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Office of the Assistant Secretary |
Policy Information Center |
ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
MISSION: To promote the economic and social well-being of families, children, individuals, and communities.
Evaluation Program
The
Administration for Children and Families (ACF) administers a broad range of
entitlement and discretionary programs, including income maintenance (Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families [TANF]); child support; children and family
services (Head Start, Child Welfare, Family Preservation and Support, and youth
programs); four block grants; and special programs for targeted populations,
such as the developmentally disabled, immigrants, and Native Americans.
The objectives of ACF's evaluations are to furnish information on designing and operating effective programs; to test new service delivery approaches capitalizing on the success of completed demonstrations; to apply evaluation data to policy development, legislative planning, budget decisions, program management, and strategic planning and performance measures development; and to disseminate findings of completed studies and promote application of results by State and local governments.
ACF actively engages with other Federal agencies, State and local policy and program officials, national organizations, foundations, professional groups and practitioners, and consumers to stay current on emerging issues affecting its programs and to identify questions for evaluation studies. Systems changes and how they affect vulnerable populations, particularly children, are of primary concern. The movement toward devolving responsibility for health and human services to State and local organizations--in particular, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996--offer both tremendous opportunities and unprecedented challenges in redefining and implementing services for families.
Evaluation study designs are negotiated carefully with the States and
other interest groups. Studies often are funded as joint ventures with Office
of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation and other Federal
agencies and foundations. Such collaborations permit large-scale efforts that
are better informed and more representative of varying perspectives. Proposals
are reviewed by multidisciplinary experts. Work groups of various kinds are
used to monitor the progress of projects and to advise on design refinements
and the presentation of findings.
Summary of Fiscal Year 1998 Evaluations
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TITLE: National Impact Evaluation of the Comprehensive Child Development Program
ABSTRACT: The Comprehensive Child Development Program (CCDP) was an innovative attempt by the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families (ACYF) to ensure the delivery of early and comprehensive services with the aim of enhancing child development and helping low-income families to achieve economic self-sufficiency. Intensive case management was evaluated as a method for the effective delivery of services to low-income families resulting in positive outcomes. The charge of each local CCDP grantee was to: (1) intervene as early as possible in children's lives; (2) involve the entire family; (3) ensure the delivery of comprehensive social services to address the intellectual, social-emotional, and physical needs of infants and young children in the household; (4) ensure the delivery of services to enhance parents' ability to contribute to the overall development of their children and achieve economic and social self-sufficiency; and (5) ensure continuous services until children enter elementary school at the kindergarten or first grade level. In particular, the evaluation of the CCDP focused on: (1) the longitudinal impact of each program model on the development of the participating children and their parents; (2) the effectiveness of the programs in achieving their stated objectives; and (3) the impact of related programs to the delivery of services. Results indicate that there were no observable, measurable, positive effects resulting from the CCDP families, in comparison with control group families.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Administration on Children, Youth and Families
FEDERAL CONTACT: Michael Lopez
PHONE NUMBER: 202-205-8212
PIC ID: 3868
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Abt Associates, Inc. Cambridge, MA
TITLE: Building Opportunities, Enforcing Obligations: Implementation and Interim Impacts of Parents' Fair Share
ABSTRACT: The purpose of this pilot project was to implement a unique cooperative arrangement between the child support system, local community-based organizations and non-custodial fathers. It was hoped that with supportive services, such as peer group assistance, non-custodial fathers would increase their involvement with their children. It was further hoped that, with employment training and job location assistance, these fathers would find employment and increase their earnings, thereby placing themselves in the position to pay child support and to pay it in a timely fashion. The ultimate goal of this project, therefore, was to effect a system that would support more responsible non-custodial parenting.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Mark Fucello
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-4538
PIC ID: 5952.1
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Manpower Demonstration Research
Corporation, New York, NY
TITLE: Evaluation of Child Support Guidelines (Vols 1-2)
ABSTRACT: From October 1994 to March 1996, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) evaluated State child support guidelines to determine the impact of State child support guidelines on decision makers of child support payments. The purpose of the study was to determine the effectiveness of State child support guidelines in helping decision makers determine adequate and equitable child support amounts. The results are directed at whether there should be more Federal involvement in areas such as issuing national guidelines. In the cases reviewed, data show significant deviations from formal and informal guidelines, mainly in the areas of income determinations, tax exemptions allowed, families involved, agreements between parties, health care, visitation and custody, and child care expenses. Based on the results, a panel of child support experts recommended that national guidelines are not necessary, given continuing State development and experimentation with guidelines. States should, however, continue to review cases every four years, and the Federal government should continue to provide technical assistance in helping States perform guideline reviews.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Child Support Enforcement
FEDERAL CONTACT: David Arnaudo
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-5364
PIC ID: 5983
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: CSR, Incorporated Washington, D.C.
TITLE: Evaluation of the Child Access Demonstration Projects: Report to Congress
ABSTRACT: The 1987-88 National Survey of Children and the National Survey of Families and Households show that only one-sixth of all noncustodial (divorced or unwed) fathers visit their children at least weekly; nearly one-third to one half see their children once a year or less. This report documents the experiences of eight projects selected by the staff of the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement to resolve child access problems. The goal of evaluation at each site was to assess the extent to which each intervention was successful in: (1) decreasing the amount of time required to resolve access disputes; (2) reducing litigation related to access disputes; (3) improving compliance with court-ordered child support payments; and (4) promoting the adjustment of children. Surveys administered to parents elicited information on the demographic characteristics of the parents, their relationship to each other, the children they had in common, existing custody situation, visitation and child support arrangements and problems with custody, visitation and child support. Based on the questionnaire findings, access problems were identified. Conclusions suggest the following: (1) courts can help parents with access problems by developing no and low cost dispute resolution interventions; (2) mediation appears to be more effective when it is conducted near the time of the divorce or separation; (3) access interventions for parents with long-standing access problems or high levels of parental conflict appear to have less potential for resolving access disputes than interventions designed for parents with more recent and less contentious disputes; and (4) while child support and child access are definitely related, and some access interventions are associated with more favorable reports of payment, cause and effect are difficult to establish.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Child Support Enforcement
FEDERAL CONTACT: David Arnaudo
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-5364
PIC ID: 6843
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Policy Studies, Inc, Denver CO and Center for Policy Research, Denver CO
TITLE: Micro Business and Self-Employment and Programs for the Homeless
ABSTRACT: The Demonstration Partnership Program (DPP), under Section 408 of the Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1986, authorizes a demonstration program to operate in conjunction with the Community Services Block Grant Program. This program has the unique purpose of developing and implementing new and innovative approaches in dealing with the particularly critical needs of the poor. The objectives of the program are to: (1) stimulate eligible entities (mainly Community Action Agencies) to develop new approaches to provide greater self-sufficiency for the poor; (2) test and evaluate the new approaches; (3) disseminate project results and evaluation findings so that the new approaches can be replicated; and (4) strengthen the ability of eligible entities to integrate, coordinate and redirect activities to promote maximum self-sufficiency among the poor. Under the DPP, Community action agencies were asked to develop, test and evaluate, in partnership with local organizations, new approaches to provide for greater self-sufficiency. In fiscal years 1987 through 1994, demonstration grants were made in a wide range of programs including: (1) small business ventures with technical assistance and access to a loan fund, (2) intensive case management, (3) job creation, (4) job training, and (5) early intervention programs. The client populations included such diverse groups as teenage parents, minority males, families, homeless families and individuals, public housing clients, Section 8 housing clients and food basket recipients. The purpose of this report is to capture experiences and lessons learned and to make those available to those that are interested in improving the services and opportunities available to low-income populations.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Community Services
FEDERAL CONTACT: Richard Saul
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-9341
PIC ID: 6883
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: BHM International Silver Spring, MD
TITLE: Head Start Program Performance Measures: Second Progress Report
ABSTRACT: Head Start has made dramatic progress toward developing an outcome-oriented accountability system, the Program Performance Measures Initiative, which can be used to determine the quality and effectiveness of Head Start. Based on the ultimate goal of Head Start--promoting the social competence of children, which is reflected in a comprehensive view of school readiness--the Performance Measures are a set of indicators that chart progress in: (1) enhancing children's healthy growth and development, (2) strengthening families as the primary nurturers of their children, (3) providing children with educational, health and nutritional services, (4) linking children and families to needed community services, and (5) ensuring well-managed programs that involve parents in decision-making. The data in this report are drawn from the Spring 1997 Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) field test, in which approximately 2,400 parents and children were studied in a nationally representative sample of 40 Head Start programs across the country. The survey, planned as a periodic longitudinal data collection, was an opportunity to assess the feasibility of interviewing and assessing parents and children on a large scale using selected instruments. It provided valuable information on the status of Head Start programs, children and families. Overall results from FACES indicate that: (1) Head Start classroom quality is good; (2) Head Start children are ready for school; (3) program quality is linked to child performance; and (4) Head Start families are involved, despite challenges. FACES provides information about children as they enter the program, their experiences in Head Start, and their status both at school entry and after a year of kindergarten. The full study, launched in Fall, 1997, follows 3200 children and families in 40 Head Start programs. The ongoing Performance Measures Initiative will help Head Start chart its progress in meeting GPRA goals and improving services.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Administration on Children, Youth and Families
FEDERAL CONTACT: Louisa Tarullo, Ed.D.
