Colorado's TANF program's caseload has fallen sharply since federal welfare reform legislation was enacted in 1996 that gave states considerable authority in setting welfare policy. While employment gains among low-income families contributed to the decline, many families in Colorado are leaving TANF without employment. This issue brief is a part of a five-year evaluation of Colorado Works, the state's TANF program, that The Lewin Group and its partners, University of Colorado's Health Sciences Center, The Johns Hopkins University's Institute for Policy Studies, and Capital Research Corporation, are conducting for the Colorado Department of Human Services. The brief defines a sample of welfare recipients in Colorado who left welfare but were not working in 2008 as "disconnected" and provides an in-depth analysis using survey and Unemployment Insurance data. It examines the characteristics and outcomes of the disconnected adults, including why they left TANF, how they differ from other TANF leavers, their sources of income, their employment history, and their overall well-being.

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