ABSTRACT
P atterns of caregiving depend on context. The ways poor singlemothers care for their loved ones depend on their resources,which include time, money, and social support. Arrangements for gathering these resources are changing. In 1996, the United States Congress abolished Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), ending the federal welfare “safety net” for poor single mothers and their children. Before it was abolished, the AFDC welfare system influenced the ways poor mothers balanced the tasks of earning and caring. How will caregiving change at welfare’s end? How will this policy change affect caregiving of children, elders, and others in poor communities when single mothers must work or risk losing their families?
