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  • 0.25,1.00
  • -0.02,1.50

Summary

The BNF program provided customized support through home visitation to rural Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients to improve job readiness, life skills, and family management practices, and to assist in the transition to economic independence.

The BNF program provided customized, interactive life-skills education, mentoring, and service coordination through home visits. BNF participants received weekly or biweekly home visits during which master’s-level educators (with small caseloads of 12 to 18 clients) delivered curricula designed to improve life skills and family management practices.

Educators tailored curricula to fit immediate participant needs and used interactive activities such as developing and maintaining a budget, practicing interviewing skills, and understanding effective communication with spouses, partners, and employers.

The educators worked with BNF participants and sometimes involved other family members. The educators also provided informal counseling, referrals, and support in accessing services and resources. After enrolling in the program, BNF participants were required to participate and could be sanctioned with a reduction in their TANF grant if they did not participate.

The program consisted of one-hour, home-based sessions weekly or biweekly for eight months, on average. Participants had access to the BNF program activities for up to six months after they found employment. BNF focused on TANF recipients who had faced difficulty meeting work participation requirements in the past. The program was implemented in approximately 65 rural counties in Nebraska.

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Populations and employment barriers:

Effectiveness rating and effect by outcome domain

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Outcome domain Term Effectiveness rating Effect in 2018 dollars and percentages Effect in standard deviations Sample size
Increase earnings Short-term Little evidence to assess support favorable $1,213 per year 0.058 600
Long-term Little evidence to assess support $0 per year 0.000 0
Very long-term No evidence to assess support
Increase employment Short-term Supported favorable 10% (in percentage points) 0.252 600
Long-term Little evidence to assess support unfavorable -1% (in percentage points) -0.030 600
Very long-term No evidence to assess support
Decrease benefit receipt Short-term Little evidence to assess support favorable $-44 per year -0.016 600
Long-term Little evidence to assess support favorable $-74 per year -0.027 600
Very long-term No evidence to assess support
Increase education and training All measurement periods No evidence to assess support
* This intervention was assessed as supported for this domain, meaning it achieved one or more statistically significant, favorable effects. However, the intervention has an average effect size that is unfavorable because the average includes all effects in this domain - both statistically significant and favorable effects and statistically insignificant but unfavorable effects.

Effectiveness rating key:

  • Well-supported Well-supported   
  • Supported  Supported   
  • Not supported  Not supported   
  • Mixed support  Mixed support   
  • Insufficient evidence  Insufficient evidence   
  • No evidence  No evidence
Effectiveness rating terms?

Studies of this intervention

Study quality rating Study counts per rating
High High 1
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Implementation details

Dates covered by study

Evaluators began enrolling participants in the study in March 2002 and concluded enrollment in June 2004. Outcomes were measured for up to 30 months after random assignment.

Organizations implementing intervention

The Nebraska Health and Human Services System, the state’s health and human services agency which oversees the state’s TANF program, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Cooperative Extension (UNCE) implemented BNF. The Nebraska Health and Human Services System identified potential BNF participants and contracted with the UNCE to provide BNF services.

Populations served

BNF served TANF participants who were required to participate in work activities and who were identified as difficult to employ, which was defined as having low personal functioning, having skills deficiencies, and facing significant challenges in securing and maintaining employment. Participants were prior TANF recipients who had previously struggled to meet work participation requirements. At the time of enrollment, participants’ average age was 28, few were first-time TANF recipients (3 percent), most were female (93 percent), and few worked for pay (16 percent). Seventy-six percent of the full sample was White, not Hispanic; 2 percent was Black or African American, not Hispanic; and 13 percent was Hispanic or Latino of any race. TANF case managers identified prospective participants and encouraged them to enroll in BNF. Though enrollment was voluntary, case managers reported that they believed participants perceived participation as mandatory. Once enrolled, individuals were required to participate in the program.

