6129-Study of Denver Hous
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Case management
To continue to receive benefits, TANF participants were required to engage in employment-related activities for 32 hours per week. Program staff allowed TANF participants in the Training Focused intervention to decrease work hours per week to zero hours to pursue education and training activities, with the philosophy that eliminating the requirement to engage in work would allow participants to access the most useful education and training programs.
EVR provided a vocational counselor who helped place participants with rehabilitation agencies. The vocational counselor regularly monitored participants to ensure a good fit between the participant and rehabilitation agency. All rehabilitation agencies involved with EVR had the goal of gradually preparing individuals for competitive employment through a stepped approach of prevocational experiences that primarily consisted of paid work adjustment training in a sheltered workshop.
Youth formerly in state custody (foster care or the juvenile justice system) received customized case management that included weekly meetings with a transitional living specialist who used motivational interviewing and provided trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy services as needed. Participants also received soft-skills training, supportive services, and other services to encourage independent living, education, and work.
Services delivered via Opportunity Works varied by program site over an unspecified duration. Services could include case management, college-readiness instruction and coaching, goal setting, support with high school completion, career planning and exploration, job development and support, financial planning support, occupational skills training, and transportation assistance. Eligibility requirements varied by age and gender across program sites, but all Opportunity Works participants were between the ages of 18 and 24.
Participants of LA:RISE were co-enrolled in programs funded by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and received a minimum of 300 hours of subsidized, transitional employment at a social enterprise or workforce development system partner. These programs also provided on-the-job training, specialized training, or both. Other provided services varied by placement and included soft-skills training, work-readiness training and assessments, supportive services, case management, education, and permanent job search and placement services.
Traditional Case Management participants worked with one case manager to improve educational and vocational skills and with a separate income maintenance case manager to determine their welfare eligibility and payment issuance. Participants who did not have a high school diploma or GED were assigned to basic education classes; participants with basic education credentials were assigned to vocational training, postsecondary education, or work experience.
STEP participants received home visits from community liaisons to identify and mitigate any barriers that might prevent participants from traveling to the program offices. In the program offices, participants were assigned a case coordinator, who conducted assessments to determine barriers to employment. Case coordinators worked with no more than 20 participants at a time. The case coordinator and specialized vocational rehabilitation staff developed a plan to address the barriers, and participants began activities tailored to overcoming their barriers.
The HCD program implemented in Riverside, CA, emphasized that participants should spend time receiving education or training to prepare for good jobs. If participants did not have a high school diploma or general education diploma, the program provided basic education classes in the public school system to help participants make progress toward their goals (such as increasing their literacy level). Case managers were accountable for the employment and education outcomes of their clients and therefore encouraged success and emphasized and enforced program participation.