Unemployment Insurance as a Potential
Safety Net for TANF Leavers:
Evidence from Five States

Final Report

September 2004

Anu Rangarajan
Carol Razafindrakoto

Submitted to:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
Project Officer: Alana Landey

Submitted by:
Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
Project Director: Alan Hershey

Contract No.: 100-98-0009
MPR Reference No.: 8550-144

This report is available on the Internet at:
http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/wtw-grants-eval98/ui04/

How to Obtain a Printed Copy

Contents

Acknowledgements

Executive Summary

Chapters

1. Introduction
   1. The UI Program: Complex and Varying by State
   2. UI and Low-Wage Workers
   3. Study Questions and Key Findings
2. Study Background and Analysis Approach
   1. Sample and Data
   2. Analysis Methods
   3. TANF Program and Employment Experiences of Sample Members
3. Monetary UI Eligibility
   1. Patterns of Basic UI Monetary Eligibility Over Time
   2. Patterns of UI Monetary Eligibility Among Key Subgroups
   3. Why Are Some People Monetarily Ineligible for UI?
   4. The Role of Nonmonetary Factors
4. Potential UI Benefit Amounts and Durations Among Former TANF Recipients
   1. Weekly Benefit Amounts
   2. Potential Duration and Potential Maximum Benefits
5. Sensitivity of Key Outcomes to Alternative Definitions of UI Program Rules
   1. Alternative Definitions of Minimum Qualifying Earnings
   2. Alternative Definitions of Weekly Benefit Calculation
   3. Alternative Definitions of the Base Period
6. Conclusion

References

Tables

I.1 - How UI Programs Vary Across States

I.2 - UI Program Rules for States Included in This Study

II.1 - Study Samples and Reference Periods

II.2 - Selected TANF Rules in the Study States

II.3 - Characteristics of the Reference Sample

II.4 - Distribution of Quarterly Earnings at the Time of TANF Exit

IV.1 - Distribution of Weekly Benefit Amounts at Quarter 8 after TANF Exit

IV.2 - Average Weekly Benefit Amounts, by Quarter after TANF Exit

IV.3 - Percentage of Individuals Who Would Potentially Reach the Maximum Weekly Benefit Amount

IV.4 - Distribution of Maximum Cumulative Benefit Amounts at Quarter 8 After TANF Entry Among Those Who Exited TANF For Work and Potentially Had UI Monetary Eligibility During Quarter 8

IV.5 - Average Maximum Potential Cumulative Benefit Amounts, by Quarter After TANF Exit

V.1 - Sensitivity of Average Weekly Benefit Amounts to Alternative Definitions of Maximum Weekly Benefit Amounts

Figures

II.1 - TANF Exit and Employment Status One Year After Reference Period

II.2 - Employment Patterns from the Time of TANF Exit

III.1 - Cumulative UI Monetary Eligibility in Each Quarter, by Quarter After Exit

III.2 - Patterns of Cumulative UI Monetary Eligibility Among Those Who Exited TANF for Work

III.3 - Quarterly UI Monetary Eligibility Among Those Who Exited TANF for Work

III.4 - UI Eligibility at Quarter 8 after TANF Exit, by TANF and Employment Experience During the Year Preceding the Reference Month

III.5 - Quarterly UI Eligibility at the Time of Job Loss Among Those Who Lost Their Jobs during a Given Quarter and Those Who Had Not Lost Their Jobs Until That Time

III.6 - Quarterly Potential UI Monetary Eligibility Among All TANF Leavers

III.7 - Quarterly UI Eligibility and Ineligibility Among Those Who Exited TANF for Work

IV.1 - Potential Duration of Benefits, at Quarter 8 After TANF Exit, Among Those Potentially Monetarily Eligible for UI During That Quarter

V.1 - Sensitivity of UI Monetary Eligibility to Alternative Definitions of Minimum Qualifying Earnings Over the Base Period

V.2 - Potential Monetary Eligibility for UI at Quarter 8 After TANF Exit, and Reasons for Ineligibility

V.3 - Sensitivity of UI Monetary Eligibility in Any Given Quarter After TANF Exit to Alternative Definitions of the Base Period

V.4 - Sensitivity of Cumulative UI Monetary Eligibility to Alternative Definitions of the Base Period

[ Go to Contents ]

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank those whose efforts have made this report possible. Alana Landey, project officer for the study, and Kelleen Kaye, both at the office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), provided valuable guidance and comments on both the substance and presentation of material in this report. At Mathematica Policy Research, Alan Hershey, the project director for the National Welfare-to-Work Grants Program Evaluation, provided helpful comments on an earlier draft of the report. Jennifer Chiaramonti expertly produced the report, with assistance from Bryan Gustus, and Laura Berenson provided valuable editorial assistance. We gratefully acknowledge these contributions.

Anu Rangarajan
Carol Razafindrakoto

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Last updated:  11/15/04