Skip to sections below

Share this program

PrintEmail

  • 0.19,1.00
  • 0.25,1.00
  • 0.14,2.50
  • 0.12,1.25

Summary

TransitionsSF supported unemployed noncustodial parents in finding and maintaining work with the goal of improving participants’ employment outcomes and ability to pay for child support.

The TransitionsSF program, which took place in San Francisco, CA, served unemployed noncustodial parents. TransitionsSF included three stages. The first stage, which typically lasted three weeks, was a pre-transitional job period, during which participants took assessments to determine whether they required substance abuse services, mental health services, or other services. This stage also included individualized job-readiness training that helped participants develop their soft skills. In the second stage, participants were placed in subsidized transitional jobs for five months. In the third stage, program staff helped participants for a year either with job searching if the participant had not yet found an unsubsidized job or with retention and advancement if they had found a job. During each stage, participants received case management services. As an incentive to continue participation in the program, participants had suspended driver's licenses reinstated, and their child support payments were reduced while they continued participating in the program. In total, participants received services for up to a year and a half.

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

24963.03-Study of Transitions
Populations and employment barriers: Adults (age 25+), Noncustodial parents, Parents, Unemployed

Implementation at a glance

Primary service
Program services
Case management, Child support assistance, Job development, Job readiness, Job search assistance, Performance- or behavior-based financial incentives, Post-employment participant follow-up, Soft skills training, Subsidized employment/transitional jobs
Review services terms
Setting(s)
Urban only
Year evaluation began
2011
Implementing organization(s)The San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development; The City and County of San Francisco Department of Child Support Services; Goodwill of San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin; San Francisco’s Human Services Agency

Effectiveness rating and effect by outcome domain

View table definitions

Scroll to the right to view the rest of the table columns

Outcome domain Term Effectiveness rating Effect in 2024 dollars and percentages Effect in standard deviations Sample size
Increase earnings Short-term Supported favorable $2,916 per year 0.080 994
Long-term Supported favorable $2,953 per year 0.081 993
Very long-term Little evidence to assess support favorable $182 per year 0.005 994
Increase employment Short-term Supported favorable 5% (in percentage points) 0.121 994
Long-term Supported favorable 7% (in percentage points) 0.159 993
Very long-term Cannot assess support
Decrease benefit receipt Short-term Cannot assess support
Long-term Little evidence to assess support favorable $-350 per year -0.102 655
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
Back to top

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 $10,796
Good quality

Cost information

How much did the program cost per participant?

The average total program cost per participant was $10,796 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.

Back to top

Implementation details

Dates covered by study

The study ran from November 2011 to July 2022. Study enrollment ran from November 2011 to December 2013. Data collection occurred from November 2011 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

The San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development managed the project and funding. The City and County of San Francisco Department of Child Support Services (DCSS) recruited and provided child support incentives for participants. Goodwill of San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin provided program services, including Tier 1 transitional jobs (described in the “Description of services implemented” section of this brief). San Francisco's Human Services Agency (HSA) implemented the Tier 2 transitional jobs through its Department of Public Works and Recreation and Parks Department.

Populations served

The study examined noncustodial parents with low income who were currently unemployed or underemployed. Most participants were male (88 percent). The majority of participants had prior justice involvement (79 percent), a high school diploma or GED (72 percent) and were Black (67 percent).

Description of services implemented

TransitionsSF used three sequential stages to help participants support themselves and their children. These stages included work-readiness activities, a skill-matched subsidized transitional job, and incentives for program participation.

Stage One: Pre-transitional job. TransitionsSF enrolled monthly cohorts who then received an individual assessment identifying their barriers to work; case managers referred participants to services to address any identified barriers. In addition, participants received job-readiness training to build soft skills. Participants received an incentive, $100 a week, for attending job-readiness training.

Participants did not move to Stage Two transitional jobs until they passed a drug test. Participants waited a minimum of 45 days to retake a failed test. During the wait time, they met with case managers and were enrolled in GED classes or four-month digital literacy classes, each for six to 10 hours a week. Stage One lasted three months on average, in part because of participants who failed drug tests.

