Changes in Family Structure and Welfare Participation since the 1960s: The Role of Legal Services

This paper evaluates the effects of the War on Poverty's legal services program (LSP), which provided subsidized legal assistance to poor communities, focusing on divorce and welfare access. We use a difference-in-difference (DiD) research design based on the program's rollout from 1965 to 1975. We find temporary increases in the rate of new divorces and persistent increases in welfare participation, consistent with LSP activities. We find increases in nonmarital birth rates that stem from falling marriage rates rather than rising birth rates. Expanded access to legal institutions thus contributed directly and indirectly to changes in family structure in the 1960s. (JEL H53, I32, I38, J12, K36)