Table 1.
Demographics Characteristics of Interview Participants on Medicaid with Very Low Income
| N = 35 | |
|---|---|
| Race, n (%) | |
| White | 17 (49) |
| African American | 14 (40) |
| American Indian | 3 (9) |
| Other | 1 (3) |
| Sex, n (%) | |
| Male | 26 (74) |
| Female | 9 (26) |
| Age range, n (%) | |
| 20–40 | 3 (9) |
| 41–50 | 15 (43) |
| 51–60 | 12 (34) |
| 61–65 | 5 (14) |
| Work history, n (%) | |
| No current or past employment | 1 (3) |
| History of work outside the study period | 8 (23) |
| Informal labor, or participation in job-readiness program during the study period | 7 (20) |
| Part-time job or minimal work during the study period | 16 (46) |
| Full-time job during the study period | 3 (9) |
| Social complexity | |
| Contact with the criminal justice system, n (%) | |
| None | 17 (49) |
| Historical stay in jail/prison; involvement with the criminal justice system without stay | 10 (29) |
| Involvement with probation or diversionary court | 4 (11) |
| Some time spent in jail/prison during the study period | 4 (11) |
| Substantial time spent in jail/prison or workhouse during the study period | -- |
| Education, n (%) | |
| Never attended school | 1 (3) |
| Less than high school (HS) | 8 (23) |
| HS diploma or GED | 16 (46) |
| Some post-secondary education | 4 (11) |
| Unavailable | 6 (17) |
| Unstable housing, n (%) | |
| Chronically homeless* | 1 (3) |
| Episodically homeless† | 5 (14) |
| Transitionally homeless‡ | 1 (3) |
| Semi-stable housing§ | 14 (40) |
| Very stable housing‖ | 13 (37) |
| Stable house or apartment¶ | 1 (3) |
*Chronically homeless, “entrenched”27 in the shelter system, on the streets, or otherwise homeless for years
†Episodically homeless with frequent shuttling in and out of homelessness; often in/out of homes of family/friends, hospitals, chemical dependency programs, and/or criminal justice settings; a significant subjective sense of instability
‡Transitionally homeless short, often single use of shelter system, subjective description of brief, temporary, limited nature of homeless circumstance
§Semi-stable housing includes supportive and public housing or other similar programs and with subjective mention of possibility of housing situation ending due to behaviors (e.g., required sobriety); living with family members/friends but suggestion of volatile situation, or history of frequent moves
‖Very stable situation without mention of subjective instability including public housing without monitoring of behavior
¶Stable house or apartment that you fully pay for by yourself12