Phased in during a time of strong economic expansion, welfare reform and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program have been associated P with an unprecedented drop in the welfare rolls and commensurate increases in employment. While the nation’s rural areas have shared in the benefits of economic prosperity and welfare reform, poverty continues to be more prevalent and persistent in rural areas than in nonrural ones. The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is funding the Rural Welfare-to-Work (WtW) Strategies Demonstration Evaluation to learn how best to help TANF and other low-income rural families move from welfare to work. Under contract to ACF, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (MPR), along with Decision Information Resources, Inc. (DIR), is conducting the evaluation. Economic and geographic conditions in rural areas make it especially difficult for welfare recipients and other low-income families to enter, maintain, and advance in employment and secure longer-term family well-being. Unemployment and underemployment rates are higher, and average earnings are lower, in rural labor markets than in urban ones. The lower population densities and greater geographic dispersion that characterize most rural areas result in severe transportation problems and limited employment options. Key services, such as education, training, child care, and other support services, are often unavailable or difficult to access. Many evaluations have focused on rural populations and employment strategies, but few, if any, have been rigorous. The Rural WtW Evaluation will lead to increased information on well-conceived rural WtW programs. Distinctive, innovative programs in three states—Illinois, Nebraska, and Tennessee—were selected as evaluation sites. A rigorous evaluation of each will greatly contribute to knowledge about what rural strategies work best for different groups of welfare recipients and other low-income families. It also will highlight lessons about the operational challenges associated with these programs, provide recommendations for improving them, and guide future WtW programs and policies related to the rural poor. (author abstract)

The enactment of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act in 1996 signaled a dramatic shift in the nation’s approach to providing assistance to those among the country’s neediest populations. The concept of welfare in the United States shifted from cash assistance to economic self-sufficiency. Rural welfare populations possess unique characteristics and face unique circumstances that will affect their ability to achieve the requirements and intent of welfare reform. To build knowledge and research about effective approaches in working with rural populations, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) awarded planning grants to ten states to help develop and study strategies to move rural families from welfare to work. Although there are extensive bodies of literature both on rural matters and on welfare-related matters, there is relatively little information about rural welfare issues. This report synthesizes available knowledge and, where appropriate, draws inferences from studies about the ways that welfare reform is likely to affect rural welfare to work strategies. (author abstract)

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)

To assist States in strategically and creatively utilizing their Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) dollars, while yielding better outcomes for low-income families, Occupational Enterprises, Inc., (OEI) sought assistance from the Northern Shenandoah Valley Public Mobility Program for methods of addressing rural transportation issues in Southwest Virginia. The Intelligent Transportation Society of Virginia developed the Public Mobility Session to assist human service transportation and rural transit service providers in implementing economically viable technology applications to improve public mobility. This report is a summary of the 1-day site visit sponsored by the Welfare Peer Technical Assistance (TA) Network to Front Royal, Virginia on Thursday, June 17, 2004, to allow OEI to study a successful rural transportation venture in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia before they design their own approach. (author abstract)

This report details associated transportation barriers experienced by TANF participants in New Jersey. Based on focus groups and interviews conducted with caseworkers and TANF participants, it provides a first-hand look at how transportation barriers limit participants’ employment opportunities. Findings include that approximately one in three participants report losing a job opportunity due to transportation challenges. Lacking adequate public transportation, as well as the ability to afford a car, impedes individuals’ abilities to both find and retain employment. Several suggestions are proposed to help reduce these barriers – including more reliable bus routes, and decreasing the costs of car ownership. This resource also reviews several “best practice” state programs that support low-income families in obtaining vehicles and subsidized public transport.

On October 10, 2010, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and the National Consumer Law Center, with the support of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, hosted a forum titled “Working Cars for Working Families: Real Progress, Real Opportunities.” This event focused on efforts to provide working families the opportunity to access safe and reliable vehicles, under fair terms. Panelists discussed the importance of car access in improving economic outcomes for families. Struggling families, however, are facing multiple-barriers to vehicle ownership; barriers created by the recession-era car market and current financing regulations. Despite these challenges, the forum noted solutions in the form of policy changes, market-improvements, and the emergence of successful nonprofit ownership programs.

Joblinks Employment Transportation hosted a Webinar that provided information about partnerships between transportation providers and employers to develop solutions that provide job retention and stability for workers and employers alike.

The Rural Communities Academy was the "kick off" event for the 16 selected rural sites and included time for each rural site team (consisting of four/five team members) to participate in information gathering, networking, and action planning. The team members who attended the Academy participated in workshops and plenary sessions, and met with Rural Content Specialists and representatives from other rural communities who shared their insight into strategies being utilized in rural areas with TANF participants.

Recognizing the importance of expanding transportation options for their TANF participants, the North Dakota Rural Communities Initiative site sought to learn more about innovative car ownership programs serving individuals on public assistance. Through contacts at Opportunity Cars, a network of 150 innovative car ownership programs, it was suggested that the team visit programs in Minnesota, which has one of the highest number of car ownership programs in the country. The director of Opportunity Cars nominated three innovative programs that had distinctly different implementation models and were also centrally located in the state: (1) Free to Be, Inc. – Blaine, Minnesota; (2) People Responding in Social Ministry (PRISM) – Golden Valley, Minnesota; and (3) Minnesota Valley Action Council (MVAC). During site visits to these three organizations in late June 2009, the North Dakota site members met with program staff to discuss the background of their car ownership programs, service delivery models, and partnering strategies. These resources and ideas promise to be incredibly useful as the site begins moving forward on implementing their own transportation assistance program.

This Webinar took place on February 11, 2009 and included presentations from John Squires, Executive Director, Community Resource Group, Donna Shaunsesy, JAUNT Program, Virginia, and Sandy Conner, Workforce Transportation and Referral Center/Transportation Institute Partnership, Maryland.