The Employment Retention and Advancement Project
Appendix Table D.1
Description of ERA Projects
New York City PRIDE
| State |
Location |
Target Group |
Primary Service Strategies |
| Advancement projects |
Illinois |
Cook (Chicago) and St. Clair (East St. Louis) Counties |
TANF recipients who have worked at least 30 hours per week for at least 6 consecutive months |
A combination of services to promote career advancement (targeted job search assistance, education and training, assistance in identifying and accessing career ladders, etc.) |
| California |
Riverside County Phase 2 |
Newly employed TANF recipients working at least 20 hours per week |
Test of alternative strategies for promoting participation in education and training activities |
| Placement and retention (hard-to-employ) projects |
Minnesota |
Hennepin County (Minneapolis) |
Long-term TANF recipients who were unable to find jobs through standard welfare-to-work services |
In-depth family assessment; low caseloads; intensive monitoring and follow-up; emphasis on placement into unsubsidized employment or supported work with referrals to education and training, counseling, and other support services |
| Oregon |
Portland |
Individuals who are cycling back onto TANF and those who have lost jobs |
Team-based case management, job search/job readiness components, intensive retention and follow-up services, mental health and substance abuse services for those identified with these barriers, supportive and emergency services |
| New York |
New York City PRIDE (Personal Roads to Individual Development and Employment) |
TANF recipients whose employability is limited by physical or mental health problems |
Two main tracks: (1) Vocational Rehabilitation, where clients with severe medical problems receive unpaid work experience, job search/job placement and retention services tailored to account for medical problems; (2) Work Based Education, where those with less severe medical problems participate in unpaid work experience, job placement services, and adult basic education |
| New York |
New York City Substance Abuse (substance abuse case management) |
TANF recipients with a substance abuse problem |
Intensive case management to promote participation in substance abuse treatment, links to mental health and other needed services |
| Projects with mixed goals |
California |
Los Angeles County EJC (Enhanced Job Club) |
TANF recipients who have been required to search for employment |
Job search workshops promoting a step-down method designed to help participants find a job that pays a “living wage” |
| California |
Los Angeles County (Reach for Success program) |
Newly employed TANF recipients working at least 32 hours per week |
Stabilization/retention services, followed by a combination of services to promote advancement: education and training, career assessment, targeted job development, etc. |
| California |
Riverside County PASS (Post-Assistance Self-Sufficiency program) |
Individuals who have left TANF due to earned income |
Intensive, family-based support services delivered by community-based organizations to promote retention and advancement |
| Ohio |
Cleveland |
Low-wage workers with specific employers making under 200% of poverty who have been in their current jobs less than 6 months |
Regular on-site office hours for counseling/case management; Lunch & Learn meetings for social support and presentations; newsletter for workers and employers; and Supervisory Training for employer supervisors. |
| Oregon |
Medford and Eugene |
Employed former TANF recipients |
Stabilization/retention services, followed by a combination of services to increase enrollment in education and training and promote advancement through “work-based” strategies |
| Oregon |
Salem |
TANF applicants |
Job search assistance combined with career planning; once employed, education and training, employer linkages to promote retention and advancement |
| South Carolina |
6 rural counties in the Pee Dee Region |
Individuals who left TANF (for any reason) between 10/97 and 12/00 |
Individualized case management with a focus on reemployment, support services, job search, career counseling, education and training, and use of individualized incentives |
| Texas |
Corpus Christi, Fort Worth, and Houston |
TANF applicants and recipients |
Individualized team-based case management; monthly stipends of $200 for those who maintain employment and complete activities related to employment plan |
