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Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance (1999)

Chapter: 10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families

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Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

CHAPTER 10
Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families1

Sandra L. Hofferth

The public perception that immigrants are costly, particularly because they rely on public assistance more than natives do, contributed to provisions in the Parental Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of August 1996 restricting immigrants' access to public assistance. This new legislation denies some forms of public assistance (e.g., food stamps) to almost all immigrants until citizenship and denies other forms of public assistance (Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), Medicaid) to new immigrants for five years. It allows states to deny AFDC, Medicaid, and Title XX social services block grant funds to immigrants who came to the United States before August 1996, although almost all states have opted to continue this coverage. Thus, it is a surprise to many that, when demographic and economic differences between them are controlled, analyses of working-age populations have found immigrants to be significantly less likely to receive public assistance of various kinds than natives (Fix and Passel, 1994).

There are a variety of types and sources of public assistance, however, and there may be differences in immigrant receipt among them. Additionally, previous analyses have focused on

1  

An early version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the Population Association of America, March 26-30, 1997, in Washington, D.C.

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

working-age populations or on households; none has focused on children. The issue is whether immigrants' needs represent a disproportionate burden on federal funds relative to those of comparable natives. This chapter focuses on public assistance receipt by native and immigrant Mexican and Cuban American children and their families compared with children in white native families using data collected from 1990 to 1995 in a nationally representative survey that oversampled Mexican and Cuban American families.

INTRODUCTION

Eligibility of Immigrants for Public Assistance Benefits

Even prior to the passage of PRWORA, the context for the current study, many immigrants were, in fact, ineligible for public assistance benefits. Undocumented immigrants were eligible only for such things as emergency medical care and the Women, Infants, and Children supplemental program (WIC; Fix and Passel, 1994). Mexico, El Salvador, and Guatemala account for more than half of all illegal immigrants today and 80 percent of those legalized under the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986. Immigrants who legalized their status under IRCA were barred from receiving public assistance for five years. Additionally, if legal permanent residents applied for public assistance programs during their first three years in the United States, their sponsor's income was to be included in determining eligibility. As a result, many legal permanent residents were not eligible.

Because of the circumstances under which they arrived in the United States, usually with no money or provisions, refugees have had greater access to special assistance for their first five years here than nonrefugees. While refugees comprise only about 10 percent of immigrants in a given year, they constitute a substantial proportion of some immigrant groups, such as Cubans, Eastern Europeans, and Southeast Asians (Fix and Passel, 1994).

Limitations on public assistance make it likely that immigrants receive some types but not others. Refugees and elderly immigrants have high rates of participation in Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), for example (Fix and Passel,

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

1994). It is important, therefore, to look separately at the different types of public assistance benefits offered and to consider the country of origin and refugee status of immigrants. Whether immigrants have access to benefits depends first and foremost on their economic status; a prime condition for eligibility for most public assistance programs is a low level of income, usually around the poverty threshold.

Eligibility may also depend on the head of household's age, health, marital status, and number and ages of the children. Younger heads and those with many or younger children may be more likely to receive AFDC and less likely to be eligible for SSI and other welfare. Married heads and those in good health will have less need for assistance. Since unemployment is higher and wages lower among those with low levels of schooling, lesser education may also be associated with greater program eligibility. There are also substantial differences in public assistance programs across states and regions of the country. Generally, benefits are lower in the South, while they are higher in the West and Northeast. Since residents are more likely to qualify for and receive benefits in a high-compared with a low-benefit state, regional differences should be taken into account. Finally, poor economic conditions in the local community, such as high unemployment rates, may make receipt of public assistance more likely.

Previous Research

Other studies have conducted in-depth comparisons of the public assistance receipt of immigrants compared with natives. Immigrant households are generally more likely to receive various forms of public assistance (Tienda and Jensen, 1986). Once socioeconomic and demographic differences between natives and immigrants were taken into account using the 1976 Survey of Income and Education, both Blau (1984) and Simon and Akbari (1996) found that immigrants were less likely to receive welfare payments (including AFDC, other welfare, and SSI) than the native born. Analyses based on the 1970 and 1980 censuses also found immigrant families to be generally less likely than natives

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

to receive public assistance, all else being equal (Jensen, 1988; Tienda and Jensen, 1986).

A recent paper based on the Survey of Income and Program Participation reports that, while immigrant-native differences in the probability of receiving cash benefits were small, differences widened once noncash benefits were included, since immigrants generally tended to have higher receipt of noncash benefits (Borjas and Hilton, 1996). Households whose head was foreign born were found to receive cash benefits, Medicaid, and vouchers (food stamps, WIC, heating assistance) for a shorter proportion of time than natives, after controlling for a variety of demographic factors that differed between native and immigrant households. However, when housing subsidies and school breakfasts and lunches were added to the set, households with a foreign-born head received assistance for a significantly longer proportion of time than those with a native-born head. It is important to determine exactly which forms of public assistance immigrants are more likely to receive and whether this relationship is explained by other characteristics of the family, particularly demographic characteristics and poverty level.

Children Versus Adults

Although immigrant children represent a sizable component of the next generation, most research on immigrants to date has focused on adults (Edmonston, 1996). Because immigrant families tend to be larger in size, with more children, focusing on families may or may not represent how well children are doing. High rates of immigration have led to dramatic changes in the racial and ethnic composition of the student population in the United States over the past decade. Hispanic and Asian enrollment is rising steadily while white enrollment is declining and black enrollment remains largely constant (National Center for Education Statistics, 1993). Between 1979 and 1989, the number of persons age 5 and older in the United States who were reported to speak a language other than English at home increased by about 40 percent, from 9 to 12 percent. Between 1986 and 1991, the limited English proficient (LEP) student population grew by over 50 percent, while the total student population grew by only 4 percent

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

(Fix and Passel, 1994). This rapid growth in the number and share of non-English-speaking students has created problems and challenges for schools. The new students are increasingly likely to be poor and are not only culturally unlike previous student cohorts but unlike each other. In some schools, dozens of language groups are represented. Over half of all students from 49 of the largest 100 school districts are black, Hispanic, or Asian (Population Reference Bureau, 1989). This has led to considerable concern about how well their families are doing economically and how much of a burden they place on state and local government services.

What is an Immigrant?

We usually think of an immigrant as someone born in another country who arrives in the United States some time after birth, while a native is a person born in the United States. Because of the special dependent circumstances of children, we are interested in children of foreign-born parents, whether or not the child was born in this country. Of course, whether or not a child was born in the United States is a critical piece of information, as it is a critical distinction for eligibility for public programs. All persons born in the United States are U.S. citizens and are entitled to all of the rights of citizenship, including public programs. Therefore, we would expect the families of U.S.-born children to have the highest likelihood of receipt of public assistance, compared with other groups. The important comparison would be between foreign-born children of foreign-born parents (first generation) and native-born children of foreign-born parents (second generation) or native-born parents (third generation). The latter should be more likely to receive public assistance purely because of increased eligibility.

