Texas Economic Supports for Working Families: A Product of the Bridging the Gaps Project

Authors: Deanna Schexnayder, Ying Tang, Brendan Hill, and Sarah Looney Oldmixon
Date: February 2007
Publication Type: Report, 34pp.

This report provides key background information about Texas’ population, economic and policy environment; briefly summarizes the availability and key features of programs that are available to support Texas working families; discusses results from the simulation of resources and expenses for the hypothetical family at different earnings levels across four Texas cities; and offers conclusions to help guide further work on this topic.

Bridging the Gaps

Authors: Deanna Schexnayder and Heather Boushey
Date: February 2006
Publication Type: PowerPoint Presentation, 16pp.

Over the past year, the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) has worked with the Ray Marshall Center (RMC) to gather policy information on all the major federal and state economic support programs (TANF, Food Stamps, Medicaid/CHIP, EITC, Child Care, and Housing) and conduct analyses that demonstrate the persistent gap between low-income working families’ basic needs and their resources, including both earnings and the public benefits available to them.  In this collaboration, CEPR’s Bridging the Gaps project will reveal how many families experience a “hardships gap” (that is, they have insufficient earnings and benefits to meet basic needs), the material hardships faced by families’ experiencing a hardships gap, and how families are coping.  To date, CEPR and RMC have completed the pilot phase of this project. This presentation contains the results of our findings thus far.

Researcher(s):Christopher T. King and Peter R. Mueser
Date Published: January 2005
Publisher(s): W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research
Availability: Available for purchase from the W.E. Upjohn Insitute for Employment Research. 200pp.

Abstract: King and Mueser examine changes in welfare participation and labor market involvement of welfare recipients in six major cities during the 1990s. By focusing on these six cities (Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, and Kansas City) they are able to glean the extent to which differences in state and local policy, administrative directives, and local labor market conditions contribute to the trends in caseloads, employment, and well-being observed among former recipients. This allows the authors to identify recipient flows and patterns of employment in the six cities before and after welfare reform, and to draw conclusions that go beyond existing studies.

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Impacts of Workforce Services for Young, Low-Income Fathers: Findings from the Texas Bootstrap Project

Authors: Daniel Schroeder, Sarah Looney, and Deanna Schexnayder
Date: October 2004
Publication Type: Report, 54pp.
Also Available: Executive Summary

Abstract: This was the second of two reports evaluating the Bootstrap Project, a program created as a supplement to the Texas Fragile Families Initiative (TFF).  The TFF program helped organizations around the state increase their capacity to serve young, low-income fathers. Bootstrap provided enhanced services to fathers so they could develop the necessary resources to become responsible parents who met the needs of their children.

This impact evaluation addressed four primary research questions regarding the economic effects of necessary Bootstrap services on low-income noncustodial fathers.  The research compared the outcomes for Bootstrap participants to those of a carefully selected comparison group of other young, low-income fathers on the Office of the Attorney General of Texas’ child support caseload.  The results reported strongly suggested that the Bootstrap program was successful in achieving its goals of improving outcomes for young, low-income noncustodial fathers and the mothers of their children.  However, the researchers cautioned that the results should be interpreted cautiously due to various factors needing clarification with further research.

Researcher(s):Sarah Looney
Date Published: August 2004
Publisher(s): Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, the University of Texas at Austin (professional report)

Abstract: The number of children living in single-parent households in the United States has increased dramatically since the 1960s. Today, most children are expected to spend some part of their childhood in a single-parent household, typically without a father present. Partially as a response to this phenomenon, the last decade experienced a surge in ‘responsible fatherhood’ initiatives designed to increase child support collections, further understanding of the important roles fathers can play, and increase fathers’ participation in the lives of their children. This report analyzes the lessons learned from efforts thus far in order to suggest opportunities to strengthen and expand responsible fatherhood programming in Austin, Texas.

Availability:

Full Report (PDF)
Executive Summary (PDF)
Printed Copies:
Contact rmcpubs@raymarshallcenter.org

Factors Affecting Participation in Programs For Young Low-Income Fathers: Findings from the Texas Bootstrap Project

Authors: Sarah Looney and Deanna T. Schexnayder
Date: April 2004
Publication Type: Report, 58pp.
Also Available: Executive Summary

Abstract: This is the first of two reports evaluating the Bootstrap Project, a program created as a supplement to the Texas Fragile Families Initiative (TFF). The TFF program helped organizations around the state increase their capacity to serve young, low-income fathers. Bootstrap provided enhanced services to fathers so they could develop the necessary resources to become responsible parents who met the needs of their children.

