CEO Library

A 2022 implementation study report drew on data from three waves of a web-based survey of all state RESEA directors. Since completion of that report, the study team conducted a fourth survey wave. Relying on these longitudinal data, this brief addresses the following research questions: 

The brief documents the federal context—in particular within the U.S. Department of Labor—in which evidence-building activities for the Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) program were developed. It also describes the evaluation technical assistance (EvalTA) provided to states from 2018 to 2023 that supported states in planning and implementing evaluations of their RESEA programs.

The Navajo Nation Research Brief of the Black Lung Incidence Study identifies the current state of knowledge on black lung disease as it relates to coal mining and residential coal use in the Navajo Nation. It identifies prevalence rates in the U.S. counties that overlap with the Navajo Nation borders, estimates prevalence rates in those counties, and discusses data limitations specific to the Navajo Nation.

The report presents the findings of a literature review ad quantitative analysis conducted under the Black Lung Incidence Study. The study was designed to examine black lung incidence in the United States, exploring both cases and deaths. Within this scope, the study examined whether black lung incidence is higher among specific subpopulations of interest, including miners, mining communities, the Navajo Nation, and residents of Appalachia.

One component of the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s (MSHA’s) mission to “prevent death, illness, and injury from mining and promote safe and healthful workplaces for U.S. miners” is protecting coal miners and coal mining communities from black lung disease (“Mission”). In support of that mission, the literature review expands the U.S.

This report describes the design for the implementation evaluation of the Scaling Apprenticeship through Sector-Based Strategies grants (referred to throughout the report as Scaling Apprenticeship grants) and the Apprenticeships: Closing the Skills Gap grants (referred to throughout the report as Closing the Skills Gap grants).

The America’s Promise Job Driven Grant Program Evaluation Design Pre-Specification Plan follows the template that evaluators must use to meet the pre-specification practices articulated in OMB Memo M-20-12 Phase 4 Implementation of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018: Program Evaluation Standards and Practices.

The report provides analysis of intermediate impacts on participation in and completion of TechHire and Strengthening Working Families Initiative (SWFI) programs training, receipt of credentials, and use of child care and other services, as well as on longer-term outcomes such as employment and earnings, advancement and job quality, and other, exploratory outcomes such as overall well-being, health, and housing status at about 2 years following random assignment. 

Graphic presenting evidence-informed strategies to recruit and retain apprentices.

Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs) benefit both apprentices and employers. Emerging evidence suggests that apprentices earn more than they did before becoming apprentices1 and employer reporting suggests strong returns on their investment in registered apprenticeship. Employers also report benefiting from a stronger pipeline of skilled workers, less turnover, greater employee engagement and loyalty, and improved firm culture. To realize these benefits, RAPs must make sure apprentices stay in the programs and complete them.

The Evidence Capacity Summary is designed to facilitate conversation and inform actions that staff across agencies may wish to pursue to further strengthen their capacity to use and to produce evidence. The findings presented in the brief summarize insights from 16 agency staff focus groups and the U.S. Department of Labor-wide capacity assessment survey.

The evidence capacity assessment included the 16 U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) agencies in the Department’s Strategic Plan. It reflects data collected through a survey of targeted DOL staff, focus groups with selected DOL staff, and a review of selected evidence documents. The research team used a strengths-based approach that recognizes and leverages DOL’s and agencies’ progress and embodies a continuous improvement mindset.

The brief focuses on the 22 Pathway Home grants awarded in 2021 and describes the grantees’ experiences during their first year of implementation. This brief details how the Pathway Home grantees implemented services and established community partnerships provide community-based services that address participant needs and help connect them to employment opportunities.

The brief focuses on the 22 Pathway Home grants awarded in 2021 and describes the grantees’ experiences during their first year of implementation. This brief discusses the grants and describes the types of organizations funded, their locations, staffing structures, partnerships, and the services provided.

In 2023, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) partnered with the Employment and Training Administration to fund contractor Westat Insight to conduct the Bridging the Gap for New Americans Study under the Administrative Data Research and Analysis portfolio of studies.

The brief focuses on the 22 Pathway Home grants awarded in 2021 and describes their experiences establishing the pre-release components of their programs during their first year of implementation. This brief describes how the Pathway Home grantees awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor in 2021 established programs within correctional facilities, including the challenges they encountered and the solutions they identified to address those challenges.

The America’s Promise job-driven grants were designed to develop and expand regional partnerships to provide sectoral training programs that address the immediate needs of the regional labor market. The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Chief Evaluation Office contracted with Mathematica and its partner, Social Policy Research Associates, to conduct an evaluation of the America’s Promise grants including an implementation study and an impact study.

The report presents results from the America’s Promise outcomes and impact analysis and draws on findings from the previously completed implementation study to provide context for the presented results (English et al. 2022a). Chapter 1 provides detailed information on the background for the evaluation and the guiding research questions for the outcomes and impact studies.

The E2A Tool Kit: Tips for Developing Great Evidence to Action (E2A) Products, produced under the Evidence to Action (E2A) at DOL: Portfolio Project & Process Study, is designed to help research teams plan for and develop effective evidence-to-action research products. While the hope is that the tool kit will be useful for a wider audience, it is written for research contractors who work for the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and for DOL staff who review and provide guidance on research contracts.

This guide provides users with a quick overview for launching the Worker Paid Leave Usage Simulation (Worker PLUS) model. The Worker PLUS User Manual provides two options for launching the model (options 1 and 2) and two options for downloading the American Community Survey (ACS) input files to run model simulations (options A and B). This guide focuses on option 1 for quickly launching the model’s graphical user interface (GUI) in Python and option A for downloading the ACS input files. Users following this quick-start guide do not need to have Python installed to launch the GUI.

The infographic explains how the Worker Paid Leave Usage Simulation (Worker PLUS) Model can help researchers and policymakers anticipate the benefits and costs of paid leave policies.

The Implementation Study Design report describes the implementation study of both the Apprenticeship Building America (ABA) category 2 Expansion Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP) Opportunities for Youth ABA grants and the category 3 Ensuring Equitable RAP Pathways through Pre-Apprenticeship Leading to RAP Enrollment and Equity Partnerships grants. The design report begins with background on the ABA grants, with a particular focus on the Category 2 and 3 grants. It describes the key features of a registered apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship program.

The report presents the design of the Unemployment Insurance (UI) Navigators Implementation Study, which is one of the components of the Navigator Study Portfolio Project being conducted by Mathematica and its partners Social Policy Research Associates and Needels Consulting, LLC.

This research report provides background on women’s labor market experiences and opportunities in apprenticeships and nontraditional occupations in the United States to provide context for the forthcoming descriptive study of the 2020 and 2021 Women in Apprenticeships and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) grants. The report also summarizes the planned activities of the grantees, the key features of their programs, and the main topic areas to be included in the descriptive study.

The report reviews the latest studies, reports, and documents on Registered Apprenticeship programs to help understand gaps in apprenticeship knowledge. It discusses what we know about the benefits of apprenticeship for employers, workers, and society; how the federal government has been investing in the apprenticeship system; and what we have learned from state efforts to expand apprenticeship. The report also reviews the evidence for what specific types of Registered Apprenticeship programs work and for whom.