- Log in to post comments
Subgroups
In five rural counties in Illinois, TANF and Food Stamps recipients who were required to work, and other low-income volunteers who were available and willing to work at least 30 hours per week, were randomly assigned to the intervention or the comparison group in even proportions. The individual was the unit of assignment and the unit of analysis. A total of 630 people participated in the study (313 in the Future Steps group and 317 in the comparison group). Evaluators conducted a follow-up survey 18 months after random assignment and collected information from 520 people (252 from Future Steps and 268 from the comparison). For another survey 30 months after random assignment, evaluators collected information from 536 people (261 from Future Steps and 275 from the comparison).
Sample members were enrolled between July 2001 and December 2002, and program services continued until September 2003.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, ACF, funded the study.
On average, sample members were 30 years old. Three-quarters were female. Fifty percent were Black and non-Hispanic, 46 percent were White and non-Hispanic, and 5 percent were Hispanic or another race or ethnicity. Slightly more than one-quarter of sample members did not have a high school diploma or GED, whereas 31 percent had more than a high school diploma or GED. At baseline, 18 percent were working for pay. A large majority (87 percent) reported earnings less than $10,000 in the year before baseline. More than half (56 percent) of sample members had received TANF or Aid to Families with Dependent Children at some point in their lives, and 15 percent were receiving it at the time of baseline. More than half (56 percent) were living in single-adult households.
Shawnee Community College operated Future Steps under a contract with the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS); staff were located in five county-level IDHS offices.
The program operated from July 2001 to September 2003, and random assignment began in July 2011. Elements of the program had already been pilot-tested.
Intervention group members received extended case management services, including (1) an assessment of skills and interests; (2) individualized job search, job placement, and skills enhancement programs; (3) referrals, supportive service payments, and mentoring to overcome personal and logistical obstacles; and (4) extended post-employment support up to three months after securing a job. Some clients in this group were volunteers, but others were required to participate or risk losing some of their TANF or Food Stamps benefits.
Comparison group members could not enroll in Future Steps but could receive all other available services.
Authors estimate that between one-quarter and one-third of Future Steps applicants were volunteers; the rest were mandatory participants who faced reductions in benefit payments if they did not work 30 hours a week.
The Future Steps program had at least one service contact with 93 percent of the individuals in the intervention group. The program had an average of 10.6 hours of contact time with those individuals with at least one service contact during the time the program was studied. On average, clients enrolled in services for 16 months.
Illinois Department of Human Services; Shawnee Community College
The program took place in five rural counties in southern Illinois. The five program case managers were based in each county's Illinois Department of Human Services office.
Physical health, Mental health