Rural low-income families trying to find jobs, maintain employment, and secure longer-term well-being face distinct challenges. In rural labor markets, jobs tend to be scarcer than in urban ones, and the jobs that are available more often involve minimum-wage or part-time work. Education and training opportunities and such support services as health and mental health care also are more likely to be difficult to obtain. Moreover, lack of public transportation common in rural areas can make existing jobs and services difficult for a dispersed population to access. This report chronicles the implementation experiences of the three demonstration programs participating in the Rural Welfare-to-Work (RWtW) Strategies Demonstration Evaluation. Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (MPR) and its subcontractors, Decision Information Resources and the Rural Policy Research Institute, are conducting the evaluation with funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. Although it does not present findings on the impact of the demonstration programs - impact and cost-benefit research is still in progress - the report does share an early assessment of how the programs operate and the successes and challenges they have encountered so far. Researchers gathered information for the process and implementation study through in-depth site visits to each program (conducted between February 2002 and August 2003) and management information systems (MIS). (author abstract)

Personal and work supports can be instrumental in helping TANF recipients living with disabilities prepare for and maintain employment. For many TANF recipients living with disabilities, the path to self-sufficiency is encumbered by personal and family challenges that interfere with steady employment. Recognizing that these TANF recipients may require more intensive support than is available through traditional employment programs, some TANF agencies have increased the intensity and/or types of supports available to those living with disabilities. Such supports may include intensive case management, rehabilitative services, job coaching, and support groups, among others. In this practice brief, we profile four programs that provide specialized personal and work supports to help TANF recipients living with disabilities succeed in competitive employment. (author abstract)

The emphasis on placing TANF recipients into paid employment quickly is consistent with employment assistance approaches employed by several recent demonstration projects (outside of TANF) for youth and adults living with a disability. However, because TANF recipients living with a disability may have other deficits such as low education levels and limited work experience that further limit their employment prospects, they may not be successful at finding paid competitive employment within the time allotted. When this occurs, TANF agencies may choose to create work opportunities outside of the competitive labor market as a first step towards permanent unsubsidized employment. In this practice brief, we profile three programs that use different approaches (unpaid work experience, subsidized employment, and unsubsidized transitional employment) to create work opportunities for TANF recipients who are living with a disability and have not been successful in finding competitive employment. (author abstract)

Some TANF recipients may have disabilities that would qualify them for the specialized employment preparation services Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agencies provide. TANF recipients may seek out VR services on their own, or be referred to VR by a TANF case manager on his or her own accord, however, because VR is an unfamiliar service system, few may be inclined to do so. Creating a formal partnership between the agencies can ensure that all TANF recipients who can benefit from VR services have access to them. Though linking the services of these two agencies through formal cooperative agreements is not a widespread strategy, some states have had such partnerships in place for many years and other states are developing them. This practice brief explores the benefits and challenges of linking TANF and VR services, describes partnerships that have been formed in Vermont and Iowa, then discusses key features that appear to be critical to developing a successful partnership. (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)

This paper is an overview of the Wave 4 Family Employment Program (FEP) Study of Utah. The study included a cohort of participants in the FEP program, and Wave 4 provides data on an additional two years on usage of the program to help guide policy and program development. The average age of participants at entry was 28 years old, 93 percent were female, 64 percent were currently or have been married, 69 percent were in good to excellent physical health, 69.1 percent had a high school or GED degree, and the average number of children was 1.7. Additionally, 63.6 percent of the participants had only one episode of case assistance receipt between April 2005 and September 2010.

The ACF Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) hosted a symposium on the application of behavioral research to programs that serve low-income children and families in July 2010. OPRE released a summary of the event, which included behavioral researchers, social welfare researchers, foundation staff, federal staff, and social service program operators. Stakeholders discussed ways to improve social service delivery and program effectiveness for programs that serve low-income children and families.

On April 26th, 2011, Peer TA hosted a Webinar on a pair of innovative partnerships between TANF programs (or other public systems) and local faith-based or community organizations serving the same low-income families and individuals in their communities. Though these two sectors often work independently at the local level, many TANF officials and program leaders have experienced considerable gains by partnering.

This cross-site analysis examines all 8 of the exemplary FBCO-TANF partnerships described in the project’s case studies, by drawing out important findings related to volunteer management, organizational infrastructure, inter-agency communication, and place-based strategies. Moreover, the 14-page report articulates some of the leading reasons a TANF agency would want to partner with an FBCO, and it describes how effective partnerships can emerge.