The Effectiveness of Different Approaches for Moving Cash Assistance Recipients to Work: Findings from the Job Search Assistance Strategies Evaluation

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report, a summary of the Job Search Assistance (JSA) Strategies Evaluation, compares the effectiveness of different approaches for finding and keeping jobs among individuals applying for or receiving assistance under TANF. The report reviews findings from three sites: Genesee and Wayne Counties in Michigan; New York City; and Sacramento County, California. In each of these sites, TANF applicants or recipients were randomly assigned to one of two programs that provided employment-related services. The study measured outcome differences (in public benefit receipt, employment, and earnings) between people assigned to each of the two programs in each site. The report’s findings address three key questions regarding the frequency, mode, and content of the employment-related services for the TANF recipients in the two programs; the two programs’ impacts on employment and earnings; and the effects on receipt of TANF and SNAP due to participation in the two programs.