Fostering Access, Rights, and Equity Grant Navigators Implementation Study
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About the Study
In 2022, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) partnered with the Women’s Bureau (WB) to fund contractor Mathematica, and its partners Social Policy Research Associates and Dr. Anna Haley of Rutgers University, to conduct the Fostering Access, Rights, and Equity (FARE) Grant Implementation Study under the Navigators Evidence-Building Portfolio of studies. The implementation study examines the nature of programs established by 2022 FARE grantees, assesses the nature and degree of grantees’ achievement of FARE grant goals, and identifies key learnings from FARE grantees with respect to challenges and promising practices.
The WB initiated the FARE program in 2021, which aims to “help marginalized and underserved women workers learn about and access their employment rights and benefits” (U.S. DOL 2021; U.S. DOL 2022a). The WB, in partnership with the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration, awarded two rounds of FARE grants in 2021 and 2022. The WB’s mission to “champion policies and standards that safeguard the interests of working women, advocates for the equality and economic security of women and their families, and promotes quality work environments” directly connects to their goals for the 2022 FARE grants. These grants aimed to support grantees’ outreach and provision of other supports to underserved and marginalized women workers with low incomes to help them understand and exercise their employment rights and access relevant benefits.
This Department of Labor-funded study was a result of the annual process to determine the Department’s research priorities for the upcoming year. It contributes to the labor evidence-base to inform employment and training and worker protection, labor standards, and workplace-related benefits programs and policies and addresses Departmental strategic goals and priorities.
- What were the local low-wage labor market conditions where programs operated?
- What job, workplace, and sector conditions did program participants occupy?
- What employment benefits, services, or regulations were available locally for participants?
- How and why did grantees pick their populations of interest, and how did those factors shape grantee decisions about program design?
- How and why did FARE grantees choose their program components and focuses?
- How did programs and their staff, including navigators, adapt their services to be responsive to participants’ (1) identity and background, (2) education and experience, and (3) employment conditions?
- What employers, industry associations, unions, worker centers, and other community programs did grantees partner with and what were the partners’ roles?
- How did programs measure success in increasing participants’ understanding and accessing of their employment rights and benefits?
- What key internal (i.e., grantee, participant) and external factors acted as barriers and opportunities to programs’ success?
Project Duration: 72 Months
Contract End Date: August 2028
Contractor: Mathematica
For More Information: ChiefEvaluationOffice@dol.gov
The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) sponsors independent evaluations and research, primarily conducted by external, third-party contractors in accordance with the Department of Labor Evaluation Policy and CEO’s research development process.