Since April 1982, the Department of Social and Health Services has been operating an experimental program to help applicants for the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) Program find work. The Applicant Project is to help applicants obtain unsubsidized employment so that they can become self-supporting. In this way the project would reduce applicants' need for public assistance, and fewer persons would receive public assistance than if the program did not exist. This research report describes the services which the Applicant Project has provided and summarizes the outcomes of these services. The research was conducted by dividing the state into project and comparison areas and tracking a sample of applicants from each area for ten months. This report answers the following research questions: 1. Does the program prevent additions to the AFDC caseload? 2. Does the program result in lower AFDC grant expenditures that would have occurred without the program? 3. What results are obtained from including (traditionally exempt) caretakers of 3-5 year old children in job search? 4. Does the program result in increased employment of applicants? 5. Is the program cost effective?
