In addition to MFIP employment services, MSTED participants received job-readiness assessments, one-on-one training to support job readiness, and assistance finding subsidized employment. Subsidized employment under the MSTED model took two forms. The first form, which aimed to improve participant workplace skills, was a paid work experience at a public agency or nonprofit organization for up to 24 hours per week for up to 8 weeks. Participants earned a fully subsidized wage of $9 per hour under this option. The second form of subsidized employment, which was intended for participants deemed more job-ready by MSTED staff, provided participants with subsidized wages of up to $15 per hour for up to 40 hours per week at a private employer. Participants’ wages at private employers were fully subsidized for the first 8 weeks, then 50 percent subsidized for a subsequent 8 weeks. MSTED provided services for a minimum of eight weeks and provided job readiness services as needed during this time. Participants were recipients of MFIP services who were referred to the MSTED program in Ramsey, Dakota, and Hennepin Counties in Minnesota. MFIP was Minnesota’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.
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Summary
MSTED supplemented the Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) intervention by providing participants with subsidized employment as well as job readiness and search services to improve employment and earnings outcomes and reduce benefit receipt.
Effectiveness rating and effect by outcome domain
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| Outcome domain | Term | Effectiveness rating | Effect in 2018 dollars and percentages | Effect in standard deviations | Sample size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Increase earnings | Short-term | 
|
$544 per year
|
0.026 | 798 |
| Long-term |  |
||||
| Very long-term | |
||||
| Increase employment | Short-term | 
|
6% (in percentage points)
|
0.138 | 798 |
| Long-term | |
||||
| Very long-term | |
||||
| Decrease benefit receipt | Short-term |
|
$-261 per year
|
-0.095 | 799 |
| Long-term | |
||||
| Very long-term | |
||||
| Increase education and training | All measurement periods | |
Effectiveness rating key:
-
Well-supported
-
Supported
-
Not supported
-
Mixed support
-
Insufficient evidence
-
No evidence
Studies of this intervention
| Study quality rating | Study counts per rating |
|---|---|
 High
|
1 |
Implementation details
Dates covered by study
The MSTED intervention was established in November 2014 by the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS). The MSTED evaluation enrolled people from three different Minnesota counties (Dakota, Hennepin, and Ramsey) into the study between November 2014 and June 2016. The study follow-up period measured outcomes at 12 months and 30 months after enrollment. The study examined MSTED operations and service delivery that occurred from November 2014 to December 2016.
Organizations implementing intervention
The Minnesota DHS oversaw the MSTED intervention and selected three counties (Dakota, Hennepin, and Ramsey) to implement the model. DHS administers and oversees the federally funded TANF cash assistance program called MFIP in Minnesota, which the MSTED intervention was designed to supplement. The counties contracted out the delivery of MSTED services to three employment service providers: HIRED (Dakota), Avivo (Hennepin), and Goodwill-Easter Seals (Hennepin and Ramsey).
Populations served
MSTED served long-term MFIP cash assistance recipients who experienced difficulties obtaining employment but did not have significant barriers that would prevent them from working. Specifically, MSTED used the following criteria to identify potential participants:
- Received MFIP cash assistance for at least six months
- Earned income of less than $1,200 in the last six months
- Were not minors who were parents
- Were not parents between the ages of 18 to 24 pursuing a full-time education plan
- Were not exempt from MFIP work activity requirements.
In mid-2015, DHS modified the criteria to qualify for MSTED to allow anyone receiving MFIP cash assistance who was unemployed, not pursuing an approved education plan, and not exempt from work activity requirements to participate in the program. MFIP employment counselors made referrals to MSTED and determined whether recipients met the intervention eligibility criteria.
The study population was mostly female (81 percent). Sixty-five percent were Black or African American, not Hispanic, and 16 percent were White, not Hispanic. The average age was 31 years. Ten percent of study participants had limited English proficiency, and 13 percent spoke Somali at home. Seventy-three percent of study participants had a high school degree or its equivalent, and 56 percent ever attended postsecondary education or training. Study participants at baseline had received 32.5 months of MFIP benefits, on average. Ninety-three percent of study participants had ever been employed.
Description of services implemented
MSTED’s primary goal was to improve employment outcomes for recipients of Minnesota’s TANF program, MFIP. The intervention sought to provide subsidized employment to MFIP recipients unable to obtain employment in the local labor market. MSTED included two tracks of subsidized employment based on the job readiness of eligible MFIP recipients:
- Paid work experience. Participants who were not job ready, as determined by MFIP job developers, were placed in a job at a public agency or nonprofit where they earned fully subsidized wages of $9 per hour up to 24 hours a week for up to 8 weeks. Employment was expected to conclude at the end of the eight-week subsidy period.
