The resource availability and Work First use among low-income mothers in North Carolina

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This study investigated the effect of neighborhood characteristics and the accessibility to quality child care facilities and social services on the stay on Work First in North Carolina. Neighborhood has long been considered as major to the well-being of marginalized populations in the social work field, but not fully appreciated due to methodological limitations. Given the expanded funding for Child Care Subsidy under the post-Welfare reform era, the effect of the accessibility of subsidized child care is not fully investigated. This study employed the Geographical Information System to measure the accessibility to quality child care facilities in North Carolina. The study findings are 1) Work First participants in the east as well as the mountain areas in the west had limited accessibility to subsidized quality child care facilities, and 2) the effects of physical accessibility to quality child care facilities and neighborhood affluence on the length of Work First stay varied by participants' race/ethnic groups. Finally, discussion and implications follow.

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