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November 2001
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Matching Applicants with Services
Initial Assessments in the Milwaukee County W-2 Program
Susan Gooden, Fred Doolittle, Ben Glispie
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The passage of federal legislation reforming welfare in 1996 challenged
states to be innovative in structuring and administering public assistance
for needy families with children. As one of the first states to end Aid
to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and replace it with a new program,
Wisconsin provided a new vision for many key decisions that states now face
about imposing time limits on assistance (within the federal five-year lifetime
limit), setting levels of cash assistance, the variety of employment-related
services to offer, and how to enforce requirements for participating in
services.
In the Wisconsin Works (W-2) program, applicants for public assistance under
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) must be assessed and assigned
quickly to one of several "tiers" that entail different levels
of cash assistance, different services, and different participation requirements.
Two tiers (community service jobs and W-2 transitional placements) have
two-year limits unless an extension is granted. Thus, caseworkers' decisions
about initial tier assignments have important implications for participants
and the agencies that administer services. Although state policy sets guidelines
for making initial tier assignments, caseworkers have much discretion in
designing an individualized service plan for applicants and participants.
Moreover, in Milwaukee County, the state has contracted with private agencies
to administer W-2, and the agencies have developed their own procedures
for conducting intake and assessing applicants.
This report - the first in a series on W-2 administration - describes how
the early assessment of applicants' job readiness and service needs was
actually done in Milwaukee County during the program's first two years.
Based on field research, administrative records, and observations of program
operations, it analyzes the initial tier and activity assignments. The study's
findings illustrate how W-2 has evolved, how caseworkers have handled the
many tasks of enrolling someone in the program, and the challenges of assessing
the circumstances and needs of applicants who have serious barriers to employment.
Key findings include:
- Initial tier assignments changed substantially over the first two
years of W-2 operations, reflecting changes in state policy, agency
practice, and applicants' characteristics. Assignments to community
service jobs remained most common throughout the period but did decline
over time, whereas W-2T (transitional) assignments increased, as did
assignments to a temporary category for parents of newborns. Although
agencies do differ in their approach to client assessment, much of the
variation reflects differences among caseworkers within agencies.
- Facing large caseloads, mandated deadlines for decisions, and the
multiple demands of establishing eligibility for W-2 while also specifying
a client's employability plan, caseworkers rely primarily on informal
assessment in making initial tier and activity decisions. They are often
guided by some simple strategies based on an applicant's extent of education
and work experience.
- Caseworkers have no clear road map to guide them in assessing applicants
who have multiple, complex, long-term barriers to employment - a goal
that seems distant - and this compounds the difficulties of designing
an employability plan. In such cases, they may assign initial activities
that create an opportunity for more extended, formal assessment.
This research depends on the cooperation of the W-2 service providers in
Milwaukee County and the State of Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development
and is made possible through the financial support of the Joyce, Rockefeller,
Annie E. Casey, and Kellogg Foundations. Upcoming reports will examine W-2's
community service jobs component, contracting with service agencies, extensions
of time limits, and complaint resolution. The findings of the project will
be summarized in a brief synthesis.
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Funders
The Wisconsin Works (W-2) implementation study is being funded by the Joyce Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Kellogg Foundation, and The Rockefeller Foundation.
The findings and conclusions presented in this report do not necessarily represent the official positions
or policies of the funders.
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