Appendix A
Major Current Welfare-Related Research Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
This appendix presents two tables that summarize the ongoing research programs of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) and the Administration for Children and Families (ACF). These two agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) support research work on welfare programs and the well-being of the populations they serve. Table A-1 describes ASPE-sponsored studies, and Table A-2 describes ACF-sponsored studies. There is some overlap between the two as several projects are jointly sponsored.
The tables are organized into broad classifications by the type of study: descriptive and monitoring studies; studies of welfare leavers, divertees and related groups; studies that use experimental evaluation methods; implementation and process studies; program description data; other studies that often have multiple purposes (and so do not fit easily into one category); and projects that are focused on data development and providing technical assistance for data or methodological improvements.
TABLE A-1 Major Welfare-Related Research Sponsored by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
Project Title |
Purpose |
Jurisdictions Covered |
Descriptive and Monitoring Studies |
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Contingent Employment Among the Low-Income and Low-Skilled |
Use CPS and other relevant data to describe the prevalence of contingent employment among welfare and low-income populations. |
All states |
Grants and Technical Assistance to Advance States’ Child Indicators Initiatives |
Promote state efforts to develop and monitor indicators of the health and well-being of children in their states and to institutionalize this monitoring effort in the states. |
13 states: AK, DE, FL, GA, HA, ME, MD, MN, NY, RI, UT, VT, WV |
Indicators of Welfare Dependence |
Annual publication of indicators of dependence on public welfare and cash assistance programs. |
All states |
Los Angeles Study of Families and Communities (RAND) |
ASPE is providing support to this longitudinal survey of families, children and their neighborhoods to collect information on health insurance coverage and health status among children and families. |
Los Angeles |
Project on Devolution and Urban Change (Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation [MDRC]) |
ASPE is providing support to this multipurpose and multimethod study. |
Cleveland, Miami, Los Angeles, Philadelphia |
Transition Events in the Dynamics of Poverty |
Describe the dynamics of entry and exit to and from poverty for different populations such as single working-age adults, children, families and the elderly. Also describe the extent to which different events account for exit from and entry to poverty. |
All states |
Trends in the Demand for Emergency Services Providers |
Describe patterns of usage of emergency assistance services (e.g., homeless shelters and food banks) between 1993–2000, during the economic expansion and before and after PRWORA. |
Various sites across country |
Trends in the Well-Being of Children and Youth |
Annual report on trends in indicators of economic well-being of children and youth. |
All states |
Trends in the Well-Being of Low-Income Americans |
Reference book describing trends in income, poverty, and other economic measures of the low income population over time. |
All states |
Understanding the Declines in the Teen Birth Rate |
Use data from National Survey of Family Growth to describe data on sexual activity, partner characteristics and contraceptive use for women who were teens in 1995. Simulation models will try to decipher what factors are associated with teen pregnancy. |
National |
Welfare Reform, the Economic and Health Status of Immigrants, and the Organizations that Serve Them (Urban Institute) |
Study of immigrant families and their communities. |
Los Angeles and New York |
Studies of Welfare Leavers, Divertees and Related Groups |
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Effect of Job Accessibility and Neighborhood Characteristics on the Employment Stability of Welfare Leavers in an Urban Labor Market (Case Western Reserve University) |
Examine post-TANF exit employment, earnings and wage trajectories over a 13-month period of women leaving welfare. Includes individual level data, local labor market data, and measures of neighborhood distress. |
Cleveland metropolitan area |
Employment, Earnings, and Recidivism: How Do Entrants to TANF Differ from Entrants to AFDC (Washington University) |
Compare outcomes of five cohorts of welfare recipients. Pre-TANF, early TANF and later TANF cohorts will be examined. Employment stability, earnings, welfare exits and recidivism will be examined. Uses state- and county-level administrative data. |
North Carolina |
Employment Opportunities for the Welfare-to-Work Target Population in Rural and Small Metropolitan Areas |
