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Over the past several decades, job search support groups, commonly referred to as “job clubs,” have evolved into one of several important activities used by the public workforce system and faith- and community-based organizations to enhance worker readiness and employability, as well as to provide ongoing support to unemployed and underemployed individuals as they search for jobs. The U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) contracted in September 2012 with Capital Research Corporation, Inc. and George Washington University to conduct an assessment of job clubs sponsored by faith-based and community-based organizations (FBOs/CBOs).

The overall purpose of this evaluation effort presented in the report was to systematically describe the key characteristics of job clubs being offered by a range of faith- and community-based organizations, document how they differ from and are similar to the job clubs operated by publicly-funded workforce agencies (such as at American Job Centers [AJCs]), and identify potential approaches that might be used for more rigorous formal evaluation of impacts and effectiveness. Findings from telephone interviews with stakeholders and in-person interviews with facilitators during the site visits indicate that job clubs operated by faith based and community based organizations (FBOs/CBOs) and public workforce agencies are alike in many ways, with all of them emphasizing the critical importance of: (1) networking during the job search; (2) offering ongoing peer support and sharing of similar experiences among participants; and (3) providing instruction and guidance on the basics of the job search process (e.g., elevator pitches, resume development, job interview practice).

Research Questions

What types of community-based and faith-based organizations sponsor job clubs?

• What are the various program designs and key characteristics of these jobs clubs?
• What resources are used by and for job clubs (e.g., staff, volunteers, cash and in-kind donations, technology, facilities/space, public funding)?
• How do the job clubs interact with the public workforce development system?
• What types of data are being collected on participant characteristics and outcomes by job clubs?
• Are FBOs/CBOs interested in more rigorously evaluating their job clubs for impacts on participant employment and earnings outcomes, and if so, are there outcome/impact evaluation designs that could be practically applied to assess FBO/CBO-sponsored job clubs?

Key Takeaways

• According to several stakeholders, the steep downturn of the U.S. economy in 2007-08 and surging numbers of unemployed and underemployed workers created a strong demand for job search assistance, providing an impetus for FBOs/CBOs to form job clubs to meet urgent needs within their communities.
• Stakeholders maintained that there is substantial diversity across FBOs and CBOs in the format, content, and operation of job clubs.
• None of the stakeholders interviewed were able to identify past or ongoing evaluations of FBO/CBO job clubs.
• Most of the 16 organizations visited as part of this study had no eligibility criteria for attendance at their job club sessions, with an overall aim of serving any and all unemployed job seekers within their service area or community.
• The job clubs operated by FBOs and CBOs were held at community locations made available free-of-charge by either the sponsoring organization or other neighborhood institutions, thereby eliminating any operating costs for meeting rooms but also making the sessions convenient for participants to attend.
• Most typically, FBOs/CBOs visited as part of this study had between 10 and 30 attendees at job club sessions, though all the job clubs visited indicated that there was variability in the numbers of attendees from session to session.
• Nearly all the 16 job clubs observed held group job club sessions either weekly or twice a month.
• One critical difference between the job clubs sponsored by FBOs and CBOs and those operated by public workforce agencies is the staffing arrangements.
• The FBO/CBO job clubs visited operated with little or no external funding, and most functioned with only a limited budget, particularly when compared to job clubs operated by professional staff in a public workforce center.
• FBO/CBO-sponsored job clubs rarely collect in-depth information on participants, activities, and outcomes; in addition, they have not participated in evaluations in the past and would likely have deep reservations about participation in future evaluation efforts.

Citation

Trutko, J., O’Brien, C., Wandner, S., Barnow, B. (2014). Capital Research. Formative Evaluation of Job Clubs Operated by Faith- and Community-Based Organizations: Findings from Site Visits and Options for Future Evaluation - Final Report. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.

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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.