This study examines the dynamics of AFDC receipt among 2,325 teenage mothers living in three inner-city areas who began receiving AFDC for the first time. We find that inner-city teenage mothers have longer welfare spells and higher recidivism rates than other groups of women receiving welfare. We find, however, that the factors affecting the length of their welfare spells and their reentry rates are similar to those of broader groups of welfare recipients. Teenage mothers with higher skill levels are more likely to exit welfare via work and are less likely to return to welfare.

Philip Gleason, Anu Rangarajan, and Peter Schochet are senior economists at Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., in Princeton, N.J. The authors share equal responsibility for the research. The authors thank Glen Cain, Mark Dynarski, Kathleen Harris, Alan Hershey, Hilary Hoynes, Rebecca Maynard, Robert Moffitt, Dave Ribar, Reuben Snipper for helpful comments, and Anne Bloomenthal and Dexter Chu for excellent research assistance. They also thank three anonymous referees for their comments and insights. The research on which this article is based was supported by Mathematica Policy Research. The research was based in part on data collected under contract HHS-100-86-0045 from the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation and the Agency for Children and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The results of this study do not necessarily represent the opinion or policy of either Mathematica Policy Research or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The data used in this article can be obtained beginning in March 1999 through February 2002 from Philip Gleason at Mathematica Policy Research, P.O. Box 2393, Princeton, NJ 08543.