Studies the impact of welfare leavers on the wages and unemployment levels of welfare leavers in rural and small metropolitan areas between 1993–1998. |
11 sites throughout country |
Project Title |
Purpose |
Jurisdictions Covered |
MDRC Analysis of Caseload Composition and the Non-Working Welfare Leavers |
Examines three groups of low-income populations: (1) working welfare leavers; (2) welfare stayers; and (3) nonworking welfare leavers. Describes and compares characteristics of each group. Uses data from seven evaluation studies (including six experimental studies). |
Various sites |
South Carolina Welfare Outcomes Grant |
Multiyear effort to survey and link administrative data on multiple cohorts of former welfare recipients. |
South Carolina |
Welfare Outcomes Studies—Fiscal 1998 (Continuation grants also issued for some grantees in fiscal 1999) |
Grants to 13 states or counties to track two cohorts of welfare leavers, usually a pre-PRWORA and post-PRWORA cohort with administrative and survey data. |
AZ; Cuyahoga County, OH; DC; FL; GA; IL; L.A. County, CA; MA; MO; NY; San Mateo County, Consortia, CA; WA; WI |
Welfare Diversion and Leaver Studies fiscal 1999 |
Grants to seven states and counties to track the outcomes of diverted applicants and potential applicants for TANF. Also includes studies of TANF leavers. |
AZ; IL; IA; NY; TX; WA, Contra Costa and Alameda Counties, CA |
Welfare Outcomes Grants Results Synthesis |
Project will examine the results of all the welfare leaver grant projects and synthesize findings. Project will also use data from as many grantees as possible to conduct further analysis. |
Across all 13 leaver grantee locations |
Wisconsin, Institute for Research on Poverty Welfare Leaver Project |
Follow-up to a previous project that tracked a 1995 cohort of welfare leavers with administrative data. This project will track another cohort of AFDC leavers who left AFDC/TANF in late 1997 in the early stages of implementation of WI-Works. |
Wisconsin |
Experimental Studies |
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National Evaluation of Welfare-to-Work Strategies (formerly JOBS program evaluation) |
Evaluates alternative welfare-to-work strategies in seven sites. Strategies employed range from work first strategies to human capital development strategies. Impact evaluations, process studies and cost-benefit analyses conducted in each site. |
Riverside, CA; Atlanta, GA; Grand Rapids and Detroit, MI; Columbus, OH; Oklahoma City, OK; Portland, OR |
Evaluation of the New Jersey Substance Abuse Research Demonstration (joint with ACF) |
Compares impacts on randomly assigned participants of two different intervention models that are aimed at improving post-welfare prospects of TANF recipients with substance abuse problems. |
Two New Jersey counties |
National Evaluation of Welfare-to-Work Strategies Grant Program |
Program provides grants to states and communities to develop programs that promote job opportunities and employment preparation for harder to serve TANF recipients. Evaluation uses multiple methods: (1) description of grantees; (2) in-depth process and implementation study; (3) Experimental impact study in some sites. |
Various sites across country |
Implementation and Process Studies |
||
Implementation of Welfare Reform at the Local Level: Implications for Special Populations |
Case studies on how selected agencies, staff and caseworkers treat special populations, particularly those individuals with limited English language abilities. |
Five metropolitan areas |
Mental Health and Employment Among TANF Recipients |
Describe how selected local TANF programs organize and deliver mental health services to clients. |
Various local sites |
Poor Families with Infants and Toddlers |
Examine strategies implemented in states and communities to provide high-quality child care and other support services for welfare and working poor families with infants and toddlers. |
Various sites across country |
Welfare-to-Work Screening and Assessment Project (joint with ACF) |
Describe state and local efforts to screen for and assess the situations of TANF or welfare-to-work recipients with high barriers to employment. |
Various sites across country |
Project Title |
Purpose |
Jurisdictions Covered |
Other Studies |
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Effects of Welfare Reform on Investments in Human Capital and Family Formation (Baruch College) |
Examine whether behavior of teens and young adults aged 16–21 has changed as a result of welfare reform. Will examine high school completion, child-bearing, employment and welfare receipt behavior. Uses data from the NLSY79 and NLSY97. |
National |
The Effects of the Work Pays Demonstration, EITC Expansions, and the Business Cycle on the Labor Market Behavior of the California Caseload |
Examine the effect of welfare reform and EITC policy changes as well as changes in the business cycle on employment and earnings. Will use administrative data from welfare, unemployment insurance, and tax systems. |
California |
Entry, Exit and the Changing Composition of the Caseload (RAND) |
