Absence of conflict of interest.
Citation
Highlights
- The study's objective was to examine the net impact of 12 workforce development programs in Washington State on employment, earnings, and public benefits receipt outcomes. This profile focuses on the WorkFirst program. The authors investigated similar research questions for the net impact of other programs, the profiles can be found here:
- WIA/WIOA Adult Program
- WIA/WIOA Dislocated Worker Program
- WIA/WIOA Youth Program
- Professional-Technical Education Programs
- Worker Retraining Program
- Basic Education for Adults Programs
- Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) Programs
- Private Career School Programs
- Registered Apprenticeships
- Aerospace Training Programs
- Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) Program
- The study used a difference-in-differences design with a matched comparison group. Using administrative data, the author conducted statistical models to compare the outcomes of the program participants and the comparison group members one and three years after program exit.
- One year after program exit, the study found that WorkFirst program participants were significantly more likely to be employed, had higher wages and earnings, but also received more public benefits than comparison group members.
- The findings three years after program exit were notably different than after one year. The study found that program participants had more hours worked than comparison group members, found no differences between the groups in wages and earnings, and but also found that program participants received fewer public benefits than comparison group members.
- This study receives a moderate evidence rating. This means we are somewhat confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the WorkFirst program, but other factors might also have contributed.
Intervention Examined
WorkFirst Program
Features of the Intervention
The WorkFirst program is a workforce development program that provides supports and services for people receiving Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). Services include career counseling, job search assistance, and subsidized costs to aid education program completion. Families, case managers, and local community agencies collaborate on this program to offer employment and training opportunities and to help participants attain and retain employment.
Features of the Study
The study used a difference-in-differences design to examine the impact of the WorkFirst program in Washington state on employment, earnings, and public benefits receipt outcomes. The author matched WorkFirst program participants to similar nonparticipants using propensity scores developed from socio-demographic information. The comparison group members included individuals who registered to use Washington’s WorkSource employment centers and online job-search portals as part of the Wagner-Peyser federal program, but did not participate in the WorkFirst programs. The study sample included two cohorts. The 2014-2015 cohort included 27,890 individuals (16,229 intervention and 11,661 comparison) and was predominantly female (69%), White (57%), with an average age of 32. The 2016-2017 cohort included 21,717 individuals (13,118 intervention and 8,599 comparison) and was predominantly female (68%), White (55%), with an average age of 33.
The primary data sources were administrative data from the WorkFirst program and Washington's WorkSource employment centers and online job-search portals. The author conducted statistical models to examine differences in outcomes between the intervention and comparison groups at one year and three years after program exit. Outcomes included employment rate, quarterly hours worked, hourly wage, quarterly earnings, and quarterly Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits received.
Findings
Employment
- The study found that WorkFirst program participants had significantly higher employment rates than comparison group members one year after program exit, but had significantly lower employment rates three years after program exit. The study also found that program participants had significantly more quarterly hours worked than comparison group members at both one year and three years after program exit.
Earnings and wages
- The study found that WorkFirst program participants had significantly higher hourly wages and higher quarterly earnings than comparison group members one year after program exit. However, no significant differences were found between the groups three years after program exit.
Public benefits receipt
- The study found that WorkFirst program participants received significantly more in quarterly UI benefits than comparison group members one year after program exit, but received significantly less in quarterly UI benefits three years after program exit.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
The study reports a less stringent statistical significance level, considering p-values of less than 0.10 to be significant, though it is standard practice to consider statistical significance if the p-value is less than 0.05. Only results that demonstrate a p-value of less than 0.05 are considered statistically significant in this profile.
Causal Evidence Rating
The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is moderate because it was based on a well-implemented nonexperimental design. This means we are somewhat confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the WorkFirst program, but other factors might also have contributed.