Does "Work First" work? An evaluation of welfare reform in an urban North Carolina county The success or failure of welfare reform, initiated in 1996, varies by differing state and local programs. North Carolina's TANF program, called Work First, requires that cash assistance be terminated after 24 months of participation, and terminated families cannot reapply for 36 months. It is unknown whether families have attained self-sufficiency within the two-year time limit, and if not, how they are faring afterward. Durham County is an urban area with an estimated population of 200,000 and a Work First caseload of 2077 in December 1999, down from 4200 in the latter months of 1996. In August of 1998, families began to be terminated from Work First cash assistance due to the time limit. The Work First Evaluation, conducted by the Sheps Center for Health Services Research at UNC-Chapel Hill, is an in-depth quantitative and qualitative study of these and other Work First families in Durham. Focus groups with current and former program participants and with service providers informed development of a questionnaire covering food security, health care, housing, child care, employment, domestic violence, literacy, substance use, and qualitative questions on recipients' evaluations of the program. In-person interviews are conducted by a former recipient in respondents' homes. Analyses of focus group and interview data assess the effectiveness of NC's welfare reform efforts in enabling families to beome self-sufficient, and suggest policies for improving this outcome.
Learning Objectives: Participants will be able to list the components of an effective welfare reform program. They will also recognize policies that facilitate families' progress toward self-sufficiency, and policies that compromise or inhibit progress
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: I am employed as a Research Associate at the Sheps Center
for Health Services Research.