Explore caseload dynamics and the effect of the economy in explaining changes in the caseload. Administrative data from 1987-mid 2001. |
California |
Fragile Families and Welfare Reform (funded jointly with ACF) (Columbia University) |
Describe conditions and capabilities of vulnerable mothers and fathers in the first few years of PRWORA. Uses data from Fragile Families survey. |
20 large U.S. cities |
From Prisons to Home: The Effect of Incarceration on Children, Families, and Low-Income Communities |
Project will produce a literature review, commissioned papers, and a conference in order to develop a research and practice baseline on what is known or can be known about this high-risk, high-welfare use population. |
National |
Linking State TANF Policies to Outcomes |
Analyzes and synthesizes information on welfare and related support programs collected through various sources. Also develops characteristics of state programs important for predicting outcomes. |
National |
How Important is Marriage to Low-Income Family Well-Being (Urban Institute) |
Examine the interactions between marital status, household status, and economic well-being. Uses data from the 1997 and 1999 NSAF. |
National |
How Low-Wage Working Families Cope as Parents and Workers |
Exploratory study to examine how low-income families handle work and parenting and the barriers they face to self-sufficiency. Study will frame the issues, provide initial analysis and recommend areas of further research. |
|
Integration of Welfare and Workforce Development Systems |
Case studies: examines the relationship between TANF and workforce development systems in 12 sites in six states. |
12 sites |
Mental Health, Substance Abuse, and Domestic Violence Service Utilization by Welfare Recipients (University of Michigan) |
Examine impact of spatial proximity to social service providers and impact of individual-level characteristics on service utilization rates for welfare recipients. Uses data from Mother’s Well-Being Study and linked data on geographic location of mental health and substance abuse treatment providers. |
Detroit metropolitan area |
Multi-Site Evaluation of Responsible Fatherhood Programs (joint with ACF and Office of Child Support Enforcement) |
Implementation and outcomes study of clients of eight Responsible Fatherhood programs. |
CO, MA, NW, CA, WI, MO, MD, WA |
Research Grants on Welfare Outcomes, Fiscal 1999 |
Examines caseload dynamics, spatial distribution of economic opportunities, health insurance and health care utilization, use of food stamps, living arrangements, maternal and child health, domestic violence, and quality-of-life issues. |
Seven private and university grantees throughout country |
Support for the Research Forum on Children, Families, and the New Federalism—Database and Web Site |
Supports the project that provides information on welfare reform initiatives and research. |
National |
TANF and Household Savings (University of Oregon) |
Examine savings behavior of TANF recipients. Uses 1989, 1994, 1999 PSID wealth supplements. |
National |
Working Poor Population: Data Analysis on Definitions, Composition and Outcomes |
Data analysis to compare different definitions of the working poor and understanding the composition of working poor population. Uses SIPP data. |
National |
Young Mothers’ Transitions on and off TANF: How Do Child Care Assistance, Job Training, and Social Supports Influence These Decisions |
Examine likelihood young mothers will go on or off or stay on TANF given they use child care, job training, and other social services. |
Chicago area |
Project Title |
Purpose |
Jurisdictions Covered |
Technical Assistance and Data and Methodological Improvement Efforts |
|
|
The Feasibility of Replicating the Women’s Employment Study |
Project will review what is known about barriers to employment and to consider survey designs for finding this information, using commissioned papers, panels of experts and final report. |
|
Grants to Enhance State Surveys of the Low-Income Population, Fiscal 2000 |
As part of on-going welfare leavers and outcomes studies, these grants will support further enhancements to existing data collection efforts in state and local areas. Possible enhancements issues include: sample size, the data collection period, data content, and validity and representativeness of data. Grants were made to 5 state and local areas. |
Alameda and San Mateo, Counties, CA; MO; IA; WI |
Household Definitions |
Uses data from SIPP to develop poverty estimates based on a broader definition of unit of analysis. May use other data sets as well. |
National |
Improving Evaluation Methods and Their Relevance to Policy |
A series of meetings with evaluation experts to discuss methods for evaluating public policies when random assignment is not feasible and ways to advance both experimental and nonexperimental methods. |
|
Measurement of Impacts on Children in Evaluations of State Welfare Reforms (jointly with ACF) |
