Examines mental health conditions among welfare recipients, to 1) provide an overview of common conditions and the mental health system, 2) discuss the types and prevalence of certain disorders, 3) offer strategies for linking recipients with treatment and designing employment services to move...

This brief profiles three work experience programs that engage nearly all work-ready TANF recipients in unpaid work activities, either alone or in conjunction with education and training. Unpaid work experience is designed to mirror regular employment in the paid labor market. TANF recipients...

This brief summarizes the other briefs in this series and includes some additional material. It describes four broad strategies: (1) new work opportunities for TANF recipients, (2) administrative strategies, (3) TANF policy changes, and (4) creation of new programs.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) agencies are operating in a challenging post-recession environment, with growing program demands and shrinking state and local budgets.

Both Maryland and Utah more than doubled their state TANF work participation rates within a one-year period. Maryland’s rate increased from 20.5 percent in 2005 to 44.5 percent in 2006. Utah’s rate increased from 16 percent in October 2006 to 45.5 percent in October 2007. Both...

This report summarizes state policy choices with regard to TANF sanctions for failure to comply with work requirements, including the structure and stringency of sanctions, their cost, context in which they are applied, and strategies to encourage compliance. In addition, the report reviews the...

Both Maryland and Utah more than doubled their state TANF work participation rates within a one-year period. Maryland’s rate increased from 20.5 percent in 2005 to 44.5 percent in 2006. Utah’s rate increased from 16 percent in October 2006 to 45.5 percent in October 2007. Both adopted a...

Profiles the efforts of four states--FL, OR, TN, and UT--to address welfare recipients' mental health conditions, which are often barriers to employment. Notes that these conditions, which occur at substantially higher rates in welfare recipients than in the general population, can be addressed...