Welfare reform in California : state and county implementation of CalWORKs in the first year / Gail L. Zellman [and others].

"MR-1051-CDSS"--Page 4 of cover.

"Prepared for the California Department of Social Services."

Includes bibliographical references (pages 89-95).

The California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program is California's response to the welfare reforms Congress set in motion in 1996. The most visible features of this program are its emphasis on moving welfare recipients from reliance on government cash assistance to work and toward self-sufficiency; its use of time limits and participation requirements; its provision of certain services, such as child care and job search assistance, to make participation easier; and its devolution of program authority from the state to the county level. Here, the authors examine the first year of CalWORKs, focusing on the planning and implementation processes and the effects of the program to date. Four themes emerged that will be explored further in future reports: (1) Organizations have changed in response to the expanded mission of CalWORKs, despite limited time for planning. (2) Implementation is under way, but recipient compliance is low. (3) Counties currently have sufficient funds, but this may change. (4) Achieving earnings needed to achieve self-sufficiency before time limits expire is a challenge.

Print version record.

PREFACE -- FIGURES -- TABLES -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- ABBREVIATIONS -- INTRODUCTION -- Background -- Objective -- ORGANIZATIONS HAVE CHANGED IN RESPONSE TO THE EXPANDED MISSION OF CalWORKs, DESPITE LIMITED TIME FOR PLANNING -- Implementing CalWORKs Entails a Profound Expansion of the Organizational Mission -- Late Legislation Limited the Time Available for County-Level Planning -- As a Result, Counties Have Been Forced to Implement with Only Limited Planning -- Counties Are Using Different Strategies to Deal with Key Implementation Requirements.

Running Eligibility and Welfare-to-Work Activities -- Coordinating Operations with Other Agencies and Service Providers -- Apportioning New Agency Responsibility to Staff -- Increasing the Use of Outsourcing -- IMPLEMENTATION IS UNDER WAY, BUT RECIPIENT COMPLIANCE IS LOW -- Implementation Is Under Way but Is Far from Complete -- High Job-Placement Rates Mask a Noncompliance Problem -- Although Counties Are Still Developing Sanction Programs, Many Are Concerned They Will Be Ineffective When in Place -- COUNTIES CURRENTLY HAVE SUFFICIENT FUNDS, BUT THIS MAY CHANGE.

The Counties Currently Have Sufficient Funds -- The Shift to a Single TANF Block Grant -- Other Funding Streams -- Declining Caseloads -- Carryover Funds -- How Much Do These Factors Affect Per-Case Funding? -- CountiesÌ Fiscal Status Could Change Dramatically -- Internal Factors -- External Factors -- As a Result, the Responses of County Welfare Agencies Vary -- ACHIEVING EARNINGS NEEDED TO ACHIEVE SELF- SUFFICIENCY BEFORE TIME LIMITS EXPIRE IS A CHALLENGE -- Under CalWORKs, Work Pays -- Moving Recipients to Self-Sufficiency Is Challenging -- Counties Need to Work to Meet the Challenge.

IMPLICATIONS FOR FOLLOW-ON ACTIVITIES -- Theme 1: Organizational Change -- Theme 2: Implementation and Noncompliance -- Theme 3: Sufficiency of Funding -- Theme 4: Transition to Self-Sufficiency.

English.

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