View Research by Author - Robin Koralek

Publications

The Urban Institute conducted a comprehensive study of state efforts to modernize the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Although modernization may be defined in many ways, this study adopted a broad definition of modernization described within four categories—policy changes, organizational changes, technological innovations, and partnering arrangements. The study included three data collection activities: initial site visits to four states; a national survey of all states, including a sample of local offices and partner organizations; and intensive case studies in 14 states. The states selected to participate in the case studies included Colorado, D.C., Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin. The main focus of this report is on findings from the intensive case studies conducted between February and June 2009.

This report presents the final results for the evaluation of the New Americans Centers (NACs) demonstration project in Arkansas and Iowa. This demonstration was funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (ETA). Through the project, ETA provided a three-year grant to Arkansas and Iowa to develop NACs within One-Stop Career Centers in high immigrant population areas. The purposes of the grant were to promote stability and rapid employment with living wages for individuals or family members who were without work or were in need of new work, speed the transition of new immigrants into their communities, assist employers, and enhance the economic development opportunities of these communities.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) serves as a basic nutritional safety net for many low-income individuals and families as well as a critical support for households transitioning to self-sufficiency. Over the past decade, an array of federal options and state initiatives have emerged to increase accessibly and efficiency. The report describes the results of a national survey on state modernization efforts that were conducted in late 2008. It focuses not only on technological innovations but also on policy and organizational changes that affect the way SNAP is delivered to clients.

The Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act (House Bill 1804) went into effect on November 1, 2007. House Bill (HB) 1804, is among the most far-reaching of the anti-immigrant laws enacted at the state level and is composed of broad provisions that have the potential to affect all aspects of life in Oklahoma for unauthorized immigrants, including where they live, how they move from place to place, what services they receive from both public and private agencies, and how they are handled when they come into contact with the law enforcement system. The Urban Institute examined the effects of HB 1804 to better understand the implications of these provisions for immigrant families with children.

The U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration (ETA) provided a three-year demonstration grant to Arkansas and Iowa to develop New Americans Centers (NACs) in high immigrant population areas. The purposes of the grant are to promote stability and rapid employment with living wages, speed the transition of new immigrants into communities, assist employers, and enhance local economic development opportunities. This paper is the first report in an ongoing Urban Institute evaluation of the NACs. It focuses on the initial implementation phase of the NACs, highlighting start-up and early operation as well as the types of services participants receive.

The Urban Institute partnered with the One Economy Corporation in applying for a special improvement project (SIP) grant from OCSE to develop high-quality online child support information specifically developed for families in low-income and ethnic and culturally diverse communities. This grant was awarded and used to prepare three sets of bilingual web pages (one national and two local) that are now available to millions of Americans across the country, and can also be used as models for other local and national sites. The main “products” of this grant are the new child support web pages, which can be viewed live at www.thebeehive.org. This report provides the history and background for this project, describes the work completed under the SIP grant, presents interesting findings not apparent on the website itself, and discusses lessons learned for similar future efforts.

This report examines the early implementation of the Minnesota Integrated Services Project (ISP), initiated by the Minnesota Department of Human Services and operating in eight sites across the state. Minnesota ISP focuses on improving economic and family-related outcomes for long-term welfare recipients by increasing access to comprehensive services that address multiple needs and coordinating services provided by multiple service systems. This report discusses the progress made and challenges faced in developing coordinated services provided by multiple systems during the early stages of implementation and provides recommendations for improving these service integration efforts.

This report examines policy issues around subsidy use among parents who leave TANF. It includes data on what parents have to do to keep subsidies as they leave TANF in 11 sites/11 states in 2001, examines existing research on welfare leavers and subsidy patterns, and reviews state policies regarding child care subsidies for welfare leavers for a range of states. It provides an overview of key policy issues and discusses the implications of these findings for efforts to help families move towards self-sufficiency.

This report provides a synthesis of three reports from a multi-phased examination of the connections between the child care and welfare systems for TANF families. It contains 12 overarching findings that emerged from the overall study about the complex interaction between the two systems and discusses the implications of these findings for agencies, TANF clients, and policymakers. It highlights different cross-system approaches, identifies strategies that can minimize administrative duplication and client burden, and sets a framework to help policymakers, administrators, and others interested in designing more effective service delivery systems to help families with child care needs move from welfare to work.

This reports highlights parents' experiences with accessing and retaining subsidies as they move through and off the welfare system. It is based on focus groups that were conducted in 4 sites with parents receiving TANF and child care subsidies, as well as parents who had recently left TANF and were still receiving child care subsidies. It provides information on parents' experiences with key aspects of the TANF/child care subsidy process -- including applying for subsidies, finding a provider, ongoing subsidy requirements, and the transition off welfare -- and discusses the implications for policy and practice.

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