PHONE NUMBER: 202-205-8324
PIC ID: 6331.1
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Westat, Inc. Rockville, MD; Ellsworth
Associates; Abt Associates, Cambridge MA, and The CDM Group, Bethesda, MD
TITLE: Creating New Hope: Implementation of a Program to Reduce Poverty and Reform Welfare
ABSTRACT: This report is the first in a series of reports on the New Hope Project, an assistance program in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that enables poor people to support themselves and their families through full-time employment. The program also offers participants affordable health insurance and child care that is flexible according to individual circumstances. The benefits are phased out as individuals' earnings increase. This report was the result of a random assignment research design that recruited a diverse sample population over a 16-month period beginning in 1994. Eligibility for the New Hope program was contingent on full-time employment. Therefore, information on levels of benefit use provides preliminary information about the number of individuals in the program group who were employed. For the program group for which 12 months of post-random assignment follow-up is available, the report finds that three-quarters of New Hope participants received at least one New Hope benefit at some point during the follow-up. Of these benefits, earnings supplements were used by the majority of the program participants, followed by health insurance, community service jobs, and child care assistance. This report: (1) analyzes the issues that the New Hope staff confronted in designing and implementing program procedures and in recruiting individuals from the target neighborhoods to participate in the program; (2) presents information illustrating that they were successful in recruiting the intended mixture of working and non-working applicants, individuals receiving and not receiving public assistance, and adults with and without children; and (3) presents findings on the extent to which individuals participated in New Hope and used the program benefits. The report concludes that when data is available from planned follow-up surveys that there will be a more complete picture of the impact of the New Hope program. (Final report 192 pages.)
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Richard Jakopic
PHONE NUMBER: 202-205-5930
PIC ID: 5982
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: The New Hope Project, Inc., Milwaukee, WI
TITLE: Employment Experiences of Welfare Recipients Who Find Jobs: Is Targeting Possible?
ABSTRACT: This project presents the motivation for and results from an analysis of the employment experiences of welfare recipients who find jobs using data from the 1979 to 1994 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). The analysis sample included single mothers with children who, at some point during the panel period, started a job either while receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) or within three months after ending AFDC. The analysis describes five aspects of welfare recipients who find jobs: (1) characteristics and how they compare with those of other similar groups of individuals; (2) the duration of employment, and the duration of nonemployment for those who exit welfare; (3) overall experiences during the two and five year periods after the start of first employment; and (4) the extent to which wages and earnings grow over the five-year period following initial employment.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Lawrence Wolf
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-5984
PIC ID: 6756
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. Plainsboro, NJ
Evaluations in Progress
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TITLE: Role of Child Care in Low-Income Families' Labor Market Participation
ABSTRACT: This project will develop optional research designs to identify and address child care services needed by parents to succeed at work, keeping in mind the role quality child care plays in children's lives. The major work in this contract will consist of a series of stand-alone working papers that critically evaluate relevant research related to child care and labor force attachment, and that develop a rationale for the factors included in the research designs. The project will prepare three working papers that will evaluate bearing on critical aspects of child care for low income parents including affordability, quality and flexibility. These papers will provide the rationale for the development of rigorous research designs to test the effects on families and children and the costs of promising components and programs. Each research design will contain: (1) a complete description and rationale; (2) design methodology; (3) the number of sites and their characteristics; (4) criteria for site selection; (5) methods for identifying the client population or subpopulation; (6) sample size requirements; (7) strategies for sampling and case assignment; and (8) proposed intervention, projected schedule and plan for implementation. Additionally, the pros and cons of each design will be presented.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Richard Jakopic
PHONE NUMBER: 202-205-5930
PIC ID: 6846
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Urban Institute/Mathematica Policy Research Washington, D.C.
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 12/18/98
TITLE: Prenatal and Early Childhood Nurse Home Visitation Program -- Replication/Dissemination
ABSTRACT: The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and the Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention are supporting this initiative. The project allows for data collection and evaluation of an initiative to replicate and disseminate the nurse home visiting model. The model has been tested through randomized trials and found to be effective in improving outcomes for mothers and their children on a number of important outcome measures, including: (1) educational attainment, (2) employment, (3) welfare dependency, (4) parenting attitudes, and (5) subsequent pregnancies. The DOJ funded a grant to support technical assistance and training to replicate the model in selected sites. This project supports the evaluation component of the initiative to test the effectiveness of the replication process within normal operating environments. The initiative will answer questions pertaining to: (1) whether programs are implemented with fidelity to the original program model; (2) whether the program is reaching the target population of at-risk, low-income pregnant women; (3) the aspects of the model that are most difficult to implement and maintain; (4) the factors explaining site variation in program fidelity; and (5) the outcomes for pregnant women and families enrolled in each site.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Nancye Campbell
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-5760
PIC ID: 6757
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver CO 80262
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 2/29/00
TITLE: Study of the Impact of the Child Support Enforcement (CSE) Program on Avoiding Costs to Public Programs
ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study is to develop a conceptual framework for determining cost avoidance that would be appropriate for use in the Federal and State budgetary and appropriation processes. This study will also assess the current technology in terms of the development and potential application of a cost-avoidance methodology for the Child Support Enforcement program. This study will result in contractor recommendations as to how to prioritize the various components of cost avoidance, i.e., which mechanical and behavioral aspects of cost avoidance should be addressed first, and the sequence of steps to take to quantifying the costs avoided for each area. The contract objectives are: (1) review the literature on cost avoidance and prepare an annotated bibliography; (2) identify academics, research firms and States conducting child support cost avoidance related research; (3) assess microsimulation models; (4) assess the capacity of State administrative databases to measure cost avoidance; and (5) identify the most promising cost avoidance model or models for further testing and refinement.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Child Support Enforcement
FEDERAL CONTACT: Tom Killmurray
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-4677
PIC ID: 6842
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: The Lewin Group Fairfax, VA
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 3/17/99
TITLE: Multisite Evaluation of OCSE Responsible Fatherhood Programs and MIS Development
ABSTRACT: This contract will provide technical assistance to assist States with appropriate MIS and data collection in order to facilitate an evaluation and the other contract will evaluate the projects. The projects are eight separate State demonstration projects which attempt to facilitate increased payment of child support through assistance to low or no income fathers who owe child support. Services involve the following: (1) child support services, (2) training, (3) related social services, (4) case management, (5) fatherhood motivation, and (6) access and visitation assistance.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Child Support Enforcement
FEDERAL CONTACT: David Arnaudo
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-5364
PIC ID: 7055
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Policy Studies, Inc, Denver CO and Center for Policy Research, Denver CO
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 9/20/00
TITLE: Partner and Father Involvement in the Lives of Low-Income First Time Mothers and Their Children
ABSTRACT: This project will investigate the role that fathers and partners play in improving the material, emotional, and developmental well-being of low-income women and children. It consists of a set of secondary analyses using data from three longitudinal experiments of a program of prenatal and infancy home visitation serving first time mothers from various ethnic and racial groups.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Mark Fucello
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-4538
PIC ID: 6799
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Children's Hospital Denver CO
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 9/30/00
TITLE: Partners for Fragile Families
