The HCD program implemented in Riverside, CA, emphasized that participants should spend time receiving education or training to prepare for good jobs. If participants did not have a high school diploma or general education diploma, the program provided basic education classes in the public school system to help participants make progress toward their goals (such as increasing their literacy level). Case managers were accountable for the employment and education outcomes of their clients and therefore encouraged success and emphasized and enforced program participation. Staff could impose financial sanctions (by reducing welfare grant amounts) if clients did not participate in required activities. The program also offered support with child care and transportation costs. Riverside’s HCD program expected that most clients would complete training or educational activities within two years but would approve longer durations based on participant needs.
Eligible participants included single parents who received AFDC and who were required to enroll in Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) program. However, AFDC recipients were exempt from JOBS if they had children younger than 3, were employed 30 hours or more per week, were medically unable to work, or were in the last trimester of pregnancy. Riverside HCD was administered in Riverside, CA.
The effectiveness of HCD when compared with LFA indicates the effect of being referred to a set of services that are unique to HCD, or how much better the offer of HCD meets participants’ needs than the offer of LFA. HCD focused on providing education and training as a precursor to employment, whereas LFA focused on placing people into jobs quickly to build work habits and skills. Similar HCD programs were implemented and tested in Atlanta, GA, and Grand Rapids, MI. Riverside’s HCD and LFA programs were examined as part of the National Evaluation of Welfare-to-Work Strategies that also evaluated HCD and LFA programs in Grand Rapids, MI, and Atlanta, GA. The demonstration also evaluated programs in Portland, OR; Detroit, MI; Oklahoma City, OK; and two programs in Columbus, OH (Columbus Integrated and Columbus Traditional).
To support future employment, the HCD program implemented in Riverside, CA, focused on providing education and training to single parents who were Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) recipients. This evaluation directly compared HCD with a separate intervention, LFA, in order to better understand which of the two interventions might be more effective; the distinctive features of HCD were adult basic education courses or vocational training programs.