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With the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 the focus of public assistance shifted from income maintenance to employment. There has been much debate as to whether it is more effective to focus first on education or work activities in order to reach this goal. The literature suggests that a mixture of work activities supported by education is most effective (Gueron and Hamilton, 2002) unless the person has no basic education. In this case, it is best for the individual, their children and society to focus on education.

Transitioning recipients of TANF cash assistance from welfare-to-work has become the focus of state welfare programs. Successful transitional assistance programs incorporate pre-employment and post-employment services to increase job retention and advancement to avoid welfare returns. In the late fall of 2008, The Social Research Institute (SRI) was contracted by Utah’s Department of Workforce Services (DWS) to complete an evaluation of the Transitional Cash Assistance Program (TCA).