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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) |
additional services: Performance- or behavior-based financial incentives, Case management, Childcare and/or early education, Education and Training, Job readiness, Job search assistance, Transportation assistance, Work supports
|
Tested in multiple settings, Urban only | Parents, Public Benefits Recipients, Single parents, Unemployed |
Minnesota |
Short-term | ||||
| Long-term | |||||||||
| Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) (as compared with MFIP Incentives Only) |
additional services: Performance- or behavior-based financial incentives, Childcare and/or early education, Job search assistance, Transportation assistance, Work supports
|
Urban only | Public Benefits Recipients, Single parents, Unemployed |
Minnesota |
Short-term |
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| Long-term |
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| Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) Incentives Only |
additional services: Performance- or behavior-based financial incentives, Childcare and/or early education, Transportation assistance
|
Urban only | Public Benefits Recipients, Single parents, Unemployed |
Minnesota |
Short-term |
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| Long-term |
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| Minnesota Subsidized and Transitional Employment Demonstration (MSTED) |
additional services: Job placement, Job readiness
|
Tested in multiple settings | Public Benefits Recipients |
Minnesota |
Short-term |
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| Long-term |
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| Minnesota Tier 2 |
additional services: Ongoing support, Assessment, Benefit navigation/access, Employer-focused retention strategies, Employment experiences, Job placement, Job readiness, Job search assistance, Paid work experience/internships, Post-employment participant follow-up, Unpaid work experience/internships
|
Urban only | Public Benefits Recipients, Single parents, Unemployed |
Minnesota |
Short-term |
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| Long-term |
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| New Visions Self-Sufficiency and Lifelong Learning Project |
additional services: Ongoing support, Assessment, Career planning, Case management, Employment skills development, Financial education, Job readiness, Occupational or sectoral training, Soft skills training, Tuition assistance/financial aid
|
Tested in multiple settings | Employed, Parents, Public Benefits Recipients |
California |
Short-term |
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| Long-term |
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| Noncustodial Parent (NCP) Choices PEER Curriculum Enhancement Pilot |
additional services: Case management, Financial education, Job placement, Job readiness, Job search assistance, Post-employment participant follow-up, Transportation assistance, Unpaid work experience/internships, Work supports
|
Tested in multiple settings | Parents, Public Benefits Recipients |
Texas |
Short-term |
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| Long-term | |||||||||
| Oklahoma City’s Education, Training, and Employment (ET&E) Program |
additional services: Case management, On-the-job training, Transportation assistance, Unpaid work experience/internships, Work supports
|
Urban only | Public Benefits Recipients, Single parents, Unemployed |
Oklahoma |
Short-term |
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| Long-term |
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| Personal Roads to Individual Development and Employment (PRIDE) |
additional services: Unpaid work experience/internships
|
Urban only | Single parents |
New York |
Short-term |
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| Long-term |
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| Portland Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program (JOBS) |
additional services: Case management, Job placement, Transportation assistance, Unpaid work experience/internships, Work supports
|
Urban only | Public Benefits Recipients, Single parents, Unemployed |
Oregon |
Short-term |
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| Long-term |
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| Post-Assistance Self-Sufficiency (PASS) program |
additional services: Post-employment participant follow-up
|
Urban only | Parents, Single parents |
California |
Short-term |
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| Long-term |
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| Post-Employment Services Demonstration (PESD) |
additional services: Earned income disregards, Job placement, Job search assistance, Post-employment participant follow-up, Work supports
|
Urban only | Employed, Public Benefits Recipients |
Texas |
Short-term |
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| Long-term |
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| Reach for Success |
additional services: Ongoing support, Action step development, Assessment, Benefit navigation/access, Career planning, Childcare and/or early education, Counseling/emotional support and relationship building, Employment coaching, Employment skills development, Job development, Job placement, Job search assistance, Post-employment participant follow-up, Transportation assistance, Work supports
|
Urban only | Parents, Public Benefits Recipients, Single parents |
California |
Short-term |
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| Long-term |
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| Riverside Human Capital Development (HCD) Program |
additional services: Case management, Job development, Job search assistance, Paid work experience/internships, Transportation assistance
|
Urban only | Parents, Public Benefits Recipients, Single parents, Unemployed |
California |
Short-term |
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| Long-term |
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| Riverside Human Capital Development [HCD] Program (as compared with Riverside Labor Force Attachment [LFA] Program) |
additional services: Case management, Job development, Job search assistance, Paid work experience/internships, Transportation assistance
|
Parents, Public Benefits Recipients, Single parents, Unemployed |
California |
Short-term | |||||
| Long-term |
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| Riverside Labor Force Attachment (LFA) |
additional services: Basic skills/bridge programs, Case management, Job search assistance, Paid work experience/internships, Transportation assistance
|
Urban only | Parents, Public Benefits Recipients, Single parents, Unemployed |
California |
Short-term |
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| Long-term |
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| Riverside Labor Force Attachment (LFA) Program (as compared with Riverside Human Capital Development [HCD] Program) |
additional services: Basic skills/bridge programs, Case management, Job search assistance, Paid work experience/internships, Transportation assistance
|
Urban only | Parents, Public Benefits Recipients, Single parents, Unemployed |
California |
Short-term | ||||
| Long-term |
|
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| Self-Sufficiency Project-Plus (SSP-Plus) |
additional services: Action step development, Career planning, Counseling/emotional support and relationship building, Employment coaching, Financial education, Job placement, Job readiness, Ongoing support, Performance- or behavior-based financial incentives, Post-employment participant follow-up
|
Tested in multiple settings | Public Benefits Recipients, Single parents |
Short-term |
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| Long-term |
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| Self-Sufficiency Project-Plus (SSP-Plus) (as compared with Self-Sufficiency Project) |
additional services: Action step development, Career planning, Counseling/emotional support and relationship building, Employment coaching, Financial education, Job placement, Job readiness, Ongoing support, Performance- or behavior-based financial incentives, Post-employment participant follow-up
|
Tested in multiple settings | Public Benefits Recipients, Single parents |
Short-term |
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| Long-term |
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| Standard Job Club (as compared with Fast Track Job Club) |
additional services: Post-employment participant follow-up, Child support assistance, Financial education, Job placement, Job readiness, Soft skills training, Transportation assistance
|
Tested in multiple settings | Public Benefits Recipients, Single parents, Unemployed |
California |
Short-term |
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| Long-term | |||||||||
| Structured Job Search Assistance (SJSA) |
additional services: Job readiness
|
Tested in multiple settings, Urban only | At least a high school diploma or equivalent, Public Benefits Recipients, Unemployed |
District of Columbia, Florida |
Short-term | ||||
| Long-term |
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