Examines welfare offices' use of "intermediaries"--private or public organizations that act as brokers between the welfare system and employers--noting that a broad range of organizations act as intermediaries, including nonprofit and for-profit organizations, public sector agencies, and...

Assessment is often the first step in helping TANF recipients living with a disability find and maintain employment. This brief describes five different approaches to assessment: disability screening, psychosocial assessments, clinical and psychological assessments, functional needs assessments,...

Some TANF recipients may have disabilities that would qualify them for the specialized employment preparation services Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agencies provide. This brief explores the benefits and challenges of linking TANF and VR services, describes partnerships that have been formed in...

Describes the administrative framework and key components of a statewide transitional employment program for hard-to-employ TANF recipients nearing the time limit. Notes that program success requires program administrators and staff to think “outside the box†and concludes that clients...

This resource guide provides examples of program strategies and approaches, including creating a positive context and coordinating services, to help people who face difficult challenges in making the transition into employment.

Drawing on the industry that designs incentives for private-sector corporations, this paper explores incentives as a potential strategy for promoting job retention and advancement among disadvantaged workers. The paper, which provides a step-by-step process for designing incentive programs to...

This brief profiles three programs that use difference approaches—unpaid work experience, subsidized employment, and unsubsidized transitional employment—to create work opportunities for TANF recipients who are living with a disability and have not been successful in finding...

The Medicaid Buy-In program, a state Medicaid option since the late 1990s, is designed to encourage adults with disabilities to work by allowing them to buy into Medicaid when their earnings exceed standard Medicaid eligibility limits. This article describes enrollment, expenditures, and...

This paper examines employment-focused policies in the U.S. disability system and summarizes rigorous evaluations of return-to-work supports targeted to people with disabilities. Several empirically validated approaches to providing return-to-work services to people with disabilities in the...