At the End of Eligibility: Female Sole Parents Whose Youngest Child Turns 16

Abstract

This study is concerned with the life cycle transition of a group of sole parents from receipt of the Sole Parent Pension (SPP) to another source of livelihood, and with the role of Commonwealth income support and allied services in that transition. The group concerned are female sole parent pensioners who, because their youngest child has turned 16, have reached the end of their eligibility for this pension. The subject of the study is their transition, over a twelve month period, from SPP to income from earnings, to another pension or benefit, or to income from another source. In particular, the focus of the research is on those factors which are most closely related to a successful transition into employment and on the role of the services of the Department of Social Security (DSS) and of labour market programs administered by the Department of Employment, Education and Training (DEET) and the Commonwealth Employment Service (CES) in that transition.

The study consisted of a survey following the experiences of a group of sole parent pensioners over the period of a year beginning shortly before their youngest child turned 16 and concluding some nine to twelve months after cessation of SPP. A sample of 196 female sole parents were interviewed three times at intervals of six months, the first interview being conducted in the respondent's home and the second . and the third by telephone in most cases. Data analysis has been conducted by cross-tabulation and multiple logistic regression.