VIP eligibility provisions included the following: (1) one-time payments to families with a temporary loss of income if they agreed to forgo AFDC/TANF receipt for 160 days; (2) a “family cap” that excluded children born more than 10 months after a family began to receive AFDC/TANF from a family’s benefit calculation; (3) an exemption for the accumulation of savings up to $5,000 to support education, entrepreneurship, or the purchase of a home; (4) the application of one-parent eligibility criteria in determining benefits for two-parent families; and (5) requirements for paternity establishm

VIP Only provisions included the following: (1) one-time payments to families with a temporary loss of income if they agreed to forgo AFDC/TANF receipt for 160 days; (2) a “family cap” that excluded children born more than 10 months after a family began to receive AFDC/TANF from the family’s benefit calculation; (3) an exemption for the accumulation of savings up to $5,000 to support education, entrepreneurship, or the purchase of a home; (4) the application of one-parent eligibility criteria in determining benefits for two-parent families; and (5) requirements for paternity establishment c

Case managers helped participants by arranging for necessary assessments, developing individual employment plans, and identifying and arranging for rehabilitation and employment services that the participants needed to achieve the goals in their plans. Participants received financial incentives, in the form of waivers, once their earnings reached $200 or self-employment exceeded a total of 40 hours. The provisions of the waiver were in effect for 12 months.

The sequence of required activities began with a two-week job search workshop. Next, participants completed three months of unpaid work experience (typically 20 to 30 hours per week) with concurrent job club sessions every other week, followed by assessments and referrals to outside education or training programs, if necessary. Part-time employment could substitute for some SWIM activities. People were placed in SWIM if they were applying for or receiving AFDC benefits from participating AFDC offices and met criteria for required participation.