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Minnesota's welfare reform program is called MFIP-S (Minnesota Family Investment Plan-Statewide). MFIP began as a pilot program in 1994 as a comprehensive reform of public assistance programs for families receiving cash grants. The pilot streamlined the application for a variety of public assistance programs, including AFDC, Family General Assistance, Food Stamps and Medical Assistance and provided work incentives. An evaluation of the pilot program 18 months after implementation showed that:
- 52 percent of the long-term MFIP participants were working, nearly 40 percent more than the people working in a corresponding control group.
- Poverty decreased by 14 percent among these working families.
While MFIP has shown early success, to date it has been no more successful in keeping long-term recipients off assistance than AFDC. Moreover, these impacts are evaluated in the short term and in a prosperous economic environment. How MFIP will succeed at increasing employment and job retention in the long term remains to be seen.
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