Other Nativity Differences

Foreign birth also implies a shorter length of residence in the United States and a lesser degree of adjustment to U.S. life. It is expected that families may need substantial assistance after they

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

first arrive here, their needs declining as they adjust to their new lives. This would lead us to expect higher receipt of public assistance in the first and second generations. Concerns have been raised about differences in the assimilation of immigrant children and children of immigrants. While adopting American language and ways has been a prerequisite for success in the past, recent research on the relationship between generational status and school performance contradicts this straight-line assimilation hypothesis (Kao and Tienda, 1995). Rather than school performance improving over generations as immigrants learn English and local customs, it appears to worsen.

One hypothesis is that immigration is likely to be selective of behaviors, values, and/or cultural groups that promote achievement. Many immigrant groups have very strong achievement orientations and values; after all, in many cases they made considerable sacrifices to come here (Duran and Weffer, 1992; Kao and Tienda, 1995). They have strong family networks that also help to maintain their values (Portes and Zhou, 1992). They expect to work hard in their new country, and they are self-sufficient. The longer immigrants have been here, and the more exposure to the values of native groups around them, the more they may lose the strong ties and values that maintain self-sufficiency and high performance (Kao and Tienda, 1995). As immigrants begin to face reality, they may lose some of this optimism and become disillusioned with their prospects for social mobility (Kao and Tienda, 1995). This would suggest highest receipt of public assistance by the third generation.

Evidence for this hypothesis is not very strong, however, as few studies have detailed the kinds of values, behaviors, and parenting practices of immigrant and native groups that are needed to test this hypothesis. The present study examines one's own nativity and parental nativity as a proxy for successive assimilation into American society. To test this hypothesis, receipt of public assistance by families of children with foreign-born parents (first- and second-generation children) is compared with families of native-born children with native-born parents (third-generation children).

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

Focus of This Chapter

This chapter focuses on the following programs: AFDC, SSI, other welfare, Medicaid, food stamps, heating assistance, and housing assistance (rent subsidies or public housing). Other welfare consists of general assistance and miscellaneous state assistance. In 1994 total federal expenditures for these seven programs amounted to more than $250 billion (Bureau of the Census, 1996). Medicaid was the largest program. AFDC, SSI, food stamps, and housing assistance were smaller but similar in expenditures to each other. General assistance and energy assistance (heating assistance) were small programs. In terms of benefits, however, food stamps reached almost as many recipients as did Medicaid, with AFDC reaching about half as many recipients. The interest here is in the following differences in receipt of public assistance: (1) generational differences between immigrant and native children of the same ethnic background, (2) racial/ethnic differences between children of the same immigrant generation, and (3) differences between Mexican and Cuban immigrant and native children of different generations and white native-born children.

RESULTS

Description of the Sample

The total sample consists of 11,691 children under age 18 who were participants in at least one year of the 1990 to 1992 waves of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (see Appendix 10A for a description of the sample). The full analysis sample consists of 221 foreign-born Mexican American children (first generation); 1,116 native-born Mexican children of a foreign-born parent (second generation); 1,224 native-born Mexican children of native-born parents (third generation); and 238 Mexican children missing information on nativity.2 The sample also includes 63

2  

 Children missing nativity information are primarily those not living with a parent. Birthplace of the child, which determines whether the child is of the first generation, is known for almost all children. If the child is not of the first genera

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

first-generation Cuban children, 243 second-generation Cuban children, 57 third-generation Cuban children, and 42 Cuban children missing nativity information. There are 786 Puerto Rican children; 178 other Hispanic children; 3,915 white children; 3,534 black children; and 74 children of other races/ethnicities—all U.S. born of U.S.-born parents.

To provide a descriptive picture of the children in this study, I selected the most recent year, 1992. Table 10-1 shows basic weighted distributions of child and family characteristics for the 9,872 individual children who were under age 18 in 1992 by ethnicity and nativity. (For variable definitions, see Appendix 10B.) On average, children were 8 years old, and the household head of the family in which they lived was age 37, married, in good health, had graduated from high school, and had 2.3 children, of which the youngest was 6 years old.

Number of Children

Children's family size varies with ethnicity and nativity. As expected, first-generation Mexican American children's families are the largest, with 3.8 children on average, compared with 3 children in families of second-generation children, and 2.6 in native children's families. Children in black, other Latino, and Puerto Rican families are in the next-largest-size families, with about 2.5 children each, and children in Cuban families are in the smallest families, with 1.9 in first-generation Cuban children's families, 2 children in second-generation children's families, and 1.6 children in third-generation children's families. White children's families averaged 2.2 children.

Education of Household Head

Education levels were lowest for Mexican children's families. Of foreign-born Mexican children, 84 percent were in a family

   

tion and no information is available about the parent, the parental birthplace cannot be determined. In this case I am unable to distinguish between those with a native-born or a foreign-born parent—that is, whether they are second-or third-generation children.

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

TABLE 10-1 Characteristics of U.S. Children and Their Families by Ethnicity and Nativity, 1992

 

Age

Age of Household Head

Health

Marital Status of Head

Age of Youngest Child

Number of Children Under 18

Mexican1

13.10

40.12

0.18

0.77

6.03

3.83

Mexican2

7.42

37.79

0.31

0.84

4.54

3.02

Mexican3

7.88

35.09

0.61

0.60

5.34

2.60

Mexican4

8.73

44.42

0.24

0.49

5.31

2.55

Cuban1

14.49

42.60

0.45

0.93

10.17

1.87

Cuban2

7.12

42.00

0.41

0.74

5.57

2.06

Cuban3

4.97

31.20

0.68

0.88

4.33

1.59

Cuban4

9.70

54.93

0.11

0.74

9.70

1.00

Puerto Rican

8.00

36.40

0.34

0.48

5.58

2.52

Other Latino

8.44

36.44

0.63

0.69

6.24

2.50

White

8.56

37.98

0.69

0.85

6.70

2.23

Black

8.12

36.36

0.46

0.39

5.50

2.51

Other

5.67

36.41

0.75

0.74

4.33

1.74

Total

8.41

37.52

0.61

0.74

6.29

2.34

 

Poverty Status

Less Than High School

High School Graduate

Some College

College Degree or Higher

Missing Education

Mexican1

0.62

0.84

0.12

0.01

0.01

0.01

Mexican2

0.31

0.66

0.18

0.07

0.04

0.05

Mexican3

0.31

0.44

0.29

0.19

0.05

0.03

Mexican4

0.35

0.65

0.15

0.13

0.02

0.06

Cuban1

0.13

0.30

0.34

0.24

0.13

0.00

Cuban2

0.23

0.23

0.34

0.21

0.11

0.10

Cuban3

0.08

0.23

0.42

0.06

0.27

0.01

Cuban4

0.16

0.66

0.19

0.00

0.16

0.00

Puerto Rican

0.45

0.57

0.27

0.07

0.04

0.05

Other Latino

0.21

0.17

0.49

0.17

0.10

0.08

White

0.08

0.16

0.33

0.21

0.29

0.01

Black

0.41

0.29

0.44

0.18

0.07

0.02

Other

0.15

0.22

0.25

0.15

0.34

0.04

Total

0.17

0.23

0.34

0.20

0.22

0.02

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

 