Description of services implemented

UNCE educators conducted weekly or biweekly home visits to provide customized support to participants. BNF included the following components:

  • Soft-skills training. Educators delivered curricula designed to improve life skills and family management practices to participants and, at times, to their family members. The BNF curriculum is publicly available and is called Survive, Strive, Thrive: Keys to Healthy Family Living. Fifteen stand-alone lessons encompassed topics such as goal setting, decision making, communication skills, healthy relationships, character development, anger and stress management, parenting and child development, household management and budgeting. Participants completed brief assignments between meetings.

  • Coaching and mentoring. Educators provided informal counseling on a range of personal and work topics, including resolving legal issues, applying for financial aid, and managing stress. Educators also modeled positive personal and work behaviors.

  • Service coordination and advocacy support. Educators coordinated services, provided referrals, and helped participants interact with other agencies and employers to complement the services participants’ TANF case managers provided.

BNF participants also had access to all services provided to the comparison group through the TANF program. These services included employment services and supportive services. Educators and TANF case managers worked together to support participants. Their level of coordination increased over time as their rapport increased.

The study authors identified several key factors that facilitated implementation:

  1. The Nebraska Health and Human Services System and the UNCE had a history of collaboration and a productive partnership that leveraged UNCE’s network of county-level extension offices.
  2. Educators were experienced, master’s level professionals who received ongoing training, along with support and guidance from an active and experienced program coordinator.
  3. Program leaders and staff made active use of performance measurement tools to monitor client progress through the program and oversee staff activities.
  4. Educators had small caseloads and were able to serve clients intensively.

Service intensity

On average, participants and educators met every week or every other week for 90-minute home visits. Lessons during the home visits typically lasted one hour, and educators spent additional time providing services such as mentorship or service coordination. Participants engaged with the program for an average of eight months. Those who engaged with the program at least once participated for a total of 25 hours, on average. Nearly all participants had at least one contact with their educator (95 percent).

Comparison conditions

Participants were randomly assigned to BNF or to a comparison group. Individuals in the comparison group could not enroll in BNF but could receive all other services available to TANF recipients. Available services included case management; job search assistance; work-readiness activities; less intensive soft-skills training; and supportive services, such as child care, medical benefits, and transportation assistance.

Partnerships

UNCE implemented BNF as part of its work to bring the university’s educational resources to rural Nebraska communities.

Staffing

UNCE staff that implemented the program included 1 program coordinator, 1 program evaluator, and 11 educators. The educators had caseloads ranging between 12 and 18 participants and each served between 3 and 8 counties. All educators held master’s degrees in areas such as family studies, education, social work, and counseling.

Fidelity measures

The study did not discuss any tools to measure fidelity to the intervention model.

Funding source

The Nebraska Health and Human Services System used federal TANF dollars to fund BNF through a three-year contract with the UNCE.

Cost information

The average cost per participant was $9,528 in 2018 dollars.

This figure is based on cost information reported by authors of the study or studies the Pathways Clearinghouse reviewed for this intervention. The Pathways Clearinghouse converted that information to a single amount expressed in 2018 dollars; for details, see the FAQ. Where there are multiple studies of an intervention rated high or moderate quality, the Pathways Clearinghouse computed the average of costs reported across those studies.

Cost information is not directly comparable across interventions due to differences in the categories of costs reported and the amount of time interventions lasted. Cost information is not an official price tag or guarantee.

The information contained here reflects how the intervention was implemented at the time of the evaluation.

Local context

The program provided services to residents in approximately 65 rural counties in Nebraska. Some counties were remote, whereas others contained large towns.

Characteristics of research participants
Black or African American
2%
White, not Hispanic
76%
Another race
10%
Hispanic or Latino of any race
13%

The race and ethnicity categories may sum to more than 100 percent if the authors reported race and ethnicity separately; in these cases, we report the category White, rather than White, not Hispanic.

State(s) where implemented

AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE DC FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY Canada

The Pathways Clearinghouse refers to interventions by the names used in study reports or manuscripts. Some intervention names may use language that is not consistent with our style guide, preferences, or the terminology we use to describe populations.

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