This study evaluated the New Hope Project, a demonstration program implemented in two inner-city areas in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The project offered low-income people willing to work full time an earnings supplement to raise their incomes above poverty; subsidized health insurance; subsidized child care; and help obtaining jobs. The evaluation enrolled over 1,300 low-income adults. Half were assigned to a group eligible to receive New Hope's benefits, and half were assigned to a control group that did not receive benefits. Evaluation data came from state administrative records, New Hope program data, surveys of parents and children at 2 and 5 years after randomization, and surveys of teachers. A subgroup of families was followed ethnographically from the third through fifth years. Results indicated that work supports had a wide range of positive effects on low-income families and children, increasing work and income. Intervention families had more stable employment, lower poverty rates, and higher wages at 5 years than control families. They also reported lower levels of depressive symptoms and were more aware of community resources. Intervention children had more time in center-based child care and other structured activities. Children in the New Hope group performed better than non-intervention children on several measures of academic achievement and improved their positive social behavior. These effects were more pronounced in boys than in girls. Included in the appendices are local, state, and national donors for the pilot and full programs; the New Hope ethnographic sample; description of measures used in the study; and supplementary tables. (Contains 121 references, 58 tables, and 15 figures.) (SM)