Individuals randomly assigned to the comparison group were subject to the existing AFDC program policies, which meant participants received an open-ended cash assistance entitlement focused on education and training.
The study did not discuss a cost per participant. It also did not discuss a comparison of costs and benefits.
The ABC intervention provided services in five Delaware AFDC offices from October 1995 to February 1997. The study measured impacts for these sites up to four years after random assignment. ABC was implemented statewide in March 1997.
ABC was created under the federal Section 1115 waivers to test new approaches to achieving AFDC’s goals. ABC implemented welfare reform policies that focused on quickly moving participants into work and supporting their success, changing benefit eligibility rules, promoting financial self-sufficiency, and encouraging responsible parenting. ABC offered expanded access to Medicaid and expanded funding for transportation and child care to support work success. Participants signed a CMR that stated they would adhere to reform policies that included participation in employment, training, or education activities and parenting expectations.
Employment and training activities. ABC required adults to participate in employment and training activities, but activities before and after 24 months on cash assistance differed.
- First 24 months. Participants first met and worked with a job search contractor to search for employment. Participants who obtained unsubsidized employment were required to work for at least 20 hours a week and received job retention services. ABC referred participants to intensive job-readiness and placement services if they did not find a job in 90 days. Participants could voluntarily participate in remedial education to learn basic education skills.
- Second 24 months. After two years of receiving assistance, unemployed participants had to participate in a program called Workfare to continue receiving cash assistance. Workfare placed participants in community service jobs to build work skills. Workfare required participants to attend orientation, work in a community service placement, and search for unsubsidized jobs. Participants continued to receive cash assistance and were required to work enough unpaid hours so that a minimum-wage payment for those hours would be equal to their combined cash assistance and food stamp payments.
Benefits eligibility. Changes to AFDC eligibility requirements were implemented and included the following restrictions and expansions to assistance:
- Time limits. Participants could receive cash assistance for up to four cumulative years.
- Sanctions. Participants’ cash assistance was sanctioned if they did not adhere to work and parenting requirements agreed upon in the CMR. Participants were not eligible to receive cash assistance if they received three sanctions or did not comply for five continuous months.
- Family cap. Participants did not receive additional cash assistance for children born more than 10 months after ABC began.
- Financial incentives. Participants’ cash assistance payments were reduced by 50 cents for every additional $1 of earnings or child support, rather than a dollar-for-dollar reduction under traditional AFDC rules.
- Responsible parenting. Participants were expected to live with an adult guardian if they were younger than age 18, attend a parenting class, receive information from a family planning provider, engage in substance use treatment if necessary, cooperate with child support enforcement, and ensure children received timely immunizations and attended school.
Challenges. The three state agencies faced challenges coordinating services and communicating policies to staff who provided participant services. Some participants were hesitant to enroll in remedial education focused on basic education skills necessary for work because it did not count as a required work activity. Participants who were working in unsubsidized employment resisted job retention services because they were dissatisfied with sanctions or with previous interactions with the program; other participants were concerned that retention services might lead to stigmatization at their unsubsidized job. Fewer participants worked in Workfare community service positions than expected, and those that did were placed in low-skill service jobs in soup kitchens or community service organizations.
The study did not discuss any tools to measure fidelity to the intervention model.
Delaware’s DSS and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services funded the intervention.
The intervention took place in Delaware through five Delaware AFDC offices.
Three state-level Delaware agencies partnered to implement the intervention, with their contributions varying based on their areas of responsibility. The Division of Social Services (DSS) in Delaware’s Department of Health and Social Services operated Delaware’s welfare cash assistance program and managed the intervention. The Delaware Department of Labor’s Division of Employment and Training developed employment service contracts with DSS and managed all employment service contracts except Workfare. The Delaware Economic Development Organization developed relationships with potential employers and offered job training services.
MAXIMUS Inc., a private organization, provided Workfare services. Community-based organizations, Delaware community colleges, and for-profit firms provided job search, retention, and remediation services.
The ABC intervention served single-parent families receiving cash assistance. Sixty-eight percent of participants had at least one child younger than the age of 6. Sixty-one percent of participants were not White, and 53 percent of participants held high school diplomas or the equivalent. Twenty-two percent of participants were older than the age of 35, 45 percent of participants were between the ages of 25 to 34, and 33 percent of participants were younger than the age of 25. Participation was mandatory unless participants’ children were younger than 13 weeks old or the participants were medically unable to work.
ABC participants received cash assistance and services until they obtained unsubsidized employment or reached the time limit for benefits, which was a maximum of four cumulative years. Participants engaged in mandatory employment activities like job search were referred to intensive services after 90 days if they did not find unsubsidized employment. Participants employed in unsubsidized positions were required to work at least 20 hours a week to receive cash assistance. After receiving benefits for two years, participants were required to participate in Workfare or work in an unsubsidized job.
In total, sixty-two percent of participants took part in employment and training activities or held unsubsidized employment in the first 24 months of ABC. Forty-five percent of participants participated in an employment and training activity, and another 17 percent of participants did not participate in an employment and training activity but worked in unsubsidized jobs. In the second 24 months of ABC, 16 percent of participants worked in Workfare community service positions.
Financial services social workers and case managers provided services at DSS. Financial services social workers processed welfare applications, including determining program and work eligibility and developing and monitoring CMRs. Case managers met with participants once to discuss work requirements and refer them to supportive services and job search contractors. Case managers then monitored compliance and enforced financial sanctions remotely.
The study authors did not include information on staff providing other services.