The Employment Retention and Advancement project: Early results from four sites. [Texas ERA—Corpus Christi] (Bloom et al. 2005)

The ERA project was introduced in 1999 as a nationwide exploration of factors that help welfare recipients not only find employment but retain their positions and advance in their careers. Corpus Christi was one of 16 sites across the United States to receive funding from the Department of Health and Human Services to implement a program intended to improve welfare recipients’ employment outcomes. (Two other sites in Texas were evaluated separately and are therefore reported separately by CLEAR.)

TANF recipients in Corpus Christi assigned to the Texas ERA program attended a four-day job-search workshop after attending an initial orientation. They then spent four to six weeks searching for jobs, and the program assigned those who did not then secure employment to community service or volunteer positions. People who found jobs were eligible for a $200 monthly stipend for up to 12 nonconsecutive months if they were employed for at least 30 hours per week, participated in a postemployment advancement activity, or left TANF; they could also receive the stipend if they worked 15 hours per week and participated in an education and training activity. The first four months of earnings for people in the program were disregarded when calculating their eligibility for a stipend. Texas ERA staff also helped clients with job-related problems, reemployment assistance, and support meeting stipend requirements. Program staff made regular employer site visits. Participants were eligible for these services as long as they were eligible for the monthly stipend. Program staff coordinated case management services (including employment assessment, goal setting and career planning, support services, barrier resolution, and job-search assistance) across several partner agencies.