With the passage of PRWORA, states were required to engage a certain minimum percentage of their TANF caseload in specified work and work-related activities for a specified number of hours per week. This study was commissioned to learn about the strategies state and local programs use to engage all or most TANF recipients in work activities. It provides an examination of seven state and local programs that attempt to engage all or nearly all TANF recipients (excluding recipients in child-only cases) in work and work-related activities.
The study had three broad objectives:
to identify state and local programs that intend to engage all or nearly all TANF recipients
(excluding those in child-only cases) in work or work-related activities
to examine how these programs operate and
to identify ways in which other programs might engage a larger share of their caseload in work or work-related activities.
More specifically, the study sought to answer the following research questions:
Which state and local programs currently strive to engage all or nearly all TANF recipients in work or work-related activities?
What program services and administrative procedures do state and local programs use
to engage all or nearly all TANF recipients in work or work-related activities?
To what extent are programs that attempt to engage all or nearly all TANF recipients succeeding, and how do levels of engagement in these programs compare to program participation rates as defined by the federal TANF legislation?
The sites included in the study represent three types of programs, distinguished by (1) whether some or all recipients are required to participate in activities and by (2) the activities in which recipients are required to participate. The first type of program requires all TANF recipients to participate in work or work-related activities. The second type of program requires only some recipients to participate (by providing exemptions for circumstances such as disabilities or the need to care for very young children) but strives to
engage all nonexempt recipients in work or work-related activities. The third type of program requires all recipients to participate in activities but not necessarily in work or work-related activities.
n=1,204 adult recipients who were on TANF in August 2003 where the data reflects their participation from August 2003 through December 2003.
n=6,187 adult recipients who were on TANF in may 2003 where the data reflects their participation from May 2003 through October 2003.
August 2003 and May 2003 reflect typical months in El Paso county, Colorado and Utah.
Execution
Sources of data for the study consist of a comprehensive case studies of all seven sites and administrative data from management information systems in two sites -- El Paso County, Colorado, and Utah.
Sites Studied
Riverside county, California;
El Paso county, Colorado;
Oswego county, New York;
Franklin and Montgomery counties, Ohio;
Utah;
Wisconsin.
