ACF OPRE: Meta-Analysis of Welfare-to-Work Programs

Positive Behavior

MFIP & Iowa: Positive behavior in the focal child is measured by summing parental responses to a 25-item behavior scale that measured three positive behaviors: autonomy, social competence, and compliance. Parents rated the child on a scale of 0 to 10 with 0 indicating that the behavior was not at all like their child and 10 indicating that it was completely like their child. Scores can range from 0-70, with higher scores reflecting more positive behaviors.
Connecticut’s Job First Program & Florida’s Family Transition Program: Positive behavior is defined as the percentage of children who scored in the top 25^th percentile on a seven-item positive behavior scale developed by Polit (1996) and completed by the focal child’s mother. Responses ranged from 0 to 10 with 0 indicating that the behavior was not at all like their child and 10 indicating that it was completely like their child. Scores were summed.

School Achievement

MFIP: Parents reported their child’s overall school performance, with 1 indicating not doing well at all and 5 indicating the child is doing “very well” in school.
Connecticut, FTP, LA GAIN, Vermont, and Iowa: School achievement was defined as the percentage of children performing below average in school.

Ever Suspended or Expelled

NEWWS, MFIP, LA GAIN, Vermont, and Iowa: The percentage of children suspended or expelled since last interview.
Connecticut and FTP: The percentage of children suspended since last interview.

Behavioral or Emotional Problems

Connecticut and FTP (Young Age and School Age): The percentage of children with serious behavioral problems. This is defined as the percentage of children who scored in the top 25^th percentile of the Behavioral Problems Index (BPI), a 28-item scale that measures externalizing and internalizing behavioral problems with responses ranging from 0 (not true of my child) to 2 (often true of child). Scores were summed with higher scores representing more behavior problems.
Connecticut and FTP (Adolescents): The percentage of children ever found guilty of a crime since random assignment.
LA GAIN and NEWWS: The percentage of children who ever had special physical, emotional, or mental condition that made their mothers’ work or school difficult.
MFIP and Iowa: The sum of parental responses to the 12-item eternalizing scale of the BPI. The range of scores is from 0 to 22.
Vermont: Parent reported percentage of children having “trouble” with the police since the last interview.

Ever Repeated a Grade

All evaluations but MFIP: Percentage of children who have repeated a grade since random assignment.

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