Enhanced Transitional Jobs Demonstration Evaluation Final Report

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Release Date: November 01, 2018

Enhanced Transitional Jobs Demonstration Evaluation Final Report

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About the Report

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The Enhanced Transitional Jobs Demonstration (ETJD), funded by the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), tested seven transitional jobs programs that targeted people recently released from prison or low-income parents who had fallen behind in child support payments. The ETJD programs were “enhanced” in various ways relative to programs studied in the past. MDRC, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization, led the project along with two partners: Abt Associates and MEF Associates. The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Administration for Children and Families (ACF) also supported the evaluation.

The evaluation used a random assignment research design. Program group members were given access to the ETJD programs and control group members had access to other services in the community. The report presents the final impact results from the study 30 months after enrollment and information about the costs of the ETJD programs. Most measures presented in the report focus on the final year of the follow-up period, when nearly all program group members had left transitional jobs. The results therefore reflect longer-term effects of the programs after the subsidized positions ended.

Research Questions

  • How were the ETJD programs designed and operated, and whom did they serve?
  • How did the ETJD programs affect participants’ receipt of services and their outcomes in three primary domains: employment, child support, and criminal justice?
  • How did the programs’ costs compare with any benefits they produced?

Key Takeaways

  • The ETJD programs increased participants’ earnings and employment rates in the final year of the study period.
  • The three ETJD programs targeting people returning from prison reduced incarceration in prison among those at higher risk of reoffending.
  • The ETJD programs targeting noncustodial parents did not increase the amount of child support paid in the last year of the follow-up period.
  • Results varied somewhat among the programs.
  • ETJD program costs ranged from about $7,000 to $11,100 per program group member.

Citation

Barden, B., Juras, R., Redcross, C., Farrell, M., Bloom, D. (2018). MDRC. New Perspectives on Creating Jobs, Final Impacts of the Next Generation of Subsidized Employment Programs. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.

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This study was sponsored by the Employment and Training Administration, Office of Policy Development and Research, Division of Research and Evaluation, and was produced outside of CEO’s standard research development process.