Public benefits recipients

Earnings

Earnings

Jobs-First Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN) Program had the largest effects on long-term annual earnings (an average of $4,483 per year). Jobs-First GAIN emphasized a rapid employment strategy to help recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) improve their earnings and employment outcomes. 

Employment

Employment

Jobs-First Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN) Program had the largest effects on long-term employment (an average of 6 percentage points). Jobs-First GAIN emphasized a rapid employment strategy to help recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) improve their earnings and employment outcomes. 

Public benefit receipt

Public benefit receipt

Delaware's A Better Chance (ABC) Welfare Reform Program had the largest effects on long-term benefit receipt (decreasing the amount of public benefits received by $1,093 per year). ABC aimed to increase earnings for recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) through personal responsibility requirements, work provisions, and time limits on benefit receipt.

Effects on long-term benefit receipt

$1,093

Decrease long-term benefit receipt

Education and training

Education and training

Transition WORKS had the largest effects on education and training (increasing the attainment of a degree or credential by an average of 28 percentage points). Transition WORKS aimed to empower youth receiving disability benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA) and improve their economic self-sufficiency through a series of workshops focused on self-determination, education and employment services, case management, financial incentives, work-based experience, and job development.

Project 100+ Unconditional Cash Transfer

Intervention (standard name)

Project 100+ Unconditional Cash Transfer was a one-time unconditional cash payment of $1,000 provided to low-income families with children in twelve states to alleviate financial distress associated with the Covid-19 pandemic. The program provided unrestricted, lump sum cash transfer delivered via a Hyperwallet account that could be used for any type of expense. There were no requirements for families to participate in any other services or meet work-related conditions.

Eligible families received the one-time payment in May 2020. 

SNAP Time Limits for Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents

SNAP Time Limits for Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWD) applied to people who are age 18-49 years, live in households without children, are not pregnant, and are not identified as unfit for work and implemented a restriction of 3 months of SNAP participation within a 36 month period for ABAWD who do not work or participating in a workfare program for at least 20 hours per week.

Work Opportunity Networks to Develop Employment Readiness

The Work Opportunity Networks to Develop Employment Readiness (WONDER) program provided industry-specific training and subsidized employment in one of four service tracks (construction, culinary arts, manufacturing, job placement services) in addition to job placement assistance, job readiness assistance, intensive case management, support services and existing state SNAP employment and training services. Participants first met with an outreach specialist for an intensive intake and assessment process to develop an individualized career plan and select one of the four program tracks.

Shreveport Guaranteed Income Program

Intervention (standard name)

The Shreveport Guaranteed Income Program provided $660 per month for 12 months to eligible single parents or guardians with low incomes. Parents or guardians had to reside in Shreveport or Caddo Parish, have a child between the ages of 3 and 20 living with them, and have a household income less than or equal to 120 percent of federal poverty level at the time of application. Participants also were offered optional financial education and benefit navigation services.

The program was evaluated in Shreveport, LA.

SNAP Works 2.0

Intervention (standard name)

SNAP Works 2.0 offered access to job search training and assistance, career planning and case management, support services, financial incentives, and access to education and occupational skills training opportunities for SNAP participants who were able-bodied adults without dependents. Enhanced job search training and assistance services included weekly one-on-one meetings and a series of group-based workshops held by agency case managers over a 4-to-6 week period. Case managers monitored and coordinated service delivery and also provided refers to service providers.

Resources to Initiate Successful Employment

Intervention (standard name)

Resources to Initiate Successful Employment (RISE) offered enhanced services including comprehensive case management, extensive wraparound and support services, a mandatory life skills course called Strategies for Success, and work-based learning opportunities, targeting SNAP work registrants with multiple or critical barriers to employment. Participants initially completed a barrier assessment and plan for being able to take part in RISE activities.

Paths to Promise

Intervention (standard name)

Paths to Promise (P2P) provided intensive team-based case management and extensive support services, including basic adult education, occupational skills training, work-based learning opportunities, and job search and placement assistance, targeting new and current SNAP work registrants. After an initial intake process, a career navigator either worked directly with individuals pursuing immediate employment on job search and placement assistance or referred them to a provider for education and training aligned with their goals.

Palm Beach County Transitional Employment Program

The Palm Beach County Transitional Employment Program (PBC TEP) was designed as an enhanced voluntary reentry intervention for adults at higher risk of re-offending that added 8-12 weeks of subsidized transitional employment, structured cognitive behavioral interventions, and job readiness/life skills workshops to standard reentry services.Subsidized transitional employment was in one of three industries: construction, kitchen, or warehouse/retail. The structured cognitive behavioral interventions included CBI-Employment Adult and Moral Reconation Therapy.

Jobs for Independence

Intervention (standard name)

Jobs for Independence (JFI) provided comprehensive clinical assessment and counseling services, referrals to employment or training activities, and an offer of the Governor’s Career Readiness Certificate (GCRC), targeting new work registrant SNAP participants with barriers to employment—including substance use or mental health disorders, housing instability, or criminal justice histories. The four-module GCRC course included job readiness skills, computer skills, applied math, a WorkKey skills assessment, and job seeking skills.

Generating Opportunities to Attain Lifelong Success

Generating Opportunities to Attain Lifelong Success (GOALS) provided intensive case management followed by occupational skills training, job placement services with dedicated employment liaisons and postemployment services, targeting SNAP participants who were work registrants.GOALS began with a stabilization phase of intensive case management that included barrier identification and developing an individualized action plan to address mental health, substance use, basic education, and/or life skills needs, as indicated.