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.

Atlanta Labor Force Attachment (LFA) Program (as compared with Atlanta Human Capital Development [HCD] Program)

Atlanta LFA encouraged clients to move quickly into work without being selective about which job to take. Participants first spent up to three weeks in a job club operated in Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) program offices and led by a community action agency. Then, participants applied to jobs for 1 to 2 weeks and were required to make 6 in-person inquiries or send 15 inquiry letters to employers per week.

Atlanta Human Capital Development (HCD) Program

Atlanta’s HCD program stressed that participants should spend time receiving education or training to prepare for good jobs. At the start of the program, case managers assigned participants to adult basic education courses or vocational training programs. Participants were assigned to adult basic education courses more often than training programs because many vocational programs required GEDs or certificates that the participants did not have when starting the HCD program.

Atlanta Labor Force Attachment (LFA)

Intervention (standard name)

Atlanta LFA encouraged clients to move quickly into work without being selective about which job to take. Participants first spent up to three weeks in a job club operated in Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) program offices and led by a community action agency. Then, participants applied to jobs for 1 to 2 weeks and were required to make 6 in-person inquiries or send 15 inquiry letters to employers per week. Individuals who did not find a job during this period could go on to participate in more job searching, vocational training, basic education, or unpaid work experience.

Self-Sufficiency Project-Plus (SSP-Plus) (as compared with Self-Sufficiency Project)

SSP-Plus offered an earnings subsidy to participants who moved into full-time work (at least 30 hours a week) within one year of joining an SSP program. Participants earning less than a benchmark level (set by location and year) could receive additional income equal to half of the difference between their earnings and the benchmark.

Welfare-to-Work Vouchers

Intervention (standard name)

Participants received rental assistance vouchers that could be used to rent a housing unit in the private rental market. Units had to meet U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) standards and be priced similarly to other units in the area. Local housing agencies worked in conjunction with local TANF agencies to provide comprehensive work-related services that were available in the broader community to assist participants with financial self-sufficiency.

Minority Female Single Parent Demonstration Program (MSFP) at Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC)

OIC’s MSFP participants completed a standardized test of their basic academic skills before being assigned to remedial courses or specific job-training programs. Remedial courses (GED, English as a second language, literacy) were assigned to those who scored below a certain threshold or lacked a high school credential and lasted three months. Participants with a high school credential and those who passed their remedial courses were assigned to six to nine months of job-specific skills training coupled with job-search training and assistance.

Riverside Labor Force Attachment (LFA) Program (as compared with Riverside Human Capital Development [HCD] Program)

The Riverside LFA program encouraged clients to move quickly into work without being selective about which job to take. Participants first spent three weeks in a job club operated by Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) program staff at the local public assistance office. Then, participants applied to jobs for at least 2 weeks and were required to make 25 to 35 employer contacts per week.