Partners / Rural Welfare Reform Project
Procedures:
Samples and Methodology

Collection of Baseline Data
The 29 county region labeled as Ohio Appalachia has been surveyed to obtain baseline data on labor market characteristics, indigent and working poor poverty management strategies, reform interface issues, and administrative capacity of social welfare institutions. Labor market and poverty profiles have been produced for each county.

Survey/Interview Research
Survey/interview research with employers in the case study counties (see below) and interview research with all 29 DHS Directors occurred at the beginning and will reoccur at the end of this study and results will be compared. Additionally, county commissioners in the four "showcase" counties were interviewed for their perspective. Reform interface issues and barriers such as labor market composition, transportation, childcare, educational attainment, skill levels, and a host of social concerns that are pervasive, even endemic, and more difficult to resolve in rural areas are being investigated.

Case Studies
Four counties are showcased in this project (Athens, Meigs, Vinton, and Washington). These counties were chosen based on their representativeness of the region in terms of county demographics, capacity capabilities, and willingness to participate in the study. County capacity refers to the overall economic opportunity, access to and quality of education/training and support services, and administrative capabilities of county DHS offices.

Within each of the showcase counties, 100 recipients have been surveyed and 12 recipient households are subjects of in-depth case studies. These 48 households were identified through follow-up contacts with those individuals who indicated on surveys that they were willing to sit for an in-depth interview. Continuous study will occur with these families throughout the 3-year research period.

A sample size of 100 employers in the dominant industry sectors of the 4 counties will be surveyed and a small number will be interviewed regarding their perceptions related to hiring welfare recipients; what their attitudes and opinions toward recipients are; what skill levels are needed to secure jobs in these sectors; and what types of incentives would encourage employers to hire welfare recipients.


Rural Welfare Reform Project
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