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Project Description

LEAP is a statewide welfare initiative that uses financial incentives and penalties, combined with case management and support services, to promote school attendance by pregnant and parenting teenagers on welfare. Participation is mandatory for all pregnant women and custodial parents under 20 years old who are receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and do not have a high school diploma or GED certificate.

Project duration: Jul 1987 - Jun 1997

Sites studied include Cuyahoga county (Cleveland), Ohio
Franklin county (Columbus), Ohio
Hamilton county (Cincinnati), Ohio
Lawrence county (Ironton), Ohio
Lucas county (Toledo), Ohio
Muskingum county (Zanesville), Ohio
Stark county (Canton), Ohio
Jefferson county (Steubenville), Ohio
Lorain county (Lorain), Ohio
Montgomery county (Dayton), Ohio
Summit county (Akron), Ohio
Trumbull county (Warren), Ohio

Sample Characteristics and Sites Studied

Almost 7,017 pregnant or parenting teenage welfare applicants/recipients, selected from all teens eligible for LEAP in the 12 study counties from the time the program began operation in July 1989, through September 1991 (99% female).

Random sample of 5,611 recipients in program group (80%); 1,406 recipients in control group (20%).

Recent Findings in Brief

08/01/97: LEAP Evaluation: Final Report of Ohio's Welfare Initiative to Improve School Attendance Among Teenage Parents

Final Implementation Findings: "The state and county welfare departments successfully implemented LEAP statewide, forging a link between welfare departments and schools and putting the incentive system in place"(ES-7). "Almost all eligible teens (93%) were touched by LEAP’s incentives, with 75% earning at least one bonus and 56% qualifying for at least one sanction"(ES-7). "The majority of teens with multiple sanctions reported diminished spending on essentials for their families, especially clothing and food. Most teens with multiple bonus payments reported spending a large share if the additional money on their children"(ES-7). Final Impact Findings: "LEAP’s immediate goals- and the behaviors directly targeted by its financial incentives- were to improve the teens’ enrollment and attendance in school or in a GED program. After one year of follow-up, LEAP achieved a substantial increase in these outcomes, for both initially enrolled and not initially enrolled teens. The program also produced modest, but statistically significant, increases in completion of the 9th, 10th, and 11th grades"(ES-8). "LEAP’s effect on school completion- its longer-term education goal- was found to be limited when measured three years after teens entered the program. The program increased GED receipt among teens who were enrolled in school when they entered LEAP. There were no impacts on high school graduation or GED receipt among teens who were not enrolled in school when they entered LEAP"(ES-8). "Two-thirds of the teens in the sample did not receive a high school diploma or a GED certificate within a three-year follow-up period. However, approximately one-sixth of the teens were still in school at the end of that period and could have graduated or received a GED subsequently"(ES-9). "Teens in both the program group and the control group experienced substantial growth in their employment rates and earnings during the four-year follow-up period. By the end of the follow-up, four out of five teens worked in a job covered by Unemployment Insurance. Overall quarterly employment rates for such employment increased from 17% in the third quarter or year 1 to 40% in the last quarter of year 4. If employment not covered by Unemployment Insurance could have been taken into account, the employment rates and earnings presented in this report would have been higher"(ES-10). "The LEAP program increased employment for initially enrolled (in school) teens, but not for teens who were not initially enrolled. These impacts were strongest early in the follow-up period"(ES-10). "LEAP increased initially enrolled teens’ earnings the first two years of follow-up, but the impacts became smaller in later years"(ES-10). "Rates of AFDC receipt remained high throughout the four-year follow-up period, but were declining over time. More than 60% of all teens were on welfare for at least one of the last three months of follow-up, and close to 30% received AFDC continuously during the last two years"(ES-13). "During the final two years of follow-up, LEAP reduced welfare receipt by increasing the number of teens who were not receiving any AFDC and reducing the number who were receiving AFDC in every single month"(ES-13). "LEAP reduced both the number of teens receiving AFDC and the amount of AFDC they received. Reductions were somewhat smaller for those not initially enrolled than they were for teens who were enrolled in school when they entered LEAP"(ES-13). "During the last two years of follow-up, LEAP caused reductions in the amount of AFDC received that exceeded the program’s positive effects on earnings"(ES-16). Final Cost-benefit Findings: "The LEAP program was relatively inexpensive, with an upfront investment by the Ohio Department of Human Services of $1,388 per teen, or $747 for 12 months. Costs were higher for initially enrolled teens than for those not initially enrolled"(ES-16). "Because of LEAP-induced savings on AFDC, Food Stamps, and related Medicaid expenditures, ODHS recovered its investment in the program over the four-year follow-up period"(ES-17). "LEAP teens experience a net loss of $1,110 over the four years"(ES-17).

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