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Clients who had participated in a Phase 1 (pre-employment) Riverside County Department of Public Social Services (DPSS) program, who also had reported obtaining a job and met a series of eligibility requirements, were eligible for random assignment into Phase 2 (post-employment). These eligibility criteria included the following: working 20 or more hours for at least one week over the past 30 days, earning an hourly wage greater than or equal to the state minimum wage ($6.75), and expecting to work an average of 20 or more hours per week for at least 30 days. The evaluation excluded clients who (1) were already enrolled in Phase 2 at the time of random assignment, (2) were New Visions (another evaluation) sample members, and (3) were Post-Assistance Self-Sufficiency members from random assignment. After identifying clients eligible for the study, evaluators collected baseline data and then randomly assigned clients to one of three program groups: the Work Plus Group (the intervention condition for this study), the Training Focused Group (the comparison condition for this study), and the Work Focused Group (discussed elsewhere on this site in contrast to the first two conditions). This study focuses on 1,442 people (969 in Work Plus and 473 in Training Focused) who were randomly assigned in January 2001 through September 2002 and examines their outcomes, according to administrative records, 12 months later.
Random assignment began in January 2001 and concluded in October 2003. Outcome data were collected for four years after random assignment.
The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation in ACF at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services funded the study, with support from the U.S. Department of Labor.
Single-parent Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) clients who had (1) participated in a Phase 1 (preemployment) Riverside County DPSS program, (2) reported having obtained a job, and (3) met a series of eligibility requirements were eligible for random assignment into Phase 2 (post-employment). Applicants to the program were required to have worked 20 hours or more during at least one week within the past 30 days (earning at least the state’s minimum wage) and had to expect to work an average of at least 20 hours per week for the next 30 days. At the time of random assignment, people in the study were, on average, 30 years old; about 20 percent were Black and non-Hispanic, 45 percent were Hispanic, and about 31 percent were White and non-Hispanic. Slightly more than one-third of sample members had three or more children, and 33 percent had a youngest child who was at least 6 years old. Fewer than half (43 percent) did not have a high school diploma or GED, and 78 percent reported that they were employed in unemployment insurance-covered employment in the year before random assignment.
Work Plus was implemented by the Riverside County DPSS (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families [TANF] agency) in California.
In 1998, the Riverside County DPSS created a post-employment program, which focused on encouraging clients to attend training or education courses outside of work. In subsequent years, DPSS staff worked with education and training providers to create variations of this post-employment program (one of which is Work Plus). The Work Plus program started in January 1998, and the Training Focused program started in September 2000.
Work Plus clients could receive intensive case management and enhanced support services aimed at encouraging employment stability. To continue to receive benefits, participants were required to engage in employment-related activities for 32 hours per week. Program staff encouraged Work Plus participants to decrease work hours per week to 20 hours to pursue education and training activities, with the philosophy that working reinforced the value of education and training and that working while in school or training increased the likelihood of program completion and the use of newly attained skills. Participation in education and training was voluntary, but if participants chose not to pursue education and training, they were required to participate in other permitted activities—including work—for at least 32 hours per week. The program also provided clients with support services (for example, child care, transportation, and ancillary payments to participate in program activities), social services (for example, mental health, domestic violence, and substance abuse), referrals to public assistance programs (for example, TANF, Food Stamps, and Medi-Cal), and job search services.
Program staff allowed Training Focused participants to decrease work hours per week to zero hours to pursue education and training activities, with the philosophy that eliminating the requirement to engage in work would allow participants to access the most useful education and training programs. Participation in education and training was voluntary, but if participants chose not to pursue education and training, they were required to participate in other permitted activities—including work—for at least 32 hours per week. All other services were provided in the same way as Work Plus.
Participants had to meet requirements for hours of work or other authorized activities per week; otherwise, they could be sanctioned.
Work Plus staff worked with unemployed clients for up to 60 days after the date of job loss and then referred them back to Phase 1 job search services. Clients in the Training Focused group had received up to one year of services at the time of data collection. Many continued to receive services after the one-year data collection.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; U.S. Department of Labor.
The study took place in Riverside County, CA.
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