Northeast

North-Central

West

South

Missing Region

Unemployment Rate

N

Mexican1

0.03

0.06

0.83

0.08

0.00

6.84

154

Mexican2

0.01

0.09

0.72

0.16

0.01

7.68

946

Mexican3

0.00

0.27

0.44

0.27

0.02

6.78

1,057

Mexican4

0.03

0.20

0.54

0.23

0.00

7.74

189

Cuban1

0.16

0.00

0.04

0.75

0.00

8.56

40

Cuban2

0.10

0.06

0.05

0.79

0.01

8.64

213

Cuban3

0.19

0.00

0.21

0.60

0.00

8.08

50

Cuban4

0.72

0.00

0.00

0.28

0.00

8.58

27

Puerto Rican

0.64

0.11

0.10

0.15

0.07

7.83

606

Other Latino

0.13

0.34

0.19

0.34

0.01

6.94

149

White

0.23

0.32

0.17

0.28

0.01

6.69

3,410

Black

0.13

0.22

0.10

0.55

0.00

7.11

2,968

Other

0.29

0.03

0.36

0.27

0.05

6.83

63

Total

0.20

0.28

0.19

0.32

0.01

6.85

9,872

NOTE: 1 = first generation; 2 = second generation; 3 = third generation; 4 = missing generation.

whose head had less than a high school education. This dropped to 66 percent for native-born Mexican American children of a foreign-born parent and was 44 percent for native-born children of native-born parents. Puerto Rican children also were educationally disadvantaged. More than half of all Puerto Rican children lived in families in which the head had less than a high school education. Cuban parents were the best educated; fewer than one-third of first-generation Cuban children lived in a family whose head had less than a high school education. In fact, 37 percent lived in a family in which the head had some college. Only 23 percent of native-born Cuban children had a (native-or foreign-born) parent with less than a high school education. Twenty-nine percent of black and 17 percent of other Latino children lived in families in which the head had less than a high school education. In contrast, only 16 percent of white children lived in a family in which the head had less than a high school education; 50 percent lived in a family in which the head had completed at least some college.

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×
Parents' Marital Status

More than three-quarters of first-and second-generation Mexican children and Cuban children lived with two married parents. About 85 percent of white children and 69 percent of other Latino children also were living with married parents. Black children were least likely to live with two married parents; in 1992 only 39 percent did so. Puerto Rican children were a close second, with 48 percent living with two married parents. One disturbing generational difference is that among Mexican Americans the proportion living with married parents was lower in the third generation (60 percent) than in the second generation. This was not true for Cuban families.

Poverty Status

Poverty rates are very high for all Mexican, Puerto Rican, and black children's families. Poverty rates for families of Cuban children are quite low; third-generation Cuban children's families are no more likely than white children's families to be poor.

Geographic Location

One major difference between Mexicans and Cubans is where they settle in the United States. As expected, Mexican children are concentrated in the western United States and Cuban children in the South (Florida). These groups also disperse over time, though they still maintain a significant concentration in their original area of settlement. While 83 percent of foreign-born Mexican children live in the West, 72 percent of native-born Mexican children of foreign-born parents do, compared with only 44 percent of native-born Mexican children of native-born parents. The concentration of Cuban children is a bit higher—75 percent of foreign-born children, 79 percent of native-born children of foreign-born parents, and 60 percent of Cuban children of native-born parents live in the South. In contrast, 17 percent of whites live in the West, 32 percent live in the North-Central United States, 28 percent live in the South, and 23 percent live in the Northeast. The pattern of other Latinos, who are long-time residents of the

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

United States, is similar to that of whites—only 19 percent reside in the West, 34 percent live in the North-Central United States, 34 percent live in the South, and 13 percent live in the Northeast.

Receipt of Public Assistance by Ethnicity And Nativity

Table 10-2 shows weighted means of the proportion of U.S. children under age 18 receiving public assistance in 1992 by the combination of ethnicity and nativity. Examining the cash, noncash, and total columns, it is seen that 6 percent of white children received cash assistance, 14 percent received noncash assistance, and 14 percent received either cash or noncash assistance.

Ethnic Differences

Compared with whites, all Latino groups showed higher probabilities of receipt of all forms of public assistance. This ranges from 60 to 61 percent of families of first-generation Mexican children and native Puerto Rican children to 40 percent of second-generation Cuban children and 29 percent of native other Latino children. However, blacks have high rates of receipt as well, with 60 percent receiving some form of assistance. Native-born families of Mexican American children and Cuban children have lower rates of receipt of public assistance than families of black children.

Nativity Differences

Looking at receipt of all forms of assistance, it can be seen that families of second-and third-generation Mexican American children have lower levels of receipt than do families of first-generation children. In contrast, differences in public assistance receipt between generations are small for Cuban American children.

Type of Assistance Differences

Differences by type of assistance are substantial. First-and second-generation Mexican children's families have rates of AFDC and SSI receipt that are lower than third-generation Mexi-

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

TABLE 10-2 Proportion of U.S. Children Receiving Public Assistance by Ethnicity and Nativity, 1992

 

AFDC

SSI

Other Welfare

Food Stamps

Medicaid

Mexican1

0.03

0.00

0.07

0.47

0.38

Mexican2

0.05

0.03

0.04

0.26

0.24

Mexican3

0.18

0.05

0.03

0.30

0.26

Mexican4

0.15

0.09

0.12

0.37

0.49

Cuban1

0.04

0.06

0.00

0.22

0.25

Cuban2

0.04

0.08

0.05

0.25

0.37

Cuban3

0.07

0.20

0.00

0.10

0.31

Cuban4

0.06

0.06

0.00

0.06

0.06

PRican

0.11

0.07

0.17

0.37

0.44

Other Latino

0.23

0.03

0.05

0.24

0.27

White

0.04

0.02

0.01

0.08

0.08

Black

0.27

0.06

0.05

0.42

0.37

Other

0.05

0.03

0.03

0.14

0.18

Total

0.09

0.03

0.02

0.17

0.17

 

Housing

Heating

Cash

Noncash

Total

Mexican1

0.17

0.25

0.10

0.59

0.61

Mexican2

0.07

0.10

0.11

0.37

0.38

Mexican3

0.11

0.18

0.23

0.44

0.45

Mexican4

0.04

0.11

0.31

0.58

0.61

Cuban1

0.04

0.02

0.07

0.32

0.32

Cuban2

0.06

0.01

0.16

0.40

0.40

Cuban3

0.05

0.00

0.27

0.35

0.35

Cuban4

0.26

0.00

0.06

0.33

0.33

PRican

0.30

0.21

0.31

0.60

0.60

Other Latino

0.11

0.17

0.23

0.29

0.29

White

0.02

0.05

0.06

0.14

0.14

Black

0.25

0.17

0.34

0.58

0.60

Other

0.07

0.00

0.11

0.24

0.27

Total

0.08

0.09

0.13

0.26

0.27

NOTE: 1 = first generation; 2 = second generation; 3 = third generation; 4 = missing generation.

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

can children's families, levels comparable to that of whites. First-generation Mexican American children, in contrast, live in families that are more likely to receive other welfare, food stamps, Medicaid, heating assistance, and housing assistance than second-and third-generation children. This table does not adjust for the large socioeconomic and demographic differences shown in Table 10-2 among the different ethnic and nativity groups. The next step is to adjust for these differences.

