TANF Leavers and Debt: An Exploratory Study From Georgia

This exploratory study measured the types and amounts of debt experienced by families in Georgia that exited Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) between 2009 and 2015. The research employed a cross-sectional, descriptive, survey research design. A sample of 87 participants was interviewed individually and self-reported their levels of consumer debt. The median level of debt across the entire sample was $7,000. The largest category of debt was student loan debt; 51% of the sample owed an average of $23,276 (median $12,771) in student loan debt. The next most frequent forms of debt were medical (median $2,000), credit card (median $950), and utility (median $261). Considering only 41% of respondents were employed full-time in the formal economy earning an average hourly wage of $12.18, this level of consumer debt suggests a majority of this sample of TANF leavers is debt stressed. These findings highlight the importance of future studies with larger samples exploring the various impacts of debt on low-income families.