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Summary

Good Transitions served noncustodial parents with low income by providing subsidized employment combined with case management and training to help them connect to stable employment.

After two days of initial skills assessment, Good Transitions participants were placed in a subsidized job at Goodwill Industries stores. An on-site job coach provided feedback and support while program staff provided case management and job development services. After one month at the Goodwill position, Good Transitions placed participants in a new position, with less on-site support and coaching than the Goodwill position, for about three months. During this time, Good Transitions continued to provide case management and job development services and also provided life-skills workshops, occupation-specific training, and a weekly job club to help participants find unsubsidized work. After three months at the second subsidized position, participants would either enter an unsubsidized job or continue to receive education, training, and job development services until they found an unsubsidized job. The program was designed to move participants into unsubsidized employment within four months. Participants were noncustodial parents with low income who had child support orders, had passed a drug test, and were registered with Selective Service (applicable to males only).

Good Transitions was implemented in Atlanta, GA. The evaluation of Good Transitions was part of the Enhanced Transitional Jobs Demonstration (ETJD) evaluation, which also tested similar subsidized employment programs implemented in Milwaukee, WI (Supporting Families Through Work); San Francisco, CA (TransitionsSF); Syracuse, NY (Parent Success Initiative); Fort Worth, TX (Next STEP); Indianapolis, IN (RecycleForce); and New York, NY (Ready, Willing and Able Pathways2Work). 

24963.01-Study of Good Transi
Populations and employment barriers: Adults (age 25+), Noncustodial parents, Parents, At least a high school diploma or equivalent

Implementation at a glance

Primary service
Program services
Case management, Child support assistance, Employer-focused retention strategies, Employment coaching, Financial education, Job development, Job readiness, Job search assistance, Occupational or sectoral training, Peer mentoring, Performance- or behavior-based financial incentives, Post-employment participant follow-up, Soft skills training, Subsidized employment/transitional jobs, Transportation assistance
Review services terms
Setting(s)
Urban only
Year evaluation began
2012
Implementing organization(s)Goodwill of North Georgia; Georgia Division of Child Support Services’ Fatherhood Program

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 Supported favorable $1,349 per year 0.037 996
Long-term Little evidence to assess support unfavorable $-146 per year -0.004 996
Very long-term Little evidence to assess support unfavorable $-1,823 per year -0.050 996
Increase employment Short-term Supported favorable 8% (in percentage points) 0.200 996
Long-term Little evidence to assess support favorable 3% (in percentage points) 0.066 996
Very long-term Cannot assess support
Decrease benefit receipt Short-term Cannot assess support
Long-term Little evidence to assess support favorable $-433 per year -0.126 802
Very long-term Cannot assess support
Increase education and training All measurement periods Supported favorable 9% (in percentage points) 0.170 812

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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Program cost

No cost information available.

Cost results

Estimate (in 2024 dollars) Quality of cost analysis that produced the estimate
Total program cost, per participant $9,119
Good quality

Cost information

How much did the program cost per participant?

The average total program cost per participant was $9,119 in 2024 dollars. This figure is based on cost information for this program reported in one cost study reviewed by Pathways to Work (for details, see the FAQ). This study received a rating of Good quality for the cost analysis.

Cost information is not directly comparable across programs due to differences in the categories of costs reported and program length. Cost information is not an official price tag or guarantee.

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Implementation details

Dates covered by study

The study ran from March 2012 to July 2022. Study enrollment ran from March 2012 to December 2013. Data collection occurred from March 2012 to July 2022, with outcomes measured using administrative data over an eight-year follow-up period and using survey data at 12-month and 30-month follow-ups.

Organizations implementing program

Goodwill of North Georgia, an affiliate of Goodwill Industries International, and the Georgia Division of Child Support Services’ Fatherhood Program implemented the Good Transitions program together. Goodwill of North Georgia provides employment and training services to local residents with barriers to employment. The Fatherhood Program, operated by the Georgia Division of Child Support Services, provides employment and training services to noncustodial parents who have child support orders.

