- Log in to post comments
Subgroups
A total of 2,934 cases were randomly assigned among four research sites (2,538 cases in the three Phoenix sites and 396 cases in the Navajo reservation site). Random assignment first included all individuals eligible to receive cash assistance or Transitional Medical Assistance in October 1995. Twenty-five percent of identified individuals were assigned to the intervention group, 25 percent to the comparison group, and 50 percent to a nonstudy group. Individuals who were newly approved for cash assistance were randomly assigned using the same procedures in each month from November 1995 to July 1997. This review reports on the 396 cases enrolling in the study at the Navajo reservation site who were randomly assigned to intervention or comparison groups. Most analyses were restricted to the sample of individuals who received cash assistance at random assignment. Other reviews examine results for the Phoenix site.
Random assignment occurred from October 1995 to July 1997. Follow-up data was collected for three years.
This evaluation was contracted by Arizona's Department of Economic Security.
The study included AFDC, TANF and Transitional Medical Assistance (extended benefits available to individuals transitioning off of AFDC/TANF) cases. These cases were groups of individuals, such as families, who were jointly eligible for these benefits. Within the intervention group at baseline, 23 percent of cases had no adult associated with them, 64 percent of cases had one adult, and 13 percent of cases had two or more adults. More than 99 percent of cases had an associated child, and more than 40 percent of cases had three or more children. Almost all (97 percent) case heads were female, and all were American Indian. Most case heads were ages 30 to 49 (59 percent) or 20 to 29 (33 percent), with 5 percent ages 19 or younger and 4 percent ages 50 or older. Half of all case heads had received cash assistance for each of the previous 24 months.
State Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
Arizona piloted this program for nine months before the evaluation began.
The EMPOWER program included both increased requirements for receipt of cash assistance and increased assistance. EMPOWER required that single parents younger than 18 live with a responsible adult to receive cash assistance and that parents ages 13 to 15 participate in the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) program to receive cash assistance. (Teen parents ages 16 to 19 were already required to participate in JOBS.) The program also strengthened sanctions for not complying with JOBS requirements and eliminated a rule that made two-parent families ineligible for cash assistance when the primary wage earner worked more than 100 hours per month. EMPOWER families could also receive medical and child care assistance for an additional year after becoming ineligible for cash assistance because of employment and were eligible to receive an individual development account (if they received both cash assistance and food stamps), in which they could deposit money for training or education that would be disregarded in calculating benefits.
Clients assigned to the comparison group received services as usual under typical requirements for receiving cash assistance.
Participation was required, and a family’s benefits were automatically sanctioned for a minimum of one month for the first occurrence of noncompliance.
Individuals were exempt from any program time limits.
Arizona Department of Economic Security (AFDC and TANF agency) using federal Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) funding.
An AFDC/TANF office located within a Navajo reservation in northeast Arizona.
Family structure, Housing