MOST was Michigan's Jobs Opportunities and Basic Skills Training program for individuals receiving AFDC. Michigan changed MOST after receiving one of Section 1115 waivers to the rules in effect at the time for the AFDC program. These Section 1115 waivers allowed states to test new approaches to advance the objectives of the AFDC program. Detroit's MOST program, with the changes made under the waiver, was included in a five-year national evaluation of workforce programs for individuals receiving AFDC which began in 1992.
MOST was a mandatory program that provided case management and focusing on improving participants’ educational and vocational skills before they applied for jobs. Participants who did not have a high school diploma or GED were usually assigned to basic education classes (such as GED courses), whereas participants with basic education credentials were assigned to vocational or postsecondary education. Participants could also be assigned to job search or, rarely, work experience. Case managers helped participants arrange supportive services such as child care and transportation during program participation.
Due to state policy changes, Michigan's Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training program transitioned models in 1994. The new model, Work First, began to replace MOST in October 1994 and emphasized job search and placement. Participants receiving AFDC at that time were transitioned to Work First, and participants who later resumed receiving AFDC were assigned directly to Work First. About a quarter of intervention participants were referred to Work First within 2 years of their enrollment in the study. If participants could not secure a job in the first 30 days of Work First, Work First case managers assigned them to job search assistance or, more rarely, training and educational activities or community work experience. MOST case managers also continued to connect participants to supportive services.
Compared with the MOST program, staff at the Work First program monitored program participation more closely and created financial sanctions for noncompliance—such as benefit reduction and case closure—though they infrequently imposed these sanctions. Services ended when clients left AFDC for employment.
Participants in MOST and Work First were individuals receiving AFDC, who were age 18 or older and were single parents whose youngest child was age 1 or older. The intervention was implemented in two offices of the Michigan Department of Social Services in Detroit and the Detroit office of the Michigan Works Agency.
MOST provided case management and training to single parents receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) to improve participants’ educational and vocational skills before applying for jobs. Due to state policy changes, MOST was replaced in 1994 by Work First, which emphasized job search and placement. The evaluation of the intervention included individuals who enrolled in MOST, but about one quarter were referred to Work First after the transition occurred, and therefore the intervention studied encompassed both sets of services.