ABSTRACT: The Partners for Fragile Families Project strives to assist low-income unemployed, and underemployed, mainly minority fathers to work with the mothers of their children to become "team" parents and share the legal, financial and emotional responsibilities of parenthood. To achieve these goals, the grantee will develop, test and implement Fatherhood Development Workshops, grassroots organizations working with low income fathers, develop and implement a Peer Learning College for child support enforcement professionals. These efforts serve to encourage, support, and assist child support agencies that have recognized the barriers these fathers face to becoming responsible fathers. The Ford Foundation is also providing funding for this project.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Child Support Enforcement
FEDERAL CONTACT: Susan A. Notar
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-4606
PIC ID: 6844
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: National Center for Strategic Nonprofit Planning and Community Leadership, Washington, DC
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 9/30/00
TITLE: Factors Related to Gang Membership Resistance
ABSTRACT: This project will investigate and gather data on gangs from two contrasting Los Angeles communities. One area will have street gang activity higher than the city's typical Hispanic and African-American activity level, and the other will have activity below this level. The project is designed to increase understanding of how youth in urban areas with high levels of street gang activity avoid gang involvement. Phase I involves site selection; Phase II includes instrumentation and data identification; Phase III includes data collection and analysis, and Phase IV deals with steps toward validation and report writing. The project anticipates creating a replicable interview protocol, data tapes for other researchers, and a final report on the results (including implications for prevention programming); and plans for extended validation and replications. Principal data sources will be youth interviews, observations by adult residents and practitioners, and agency data. The project will attempt to narrow the gap in knowledge regarding how some youth avoid gang activity through the use of the following comparisons: (1) gang versus nongang members from similar settings; (2) within an area of high gang activity, a community with heavy gang activity, and one with lower gang activity; and (3) individuals and community variables and characteristics in the two contrasting sites. See also PIC ID 5042.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Administration on Children, Youth and Families
FEDERAL CONTACT: Terry Lewis
PHONE NUMBER: 202-205-8102
PIC ID: 5042.1
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: University of Southern California, University Park, Los Angeles CA
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 9/30/99
TITLE: Job Opportunities for Low -Income Individuals (JOLI) Program
ABSTRACT: This project will provide training and technical assistance and evaluation assistance to grantees funded under the Job Opportunities for Low-Income Individuals Program (JOLI). The services provided will assist the grantees in the development of their project designs and in the finalization of their evaluation plans. These plans will provide the Office of Community Services (OCS) with useful insights into both project outcomes and processes. In addition, the services provided will assist OCS to effectively evaluate the impact of the demonstration and to disseminate the project results to the Congress and other interested parties.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Community Services
FEDERAL CONTACT: Nolan Lewis
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-5282
PIC ID: 6430
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Trans-Management Systems Corporation Washington D.C.
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 9/29/02
TITLE: Evaluating Quality of Out-of-Home Care in Kinship Foster Care
ABSTRACT: The Research Triangle Institute, with the American Bar Association's Center on Children and the Law and the Child Welfare League of America, will conduct a study to identify criteria for assessing the quality of out-of-home care provided to children in kinship care foster homes. In addition to identifying indicators of quality in the home and family, the investigator will also examine the quality of kinship foster family care in its larger ecological context. This project will develop a set of instruments to measure the following: quality of care in the kinship family home; contextual factors impacting on kinship family functioning; indicators of child functioning in the home. Instructions for using the instruments in home studies and for case monitoring will be written, and specific recommendations for further research will be provided. These instruments will be useful in agency licensing, training, and monitoring activities. In addition, they will provide a foundation for future research on instrument development, quality of kinship foster family care, and evaluation of child and case outcomes. The study will consist of three phases: (1) item identification and instrument development; (2) assessment of validity and reliability in five sites from two states, including African-American, white, and Hispanic respondents; and (3) creation of a set of recommended instruments for preliminary use in the field. The project will seek to identify, operationalize, and validate core items that signify quality of care across variations in site, culture, and age groups, as well as items that are sensitive to differences in situation, child characteristics, and culture.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Administration on Children, Youth and Families
FEDERAL CONTACT: Cecelia Sudia
PHONE NUMBER: 202-205-8764
PIC ID: 6852
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: University of Illinois, Champaign, IL
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 10/1/98
TITLE: Family Preservation and Family Support Services (FP/FS) Implementation Study
ABSTRACT: The 1993 Family Preservation and Support Legislation expands both the array of services provided and the types of families served. This study examines the FP/FS implementation across States and communities, and among different stakeholders over time. It examines the process in all 50 states providing an in-depth look in ten States and 20 communities. Study findings will help to identify areas where further policy guidance is needed to assist States in implementation.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Helen Howerton
PHONE NUMBER: 202-205-3604
PIC ID: 5975
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: James Bell Associates, Inc., Arlington, VA
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 6/20/99
TITLE: National Evaluation of Family Support Programs
ABSTRACT: In September 1994, the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families (ACYF) awarded a contract to conduct a national evaluation of Family Support Programs. The evaluation stems from legislation that provides funding to States for family support and preservation efforts. It represents an innovative attempt to combine knowledge derived from prior and ongoing research with new research studies designed to enhance our understanding about the effects of different programmatic approaches to family support. The study has three parts: (1) a comprehensive review of what is currently known about family support programs and their effects, (2) a phase that focuses on planning and implementing a series of research studies designed to fill the gaps in understanding programs and their effects, and (3) a synthesis of the two earlier parts. The evaluation is a five-year effort. The program and research reviews conducted in the first year will guide the formulation of a research strategy for the remaining years of the project. Up to ten new evaluation studies will be designed to fill gaps in the current knowledge base. These evaluations will be implemented in the second, third and fourth years of the study. The work of the final year will combine the information gained in the preceding years into an integrated and comprehensive report.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Administration on Children, Youth and Families
FEDERAL CONTACT: Mary Bruce-Webb, Ph.D.
PHONE NUMBER: 202-205-8628
PIC ID: 5848
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Abt Associates, Inc. Cambridge, MA
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 9/20/99
TITLE: Evaluation of the Impact of Homelessness on ACYF Programs
ABSTRACT: This study: (1) assessed the impact of homelessness on programs run by the Administration for Children, Youth, and Families (ACYF); and (2) identified creative and successful service models that address the problem. The two-year evaluation was intended to determine the service demands placed upon ACYF programs serving homeless families, children, and youth. The evaluation involved: (1) conducting site visits; (2) collecting information from service providers for the homeless, administrators, and representatives of local service delivery networks in 40 communities; (3) examining programs supported by ACYF; (4) reviewing non-ACYF sponsored programs; and (5) conducting a small-scale longitudinal study of homeless people and the impact of services upon them. Five local programs will serve as case studies. The results of the review focus on key strategies for increasing the effectiveness of ACYF programs and on measures that could help reduce risk of homelessness.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Administration on Children, Youth and Families
FEDERAL CONTACT: Helen Raikes, Ph.D.
PHONE NUMBER: 202-205-2247
PIC ID: 4396
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Price Waterhouse Washington D.C.
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 9/30/99
TITLE: Evaluation of Transitional Living Program for Homeless Youth
ABSTRACT: This evaluation of the Transitional Living Program (TLP) for Homeless Youth will determine: (1) the number and characteristics of homeless youth served; (2) the type of activities carried out; (3) the program's effectiveness in alleviating the immediate problems of homeless youth; (4) project effectiveness in preparing homeless youth for self-sufficiency and in helping them decide upon future education, employment, and independent living; and (6) the ability of such projects to strengthen family relationships and encourage the resolution of intra-familial problems through counseling and the development of self-sufficient skills. Data were collected in a three part structured interview: a pre-program baseline, an interview at program exit, and an interview six months after program completion. Data will also be collected on comparison youth at corresponding points in time. Overall, 600 TLP participants and an equal number of comparison youth have been sampled over a two-year period.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Administration on Children, Youth and Families
FEDERAL CONTACT: Henry Doan, Ph.D.
