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Project Description
WRP is a "work-trigger" model of welfare reform, in which important elements of the safety net concept are preserved even though the type of public support is sharply altered. WRP is mandatory for welfare recipients.
Project duration: Jul 1994 - Mar 2002
Sites studied include Barre, Vermont
Burlington, Vermont
Newport, Vermont
St. Albans, Vermont
Rutland, Vermont
Springfield, Vermont
Sample Characteristics and Sites Studied
10,997 welfare applicant and recipient cases.
Random assignment to program and control groups.
Statewide, 17,723 cases were randomly assigned through 12/96.
Additional notes: Families are assigned to three sets of rules: group 1, 20% of the caseload, qualifies for pre-reform services; group 2, 20% of caseload, is subject to all provisions of welfare reform except time limits or work requirements; group 3, 60% of caseload, is subject to all provisions of welfare reform.
Recent Findings in Brief
09/01/02:
Vermont Welfare Restructuring Project Evaluation: Final Report on Vermont's Welfare Restructuring Project
Final Impact Findings:
The full WRP program increased employment and reduced reliance on cash assistance for single-parent families, particularly in the period after some parents became subject to the work requirement.
WRP had little effect on family income, material hardship, children’s school performance, or other family and child outcomes.
The program’s work requirement was needed in order to generate impacts. WRP’s financial incentives alone did not lead to increases in employment or income, probably because the incentives were not substantially different from incentives under the prior rules.
WRP increased employment among most subgroups, but the increases were largest for the most disadvantaged sample members. WRP increased income for the least disadvantaged sample members.
WRP’s work requirement was implemented as planned, but, contrary to initial expectations, very few community service employment positions were needed.
The net cost of WRP was quite low, and the government’s spending on the program was more than offset by reduced public assistance payments; in other words, WRP saved money for taxpayers.
WRP generated few effects for two-parent families with an unemployed parent.
Contact
Dan Bloom (dan_bloom@mdrc.org)
MDRC
16 East 34th Street
19th Floor
(T) (212)-532-3200
(F) (212)-684-0832
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