| State | Requested by | Status of study | Cases | Information sought | Sample | Methods | Employment records | Home visits | Survey type | Other administrative data |
| Alabama | agency | Planning | Applicants denied assistance and former recipients | recidivism activity, employment status, income sources, whether and how basic needs are being met | Sample longitudinal | administrative data, wage match, survey | yes | food stamps, Medicaid, child support, child welfare | ||
| Arkansas | interest from legislature, Governor, and agency | underway—10/97 (ongoing) | closed cases, excluding those closed due to earnings, left state, or no children under 18 | whether basic needs are being met—health, shelter, clothing, food, protective services, and other social services | universal | home visits, maybe some surveys | yes | phone | ||
| Colorado | agency | ongoing—1998–2002 (proposed legislation) | closed cases due to employment | job placement, retention, recidivism, long-term self-sufficiency, other social services | to be determined | |||||
| Delaware | waiver evaluation | ongoing since 10/96 at 5 sites, planning for statewide | recipients and former recipients | employer/wage information | sample | mail survey and employment records | Unemployment Insurance (UI) | |||
| Georgia | agency | Planning | closed cases | universal | UI data match | UI | ||||
| Georgia | agency | Planning | closed cases | sample | personal interviews | personal | ||||
| Guam | Completed—spring 1997 | terminated nonqualified legal aliens | impact of welfare reform alien provisions | not specified | face-to-face and phone interviews | |||||
| Idaho | agency | completed—7/97–1/98 | caseload, demographics, wages, employment, department and community support services, movement toward self-reliance, self-esteem, open-ended comments | mail surveys, phone surveys, in-person interviews | mail, phone, and in-person interviews | |||||
| Illinois | legislature and upper management | planning | denied applicants and closed cases, clients with a 2-year time limit | paths after leaving welfare, patterns of return, participation in other public systems | sample longitudinal | part of a large-scale, longitudinal evaluation and study of welfare reform in the state | UI and new hire | limited | phone, mail, home visits | data warehouse of WIC, immunizations, mental health, alcohol and drug treatment, etc. |
| Indiana | waiver evaluation | ongoing through 2002, first report 9/97 | sample of control group and pilot group—compares closed cases and existing cases | impact: income, well-being, immunizations, other services (soup kitchens, Medicaid, housing) | UI data, phone surveys with in-person follow-up, admin databases (child welfare, child support, Medicaid), new hire, mail survey | UI and new hire | mail, phone and in-person followup | TANF, food stamps, child welfare, child support, and Medicaid | ||
| Iowa | agency | underway—9/30/97–9/30/00 | employed cases receiving post-employment services | client experiences with services, employment patterns, job advancement, barriers to advancement | sample (250) | site visits, client survey, interviews, admin data—control groups by counties | Yes | phone and in-person | post-employment service data | |
| Iowa | agency | underway—covers 9/97–3/99 | cases sanctioned twice (repeat assignments to Limited Benefit Plan) | reasons for sanction, financial and family circumstances, knowledge of program requirements | sample (250) | telephone survey, in-depth case study interviews with 12 families, admin data | phone and in-person | Department of Human Services (DHS) data | ||
| Iowa | agency | underway—first report 5/97, continues through 7/99 | participants in Limited Benefit Plan and terminated cases | why entered sanction plan, benefits received, changes in financial and employment status, coping strategies | universal and sample (survey of terminated) | admin data, telephone survey, in-depth case study interviews | yes, for in-depth case study interviews | in-person and phone | DHS data | |
| Iowa | agency | completed 9/97–2/98 | sanctioned cases receiving well-being visits | completion rate of well-being visits, effectiveness of visits and staff training, appropriateness of data collection tool, effectiveness of safety net | universal | well-being data report, telephone interviews, focus groups with well-being visitors (13 counties and 3 sites) | yes | phone interviews by state staff | ||
| Kansas | agency | planning | closed and temporarily closed (sanctioned) cases | how families that leave involuntarily support themselves | sample | home visits for those that return to welfare; mail and telephone to cases that remain off assistance | Maybe | yes | phone and mail | foster care (maybe) |
