Overview

The Learning from Administrative Data (LAD) initiative is a project to assess the long-term impacts of various welfare-to-work programs that were evaluated in the 1990s. The project will use administrative records data from the Census Bureau and the Internal Revenue Service (within the U.S. Department of the Treasury) to evaluate the long-term effects of those programs on employment, earnings, and other outcomes. The LAD initiative is crucial for understanding the long-term impacts of welfare policies on adult welfare recipients and their children and informing ongoing debates on how to reform TANF and other aspects of the safety net. Current programs that are being evaluated include New Hope for the Working Poor, Minnesota Family Investment Program, Florida’s Family Transition Program, Connecticut’s Jobs First, and the National Evaluation of Welfare-to-Work Strategies. Other programs that may be added to the project later include Career Academies and the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program.