Citation
Hendra, R., Dillman, K.-N., Hamilton, G., Lundquist, E., Martinson, K., Wavelet, M., Hill, A., & Williams, S. (2010). The Employment Retention and Advancement project: How effective are different approaches aiming to increase employment retention and advancement? Final impacts for twelve models. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families. [RFS-Los Angeles]
Highlights
- The study’s objective was to estimate the impact of individualized and flexible post-employment job supports on employed welfare recipients’ employment and benefits receipt outcomes after three years. The Los Angeles Reach for Success (RFS) site was one of two in Los Angeles that participated in the Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) project.
- The authors randomly assigned 5,700 employed single-parent participants in Los Angeles’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program who were working full-time to either a treatment group that received RFS services or to a control group that received standard TANF services. The authors analyzed data from Unemployment Insurance (UI), TANF, and Food Stamps administrative records and surveys administered 12 and 42 months after random assignment.
- The study found that, 12 to 42 months after random assignment, RFS group members’ employment, earnings, and benefits receipt did not differ significantly from those of control group members.
- The quality of causal evidence provided in this study is high because it was based on a well-conducted randomized controlled trial. This means we are confident that any estimated effects would be attributable to Los Angeles’ RFS and not to other factors. However, the study did not find statistically significant effects.
Intervention Examined
Reach for Success (RFS)
Features of the Intervention
The ERA project was introduced in 1999 as a nationwide exploration of factors that help welfare recipients not only find employment but retain their positions and advance in their careers. Los Angeles was one of 16 sites across the United States to receive funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to implement a program intended to improve welfare recipients’ employment outcomes. (The authors reported results for two sites in Los Angeles, including Los Angeles RFS, separately, so CLEAR also reviewed the results for those sites separately.)
Employed TANF recipients assigned to the Los Angeles RFS group received intensive marketing about available services and individualized attention from case managers. Specifically, RFS helped clients more effectively access work supports, such as child care and transportation, as well as negotiate work-related issues through the development of soft skills, such as interpersonal and communication skills. Services were tailored to clients’ needs and level of motivation. Case managers worked with small caseloads and used work-, education-, and training-based strategies to provide coaching and assistance to clients.
Features of the Study
From July 2002 to June 2004, 5,700 single-parent TANF recipients working at least 32 hours per week in full-time jobs were randomly assigned to either a treatment group, which received RFS services, or a control group, which received standard TANF services through the existing program. Regular post-employment services for the control group were less individualized and included few job retention services other than work supports. Career advancement services consisted primarily of support for education and training and were available only on clients’ request.
The authors estimated employment and earnings impacts by comparing regression-adjusted UI wage records of treatment and control group members over the three years after random assignment. The authors also calculated program impacts for benefit receipt measures, including whether participants received TANF or Food Stamps, through three years after random assignment using TANF and Food Stamps administrative records. Finally, the authors estimated additional employment and earnings outcomes 12 and 42 months after random assignment using surveys.
Findings
- The study found that, 12 to 42 months after random assignment, treatment group members’ employment, earnings, and benefits receipt did not differ significantly from those of control group members.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
The authors noted that RFS dedicated more resources to job search and reemployment services than anticipated, given high rates of job loss among participants. The implementation study showed that RFS group participants were more likely to have received help with a career assessment but otherwise did not differ significantly from the control group in terms of program participation and services received.
Causal Evidence Rating
The quality of causal evidence provided in this study is high because it was based on a well-conducted randomized controlled trial. This means we are confident that any estimated effects would be attributable to Los Angeles RFS and not to other factors. However, the study did not find statistically significant effects.