| Kentucky | agency | longitudinal study—starting in 1998 for 5 years | welfare cases | reasons for leaving, employment status and earnings, financial impact, quality of life, and child outcomes | sample (500 to start, add 200 per year) | in person interviews each year for up to five years—payment | Yes | yes | face-to-face | data from several systems |
| Kentucky | completed 12/97 | closed cases | reasons for leaving, employment status, earnings, transportation, access to health and child care, quality of life | sample (560) | phone survey | phone | ||||
| Maryland | agency and legislature | ongoing—longitudinal first report 9/97, second report 3/98 | closed cases | employment experiences, recidivism, child welfare, other programs (child support, food stamps, child care) | 5 percent sample of exiting cases each month | data matching—UI and admin, planning phone interviews for information on how families make ends meet, what enabled family to leave welfare, etc. | UI, wage records, and new hire | phone interviews beginning spring 1998 | child welfare, child support, welfare, developing a data warehouse | |
| Massachusetts | planning | recipients and former recipients | work, wages, state program use | state agencies' data matches | UI | social services, welfare, etc. | ||||
| Massachusetts | underway—first report due 12/98 | cases closed from 1/97–6/97 | followup for one year—work status, income, food needs, impacts on children | sample | phone interviews every 3 months, pay $25 per interview, face-to-face where required | primarily phone, some mail | ||||
| Massachusetts | completed 2/98 | cases closed for ambiguous reasons—client request, failure to redetermine | Reasons for case closure and current circumstances | universal | admin records, phone call or home visits when needed | phone | yes | |||
| Missouri | governor and agency | ongoing—report 2/98 | closed cases (welfare and job training) | employment, retention, higher earnings, above poverty | universal | admin records | UI | |||
| Nevada | agency | begins 6/98 | sample of clients on monthly basis | recidivism, longitudinal employment data, impact on support services for long-term job retention, cost effectiveness | sample | welfare and employment security data | Employment security | TANF | ||
| New Hampshire | agency | ongoing—began spring 1998 and will continue for 5 years | diverted cases, exiting cases, recipients | program impacts on welfare participation, exit and entry rates, self-sufficiency, employment, earnings | mail surveys, phone surveys, focus groups, in-person interviews, UI, new hire, admin data | UI and new hire | mail, phone, and surveys distributed at agency appoint-ments | child care, food stamps, Medicaid, other support services | ||
| New Mexico | Governor, legislature, and agency | first report completed 9/97, second report due 7/98 | closed cases | employment and earnings | universal | mail survey, UI data match underway | UI | |||
| New York | legislature | planning | welfare cases and former recipients | employment and earnings, other program use, child support, births and family formation, child welfare | admin data matching | UI and new hire | maybe | Medicaid, food stamps, state safety net program, child support, and other social services | ||
| North Carolina | agency | ongoing, preliminary report due shortly | cohort analysis of closed cases (with and without wages) | employment status, other services (food stamps, Medicaid, child care), contact with child welfare system | universal | admin data, surveys, phone calls | UI and new hire (forthcoming), trying to get more current wage data | no | phone and written | TANF, food stamps |
| Oklahoma | completed 3/97 | cases closed due to earnings not using state-subsidized child care | what child care arrangements are being used | mail and phone survey—low response rate—not statistically representative | mail and phone | |||||
| Oklahoma | planning | current and closed TANF cases, recipients of subsidized child care | children's well-being, job and earnings | sample | longitudinal—phone, mail, and face-to-face interviews, admin data, UI and new hire | yes | no | mail, phone, and face-to-face | yes | |
| Oklahoma | underway—completion date 5/98 | closed cases | other assistance, job training/employment and earnings data, housing-utilities, transportation indicators, family violence and alcohol problems | phone—incentive payment | phone | |||||
| Oregon | agency | ongoing | cases closed due to employment | recidivism, wages, retention, increase in earnings | admin data, UI, home visits, | UI | yes | TANF files | ||
| Pennsylvania | agency | underway | closed cases | case characteristics at closing, employment and other experiences | sample | file check and phone interview | maybe | phone | TANF files | |
