In 1997 the Illinois state legislature mandated that the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS)seek out university researchers to design and conduct a six-year panel study of welfare reform. The Illinois Families Study (IFS) is being conducted by a consortium of researchers from four Illinois universities in response to that legislative mandate. The primary goal of the study is to inform legislators, state program administrators, social service providers, advocates, and other policymakers about how Illinois families are faring since the implementation of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and other welfare reform policies. To do so, the study will follow a representative sample of families from nine Illinois counties over six years.
Annual in-person surveys and administrative data from several state agencies are the two primary components of the core IFS. Several supplemental studies, including an embedded assessment of child well-being, have recently been added to the core IFS.
Recipients/participants/clients
Former recipients ("leavers")
Children
Subgroups Analyzed
Children 1-6
Children younger than 1 (infants)
Rural Populations
Minority populations
Sample Size and Unit
Random sample drawn from grantees receiving Illinois TANF at some point between September and November 1998; Sample was stratified by two geographic regions: Cook County and the remaining counties; Sample is representative of Illinois TANF caseload, including rural and urban populations.
The primary TANF grantee at the time of sample selection (usually the mother) is the unit of analysis for the core IFS. Young children (under age 5 at Wave 2) are the unit of analysis for the child well-being supplemental study.
Execution
Survey response rates
Wave 1: 72% (1,362 surveys)
The response rate for Wave 1 of the child well-being supplement was 95%.
Wave 2: 87% (1,183 surveys)
Wave 3: 91% (1,072 surveys)
Wave 4: 91% (967 surveys).
Sites Studied
Nine Illinois counties, representing 75% of the state TANF caseload (Cook, Knox, Stark, Marshall, Fulton, Peoria, Woodford, Tazewell, and St. Clair).
