Although much is known about how to help welfare recipients find jobs, little is known about how to help them and other low-wage workers keep jobs or advance in the labor market. This report presents information on the effectiveness of a program in Chicago that aimed to help employed welfare recipients increase their earnings. The program was tested as part of the Employment Retention and Advancement Project (ERA), which is studying 15 programs across the country. The ERA project was conceived by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; it is being conducted by MDRC under contract to ACF, with additional funding from the U.S. Department of Labor. The Chicago ERA program, which operated from February 2002 to June 2004, targeted recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cash assistance benefits who appeared to be stuck in low-paying jobs: individuals who worked at least 30 hours per week for at least six consecutive months but earned so little that they remained eligible for TANF benefits. The program, which was funded by the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS) and operated under contract to DHS by Employment and Employer Services, sought to help participants advance in their current jobs or move to higher-paying jobs. The Chicago ERA program is being evaluated using a random assignment research design, whereby eligible individuals were assigned, through a lottery-like process, to one of two groups. Those assigned to the ERA group were recruited for the program and, if they remained on TANF, were required to participate. Those assigned to the control group were neither required nor permitted to participate in ERA, but they could obtain other services from DHS or other organizations. (author abstract)

The share of low-income single mothers disconnected from work and TANF ranges from 20 to 25 percent. Most disconnected low-income single mothers experience barriers to work and most of their families live in poverty. This brief reviews what we know about the numbers and characteristics of disconnected mothers, their economic well-being, their living arrangements, and the length of time that they tend to be disconnected. The brief draws lessons for policy, including efforts for keep TANF recipients in great need from losing TANF benefits and becoming disconnected and to improve employment prospects for those with serious challenges to work. (author abstract)

Now more than ever, the path to self-sufficiency for most welfare recipients involves finding and keeping a job. The recently enacted welfare law, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996, emphasizes the need for individuals to take personal responsibility in their move toward self-sufficiency. The law underscores the importance of work and requires most able-bodied individuals to find some type of work within two years after they start collecting welfare. For welfare recipients, the time limits that the new law imposes significantly raise the stakes of not being employed. As the new law is implemented, more individuals who are less job ready will be entering the labor market. Many of these individuals, unused to the world of work, will be in danger of losing their jobs. While time limits may motivate some to hold onto their jobs, many are likely to face situations that make it hard for them to do so. Although welfare recipients must try to deal with these challenges, external assistance and support can help them overcome some of these barriers. States and other local agencies may be able to provide support that makes individuals’ transition from welfare to work smoother and more successful. (author abstract)

One of the most important themes of today’s welfare debate is the goal of moving mothers from welfare to work. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) includes strong incentives for state agencies to move recipients into the labor force. State and local policymakers now express significant interest in the issue of job retention and in designing programs to facilitate job retention or rapid reemployment. Anticipating this need, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services contracted with Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. to provide program operators and policymakers with useful information on issues related to labor force attachment for welfare recipients. In particular, ACF had two broad goals for this study: (1) to provide some benchmarks regarding the employment patterns of welfare recipients who find jobs and the factors associated with job loss or job retention; and (2) to shed light on the feasibility of targeting resources to those who are most likely to have long periods of nonemployment. This report uses national data to examine the employment experiences of welfare recipients who find jobs. (author abstract)

The PESD evaluation had three main objectives: (1) to better understand and characterize the experiences of individuals after they become employed and to examine the factors contributing to job loss or job stability, (2) to examine the feasibility of providing services to newly employed welfare recipients and to study issues related to service delivery, and (3) to determine whether postemployment services can help individuals keep their jobs longer or regain employment more quickly after job loss. This report focuses on the third objective and provides an update of our initial findings of the programs’ effectiveness in promoting employment and reducing welfare dependency. In particular, this report examines the effectiveness of the PESD programs in increasing employment and reducing welfare dependency over a two-year period, using administrative records data on program enrollees. (author abstract)

Considerable interest exists among state and local welfare departments, workforce investment agencies, community colleges, and other nonprofit community-based service providers to find ways to promote job retention and advancement among employed welfare recipients and other low-wage working families. Little is known, however, about what services are effective. The Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) evaluation, designed to provide more information about what works in this area, is the largest and most comprehensive study of its kind. Conceived and sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the evaluation is being conducted under contract by MDRC, a nonprofit, nonpartisan social policy research organization. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has provided additional funding for the project. As of December 2002, a total of 15 ERA programs are being tested in 8 states. This report describes the initial experiences of those programs, focusing on implementation issues and institutional connections. (author abstract)

This final report focuses on Future Steps. In this report, the authors (1) chronicle the design and operation of Future Steps, assessing program participation, service delivery, and costs; (2) examine 30-month impacts on employment, earnings, welfare dependence, self-sufficiency, and well-being; and (3) draw lessons and recommendations about implementing, designing, and testing future welfare-to-work programs in rural areas. The text box that follows provides a brief overview of these three points, with the rest of the report providing a more detailed discussion of each. The authors include a summary of the Future Steps model and a description of the evaluation’s design and analytic methods. (Author abstract)