PHONE NUMBER: 202-260-2667
PIC ID: 4397
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: CSR, Incorporated Washington, D.C.
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 9/30/99
TITLE: Home Visiting Services Demonstration
ABSTRACT: The demonstrations will test whether adding weekly home visitor services will result in helping first-time teen mothers better support themselves and their children while promoting positive parenting and reductions in repeat childbearing. The home visitors are paraprofessionals. The demonstration sites are Chicago, Illinois; Dayton, Ohio; and Portland, Oregon.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Girley Wright
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-5070
PIC ID: 5980
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: University of Pennsylvania, Graduate School of Education, Philadelphia, PA
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 12/31/98
TITLE: Project REFRESH: Research and Evaluation of Foster Children's Reception into Environmentally Supportive Homes
ABSTRACT: Little is known about everyday occurrences in foster family homes. Assessment tools and evaluation protocols are needed to examine factors affecting quality and satisfaction with care in kinship/non-kinship placements. Project REFRESH, a three-year study, identifies factors affecting quality of care and children's integration into kinship/non-kinship foster settings. Objectives are to: (1) evaluate quality of care, (2) evaluate participants' satisfaction with care, (3) assess perceived quality and quantity of caregiver training, (4) test an integration model, (5) develop an assessment tool and evaluation protocol, and (6) disseminate project results. This case study design assesses children's integration processes and juxtaposes integration and quality, and satisfaction with care, in kinship/non-kinship settings. Variables examined during family interviews are: (1) status, (2) time, (3) space, (4) resources and (5) language. Members and associated caseworkers of 60 kinship/non-kinship families serve as data sources in family interaction assessment. A subsample of 10 families/caseworkers will participate in a qualitative component. Data collection methods include (1) interviews, (2) questionnaires, (3) observations, (4) children's drawings, (5) rating scales and (6) videotaped family interaction sessions. Based on the findings, an assessment tool and evaluation protocol will be developed and tested to aid in placement decisions. An immediate benefit is a richer understanding of kinship and non-kinship foster placements. The ultimate benefit is the creation of frameworks within which to assess the quality of services to foster children.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Administration on Children, Youth and Families
FEDERAL CONTACT: Cecelia Sudia
PHONE NUMBER: 202-205-8764
PIC ID: 6851
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: University of Oregon, Family Studies Center, Corvallis, OR
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 6/30/99
TITLE: National Study of Outcomes for Children Placed in Foster Care with Relatives
ABSTRACT: This study examines: (1) the outcomes for children and families in the various configurations of relative foster care compared to the configurations of non-relative foster care, and (2) the associated costs of relative foster care compared to the costs of non-relative foster care. An initial survey was conducted in nine selected States to determine the specificity of the information available at the State and local levels pertaining to children currently placed in relative foster care, their birth families, the relatives responsible for their care, and the information pertaining to children formerly in relative foster care. The specific information obtained in this survey was used in the design of a national study to examine children placed in relative foster care compared to those placed in non-relative foster care.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Administration on Children, Youth and Families
FEDERAL CONTACT: Henry Doan, Ph.D.
PHONE NUMBER: 202-260-2667
PIC ID: 5846
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: TransAmerica Systems, Inc. Washington D.C.
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 9/30/99
TITLE: How Decisions to Change the Case Plan Goal Are Initiated
ABSTRACT: The Jane Addams College of Social Work, in collaboration with the National Resource Center for Permanency Planning at the Hunter College School of Social Work of the City University of New York, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, and the New York City Child Welfare Administration proposes a three year study of children entering State custody as infants in Chicago and New York City. The purpose of the study is to identify the factors which facilitate or delay changes in the case plan goal. Data will be collected through in-depth interviews with caseworkers responsible for selected cases. Approximately 600 cases will be selected for interviews to be conducted around the child's anniversary date of entering State custody. Half of the children in each cohort will be living with relatives and others will be living in non-related family foster care at the time of the first case selection. Caseworkers will complete brief follow-up questionnaires at 6 months and 12 months following the initial interviews to determine if the case plan goal changed, who initiated the change, and what factors facilitate or delay the change. In this way, barriers and facilitating conditions which occur in a child's second, third and fourth year in care will be identified. Key informants will be interviewed in the final year of the project to develop an understanding of systems factors which appear to facilitate or hinder changing the case plan goal. Key informants and the questions they are asked will be determined through analysis of data collected at the case level. Products of this study will include three major reports and policy and practice recommendations for facilitating permanence for children entering State custody as infants.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Administration on Children, Youth and Families
FEDERAL CONTACT: Cecelia Sudia
PHONE NUMBER: 202-205-8764
PIC ID: 6848
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Jane Addams College of Social Work, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 9/30/99
TITLE: Factors Related to the Quality of Family Foster Care
ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study is to determine the quality of the foster care experience and the factors that influence it, based on data collected from a sample of 500 families whose children spent time in foster care in Wayne County, Michigan, during 1993. The study examines the relationship between the agency and services characteristics (e.g., private versus public agency, caseload size, staff turnover, continuity of case services, provision of family preservation services, and use of kinship care) and quality foster care. The five components of the quality of foster care experiences are: (1) the health and well-being of the child while in care; (2) maltreatment in care; (3) family continuity; (4) types and numbers of placements; and (5) duration of care and recidivism. Examining the experiences of families whose child(ren) entered care in 1993 will allow analysis of the entire stay in foster care for the majority of foster children, and analysis of a four year span of experiences for those children who remain in care through the end of the study or return to care during that time frame. Analysis of these data will proceed in three stages: (1) determination of the quality of the foster care experience for the children in the sample; (2) multivariate analysis of the factors leading to different levels of quality; and (3) development of alternative models of foster care which maximize the quality of foster care experiences for different types of families. Characteristics of the family, characteristics of the child, and reasons for the child coming into care will be included in the model. This research aims to discover which factors are most significant in affecting the foster care experience for which types of children and families. This study will produce a handbook that can be used for informing agency policy, improving agency practice and training agency staff.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Administration on Children, Youth and Families
FEDERAL CONTACT: Geneva Wave-Rice
PHONE NUMBER: 202-205-8654
PIC ID: 6849
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Ryan, Patricia, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 9/30/99
TITLE: Assessing the Quality of Foster Family Care: An Initiative for the Integration of Research and Practice
ABSTRACT: The underlying mission of this project is to promote quality in the caretaking environments of foster children. The overall goal of the research is to fill the gap in the literature on foster family care by examining the individual characteristics of foster parents across domains, as well as the environmental characteristics of the home. The research design will include a comparison of relative and non-relative foster homes, and a comparison of African-American and Caucasian foster homes. The participants in this study will be drawn from the pool of foster parents and children in Prince George's and Montgomery Counties, MD, which border three quadrants of Washington, D.C. Both counties are socioeconomically and ethnically diverse, and have had an increase in their high-risk populations due to migratory patterns from the District and foreign countries. It is anticipated that 120 families will be recruited from each county for a total of 240 families. Project results will be presented at national and local conferences, submitted to professional journals, and disseminated to policy and program development entities. A major objective of the proposed project is to produce an instrument that can be utilized by social service staff to assess the quality of foster home placements.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Administration on Children, Youth and Families
FEDERAL CONTACT: Geneva Wave-Rice
PHONE NUMBER: 202-205-8654
PIC ID: 6850
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: University of Maryland, Institute for Child Study, College Park, MD
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 9/30/99
TITLE: Prevention of Foster Care Placement of Children at Risk for Domestic Violence
ABSTRACT: The Family Advocate Project (FAP) will build on the existing programs operated by the Family Intervention Center of the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, which provides medical and psycho-social evaluations to battered women and their children. The study will examine 150 mothers assigned to either a study or a control group. The mothers in the study group will receive intensive services in the areas of counseling, housing assistance, legal assistance and health care. Upon entry into the study, the mothers will undergo an extensive evaluation that will focus on control, maternal support, depression symptoms and attitudes toward discipline. The study will look at ways to alleviate the emotional trauma of battered women, and will explore whether the provision of support services to increase self-esteem and coping skills can prevent out-of-home placement or reduce the length of time children spend in foster care. FAP also will develop a replicable foster care prevention model. Finally, FAP is following both the experimental and control groups for a specified time after services are delivered.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Administration on Children, Youth and Families
FEDERAL CONTACT: Cecelia Sudia
PHONE NUMBER: 202-205-8764
PIC ID: 4378
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Children's Hospital Pittsburgh, PA
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 10/1/99
TITLE: National Longitudinal Study of Children and Families in the Child Welfare System
ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study is to describe the outcomes experienced by children and families who come to the attention of the child welfare system, and to gain an understanding of the factors, including system-level and service factors, as well as child and family characteristics, that contribute to those outcomes. The study will select a nationally representative sample of 6,000 children upon entry into the child welfare system. Information on this sample will be collected at baseline and at three annual follow-up interviews from the children and their caregivers, caseworkers, and other agency personnel and service providers. Public use data sets will be prepared following each wave of data collection.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Administration on Children, Youth and Families
FEDERAL CONTACT: Mary Bruce-Webb, Ph.D.
