FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday, July 9, 2004
Contact: Chris Downing
ACF Press Office (202) 401-9215
Welfare-to-Work Study Underscores Benefits of State Flexibility
A new report, titled “What Works Best for Whom: Effects of Welfare and Work Policies by Subgroup,” examines an array of welfare policies to help states determine which programs and policies best help single parents transition from welfare to work. The report examines the effects of over 25 welfare-to-work policies in the following broad categories:
- job-search-first, which initially requires most recipients to look for work;
- education-first, which initially requires most recipients to enroll in education or training;
- employment-focused mixed-activity, which stresses the importance of finding work but allows less job-ready recipients to enroll in education or training;
- education-focused mixed-activity, which uses a mix of initial activities but does not stress employment; and
- earnings supplements, which provides extra financial payments to welfare recipients who work.
Some of the key findings of the study include:
- earnings and employment increased the most in programs where job search was stressed more than education and programs that used earnings supplements to encourage employment;
- the most effective programs across a range of subgroups were employment-focused mixed-activity programs; and
- earnings supplement programs alone, which allowed people to combine welfare with work, consistently increased income.
“This report gives further support for the President’s bold plan to move to the next phase of welfare reform,” said Dr. Wade F. Horn, assistant secretary for children and families. “The President’s plan parallels these research findings in that, while continuing to emphasize work, it also would allow, for the first time, activities designed to remove barriers to employment to count as ‘work’ for up to 3 months in any 24 month period, including participation in education, substance abuse treatment or rehabilitation services. It is, therefore, important that the Congress reauthorize the landmark welfare reform program to reflect the President’s bold proposal so that millions of more Americans currently trapped on welfare can achieve self-sufficiency.”
The report was derived from a study conducted by MDRC, a nonprofit, nonpartisan social policy research organization, under a grant from the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), located within the Department of Health and Human Services.
To view this report, go to http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/whatw_best/whatw_best_title.html.
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