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Staff from two neighborhood organizations in the Bronx, NY, and two neighborhood organizations in Memphis, TN, enrolled individuals in the study in August 2011 through February 2012. Families were eligible to receive intervention services and participate in the study if they (1) contained at least one child entering the 9th or 10th grade by the start of the study, (2) received TANF or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (based on agency records in the Bronx and self-reports in Memphis), (3) lived anywhere in Memphis or in one of five focal districts in the Bronx, and (4) contained at least one adult age 18 or older that was a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident. Families were randomly assigned in each city. The study enrolled 2,461 families, with 5 families later withdrawing from the study. Unemployment Insurance data were collected for all parents, and TANF and SNAP records were collected for all families that remained in the study. All randomly assigned families were eligible to complete a survey administered about 24 months after enrollment (which is assumed to have occurred at the same time as random assignment). Only one survey was administered for each family.
Random assignment occurred from August 2011 to February 2012. Individuals were followed for three years.
The study was funded by the Mayor's Office for Economic Opportunity, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Open Society Foundations, The Rockefeller Foundation, Benificus Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, The New York Community Trust, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and the Women’s Foundation of Greater Memphis.
All families included at least one adult age 18 or older and at least one child in 9th or 10th grade. Demographics varied by program site. For the Bronx, 77 percent of families had only one parent, 99 percent received Food Stamps, and 5 percent received TANF or cash assistance. Eighty-eight percent of adult Family Rewards participants were female, 74 percent were Hispanic, 23 percent were African American, and 3 percent were of another racial or ethnic group. About half (48 percent) lacked a high school diploma or equivalent, and 57 percent were employed. The average age was between 42 and 43 years old. For Memphis, 91 percent of families had only one parent, 98 percent received Food Stamps, and 31 percent received TANF or cash assistance. Ninety-four percent of adult Family Rewards participants were female. One percent of participants were Hispanic, 98 percent were African American, and 1 percent were of another racial or ethnic group. About one-third (31 percent) lacked a high school diploma or equivalent, and 44 percent were employed. The average age was between 39 and 40 years old.
Four Neighborhood Partner Organizations (NPOs) led program implementation. They included the Children's Aid Society and Bronx-Works in the Bronx and Urban Strategies Memphis HOPE and Porter-Leath in Memphis. The Children's Aid Society managed operations and provided technical assistance to each of the four NPOs.
Family Rewards 2.0 updates the Opportunity NYC–Family Rewards program evaluated in 2007. The updated program was launched in July 2011.
The Family Rewards 2.0 Program was modeled on conditional cash transfer programs typically used in low- and middle-income countries. The first iteration of Family Rewards was launched in 2007 in New York City. Family Rewards 2.0, the focus of this study, was launched in July 2011 in the Bronx, NY, and Memphis, TN. Family Rewards 2.0 offered cash incentives to program participants for completing activities pertaining to children's education, family preventative health care, and parents' work and education. Participants also received case management (called family guidance) from staff members, including discussions of family finances and budgeting, and were eligible for supportive services to help them achieve the goals linked to cash transfers.
Individuals in the comparison condition did not receive any intervention services but could qualify for similar benefits if available in the community.
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Recruitment for participation in the Family Rewards 2.0 program began in August 2011 in the Bronx and in September 2011 in Memphis. Families included in the study began receiving cash incentives in September 2011 for a duration of three years.
Social Innovation Fund (SIF) grant to the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City; the New York City Center for Economic Opportunity. Matching support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, Open Society Foundations, The Rockefeller Foundation, Benificus Foundation, the City of Memphis, The Kresge Foundation, New York Community Trust, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and the Women’s Foundation of Greater Memphis.
The study was conducted in the Bronx, NY, and Memphis, TN.
Financial well-being, Psychosocial well-being, Child educational performance and attainment, Parent-child interactions, Family health, Substance use, Job characteristics