An integrated data system (IDS) that links information from separate administrative data systems offers policymakers, program administrators and researchers a powerful tool to analyze interactive effects across systems and make more informed decisions to improve outcomes for vulnerable families. This case study discusses how two states (Washington…

In the 2016 General Session, the Legislature passed Senate Bill 101, High Quality School Readiness Program Expansion, which expanded access to high quality school readiness programs for eligible students. This program was funded with $120,000 ongoing from the Education Fund for program administration and $9.0 million in Temporary Assistance for…

The Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS) project is the first major opportunity to use a behavioral economics lens to look at programs that serve poor and vulnerable people in the United States. Sponsored by the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) within the U.S.…

This report summarizes the final impact results for the national Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) project. This project tested, using a random assignment design, the effectiveness of numerous programs intended to promote steady work and career advancement. All the programs targeted current and former welfare recipients and other low-wage…

Delaware was in the first group of states to receive a federal grant in 2012 to improve early care and education services and increase the number of infants, toddlers, and preschool-age children in high-quality programs. One component of the state's grant is a rigorous validation process for Delaware Stars for Early Success, a voluntary quality…

Research completed since the 1980s has yielded substantial knowledge about how to help welfare recipients and other low-income individuals prepare for and find jobs. Many participants in these successful job preparation and placement programs, however, ended up in unstable, low-paying jobs, and little was known about how to effectively help them…

Subsequent to the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Georgia established 20 gender specific, 6-12 month substance abuse residential programs for TANF mothers and their children. The purpose of this paper is to discuss one aspect of these residential settings, the fidelity of the assessment…

At the request of a Senate subcommittee, this report describes the value of conducting impact evaluations, describes their current use in evaluating selected early childhood education and care programs, and discusses the value of other types of early childhood education and care studies currently promoted and sponsored by the Departments of Health…

Current debates about the success of TANF reforms have been obscured by the use of inconsistent indicators of success, as well as by measurement difficulties associated with alternative indicators. This paper considers conceptual and measurement issues associated with three different indicators of economic well-being: independence from public…

In 1998, the Illinois statewide coalition Work, Welfare and Families, in partnership with the Chicago Urban League, undertook a study to assess the effects of welfare reform on low-income families and children across Illinois. The findings were derived from three sources: a self-administered survey of 2,166 low-income clients of Illinois social…

To inform policymakers as they deliberate over the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) reauthorization, this guide reviews what states have done with the flexibility afforded them by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. The first section examines how states have shaped their welfare reform strategies…

A random assignment study evaluated two welfare program case management approaches, traditional and integrated, and was conducted as part of the National Evaluation of Welfare-to-Work (WTW) Strategies, an evaluation of 11 welfare-to-work programs in 7 sites nationwide. More that 7,000 single parent welfare applicants and recipients deemed…

This issue focuses on a variety of performance measurement and outcome data resources as they relate to evaluating service delivery performance in areas that include employment (welfare-to-work and performance bonuses for work participation) and child welfare, as well as some general Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program areas. It also…

Research on effectiveness of welfare-to-work approaches shows programs that combine approaches--job search assistance and education and training--have better employment and earnings outcomes than either approach alone. Consistent with findings and the work focus of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, states have…

This document contains 16 issues of the first 5 years of a newsletter encouraging collaborative research and informed policy on welfare reform and focusing on the use of an on-line database of child welfare research projects, as well as research and policy issues related to implementation studies, indicators of well-being, and administrative data.…