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The program served employed individuals (1) leaving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), (2) participating in the state Food Stamp Employment and Training program, or (3) participating in the Employment Related Day Care program (which provides child care subsidies to low-income, working families). A staff member contacted individuals in these groups, verified they were employed and not currently receiving TANF, and explained the Transition, Advancement, and Growth (TAAG) intervention and study. Interested participants were then randomly assigned to the intervention and comparison groups in February 2002 through April 2004. This study includes 464 research sample members who were in two-parent families (another study examines effects for single-parent families). Only one member of each family is included in the sample. If both parents were eligible for the program, program staff selected one to participate in the study before random assignment, but both could be eligible to receive services.
Random assignment occurred in February 2002 through April 2004. Evaluators followed participants for three years.
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.
Sample members were all employed adults in a two-parent family who had exited TANF or were receiving Food Stamps or a child care subsidy. Across all members of two-parent families enrolled in Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA), half were White and non-Hispanic, 32 percent were Hispanic, and 12 percent were Black and non-Hispanic. On average, participants were 31 years old. More than half (62 percent) had at least a high school diploma or equivalent certification, and more than half (59 percent) were employed during the quarter when they enrolled in ERA. In the year before enrolling in ERA, most participants (76 percent) received the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and slightly less than half (42 percent) received TANF.
Oregon TANF, the Job Council (a local nonprofit), the Oregon Employment Department, and Rogue Community College collaborated to deliver TAAG.
TAAG was active from February 2002 until July 2005.
The TAAG program provided retention- and career-focused case management services to low-income, employed individuals. The Medford (Oregon) Department of Human Services, the Job Council, the Employment Department, and Rogue Community College collaborated to deliver TAAG. Services were provided by teams, which included job coaches, job counselors, job developers, case managers, learning plan specialists, and employment specialists, all supervised by a project manager. The program was designed to provide services heavily tailored to the needs of individual clients (described as a customer-driven approach). Case managers provided job search assistance; counseling; coaching; career advice; advice on topics such as budgeting and conflict resolution; and referrals to education and training, financial aid, and supportive services. TAAG team members also developed and delivered a seminar on employment retention and career advancement, provided during participants' lunch hours.
People in the comparison group had access to employment-related services in the community. They could access the same employment, training, and supportive services as individuals in the TAAG program but did not receive support in finding or enrolling in these services.
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Participants could access program services for one year.
Oregon TANF (primary); U.S. Department of Labor
Medford, OR
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