PHONE NUMBER: 202-205-8628
PIC ID: 6748
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Research Triangle Institute Research Triangle Park, NC
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 9/30/03
TITLE: Evaluation of Head Start Family Child Care Homes
ABSTRACT: This evaluation will assess the effectiveness of the Head Start Family Child Care Homes (HSFCCH) demonstration projects, funded by the Agency for Children, Youth, and Families (ACYF) during Fiscal Year 1992. It will determine the quality of Head Start services provided in FCC homes, and whether these services meet quality standards, including Head Start Program Performance Standards. It will also compare services delivered in FCC homes to those delivered in Head Start centers. Eighteen program grants were awarded for a three year project period. Head Start grantees participating in the demonstration have at least forty children in the year prior to kindergarten entrance enrolled in the HSFCC program, and a comparable number of children enrolled in the center-based program. Children are randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. Data will be collected on the cognitive, socio-emotional and physical development of the two cohorts of children participating in the study. A series of interviews will be conducted with parents, family child care providers, grantee staff and administrators. Systematic observation of program service delivery is also employed to assess effectiveness.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Administration on Children, Youth and Families
FEDERAL CONTACT: Louisa Tarullo, Ed.D.
PHONE NUMBER: 202-205-8324
PIC ID: 4975
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: RMC Research Corporation, Portsmouth, NH
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 4/30/99
TITLE: Evaluation of the Head Start/Public School Early Childhood Transition Demonstration
ABSTRACT: This evaluation of the Head Start/Public School Early Childhood Demonstration projects will assess the effectiveness of providing comprehensive, continuous and coordinated services to Head Start families and children from the time of Head Start enrollment through the third grade. Working in concert with local evaluators, the contractor will develop a set of common data collection instruments to be used across all sites. The project will provide data regarding the effectiveness of the Transition Project models in maintaining the gains that children and families achieve while in Head Start. The evaluation and the demonstrations were mandated by the Head Start reauthorization legislation. Other studies completed during the ten years prior to 1992, notably the Head Start Transition Study and Developmental Continuity, did not provide information on the experiences or services extended to children after leaving Head Start. Additionally, these studies collected only limited data on families, the institutions and the community. This study is intended to supplement these other studies.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Administration on Children, Youth and Families
FEDERAL CONTACT: Mary Bruce-Webb, Ph.D.
PHONE NUMBER: 202-205-8628
PIC ID: 4393
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: University of Alabama Birmingham, AL
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 6/20/99
TITLE: Descriptive Study of Families Served by Head Start
ABSTRACT: This three-year descriptive study will provide information on a nationally representative sample of families served by Head Start in forty programs across the country. Through a survey and more intensive case study methods, the study will chart families' demographics, strengths, needs, expectations and experiences within Head Start programs, as well as programmatic efforts to join in partnership with families. (See PIC ID 6331.1)
AGENCY SPONSOR: Administration on Children, Youth and Families
FEDERAL CONTACT: Louisa Tarullo, Ed.D.
PHONE NUMBER: 202-205-8324
PIC ID: 6331
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Abt Associates, Inc. Cambridge, MA
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 7/18/99
TITLE: Evaluation of the Head Start Family Service Center Demonstrations
ABSTRACT: This project conducted an evaluation of the 41 Family Service Center Demonstrations through a consortium of local evaluators. The contractor provided coordination, technical assistance and analysis on common data elements across sites to yield a coordinated and integrated summary of process and impact evaluations. The consortium approach ensured a consistent and technically sound method of evaluating these demonstrations of how Head Start can collaborate with community programs to meet the needs of Head Start families dealing with problems such as illiteracy, substance abuse and unemployment. The contractor also reviewed local evaluation reports to identify lessons to be learned.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Administration on Children, Youth and Families
FEDERAL CONTACT: Henry Doan, Ph.D.
PHONE NUMBER: 202-260-2667
PIC ID: 4394
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Abt Associates, Inc. Cambridge, MA
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 9/30/99
TITLE: Study of the Characteristics of Families Served by Head Start Migrant Programs
ABSTRACT: This study will document and describe the implementation of 26 Head Start Migrant programs. It will provide a profile of Head Start migrant families in the main migratory streams, and generate information on unique issues related to serving migrant families through Head Start programs. It will also document the availability and coordination of services for Head Start families during their migration. Finally, it will provide a national estimate of the number of eligible migrant children versus the number of those children being served by the Migrant Head Start programs. Findings from the study will be used to inform future policy decisions on Head Start migrant programs, as well as the new Early Head Start program for infants and toddlers. Data sources for this study have included Head Start grantee directors, staff and parents, children's health records, State and local agencies and associations providing services to migrant Head Start families, current grantee applications, and On-Site Program Review Instrument reports maintained by the Migrant Programs Branch. A final data source will be one or more of the 3 databases containing information and statistics on the migrant population.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Administration on Children, Youth and Families
FEDERAL CONTACT: Michael Lopez
PHONE NUMBER: 202-205-8212
PIC ID: 4974
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Aquirre International San Mateo, CA
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 9/30/99
TITLE: Descriptive Study of Head Start Bilingual/Multicultural Program Services
ABSTRACT: Head Start currently serves a diverse range of bilingual and multicultural children and families, and has developed innovative strategies to serve the unique needs of these populations. As the number of bilingual and multicultural children and families increases, several issues must be addressed. First, the number, geographic distribution, and sociodemographic characteristics of the Head Start eligible population for different cultural and linguistic groups must be assessed regionally and nationally. The number and nature of bilingual and multicultural children actually served by the Head Start program must also be determined as well as the range of bilingual and multicultural services provided nationally. Finally, there is need for an in-depth assessment of the service models, staff training approaches, community partnerships, and administrative plans and processes of a sample of 30 Head Start programs that have developed innovative methods for addressing diverse cultural and linguistic needs.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Administration on Children, Youth and Families
FEDERAL CONTACT: Henry Doan, Ph.D.
PHONE NUMBER: 202-260-2667
PIC ID: 5845
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: STRA, Inc. Washington D.C.
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 9/30/99
TITLE: Early Head Start Research and Evaluation National Study
ABSTRACT: The Early Head Start National Study will evaluate the effectiveness of the Early Head Start (EHS) program in fifteen diverse communities: Brattleboro, Vermont; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; New York, New York; Washington, D.C.; Sumter, South Carolina; Russellville, Arkansas; Marshalltown, Iowa; Kansas City, Kansas; Kansas City, Missouri; Denver, Colorado; Logan, Utah; Jackson, Michigan; Auburn, Washington; Grandview, Washington; and Venice, California. The study will examine child, family, staff and community outcomes in a sample of 3,400 children and their families, who will be randomly selected into program and comparison groups when the mothers are pregnant or children are under 12 months of age. Assessments of children, families and child care environments will be made when children are 14, 24, and 36 months of age. Service use interviews will be conducted every six months, and programs will be visited each year. The study will produce the following reports: (1) Descriptive Study of EHS Programs; (2) Study of Program Variations; (3) Pathways to Early Head Start Quality; (4) Interim Study of Outcomes; (5) Longitudinal Study of EHS Outcomes; and (6) Selected Policy Papers.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Administration on Children, Youth and Families
FEDERAL CONTACT: Louisa Tarullo, Ed.D.
