About the Study

In 2021, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) partnered with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and 11 participating counties in Ohio, funding contractor American Institutes for Research to conduct the Using Behavioral Insights to Increase Youth Use of Workforce Services in Virtual Contexts. The impact evaluation aims to test how behavioral insights can enhance service engagement and completion among young adults participating in Ohio’s Comprehensive Case Management and Employment Program (CCMEP).

Ohio’s Comprehensive Case Management and Employment Program (CCMEP) is a program serving young adults ages 14–24 by providing them with services that are tailored to each participant’s individual goals and intended to help them develop skills, find employment, and advance along career paths. Integrating funding from both the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, CCMEP provides a wide range of employment, training, and supportive services to participants, based on a comprehensive assessment of their needs. The program’s goal is to improve low-income individuals’ access to rewarding career pathways and to break cycles of poverty.

This Department of Labor-funded study was a result of behavioral insight efforts. It contributes to the labor evidence-base to inform behavioral interventions and employment and training programs and policies and addresses Departmental strategic goals and priorities.

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.