skip to main content
Washington State Institute for Public Policy

Use the search fields below to find specific publications that match certain criteria. If you want to find other information on our website that is not publications, you can use the search field in the navigation bar at the top, or click here to search the entire website.

Use the dropdown to select the field in which you would like to perform a keyword search.

Input the keyword you would like to search by in the textbox.

You can put multiple words inside quotes "like this" to indicate that you only want results where the entire phrase is found.

You can use the minus symbol "( - )" to indicate you only want results without the indicated word, such as: "teacher -substitute".


Select a publication author(s) to filter results by author. Once selected, you may remove an author from the search by clicking the "x".
"ANY of these authors" will return all results that include any of the authors you specified in your search criteria.

"ALL of these authors" will return only those results that include every author you specified in your search criteria.


Select a topic(s) to filter results by topic. Once selected, you may remove a topic from the search by clicking the "x".
"ANY of these topics" will return all results that include any of the topics you specified in your search criteria.

"ALL of these topics" will return only those results that include every topic you specified in your search criteria.


Select a date range if you would like to only see results published during a specified time period.

Publications

Found 1 results

Depression in Washington's Female TANF Population: Prevalence, DSHS Screening, and Treatment
Open Publication PDF

Marna Miller - February 2011

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is a federal/state program providing cash assistance to families with children. In Washington, the TANF program is administered by the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS). The 2007 Legislature directed the Institute to study the prevalence of depression among women receiving TANF and to evaluate the effectiveness of current screening methods used by the DSHS.

A random sample of 707 women receiving TANF in February 2008 was interviewed by telephone using a well-validated survey instrument to diagnose major depressive disorder (MDD). Compared with a national sample of depressed women with children, we found that women receiving TANF were more likely to be depressed and their depression was twice as likely to be categorized as severe. Depressed TANF clients were also significantly more likely to receive professional treatment for their condition.

Compared with non-depressed TANF clients, those with MDD were employed less and received TANF longer in the nine-month follow-up period. Depression was not associated with TANF sanction, either at the time of sampling or during the follow-up period.

DSHS has implemented screening procedures that identify a substantial portion of depressed TANF clients. To the extent the state wishes to increase treatment rates, DSHS could modify its Comprehensive Evaluation to include one of several brief, freely available mental health screening instruments.

Download:   Full Report  
Related:
Legislation