PHONE NUMBER: 202-205-8324
PIC ID: 3570
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. Plainsboro, NJ
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 9/30/00
TITLE: Management-Focused Welfare Reform Evaluation Data
Access and Policy Manual Development
ABSTRACT: The purpose of
this contract is to develop and pilot test (a) a software package that
organizes public assistance evaluation data into readily accessible formats
that can be continually accessed and used for timely and responsive
decision-making; (b) a policy analysis manual that assists users in
understanding how to read and apply continually accessed outcome or impact data
to program or policy decisions; and © technical documentation for systems
personnel and regular users. Tools that provide administrators access to
evaluation data in "real time" rather than when analysis is complete could mean
that more policy decisions will be made based on systematically gathered
information than would otherwise be the case.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Mark Fucello
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-4538
PIC ID: 6836
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. Princeton, NJ
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 10/30/98
TITLE: Examination of State Diversion Programs
ABSTRACT: This project will collect information from all States regarding the policies and practices the constitute diversion programs and/or activities designed to divert Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) applications. More detailed case studies will be conducted in five to seven States in order to document actual implementation and operation of the diversion policies and activities. A major focus of the study will be an examination of linkages between Medicaid enrollment and diversion programs/activities. The study will also attempt to examine whether and how local communities and institutions, particularly traditional safety net providers, might be affected by diversion programs and/or activities. The project will address the following issues: (1) how state diversion programs or activities are being conceived, structured, and implemented; (2) the effects of these programs/activities on participants, particularly with respect to Medicaid enrollment; (3) how local community institutions are affected, particularly by Medicaid enrollment rates; and (4) whether strategies for monitoring changes in Medicaid enrollment rates can be developed based on existing data.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Nancye Campbell
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-5760
PIC ID: 6759
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: The George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 11/30/98
TITLE: Welfare Policy Typology Project
ABSTRACT: With the enactment of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), there are few, if any, strict Federal requirements for welfare programs, and States are not required to submit descriptions of their policies in any detail. This project will lay the groundwork for a database that would contain key information about State welfare policies (including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), State-funded maintenance-of-effort programs, and Federally funded child care assistance programs.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Alan Yaffe
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-4537
PIC ID: 6837
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Urban Institute Washington, D.C.
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 12/31/98
TITLE: Neighbors, Services Providers, and Welfare Reform in Los Angeles County
ABSTRACT: This project will examine neighborhood variation in the availability of public and private social services throughout Los Angeles County. It will investigate how agencies are adapting to the current and anticipated changes in demand for their services as a result of welfare reform.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Girley Wright
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-5070
PIC ID: 6763
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Rand Corporation Santa Monica, CA
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 3/31/99
TITLE: Post-Employment Services Demonstration
ABSTRACT: Policymakers and program operators recognize that job loss among newly employed welfare recipients is a major barrier to increasing the rate at which recipients obtain employment and leave welfare. Numerous studies have shown that employment is one of the primary avenues by which single parents can become self-sufficient and end a period of welfare dependency. However, employment has been found to be an uncertain path out of dependency, because a high proportion of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) recipients who become employed lose their jobs and return to public assistance, often within a few months. The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is sponsoring a four-site demonstration and evaluation to address this important aspect of a comprehensive welfare-to-work strategy. The demonstration is being operated in the following locations: Riverside, California; Chicago, Illinois; Portland, Oregon; and San Antonio, Texas. The Illinois Department of Public Aid is the lead State for the demonstration. Under the demonstration, each site is providing job retention and re-employment services to recently employed Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS) program participants.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Lawrence Wolf
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-5984
PIC ID: 5974
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. Plainsboro, NJ
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 4/20/99
TITLE: Wisconsin Pay for Performance/Self-Sufficiency First Evaluation
ABSTRACT: Under the self-sufficiency first portion of this Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) demonstration, applicants for AFDC who were not exempt from Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) had to complete 60 hours of JOBS activities prior to approval. Under the Pay for Performance portion of the demonstration, recipients were required to participate in up to 40 hours of JOBS activities per week, and for each hour the recipient did not participate, the AFDC grant and food stamp allotment was reduced by the Federal minimum wage.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Leonard Sternbach
PHONE NUMBER: 415-437-7671
PIC ID: 6838
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: State of Wisconsin, Dept. of Workforce Development, Madison, WI
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 5/30/99
TITLE: Florida Family Transition Program (FTP) Evaluation Project
ABSTRACT: This project continues an evaluation of a welfare reform waiver demonstration in Escambia County, Florida, that includes a 24-month time limit on cash assistance (with some exceptions), increased earned income disregards and asset limits, increased eligibility for two-parent families, and school attendance requirements for teenagers. The evaluation will produce process, impact, and cost-benefit studies using a random-assignment experimental design, and will examine the effects of FTP on individuals' participation in program activities, welfare use, and self-sufficiency.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Alan Yaffe
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-4537
PIC ID: 6820
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Florida Department of Children and Families, Tallahassee, FL
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 4/30/00
TITLE: Welfare Reform Studies and Analyses (Rural TANF)
ABSTRACT: The purpose of this research project is to conduct an in-depth process evaluation of family response to the implementation of welfare reform in three remote rural counties of northeastern Washington State: Stevens, Ferry and Pend Oreille. The study will specifically look at family strategies to attain economic self-sufficiency, support for families from social networks, and assistance provided by community agencies, including transportation and child care. The major research questions are: (1) How do families formulate and act upon strategies to attain economic self-sufficiency in an environment of scarcity? (2) What is the relationship of a family's social network to their effectiveness in formulating strategies and successfully carrying out a plan to implement those strategies? (3) How do the actions of community agencies and organizations carrying out the tasks of welfare reform respond to family strategies? A variety of instruments, including structured interviews with families and agencies, and instruments to measure social supports and difficult life circumstances, will be used to measure the TANF implementation process effects on client behaviors and circumstances.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Jamie Kendall
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-5600
PIC ID: 6834
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Eastern Washington University, Cheney, WA
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 4/30/00
TITLE: Family Investment Program (FIP)
ABSTRACT: This study continues the evaluation of a welfare reform demonstration combining program changes designed to ease a family's transition from welfare to work with strict requirements that recipients participate, the Family Investment Agreement (FIA), under Iowa's employment program. The FIA details the steps a family will take to become self-sufficient and establishes a time frame for doing so. See also PIC ID 6762.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Girley Wright
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-5070
PIC ID: 6761
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: State of Iowa, Department of Human Services, Des Moines, IA
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 6/30/00
TITLE: Youth Employment and Training Initiative (YETI)
ABSTRACT: The State will complete an evaluation of its Youth Employment and Training Initiative (YETI), which operated as a welfare reform demonstration from November 1993 until July 1997, when TANF was implemented in the State. YETI focused on inner-city youth in welfare families and provided counseling and classes designed to (1) help participants to stay in high-school and graduate, (2) increase life skills and self-esteem and reduce the incidence of pregnancies and substance abuse, (3) increase job-readiness and vocational skills, and (4) facilitate the transition from school to work. The overall objective of the project is to reduce the likelihood of welfare dependency among inner-city youth.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: John Maniha
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-5372
PIC ID: 6821
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Illinois Department of Human Services Springfield, IL
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 7/1/00
TITLE: Evaluation of Community-based Job Retention Programs
ABSTRACT: This project includes two phases. In Phase I, the project will provide a detailed implementation analysis and short-term outcome findings for participants receiving various mixes of job retention and post-employment services. The services will be provided to about 700 employed TANF recipients through five community-based neighborhood service organizations in Pittsburgh that received funding through The Pittsburgh Foundation (referred to as the GAPS program). A common set of services will be provided, but within the context of different existing service delivery systems among the community-based organizations (CBOs). Phase II, in project years 2 and 3, will include State-funded job retention programs in addition to the GAPS projects. The project will address such issues as: (1) the post-employment services that are most instrumental in helping newly employed TANF recipients maintain employment; (2) the organizational features important to successful delivery of job retention services; and (3) the appropriate duration of services.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Nancye Campbell
