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Between January 1989 and March 1990, clients eligible for Work Choice were randomly assigned to intervention and comparison groups at a ratio of six to four. Evaluators used Ohio’s caseload management system to automatically implement random assignment, using an algorithm based on client social security numbers. When conducting the analysis, evaluators removed cases of individuals that had moved away from the evaluation county after random assignment. (Work Choice was only implemented in Montgomery County.)
Individuals were randomly assigned from 1989 to 1991 and were followed until the end of 1992.
Ohio state AFDC
Work Choice was an Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) approach for parents with children ages 1 to 5. The program aimed to encourage employment through incentives and voluntary participation in employment and training activities. Individuals assigned to the Work Choice group were required to participate in an employability assessment and counseling session. At the assessment, they were offered up to 12 months of transitional Medicaid coverage and child care payments if they obtained employment. At the time Work Choice was designed, the national AFDC program provided only four months of transitional Medicaid and no transitional child care. After the assessment, intervention group members could receive employment-related services on a voluntary basis.
Those assigned to the comparison group were excluded from the program; they had no mandatory participation requirement and could not participate in the work program services on a voluntary basis.
The program had two mandatory components: a work-readiness assessment and vocational counseling. Participants were sanctioned if they did not fulfill these requirements.