Living Arrangements and School Dropout Among Teen Mothers Following Welfare Reform

The 1996 welfare reform laws required parents under the age of 18 to live with their parents or an adult relative and enroll in school to be eligible for benefits. This article examines whether minor mothers were less likely to drop out of school and more likely to live with parents following welfare reform. Data from the National Education Longitudinal Survey 1988 and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 were used in difference-in-difference analyses. The article notes that after welfare reform, teen mothers living with parents increased and dropout rates decreased.