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The study sites all set out to engage a large share of TANF recipients in program activities, but they did so using different approaches. For instance, one site requires only some TANF recipients to participate in program activities, but those activities must be related to work. Another site requires all TANF recipients to participate in case management, but only some to participate in work activities. And although five sites require virtually all recipients to participate in work activities, the philosophies guiding the programs and the contexts in which they operate differ. This chapter discusses each site's philosophy and general approach to engagement as well as the key TANF policies and program features that put the approaches into practice. Additional information on site-specific policies and program features appears in Appendix A.
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El Paso County, Colorado, operates under the philosophy that human services delivered to TANF recipients should focus on the needs of the family unit rather than the needs of the individual recipient. The stated vision of the Department of Human Services (DHS), which administers the TANF program, is "to eliminate poverty and family violence in El Paso County," and the mission is "to strengthen families, assure safety, promote self-sufficiency, eliminate poverty, and improve the quality of life in our community." The county puts this philosophy into practice by (1) requiring that all TANF recipients be engaged in activities that will best improve their families' circumstances and providing no exemptions from this requirement; (2) providing access to a range of activities and services to meet the families' needs; and (3) customizing case management to individual family needs.
El Paso County's menu of work-related activities and services reflects this family-oriented approach to engagement. Recipients may participate not only in federally countable activities but also in a variety of other activities that address barriers to work and family well-being. These activities may include attending domestic violence counseling, taking a child to mental health treatment, and/or attending parenting classes. To improve access to these activities, the county co-locates a number of partner agencies in its service centers and has developed strong partnerships with community service providers.
The county backs its "no exemptions" policy by providing highly individualized case management to a diverse set of families. A large proportion of the TANF caseload in El Paso County consists of individuals with serious and multiple challenges to work, such as substance abuse or mental health issues. Other recipients are more "job ready." The former receive intensive case management services through in-house DHS staff, while the latter receive case management and job search services through Goodwill Industries, a contracted service provider. Both county and contracted case managers have the flexibility to vary recipients' hours of participation to reflect individual circumstances and abilities.
Franklin County takes a "work-first" approach to moving low-income families off the welfare rolls. It exempts from work participation requirements only recipients with a child under the age of one; all other recipients must participate in work and work-related activities for at least 30 hours per week. Unfortunately, Franklin County's quest for broad engagement of the TANF caseload has become an uphill battle as a result of a recent budget crisis. This formerly resource-rich community, which includes the city of Columbus, once purchased comprehensive employment and supportive services from more than 20 agencies. Now, it primarily offers in-house job search assistance, work experience placements, and substantially limited education and training opportunities.
Historically, Franklin County has relied heavily on work experience, and the majority of TANF recipients in the county are still assigned to a work experience placement as their primary work activity. Recipients who are unemployed after six weeks in a job readiness program are referred to an in-house resource unit that develops, coordinates, and monitors work experience placements for over 1,600 TANF and non-TANF job seekers at any point in time. Work placements are primarily clerical, retail, janitorial, and maintenance positions in government and nonprofit agencies (e.g., Goodwill Industries, Salvation Army, American Red Cross). While the recent budget crisis has not undermined this historical emphasis on work experience, it has seriously eroded the ability of county staff to supplement this experience with supportive services or programs.
The TANF program in Montgomery County, Ohio, places a strong emphasis on employment. It has adopted a 40-hour per week participation requirement to resemble the hours of a full-time employed person and exempts from participation only those recipients with a child under age one. However, nonexempt recipients may participate in a broad range of activities to meet their requirement, as long as nonfederal activities are combined with federally countable activities. For example, recipients may take part in substance abuse treatment, mental health services, or specialized employment and training as long as they devote some portion of the 40 hours to job search, a work experience placement, or job skills training. In making this choice, they are guided by program staff, who design employment plans not only with respect to the recipient's abilities and interests but also with her family's interests in mind.
To expand the availability and accessibility of services to help TANF recipients meet the work requirement, the county has forged partnerships with community social service agencies. For instance, the TANF program is located within the county's Job Center, which is recognized nationwide as one of the largest and most comprehensive one-stop centers for TANF recipients and other job seekers. The approximately 50 agencies co-located in this expansive facility share resources, refer clients to one another, and collaborate on case planning. In addition, the county hosts the Targeted Community-Based Collaborative, which brings together over 60 agencies every month to share information about community resources and develop ways to improve access to services.
Utah's welfare system is based on the principle that all parents can and should participate to their maximum ability in program activities that raise family income. This philosophy is most obvious in the changing orientation of the state's TANF program over the past decade. The Family Employment Program (FEP), which once focused on identifying why recipients could not work and granting exemptions accordingly, now concentrates on identifying what recipients can do and placing them in activities that are appropriate to their strengths. The new philosophy is reflected in the state's exemption policy; no families are exempt from work participation requirements, and only sanctioned families are excluded from the state's federal work participation rate. Moreover — and perhaps most important — recipients may participate in a range of activities for an appropriate number of hours per week given their abilities and personal and family circumstances.
