 Agency‐Based Support: A “Last‐Resort” Strategy for Low‐Income Families?*Shira Offer Social Science Quarterly, 2010, vol. 91, issue 1, 284-300 Abstract: Objectives. Agency‐based support, defined as material assistance received from charities and private social service agencies, can constitute an important source of help for low‐income families. This study examines the socioeconomic determinants of agency‐based support and seeks to reveal whether it constitutes an alternative source of support for families whose personal networks can provide only limited assistance. Methods. Multivariate analyses were conducted using data from “Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three City Study,” a study of low‐income mothers living in disadvantaged urban neighborhoods. Results. Findings reveal that respondents with high levels of network support were significantly less likely to use agency‐based support. No association, however, was found with network burden, which led to rejecting the alternative hypothesis that people may use agency‐based support to limit their interactions with demanding network members. Conclusions. Overall, findings suggest that agency‐based support constitutes an alternative source of assistance for those who receive little or no support from family and friends. Policy implications in light of welfare reform are discussed. Date: 2010 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:socsci:v:91:y:2010:i:1:p:284-300 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from Access Statistics for this article Social Science Quarterly is currently edited by Robert L. Lineberry More articles in Social Science Quarterly from Southwestern Social Science Association |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.