Low-income individuals and families frequently qualify for multiple human services programs that are funded, regulated, and administered by different federal agencies, each with its own eligibility criteria, program requirements, and performance priorities and metrics. HHS’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) contracted with Mathematica Policy Research to conduct a cross-cutting examination of the use of performance measures, work requirements, and child support cooperation requirements among human services programs that include a focus on promoting self-sufficiency.
Performance Measures
The performance measures component of the EMPOWERED study explores how aligned performance measurement might achieve accountability across programs that share similar goals and maximize efficiencies in program management and service coordination. A series of three issue briefs examine the challenges and opportunities for cross-program alignment of performance indicators.
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Project Summary: Aligning Federal Performance Indicators Across Programs Promoting Self-Sufficiency
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Aligning Federal Performance Indicators Across Programs Promoting Self-Sufficiency: Local Perspectives – This issue brief provides local perspectives on challenges and opportunities for aligning performance indicators across a variety of federal programs promoting self-sufficiency. The brief is informed by three in-depth case studies that included discussions with a range of administrators, supervisors, and frontline staff across select programs in the three localities.
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Aligning Federal Performance Indicators Across Programs Promoting Self-Sufficiency: Actionable Steps For Program Design And Practice – This brief outlines actionable steps that program designers at the federal, state, or local level can take to build or use aligned measures across programs in ways that can improve program management and increase service coordination.
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Aligning Federal Performance Indicators Across Programs Promoting Self-Sufficiency: Key Considerations For Policymakers – This brief summarizes the current set of federal performance indicators and provides key policy considerations for policymakers and administrators within federal and state agencies who are interested in building a framework for coordinated performance measurement.
Work Requirements
The work requirements component of the EMPOWERED study examines the interpretation, implementation, and administration of work requirement policies in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and the public housing program. The findings will inform decision-making about the implementation of work-related requirements in human services programs.
Administering Work-Related Requirements Across Human Services Programs: Service Delivery Approaches – This brief discusses two primary approaches for providing employment-related services to TANF, SNAP, and public housing program participants to help them meet work-related requirements. The findings are based on discussions with state and local administrators and workforce development partners in three states.
Child Support Cooperation
The child support component of the EMPOWERED study expands our understanding of state variation in child support cooperation requirement policies with SNAP and child care subsidy programs.
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Child Support Cooperation Requirements in Child Care Subsidy Programs and SNAP: Key Policy Considerations (Infographic) – States have the option to require recipients of child care subsidies and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to cooperate with child support agencies seeking to establish paternity and support orders; and to enforce child support obligations as a condition of eligibility. This brief, and corresponding infographic, examine the current policy landscape and provide context for policy conversations.
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Are parents with a child support order more likely to be eligible for both SNAP and subsidized child care? – This infographic presents the results of an analysis of overlap in the populations of custodial and noncustodial parents, with and without formal child support orders, that are eligible for both SNAP and subsidized child care. Understanding the intersection of these populations has policy implications for integrated eligibility systems and benefits determination, as well as outreach and recruitment to the child support program.
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How many families might be newly reached by child support cooperation requirements in SNAP and subsidized child care, and what are their characteristics? – States have flexibility to require a person that receives SNAP or subsidized child care to cooperate with the child support program. This infographic introduces the child support cooperation policy variation across states and presents characteristic information about the custodial and noncustodial parents that may be subject to cooperation requirements in SNAP and subsidized child care.