| Puerto Rico | planning | closed cases | reason for closure, services the family is receiving, well-being of the family | universal | initial contact by mail, then phone or in-person interview | phone or in-person | ||||
| Rhode Island | planned | welfare cases | not specified | sample | longitudinal (5 years) | |||||
| Rhode Island | underway | employed cases | employment data—retention | universal | employment data match | yes | no, will be added | |||
| South Carolina | agency | ongoing—quarterly cohorts, 2 completed cohorts (10–12/96 and 1–3/97), in process (4–6/97) | closed cases | employment, child care, transportation, household deprivation, housing | sample | phone survey with visit if necessary | will be adding wage records | when client cannot be reached by phone | phone | |
| South Carolina | agency | ongoing—for each cohort | closed cases | child abuse reports | sample | match of closed cases with child abuse registry | child abuse registry | |||
| Tennessee | waiver evaluation | ongoing—initial report 8/97 | closed cases due to sanc-tions, not signing Personal Responsibility Plan | employment, well-being, housing, deprivation | universal | phone surveys | phone | |||
| Tennessee | waiver evaluation | ongoing—initial report 8/97 | employed recipients or cases closed due to employment | employment status, earnings, promotions, transportation, reasons for job loss | phone survey | phone | ||||
| Tennessee | ongoing | cases terminated due to sanctions, time limits | family well-being, how housing and utility needs are being met | universal | home visits by health professional from state Dept. of Health | yes | ||||
| Texas | waiver evaluation and interest by legislature | data collection beginning mid-98 | cases involuntarily terminated | wage patterns, child support, school attendance, immunization, how is family supporting itself | universal and sample (interviews) | UI data match, new hire registry, child support registry, school records, immunization, face-to-face interviews | UI and new hire data match | face-to-face | child support, school attendance, immunization | |
| Texas | DHS Commissioner | interviews begin in 6/98 | diverted and closed cases that stay off TANF for 6 months and families re- ceiving one-time payments | determine how former clients and those diverted are supporting families | sample | phone and face-to-face interviews | phone and face-to-face | |||
| Vermont | ad hoc, planning systematic process | former recipients and applicants | welfare use, employment, participation in other social service programs (including child care and child support) | universal | UI and other administrative data | UI | records from AFDC/TANF, food stamps, Medicaid, GA, child care, and child support | |||
| Vermont | HHS, Governor, legislature | underway—followup through 2002 | all applicants and recipients 7/94–7/97 | universal | ||||||
| Virginia | agency | preliminary study completed, underway 2/98–6/99, first report—winter 1998, ongoing | statewide cases that meet their 24-month time limit | post-TANF status of closed cases (at 6 and 18 months), reasons for reaching time limit | sample (250—first cohort, 1998), (1,000—second cohort, 1999) | survey | UI and admin data | no, unless necessary to ensure high survey completion rate | phone, with in-person followup if necessary | child care, child support, person and case actions and sanctions, Virginia Employment Commission, AFDC/TANF, food stamps, Medicaid |
| Virginia | Health and Human Resources Secretary | completed | AFDC closed cases in first regions to implement state's work component | early feedback on why cases closed | sample (115) | phone survey | N/A | no | phone | N/A |
| Washington | statutory requirement | completed | 2,000 dependent and at-risk households 1988-1992 | circumstances left assistance, reason for returning, earnings increases, economic, education, and health status | sample | annual one-hour interviews | phone | |||
| Washington | WorkFirst Subcabinet | underway | recipients and former recipients | employment, wage progression, recidivism, causes of employment change, participation in training, child care use | sample | UI data match and cross-matches with other data bases | UI | WorkFirst related data bases, school attendance | ||
| Wisconsin | ongoing | wage rate, total earnings, employment, employer, use of other services, well-being, family composition, child support | not specified | mail and phone surveys, UI and new hire data, admin data from child support, child welfare, and schools | UI and new hire | mail and phone | child support, child welfare, schools | |||
| Wyoming | planning | closed cases | current status of families—work, other assistance, attending school | not specified | phone survey | phone |
Note: This matrix will be updated periodically as new information becomes available.