Multivariate Analysis of Receipt of Public Assistance

While wanting to compare the public assistance receipt of families of foreign-born children and native-born children of foreign-born parents with that of native children of native-born parents, we also want to adjust for the extent of disadvantage to see whether higher receipt of public assistance is due primarily to these socioeconomic differences, to recency of arrival in the United States, or to something else. This is done in three steps. The first step includes the combined ethnicity/nativity variable, study year (to adjust for trends in welfare over time), and region of residence (to adjust for regional differences in the generosity of public assistance programs; see Table 10-3). The second step includes whether a child's family is poor (to adjust for program eligibility; see Table 10-4). The third step adds a variety of controls for other differences between children's families that might explain differences in the receipt of public assistance (see Table 10-5). If differences in receipt by generation within ethnicity decline once other factors are controlled, we can conclude that it is not immigration per se but the socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of the families of immigrant children that make them appear to use public assistance at a higher rate than those with native-born parents.3 Adding them in separate steps per-

3  

 These results are presented in terms of odds ratios, comparing the odds of receiving a form of public assistance for children of a particular ethnic/nativity group with that of native-born white children of native-born parents. The percent difference in odds is calculated as (odds ratio-1)* 100. This represents the percent difference in the adjusted odds of receiving assistance between the category of interest and the comparison category (here native-born white children of native-born parents).

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

TABLE 10-3 Odds Ratios from Regression of Public Assistance on Ethnicity and Nativity

 

Receipt of Cash Assistance

 

AFDC

SSI

Other Welfare

One or More

Mexican

 

 

 

 

First generation

0.88

3.01*

3.84*

1.92*

Second generation

2.13*

2.38*

3.14*

2.72*

Third generation

6.63*

5.02*

4.43*

6.71 *

Missing

4.77*

6.22*

13.87*

7.20*

Cuban

 

 

 

 

First generation

2.73*

5.54*

0.95

2.95*

Second generation

3.03*

6.88*

5.48*

5.05*

Third generation

5.74*

1.58

3.57*

5.09*

Missing

1.34

6.95*

6.75*

3.17*

Puerto Rican

8.98*

9.37*

12.96*

13.55*

Other Latino

5.29*

2.83*

5.14*

5.24*

White

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Black

10.36*

6.97*

7.23*

10.91*

Missing ethnicity

5.00*

1.83

4.95*

5.54*

Year

 

 

 

 

1990

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

1991

1.01

1.23*

1.03

1.02

1992

0.97

1.33*

1.25*

1.09*

Region

 

 

 

 

South

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Northeast

0.87

1.27*

6.28*

1.92*

North-Central

2.45*

1.37*

1.42*

2.09*

West

1.61*

0.83

1.37*

1.42*

Missing region

0.57

0.28

1.54

0.54*

+p < .10; *p < .05; **p < .01.

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

 

Receipt of Noncash Assistance

Cash or Noncash

Cash or Noncash

 

Food Stamps

Medicaid

Housing

Heating

One or More

One or More

Mexican

 

 

 

 

 

 

First generation

5.55*

5.19*

5.99*

2.97*

6.50*

6.23*

Second generation

5.34*

4.80*

3.85*

2.72*

4.75*

4.58*

Third generation

7.15*

6.18*

5.47*

4.92*

6.14*

6.08*

Missing

5.54*

10.43*

2.75*

3.31*

7.70*

8.10*

Cuban

 

 

 

 

 

 

First generation

3.69*

4.68*

1.77

0.87

3.39*

3.27*

Second generation

3.92*

6.96*

2.20*

1.12

4.15*

4.25*

Third generation

3.36*

6.64*

3.90*

0.34

4.16*

4.00*

Missing

4.98*

3.92*

4.15*

4.99*

5.47*

Puerto Rican

11.71 *

13.21*

14.99*

4.33*

13.37*

13.07*

Other Latino

4.01*

3.59*

6.49*

2.05*

3.37*

3.37*

White

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Black

7.22*

7.29*

11.56*

3.25*

7.71*

7.81*

Missing ethnicity

5.06*

3.77*

10.94*

1.18

4.61*

5.19*

Year

 

 

 

 

 

 

1990

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

1991

1.02

1.13*

1.00

1.10

1.04

1.06+

1992

1.06

1.19*

1.05

1.07

1.11*

1.14*

Region

 

 

 

 

 

 

South

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Northeast

1.12*

1.53*

2.32*

1.65*

1.36*

1.37*

North-Central

1.17*

1.39*

0.76*

1.54*

1.14*

1.14*

West

0.60*

1.08

0.95

0.59*

0.81*

0.85*

Missing region

0.19*

0.64*

1.38

0.77

0.74+

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

TABLE 10-4 Odds Ratios from Regression of Public Assistance on Ethnicity and Nativity

 

Receipt of Cash Assistance

 

AFDC

SSI

Other Welfare

One or More

Mexican

 

 

 

 

First generation

0.16*

1.82

1.81 *

0.43*

Second generation

0.61*

1.65*

1.76*

0.93

Third generation

2.67*

3.57*

2.61 *

3.17*

Missing

1.97*

4.51*

8.82*

3.82*

Cuban

 

 

 

 

First generation

1.23

4.35*

0.70

1.56

Second generation

1.39

5.58*

3.95*

3.17*

Third generation

4.71*

1.36

3.25*

4.47*

Missing

0.63

5.99*

5.34*

2.07

Puerto Rican

2.57*

5.89*

6.00*

5.16*

Other Latino

2.94*

2.24*

3.85*

3.29*

White

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Black

4.27*

4.84*

4.29*

5.58*

Missing Ethnicity

2.04*

1.36

3.53*

2.87*

Year

 

 

 

 

1990

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

1991

0.99

1.23*

1.02

1.01

1992

0.90*

1.31*

1.24*

1.05

Region

 

 

 

 

South

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Northeast

0.80*

1.23

6.95*

2.31*

North-Central

2.73*

1.28*

1.30*

2.28*

West

2.44*

0.89

1.59*

2.02*

Missing region

0.35*

0.22*

1.13

0.29*

Characteristics of child's family in poverty

19.12*

2.62*

4.39*

14.26*

+ p <.10; *p < .05; **p < .01.

