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Project Description

In 1997, the Balanced Budget Act authorized the Department of Labor to distribute $3 billion in Welfare to Work grants to states and localities.

The purpose of the Welfare to Works grants was to address the following concerns:

1. Providing additional resources to assist the least employable, most disadvantaged welfare recipients move from assistance to work, acknowledging that this group may require more assistance.

2. Supplementing TANF funds with funds that can be used only for work and work-related activities, not cash assistance.

3. Expanding employment services to non-custodial parents of welfare children to increase their ability to support their children.

4. Targeting resources to specific communities.

Welfare to Work grants are intended to supplement TANF funds. To reinforce the employment focus of the Welfare to Work grants the program falls under the Department of Labor and at the local level , Private Industry Councils (PIC) that administer the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) and now the Workforce Investment Act (WIA).

Project duration: May 1998 - Sep 2004

Sites studied include Nationwide plus 11 in-depth case study sites in:

Baltimore county, Maryland;
Boston, Massachusetts;
Chicago, Illinois;
Fort Worth, Texas;
Milwaukee, Wisconsin;
Nashville, Tennessee;
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;
Phoenix, Arizona;
Southeastern Indiana
St Lucie county, Florida;
a large rural area in West Virginia;
Yakima, Washington.

Sample Characteristics and Sites Studied

n= 7,140 participants in WtW grants programs

Recent Findings in Brief

09/01/04: Welfare-to-Work Grants Program Evaluation: Final Report

Final Descriptive/Analytical Findings:

• Most WtW enrollees were TANF recipients who faced significant barriers to employment.
• WtW enrollees were much more likely to receive employment preparation services than skill enhancement services.
• Most enrollees were employed sometime during the second year after they entered WtW, but their employment tended to be unstable.
• Employment fell between the first and second years after program entry.
• Enrollees who were employed two years after program entry typically worked about the same number of hours as those who were employed at the end of the first year, but for somewhat greater compensation.
• The incidence of poverty was high among WtW enrollees two years after program entry, but it was lower among those who were employed.

• Effective inter-agency partnerships are important.
• Increased Service Capacity is an Important Legacy.
• Program Flexibility Encourages Innovative Programming.
• Stringent eligibility criteria and fiscal requirements can result in low program enrollment.
• Correcting the rules governing a temporary program may be ineffective.
• Finally, the very use of such temporary funding may accentuate program design and implementation problems.

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