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-5760
PIC ID: 6760
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Pittsburgh Foundation, Pittsburgh PA
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 9/29/00
TITLE: State Welfare Reform Evaluation Track 2
ABSTRACT: This project, which complements a separately funded evaluation being completed on Iowa's Family Investment Program (FIP), consists of two studies: (1) a study of repeat limited benefit plan (LBP) assignments; and (2) a study of post-employment services. The study of repeat LBP assignments will describe the experiences and outcomes of welfare cases that have been assigned to the LBP more than once. The study of post-employment services will describe and compare standard and enhanced post-employment services and assess their contribution to a client's progress toward self-sufficiency. See also PIC ID 6761.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Girley Wright
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-5070
PIC ID: 6762
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: State of Iowa, Department of Human Services, Des Moines, IA
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 9/29/00
TITLE: Maryland Family Investment Program Evaluation
ABSTRACT: This is a Statewide process study to examine and document front-line assessment and allocation practices under TANF in Maryland's 24 local jurisdictions. The objective of this analysis is to help clarify the relationship between agency factors and county-level characteristics by describing county-level variation in front-line procedures.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Mark Fucello
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-4538
PIC ID: 6823
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: University of Maryland, School of Social Work and Community Planning, Baltimore, MD
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 9/29/00
TITLE: Evaluation of the North Carolina Work First Program
ABSTRACT: This project will evaluate North Carolina's Work First program which requires TANF families to work towards self-sufficiency. Through Work First, parents can receive short-term training and families can receive child care and other services.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Girley Wright
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-5070
PIC ID: 6829
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: North Carolina DHHS, Raleigh, NC
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 9/29/00
TITLE: Evaluation of Los Angeles Jobs-First GAIN
ABSTRACT: Using experimental methodology, this project will consist of an implementation/process study, impact study and a cost-benefit study. It will evaluate the results of changing Los Angeles GAIN, a human resource focused welfare-to-work program, into Los Angeles Jobs-First GAIN, a labor force attachment strategy. The change involved: (1) strengthening the job club and having case managers make immediate job activity referrals universally; (2) locating job developers in GAIN offices; (3) using goals and performance-based contracts to reinforce the Work First message within GAIN; (4) change program guidelines and staff training to communicate importance of finding employment; and (5) informing enrollees of the financial advantage of even minimum wage jobs.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Lawrence Wolf
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-5984
PIC ID: 6840
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation, New York, NY
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 9/30/00
TITLE: Front-Line Management and Practice Study
ABSTRACT: This is a study of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) implementation at the local level, and is embedded in the larger SUNY-Albany State Capacity study, which is a 20 State implementation analysis. The principal objective of the Front-Line Management and Practice Study is to evaluate whether front-line workers are implementing the welfare goals and policies established by the States. Locally-based researchers will conduct in-depth observations in three local offices from each of four States. Sites have not yet been chosen, but no two offices will be selected from one county/city. A criterion for site selection dictates that the State give primary emphasis to work and job preparation, thus enabling the researchers to make comparisons among management practices that aim to affect the same sort of policy outcomes. Some sites will be chosen because they use traditional rule-based management and others because they rely on performance-based management.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Mark Fucello
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-4538
PIC ID: 6841
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: State University of New York at Albany, Albany, NY
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 9/30/00
TITLE: Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP)
ABSTRACT: Using experimental methodology, this project will evaluate Minnesota's Family Investment Program (MFIP) with the following provisions:(1) increasing disregards below a specified income threshold; (2) requiring long-term recipients to participate in intensive employment/training services, including case management; and (3) consolidating benefits and simplifying rules for TANF, GA and Food Stamps.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Lawrence Wolf
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-5984
PIC ID: 6824
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation, New York, NY
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 12/31/00
TITLE: New Hampshire Employment and Training Program Process and Outcome Study
ABSTRACT: This Process and Outcome Study goes hand-in-hand with the New Hampshire Impact Study. By using surveys of recipients, staff and employers, this process study will determine how Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) was planned, designed and implemented. There will also be several special studies concerning diversion from welfare, sanctions, child care and transitional case management.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Leonard Sternbach
PHONE NUMBER: 415-437-7671
PIC ID: 6827
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: New Hampshire DHHS Concord, NH
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 9/29/01
TITLE: Training, Education, Employment, and Management (TEEM) Project
ABSTRACT: This project will produce a process evaluation of the TEEM project. The TEEM project consolidates TANF and LIHEAP into a single cash assistance program. TEEM includes the following major provisions: (1) a social contract, (2) increased work incentives, (3) sanctions, (4) raised asset limits, and (5) incentives for family stability and marriage.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Girley Wright
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-5070
PIC ID: 6830
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: North Dakota DHHS, Bismarck ND
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 9/29/01
TITLE: Child Impact Studies
ABSTRACT: This project augments the existing welfare reform demonstration evaluations in five States (Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Iowa and Minnesota) to assess the effects of different welfare reform approaches on child well-being outcomes, including school achievement, behavioral problems, and health status. The effect of intervening mechanisms, such as the quality and regularity of the home environment, child care arrangements, and parental employment and income, will also be examined.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Alan Yaffe
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-4537
PIC ID: 6847
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Multi-Professional Services Contracts. Washington, DC
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 9/29/01
TITLE: California Welfare Reform Impact Evaluation
ABSTRACT: This demonstration will attempt to estimate the impact of California's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. Generally, impacts will be assessed by comparing outcomes in the post-TANF period with the pre-TANF period. The impact of various county programs may also be examined by comparing outcomes among the counties. In developing models to estimate impacts, California will use a 10 percent Statewide sample of welfare recipients. These samples date back to 1987, providing a rich database to use to test the models. The sample data consist of Department of Social Services information on Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medi-Cal and foster care. These data have been supplemented by data on unemployment and disability insurance, and Department of Health Services data on births. The major research questions concern the impact of State's TANF program on self-sufficiency, family composition, and child well-being. To the extent possible, the impacts of TANF on different subgroups will be considered. Subgroups will include racial and ethnic subgroups, as well as urban and rural subdivisions. Attempts will also be made to determine the impacts of differing implementation of TANF among the counties.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Leonard Sternbach
PHONE NUMBER: 415-437-7671
PIC ID: 5548
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: California Department of Social Services, Sacramento, CA
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 3/31/02
TITLE: Achieving Change for Texans
ABSTRACT: This project continues an evaluation of the State of Texas' original welfare reform demonstration. The demonstration consists of four major components: (1) a number of policies implemented Statewide addressing such recipient responsibilities as immunization for children, school attendance and adherence to a personal responsibility agreement; (2) a number of policies implemented in counties operating JOBS, the primary feature of which is differential benefit time limits based on consideration of work experience and the need for education; (3) a number of policy options implemented in four counties, providing for individual development accounts and fill-the-gap budgeting; and (4) a one-county pilot offering a check for $1,000 in lieu of regular Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), with no re-application for benefits for one year.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: John Maniha
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-5372
PIC ID: 6765
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: State of Texas, Department of Human Services, Austin, TX
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 3/31/02
TITLE: Evaluation of Arizona Employing and Moving People Off Welfare and Encouraging Responsibility Program (EMPOWER)
ABSTRACT: Under this Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) demonstration, recipient families are encouraged to become self-sufficient by: (1) time-limiting cash assistance for adult recipients, (2) imposing a family cap, (3) extending transitional Medicaid and child care to 24 months, (4) eliminating the 100 hour rule for two parent families, (5) requiring unwed minor parents to live with a responsible adult, and (6) requiring 13 to 16 year old parents to participate in Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS).