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

 

Receipt of Noncash Assistance

Cash or Noncash

 

Food Stamps

Medicaid

Housing

Heating

One or More

One or More

Mexican

 

 

 

 

 

 

First generation

1.25

1.48*

2.43*

1.02

2.01*

1.92*

Second generation

1.97*

2.08*

1.93*

1.18

2.19*

2.11*

Third generation

3.64*

3.21*

3.01*

2.47*

3.68*

3.68*

Missing

2.59*

6.99*

1.49*

1.57*

5.41*

5.84*

Cuban

 

 

 

 

 

 

First generation

1.99*

3.03*

1.14

0.47

2.18*

2.09*

Second generation

2.57*

5.57*

1.47

0.64*

3.21*

3.35*

Third generation

2.80*

6.53*

3.25*

0.23*

4.07*

3.89*

Missing

4.59*

3.14*

3.23*

4.99*

5.63*

Puerto Rican

4.56*

6.03*

7.05*

1.47*

7.15*

6.99*

Other Latino

2.24*

2.14*

4.46*

1.13

2.07*

2.10*

White

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Black

3.37*

3.70*

6.74*

1.43*

4.73*

4.87*

Missing Ethnicity

2.49*

1.88*

6.96*

0.57

2.64*

3.18*

Year

 

 

 

 

 

 

1990

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

1991

1.00

1.15*

1.00

1.08

1.03

1.06

1992

1.00

1.19*

1.02

1.02

1.07+

1.11*

Region

 

 

 

 

 

 

South

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Northeast

1.13

1.69*

2.53*

1.76*

1.54*

1.54*

North-Central

1.10

1.37*

0.65*

1.52*

1.12*

1.12*

West

0.64

1.41*

1.11

0.66*

0.97

1.04

Missing region

0.06*

0.30*

1.04

0.32*

0.30*

Characteristics of child's family in poverty

22.47*

12.38*

5.55*

8.23*

18.56*

18.60*

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

TABLE 10-5 Odds Ratios from Regression of Public Assistance on Ethnicity and Nativity

 

Receipt of Cash Assistance

 

AFDC

SSI

Other Welfare

One or More

Mexican

 

 

 

 

First generation

0.08*

0.52*

0.87

0.14*

Second generation

0.30*

0.64*

0.89

0.36*

Third generation

1.27*

1.83*

1.37

1.41*

Missing

0.86

0.84

3.23*

1.06

Cuban

 

 

 

 

First generation

1.66

3.10*

0.78

1.91 *

Second generation

0.91

2.44*

2.14*

1.82*

Third generation

2.28*

0.75

1.55

2.09*

Missing

0.89

1.52

2.86

1.30

Puerto Rican

0.99

2.15*

2.53*

1.84*

Other Latino

1.84*

1.40

2.43*

2.03*

White

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Black

2.03*

2.33*

2.21*

2.57*

Missing Ethnicity

1.37

0.79

1.91

1.70*

Year

 

 

 

 

1990

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

1991

0.96

1.25*

1.00

0.96

1992

0.79*

1.23*

1.06

0.85*

Region

 

 

 

 

South

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Northeast

0.62*

1.31*

7.80*

2.19*

North-Central

2.38*

1.32*

1.23

2.13*

West

2.45*

1.00

1.73*

2.25*

Missing region

0.59

0.41

2.09

0.50*

Characteristics of Child's Family

 

 

 

 

In poverty

8.99*

1.54*

2.32*

7.03*

Age of household head

0.99*

1.06*

1.03*

1.02*

Healthy

0.90*

0.61*

0.95

0.87*

Parents married

0.19*

0.47*

0.32*

O. 19*

Head: < high school degree

1.95*

1.77*

1.39*

2.22*

Head: high school degree

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Head: some college

1.12

0.96

0.62*

0.87*

Head: college degree

0.26*

0.15*

0.14*

0.17*

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

 

Receipt of Cash Assistance

 

AFDC

SSI

Other Welfare

One or More

Missing education

1.40*

1.56*

1.00

1.46*

Age of youngest child

0.95*

1.00

0.94*

0.94*

Number of children

1.14*

1.21*

1.12*

1.18*

Unemployment rate

1.10*

1.05*

1.09

1.12*

 

Receipt of Noncash Assistance

Cash or Noncash

 

Food Stamps

Medicaid

Housing

Heating

One or More

One or More

Mexican

 

 

 

 

 

 

First generation

0.58*

0.66*

2.20*

0.63*

0.80+

0.74*

Second generation

0.96

0.89

1.65*

0.78*

0.94

0.88+

Third generation

1.87*

1.57*

2.22*

1.60*

1.88*

1.87*

Missing

1.12

2.17*

1.21

0.81

1.69*

1.72*

Cuban

 

 

 

 

 

 

First generation

2.73*

4.03*

1.31

0.46

2.71*

2.54*

Second generation

1.93*

3.60*

1.40

0.43*

2.17*

2.21 *

Third generation

1.69

3.57*

2.15*

0.16*

2.40*

2.24*

Missing

2.59*

1.78

2.07

1.92+

2.10*

Puerto Rican

2.18*

2.70*

4.81*

0.82*

3.48*

3.36*

Other Latino

1.54*

1.20

3.56*

0.82

1.30+

1.34*

White

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Black

1.83*

1.98*

4.98*

0.88

2.63*

2.63*

Missing Ethnicity

1.88*

1.33

6.47*

0.46*

2.29*

2.55*

Year

 

 

 

 

 

 

1990

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

1991

0.97

1.13*

1.00

1.10

1.01

1.04

1992

0.85*

1.06

1.00

0.98

0.99

1.02

Region

 

 

 

 

 

 

South

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Northeast

1.00

1.56*

2.35*

1.65*

1.41*

1.41*

North-Central

0.92

1.19*

0.55*

1.44*

0.98

0.99

West

0.60*

1.48*

1.05

0.64*

0.94

1.02

Missing region

0.08*

0.45*

1.31

0.45*

0.43*

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

 

Receipt of Noncash Assistance

Cash or Noncash

 

Food Stamps

Medicaid

Housing

Heating

One or More

One or More

Characteristics of Child's Family

In poverty

12.05*

6.52*

3.62*

4.98*

9.98*

10.14*

Age of household head

0.99*

1.02*

0.98*

1.01 *

1.01 *

1.02*

Healthy

0.77*

0.81*

0.98

0.71*

0.74*

0.74*

Parents married

0.32*

0.30*

0.47*

0.49*

0.29*

0.29*

Head: < high school degree

1.48*

1.81*

1.29*

1.23*

1.84*

1.87*

Head: high school degree

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Omitted

Head: some college

0.77*

0.78*

0.89

0.94

0.72*

0.74*

Head: college degree

0.19*

0.20*

0.66*

0.15*

0.29*

0.28*

Missing education

1.28*

1.50*

1.30*

0.91

1.64*

1.57*

Age of youngest child

0.95*

0.91*

0.98*

0.97*

0.92*

0.92*

Number of children

1.28*

1.14*

1.00

1.09*

1.21*

1.21*

Unemployment rate

1.13*

1.10*

1.03*

1.03*

1.07*

1.08*

+p < .10; *p < .05; **p < .01.

mits determination of whether poverty or other family characteristics explain the greater receipt among immigrant groups shown in Table 10-2. Ethnic differences reflect different historical circumstances of the various groups, cultures, and other unmeasured factors. See Appendix 10C for a description of the analysis sample.

Cash Assistance

The three components of cash assistance are AFDC, SSI, and other welfare programs. Six percent of white children in the study lived in families receiving cash assistance in a single year, on average, during the early 1990s.

