Self-Sufficiency Project (SSP)
OVERVIEW
The Self-Sufficiency Project (SSP) is a program aimed at reducing the number of families who are reliant on welfare. The program offers income supplements to low-income Canadian parents if they are able to work full-time (i.e., at least 30 hours per week) and leave the welfare program. Evaluations of SSP have found that it increases parental employment and income. Likewise, the program has been found to increase school achievement and structured activity involvement in middle childhood. Small negative impacts were found for some adolescent behaviors.
DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM
Target population: Welfare recipients and their children.
SSP was designed to get parents off welfare, thereby improving their self-sufficiency. The program accomplishes this by offering monetary incentives in the form of earnings supplements if parents work full-time and leave the welfare program. The earnings supplement is calculated using "earnings benchmarks" from the surrounding community as well as participant's actual earnings.
EVALUATION(S) OF PROGRAM
STUDY 1: Morris, P. &
Michalopoulos, C. (2000). The Self-Sufficiency Project at 36 months: Effects
on children of a program that increased parental employment and income.
Evaluated population: The sample
population consisted of 5,078 children ages 3 to 18 in two Canadian cities, one
in New Brunswick and one in British Columbia
Approach: Families were randomly assigned to either the SSP treatment group or a control group. The 2,880 families in the treatment group were offered an income supplement for up to three years if they agreed to work full-time (i.e., at least 30 hours per week) and leave welfare. The 2,849 families in the control group received notification that they were ineligible for SSP benefits. Families in the control group, however, maintained eligibility for Canadian "Income Assistance," the Canadian welfare program.
Results:
Child Outcomes
Treatment group children ages 3-5 at baseline did not improve relative to control group children on tests of cognitive performance or in parental reports of health and behavior.
Treatment group children ages 6-11 at baseline scored higher on math tests and improved on parental reports of academic achievement and health compared with control group children. Children in this age group were also more likely to participate in after school activities.
Treatment group children ages 12-18 self-reported substance abuse and minor delinquent activities more frequently than control group children. Additionally, treatment group children in this age cohort were more likely to have a parent report below average school performance at the 3-year follow-up.
The authors note that effect sizes for significant outcomes were small. Also, the 12-18 years age cohort experienced higher attrition rates than either other cohort. This could have possibly masked effects of the treatment or identified false effects.
STUDY 2: Michalopoulos, C., Tattrie, D., Miller, C.,
Robins, P.K., Morris, P. Gyarmati, D., Redcross, C., Foley, K., & Ford, R.
(2002). Making work pay: Final report on the Self-Sufficiency Project for
Long-Term Welfare Recipients.
Evaluated population: The original study
included nearly 6,000 single-parent, long-term welfare recipients living in one
of two Canadian cities, one in New Brunswick and one in British Columbia
Approach: Between 1992 and 1995, families were randomly assigned to either the SSP treatment group, the SSP Plus treatment group, or a control group. The 2,880 families in the SSP treatment group were offered an income supplement for up to three years, if they worked at least 30 hours per week and started working during the first year. The 239 families in the SSP Plus group, received the same option, but were also offered the use of job services, such as employment plans, job clubs, job coaching, and resume workshops. Lastly, the 2,849 families in the control group received notification that they were ineligible for SSP benefits. Families in the control group, however, maintained eligibility for Canadian "Income Assistance," the Canadian welfare program.
Results:
Supplement Use
Thirty-six percent of the SSP treatment group received at least one financial supplement. The SSP Plus group was even more likely to take up the supplement, and 53 percent received at least one payment. On average, SSP group members (both regular and Plus) received 22 months of payments for a total of $18,000 over the three years.
Parental Employment:
By the end of the program's first year, SSP participants (both regular and Plus) were twice as likely as control group members to be employed full-time. By the program's fifth year, however, control group members had caught up in employment. The authors note that the incentive to work may have declined after the third year because participants were no longer eligible for supplements. Although full-time employment was higher among SSP Plus participants during the fourth year of programming, no significant employment differences were found between SSP Plus and regular SSP participants in other years.
Parental Earnings, Income, and Poverty Status:
On average, SSP participants (both regular and Plus) earned almost $3,400 more than the control group over a five-year period. The earnings gap between SSP participants and control group members decreased over time, however, and by the fifth year, control group members had caught up in earnings.
On average, SSP participants (both regular and Plus) had
substantially higher family incomes than control group families at the12- and
30-month follow-ups ($199 more and $148 more per month, respectively). SSP
participants were also more likely to have an income above the Canadian
low-income level, which is over one-and-a-half times the
Child Outcomes:
Treatment group children ages 1-2 at baseline did not improve relative to control group children on tests of cognitive performance or in parental reports of health and behavior.
Treatment group children ages 3-4 at baseline scored higher in math at the 3-year follow up and had higher parental reports of above-average school performance at the 54-month follow-up compared with control group children. No impacts were found in parental reports of health and behavior.
Treatment group children ages 13-15 at baseline were more likely to engage in minor delinquent activities and have a parent report below average school performance at the 3-year follow-up. The 54-month follow-up did not measure these outcomes; however, at this time, the treatment and control groups did not differ in terms of high school drop out status or college attendance.
SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION
References
Michalopoulos, C., Tattrie, D., Miller, C., Robins, P.K.,
Morris, P. Gyarmati, D., Redcross, C., Foley, K., & Ford, R. (2002). Making
work pay: Final report on the Self-Sufficiency Project for Long-Term Welfare
Recipients.
Morris, P. & Kalil, A. (2006). Out-of-school time use
during middle childhood in a low-income sample. In A.C. Huston & M.N. Ripke
(Eds.), Developmental contexts in middle childhood (pp. 237 - 259).
Morris, P. & Michalopoulos, C. (2000). The Self-Sufficiency Project at 36 months: Effects on children of a program that increased parental employment and income. Ottawa, Ontario: Social Research and Development Corporation.
Program categorized in this guide according to the following:
Evaluated participant ages: 3-18 years
Program age ranges in the guide: early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, youth
Program components: community campaign; parent or family component
Measured outcomes: education and cognitive development; social and emotional health and development; health, behavior problems
KEYWORDS: Employment, Income, Academic Achievement, School Engagement, Middle School, Adolescence (12-18), Behavioral Problems, Welfare, Public Assistance, Early Childhood (0-5), Middle Childhood (6-11), Children, Adolescent, Youth, Self Sufficiency, Life Skills Development, Community Campaign, Parent/Family Component, Education, Cognitive Development, Social/Emotional Health and Development, Physical Health, Substance Abuse, Delinquency.
Program information last updated 8/14/08.
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