college-planning/financial-aid/financial-aidsingle-mother.htm
[Untitled image of Welfare Dependency sign]. Retrieved
from
http://www.heritage.org/issues/welfare/welfarereform

(Copyright Amy Dickinson,2015)

IF EARNING A DEGREE IS SO
EFFECTIVE IN ENDING POOR
MOTHERS RELIANCE ON WELFARE,
WHY ARENT POLICYMAKERS
MAKING IT EASIER FOR LOWINCOME SINGLE MOMS TO GO
COLLEGE?-FREEMAN

Dont they understand Im going

to college so that I dont have to
use these benefits anymore? A
single mother from Boston.

Education can provide a pathway

out of poverty. However, for lowincome single mothers, college
and skills training is out of reach
due to programs having strict
requirements
Welfare Reform Act of 1996 limited
cash assistance and enforced
work requirements

(Copyright Grill, 2015)

A large percentage of single

mothers and their children are
living in poverty and a big
reason is education.
A study of 158-single mothers
college students in New York found
that 100 percent of former welfare
recipients who earned four-year
degrees stopped relying on public
benefit programs, showing that
receiving an education was key to
single mothers and their families
getting out of poverty.

- College Classes do not count

as work
- Participants who do attend
school lose benefits such as
childcare vouchers and
financial aid

What Can Be Done?

Allow college enrollment to
count as work.

Solution
Once college classes can be
counted as work, single
mothers will be able to
receive a higher education
while still receiving cash
assistance and other benefits.
This will lead them to find high
paying jobs with better
benefits and stop relying on
welfare altogether.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families

(TANF) may use their funds to pay for lowincome students to go to college.

(Copyright The Heritage Forum, 2015)

Funds available through Workforce

Investment Act (WIA) and other statebased financial aid programs can
finance education and skills training for
low-income single mothers.