Comparison group members were not eligible to participate in the JOBS program but could access other employment-related services in the community and receive child care assistance. Comparison group members also received income maintenance services (financial assistance).
The total cost per person for Traditional Case Management was $2,589 ($962 by the welfare department and $1,627 by non-welfare agencies) in 1994 dollars. The Franklin County Department of Job and Family Services’ operating expenses and costs of supportive services, in addition to expenses from non-welfare agencies (community colleges, vocational training institute, and local adult education providers), made up the total program costs.
The study did not discuss a comparison of costs and benefits.
A total of 7,242 JOBS-mandatory, single-parent welfare applicants were randomly assigned to study group from September 1992 to July 1994. A survey was administered two years after assignment in the study to a subset of participants randomly assigned from January to December 1993.
Random assignment occurred at the income maintenance office by program administrators before recipients entered program orientation.
- Case management. Participants receiving Traditional Case Management worked with one income maintenance worker who oversaw public assistance benefits provided by the welfare department and a separate traditional JOBS case manager who oversaw employment and training activities. The lack of a single, integrated case manager was the defining feature of the intervention. Participants interacted with different JOBS case managers depending on whether they participated in an education and vocational training activity or a job search activity. Income maintenance workers’ duties included handling all public assistance benefits, authorizing payments for JOBS-related expenses, imposing sanctions for noncompliance, and working with recipients’ entire household. JOBS case managers’ duties included conducting JOBS orientation and assessment, assigning recipients to JOBS activities, monitoring JOBS attendance and progress, and initiating sanctions for noncompliance.
- Education and training. Traditional Case Management prioritized skill building for participants and encouraged participants to obtain as GED certificate before entering the labor market. Participants without a high school diploma or GED were usually referred to basic education classes, whereas participants with basic education credentials were assigned to vocational training, postsecondary education, or unpaid work experience before seeking employment. Case managers usually only referred their most employable participants (those with basic education credentials, some work experience, and no serious problems that would interfere with working) to job search services.
- JOBS program activities. Administrators prioritized JOBS program activities. Participants in Traditional Case Management were required to participate in the JOBS program or face a reduction in their cash assistance, but JOBS case managers could not impose sanctions. Participants who received Traditional Case Management had access to JOBS program activities such as:
- Job search (job clubs): In partnership with Goodwill, the Columbus JOBS center combined classroom instruction on how to search for a job with actual job search. Some participants were required to search for jobs on their own with check-ins by their case manager.
- Basic education, postsecondary education, vocational training, and work experience (unpaid positions)
- Life skills workshops: The local community college offered career exploration, self-esteem–building activities, and advice on time management and study skills through a pre-education retention program.
- Supportive services were also offered, including child care and work allowances (transportation and other incidental costs). Child care was provided on-site at the Columbus JOBS center for children 2.5 to 5 years old, and the JOBS program paid child care costs associated with participation in the program. Some participants were eligible to be reimbursed for child care expenses incurred due to employment, despite no longer receiving cash assistance.
The JOBS program operated in a recently renovated facility located in a physically separate space from the welfare office. It included an on-site classroom and child care facility. Case managers received high levels of administrative support, including an automated case record information system.
The study did not discuss any tools to measure fidelity to the intervention model.
JOBS was created by the 1998 Family Support Act, which required states to provide education, employment, and supportive services to AFDC recipients.
The intervention occurred in Columbus, Ohio. In the mid-1990s, Columbus was a growing metropolitan area, marked by low unemployment levels and employment growth. The welfare caseload in Columbus decreased by nearly one-third over the study’s follow-up period.
The Ohio Department of Human Services and the Franklin County Department of Job and Family Services (previously the Department of Human Services) implemented the intervention.
The Franklin County Department of Job and Family Services contracted with several institutions as part of its JOBS program. The public school system offered basic education classes at the JOBS center. Public vocational schools offered vocational training, and the local community college conducted life skills workshops.
Participants included single-parent AFDC applicants and recipients whose youngest child was at least age 3 and who did not meet federal exemption criteria for the JOBS program. Of those randomly assigned, the mean age was 32, 94 percent were female, and approximately half were Black and half were White. All were eligible for cash assistance, 4 percent were employed at time of random assignment, and 43 percent did not have a high school diploma or GED.
Unless participants met an exemption, participation in the JOBS program was mandatory. Participants were referred to JOBS at the welfare office.
During the two-year follow-up period, participants receiving Traditional Case Management participated in program activities for an average of 1.9 months.
Participants worked with one traditional JOBS case manager and one income maintenance worker. On average, JOBS case managers were employed with the Franklin County Department of Job and Family Services for seven years, 59 percent had a bachelor’s degree or higher, and 41 percent had experience in an employment-related field. Newly hired JOBS case managers received one week of JOBS training. On average, income maintenance workers were employed with the welfare agency for 11 years, and 46 percent had some college experience.