The comparison group was not eligible to receive Project Independence services, including case management and employment and training services, for two years following random assignment. However, participants in the comparison group were eligible for subsidized child care and tuition assistance for training or community college courses under the same guidelines as intervention participants, and they received a list of employment and training services in the community.
Project Independence cost $3,096 (in 1993 dollars) per program group member during five years, including costs of Program Independence services and costs of other services program group members accessed themselves. This was $1,150 higher than the costs of services used by comparison group members during the same period.
A cost-benefit analysis examined costs and benefits to the participant, the government, taxpayers and society:
- The participant. Project Independence resulted in a loss of $369 to the participant. This means that the sum of increases in payroll tax payments and decreases in AFDC, Food Stamp, and Medicaid benefits was estimated to be $369 higher than the sum of increases in earnings, fringe benefits, and unemployment insurance compensation and decreases in income and sales taxes.
- The government. Project Independence resulted in a per-participant gain of $72 to the government. This means that the sum of (1) Project Independence program costs; (2) increases in payroll taxes; and (3) decreases in AFDC, Food Stamp, and Medicaid benefits and administrative costs was estimated to be $72 higher than the sum of (1) decreases in costs to non-Project Independence programs, (2) decreases in income and sales taxes, and (3) increases in unemployment insurance compensation and program activities and services. The government saved $1.06 for every dollar spent on the program group.
- Taxpayers. Project Independence resulted in a per-participant gain of $26 to taxpayers (not including those in the program group). This means that the sum of (1) Project Independence program costs; (2) increases in the employee share of payroll taxes; and (3) decreases in AFDC, Food Stamp, and Medicaid benefits and administrative costs was estimated to be $26 higher than the sum of (1) decreases in costs to non-Project Independence programs, (2) decreases in income and sales taxes, and (3) increases in unemployment insurance compensation and program activities and services. The taxpayers saved $1.02 for every dollar spent on the program group.
- Society. Project Independence resulted in a per-participant loss of $343 to society, including AFDC recipients and taxpayers. This means that the sum of the cost of program services and activities was estimated to be $343 higher than the sum of program-related increases in earnings and fringe benefits and decreases in administrative costs.
Project Independence began in 1987. Study enrollment started between July 1990 and October 1990 in each of the nine counties involved in the study and continued until August 1991. The evaluators measured effects up to two years after enrollment.
Florida’s Project Independence was an employment-first program aimed at enhancing partnerships between state agencies and other organizations to increase employment, earnings, and income of AFDC participants and reduce welfare assistance costs.
Regional public assistance specialists referred all nonexempt AFDC applicants and participants undergoing eligibility redetermination to attend a required Project Independence orientation. During the orientation, staff conducted an initial assessment to determine participants’ job-readiness status and to place them into a service track. In the first service track, job-ready participants conducted an individual job search, and if they did not find employment, they joined a group job club. Participants who continued to be unemployed after completing job club were referred to the second service track, which consisted of a formal assessment with a case manager to create an employability plan and referrals to employment and training activities. Participants who were not job ready went immediately into the second service track. Project Independence services entailed the following:
- Individual job search. Job-ready participants engaged in a two-week individual job search as an initial activity. Participants who did not find employment during that period or during the job club (or who did not participate in an individual job search) engaged in extended job search for up to four more weeks. Participants in the initial or extended job search completed at least six employment applications per week and documented and reported their applications to a case manager biweekly.
- Job club. Program staff conducted job clubs in two phases. During Phase 1, participants received classroom-based instruction for two to three weeks to learn about labor market trends, conduct job searches, prepare a résumé, complete job applications, conduct interviews, and learn soft skills. During Phase 2, participants could practice contacting employers and scheduling job interviews over the phone during a supervised group job search.
- Education and training. Participants could be referred to high school and adult basic education, GED preparation, and English-as-a-second-language classes. Participants could also engage in community-based vocational or classroom-based occupational skills training, on-the-job training, customized training, employment preparation, community college, or work experience activities, as consistent with their employability plan. These trainings and activities were held at local adult schools, community colleges, and subcontracted local Job Training Partnership Act agencies. Participants engaged in the high school and adult basic education activities for an average of three months and the skills training or community college activities for an average of six and a half months.
- Supportive services. Participants could receive additional support or assistance to ensure engagement in program activities or secure employment. These services included subsidies for formal and informal child care, tuition for training or college classes, transportation, tools, and uniforms.
Participants received sanctions that reduced their AFDC grant for not attending orientation and not proving good cause for their absence. Failure to attend the orientation led to deregistration of the participant from Project Independence by the end of the 12-month follow-up period. Participants could also receive sanctions for failing to attend any mandated program activity.