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

AFDC. On average, 4 percent of white children lived in families receiving AFDC in a single year (Table 10-2). With only year and region controlled, first-generation Mexican children are neither more or less likely to be in families receiving AFDC, whereas second-and third-generation children are more likely to be in such families. Being poor is an important criterion for AFDC receipt, and poverty explains the greater receipt among second-generation but not first-and third-generation Mexican children. Once differences in year, region of residence, and poverty status are controlled, both first-and second-generation Mexican children are significantly less likely to be in families receiving AFDC, whereas third-generation children remain significantly more likely to be in families receiving AFDC than white children. Controlling for additional demographic factors increases the gap in public assistance receipt between first-and second-generation Mexican Americans and native whites but does not change the conclusions. With differences in socioeconomic status and other factors held constant, foreign-born Mexican American children are 92 percent less likely in terms of odds and native-born Mexican American children of foreign-born parents are 70 percent less likely to be in families receiving AFDC than native white children. Third-generation Mexican American children are 27 percent more likely than white children to live in families receiving public assistance. The predicted probabilities of AFDC receipt from this full model for a child in an average family, by ethnicity and generation, are shown in Figure 10-1.

Higher levels of poverty explain the greater public assistance receipt of first-and second-generation Cuban American children. Once differences in poverty are taken into account as well as year and region, first-and second-generation Cuban children are neither more or less likely to be in families receiving AFDC than white children, though, as for Mexicans, third-generation children remain more likely to live in families receiving AFDC. Adjusting for additional demographic factors does not change the results. While Cuban first-generation children appear to have a higher probability than white children of living in a family receiving AFDC (0.036 compared with 0.022 in Figure 10-1), this difference is not statistically significant.

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

FIGURE 10-1 Predicted probability of AFDC receipt by ethnicity and nativity.

SSI. SSI receipt is more characteristic of older families; children in families with an older head are more likely to be receiving SSI than those with a younger head (see Table 10-5). On average, only 2 percent of white children spent time in families receiving SSI in any one year (Table 10-2). From a multivariate model with only year and region (Table 10-3), the receipt of SSI by families of minority children exceeds that of white children. Greater SSI use by minority Mexican American children can be explained by their demographic characteristics but not their economic status. Once poverty as well as region and year are controlled, first-and second-generation Mexican children remain more likely to receive SSI than white children, although only the coefficient for the second generation is statistically significant. The important factors explaining SSI use are the age, health status, and education of the household head. Once these additional demographic variables

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

FIGURE 10-2 Predicted probability of SSI receipt by ethnicity and nativity.

are added, first-generation Mexican American children live in families that are 48 percent less likely and second-generation Mexican American children live in families that are 36 percent less likely in terms of odds than white children to be receiving SSI. Third-generation Mexican American families are 83 percent more likely to be receiving SSI. Predicted probabilities of SSI receipt are shown in Figure 10-2.

Adjusting for all socioeconomic and demographic variables, first-and second-generation Cuban children remain significantly more likely to be in families receiving SSI, but the third generation does not differ from white children in SSI receipt. Foreign-born Cuban children are three times as likely and native-born children of foreign-born parents are more than twice as likely, in terms of odds, than native white children to live in families receiving

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

SSI. Puerto Rican and black children are other ethnic groups more likely than whites to be in families receiving SSI. The predicted probability of receipt of SSI, holding the controls at their average, is shown in Figure 10-2.

Other Welfare. The results for other welfare programs differ little from those of AFDC and SSI. On average, only 1 percent of white children were in families receiving other welfare in the early 1990s (Table 10-2). While Hispanic and other minority groups all showed elevated probabilities of receiving other welfare, relative to whites, controlling for demographic differences explained the elevated rates only among Mexican American children. Poverty was not the reason for elevated receipt, since after including poverty status Mexicans were still substantially more likely to be in families receiving other welfare. However, once the demographic factors were controlled, first-, second-, and third-generation Mexican American children were neither more or less likely to receive other forms of welfare than native-born white children of native parents.

First-generation Cuban children were neither more or less likely to receive other forms of welfare than white children, and second-generation Cuban children were significantly more likely to receive other welfare, with or without adjusting for other factors. Third-generation Cuban children were significantly more likely to live in families receiving welfare until demographic factors were controlled; once controlled, the difference between them and native whites was still positive but no longer statistically significant.

Noncash Benefits

Noncash benefits are the most common form of public assistance, with 14 percent of white children living in families receiving food stamps, Medicaid, housing assistance, or heating assistance in a single year.

Food Stamps. On average, 8 percent of white children were in families receiving food stamps in one survey year (Table 10-2). Almost half of first-generation Mexican children were in families

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

receiving food stamps, a higher proportion than for any other group. Not surprisingly, therefore, all Mexican children are significantly more likely than whites to receive food stamps after adjusting for region and year. When adjustment is made for poverty as well as region and year, the difference between the odds of first-generation Mexican children and white children receiving food stamps becomes insignificant, although second-generation Mexican children remain considerably (97 percent) more likely to be in such families. When adjustment is also made for differences in demographic characteristics, first-generation Mexican children become 42 percent less likely to be in families receiving food stamps than native-born white children, and second-generation children are neither more or less likely than white children to be in families receiving food stamps. Differences in receipt of food stamps reflect not just differences in income levels but also differences in demographic characteristics. Third-generation Mexican children continue to be more likely than white children to receive food stamps, with or without controls for other factors. The predicted probability of a child's family receiving food stamps is depicted in Figure 10-3, with control variables at their average values.

Among Cuban children, including a measure of poverty makes little difference to receipt of food stamps. The relationship remains positive and significant for all but the third generation. Adding in the demographic variables shows that among Cubans, in contrast to Mexicans, first-and second-generation children are the most likely to receive food stamps, with the third generation being the least likely as well as about as likely as white native children. Puerto Ricans, other Latinos, and blacks are also more likely than whites to live in families receiving food stamps (Figure 10-3).

Medicaid. On average, 8 percent of white children received Medicaid in one study year (Table 10-2). A high proportion of first-generation Mexican children were in families receiving Medicaid (38 percent). As with food stamps, controlling for poverty status of the household does not explain the high use of Medicaid. Rather, greater receipt is due to differences in demographic characteristics of the family. Once family characteristics are controlled,

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

FIGURE 10-3 Predicted probability of food stamp receipt by ethnicity and nativity.

first-generation Mexican children were 34 percent less likely than white children to be in families receiving Medicaid. Second-generation Mexican children were as likely as whites to be in families receiving Medicaid; and third-generation Mexican children were more likely than whites to receive Medicaid.

Cuban children were highly likely to live in families receiving Medicaid. Even controlling for socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of their households, first-generation Cuban American children are four times as likely in terms of odds to be in families receiving Medicaid. Second-and third-generation Cuban children are also highly likely to be in such families. Puerto Rican and black children also are more likely than white children to be in families receiving Medicaid. The predicted probabilities of Medicaid receipt are shown in Figure 10-4.

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

FIGURE 10-4 Predicted probability of Medicaid receipt by ethnicity and nativity.

Housing. Only 2 percent of white children lived in families that received subsidized housing in one study year (Table 10-2). Housing is the only form of assistance in which first-generation Mexican American children are as likely as third-generation children and more likely than white children to receive public assistance. This relationship persists even after controls are introduced for socioeconomic status and demographic characteristics. The survey questions ask about residence in public housing projects as well as about receipt of other forms of housing assistance, such as vouchers. Researchers have pointed out that survey respondents are unable to distinguish between private and public sources of assistance and substantially overreport both living in public housing and receiving housing assistance (Houser, 1997). Thus, it is possible that many recent immigrants are recipients of assistance

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

FIGURE 10-5 Predicted probability of housing assistance receipt by ethnicity and nativity.

from private local nonprofit or state agencies instead of federal sources.

