List of Tables
Foreword
Acknowledgments
1. Why Study Implementation?
Past Experience Implementing Work Programs and Requirements
An Overview of TANF
Why Study Frontline Workers?
Policy as Delivered: Summary and Conclusions
2. Samples, Methods, and Data Analysis
States and Sites
Management Interviews
Survey of Workers
Frontline Workers and Encounters
Analyzing the Content of the Conversation
Limitations of the Encounter Data
3. An Overview of Practices and Conversations at the Front Lines
Primary Purpose of the Encounter
The Application Process
Determining Eligibility
Work First
Definition of “Applicant”
Topics Discussed
Workers’ Activities
Routinized Activities
Summary and Conclusion
4. Limiting Welfare Use Directly and Indirectly
Limiting Welfare Use Directly
No Entitlement to Welfare
Time Limits
Cash Diversion Payments
Limiting Welfare Use Indirectly
Mandates to Participate in a Work-Related Activity
Mandates Regarding Other Government Services
Mandates in the Context of Family Problems, Family Planning, and Parental Responsibilities
Mandates in the Context of Client Problems
Summary and Conclusion
5. Mandating Work-Related Activities
Work Mandates for Applicants
Work Mandates for Recipients
Work Mandates for Adults
Work Mandates for Long-term Recipients
Education and Training for Teen Parents
Variations in Work Mandates
6. Financial Inducements to Work
Referring Clients to Jobs: Job Availability and Wage Rates
Increasing the Financial Incentive to Work
Sanctioning for Noncompliance with Mandates
Summary and Conclusion
7. Financing Child Care and Transportation to Support Work
Child Care to Support Work Activities
Transportation Assistance to Support Work Activities
Implications for Meeting the Work Goals of TANF
8. Explaining Eligibility Rules for Medicaid and Food Stamps
Discussion of Medicaid and Food Stamps with TANF Applicants
Discussion of Medicaid and Food Stamps for Families without TANF
Summary and Conclusion
9. Using Information Systems to Verify Eligibility, Monitor Behavior, and Detect Fraud
Determining Eligibility
Monitoring Compliance with Mandates
Detecting Fraud
Conclusion
10. Managing the Implementation of TANF
Leadership by Governors and State Welfare Administrators
System-Wide Management Changes
Organizational Structure and Resource Allocation
Mechanisms to Encourage Performance
Investments in Information Systems
Management Changes within the Welfare Agencies
Communicating the Work Goal to Welfare Agency Staff
Routinized Procedures
Leadership and Culture Change?
11. Conclusion
Policy as Delivered and the Decline in Caseloads
Reflections on the Methodology
TANF and Poor Families
Appendix Table 1. Definitions of Topic Codes
Appendix Table 2. Definitions of Activity Codes
Encounter Worksheet
Index