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Project Description

This project looks at two cohorts of families who left welfare. The first cohort is a full population sample (20,000) of families who exited between January and June 1997. The second cohort is a full population sample (15,000) of administrative data for families who left welfare between December 1998 and February 1999. The second cohort of closings will include the first group of TANF recipients to hit Massachusetts’ time limits. Both cohorts will be tracked using the state’s longitudinal database (LDB) and using survey data from a randomly selected sample of cohort 1 closings (350 cases) and cohort 2 closings (600 cases). Surveys of both cohorts will examine post-welfare issues such as earnings, employment, public and private supports, family income, living arrangements, food security, child care, health coverage, and children’s well-being. For the cohort 2 survey, additional questions will be asked on employment barriers such as substance abuse, mental health, and domestic violence.

Project duration: Oct 1998 - Feb 2000

Sites studied include Massachusetts- statewide

Sample Characteristics and Sites Studied

Cohort 1: Welfare leavers Q1-Q2 1997, full population database (20,000) plus existing survey data on sample of cases (350). Survey data collected every 3 months for 1 year after case closed.

Cohort 2: Welfare leavers December 1998-February 1999, full population database (15,000), including 6,000 time limit cases, plus survey (sample of a minimum of 600 cases).

Recent Findings in Brief

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