,i  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #babf  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,april #be1 #bjag,mr4
 ,buchanan introduced the following     
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,ways and ,means1 and in  
addition to the ,committee on ,oversight
 and ,government ,reform1 for a period  
to be subsequently determined by the    
,speaker1 in each case for consideration
 of such provisions as fall within the  
jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
,a ,,bill  ,to strengthen welfare       
research and evaluation1 and for other  
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,what ,works to     
,move ,welfare ,recipients into ,jobs   
,act4  #b4 ,strengthening welfare       
research and evaluation and development 
of a ,what ,works ,clearinghouse        
,section #dac of the ,social ,security  
,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #fac7 is amended to 
read as follows3  #dac4 ,evaluation of  
,temporary ,assistance for ,needy       
,families and related programs  7a7     

,evaluation of the impacts of ,,tanf    
,the ,secretary shall conduct research  
on the effect of ,state programs funded 
under this part and any other ,state    
program funded with qualified ,state    
expenditures 7as defined in section     
#dji7;a77#g77;,b77i77 on employment1    
self-sufficiency1 child well-being1     
unmarried births1 marriage1 poverty1    
economic mobility1 and other factors as 
determined by the ,secretary4  7b7      
,evaluation of grants ,to improve child 
well-,being by promoting healthy        
marriage and responsible fatherhood ,the
 ,secretary shall conduct research to   
determine the effects of the grants made
 under section #djc7;a77#b7 on child    
well-being1 marriage1 family stability1 
economic mobility1 poverty1 and other   
factors as determined by the ,secretary4
  7c7 ,dissemination of information ,the
 ,secretary shall1 in consultation with 
,states receiving funds provided under  
this part1 develop methods of           
disseminating information on any        

research1 evaluation1 or study conducted
 under this section1 including          
facilitating the sharing of information 
and best practices among ,states and    
localities4  7d7 ,state-,initiated      
evaluations ,a ,state shall be eligible 
to receive funding to evaluate the      
,state program funded under this part or
 any other ,state program funded with   
qualified ,state expenditures 7as       
defined in section #dji7;a77#g77;,b77i77
 if--  7#a7 the ,state submits to the   
,secretary a description of the proposed
 evaluation2  7#b7 the ,secretary       
determines that the design and approach 
of the proposed evaluation is rigorous  
and is likely to yield information that 
is credible and will be useful to other 
,states2 and  7#c7 unless waived by the 
,secretary1 the ,state contributes to   
the cost of the evaluation1 from        
non-,federal sources1 an amount equal to
 at least #be percent of the cost of the
 proposed evaluation4  7e7 ,census      
,bureau research  7#a7 ,the ,bureau of  

the ,census shall implement or enhance  
household surveys of program            
participation1 in consultation with the 
,secretary and the ,bureau of ,labor    
,statistics and make available to       
interested parties1 to allow for the    
assessment of the outcomes of continued 
welfare reform on the economic and child
 well-being of low-income families with 
children1 including those who received  
assistance or services from a ,state    
program funded under this part or any   
other ,state program funded with        
qualified ,state expenditures 7as       
defined in section                      
#dji7;a77#g77;,b77i774 ,the content of  
the surveys should include such         
information as may be necessary to      
examine the issues of unmarried         
childbearing1 marriage1 welfare         
dependency and compliance with work     
requirements1 the beginning and ending  
of spells of assistance1 work1 earnings 
and employment stability1 and the       
well-being of children4  7#b7 ,to carry 

out the activities specified in         
paragraph 7#a71 the ,bureau of the      
,census1 the ,secretary1 and the ,bureau
 of ,labor ,statistics shall consider   
ways to improve the surveys and data    
derived from the surveys to--  7,a7     
address underreporting of the receipt of
 means-tested benefits and tax benefits 
for low-income individuals and families2
  7,b7 increase understanding of poverty
 spells and long-term poverty1 including
 by facilitating the matching of        
information to better understand        
intergenerational poverty2  7,c7        
generate a better geographical          
understanding of poverty such as through
 ,state-based estimates and measures of 
neighborhood poverty2  7,d7 increase    
understanding of the effects of         
means-tested benefits and tax benefits  
on the earnings of low-income families2 
and  7,e7 improve how poverty and       
economic well-being are measured1       
including through the use of consumption
 measures4  7f7 ,research and evaluation

