How to Get People from Welfare Into the Work Force

Cost-Effective Programs | Effectiveness | Intensive Approaches | Less-Intensive Approaches | Performance Standards | Support Services | Employment Skills

Helping welfare recipients improve their skills and prepare for jobs is an important concern for states. Identifying ways to get poor and unskilled people into the work force has been at the heart of much of our work at Mathematica Policy Research. We have a long track record of helping state and federal officials get the information they need to make sound decisions about effective employment and training programs. In fact, we pioneered some of the first work-welfare experiments. We are currently conducting a national evaluation of the welfare-to-work grants program as well as an evaluation of rural welfare-to-work strategies.

Identifying Cost-Effective Programs

As pressure to curtail government spending grows, figuring out which publicly funded programs accomplish their purpose in cost-effective ways has become increasingly important. We have assessed the cost-effectiveness of the range of employment and training programs, from the most limited to the most intensive services.

Figuring Out Effectiveness Over the Long Haul

Documenting that a program works is not enough if the gains participants make diminish rapidly once the program ends. We have tracked participants in federal and state employment and training programs for as long as six years to determine how the programs influenced their employment, earnings, and collection of government benefits.

Evaluating Intensive Approaches

So-called “intensive” approaches tend to be expensive but can also be highly successful. We have evaluated intensive programs such as Job Corps to show benefits and costs from different perspectives, as well as how these programs help participants. We have also looked at intensive programs that can be customized at the community level to offer different options, depending on local needs.

Analyzing Less-Intensive Approaches

We have looked at job search assistance, education, and training to see how they affect participants’ employment, earnings, and collection of government benefits. We have also analyzed how the intensity or level of services provided affects participants’ progress.

Implementing Performance Standards

As concern about wastefulness in government has grown, holding public programs to minimum performance standards has become an important tool for determining which programs merit continued support. For employment and training programs that serve food stamp recipients and other low-income people, we have helped implement performance standards that evaluate how many people are placed in jobs, what wages they earn, and whether they keep their jobs.

Making the Most of Support Services

Time and time again, research has documented that support services play a vital role in the success of programs that are trying to move welfare recipients into jobs. We have looked at the benefits and costs of innovative programs across the country to determine what types of support are most effective and why. We have also studied how to identify mental health and substance abuse among TANF recipients and integrate alcohol and drug treatment into programs.

Tracking Skills Required by Employers

Training people to move into the work force is of limited value if the skills they acquire are not the same ones that employers need. We have surveyed employers to find out what they value most in applicants for unskilled, entry-level jobs and have provided feedback to employment and training programs to help them tailor their offerings.

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