Utah puts its policies into practice through intensive, individualized case management. Each case manager handles a relatively small caseload of 60 to 90 families, 20 to 30 of which are on TANF. Such caseload sizes enable case managers to work closely with recipients to identify and capitalize on their strengths. Case managers also have the authority to adjust participation hours and activities, and place recipients in a range of activities offered by community agencies. In addition, in-house social workers support case managers by conducting in-depth psychosocial assessments, providing short-term therapy, and linking clients to specialized service providers.
Wisconsin's TANF program — called Wisconsin Works, or W-2 — emphasizes rapid attachment to the labor market. The state's philosophy is that everyone who can work should work, and no families are exempt from work requirements. However, the state acknowledges that some recipients have complex service needs that require more individualized attention. W-2 therefore incorporates a tiered approach to work and work-related placements. Case managers assign TANF applicants to one of the four following tiers based on their level of job readiness:
In Wisconsin, state performance standards drive service delivery. The state's "full and appropriate engagement" standard, one of 10 performance standards developed in 2000 that county welfare agencies must meet, requires that 80 percent of the total TANF caseload in a county participate in at least 30 hours of work or work-related activities per week, including federally countable and other state-approved nonfederal activities. This is substantially higher than the rate required by PRWORA in 2000 and today as well.
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Two of the study sites take different approaches to engagement in work and work-related activities. Oswego County in New York requires all TANF recipients to participate in program activities, but requires only some to participate in work activities specifically. Riverside County in California requires only some recipients to participate in program activities, but requires that those recipients participate in work activities. Riverside also places a special emphasis on maximizing participation (through increased hours) and creating advancement opportunities for recipients who are already employed. This section describes how these two sites put their approaches into practice.
Oswego County, New York, requires all TANF recipients to participate in a monthly group case management meeting to remain eligible for TANF. The county first introduced this requirement in 1999 with the implementation of the Pathways Case Management System. The core components of Pathways — monthly group meetings, a participant activity diary, and an automated participant tracking system — are used to help recipients take incremental steps toward employment. Pathways encourages detailed and frequent goal setting, peer support and accountability, and participation in a broad range of program activities customized to individual circumstances. TANF recipients meet monthly with program staff and 10 to 15 peers to develop activity plans and review progress toward employment. Recipients who do not attend these meetings may have their TANF cases closed for failure to comply with eligibility requirements.
While all TANF recipients are required to participate in the monthly case management meetings, some are exempt from work or work-related activities because of domestic abuse, pregnancy, physical or mental health conditions, or application for SSI. In practice, approximately half of the TANF caseload is exempt, mostly on the basis of physical or mental health conditions. Recipients who are exempt are encouraged in the case management meetings to participate in work activities even though they cannot be sanctioned for failing to do so. Nonexempt recipients may be sanctioned if they do not meet their work participation requirements. The penalty for noncompliance with work requirements is a partial reduction in the TANF grant (recall that the penalty for noncompliance with Pathways meetings is case closure).
Oswego County takes a work-first approach with TANF recipients who are not exempt from participating in work and work-related activities. They are expected to participate in federally countable activities for at least 30 hours per week. They must also contact at least five employers per week. The vast majority of these recipients are assigned to job search and job readiness activities first. If they do not find a job, they are placed in a work experience site — either with the local government or nonprofit organizations. Nonfederal activities — such as extended job search, mental health and substance abuse treatment, or caring for a disabled family member or for a child with behavioral problems — are typically assigned in combination with other work-related activities.
Riverside County, California, is the only site among the seven included in this study that exempts a substantial percentage of TANF recipients — about 12 percent of the caseload — from participation in any program activities. However, nonexempt clients must participate in work or work-related activities. According to criteria set by the state, the following groups of recipients are exempt:
Exempting these recipients leaves Riverside County with a TANF population that is more work-ready relative to programs in other study sites.
Riverside County was one of the first counties in the nation to develop a strong work-first approach for welfare recipients, and it continues to operate under that approach today for its nonexempt recipients. California state policy requires nonexempt adults in single-parent families to participate in work activities for 32 hours per week and in two-parents families to participate for a combined 35 hours per week. Twenty of the 32 or 35 hours must be devoted to employment or to activities directly relevant to securing employment. In addition, Riverside County allows recipients to participate in nonfederal activities — such as mental health or substance abuse treatment, domestic violence counseling, and English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction. Recipients may participate in these activities alone for a temporary period of time or for up to 12 or 15 hours per week in combination with federally countable activities indefinitely.
Riverside County recently embarked on an effort to maximize engagement among employed TANF recipients. In 1999, the county began to encourage education and training among working recipients with an eye toward increasing their hours of participation and helping them move on to better jobs. The message under this new program model is that work plus education and training is the best way to become self-sufficient. To put the new philosophy into practice, county administrators developed a two-phase program consisting of intensive job search activities for recipients without substantial employment (Phase I) and job retention and advancement activities combined with education and training for recipients working at least 20 hours per week at minimum wage or higher (Phase II). In 2000, the county expanded its approach to a third phase, which offers continued supportive services for those who have left TANF for work.
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