Study Details | Pathways to Work

3147.3147.04-Minnesota Family Inv

Study quality: High

Intervention: Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) Incentives Only

Population and employment barriers: Parents, Single parents, Cash assistance recipients

Services provided: Financial incentives, Supportive services

Setting: Urban only

Study Design

Design:

Randomized controlled trial

Study group formation:

A total of 14,639 public assistance applicant families and recipient families in seven Minnesota counties entered the Financial Assistance Office to apply or reapply for any of three assistance programs (Aid to Families with Dependent Children [AFDC], Food Stamps, or Family General Assistance), and were randomly assigned to MFIP or AFDC programs from April 1994 through March 1996. Single-parent families in Hennepin County (one of three urban counties in the study) were randomly assigned across two versions of MFIP (normal MFIP and MFIP Incentives Only) and two versions of AFDC (normal AFDC and AFDC without services). Single-parent families in Anoka and Dakota counties, the two other urban counties, were randomly assigned to normal MFIP, MFIP Incentives Only, or normal AFDC. Single-parent families in four rural counties and two-parent families in all counties were assigned only to normal MFIP and normal AFDC. This study looks at impacts for 3,113 single-parent, AFDC-applicant families in the urban counties (Hennepin, Anoka, and Dakota) assigned to MFIP Incentives Only or normal AFDC.

Time period of study:

Participants were randomly assigned between April 1, 1994, and December 31, 1994, and were followed for up to three years. The study ended in June 1998 when new public assistance rules took effect for all study participants.

Primary outcome domains examined:

Increase short-term earnings, Increase long-term earnings, Increase short-term employment, Increase long-term employment, Decrease short-term benefit receipt, Decrease long-term benefit receipt

Other outcome domains examined:

Physical health, Housing, Couple relationships

Study funded by:

The study was conducted through a contract with the Minnesota Department of Human Services with support from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Ford Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, and Northwest Area Foundation.

Results

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Outcome domain	Measure	Timing	Study quality by finding	Comparison group mean	Intervention group mean	Impact	Units	Sample size
Increase short-term earnings	Average quarterly earnings, annual	Year 1	High	1,216.00	1,150.00	-66.00	1996 dollars	3,113
Increase long-term earnings	Average quarterly earnings, three quarters	Quarters 9–11	High	2,017.00	1,881.00	-136.00	1998 dollars	3,113
Increase short-term employment	Ever employed, quarterly	Quarter 6	High	51.80	52.00	0.20	percentage points	3,113
Increase long-term employment	Ever employed, quarterly	Quarter 12	High	55.30	55.10	-0.20	percentage points	3,113
Decrease short-term benefit receipt	Average quarterly cash welfare and Food Stamp/SNAP receipt, annual	Year 1	High	65.80	74.20	8.40	percentage points	3,113
Decrease short-term benefit receipt	Average quarterly cash welfare and Food Stamp/SNAP benefits, annual	Year 1	High	1,024.00	1,317.00	293.00	1996 dollars	3,113
Decrease long-term benefit receipt	Average quarterly cash welfare and Food Stamp/SNAP receipt, three quarters	Quarters 9–11	High	36.60	47.00	10.40	percentage points	3,113
Decrease long-term benefit receipt	Average quarterly cash welfare and Food Stamp/SNAP benefits, three quarters	Quarters 9–11	High	561.00	835.00	274.00	1998 dollars	3,113

Short-term outcomes are those measured 18 months or fewer after participants are first offered services. Long-term outcomes are those measured between 18 months and 5 years after participants are first offered services. Very long-term outcomes are those measured 5 years or more after participants are first offered services.

Findings quality key:

High
Moderate

Study quality terms?

The findings quality describe our confidence that a given study’s finding is because of the intervention. We do not display findings that rate low.

Findings key:

A moderate-to-large favorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A moderate-to-large favorable finding that might to be due to chance
A small favorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A small favorable finding that might be due to chance
A favorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
A favorable finding that might be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
A moderate-to-large unfavorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A moderate-to-large unfavorable finding that might to be due to chance
A small unfavorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A small unfavorable finding that might be due to chance
An unfavorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
An unfavorable finding that might be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
A finding that is unlikely to be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size or direction
A finding of no effect that might be due to chance

Favorable findings are impacts in a direction that is socially desirable. Statistical significance indicates the likelihood that a study finding is due to the intervention, rather than due to chance. Findings are described as moderate-to-large if the intervention produced a sufficiently large change in the outcome. An impact receives this designation if the standardized effect size is equal to or greater than 0.25 or equal to or less than -0.25.

Sample Characteristics

Age

Mean age

29 years

Sex

Female	88%
Male	12%

Participant race and ethnicity

Black or African American	24%
White	65%
Hispanic or Latino of any race	3%
American Indian or Alaska Native	5%
Unknown, not reported, or other	3%

Family status

Parents	100%
Single parents	100%

Participant employment and public benefit status

Were employed	23%
Were eligible for cash assistance	100%

Participant education

Had some postsecondary education	16%
Had a high school diploma or GED	77%
Did not have a high school diploma or GED	24%

Intervention Implementation

Implementing organization:

Minnesota state AFDC and TANF

Program history:

The MFIP program originated in April 1994, when the study began. (This study examines the field pilot of the MFIP program.)

Intervention services:

MFIP Incentives Only used financial incentives to encourage work among AFDC clients. First, the MFIP benefit calculation incentivized work by increasing the basic AFDC grant by 20 percent if clients worked and by reducing benefits by only 62 percent for every earned dollar (rather than a dollar-for-dollar reduction). These financial incentives remained in effect as long as clients remained in MFIP. Second, MFIP combined families’ AFDC, Food Stamps, and Family General Assistance (a state-funded cash assistance program) into a single program with one monthly payment; in addition, Food Stamp benefits were provided in cash, rather than as coupons. Finally, MFIP paid child care costs directly to providers rather than having parents pay out of pocket and receive reimbursement.

Comparison services:

People assigned to the comparison condition received typical AFDC services for Minnesota.

Service receipt duration:

The study implied that clients could receive MFIP services as long as they remained enrolled in AFDC.

Study Publications

Miller, Cynthia, Virginia Knox, Lisa A. Gennetian, Martey Dodoo, Jo Anna Hunter, and Cindy Redcross (2000). Reforming welfare and rewarding work: Final report on the Minnesota Family Investment Program - volume 1: Effects on adults, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Available at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/resource/mfip-reforming-welfare-and-rewarding-work-final-report-on-the-minnesota-0.

Miller, Cynthia, Virginia Knox, Patricia Auspos, Jo Anna Hunger-Manns, and Alan Orenstein (1997). Making welfare work and work pay: Implementation and 18-month impacts of the Minnesota Family Investment Program, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Available at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/resource/making-welfare-work-and-work-pay-implementation-and-18-month-impacts-of-the.

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Study of Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) Incentives Only—Recent-applicant, single-parent households