The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) with block grants to states, called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Consistent with TANF's philosophy and goals, Los Angeles Jobs-First GAIN (Greater Avenues for Independence) emphasized job search…

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…

Charles Murray's book, "Losing Ground: American Social Policy, 1950-1980," proposes the abolition of benefit programs for all working-aged persons for the following reasons: (1) it is logically impossible for the government to aid the poor by creating incentives for people to become poor; (2) since the mid-1960s the United States has so…

This study analyzes various measures of economic well-being to establish how these may have changed over time. It concludes that while most Americans have experienced progressively higher living standards in recent decades, an underclass group has emerged without the wherewithal to support itself or improve its economic situation. Government…

A net impact evaluation was conducted of the Ohio JOBS (Job Opportunities and Basic Skills) Student Retention Program (JSRP) pursued by some JOBS program clients to fulfill their responsibilities and receive federal aid. JSRP was a support program designed to assist entry to and success in programs of study at two-year community or technical…

This report on the early implementation of the Texas Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) program and its impact on participants begins with an executive summary. An introduction outlines key research questions, components, and timelines. Section II covers program design and implementation and substate variations. The next five sections…

This paper poses a question of direct relevance for welfare administrators, program operators, and policy makers: What management practices, program strategies, and local conditions are key to running effective welfare-to-work programs? To address this question, the present analysis links detailed measures of program characteristics to valid and…

An evaluation of Jobs First (JF) compared the experiences of JF participants who were subject to welfare reform policies with those of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) participants who were subject to prior welfare rules. It collected information for four years about JF's impacts on participants' children and analyzed its financial…

This report examines implementation and impacts of Ramsey County's Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP), a "work first" program. Chapter 1 lists key findings, provides an overview of the Ramsey County variant (MFIP-R) evaluation, and policy relevance of MFIP-R. Chapter 2 describes key features of MFIP-R and compares them with…

An analysis of the structural elements of the employment situation was done in 1977 to provide congressional members with pertinent information for their use in making policy decisions about federal role and budget in employment and training programs. It was concluded that the Federal Government can implement four basic budget strategies: create…

An evaluation was conducted of Vermont's Welfare Restructuring Project (WRP), one of the earliest statewide welfare reform programs designed to increase work and reduce reliance on welfare. To assess the difference WRP made, parents applying for or receiving cash assistance in Vermont from July 1994 to December 1996 were assigned randomly to one…

The first findings of an evaluation of California's welfare-to-work program, Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN), related to its impact on employment, earnings, and welfare payments. The impact results came from a study of applicants for and recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) in six counties and were limited to the…

As part of a multiphased evaluation of vocational training provided by the Job Corps in fiscal year 1982, an assessment was made of the relative effectiveness of current Job Corps training operations. To arrive at an estimate of overall effectiveness, the researchers weighed the following factors: job-placement percentage, average wage of job,…

A study examined the labor market problems of the United States' out-of-school youth population and trends in the development and attempted solution of those problems over the past 20 years. The study's major areas of focus were as follows: trends in the nation's out-of-school youth population's size and demographic composition; trends in the…

As part of a multiphased evaluation of vocational training provided by the Job Corps in fiscal year 1982, a study examined Job Corps practices for identifying high growth occupations. At least for the present, national projections are the main source of information available to Job Corps planners for use in assessing future vocational training…