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Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Safety Net recipients deemed employable with limitations by the New York City Human Resources Administration (HRA) attended an intake meeting with Personal Roads to Individual Development and Employment (PRIDE) staff. If the recipient was eligible for PRIDE, he or she was then randomly assigned to either PRIDE or to services as usual. Random assignment occurred in December 2001 through December 2002 (stopping in June 2002 for Safety Net recipients without children). The probability of assignment to the intervention group was 66 percent from December 2001 through August 2002 and 50 percent thereafter. (The authors adjusted accordingly in their analysis of data for the first two years after random assignment. This adjustment could not be confirmed for longer-term outcomes.) A total of 3,188 people (2,648 single parents and 540 Safety Net recipients without children) were randomly assigned to either PRIDE or to services as usual. This review focuses on results for Safety Net recipients without children.
Random assignment occurred in December 2001 through December 2002. Individuals were followed for two 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.
Sample members were Safety Net benefit recipients without dependent children who were not eligible to receive disability-related benefits but who had physical or mental health problems that limited their ability to work. The average age of sample members was 47. Almost half (47 percent) of sample members were Black, 37 percent were Hispanic, and 12 percent were White. Only 24 percent worked in an unemployment insurance-covered job in the year before random assignment.
The New York City HRA coordinated with four nonprofit organizations to deliver services: the Federation Employment and Guidance Service, National Center for Disability Services, Goodwill Industries, and Brooklyn Bureau of Community Service. An HRA contractor conducted medical evaluations. Additional agencies helped to manage the program, including the New York State Departments of Education and Labor.
The PRIDE program began as a pilot in 1998 and was implemented citywide in 1999.
The PRIDE program served TANF or Safety Net benefit recipients with physical or mental health problems that limited their ability to work. PRIDE consisted of two subprograms: work-based education (WBE) and vocational rehabilitation. Recipients in both subprograms were required to participate in work placements designed to accommodate their health conditions. Clients who did not participate could face a reduction in their TANF benefits or have their case closed. Those in the WBE arm also had to attend a highly structured program that incorporated unpaid work experience and educational activities. All PRIDE participants received job search and placement assistance as well as employment retention services.
Eligible recipients not assigned to PRIDE received benefits as usual and were not required to have work experience placements. They were informed about employment services but did not have direct access to job search and retention services.
Individuals were required to participate in work-related activities and could have their welfare benefits reduced or closed if they did not.
Clients participated in one or two months of unpaid work and then received job search assistance (duration not specified). Work experience and educational activities typically lasted 6 months but could be extended to 12 months. Once employed, clients received post-employment services for 6 months.
New York TANF and Safety Net funds (including from ACF, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services).
The program operated in New York City.
None