Receipt of housing assistance by the families of first-and second-generation Cuban children does not differ significantly from that of whites, all else being equal. Their greater receipt before controls is due to differences in both poverty and demographic characteristics. Receipt of housing assistance by third-generation Cuban children's families remains higher than that of whites after controlling for economic and demographic characteristics. The predicted probabilities of housing assistance receipt for the various ethnicity/nativity groups are shown in Figure 10-5.

Heating Assistance. On average, 5 percent of white children were in families that received assistance in heating their homes. The differences between Mexican children and white children in the receipt of heating assistance are due to both economic and demo-

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

graphic factors. Adjusting for poverty reduces the difference between first-and second-generation Mexican children and white children to nonsignificance. Adjusting for differences in demographic factors also results in first-and second-generation Mexican American children being significantly less likely than white children to be in families that received heating assistance. In contrast, third-generation Mexican children are more likely than white children to be in families receiving heating assistance.

Controlling only for year and region, second-and third-generation Cuban children are neither more or less likely than white children to be in families receiving heating assistance. Once poverty status is controlled, Cuban children are less likely than white children to live in families receiving heating assistance. This could be due to differences in where these groups locate in the United States, with first-and second-generation Mexican Americans and Cubans residing in more temperate climates than Puerto Ricans. Black children and Puerto Rican children are significantly more likely than white children to be in families receiving heating assistance, and they are more likely to live in northern parts of the United States. While controls are in place for region of the country, these regions are sufficiently wide that there could be variations in the need for heat. For example, Washington, D.C., is included in the South and Seattle in the West. Third-generation Mexican children are more dispersed geographically than the first and second generations, which could explain the difference in heating assistance among Mexican Americans by generation.

Total. About 14 percent of white children were in families that received either cash or noncash assistance in one year between 1990 and 1995 (Table 10-2). All racial and ethnic minority children are more likely than white children to receive either cash or noncash assistance. This is not surprising, since they are more likely to be socioeconomically disadvantaged. Once these economic and demographic differences are controlled, the differences diminish, though they disappear only for first-and second-generation Mexican children. Net of all control variables, first-and second-generation Mexican immigrant children were 26 and 12 percent, respectively, less likely than third-generation native white children to receive either cash or noncash assistance. Third-

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

generation Mexican children were significantly more likely to receive cash or noncash assistance. Net of socioeconomic and other factors, first-, second-, and third-generation Cuban children were twice as likely to be in families receiving public assistance as white children. This reflects their greater eligibility for and use of services as refugees. The major users of public assistance are those to whom that assistance is directed by public policy. Puerto Rican children were 3.4 times and black children 2.6 times as likely to be in families receiving public assistance as white children. Thus, it is not solely immigrants who place heavy demands on U.S. funds for public assistance. However, some negative long-term implications are suggested by the fact that native-born Mexican children of native-born parents are significantly more likely to receive public assistance than are comparable native-born white children.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

The most important finding of this paper is that the higher level of receipt of some forms of public assistance by Mexican-born children and children of Mexican-born parents is due to their disadvantaged socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, not to their immigrant status per se. Higher levels of receipt of public assistance by Cuban American children are likely due to their particular circumstances upon entry into this country, such as the special refugee status of Cuban children's families.

The public perception is that minority groups are heavy users of public assistance programs, and it is the case that the chance of a minority child's family receiving public assistance is higher than that of a white family; however, this is not due to recent immigration. When socioeconomic and demographic factors are controlled, first-generation Mexican American children are less likely to receive AFDC, SSI, food stamps, Medicaid, and heating assistance than are whites; they are more likely to receive housing assistance. Second-generation Mexican American children are less likely to receive AFDC, SSI, and heating assistance; more likely to receive housing assistance; and about as likely as whites to receive food stamps and Medicaid. Third-generation Mexican American children are more likely to receive almost all forms of

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

assistance. Thus, the ''immigrant optimism" hypothesis is supported for Mexicans. The lesser receipt by first-generation Mexican children may be due to less legal eligibility, to fear of discovery among undocumented immigrants, or to a greater work ethic among recent arrivals. Greater receipt of housing assistance by Mexican children's families may result from private assistance being misreported as public assistance. Noncitizen Mexican Americans would be especially affected by budgetary cutbacks in food stamps and Medicaid.

In contrast, Cuban children are more likely than white children to receive all forms of public assistance, regardless of nativity, once other factors are controlled. First-generation Cuban American children live in families that are about as likely to receive AFDC, other welfare, housing assistance, and heating assistance as whites. Their pattern of receipt of SSI, food stamps, and Medicaid follows the more typical straight-line assimilation model, with greater use in the first and second generations than in the third generation. This is likely to be due to the fact that Cubans enter the United States as refugees, which makes them immediately eligible for a variety of public assistance programs. The 1996 federal welfare reform legislation will affect their eligibility for these forms of public assistance once they have been in this country for five years. Other Hispanic children, third generation or more, were also more likely to be receiving public assistance than white children.

Most striking, however, is the substantial receipt of public assistance by Puerto Rican and black children's families, which are much more likely than white children's families to receive every form of public assistance except AFDC (Puerto Ricans) and heating assistance (blacks), even after controlling for economic and demographic factors. Puerto Ricans and blacks are all U.S. citizens. Rather than recency of entry into the United States, it is disadvantaged socioeconomic and demographic status that contributes to the continued receipt of public assistance by Mexicans. Among Cubans it is probably their special status as refugees. Greater receipt by Puerto Rican and black children's families was not explained by the variables included in this study.

Since children of Hispanic origin generally (including other Latinos) were found to be more likely to receive all forms of pub-

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

lic assistance compared with native whites, I suspect that people perceive Hispanic children to be receiving public assistance and to presume they are immigrants. In fact, half of Hispanic Americans were born in the United States (Fix and Passel, 1994). While Cubans have high rates of public assistance in the first two generations, they are integrated by the third generation, perhaps at least partly because of the assistance they received. In contrast, the analyses I conducted showed that for several forms of public assistance it is third-generation Mexican American children (not those of the first or second generation) who are more likely than whites to receive public assistance. Other Latinos also have higher rates of receipt of many forms of public assistance. If these Hispanic groups are not incorporated more rapidly into mainstream American society but are marginalized, the third generation will continue to need temporary assistance, a challenge to welfare reformers. Furthermore, the fact that black and Puerto Rican children continue to be very significantly higher recipients of public assistance suggests that, rather than recency of entry into the United States, it is the failure of minority racial/ethnic groups to be fully integrated into mainstream American society that is the problem.

REFERENCES

Blau, F. 1984 The use of transfer payments by immigrants. Industrial and Labor Relations Review 37(2):222-239.

Borjas, G., and L. Hilton 1996 Immigration and the welfare state: Immigrant participation in meanstested entitlement programs. Quarterly Journal of Economics CVXI:575-604.

Bureau of the Census 1996 How we're changing. Current Population Reports P23(191):1-4. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce.


