KaLeigh White

Paternalistic State Social Safety Net Policy Designs and Racial Disparities in Family Wellbeing

This paper assesses how the conditionality and punitiveness of state-level social safety net policies matter for individual recipient wellbeing. We focus on how the impacts of these paternalistic policy design aspects differ by race and by an individual’s personal experience of TANF benefit conditions (e.g., work requirements) and sanctions (e.g., benefit cuts). The results illustrate how paternalistic state welfare policy designs shape disparities in individual experiences of material hardship, physical and mental health, and sense of autonomy and outline how these differences in outcomes are patterned by race.

KaLeigh White is a PhD candidate in sociology at the University of Iowa. She studies social inequality, social policy, poverty alleviation, and equity in education. Her dissertation examines how paternalistic social policies and the use of welfare state programs as a form of social control affects the long-term wellbeing of public assistance recipients. KaLeigh received a dissertation support grant from the U.S. Administration of Children and Families for her dissertation project. Her research portfolio also includes academic, institutional, and applied scholarship examining equity in education.

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