In 2018, amendments to Section 306(c) of the Social Security Act (SSA) permanently authorized the Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessments (RESEA) program and introduced substantive changes, including formula-based funding to states and a series of requirements intended to increase the use and availability of evidence-based reemployment interventions and strategies. The Department of Labor provides funding to states to operate the RESEA program, which aims to help Unemployment Insurance (UI) claimants return to work quickly and meet eligibility requirements.

The evaluation of the RESEA program includes four major components: 1) an implementation report; 2) a brief on serving UI claimants during the COVID-19 pandemic; 3) a brief report and collection of evidence briefs about RESEA program components, including selecting claimants and meeting attendance, basic career services, and individualized services; and 4) an options report for building evidence on RESEA programs.

Prior to the pandemic, RESEA services were most often provided in local American Job Centers (AJCs). Pandemic-related public health measures including social distancing and temporary closures forced many states to suspend in-person services and led them to rapidly develop and implement capacity to provide RESEA services remotely. This brief explores how the pandemic affected the RESEA program, including how states changed service delivery strategies to maintain or restore program operations, and the extent to which those changes could continue post-pandemic. Findings are based on information collected between February 2020 and May 2021. The analysis draws from three nationwide surveys of state RESEA administrators; and telephone interviews with UI, RESEA, and other workforce agency staff from 10 states and 20 local areas conducted between August and December 2020. Those data sources were supplemented with performance metrics reported by states to DOL.

The report identified two key challenges that the pandemic created for RESEA operations: (1) fewer staff to administer RESEA because staff were reassigned to help process the pandemic-related surge of UI claims; and (2) closures of facilities and temporary suspension of RESEA in-person meetings and services. In response to the pandemic-induced challenges, state and local programs made alterations to service delivery design, changes to RESEA staffing, and changes to approaches for UI eligibility and work search reviews. The long-term effects of the pandemic on RESEA service delivery may include expansion of remote and virtual services or plans to add or expand remote services, such as phone or video-conference meetings with claimants, as well as self-service options. The report recommends the need to study the longer-term effects of the shifts in remote and virtual service delivery, on UI program participation and employment outcomes of UI claimants.