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...

Examines Nebraska's reorganized service delivery system, which provides assessment-focused case management to help clients become self-sufficient, finding that case managers need additional tools and support to provide services in a timely and consistent way, connect clients with individualized...

Assesses the effects of employment on family well-being for current and former TANF recipients in Iowa who gained employment. Finds that when parents were employed, they reported aggregate improvements in family income, standard of living, parental self-esteem, parenting skills, and how their...

Looks at 16 families who left TANF in spring 1999 and reported $500 or less in family income to see how they make ends meet. Focuses on sources of income and expenses, strategies for making ends meet, and family well-being, noting that most families had earnings from employment, but low pay,...

Presents a conceptual framework for designing, implementing, and testing interventions for low-income unmarried parents interested in strengthening their relationships and possibly forming and sustaining healthy marriages. The interventions would address the needs and circumstances of these...

This four-page brief examines differences between rural and urban clients' welfare receipt, employment experiences and obstacles, program participation and service use, and quality of life. It also points out considerations for states interested in enhancing their programs in rural and urban areas.

Examines welfare reform in Virginia, which implemented reforms early and focused on building attachment to jobs and the economy, noting that many welfare workers believed work incentives were critical to program success and that, despite new strategies to help workers do their jobs differently,...