KEY FINDINGS

Implementation Findings
• There was substantial variation in placement rates by program. Among On-the-Job Training (OJT) program group members, 42 percent were placed in a subsidized employment position; 80 percent of Paid Work Experience (PWE) participants were placed.
• The PWE and OJT groups also differed in terms of time to placement and duration of placements. Initial placement took longer for the OJT group compared to PWE – averages of 58.5 days and 46.8 days, respectively.
• PWE participants remained in their subsidized jobs for an average of 150 days; OJT participants stayed in their positions for an average of 106 days. Overall, 91 percent of PWE placements and 64 percent of OJT placements continued beyond the second month, the point at which OJT participants were to transition onto the employer’s payroll.
• Members of the control group were almost as likely as those in the program groups to receive some type of welfare-to-work services (other than subsidized employment). The control group was more likely than either of the program groups to be involved in education-related activities.

Impact Findings
• Overall, impacts on participation and service receipt beyond the subsidized job were modest, reflecting the continued services available to the control group through DPSS and other services available in the community.
• In the first year after random assignment, both PWE and OJT group members were more likely to work, worked more quarters on average, and had higher average earnings than control group members; these differences were larger among sample members that had not been employed in the year prior to random assignment and declined as people left subsidized jobs.
• In the year following random assignment, there were few differences in the rate of TANF receipt between the PWE, OJT, and control group members, but PWE and OJT group members had slightly lower total TANF amounts.
• Using data from the in-program survey (around five months after random assignment) when many people were still in subsidized jobs, both PWE and OJT group members were more likely than control group members to report being financially better off than they were one year prior. There were few other statistically significant differences in well-being between PWE, OJT, and control group members during this early follow-up period.
• Around one year after random assignment, there were few statistically significant differences in measures of well-being between program group members and control group members.

The goal of these complementary large-scale projects is to evaluate the effectiveness of the latest generation of subsidized employment models that aim to improve participants’ long-term success in the labor market. This report introduces the projects and presents some preliminary findings about implementation of the demonstrations.

At this early stage, a few cross-cutting themes stand out:

• Most programs struggled initially to meet their recruitment targets due to somewhat narrow eligibility criteria, selective screening protocols, inadequate referral partner-ships, or a combination of these factors. Ultimately, the programs were able to meet their goals.
• Programs were better able to place participants into fully subsidized, temporary jobs than into subsidized, permanent positions.
• The policies and practices of the criminal justice, public assistance, and child support systems may affect the outcomes of both pro-gram and control group members.

In 2016, the ETJD and STED evaluations will begin to release interim study results.

Testing the Next Generation of Subsidized Employment Programs

This policy proposal examines characteristics of effective subsidized employment programs as well as examples of how states can fund and implement such programs.

Subsidized Jobs: Providing Paid Employment Opportunities When the Labor Market Fails

• Subsidized employment programs can have a significant positive impact on low-income job seekers’ employment and earnings.
• Most employers created jobs that would not have existed otherwise
• The long-term unemployed experienced particularly large employment and earnings gains
• Programs also benefited participants with significant barriers to employment

Read the summary and full report here:

Summary of Findings
Stimulating Opportunity: An Evaluation of ARRA-Funded Subsidized Employment Programs, Full Report

These results demonstrate benefits from providing jobs to individuals with multiple barriers to employment. Supported employment programs for heavy substance users are a promising model for reducing crimes, such as robbery and burglary. The authors suggest that “broader supported jobs programs might be a good idea, too, in this era of high unemployment. If publicly supported jobs programs were available to needy unemployed people beyond the ranks of former prisoners and drug users, the programs would carry lower stigma. A mix of jobs could be offered, creating ladders from minimum-wage posts to better opportunities for all participants.”

Read the report here:
Does Providing Publicly Funded Jobs to Hard-To-Employ People Reduce Crime and Drug Use?

In May 2014, the Economic Mobility Corporation published a follow up report (“Sustained Gains”–see below for link) to this initial study.  The group was able to follow study participants for three years post-program.  This extended evaluation found that participants’ earnings were 32% greater than the control group; Year Up’s participants earned about $13,000 more than members of the control group.  Year Up’s participants averaged $14.21/hour, $2.51 more than the control group.  Participants who gained employment in Year Up’s targeted occupations, information technology or investment operations, earned the highest hourly wages.  For the complete report, see below.

Most recent report (2014):
Sustained Gains: Year Up’s Continued Impact on Young Adult’s Earnings

Previous report (2011):
A Promising Start: Year Up’s Initial Impacts on Low-Income Young Adults’ Careers

Additionally, Abt Associates created a profile for OPRE’s Innovative Strategies to Increase Self-Sufficiency Project (ISIS), a random assignment evaluation of nine promising career pathways programs.
ISIS Career Pathways Program Profile: Year Up (August 2014)

While the Great Recession introduced unemployment and underemployment to the masses, its significant negative trends aggravated already declining rates of employment in Michigan, particularly among less-educated, young, male, and minority individuals, who were then also hit hardest by the recession. The State of Michigan, along with private funders, responded with the Michigan Earn and Learn program, with the goal of creating opportunities for people facing barriers to employment to pursue education and occupational training that could help them get ahead. This report is full of implementation details and insights into the success, challenges, and lessons learned running the program.

Michigan Earn and Learn: An Outcome & Implementation Evaluation of a Transitional Job and Training Program

Mathematica – Providing Paid Employment Opportunities for TANF Participants Engaged in Vocational Education Programs: Examples from Denver, Colorado; Kentucky; and California

This paper describes the origins of the transitional jobs models that are operating today, reviews the evidence on the effectiveness of this approach and other subsidized employment models, and offers some suggestions regarding the next steps for program design and research. Although recent evaluation results have raised doubts about whether TJ programs, as currently designed, are an effective way to improve participants’ long-term employment prospects, the studies have also confirmed that TJ programs can be operated at scale, can create useful work opportunities for very disadvantaged people, and can lead to critical indirect impacts such as reducing recidivism among former prisoners. Thus, in drawing lessons from the recent results, the paper argues that it may be important to think more broadly about the goals of TJ programs while simultaneously testing new strategies that may produce better long-term employment outcomes.

OPRE – Transitional Jobs: Background, Program Models, and Evaluation Evidence

The National Transitional Jobs Network (NTJN) is a national coalition dedicated to getting chronically unemployed Americans back to work. They advance employment solutions including Transitional Jobs that combine wage-paid work, job skills training, and supportive services to help individuals facing barriers to employment succeed in the workforce. The NTJN website has research on transitional jobs and resources for developing programs. 

National Transitional Jobs Network Website

• Find a Transitional Job Program