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...

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.

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.

This paper examines how policy and structural changes states made in response to the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) may influence the level and composition of the TANF caseload. It is based on Mathematica’s 50-state survey of diversion programs, as well as field visits to state and local...

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...

Dramatic changes in the welfare system have drawn attention to the need to engage a broader group of welfare recipients in activities that build their capacity to work. Some state and local programs currently strive to engage all or most TANF recipients in work-related pursuits, but little is...

The implementation of more stringent sanctions as part of welfare reform has been accompanied by interest in how sanctions are used and their outcomes. This report analyzes how TANF sanctions have been implemented in Illinois, New Jersey, and South Carolina, based on six key tasks: informing...

Sanctions, or financial penalties for noncompliance with program requirements, have long been perceived as a major tool for encouraging TANF recipients to participate in work activities. The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 changed the way TANF work participation rates are calculated and thereby...

Paper presented at the fall 2007 Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management conference held in Washington, DC.