Comparing welfare-to-work programs

As welfare-to-work programs proliferate in 50 states, the need to determine which are effective, which not, becomes more urgent, and the task more daunting. The first two articles in this issue of Focus explore two different approaches to the use of existing survey and administrative data to compare the effects of programs in different states, revealing both the possibilities and the limits of these data. Comparing welfare-to-work programs 1 Income and program participation among early TANF recipients: The evidence from New Jersey, Washington, and Wisconsin 2 Successful welfare-to-work programs: Were Riverside and Portland really that good? 11