For millions of American families — especially those headed by single women, there are, however, some useful tax breaks that can significantly lower the amount of taxes to pay. And, in some cases, give cash refunds to families in jobs that pay too little to live on.
With the rising cost of basic necessities like food and clothing, struggling single mothers find it difficult to keep “a roof over their heads”. The federal government offers a wide range of support and assistance aimed to increase home ownership and affordable housing for single mothers.
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children – better known as the WIC Program provides free support to low-income pregnant, breastfeeding and post-partum women and children under age five who are considered to be at nutritional risk.
Child care is always almost unaffordable for single mothers. With only one income, raising kids without the financial assistance of the other partner creates a financial drain on an already-limited budget. So what options do they have?
The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is a federally-subsidized meal program that provides free or discounted school lunches to eligible children whose family income falls below certain “poverty guidelines”.
The aim of SNAP is to provide affordable and healthy meals to the low- to no income families. Qualified applicants include single parents, elderly or disabled, homeless and the unemployed.
There is a plethora of financial aid aimed at helping single-mother families cope with the challenges of single parenting. Though it isn’t a guaranteed entitlement, they are freely awarded on the basis of economic hardship.
TANF or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, as the name implies, extends temporary financial assistance to families that are living on income below the poverty threshold. The aim is to offer a way to put parents on a path out of welfare and move them toward self-sufficiency.