Citation URL: http://www.urban.org/LaDonnaPavetti

This study examines key policies and program strategies used by states and localities to make their welfare systems more employment focused, particularly with respect to Work First strategies that emphasize quick entry into the labor market. The report is based on the experiences of six local sites in five states (IN, MA, OR, VA, WI) in 1997. The report provides an overview of: Work First programs, organizational and staffing strategies, exemptions, sanctions, time limits, earned income disregard, diversion. State administrative data was also used to examine client program experiences and participation patterns over a 12 month period.

There are two Highlights for each state. The Highlights that focus on health cover Medicaid, other public insurance programs, the health care marketplace, and the role of public providers. The Highlights capture policies in place and planned in 1996 and early 1997.

The state reports describe the safety net and health care programs in place for low-income people on the eve of welfare reform. The reports also analyze the particular circumstances that are shaping the state's response to the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). The state reports are based on case studies in the respective state.

There are two Highlights for each state. The income support and social services Highlights look at basic income support programs, employment and training programs, child care, child support enforcement, and the last-resort safety net. The Highlights capture policies in place and planned in 1996 and early 1997.

The state reports describe the safety net and health care programs in place for low-income people on the eve of welfare reform. The reports also analyze the particular circumstances that are shaping the state's response to the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). The state reports are based on case studies in the respective state.

The state reports describe the safety net and health care programs in place for low-income people on the eve of welfare reform. The reports also analyze the particular circumstances that are shaping the state's response to the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). The state reports are based on case studies in the respective state.

There are two Highlights for each state. The income support and social services Highlights look at basic income support programs, employment and training programs, child care, child support enforcement, and the last-resort safety net. The Highlights capture policies in place and planned in 1996 and early 1997.

To investigate the likelihood that women who turn to the welfare system for support will make the transition from bad to good jobs, we use data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) to examine the employment patterns of young women. We construct quarterly employment histories for all the women in our sample, beginning at age 18 and continuing through age 27.

This report compares work history of welfare recipients to that of nonrecipients. Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth were used to construct complete employment and welfare histories for a cohort of women from the time they turn age 19 through the year in which they turn 27. A dynamic model predicts women's movement in and out of the labor market over the time period. This provides a means of predicting how much more women who ever receive welfare would have worked had they followed the same employment paths as women with similar characteristics who never turned to welfare.

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