HRS changed the intervention in some ways during the study period. In 1991, the “not job ready” criteria expanded to include participants who did not have a high school diploma or GED and who had worked fewer than 12 months in the 2 years before random assignment. Furthermore, because of budget constraints in 1991, HRS reduced the availability of child care services for Project Independence participants, which, in turn, excused participants who could not secure formal or informal child care from mandated participation in the program.
Challenges. Hiring freezes during state budget cuts prevented Project Independence leaders from filling open jobs. The remaining staff in the program had to take on additional caseloads, meaning there were caseloads of up to 200 per staff. The increase in caseload size reduced case managers’ ability to monitor and enforce participation and provide individualized case management to participants. To address this challenge, program staff were allowed to decrease enforcement of the program requirements after participants attended orientation and completed a job search activity.
The study did not discuss any tools to measure fidelity to the intervention model.
The Project Independence evaluation received funding from HRS, The Ford Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training program supplied federal matching funds for state welfare-to-work initiatives, including Project Independence.
Funding for subsidized child care provided for more than 30 days came from Children and Families Child Care Title IV-A. Short-term child care for fewer than 30 days was funded by the Project Independence supportive services budget.
The 9 counties selected for the Project Independence intervention included 58 percent of the state’s AFDC caseload in 1990. The selected counties consisted of suburban and rural areas and the eight largest cities in Florida: Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Hialeah, Orange, Fort Lauderdale, and Hollywood.
The official poverty rate in 1989 was 9.6 percent. The counties with the highest percentage of poverty were Dade (14.2 percent), Bay (11.2 percent), and Duval (9.8 percent).
The Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services (HRS) developed and operated Project Independence, which was Florida’s Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training program. Project Independence implemented services in 9 Florida counties that were randomly selected from the pool of 25 counties with the largest AFDC caseloads: Bay, Broward, Dade, Duval, Hillsborough, Lee, Orange, Pinellas, and Volusia. Each county had 1 to 8 Project Independence units, for a total of 26 units. Starting in 1992, HRS subcontracted responsibility for operations to the Florida Department of Labor and Economic Security (LES).
Various partners played roles in implementing Project Independence:
- HRS handled policy development, planning, and administration of the employment services for participants in Project Independence. The HRS public assistance specialists evaluated and determined the eligibility of prospective program participants, introduced the program and the evaluation to new clients, collected information from participants, helped complete the random assignment process, and referred participants to Project Independence.
- The state and regional LES administrators hired staff for each Project Independence site.
- Subcontracted local Job Training Partnership Act agencies provided job-readiness skills training.
- A consortium of local school districts, Job Training Partnership Act agencies, and community colleges provided education and training services.
Project Independence’s participants consisted of people applying for or receiving AFDC benefits who were considered nonexempt from mandatory participation. To be nonexempt, people had to meet all the following criteria: (1) have a child age 3 or older; (2) be younger than 60; (3) be working fewer than 30 hours per week, including not working at all; (4) not be pregnant or in the first trimester of pregnancy; and (4) not be permanently ill or incapacitated. At first, Project Independence was mandatory for all participants randomized into the program group, but after 1991, program group members were exempt from mandatory participation if their child care needs were not met. The study evaluated outcomes of single parents with preschool-age children.
Thirty-four percent of the sample members were White, not Hispanic; 38 percent were Black, not Hispanic; and 22 percent were Hispanic of any race. The majority spoke English (76 percent). Sample members were, on average, 32 years old. About half (51 percent) of participants reported their youngest child was age 6 or older. At the time of random assignment, 39 percent of participants were first-time AFDC applicants. Fifty-two percent of participants had their high school diploma or GED. Most Project Independence participants (82 percent) were considered job ready.
The program model called for job-ready participants to be involved in job search activities for two weeks or extended individual job search activities for two to four weeks. Job-readiness skills training (job club) was generally held for at least 20 hours per week for 2 to 4 weeks.
Within 12 months of random assignment, most participants (77 percent) attended the orientation. Excluding the orientation and initial assessment that determined their service track, 43 percent of participants engaged in at least 1 program activity. Close to one-third participated in any job search or job club activity, and 18 percent of participants participated in any education or training activity, with training or community college having the highest participation rate (7 percent) and self-initiated activities having the lowest (5 percent).
Most Project Independence sites had HRS and LES staff. The number of staff at each Project Independence site varied by county. On average, each county had 21 staff, with an average of 7 staff per Project Independence site. In total, there were 190 Project Independence staff members, including 137 HRS staff, 48 LES staff, and 5 staff employed by other health and human services agencies. The average age of staff was 41. Most staff (80 percent) had a bachelor’s degree or higher.
The staffing at Project Independence generally consisted of the following:
- One HRS unit supervisor per site who trained, directed, and evaluated program staff.
- HRS employment counselors (that is, case managers) who provided case management services, orientation, assessments, and referrals; coordinated supportive services; and monitored participants.
- LES employment specialists who assisted with case management activities, engaged participants on job development activities or job clubs, and helped participants find employment.