No husbands or fathers

Chad Friedrichs explains this in the director's commentary on the DVD. It all has to do with the regulations regarding Aid to Dependent Children (I think that's the name of the legislation). The money to support the children -- not a princely sum by any stretch of the imagination, but a pittance that would prevent them starving -- was only available to children when the
"breadwinner" (defined as a male at the time) was disabled or had abandoned the family by moving to another state.

Friedrichs describes how social workers would come in and explain to struggling families how, if the father would leave, they would be eligible for public housing and ADC funding, but the father must move to a different state and not have any face-to-face contact with the family. Of course, many did sneak back to see their children -- had to do so under cover of darkness, and hide. The local officials had people who would search the premises at night for a "man in the house," looking under beds and in closets.

There's some info about the legislation at this site:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aid_to_Families_with_Dependent_Children

but Friedrichs has a lot to say about it on the commentary track and I believe a couple of the outtake interviews mention it too. Apparently at the time there was no welfare-type assistance for families who were just poor. If they did not go for the ADC arrangements they were facing putting their children in foster care.

That stuck with me, too. I got what the reasons were (as ably stated above), but I saw that this and some of the other rules for the residents just set these people up to remain poor. I wish I could remember which rules... I just remember thinking that under these restrictions, these people were being groomed to remain dependent. The fathers being obliged to leave their families in order to provide for them, not by seeking work but by appearing to abandon them, was warning sign #1. Here's a place to live that's clean and safe, and all you have to do is what we tell you to do. They weren't given opportunities to become part of shaping their own futures, they were expected to behave and leave certain things to others until it became clear that the others had dropped the ball. I was impressed at how they spoke up and tried to get things together, but it was too much, and it was too late. The fact that it was so wonderful in the beginning just made it sadder when it spiraled. I'm glad it was at least wonderful for a little while... but then, as the man said, it was akin to growing up in a war zone.

Those asinine suburban white chicks made me pretty angry as well... To think that there was a time when people would be willing to be seen saying that they thought "certain" kinds of people were not fit to live near them. I guess I'm pretty naïve but I found it shocking and sickening. You think of people as trying, meaning well, just having their baggage to overcome. The smug, self-righteous looks on their faces as they spoke... ugh.

All in all this was a terrific documentary, but the feeling it leaves you with is something like you get after watching a documentary about the Titanic disaster or the like. Such sadness.