People who receive cash assistance can face unique challenges and opportunities as they try to find jobs or move to higher-paying jobs. This Population in Focus page summarizes what we know about programs that can improve key outcomes of cash assistance recipients.
The Pathways to Work Evidence Clearinghouse has reliable evidence for 77 programs that served cash assistance recipients, based on 116 studies rated as moderate or high quality. The results below focus on programs with the largest reported effects for long-term earnings, employment, public benefit receipt, and attainment of education and training.
For each outcome, we present results from programs with favorable effectiveness ratings for that outcome. These results show what’s possible but may not always happen again if the program is implemented under different conditions. The results can partly reflect how a program was tested. Future success may depend on factors like staffing, resources, and features of a community.
For more information about the programs covered in this summary, use the hyperlinks in Exhibit 1 below.
Earnings
Jobs-First Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN) Program had the largest reported effects on long-term annual earnings (an average of $4,483 per year). Jobs-First Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN) emphasized a rapid employment strategy to help recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) improve their earnings and employment outcomes.
Employment
Jobs-First Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN) Program had the largest reported effects on long-term employment (an average of 6 percentage points). Jobs-First Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN) emphasized a rapid employment strategy to help recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) improve their earnings and employment outcomes.
Public benefit receipt
Delaware's A Better Chance (ABC) Welfare Reform Program had the largest reported effects on long-term benefit receipt (decreasing the amount of public benefits received by $1,093 per year). ABC aimed to increase earnings for recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) through personal responsibility requirements, work provisions, and time limits on benefit receipt.
Education and training
Atlanta Human Capital Development (HCD) Program had the largest reported effects on education and training (increasing the attainment of a degree or credential by an average of 8 percentage points). To help participants secure jobs that could lead to economic self-sufficiency, Atlanta’s Human Capital Development (HCD) program focused on providing education and training to single parents who were Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) recipients.
Programs serving cash assistance recipients: implementation and outcomes
Exhibit 1 lists 77 programs for cash assistance recipients included in Pathways to Work. It includes information about key program features like the services offered, the settings in which it was studied, and populations included in the studies. These program features may have shaped the studies’ results.
The exhibit also shows effectiveness ratings and reported effects by outcome for each program, based on Pathways to Work study reviews. An effectiveness rating tells us whether a program is likely to produce favorable results, if it is implemented under similar conditions.
You can use the exhibit to identify programs with a supported rating and consider their relevance for your community. Links to the program pages also allow you to learn about other factors that may affect success like staffing and resources.
| Program | Services | Settings | Population(s) | State(s) | Term | Increase earnings | Increase employment | Decrease public benefit receipt | Increase education and training |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Human Capital Development (HCD) Program |
additional services: Case management, Job search assistance, On-the-job training, Paid work experience/internships, Transportation assistance, Unpaid work experience/internships
|
Urban only | Parents, Public Benefits Recipients, Single parents, Unemployed |
Georgia |
Short-term |
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| Long-term |
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| Atlanta Human Capital Development [HCD] Program (as compared with Atlanta Labor Force Attachment [LFA] Program) |
additional services: Case management, Job search assistance, On-the-job training, Paid work experience/internships, Transportation assistance, Unpaid work experience/internships
|
Urban only | Parents, Public Benefits Recipients, Single parents, Unemployed |
Georgia |
Short-term | ||||
| Long-term |
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| Atlanta Labor Force Attachment (LFA) |
additional services: Case management, On-the-job training, Paid work experience/internships, Transportation assistance, Unpaid work experience/internships
|
Urban only | Parents, Public Benefits Recipients, Single parents, Unemployed |
Georgia |
Short-term |
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| Long-term |
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| Atlanta Labor Force Attachment (LFA) Program (as compared with Atlanta Human Capital Development [HCD] Program) |
additional services: Case management, On-the-job training, Paid work experience/internships, Transportation assistance, Unpaid work experience/internships
|
Urban only | Parents, Public Benefits Recipients, Single parents, Unemployed |
Georgia |
Short-term | ||||
| Long-term |
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| Back to Work (B2W) [as compared with Independent Job Search (IJS)] |
additional services: Case management, Job placement, Soft skills training
|
Urban only | Public Benefits Recipients, Unemployed |
New York |
Short-term |
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| Long-term | |||||||||
| Building Nebraska Families (BNF) |
additional services: Basic skills/bridge programs, Counseling/emotional support and relationship building, Financial education, Goal setting, Legal assistance, Ongoing support, Soft skills training
|
Rural only | Unemployed |
Nebraska |
Short-term |
