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Objectives. We examined how maternal work and welfare receipt are associated with children receiving recommended pediatric preventive care services. Methods. We identified American Academy of Pediatrics-recommended preventive care visits from medical records of children in the 1999-2004 Illinois Families Study: Child Well-Being. We used Illinois administrative data to identify whether mothers received welfare or worked during the period the visit was recommended, and we analyzed the child visit data using random-intercept logistic regressions that adjusted for child, maternal, and visit-specific characteristics. Results. The 485 children (95%) meeting inclusion criteria made 41% of their recommended visits. Children were 60% more likely (adjusted odds ratios [AOR] = 1.60; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.27, 2.01) to make recommended visits when mothers received welfare but did not work compared with when mothers did not receive welfare and did not work. Children were 25% less likely (AOFU0.75; 95% CI = 0.60, 0.94) to make preventive care visits during periods when mothers received welfare and worked compared with welfare only periods. Conclusion. The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families maternal work requirement may be a barrier to receiving recommended preventive pediatric health care. (Am J Public Health. 2012;102:2274-2279). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from two waves of a panel study of families that currently receive or recently received cash welfare benefits, this article examines the relationship between food hardship and behavior problems for two different age groups (3-5 years and 6-12 years). Results show that food hardship is positively associated with externalizing behavior problems for the older children even after controlling for parental stress, warmth, and depression. Food hardship is positively associated with internalizing behavior problems for the older group of children, and with both externalizing and internalizing behavior problems for the younger group of children. These effects are mediated by parental characteristics. Results suggest that practitioners who work with children should screen for food hardship as a potential source of behavior problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]