PRWORA, reflecting a shift in philosophy from education and training to "work first," stipulates that only limited periods of time in certain activities can count towards federal requirements for work participation. For instance, job searches are restricted to six weeks per individual, although 12 weeks are allowed in states with high unemployment. The law places even greater limits on basic and post-secondary education. Thus, states have an interest in the development of effective programs to rapidly move recipients from welfare to work so federally mandated work participation rates can be met.

From 1988 to 1996, the JOBS program provided an array of job search, work experience, education, and training services to recipients. The National Evaluation of Welfare-to-Work Strategies (formerly the JOBS evaluation) studies the program in 7 sites (Atlanta, Georgia; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Riverside, California; Detroit, Michigan; Columbus, Ohio; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Portland, Oregon). In 3 sites, recipients were assigned to either Labor Force Attachment and Human Capital Development programs.

In the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA), Congress authorized the U.S. Department of Labor to award $3 billion in welfare-to-work (WtW) grants to help the hardest-to-serve TANF recipients and certain non-custodial parents get and keep jobs. Program services are targeted to long-term TANF recipients and those who will soon or have already reached the time limit. Mathematica Policy Research is conducting an evaluation of the programs that includes a descriptive assessment of grantees, and in-depth process and implementation study, and an impact and cost-effectiveness study. Sites include: Boston, Massachusetts; Fort Worth, Texas; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Nashville, Tennessee; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Phoenix, Arizona; a large rural area in West Virginia; Yakima, Washington; Chicago, Illinois; and Southeastern Indiana.

The Welfare-to-Work (WtW) program officially ended on September 30, 2004.

Selected Summary Findings in Brief

Welfare-to-Work Grants Evaluation(Mathematica):

• Welfare dependence among program recipients decreased in the year following program entry.
  
• In only 3 of the 11 study sites, enrollees were working within one year of enrollment even if they were not working at time of program entry or during the follow up survey.
• In most of the study sites, almost 80% of the enrollees were using the employment preparation in the year following program entry.
• Many WtW enrollees in the study faced significant barriers to employment.
  
• For enrollees who were employed, low wages were a barrier to escaping poverty.
• End of the year household incomes were low and poverty rates were high among WtW enrollees in all of the study sites.
• Although poverty was pervasive among WtW program enrollees one year after program entry, its incidence was lower among those who were not employed. (February 2004)
  
• The grant program has encouraged the development of innovative strategies at the community level (January, 2001).
• Local programs use a wide variety of tactics to increase enrollment and participation (January, 2001).
• Most grantees serve all categories of eligibles, but those that focus on particular groups tend to serve noncustodial parents, limited English speakers, and those with special barriers to work (January, 2001).
• The average pace of enrollment has not increased, and enrollment of noncustodial parents has been especially difficult (May, 2000).
• Grantees are less likely to combine WtW funds with funds from other sources, especially TANF and JTPA, to operate their programs (May, 2000).
• While an unsubsidized job is the ultimate outcome grantees want for all participants, grantees anticipate placing somewhat less than half of all enrollees in unsubsidized employment, and most placements to date have been in low-wage service occupations (May, 2000).

National Evaluation of Welfare-to-Work Strategies (MDRC December, 2000):

• 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.
  
• 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.
• There were no observed differences in program implementation that explain why some education focused programs succeeded for Young Adults while others did not.
  
• Looking across the six programs and the numerous child outcomes examined, this set of mandatory welfare-to-work programs had few impacts on young children.
  
• When children were affected,
  
  • earlier impacts found were slightly more positive than negative; later impacts found were slightly more negative than positive
    
  • it was in each of the three child development areas examined
    
  • it did not vary according to welfare-to-work strategy
    
  • it tended to vary according to the site in which the programs were implemented
    
    • Favorable impacts occurred in Atlanta
      
    • Unfavorable impacts were found in Grand Rapids
      
    • Impacts of Riverside's programs varied by area of development, and differed according to mothers' initial levels education.
      
• The results for mothers in the Child Outcomes Study indicate that these six JOBS programs generally affected key economic outcomes as intended, especially in the short-run.
  
  • By the two-year point, all six programs had substantially increased mothers' participation in activities designed to promote employment
    
  • The three employment-focused programs generally did not alter, or even decreased, the likelihood of obtaining a high school diploma, GED, or trade certificate.
    
  • Some, but not all, employment-focused programs increased employment over the five-year period, and one education-focused program did.
    
  • All three education-focused programs increased degree receipt by the two-year point, though only two of these programs had long-term impacts on mothers' educational attainment.
    
  • Impacts on welfare receipt varied over time and across programs.
    
  • Only Riverside's programs increased total earnings, both early on and averaged over the entire follow-up period.
    
  • Impacts on income and poverty were even more limited, and sometimes unfavorable.