Examines six transitional jobs programs to provide insights into the model and its potential for serving hard-to-employ TANF recipients. Notes that these programs, which expand on the "work first" approach by providing a wage, a more flexible environment, and individualized services, can help...

Notes that families leaving welfare in spring 1999 were doing slightly better financially two years after leaving than they had been one year earlier, but more than half still had income around the poverty line. In addition, some families were experiencing hardships such as hunger and housing...

For the fourth straight year, Medicare beneficiaries have fewer options under Medicare+Choice, as plans continue to withdraw, increase premiums, or reduce benefits. As markets become more unstable, beneficiaries’ distrust of the program and concern over its viability are also increasing.

The final report to Congress presents complete findings from our seven-year national evaluation of Early Head Start. The findings show that the program promotes learning and the parenting that supports it within the first three years of life. Participating children perform significantly better...

The backlash against managed care has pressured plans to reexamine approaches to controlling utilization and managing members' health care needs, but how much has really changed? Interviews with health plans and others in 12 nationally representative markets suggest that the changes are significant.

Managed care plans—pressured by a variety of marketplace forces that have been intensifying over the past two years—are making important shifts in their overall business strategy. For example, they are moving to offer less restrictive managed care products and product features that...

Notes that HMOs do not appear to extract more profits from consumers in markets dominated by for-profit firms than in markets where their share is smaller.

Safety-net providers serving the nation's 39 million uninsured residents are vulnerable organizations even in good economic times, yet efforts to monitor their capacity have been limited. This study of the safety net in five cities found that capacity was strained for specialty services and...

Much of the research examining the question of how federal financial aid affects decisions to enroll in college has focused on the behavior of students immediately following graduation, leaving unanswered the question of how changes in the availability of aid affects the behavior of older...