Overview
This multi-year national evaluation project, Rural Welfare-To-Work Strategies Demonstration, is designed to learn how best to help TANF and other low-income rural families move from welfare to work. The evaluation will lead to increased information on well-conceived rural welfare-to-work strategies and lessons about the operational challenges and methods to address them that can be used by State and local TANF agencies and others. During the initial phase of this initiative, 10 States received planning grants and assistance from a Federal technical assistance contractor to develop strategies targeted to serve rural TANF populations. In FY 2001, MPR was selected to evaluate the implementation phase of the demonstration and the first participating State, Illinois, began implementation. Sample enrollment began in Nebraska in March 2002.
The major research questions include: (1) what types and packages of services are provided under the Rural Welfare-to-Work project, and how do they compare with services already available under TANF or other funding? (2) What are the issues and challenges associated with implementing and operating the service packages and policy approaches studied? (3) What are the net impacts of selected approaches under the project on employment and on families' well being? (4) What are the net costs of the programs, and do the programs/benefits outweigh the costs? (5) What strategies should policymakers and program managers consider in designing approaches to improve the efficacy of welfare-to-work strategies for families in rural areas?
The evaluation plan includes three primary components: an in-depth process and implementation study, an impact study and a cost-benefit study. Data for the process analysis will come primarily from two rounds of site visits. The study will identify implementation issues and challenges and provide details on how programs achieve observed results. Follow-up data will be collected through surveys and administrative data and used for analysis of participants' activities in the programs and their employment outcomes.
Rigorous impact evaluation, using random-assignment designs will be conducted to determine what difference these interventions make in employment and family well-being outcomes. The impact study will draw on data from program sponsors, administrative data from human services programs, and baseline and comprehensive survey data collected in follow-up interviews 18, and 30 months after program entry. For each program, the evaluation will calculate estimates of net program cost-effectiveness, based on data from the impact study, implementation study, and published research.
The project period is 9/29/00-9/28/08 and the point of contact is Michael Dubinsky. Ask a Question.