- Subsidized employment. Participants who were more job ready, as determined by MFIP job developers, were placed in a job at a private employer where they earned subsidized wages up to $15 per hour for up to 40 hours a week. MSTED subsidized 100 percent of participant wages for the first 8 weeks and 50 percent of wages for another 8 weeks. MSTED required employers to place participants on their payroll for the second eight weeks with the hope it would allow for a smooth rollover to unsubsidized employment at the end of the subsidy period.
In addition to the subsidized wages, MSTED provided job readiness training and case management services before and concurrently with paid work experience and subsidized employment to help participants obtain their employment goals. Participants could participate in both paid work experience and subsidized employment tracks (not concurrently) as long as the total subsidy period did not exceed six months. The intervention model intended for most participants to initially be placed into subsidized employment, with paid work experiences reserved for participants who were not as job ready. However, as intervention implementation unfolded, MSTED job developers placed more people in paid work experiences as they found difficulties finding private employers to agree to subsidized employment placements.
Participation in MSTED was voluntary and was not required of individuals referred by MFIP employment counselors. For those who did decide to participate in the MSTED study and were assigned to the program group, their participation counted toward MFIP recipients’ required work activity hours.
MSTED providers successfully implemented most of the key elements of the intervention model; however, the three providers varied in how they delivered services. The primary variation was in how providers balanced the tradeoff between teaching participants job skills to prepare for subsidized employment and getting them placed quickly before they became disinterested and left the program. Some providers required that participants attend a two-week workshop at the beginning of the program, whereas others offered optional workshops over a longer period. Providers also varied in their use of paid work experience to build skills and provide immediate employment to increase engagement with the program. Two of the three providers used paid work experience in this manner, whereas the third provider did not.
Study authors also identified several challenges related to MSTED implementation:
- MSTED job developers reported difficulties meeting enrollment targets because of an improved economy that resulted in lower MFIP caseloads and because of MFIP employment counselors’ reluctance to refer people to the MSTED intervention due to doubts about the benefits and effectiveness of MSTED relative to the employment services the employment counselors provided. This required MSTED job developers to spend more of their time recruiting and enrolling people into the intervention instead of identifying potential private employer placements and preparing participants for work placements.
- MSTED service providers reported challenges in finding a balance between (1) providing job search assistance and soft-skills training like developing a résumé, interviewing, and job searching and (2) quickly placing participants in paid work experience or subsidized employment.
- MSTED sites reported only 34 percent of intervention group participants were placed and employed in a paid work experience placement, a subsidized job, or both one year following enrollment. The challenges with lower-than-expected placement rates were caused by the first two challenges above and difficulties MFIP job developers had finding private employers to host placements for MSTED participants.
Service intensity
MSTED participants placed in paid work experience worked for up to 24 hours a week for up to 8 weeks. Subsidized employment placements allowed MSTED participants to work 40 hours a week for up to 16 weeks (8 weeks subsidized at 100 percent and 8 weeks at 50 percent). Participants could not participate and receive wage subsidies for more than six months. As noted above, only 34 percent of all MSTED program members worked in a paid work experience or subsidized job one year following enrollment into the intervention.
Comparison conditions
MFIP recipients assigned to the comparison group did not have access to MSTED services. People assigned to the MSTED group and comparison group all had access to MFIP employment services, which included structured job readiness classes, independent job search, uncompensated work experience, community service, English as a second language training, and education services (postsecondary education or training, adult basic education, and high school completion or GED classes).
Partnerships
The study did not discuss any partners involved with implementing the MSTED intervention beyond the contacted service providers mentioned above.
Staffing
The primary MSTED staff were called job developers and helped participants find paid work experience or subsidized employment. Job developers also provided case management, assessed participant job readiness, and conducted workshops and one-on-one trainings to help participants increase their job readiness and soft skills. Job developers also marketed the MSTED services to MFIP staff and recipients and reached out to employers to identify potential subsidized employment opportunities. MFIP employment counselors identified potential MFIP recipients and made referrals to MSTED providers. The study authors did not include information on the number of staff or their training, degrees, or certifications.
Fidelity measures
The study did not discuss any tools to measure fidelity to the intervention model.
Funding source
The Minnesota State Legislature provided $4.3 million to the Minnesota DHS to fund the MSTED intervention. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Subsidized and Transitional Employment Demonstration project funded the evaluation, and MDRC and MEF Associates executed it.
Cost information
The average cost per participant was $14,013 in 2018 dollars.
This figure is based on cost information reported by authors of the study or studies the Pathways Clearinghouse reviewed for this intervention. The Pathways Clearinghouse converted that information to a single amount expressed in 2018 dollars; for details, see the FAQ. Where there are multiple studies of an intervention rated high or moderate quality, the Pathways Clearinghouse computed the average of costs reported across those studies.
Cost information is not directly comparable across interventions due to differences in the categories of costs reported and the amount of time interventions lasted. Cost information is not an official price tag or guarantee.
State(s) where implemented
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