Family caps: TANF recipients who have children while receiving benefits will not be eligible for additional benefits.

Financial disincentives/sanctions: Work effort is promoted through sanctions for failure to comply with the social contract. Sanctions are cumulative so that recipients who repeatedly fail to comply are penalized in a sequentially more punitive manner.

Financial incentives: Increased work effort is encourages through increasing the earning disregard and increasing the dependent care and health insurance deductions. Asset limits are raised to $8,000 per family or $5,000 per individual and one vehicle per household is exempted to allow individuals to accrue savings and equity.

Program operations/implementation: Implementation of program across counties and sub-groups is examined. Recipients undergo a screening using the TEEM expert system, a computerized system designed to help case managers and recipients identify barriers they may have to employment. If necessary, referrals are made to counseling services, childcare services, drug or alcohol treatment, financial management services, or a variety of other services that individuals may need.

Program requirements: After assessment and/or referral, recipients are required to sign a Social Contract with specific goals and a timeline tracking their path to independence.

Social/Support services: Transitional support services are provided for individuals who leave the welfare system through employment.

Time limits: Recipients are limited to 5 years of lifetime benefit receipt.

To document the implementation and assess the performance of the TEEM screening system, a computer-based expert system designed to promote self-sufficiency by identifying recipients’ barriers to work.

To examine the implementation of a diverse set of reforms aimed at promoting employment, including both positive and negative interventions (i.e. work incentives as well as sanctions).

To describe the implementation and responses to a family cap, which limits benefit amounts for recipients who have additional children while receiving benefits.

To document variation in the implementation and operation of welfare at local (county and tribal) levels, and to identify the sources of variation.

To study post-program outcomes, tracking recidivism through the TEEM system and employment and earnings through UI wage records, for the 21-month study period.

• After Teem eligibility ends, families have substantial public assistance support available through other public assistance programs.
• The Earned Income Tax Credit provides substantial cash payments to low-income families who file taxes.
• Teem components have been fully implemented.
• Teem managers' need ongoing training to fulfill their case management role.
• Teem managers are often not the client's primary case manager.
• The assessment process could be improved.
• Teem Adult Included Cases are becoming increasingly comprised of Native Americans.
• Over time, children in adult not included cases were more likely to be living with parents receiving disability payments.
• More Teem recipients were engaged in work activities over time.
• On average, adult included cases spent 12 of the 21 months we observed on aid
• One-fifth of case closures were due to employment.
• Statewide recidivism was on par with or slightly higher than in other states.