Learn, Innovate, Improve (LI²): Lessons from Adams County’s Efforts to Increase Engagement in the Colorado Works Program

Publisher: Washington, DC: Mathematica Policy Research
Jun 30, 2018
Authors
Jonathan McCay, Rayna Jefferson, Hayley Ballinger, Ruby Nolasco, and Heather Lower

Key Findings:

Results from this evaluation showed that the outreach strategy had a statistically significant impact on parents’ attendance rates at orientation sessions and initial case manager meetings:

  • 64% of parents who received outreach from Adams Works attended their scheduled orientation session compared with 51% of parents who did not receive outreach
  • 67% of parents who received outreach from Adams Works attended their first scheduled one-on-one meeting with a case manager compared with 58% of parents who did not receive outreach
Adams Works—the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program in Adams County, Colorado—created a proactive outreach strategy to address high rates of missed orientation sessions and initial case manager meetings among their clients. This simple approach was designed using insights from behavioral science and guided by Mathematica’s “Learn, Innovate, Improve” (or LI²) framework for creating evidence-driven innovations in public programs. Adams Works implemented and tested their new outreach strategy using a random assignment experiment over the course of five months (January – May 2018).
Download
Publication (PDF)
Senior Staff

Jonathan McCay
Read More

You may also like...
Income Supports and Work Requirement Policies: An Equity-Focused Policy Research Agenda
Developing an Equity-Focused Policy Research Agenda for Low-Income Families with Young Children
Providing Public Workforce Services to Job Seekers: 30-Month Impact Findings on the WIA Adult and Dislocated Worker Programs
Workforce Investment Act Adult and Dislocated Worker Programs Gold Standard Evaluation
Evaluation of Employment Coaching for TANF and Related Populations