Absence of conflict of interest.
Citation
Highlights
- The study’s objective was to examine the effects of the Building Nebraska Families (BNF) program, an intensive life skills education program on employment, earnings, and personal and family well-being for work-mandatory TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) recipients living in rural Nebraska.
- The study used a random assignment research design in which a total of 602 eligible participants were randomly assigned into a treatment or control group over a 28-month enrollment period. The intervention effects were assessed at multiple follow up periods for both the full analytical sample as well as a subgroup of “very hard to employ” participants. Participants in treatment and control groups were similar on education background, duration of TANF receipt, public assistance, and household composition at baseline. The intervention was delivered to rural families in more than 65 counties in Nebraska through individualized home visits by trained educators. Multiple data sources were utilized including survey data at 18 and 30 months follow up periods and administrative data from the state of Nebraska, including welfare benefit and quarterly wage records for 12 quarters (36 months) after random assignment.
- The study found that the treatment group was more likely to be employed for six consecutive months and more likely to be employed during the final six-month follow up than the control group. The treatment group was also more likely to be employed in regular daytime jobs and jobs that provided promotion and healthcare insurance than the control group. There were no statistically significant findings related to average monthly earnings between the treatment and control group. However, the treatment group was more likely to have higher family income (which includes earnings plus income from other sources like child support) than the control group.
- This study receives a high evidence rating. The quality of causal evidence presented in this study is high because it is based upon a well-implemented randomized controlled trial. This means that we are confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the Building Nebraska Families Program and not to other factors.
Intervention Examined
Building Nebraska Families (BNF)
Features of the Intervention
BNF was originally implemented from 2002 until 2004 and the current study focuses on examining the intervention’s estimated effects on the most disadvantaged (i.e. very-hard-to-employ) TANF recipients to assess whether the intervention had an impact on their employability, earnings, and well-being. The intervention was delivered over 36 months to low-income families in 11 different sites in rural Nebraska, through home visits with intensive one-on-one sessions that included life skills education, mentoring, and service coordination. The program was delivered by 11 educators, with caseloads between 12-18 active clients each. A total of 25 hours of contact time, on average, was recorded between the clients and educators.
Features of the Study
The study’s objective was to highlight the Building Nebraska Families (BNF) program’s role in helping the most disadvantaged TANF recipients move from welfare programs to self-sufficiency. The study used a randomized controlled trial design to assign participants to a treatment or control group. A total of 602 participants were assigned to either a treatment or control group. At baseline, participants were similar on demographic and socioeconomic characteristics (age, sex, race and ethnicity, household composition, age of youngest child, educational level, prior year earnings, duration of cash assistance, and level of disadvantage). The treatment group was more likely to have recent work experience; the study controlled for this difference in the analysis with multivariate regression. Data was collected at 18-, 30- and 36-month follow up periods. The treatment group received program services while the control group were not offered program services, though they had access to all other available TANF resources.
Findings
Employment
- The treatment group was more likely to retain employment for 6 consecutive months and to receive a promotion compared with the control group.
- At the 30-month follow up, the treatment group was more likely to be working in regular, day-time shift jobs, or in jobs that provided insurance or paid vacation than the control group.
- During the last 6 months of the 30-month follow up period, the more disadvantaged subgroup of the treatment group worked significantly more months than the more disadvantaged subgroup of the control group.
Earnings
- During the 30-month follow up period, there were no statistically significant differences in the earnings of treatment and control group members.
- The treatment group was more likely to have higher family income than the control group.
- The treatment group was no more likely than the control group to hold a job earning more than $8 per hour.
Training
- During the 18-month follow-up period, the treatment group received more formal education or vocational training, and more mentoring or informal counseling.
Employer benefits receipt
- More treatment group participants worked in a job that provided health insurance.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
The authors note that the study takes place in rural Nebraska during a time of low unemployment. Although some similarities can be drawn between the experiences of BNF participants and TANF recipients in other communities and contexts, readers should take care in interpreting findings for different settings. Also, the response rate for the 30-month follow-up survey was 83%, resulting in high attrition for all 30-month outcomes (e.g. employment and earnings). The authors used a randomized controlled trial and controlled for differences in baseline characteristics so we can be somewhat confident that the estimated effects on employment and earnings at 30-months are attributable to BNF, but other factors might also have contributed.
Causal Evidence Rating
The study received an overall high causal evidence rating, which means we are confident the estimated affects are due to the Building Nebraska Families Program (BNF) and not to other factors.