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Project Description

From 1988 to 1996, JOBS provided an array of job search, work experience, education, and training services to families who received Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and AFDC-UP (which provided benefits to two-parent families in which the principal wage earner is unemployed). Legislation mandated participation in JOBS activities by all AFDC single-parent recipients with no children under age three and all AFDC-UP recipients to the extent that resources permitted. States could choose to mandate participation for AFDC applicants and recipients whose youngest child was 1 year or older. Those who did not participate in JOBS and were not employed were to be sanctioned (i.e. lose part of their welfare grant).

The JOBS Child Outcomes Study, part of the larger evaluation, has been designed to examine both the effects of JOBS on children and the mechanisms that explain any effects that are found.

Project duration: Oct 1989 - Dec 2000

Sites studied include Atlanta, Georgia
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Riverside, California
Detroit, Michigan
Columbus, Ohio
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Portland, Oregon

Sample Characteristics and Sites Studied

Over 50,000 welfare applicants and recipients (across all seven sites).

In Riverside, Detroit, and Portland, AFDC-UPs regardless of the age of the youngest child are included in the sample.

In Grand Rapids, Riverside, Detroit, and Oklahoma City, teen parents are included in the sample.

Samples of program and control group members differ among sites studied:

Detroit, Oklahoma City, and Portland:
Random sample of 9,261 program group (JOBS) and 9,316 control group (not eligible for JOBS services but able to partake in other employment and training services in the community) members across the three sites.

Atlanta, Grand Rapids, Riverside:
Random sample of 6,698 program group (JOBS focused on Human Capital Development -HCD), 8,775 program group (JOBS focused on Labor Force Attachment -LFA), and 8,992 control group (not eligible for JOBS services but able to partake in other employment and training services in the community) members across the three sites.

Columbus:
Random sample of 2,594 program group (traditional case management approach in JOBS), 2,533 program group (integrated case management approach in JOBS), and 2,170 control group (not eligible for JOBS services but able to partake in other employment and training services in the community) members.

Child Outcomes Study:

Approximately 3,000 mothers and children.
Most eligible families with a youngest child aged three to five who are enrolled in the JOBS evaluation in Georgia (Fulton County), California (Riverside County), and Michigan (Kent County) were included in the sample.

Recent Findings in Brief

06/01/03: National Evaluation of Welfare-to-Work Strategies (NEWWS): Pursuing Economic Security for Young Adults: Five-Year Impacts of Pre-Employment Services in the National Evaluation of WtW Strategies

Final Descriptive/Analytical Findings

• Although not required to participate in skill-building activities or look for work, the vast majority of Young Adult group members participated in at least one employment-preparation program on their own initiative.
• Similarly, both education-focused programs and employment-focused programs engaged a large majority of Young Adults in employment preparation activities.
• Employment focused programs achieved large two year and five year increases in the use of job search services, because relatively few control group members participated in these activities. In contrast, education focused programs showed more modest impacts on participation rates because a high percentage of control group members participated in skill building activities on their own initiative.
• Over five years, among Young Adults who lacked a high school diploma or General Education Diploma (GED) certificate at random assignment, education-focused programs led to a relatively large impact upon receipt of these credentials.
• Over five years, most education-focused and employment-focused programs helped Young Adults earn more on average than their control counterparts.
• The seven education-focused programs produced a wide range of earnings impacts for Young Adults.
• For the subgroup of Young Adults who entered the study with high school diploma or GED, the four most successful education-focused led to earnings at the high end of the range.
• There were no observed differences in program implementation that explain why some education focused programs succeeded for Young Adults while others did not.

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