Phase I: Planning phase. Working with states to improve measurement of child outcomes in state welfare evaluations. Phase II: Large scale data collection activities to expand states’ abilities to measure and track child outcomes for impact analyses |
Phase I: CA, CT, FL, IL, IN, IA, MI, MN, OH, OR, VT, VA Phase II: CT, FL, IN, IA, MN |
National Academy of Sciences Panel on Data and Methods for Measuring the Effects of Changes in Social Welfare Programs |
Expert panel to review data and methodological needs for measuring the effects of policy changes. Panel will also consider ways to track welfare leavers. |
|
Policy Implications of Welfare Reform: Technical Assistance to States for Serving People with Disabilities (with Urban Institute and SSA) |
Review of state efforts to provide welfare services to those with disabilities; also case study series. |
All states |
Project on Child Outcomes: Enhancing Measurement of Child Outcomes in State Welfare Evaluations and Other State Data Collections (jointly with ACF and private organizations) |
Technical assistance to states collecting data as part of their welfare policy evaluations to improve measurement of child outcomes in these evaluations and data collection efforts. |
All states |
Reporting of Welfare Benefits in the SIPP Using Matched Administrative Records in California (joint with ACF) (UCLA and RAND) |
Examine accuracy of self-reports of program participation in survey data in comparison to matched administrative records from AFDC/TANF, Food Stamps, and Medicaid. |
California |
Research Design Framework for the Federal Parent Locator Service Data (joint with ACF) |
Propose and evaluate designs for longitudinal database for Title IV-A and IV-D program-related research. |
Data from all states |
Supporting Families after Welfare Reform (joint with ACF and R.W. Johnson Foundation) |
Technical assistance to improve eligibility processes and access and retention of Medicaid, Food Stamps and S-CHIP for low income families at a number of sites. Includes site visits and a report on promising practices. |
22 sites total (6 federally funded) |
Technical Assistance on Researcher Access to Data Sets |
Provide technical assistance to 14 FY1998 welfare leaver outcome studies to create public use data sets from the data collected as part of these projects. Will also provide technical assistance to improve comparability of these data sets across areas. |
14 welfare leaver grantees for FY1998 |
Use of Social Security Summary Earnings Records to Assess Welfare Reform Outcomes |
Match earnings records obtained from Social Security Administrative Records to a sample of adult recipients from 1996 SIPP, March 1997 CPS and 1997 SPD. |
National |
Project Title |
Purpose |
Jurisdictions Covered |
Support for Numerous Data Sets and Data Development Efforts |
Early Childhood Longitudinal Birth Cohort Study Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics Iowa State University Survey of Program Dynamics Project National Survey of Family Growth National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health New Immigrant Survey Panel Study of Income Dynamics Conference on Public Policy Applications with the American Community Survey and Administrative Records State and Local Integrated Telephone Survey (SLAITS) for Children with Special Health Care Needs |
Various |
TABLE A-2 Major Welfare-Related Research Sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families
Project Title |
Purpose |
Jurisdictions Covered |
Descriptive and Monitoring Studies |
|
|
National Study of Low-Income Child Care |
Monitor status of low-income child care market in 25 communities in 17 states and a substudy in 5 neighborhoods from these communities. Will conduct survey, site visits, and focus groups. |
25 communities in 17 states |
Welfare to Work: Monitoring the Impact of Welfare Reform on American Indian Families with Children |
Monitor demographic, social and economic conditions of American Indian families with children on welfare. Includes implementation study of TANF programs in tribal entities. Use CPS and SIPP, administrative records, in-depth interviews, and site visits. |
Arizona American Indians |
Program Description Data |
|
|
Assessing Enhanced Transitional Employment Programs |
Will identify and describe programs that provide transitional employment or work experience to build skills for TANF recipients and others who have high barriers to employment. Will survey programs and conduct site visits. |
National |
Experience of Tribal TANF Programs: Problems Solutions and Lessons Learned |
Describe all TANF programs funded in 1999 serving Native American tribes. Survey about programs and on-site case studies. Will also survey sample of TANF recipients from eight tribes. |
All Native American tribes |
Support for the Urban Institute’s Welfare Rules Database 2000 Collection |
Provide funding for collection of program description data on state TANF plans. Funding will cover update of 2000 state TANF plans. |
All states |
Support for APHSA, WIN, and NGA State TANF Plans Database |
