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.

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.

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.

At the time this evaluation occurred, two Transitional Subsidized Employment programs were active in Los Angeles County: OJT and a paid work experience (PWE) program. OJT placed participants in a partially subsidized, six-month position at a for-profit, private-sector organization, where they were paid $8 an hour by the local Workforce Investment Board (WIB) for the first two months.