“Questions about mandatory applicant job search include: 1) how do workers determine who is and is not required to look for work as a condition of eligibility, 2) what fraction of applicants find employment before their application for assistance is processed, 3) how do the non-cash benefits available to families differ depending on whether an applicant finds employment before or after his or her application for assistance is approved, 4) what is the relationship between the level of job search activity required and/or the amount of job search assistance provided and the proportion of applicants who find employment, and 5) what happens to applicants who get discouraged and do not complete the application process.”

“A common set of data elements about the diversion program and the state=s Medicaid program is needed to fully document and analyze the effects. However, most states do not collect common data. In the case of applicant job search, for example, diverted cases generally would be coded as incomplete or denied with no specific reference to participation in and the outcome of participation in an applicant job search program. Most states report that they would measure the success of the diversion programs in terms of the number or percentage of total applicants diverted and if or for how long they then stay off the TANF rolls, but little data of this type are available.”