National Association of Counties * Washington, DC / Vol. 30, No. 8 * April 27, 1998

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A study of the Family Transition Program (FTP) in Escambia County, Fla., one of the first welfare reform pilot projects in the nation to include a time limit on benefits, shows that the program increased the number of people working and the total income of participating families.

However, the number of families receiving welfare benefits didn't decrease until the first recipients reached their 24-month limit and had their benefits canceled. But that's misleading, according to Mamun Rashied, district manager for economic self-sufficiency programs for Florida's Department of Children and Family Services.

"The time limits have had very little effect," Rashied said. "That's been a big bugaboo for us. Everyone was interested in the time limit, but that wasn't the intent of the program. Our purpose was to make them whole, stable families in two years, rather than run them off as fast as we could."

Of the 102 people who reached their limit and had benefits discontinued, half already were employed at least part-time and were combining welfare benefits with wages under the program's relaxed earnings disregard. Most of them were still working six months later. Of the 51 who didn't have a job when their benefits ran out, about half reported finding a job within six months.

"This is the first report that looked at people who have reached their time limit on benefits in our program," according to Don Winstead, Florida welfare reform administrator in the state's Department of Children and Families Services.

"A lot of people seem to be expecting a catastrophe from time limits, but that's just not the case," Winstead said. "In our experiences with this program and with statewide programs, we think the statements about catastrophes just aren't true."

Only a small percentage of the 1,400 people in the FTP program entered early enough to have exhausted their benefits in the time period of this study, according to Dan Bloom, a senior research associate at the Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC). MDRC is studying FTP and Bloom is an author of the latest report. The time limits seemed to have little effect in moving people off welfare.

"I don't think the limits, by themselves, spur a lot of people to leave welfare," Winstead said. "I think you can have more impact with a 'work first' message. The time limits weren't a factor early in the FTP program. The key is that even with rigid and strict time limits like ours, they don't have a catastrophic impact."

"If you design a program that has a balance of time limits, a 'work first' message and the enhanced services such as child care, it can be effective," Winstead added.

Rashied said he's optimistic about the results so far. So optimistic, in fact, that he's putting more of his caseworkers into the program because "it works." And although he's happy with the results, he's more interested in the program's long-term track record.

"Most people look at how many got jobs, but I think we need to look deeper," Rashied said. "How many of them have stabilized their families and their kids are doing better in school? That's the most promising result I've seen. Not everyone cooperated with us. But for the ones who have cooperated with us, the people are getting better jobs with benefits and the schools are saying the kids are doing better."

"We haven't seen them showing up homeless or in jail or their children being abused. It seems to have made a change in their lives," Rashied added.

The report concluded that time limits hadn't had a dramatic effect in Escambia for three reasons:

1.) Escambia is a mid-sized county with a strong labor market.

2.) Time limits were new and some recipients might have been skeptical.

3.) The program doesn't emphasize getting off welfare as fast as possible to save months of benefits for later.

"FTP emphasized training and education to try to move people into better jobs," Bloom said. "These features may raise family income in the short run and help people find better jobs, but they also cause some people to use up their benefits and reach the time limit more quickly. It's too early to say whether the tradeoff is worthwhile."

"The story of FTP is still unfolding," Bloom added. "In the next two years, we will be examining what happens to the families whose welfare grants are canceled, and we'll also learn much more about how the time limit affects the more disadvantaged recipients - those with the 36-month limit. Fortunately, Florida is using the evaluation to track people who have left welfare."

County welfare program has four keys

By Kevin Wilcox
senior staff writer

Escambia County, Fla. has a population of 274,000. The county is in the state's panhandle on the Alabama border. It has a strong labor market and an unemployment rate below the state average.

Escambia started the Family Transition Program (FTP) in May 1994, two years before federal welfare reform ushered in Florida's Work and Gain Economic Self-Sufficiency (WAGE) program. FTP mixes a low client-to-staff ratio with an array of supports, such as education, job training and child care. Recipients are able to earn more money while remaining in the system, thanks to an expanded earnings disregard.

"The idea was to build up their resources so that they could be stable," said Mamun Rashied, district manager for economic self-sufficiency programs for Florida's Department of Children and Family Services. "Clients are allowed to keep the first $200 of their earnings, rather than $30 with the old program, so they could build up savings so they could make it on their own and not have to come and see us later."

Key elements of FTP are:

• Time limit: Most recipients can receive 24 months of benefits in a 60-month period. Other groups with less education and work history are eligible for 36 months in a 72-month period.
• Financial work incentives: FTP changes the rules to let families earn more and still get a welfare grant. Subsidized child care is provided for two years after a family leaves welfare for work.
• Enhanced services: Participants have to put in at least 30 hours a week in employment and training services. The program also offers social and health services and intensive case management.
• Parental responsibility mandates: Parents have to make sure their children are attending school and have been immunized.

"The most important element is including the client as a partner as opposed to a pawn that is moved from place to place," Rashied said. "From day one when we greet them, it's different. In the old program it was 'how much do you need and where are your bills?' Now it's 'how can we help you find a job and stabilize your family?' "

Don Winstead, Florida welfare reform administrator in the state's Department of Children and Families, said he is encouraged by FTP's early results.

"The bottom line of that report is that when you compare the people in the FTP with the people in the control group receiving traditional benefits, the FTP group got less welfare and more earnings," Winstead said.

MDRC studies county welfare pilot program

By Kevin Wilcox
senior staff writer

The Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC) has been studying the Family Transition Program (FTP) in Escambia County, Fla., since the program's inception in 1994. MDRC's latest report details a study of 2,800 welfare recipients in the county.

Of those, 1,400 people were assigned at random to FTP during the program's first year and 1,400 were assigned to a control group that received traditional AFDC benefits. At the end of two years, 52 percent of the FTP group was employed, compared to 44 percent of the AFDC group.

Additionally, the FTP group earned about 15 percent more, was more likely to obtain full-time jobs and was more likely to be working at a job with health benefits and paid sick days. They also reported a higher level of job satisfaction.

Don Winstead, Florida welfare reform administrator in the state's Department of Children and Families, said he isn't sure how much other counties can generalize from the results in Escambia.

"Pensacola has had a good economy throughout this report," Winstead said. "I'm sure there are areas where that won't be the case."

Mamun Rashied, district manager for economic self-sufficiency programs for Florida's Department of Children and Family Services said that community education is a key to successful welfare reform.

"The community needs to be made aware how they can be partners, Rashied said. "We've been out educating the community. We have churches who are helping. These clients need support in their communities. It's not going to help if people are standing up in churches, saying, 'oh, these poor people are getting cut off.' Without community education, there will be problems in some areas. What we did was preempt that by educating the community about what was happening and the value of work."