Populations served

The program served noncustodial parents with low income. To be eligible, individuals had to be a low-income, noncustodial parent with child support orders; have passed a drug test; and be registered with Selective Service (unless they were female). Most participants were referred by the Fatherhood Program, and the rest were recruited by Goodwill from community programs that served noncustodial parents. Participation was voluntary. Most participants were male (94 percent), Black (91 percent) and had a high school diploma or GED (80 percent). About one-third of participants (34 percent) were formerly incarcerated.

Description of services implemented

Good Transitions placed program participants in subsidized jobs using a two-stage employment model—first at Goodwill stores and then at private companies in the community—to gradually increase participants’ work skills, provide private-sector work experience, and engage in a trial period of private-sector employment. The Goodwill placement lasted about one month for 20 to 40 hours each week, during which an employment coach supervised participants and supported their work-readiness and soft-skills development during every shift. The program set aside part of each shift for participants to search for jobs. Job developers prepared participants for private-sector applications and interviews with associated employers. In the second stage, Good Transitions placed participants in jobs at private companies for about three months to provide work experience that more closely resembled the unsubsidized labor market. Goodwill paid participants minimum wage ($7.25 an hour before child support and tax deductions) during both stages.

In addition to these key program components, participants received the following services:

  • Weekly case management, starting after program enrollment in the first stage and provided at the Goodwill store employing the participant. In the second stage, Good Transitions case managers routinely visited participants and their employers on-site at the private company.
  • Weekly job clubs in which participants practiced work-readiness skills and received job search assistance.
  • Workshop trainings provided by external organizations, including occupational, financial literacy, and soft-skills training.
  • Retention services to verify employment and reconnect participants to Good Transitions if they had lost jobs.
  • Financial incentives of public transportation or gas cards, ranging from $20 to $25, for continuing to communicate with a retention specialist and for continuing to verify unsubsidized employment.

The implementation of the subsidized private-sector jobs stage differed somewhat from initial plans. The program intended to place participants based on their skills and interests, but job developers did not form relationships with as large a range of private-sector companies as intended, so most participants were placed in retail or local nonprofit private-sector jobs.

Service intensity

The program typically provided four months of subsidized employment.

Comparison conditions

Individuals who were randomly assigned to the comparison group could participate in other programs, which included receiving other services from the Division of Child Support Services’ Fatherhood Program. Members of the comparison group were not placed in subsidized jobs at Goodwill and private-sector partner employers.

Partnerships

The Center for Working Families Inc., a nonprofit focused on financial stability, partnered to provide occupational, financial literacy, and soft-skills workshops to participants.

The Urban League of Greater Atlanta, a nonprofit serving African Americans in Atlanta, also partnered with Good Transitions to provide occupational, financial literacy, and soft-skills workshops to participants.

Multiple local, private-sector retail and nonprofit organizations partnered with Good Transitions to offer subsidized job placements.

Staffing

Job coaches in each of the five participating Goodwill stores, up to four case managers, and up to four job developers provided services. In addition, one vocational evaluator managed enrollment, assessment, and determinations of which participants were a good fit for the program. Two retention specialists verified unsubsidized employment and allocated financial incentives. All staff participated in job clubs and assessment sessions in addition to their specific roles.

All staff had previous experience working in Goodwill programs or with populations served by human and employment services programs. All staff were trained by Goodwill on diversity and disability awareness, crisis prevention, and sexual harassment prevention. In addition, job developers were trained in conducting employer needs analyses, which included finding roles program participants could fill.

Fidelity measures

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

Funding source

This program was funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration through a grant for the Enhanced Transitional Jobs Demonstration.

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

Local context

The program took place in Atlanta, GA.

Characteristics of research participants
Black or African American
91%
White, not Hispanic
4%
Unknown, not reported, or other
2%
Hispanic or Latino of any race
3%

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.