Duran, B., and R. Weffer 1992 Immigrants' aspirations, high school process, and academic outcomes. American Educational Research Journal 29(1):163-181.


Edmonston, B. (ed.) 1996 Statistics on U.S. Immigration: An Assessment of Data Needs for Future Research. Committee on National Statistics, National Research Council. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
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Fix, M., and J. Passel 1994 Immigration and Immigrants. Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute.


Houser, S. 1997 The Effects of Tenant-Based and Project-Based Housing Assistance on Employment. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Western Economic Association, Seattle, July 10-12.


Jensen, L. 1988 Patterns of immigration and public assistance utilization, 1970-1980. International Migration Review XXII(1):51-83.


Kao, G., and M. Tienda 1995 Optimism and achievement: The educational performance of immigrant youth. Social Science Quarterly 76(1):1-19.


National Center for Education Statistics 1993 The Condition of Education 1993. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education.


Population Reference Bureau 1989 America in the 21st Century: Human Resource Development. Washington, D.C.: Population Reference Bureau.

Portes, A., and M. Zhou 1992 Gaining the upper hand: Economic mobility among immigrant and domestic minorities. Ethnic and Racial Studies 15(4):491-522.


Simon, J., and A. Akbari 1996 Determinants of welfare payment use by immigrants and natives in the United States and Canada. Pp. 79-100 in Immigrants and Immigration Policy: Individual Skills, Family Ties, and Group Identities, H. Duleep and W. Phanindra, eds. Greenwich, Conn.: JAI Press.


Tienda, M., and L. Jensen 1986 Immigration and public assistance participation: Dispelling the myth of dependency. Social Science Research 15:372-400.

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

APPENDIX 10A: DATA AND MEASURES

Now in its thirtieth year of data collection, the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) is a longitudinal survey of a representative sample of U.S. men, women, children, and the families in which they reside. Data on employment, income, wealth, housing, food expenditures, transfer income, and marital and fertility behavior have been collected annually since 1968. Between 1990 and 1995, a sample of 2,043 Latino households was added to the existing PSID sample of 7,300 households. This sample was drawn from a 1989 study of political affiliation and participation directed by Rodolfo de la Garza (University of Texas) and was conducted by the Institute for Survey Research at Temple University. The original sample was drawn from a sample of 40 out of 382 U.S. counties with the highest concentrations of Latino individuals. These counties provide coverage of slightly more than 90 percent of the three most prevalent Latino groups in the United States: Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Mexican American. Cuban and Puerto Rican households were selected at substantially higher rates to obtain larger samples of the two groups so that analysts could make more precise statements about them. The PSID obtained permission from the investigators to reinterview the respondents, obtained contact information from Temple University, and attempted interviews with a subsample of the Latino National Political Survey (LNPS) respondents. The response rate to the PSID was 74.8 percent. Forty percent of the living 1990 Latino nonresponse was successfully interviewed in a special recontact effort in 1992. Therefore, the number of Latinos increased to 2,258 by 1992, despite attrition. The response rate is close to 92 percent from year to year, which is good but lower than the 97 percent for the core.

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

APPENDIX 10B: MEASURES

Public Assistance. Similar to Borjas and Hilton (1996), the measures of public assistance receipt of a child's family include AFDC, SSI, other welfare, Medicaid, food stamps, heating assistance, and housing assistance (rent subsidy or public housing). Other welfare consists of general assistance and miscellaneous state assistance.

Nativity and Ethnicity. The 1990 early-release dataset included a set of questions from the 1989 LNPS, such as immigrant status, birthplace, and parents' birthplaces as well as the core PSID questions. These data were used in conjunction with special questions asked in 1990 and 1992 to identify the birthplaces of child and parent. A first-generation child was born outside the United States. A second-generation child was born in the United States to at least one foreign-born parent. A third-or later-generation child was born in the United States to a native-born parent. All blacks, whites, and other Latinos were assigned to the third generations, as their families had been in the study since 1968. In addition, a set of questions identified both race and Hispanic origin and, for the LNPS respondents, whether they were Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican in origin. Many of the original 1968 Latinos could also be coded as Mexican, Puerto Rican, or Cuban in background. "Other Latinos" therefore are from the original 1968 PSID but tend to be from places other than Mexico, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.

Health. The health measure for a household's head comes from a question on general health: "Would you say your health in general is excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor?" "Excellent" and ''very good" were coded 1; "good," "fair," and "poor" were coded 0.

Age of Household Head, Number of Children Under 18 in the Household, Age of Youngest Child, Marital Status of Household Head. All are obtained in the household composition section of the PSID survey and are edited to be consistent from year to year.

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

Education of Household Head. This comes from a series of questions about schooling that are updated each year only for new heads.

Unemployment Rate. This is the unemployment rate in the county of residence.

Region of Residence. Individual addresses are coded by the region of the country in which they fall—Northeast, North-Central, South, West, and "missing" region.

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
×

APPENDIX 10C: ANALYSIS PLAN

Because final measures of income were not available in the 1993 through 1995 data, the data file analyzed here includes data from 1990 through 1992 only. Weights were drawn from the 1992 data. All children who were under age 18 in at least one year between 1990 and 1992 were selected, and a file with one record for each year that each child was in the PSID and under age 18, the child-year file, was created. Because children can be in the study for up to three years between 1990 and 1992, that greatly expands the number of analysis years. Once separate child-year records are created and years in which the child was 18 years of age or older are deleted, we observe 28,834 child-years, comprised of 489 first-generation Mexican person-years; 2,716 second-generation child-years; 2,914 third-generation child-years; and 415 child-years in which generation was missing. For Cuban children there are 156 first-generation child-years, 623 second-generation child-years, and 125 third-generation child-years, with 61 missing child-years. We observed 1,727 Puerto Rican child-years. There are 431 other Hispanic children child-years; 10,124 white child-years; 8,882 black child-years; and 171 other ethnicity child-years.

Data Caution. The results from a child-based analysis cannot be expected to be identical to those from a family-based analysis. If immigrant families have more children than native families, their behavior will be more accurately represented more frequently in a child-based analysis than in a family-based analysis. If immigrant families are only slightly less likely to receive public assistance, the effects are likely to be stronger when children or child/ person-years become the unit of analysis.

Suggested Citation:"10 Receipt of Public Assistance by Mexican American and Cuban American Children in Native and Immigrant Families." National Research Council. 1999. Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9592.
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Children of Immigrants: Health, Adjustment, and Public Assistance Get This Book
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Immigrant children and youth are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population, and so their prospects bear heavily on the well-being of the country. Children of Immigrants represents some of the very best and most extensive research efforts to date on the circumstances, health, and development of children in immigrant families and the delivery of health and social services to these children and their families.

This book presents new, detailed analyses of more than a dozen existing datasets that constitute a large share of the national system for monitoring the health and well-being of the U.S. population. Prior to these new analyses, few of these datasets had been used to assess the circumstances of children in immigrant families. The analyses enormously expand the available knowledge about the physical and mental health status and risk behaviors, educational experiences and outcomes, and socioeconomic and demographic circumstances of first- and second-generation immigrant children, compared with children with U.S.-born parents.

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