In 2014, the Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration awarded four-year grants totaling $180 million to 24 grantees for the Ready to Work Partnership (RTW) initiative. Grant funds were used to provide a range of customized services to the long-term unemployed. RTW partnerships of workforce agencies, training providers, employers, and other local organizations established programs to prepare workers for employment, particularly in occupations and industries being filled by foreign workers through the H-1B visa program.

The evaluation of the RTW grant program includes two major components, an implementation study and an impact study. Four programs were selected purposively as best candidates to support the impact evaluation: Maryland Tech Connection - Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corporation (Anne Arundel, MD); Skills to Work in Technology and Job Search Accelerator Programs - Jewish Vocational Services (San Francisco, CA), Finger Lakes Hired Program - RochesterWorks! (Rochester, NY), and Reboot Northwest - Worksystems, Inc. (Multnomah and Washington counties, OR). The implementation study examined the design, operation, and sustainability of the programs. This report presents results from the interim impact study, 18 months after random assignment, and provides estimates of program effects on participant outcomes of interest, including preliminary estimates for credential, attainment, employment, and earnings.

This technical appendix includes additional technical information on the methodology and data sources, describes methods used for the 18-month follow-up survey, defines baseline and outcome measures, and details the results for each of the grantees.