Stage Two: Tiered transitional job. After assessing their job readiness, staff assigned participants to one of three tiers for the Stage Two transitional jobs. For example, the least job-ready participants were assigned to Tier 1 jobs, and the most job-ready participants were assigned to Tier 3 jobs. Participants worked in one of three tiers of transitional jobs described below for about three months. Participants in Tier 1 and Tier 2 transitional jobs were not expected to be hired for unsubsidized employment, whereas participants in Tier 3 could be hired for unsubsidized employment after their transitional job ended based on performance and job openings. The program arranged for participants in all tiers of employment to attend GED classes or digital literacy classes in Stage Two. Weekly job clubs prepared participants for Stage Three of the program.

  • Tier 1 transitional jobs built participants’ soft and work skills through temporary employment in Goodwill stores and warehouses.
  • Tier 2 transitional jobs exposed participants to public-sector employment to build soft and work skills in outdoor physical labor positions at the Department of Public Works and Recreation and Parks Department operated by San Francisco's Human Services Agency (HSA). HSA managed and evaluated participants in Tier 2 jobs.
  • Tier 3 transitional jobs provided participants work experience closer to an unsubsidized job in entry-level positions at local businesses of various sizes. Some participants were hired into unsubsidized positions at the end of the transitional job period.

Goodwill paid participants in Tier 1 and 3 jobs $10.24 per hour (minimum wage in San Francisco was $10.55 an hour in 2013) for 30 hours of work per week. HSA paid participants in Tier 2 jobs slightly above minimum wage for 24 to 26 hours of work per week. Participants received an incentive of $75 each week while attending job clubs and making job search plans.

Stage Three: Follow-up. Participants received job search assistance if they did not find unsubsidized employment for one year. Participants in unsubsidized employment received retention and advancement services for one year.

Other services. Participants’ child support orders were reduced below the standard payment for minimum-wage workers during all program stages. Other child support incentives included reinstating suspended driver’s licenses and lifting bank levies.

Case managers met with participants and job-site supervisors on the first day of Tier 1 and 3 transitional jobs and maintained contact with those job-site supervisors. Although HSA managed participants in Tier 2 positions independently of case managers, case managers met with participants in all tiers twice a month during participants’ transitional jobs period and once a month after the transitional job ended.

Participation was voluntary and recruitment was difficult both because potential participants were suspicious of the program when DCSS contacted them directly and because the pool of potential eligible participants was limited in San Francisco. TransitionsSF began to recruit participants with child support cases outside San Francisco County. The program’s Stage Two transitional jobs were initially planned to last five months, but participants worked about three months in these positions.

Service intensity

The pre-transitional jobs period lasted three weeks; participants were then placed in transitional jobs for five months. Participants received support for one year after the transitional job ended. In total, participants received services for about a year and a half.

Comparison conditions

Individuals who were randomly assigned to the comparison group could participate in other programs if they pursued them, including DCSS’s Custodial and Noncustodial Employment Training Program.

Partnerships

HSA placed participants in Tier 2 transitional jobs and managed relationships with Tier 2 employers.

Five Keys Charter School provided instruction for GED preparation classes.

Participants were referred to the Family Service Agency for mental health treatment or counseling if they failed their drug tests.

Participants were referred to The Walden House for mental health treatment or rehabilitation services if they had substance use issues.

A large staffing agency in San Francisco placed some participants in Tier 3 positions.

Local private-sector employers partnered with TransitionsSF to hire Tier 3 participants.

Staffing

Assessment specialists, a job-readiness training instructor, case managers, resource specialists, career advisors, job developers, and DCSS caseworkers provided TransitionsSF’s core services. Assessment specialists had master’s degrees and assessed participants’ barriers and needs, reviewed participants’ work interests and aptitudes assessment, and synthesized this information in a report for case managers. Resource specialists conducted a second intake with participants to learn more about their barriers and make referrals. DCSS caseworkers provided child support incentives to participants such as releasing suspended driver’s licenses and modifying child support orders.

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 San Francisco, CA. San Francisco had a high cost of living and limited employment opportunities for low-skill workers.

Characteristics of research participants
Black or African American
67%
White, not Hispanic
3%
Asian
5%
Unknown, not reported, or other
5%
Hispanic or Latino of any race
19%

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.