Abstract
In 1996 federal welfare reform was passed by the United States government, shifting the focus of welfare programs to ending the dependence of needy parents on government benefits through the promotion of job preparation, work, and marriage (Reed & Karpilow, 2010). As a part of welfare reform, federal Work Participation Rates (WPRs) were established for state welfare programs as a benchmark to measuring the success of these priorities, with substantial fines being assigned to states failing to meet their WPR goals. The State of California has failed to meet its WPR every fiscal year since 2007, with the State accruing $161,294,348 in fines, and making very few attempts to resolve the issue. In this thesis I identify and evaluate a variety of strategies used by other government entities in their efforts to maintain the federally required WPR levels. I begin my analysis by conducting an in-depth review of the most common strategies used in other states, and how effectively those strategies have worked. Using the information gleaned during my review, I complete a criteria-alternatives analysis in matrix form, evaluating ten different alternatives based on whether they will improve WPRs in an effective, low-cost, and equitable manner. My analysis finds that three of the five alternatives I evaluate, which are geared toward state-level decision-making, are consistently better suited to improving California’s WPRs in a low-cost and equitable manner. These options include implementing stricter sanction policies, shifting to performance-based contracts, and using a new data system to monitor WPR performance. My analysis also found that all five of my alternatives focused on county-level policies are strong options for improving California’s WPRs, including expanding unpaid work opportunities, developing sanction re-engagement programs, creating special units to focus on WPRs, expanding subsidized employment programs, and providing incentives for recipients who meet work requirements. Based on these findings I recommend that California utilize a holistic approach that implements a combination of the strongest state and county level alternatives evaluated in my analysis.