Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) Analysis, 7 counties, 1994-1998

The Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) consisted of three key components: Financial incentives to work-parents could keep more of their benefits when they worked and child care payments were paid directly to providers. Participation requirements for long-term recipients--if not working full-time, long-term recipients had to participate in services designed to move them quickly into the workforce. Simplification of rules and procedures-- AFDC, Food Stamps, and Family General Assistance were combined into a single program with one set of rules and procedures and one monthly payment. MFIP began operating in April 1994 in three urban counties of Anoka, Dakota, and Hennepin and the four rural counties of Mille Lacs, Morrison, Sherburne, and Todd. Between April 1994 and March 1996, over 14,000 families were assigned at random, using a lottery-type process, to either the MFIP or AFDC systems. This package contains data files and documentation for the evaluation of the MFIP program. The program was evaluated using a random assignment design, in which applicants for and recipients of welfare were assigned at random into either the MFIP program or a control group. The included files are those that were analyzed for the final reports on the MFIP evaluation, issued in September 2000. These data are a Fast Track Release and are distributed as they were received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped for release, but not checked or processed.