Abstract
Cash diversion strategies, a 1996 U.S. welfare reform innovation, are intended to alleviate short-term crises and prevent the need for ongoing cash assistance among certain welfare applicants. Using administrative data, this work compares the welfare outcomes of Maryland Welfare Avoidance Grant recipients from October 1998 to September 2000 (n = 1,992) with those of a sample of welfare leavers (n = 1,219). It relies on event-history analyses and covers a 3-year follow-up period. Findings show that diversion grants lower, to a statistically significant degree, the relative odds of future cash assistance among firsttime welfare agency clients but have no demonstrated effect among those with a history of welfare receipt.