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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

The Ready to Work Partnership Grant Evaluation: Final Report of the Impact Study of Four Employment Services Programs for the Long-Term Unemployed (Klerman et al., 2022)

Review Guidelines

Causal Evidence Guidelines

This study was conducted by staff from Abt Associates, which co-administers CLEAR. The review of this study was conducted by ICF, which co-administers CLEAR and is trained in applying the CLEAR causal evidence guidelines.  

Citation

Klerman, J.A., Herr, J.L., & Martinson., K. (2022). The Ready to Work Partnership Grant Evaluation: Final Report of the Impact Study of Four Employment Services Programs for the Long-Term Unemployed. Prepared for the U.S. Department of Labor. Rockville, MD: Abt Associates. [Reboot NW Program]

Highlights

  • The study’s objective was to examine the impact of the Ready to Work (RTW) Partnership Grant Program on earnings and employment outcomes. This profile focuses on the Reboot Northwest (NW) program. The authors investigated questions for other contrasts, the profiles can be found here:
  • The study used a randomized controlled trial to assign participants to the Reboot NW program or the control group. The primary data source was the National Directory of New Hires. The authors used statistical models to compare outcomes between treatment and control group participants.  
  • The study did not find any statistically significant effects between participation in Reboot Northwest and average quarterly earnings and employment. 
  • This study receives a high evidence rating. This means we are confident that any estimated effects would be attributable to Reboot Northwest and not to other factors. However, the study did not find any statistically significant effects. 

Intervention Examined

Reboot Northwest (NW) program

Features of the Intervention

In 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor funded the Ready to Work (RTW) Partnership Grant Program that provided $180 million in grants to deliver customized employment services to long-term unemployed workers (those who have been out of work for at least 27 consecutive weeks). RTW focused on employment preparation for high-growth industries and occupations, particularly those being filled by H1-B foreign workers. 

The Reboot Northwest (NW) program was a collaboration of three Workforce Investment Boards in Oregon and Washington; Worksystems Inc. served as the lead grantee for the RTW grant. The grantee implemented the Reboot NW program from April 2015 to June 2019 out of eight American Job Centers (referred to as WorkSource centers). The program targeted underemployed workers, long-term unemployed workers, and veterans or eligible spouses of veterans with the goal of finding jobs in advanced manufacturing, information technology, and software development industries. The Reboot NW program provided employment readiness courses, occupational training, work-based training, job search assistance, and financial supports. To be eligible to participate, individuals had to be 18 years or older, legally allowed to work in the United States, have a high school diploma or GED, and have an interest or experience in working in advanced manufacturing, information technology, or software development.  

Features of the Study

The study used a randomized controlled trial to examine the impact of the Reboot NW program on earnings and employment outcomes. Upon completion of a baseline survey at study enrollment, 980 individuals were randomly assigned to the treatment or control group. Study authors assigned 493 individuals to participate in the Reboot NW program (treatment) and 487 individuals to the control group. Treatment participants received Reboot NW program services. Control group participants were provided with a list of community resources at the WorkSource center that were not funded by the RTW grant, but were not actively referred to any programs. The study sample were primarily men (76%), White (77%), 45 to 54 years of age (26%), and had a bachelor’s degree (37%). The National Directory of New Hires was the primary data source. The authors used statistical models to compare outcomes between treatment and control group participants. 

Study Sites

  • Clackamas County, Oregon 
  • Multnomah County, Oregon 
  • Washington County, Oregon 
  • Clark County, Washington 
  • Cowlitz County, Washington 
  • Wahkiakum County, Washington 

Findings

Earnings and wages

  • The study found no significant impact of participation in the Reboot NW program on average earnings in quarters 5 through 10 after random assignment.  

Employment

  • The study found no significant impact of participation in the Reboot NW program on employment in quarters 5 through 10 after random assignment.

Causal Evidence Rating

The quality of causal evidence presented in this study is high because it was based on a well-implemented randomized controlled trial. This means we are confident that any estimated effects would be attributable to Reboot Northwest and not to other factors. However, the study did not find any statistically significant effects. 

Additional Sources

Herr, J. L., Klerman, J. A., & Martinson, K. (2022). The Ready to Work Partnership Grant evaluation: Technical appendix for the final report of the impact study of four employment services programs for the long-term unemployed. Prepared for the U.S. Department of Labor. Rockville, MD: Abt Associates. Klerman, J.A., Herr, J.L., Martinson, K., & Copson, E. (2022). The Ready to Work Partnership Grant evaluation: Findings from the interim impact study of four employment services programs for the long-term unemployed. Prepared for the U.S. Department of Labor. Rockville, MD: Abt Associates.

Reviewed by CLEAR

April 2024

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