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| Long-term |
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| California Work Pays Demonstration Project (CWPDP) |
additional services: Earned income disregards
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Tested in multiple settings | Cash assistance recipients, Public Benefits Recipients |
California |
Short-term |
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| Long-term |
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| Career Builders |
additional services: Ongoing support, Assessment, Career planning, Counseling/emotional support and relationship building, Job readiness, Mental health services, Peer mentoring
|
Urban only | Public Benefits Recipients, Single parents, Unemployed |
Oregon |
Short-term |
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| Long-term |
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| Chicago Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) |
additional services: Employment coaching, Job development, Job placement, Job readiness, Performance- or behavior-based financial incentives, Post-employment participant follow-up, Transportation assistance
|
Urban only | Parents, Public Benefits Recipients, Single parents |
Illinois |
Short-term |
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| Long-term |
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| Connecticut's Jobs First Program |
additional services: Earned income disregards
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Tested in multiple settings | Public Benefits Recipients, Single parents |
Connecticut |
Short-term |
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| Long-term |
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| Delaware's A Better Chance (ABC) Welfare Reform Program |
additional services: Case management, Earned income disregards, Job search assistance, Subsidized employment/transitional jobs
|
Tested in multiple settings | Public Benefits Recipients, Single parents |
Delaware |
Short-term |
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| Long-term |
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| Employing and Moving People Off Welfare and Encouraging Responsibility (EMPOWER) |
additional services: Physical health services, Basic skills/bridge programs, Childcare and/or early education, Job development, Job readiness, Job search assistance, Soft skills training, Transportation assistance
|
Urban only | Parents, Public Benefits Recipients |
Arizona |
Short-term |
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| Long-term |
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| Employing and Moving People Off Welfare and Encouraging Responsibility (EMPOWER)—Navajo Reservation |
additional services: Cash/Income Supports, Childcare and/or early education, Job search assistance, Physical health services
|
Rural only | Public Benefits Recipients, Tribal/Native American |
Arizona |
Short-term |
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| Long-term |
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| Enhanced Job Club (EJC) |
additional services: Assessment, Career planning, Case management, Employment coaching, Job placement, Job readiness, Ongoing support
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Urban only | Public Benefits Recipients, Single parents |
California |
Short-term |
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| Long-term |
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| Families Achieving Success Today (FAST) |
additional services: Assessment, Benefit navigation/access, Career planning, Counseling/emotional support and relationship building, Goal setting, Job development, Job placement, Job readiness, Job search assistance, Mental health services, Ongoing support, Physical health services
|
Urban only | Public Benefits Recipients, Unemployed |
Minnesota |
Short-term |
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| Long-term | |||||||||
| Family Transition Program |
additional services: Earned income disregards, Job placement, Job readiness, Job search assistance, Post-employment participant follow-up, Transportation assistance, Unpaid work experience/internships, Work supports
|
Tested in multiple settings | Public Benefits Recipients, Single parents |
Florida |
Short-term |
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| Long-term |
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| Florida's Project Independence |
additional services: Occupational or sectoral training, Basic skills/bridge programs, Case management, Childcare and/or early education, Transportation assistance, Tuition assistance/financial aid, Work supports
|
Tested in multiple settings | Public Benefits Recipients, Single parents |
Florida |
Short-term |
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| Long-term |
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| Grand Rapids Human Capital Development (HCD) Program |
additional services: Case management, Job search assistance, On-the-job training, Paid work experience/internships, Transportation assistance, Unpaid work experience/internships
|
Urban only | Public Benefits Recipients, Single parents, Unemployed |
Michigan |
Short-term |
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| Long-term |
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| Grand Rapids Human Capital Development [HCD] Program (as compared with Grand Rapids Labor Force Attachment [LFA] Program) |
additional services: Case management, Job search assistance, On-the-job training, Paid work experience/internships, Transportation assistance, Unpaid work experience/internships
|
Urban only | Public Benefits Recipients, Single parents, Unemployed |
Michigan |
Short-term | ||||
| Long-term |
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| Grand Rapids Labor Force Attachment (LFA) Program |
additional services: Case management, On-the-job training, Paid work experience/internships, Transportation assistance, Unpaid work experience/internships
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Urban only | Public Benefits Recipients, Single parents, Unemployed |
Michigan |
Short-term |
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| Long-term |
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