CEO Library

Synthesis Matrix to the Career Pathways Implementation Synthesis Report.

The rapid rise of career pathways strategies, including an emphasis on them in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), creates a need for more evidence on this approach. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Chief Evaluation Office contracted with Abt Associates to conduct the Career Pathways Design Study, to develop evaluation design options that could address critical gaps in knowledge related to the approach, implementation, and success of career pathways strategies generally, and in early care and education (ECE) specifically.

Job Corps, a program administered by the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employment and Training Administration (ETA), is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive residential education and job training program for at-risk youth. Originally established by the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, the program currently operates under the provisions of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which was enacted in 2014. Studies of Job Corps have found promising results especially for older youth (Schochet et al. 2001).

Job Corps, a program administered by the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employment and Training Administration (ETA), is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive residential education and job training program for at-risk youth. Originally established by the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, the program currently operates under the provisions of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which Congress enacted in 2014.

As economic conditions change and the research literature evolves, there is a need to assess current best practices for serving today’s youth and consider how they could inform the Job Corps program.

Alternative Work Arrangements (AWAs) are contract forms commonly associated with less attachment, lower wages, and fewer worker benefits. Even though AWAs are theoretically cheaper for firms, they continue to account for only 10% of employment. The researcher explores why AWAs are not more widely used, given their purported economic benefit for firms. Legal rules suggest that while AWAs have lower fixed costs of employment, they may be less productive than standard employment and likely attract lower-type workers.

It has been a generation since the last systematic examination of Native socio-economic well-being. Since then, several important developments have proliferated across Indian country, including Indian gaming, energy projects, expanded social and health services, new forms of tribal governance, and the advent of tribal colleges.

People with disabilities experience significantly lower levels of labor force participation than people without disabilities in the United States. Despite the focus on work promotion among this population, comparatively less is known about the factors promoting job retention among contemporary cohorts of young workers with disabilities. This study utilizes data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97) to examine the following: How do job characteristics differ by disability status?

Research indicates that individuals of different races, ethnic backgrounds, and class origins tend to differ in their unemployment rates. We know less, however, about whether these differences result from the different groups’ unequal risks of entering or exiting unemployment, and even less about how economic fluctuations moderate the ethnoracial and class-origin gaps in the long term risks of transitioning into and out of unemployment.

In 2016, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) partnered with the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and funded Summit Consulting and the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College to conduct An Analysis of Retirement Models to Improve Portability and Coverage. The literature, policy, and proposal review aims to summarize what is known about the current employer-based voluntary retirement system in the United States and explore a wide set of available options.

The report examines the employer-based voluntary retirement system and explores a variety of potential changes through a three-part analysis:

In 2018, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) partnered with the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) to fund contractor Mathematica to conduct the National Health Emergency (NHE) Demonstration Grants to Address the Opioid Crisis: Implementation Evaluation.

In 2018, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) partnered with the Office of Federal Contractor Compliance Programs (OFCCP) and funded contractor Mathematica to conduct the OFCCP Compliance Officer Training Study. OFCCP protects workers employed by federal contractors and promotes equal employment opportunities. Well-trained Compliance Officers (COs) who understand the importance of OFCCP’s mission and the complexity of the work are critical to its ability to evaluate contractor compliance and investigate complaints of discrimination appropriately.

In 2018, the Chief Evaluation Office partnered with the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) to fund contractor Abt Associates to conduct the Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessments (RESEA) Evidence Building and Implementation Study. This project's objectives are to work with DOL to develop strategies to support the evidence requirements in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 that relate to the RESEA.

This study includes a systematic review of existing evidence on the intersection of the opioid epidemic and workers’ compensation programs administered by public and private payers. The study will analyze existing evidence and identify innovative interventions and initiatives that may be relevant to the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA) client/customer population, and will develop research and evaluation design options for generating new evidence in the field.

In 2018, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) funded Mathematica Policy Research to conduct Data on Earnings: A Review of Resources for Research under the Administrative Data Research and Analysis portfolio of studies. This secondary data review describes data sources on wages and earnings that may be used by researchers who wish to incorporate reports of earned income in their analyses but original data collection is not feasible.

In September 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) contracted with IMPAQ International and its partner ideas to conduct an exploratory study of the customer experience at American Job Centers (AJCs). The purpose of this study is threefold: 1) to learn more about the customer experience in AJCs, 2) to highlight promising practices in those AJCs, and 3) to produce a set of behavioral science-based strategies that could enhance the AJC customer experience.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has contracted with IMPAQ International and ideas to learn about the customer experience in American Job Centers (AJCs), and to identify ways to improve that experience. Developing an understanding about how job seekers and employer customers perceive their AJC experience, and then maximizing what makes a positive experience, should lead to improved outcomes in employment and other areas. As part of this exploratory study, the research team conducted a literature scan in fall 2015 on related key topics.

The state-Federal system of Unemployment Insurance (UI) programs has existed for 80 years. The programs in the states are financed by employer payroll taxes paid into state trust fund accounts maintained at the U.S. Treasury. These accounts are the source for benefit payments made to eligible unemployed workers.

In 2017, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) partnered with the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and funded Mathematica Policy Research to conduct the Comparing Job Training Impact Estimates using Survey and Administrative Data study under the Administrative Data Research and Analysis portfolio of studies.

As investors increasingly consider environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors when selecting and managing investments, questions about ESG’s relevance to retirement investing have grown commensurately. With this growth comes greater interest to understand if and to what extent ESG investing might affect American workers' retirement prospects.

In 2015, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) partnered with the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and funded contractor 2M Research Services to conduct the Urban Employment for Youth and Young Adults Demonstration Grants Implementation Evaluation. The implementation study aims to document how the seven Urban Youth Employment Demonstration grantee communities implemented their programs, describe perceived challenges and successes, and identify emerging lessons.

In 2016, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) partnered with the Women’s Bureau (WB) and funded contractor Nexight Group to conduct the U.S. Department of Labor Women’s Bureau Strategic Community Outreach Study. The program review aims to conceptualize a strategic community engagement model and provide options for a standardized performance data management approach for community outreach efforts.

The report includes findings from a 2-year implementation study of the Urban Employment Demonstration Grants for Youth and Young Adults, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Chief Evaluation Office (CEO). In 2015, DOL’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) awarded seven urban cities with 2-year grants to develop projects to address the workforce needs of disconnected youth and young adults (ages 16–29) in U.S.

The issue brief series explores emerging findings from a 2-year implementation study of the Urban Employment Demonstration Grants for Youth and Young Adults, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Chief Evaluation Office (CEO). In 2015, DOL’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) awarded seven urban cities with 2-year grants to develop projects to address the workforce needs of disconnected youth and young adults (ages 16–29) in U.S. cities and communities experiencing high unemployment, crime, and poverty rates, and low high school graduation rates.