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Leonard Sternbach
PHONE NUMBER: 415-437-7671
PIC ID: 6818
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Arizona State Department of Economic Security Phoenix, AZ
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 4/30/02
TITLE: State Welfare Reform Evaluation Project (Jobs First)
ABSTRACT: Using experimental methodology, this project will continue an originally planned evaluation of the Jobs First demonstration, later incorporated into the State's TANF plan. The evaluation includes: (1) a short (21 month) eligibility time limit for non-exempt recipients; (2) 24 months of transitional Medicaid; (3) liberalized disregards; (4) "Family Cap", limited eligibility for children born while the family receives assistance; (5) strong job search emphasis, with employability assessment only if a search fails to yield a job; and (6) progressive sanctions for non-compliance.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Lawrence Wolf
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-5984
PIC ID: 6819
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation, New York, NY
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 4/30/02
TITLE: Indiana Welfare Reform Evaluation Project
ABSTRACT: This project continues the evaluation of implementation and impacts of the "Indiana Manpower Placement and Comprehensive Training Program" (IMPACT) welfare reform waiver demonstration, now operating under Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Richard Jakopic
PHONE NUMBER: 202-205-5930
PIC ID: 6869
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Indiana Family and Social Services Administration Indianapolis, IN
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 4/30/02
TITLE: Welfare Restructuring Project (WRP)
ABSTRACT: This project continues the evaluation of a welfare reform demonstration project. One of the key features is a time limit that requires some adult recipients to participate in community work experience after fifteen months (for two-parent families) or thirty months (for single-parent families) of receiving cash assistance.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Girley Wright
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-5070
PIC ID: 6764
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: State of Vermont, Department of Social Welfare, Waterbury, VT
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 5/31/02
TITLE: Minnesota WorkFIRST Program (Track 2)
ABSTRACT: Using a quasi-experimental, pre-test/post-test comparison group design consisting of both an impact and process study, this study will compare the WorkFirst and MFIP-S programs. WorkFirst uses a rapid labor force attachment strategy versus MFIP-S, which represents a progressive labor force attachment model.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Lawrence Wolf
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-5984
PIC ID: 6825
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Minnesota Department of Human Services, Health Care Admin. St. Paul, MN
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 9/29/02
TITLE: Evaluation of the Employment First Program
ABSTRACT: This process evaluation will primarily focus on implementation and operation of the Nebraska Employment First Program and will conclude a special study to assess successful case management. In addition, a separate impact evaluation will be carried out comparing an intensive up-front job search strategy with the "traditional" up-front assessment approach.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Administration on Children, Youth and Families
FEDERAL CONTACT: Michael Dubinsky
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-3442
PIC ID: 6826
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Nebraska State Department of Health and Human Services Lincoln, NE
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 9/29/02
TITLE: Impact Study of the New Hampshire Employment Program
ABSTRACT: This demonstration is designed to determine the impact of New Hampshire's entire Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. It will attempt to determine the effects of TANF on caseload and on employment and earnings, as well as the effects on areas such as foster care placements, child abuse and neglect, homelessness and child support collections.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Leonard Sternbach
PHONE NUMBER: 415-437-7671
PIC ID: 6828
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: New Hampshire DHHS Concord, NH
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 9/29/02
TITLE: Virginia Independence Program
ABSTRACT: This project evaluates the State's TANF implementation, which continues policies begun under its welfare reform demonstration, Virginia Independence Program (VIP). Among the policies to be studied under the state's VIP are: (1) diversionary assistance, (2) a family cap, (3) time-limited assistance, (4) person responsibility agreements, (5) expanded earned income disregards, (6) school attendance requirements, (7) paternity establishment rules, (8) requiring minor parents to live in adult settings, (9) child immunization requirements, and (10) incentives promoting individual savings accounts and Medicaid and child care benefits.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: John Maniha
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-5372
PIC ID: 6831
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Virginia Commonwealth University, Dept of Health Administration Richmond, VA
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 9/29/02
TITLE: Assessing Effective Welfare-to-Work Strategies for Domestic Violence Victims and Survivors in the Options/Opciones Project
ABSTRACT: This research project will study the effective strategies in addressing the needs of abused women as they try to enter the labor market. This project will document the needs of battered girls and women on welfare, and will identify successful strategies employed to eliminate violence and exit welfare.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Mary Ann MacKenzie
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-5272
PIC ID: 6833
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Taylor Institute Chicago, IL
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 9/29/02
TITLE: National Study of Child Care for Low Income Families
ABSTRACT: This project will study the low income child care market in 25 communities in 16 States with a sub-study to examine the family child care market in 5 neighborhoods drawn from these communities. The information provided from the study will help inform the issues surrounding subsidized child care and its implementation by the States, with particular attention to the provisions in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) over time, as well as how significant shifts in welfare policy and programs affect the child care market for welfare recipients and the working poor at the community level.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Richard Jakopic
PHONE NUMBER: 202-205-5930
PIC ID: 6845
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Abt Associates, Inc. Cambridge, MA
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 9/29/02
TITLE: Ohio Works First Evaluation
ABSTRACT: This demonstration will evaluate the Ohio Works First provisions and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) policies which include: (1)completion of a self-sufficiency contract, (2) more generous income disregards, (3) a 36-out-of-any-60 month time limit, and (4) whole family sanctions. In Ohio, local jurisdictions have great flexibility in running their TANF programs, and this evaluation will attempt to determine the differential effects of the various local programs.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Nancye Campbell
PHONE NUMBER: 202-401-5760
PIC ID: 6758
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: State of Ohio, Department of Human Services, Columbus, OH
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 9/30/02
TITLE: Welfare-to-Work: Monitoring the Impact of Welfare Reform on American Indian Families with Children
ABSTRACT: The overall purpose of this project is to monitor and document the implementation, and assess the impact of, welfare reform on American Indian families and reservations in Arizona caused by the evolving State and tribal responses to Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). Extensive demographic, contextual, socioeconomic and case-level data are to be compiled from a variety of sources, and analyzed in order to document the baseline conditions and changing patterns, and to identify short-term outcomes. The researchers will: (1) use existing national data (e.g., Census, CPS, and SIPP) on American Indians to provide a context for the study of Arizona, (2) collect quarterly case- or household-level data on the welfare recipients on Indian reservations in Arizona to examine their characteristics and monitor changes in their situations under TANF, and (3) track and document TANF implementation by tribal entities using content analysis of relevant documents, in-depth telephone interviews and site visits. The evaluation of the long-term impact of the reform program is to be undertaken during the last four years of the project.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Hossein Faris, Ph.D.
PHONE NUMBER: 202-205-4922
PIC ID: 6832
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Washington University, School of Social Work, St. Louis MO
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 9/30/02
TITLE: Jobs-Plus: Community Revitalization Initiative for Public Housing Families
ABSTRACT: This is a seven and one-half year demonstration program aimed at dramatically increasing employment, earnings and job retention among the working-age residents of family housing developments, a large percentage of whom are on public welfare or at risk of dependency. The program supports the planning, development, implementation and evaluation of locally-based approaches to providing saturation-level employment opportunities, including a combination of training and supportive services, financial and other incentives (occasioned by the welfare reform and new public housing policies), and vigorous efforts to rebuild and strengthen the community in support of work. The bottom line question for the Jobs-Plus Demonstration is: Does the program achieve its primary goal of dramatically increasing employment and earnings among public housing residents? And, does a large increase in employment and earnings lead to a better quality of life for residents? Questions concerning the sites' implementation strategies and experiences are also important and will be a major focus of the research. The evaluation design developed for the demonstration combines experimental and quasi-experimental methods in an unusually rigorous approach for studying the effectiveness of a place-based comprehensive social intervention. (It uses randomly-selected sets of treatment and comparison sites.) The study will use administrative records data as well as survey data covering a wide variety of outcomes. It will examine whether the program's impacts vary across sites and whether certain program strategies are likely to yield better results. The evaluation will include comprehensive cost and benefit-cost analyses.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Hossein Faris, Ph.D.
PHONE NUMBER: 202-205-4922
PIC ID: 6835
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation, New York, NY
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 12/31/03
TITLE: Capitalizing the Bridge from Welfare to Independence (CBWWI)
ABSTRACT: This project is designed to expand the employment and training services provided by Goodwill Industries by constructing new centers in four counties in southwest Florida and six parishes in southeast Louisiana. Once constructed, the centers are expected to be self-supporting (i.e., no need for continuing public support) by utilizing the business activity and payroll generated by the donated goods business.
AGENCY SPONSOR: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
FEDERAL CONTACT: Girley Wright
HONE NUMBER: 202-401-5070
PIC ID: 6755
PERFORMER ORGANIZATION: Goodwill Industries of Manasota, Inc., Sarasota, FL and Goodwill Industries of Acadiana, Inc., Scott, LA
PROJECTED DATE OF COMPLETION: 6/30/07
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