Develop and maintain database on state TANF plans. State plans will be updated every 24–27 months. |
All states |
Project Title |
Purpose |
Jurisdictions Covered |
Experimental Studies |
|
|
Child Impact Studies for Welfare Waiver Programs |
Assess impact of different welfare reform approaches on child well-being in five states with welfare waivers. Control group under old AFDC policies. |
CT, FL, IN, IA, MN (FL and MN have released reports) |
Employment Retention and Advancement Project |
Initial phase will provide planning grants to states to develop strategies for employment retention and career advancement for welfare recipients. Second phase is grants to experimentally implement these strategies. |
Phase I: CA, IL, MD, NJ, NC, OH, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI Phase II: CA-Los Angeles, Riverside; FL, IL, MN, OR, SC, TN, TX, VA |
Evaluation of Los Angeles Jobs-First GAIN (MDRC) |
Estimates impact of the Los Angeles GAIN program. Includes an implementation study and a cost-benefit study. |
Los Angeles, CA |
Evaluation of the New Jersey Substance Abuse Research Demonstration (joint with ASPE) |
Compares impacts on randomly assigned participants of two different intervention models that are aimed at improving post-welfare prospects of TANF recipients with substance abuse problems. |
Two New Jersey counties |
Track I Welfare Waiver Studies |
Evaluation of state pre-PRWORA waiver demonstration programs that changed rules of prior AFDC programs in states. |
AZ, CT, FL, IN, IA, MN, TX, VT, WI (FL, MN, and WI projects are completed) |
Track II Welfare Waiver Studies |
Pre-PRWORA waiver demonstrations that were modified after PRWORA. Some are experimental designs. Some include process studies. |
CA, IL, IA, MD, MT, NE, NH, NC, ND, OH, SC, VA (IL, ND, SC projects are completed) |
Other Studies |
|
|
Child Care Research Partnerships |
Field-initiated research on child care policies especially for low-income families. |
Five research partnership sites |
Field Initiated Projects |
Many different types of studies conducted throughout the country. Includes experimental studies, implementation studies, monitoring studies and technical assistance provision. Covers populations such as Native Americans, rural welfare recipients and low-income families, and domestic violence victims. |
Various sites |
Fragile Families and Welfare Reform (jointly with ASPE) (Columbia University) |
Describe conditions and capabilities of vulnerable mothers and fathers in the first few years of PRWORA. Uses data from Fragile Families survey. |
20 large U.S. cities |
Research Synthesis of the Effects of TANF (RAND) |
Synthesize research on the effect of TANF on income, earnings, government benefit receipt, family formation and structure. Document areas where further research is needed. |
National |
Rural Welfare Reform Strategies Project |
Purpose is to help rural states develop strategies for serving rural low-income and welfare families. Effort will also develop evaluations of those strategies. Includes implementation grants in four states. |
IL, IA, LA, MD, MN, MS, MO, NY, VA, VT, WA |
State Welfare Reform Impacts Study (UC Data) |
Tests nonexperimental methodologies for examining impacts of TANF and other programs. |
California |
Project Title |
Purpose |
Jurisdictions Covered |
Testing Nonexperimental Methodologies Using National Evaluation of Welfare to Work Data (MDRC) |
Uses data from the experimental NEWWS study to explore the use and validity of nonexperimental data. |
NEWWS sites |
Implementation and Process Studies |
|
|
Front-Line Management and Practice Study (SUNY-Albany) |
Examine TANF implementation at local administrative offices to see how budget priorities have changed within and across states and how policy changes have affected budgetary priorities. |
Pilot studies in 4 states and full case studies in 13 states. |
Welfare to Work Screening and Assessment Project (joint with ASPE) |
Describe state and local efforts to screen for and assess the situations of TANF or welfare-to-work recipients with high barriers to employment. |
Various sites across country |
Technical Assistance and Data and Methodological Improvement Efforts |
|
|
Annual Welfare Reform Evaluation Conference |
Annual research conference with representatives from all states. |
All states |
Project on Child Outcomes: Enhancing Measurement of Child Outcomes in State Welfare Evaluations and Other State Data Collections (joint with ASPE and private organizations) |
Technical assistance to states collecting data as part of their welfare policy evaluations to improve measurement of child outcomes in these evaluations and data collection efforts. |
All states |
Reporting of Welfare Benefits in the SIPP Using Matched Administrative Records in California (joint funding with ASPE) (UCLA and RAND) |
Examine accuracy of self-reports of program participation in survey data in comparison to matched administrative records from AFDC/TANF, Food Stamps, and Medicaid. |
California |