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Summary

Generating Opportunities to Attain Lifelong Success (GOALS) provided intensive case management followed by occupational skills training, job placement services with dedicated employment liaisons and postemployment services, targeting individuals receiving SNAP who were work registrants (participants who had not met any Federal exemptions from SNAP work requirements and were required to register for work).

GOALS began with a "stabilize phase" of intensive case management that included identifying barriers and developing an individualized action plan to address mental health, substance use, basic education, and/or life skills needs, as indicated. This phase was followed by "train," "place," and "sustain" phases, where participants could be referred to occupational skills training, if needed, and receive job placement assistance and post-employment supports from employer liaisons.

The stabilize phase took about eight weeks to complete, with the basic education or life skills trainings typically taking five to eight weeks and requiring full-day attendance for four days per week. In the train phase, the occupational skills training programs lasted four to six weeks. Case management after the stabilize phase included at least monthly meetings and continued up through job placement.

The program was implemented in 35 counties statewide in Kansas.

101036.06-Study of Generating
Populations and employment barriers: Adults (age 25+), Public benefits recipients, Unemployed

Effectiveness rating and effect by outcome domain

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Outcome domain Term Effectiveness rating Effect in 2024 dollars and percentages Effect in standard deviations Sample size
Increase earnings Short-term Little evidence to assess support favorable $510 per year 0.014 3961
Long-term Little evidence to assess support favorable $292 per year 0.008 3961
Very long-term Cannot assess support
Increase employment Short-term Supported favorable 3% (in percentage points) 0.078 3961
Long-term Little evidence to assess support favorable 0% (in percentage points) 0.002 3961
Very long-term Cannot assess support
Decrease benefit receipt Short-term Not supported unfavorable $134 per year 0.039 3961
Long-term Little evidence to assess support unfavorable $55 per year 0.016 3961
Very long-term Cannot assess support
Increase education and training All measurement periods Cannot assess support

Effectiveness ratings

  • Well- supported
  • Supported
  • Mixed support
  • Not supported
  • Insufficient evidence
  • Cannot assess support

Studies of this program

Study quality rating Study counts per rating
High High 1
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Implementation details

Dates covered by study

GOALS enrolled participants between January 2016 and January 2018. Study data collection occurred through January 2021, with outcomes measured over a three-year follow-up period.

Organizations implementing program

Kansas Department of Children and Families; University of Kansas's Center for Public Partnerships in Research; multiple community colleges and technical education centers

Populations served

GOALS targeted SNAP participants who were new or current work registrants (participants who had not met any Federal exemptions from SNAP work requirements and were required to register for work, with new registrants not having received SNAP in the past six months). Most participants were unemployed (84 percent). The majority of participants had a high school diploma or GED (77 percent), were female (61 percent), and were White (51 percent).

Description of services implemented

GOALS had four phases of services:

  • Stabilize phase. GOALS career navigators provided intensive case management, beginning with multiple assessment meetings and developing an individualized action plan. The plan could include mental health or substance use counselling and/or basic education and life skills training and work experience.
  • Train phase. If indicated by the career navigator, participants were referred for four to six weeks of occupational skills training at programs offered by local community colleges or technical education centers. Career navigators continued to provide case management during this phase.
  • Place phase. After participants’ resumes were completed and navigators deemed them work ready, employer liaisons identified potential job placements that matched skills and interests, including with employers the liaisons had recruited into the program. This phase could also include individual advocacy, such as hand-delivery of job application materials. Navigators continued to provide case management up through job placement.
  • Sustain phase. Employer liaisons addressed any job retention challenges, such as transportation needs, and could also help with rapid reemployment if job loss occurred.

Service intensity

GOALS’ stabilize phase took about eight weeks to complete, with the basic education or life skills trainings typically taking five to eight weeks and requiring full-day attendance for four days per week. It also could include up to two weeks of work experience. In the train phase, the occupational skills training programs lasted four to six weeks. Case management after the stabilize phase included at least monthly meetings and continued up through job placement.

Comparison conditions

The comparison group was eligible for existing SNAP Employment and Training services and any employment and training services available in the community. Kansas offered limited services through its existing voluntary SNAP Employment and Training program (except in the Southeast region where SNAP Employment and Training was not available), including limited occupational skills training, primarily in Certified Nursing Assistantships, potential referrals to GED services and local workforce development centers for training, and limited support services.

Partnerships

The Kansas Department of Children and Families (DCF) managed the overall program and provided case management. It also partnered with:

  • University of Kansas’s Center for Public Partnerships in Research (KU). KU built DCF staff capacity and skills, convened community stakeholders, and managed program data.
  • Local community colleges and technical education centers. Provided job readiness and occupational skills training programs.

Staffing

GOALS included two key DCF staff roles:

  • Employer liaisons. Liaisons recruited local employers to participate in GOALS, including leading Q&A sessions with participants and workplace tours in the stabilize phase. They developed placements with employers and matched participants to available jobs, which could include individual advocacy and hand-delivery of resumes or job applications. They also provided post-employment supports for job retention, such as transportation assistance, and assistance with rapid reemployment if job loss occurred.
  • Career navigators. Navigators provided intensive case management during stabilize phase, including multiple assessment appointments, development of individualized action plan, and making referrals. They provided ongoing case management and met at least monthly with participants up through job placement, including providing support services such as financial assistance for transportation, interview clothing costs, or license or testing fees.

Staff at local community colleges or technical education centers delivered the adult basic education, life skills, occupational skills, and/or job readiness training.

Fidelity measures

The study did not discuss any tools to measure fidelity to the program model.

Funding source

The program was funded by federal SNAP Employment and Training Pilot demonstration funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The information contained here reflects how the program was implemented at the time of the evaluation.

Local context

GOALS was implemented in 35 counties statewide in Kansas. Kansas DCF has multiple offices statewide with a central office in Topeka, KS. The University of Kansas’s Center for Public Partnerships and Research is located in Lawrence, KS.

Characteristics of research participants
Black or African American
24%
White, not Hispanic
51%
Asian
1%
Another race
2%
More than one race
7%
Hispanic or Latino of any race
16%

The race and ethnicity categories may sum to more than 100 percent if the authors reported race and ethnicity separately; in these cases, we report the category White, rather than White, not Hispanic.

State(s) where implemented

AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE DC FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY Canada

Pathways to Work refers to programs by the names used in study reports or manuscripts. Some program names may use language that is not consistent with our style guide, preferences, or the terminology we use to describe populations.