Bootstrap administrators found that recruiting and enrolling fathers to participate in the Bootstrap Program occurred at a slower pace than initially anticipated. As such, RMC researchers were asked to expand the scope of their research to explore this phenomenon. This evaluation addresses the research question: What are the primary factors contributing to the low enrollments in the Bootstrap program?

Achieving Change for Texans: Evaluation of the Texas Welfare Reform Waiver: Final Summary Report

Author: Deanna T. Schexnayder
Date: September 2003
Publication Type: Report,

Abstract: In 1995, the Texas Legislature enacted H. B. 1863, which formed the basis for Texas’ waiver from existing Federal laws governing the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program. The Texas waiver, officially known as the Achieving Change for Texans (ACT) demonstration, aimed to assist participants to achieve independence from welfare through an increased emphasis on employment, training, temporary assistance and support services. It included three primary components: time-limited benefits, a personal responsibility agreement and one-time payments in lieu of welfare payments.

The evaluation of the ACT demonstration consisted of three approaches: a process evaluation, a random-assignment impact analysis, and follow-up interviews with persons who reached their time limits or who elected to receive one-time payments instead of cash welfare assistance. This report summarizes findings from all facets of the evaluation and draws conclusions and policy implications for welfare policy development in the post-waiver time period.

Also Available: Executive Summary, Powerpoint Presentation
Printed Copies: Contact Debora Morris, Texas Department of Human Services, (512) 438-3353

The Role of Child Support and Earnings in Texas Welfare and Poverty Dynamics

Author: Christopher T. King and Daniel Schroeder
Date Published: September 2003
Publication Type:  Report, 19pp.

Abstract: Most welfare reform research to date has focused on only one of the parents involved in the welfare system, the custodial parent (CP), typically the mother who is or has been on welfare.  The non-custodial parent (NCP), typically the father of the dependents in question, has received both inadequate attention from policymakers and researchers and insufficient assistance from the existing array of programs.  Thus, the available research offers ambiguous results on the role of NCP earnings and child support in promoting exits from welfare and poverty and reducing welfare recidivism.  The studies focused mainly on pre-reform periods, leaving considerable room for further research.  In the current paper, we report on additional research on the role of child support and both custodial and non-custodial parent earnings in Texas welfare and poverty dynamics in the post-reform era.

The main conclusions from our analysis of the role of child support and earnings in welfare and poverty dynamics in Texas, can be viewed as representing a best-case scenario.  Our major conclusions stress that the receipt of child support plays a strong and significant role in increasing the probability of exit from and reducing the probability of recidivism to welfare.  Finally since workforce participation and child support play such strong positive roles in welfare and poverty dynamics, policymakers may well want to prioritize services to NCPs coupled with effective child support enforcement and payment mechanisms as an effective anti-poverty strategy.

Achieving Change for Texans: Evaluation of the Texas Welfare Reform Waiver: Final Impact Report

Authors: Deanna T. Schexnayder, Daniel G. Schroeder, Jerome A. Olson, and Hyunsub Kum
Date: January 2003
Publication Type: Report, 127pp.

Abstract: In 1995, the Texas Legislature enacted H. B. 1863, which formed the basis for Texas’ waiver from existing Federal laws governing the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program. The Texas waiver, officially known as the Achieving Change for Texans (ACT) demonstration, aimed to assist participants to achieve independence from welfare through an increased emphasis on employment, training, temporary assistance and support services. The random- assignment net impact evaluation measured the effectiveness of two major components of this legislation: time-limited benefits and use of a personal responsibility agreement for recipients of public cash assistance.

This is the final impact report from this evaluation. It includes net impacts of the ACT demonstration from its inception in June 1996 through September 2001, and measures impacts of state time limits and the Texas personal responsibility agreement on welfare dynamics, client self-sufficiency, participation in workforce development programs, and several family and child indicators.

Also Available: Appendix
Printed Copies: Contact Debora Morris, Texas Department of Human Services, (512) 438-3353