 conducted under this section ,research 
and evaluation conducted under this     
section designed to determine the       
effects of a program or policy 7other   
than research conducted under subsection
 7e77 shall use experimental designs    
using random assignment or other        
reliable1 evidence-based research       
methodologies that allow for the        
strongest possible causal inferences    
when random assignment is not feasible4 
7g7 ,development of what works          
clearinghouse of proven and promising   
approaches ,to move welfare recipients  
into work  7#a7 ,in general ,the        
,secretary1 in consultation with the    
,secretary of ,labor1 shall develop a   
database 7which shall be referred to as 
the ,what ,works ,clearinghouse of      
,proven and ,promising ,projects to     
,move ,welfare ,recipients into ,work7  
of the projects that used a proven      
approach or a promising approach in     
moving welfare recipients into work1    
based on independent1 rigorous          

evaluations of the projects4 ,the       
database shall include a separate       
listing of projects that used a         
developmental approach in delivering    
services and a further separate listing 
of the projects with no or negative     
effects4 ,the ,secretary shall add to   
the ,what ,works ,clearinghouse of      
,proven and ,promising ,projects to     
,move ,welfare ,recipients into ,work   
data about the projects that1 based on  
an independent1 well-conducted          
experimental evaluation of a program or 
project1 using random assignment or     
other research methodologies that allow 
for the strongest possible causal       
inferences1 have shown they are proven1 
promising1 developmental1 or ineffective
 approaches4  7#b7 ,criteria for        
evidence of effectiveness of approach   
,the ,secretary1 in consultation with   
the ,secretary of ,labor and            
organizations with experience in        
evaluating research on the effectiveness
 of various approaches in delivering    

services to move welfare recipients into
 work1 shall--  7,a7 establish criteria 
for evidence of effectiveness2 and  7,b7
 ensure that the process for            
establishing the criteria--  7i7 is     
transparent2  7ii7 is consistent across 
agencies2  7iii7 provides opportunity   
for public comment2 and  7iv7 takes into
 account efforts of ,federal agencies to
 identify and publicize effective       
interventions1 including efforts at the 
,department of ,health and ,human       
,services1 the ,department of           
,education1 and the ,department of      
,justice4  7#c7 ,definitions ,in this   
subsection3 7,a7 ,approach ,the term    
approach means a process1 product1      
strategy1 or practice that is--  7i7    
research-based1 based on the results of 
one or more empirical studies1 and      
linked to program-determined outcomes2  
and  7ii7 evaluated using rigorous      
research designs4  7,b7 ,proven approach
 ,the term proven approach means an     
approach that--  7i7 meets the          

requirements of a promising approach2   
and  7ii7 has demonstrated significant  
positive outcomes at more than #a site  
in terms of increasing work and earnings
 of participants1 reducing poverty and  
dependence1 or strengthening families4  
7,c7 ,promising approach ,the term      
promising approach means an approach--  
7i7 that meets the requirements of      
subparagraph 7,d77i72  7ii7 that has    
been evaluated using well-designed and  
rigorous randomized controlled or       
quasi-experimental research designs2    
7iii7 that has demonstrated significant 
positive outcomes at only #a site in    
terms of increasing work and earnings of
 participants1 reducing poverty and     
dependence1 or strengthening families2  
and  7iv7 under which the benefits of   
the positive outcomes have exceeded the 
costs of achieving the outcomes4  7,d7  
,developmental approach ,the term       
developmental approach means an approach
 that-- 7i7 is research-based1 grounded 
in relevant empirically based knowledge1

 and linked to program-determined       
outcomes2  7ii7 is evaluated using      
rigorous research designs2 and  7iii7   
has yet to demonstrate a significant    
positive outcome in terms of increasing 
work and earnings of participants in a  
cost-effective way4  4  #c4 ,effective  
date ,the amendment made by this ,act   
shall take effect on ,october #a1 #bjag4