Study Details | Pathways to Work

101022-Study of Padua Pilot

Study quality: High

High

Reason for the rating: This study received a high study quality rating because it is a randomized controlled trial with low attrition, suggesting the findings can be attributed to the program.

Program: Padua Pilot

Services provided:

Case management, Childcare and/or early education, Employment coaching, Financial education, Housing supports and subsidies, Job placement, Job search assistance, Legal assistance, Transportation assistance, Tuition assistance/financial aid, Unconditional cash transfers

Setting: Urban only

Methods and Standards Protocol version used for review: Version 2.0

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Study design

Design:

Randomized controlled trial

Study group formation:

Study participants for the Padua Pilot were recruited from a pool of clients seeking emergency financial assistance from Catholic Charities Fort Worth. To qualify for the study, clients had to be adults between 18 and 55 years old who were willing and able to work, resided in Tarrant County, Texas, and had low family incomes (below 185 percent of the federal poverty line). Eligible and consenting candidates were then randomly assigned to either the program or comparison group. A total of 427 participants were recruited and randomized across two cohorts, with 193 participants assigned to the program group and 234 participants assigned to the comparison group.

Time period of study:

The study ran from 2015 to 2018. Study enrollment occurred from March 2015 through October 2016 in two cohorts. The study collected survey follow-up data through 2018, with outcomes measured for at least a 24-month follow-up period after random assignment.

Primary outcome domains examined:

Increase short-term earnings, Increase long-term earnings, Increase short-term employment, Increase long-term employment, Decrease short-term benefit receipt, Decrease long-term benefit receipt

Other outcome domains examined:

Housing, spending, debt and savings, health

Study funded by:

The source of study funding was not described in the study.

Results

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Outcome domain	Measure	Timing	Study quality by finding	Comparison group mean	Program group mean	Impact	Units	Sample size
Increase short-term earnings	Monthly earnings, follow-up survey	Month 12	High	1,009.00	1,076.00	67.00	2017 dollars	351
Increase short-term earnings	Quarterly earnings, UI data	Quarter 6	High	3,367.00	3,275.00	-92.00	2017 dollars	346
Increase long-term earnings	Monthly earnings, follow-up survey	Month 24	High	1,149.00	1,357.00	208.00	2018 dollars	346
Increase long-term earnings	Total earnings over follow-up period, UI data	Quarter 18	High	3,408.00	3,458.00	50.00	2020 dollars	346
Increase short-term employment	Currently employed, follow-up survey	Month 12	High	59.30	66.00	6.70	percentage points	351
Increase short-term employment	Ever employed, quarterly, UI data	Quarter 6	High	61.00	66.20	5.20	percentage points	346
Increase long-term employment	Average employment rate, quarterly, UI data	Quarter 18	High	62.20	67.10	4.90	percentage points	346
Increase long-term employment	Currently employed, follow-up survey	Month 24	High	62.60	68.70	6.10	percentage points	346
Decrease short-term benefit receipt	Any government benefit receipt, follow-up survey	Month 12	High	68.30	64.20	-4.10	percentage points	351
Decrease short-term benefit receipt	Current SDA benefit receipt, follow-up survey	Month 12	High	14.90	15.10	0.20	percentage points	351
Decrease short-term benefit receipt	Current SNAP benefit receipt, follow-up survey	Month 12	High	62.40	56.10	-6.30	percentage points	351
Decrease short-term benefit receipt	Current SSI benefit receipt, follow-up survey	Month 12	High	1.60	2.60	1.00	percentage points	351
Decrease short-term benefit receipt	Current TANF benefit receipt, follow-up survey	Month 12	High	3.70	1.30	-2.40	percentage points	351
Decrease short-term benefit receipt	Current unemployment benefit receipt, follow-up survey	Month 12	High	1.60	0.90	-0.70	percentage points	351
Decrease short-term benefit receipt	Current WIC benefit receipt, follow-up survey	Month 12	High	19.60	17.40	-2.20	percentage points	351
Decrease long-term benefit receipt	Any government benefit receipt, follow-up survey	Month 24	High	62.10	56.20	-5.90	percentage points	346
Decrease long-term benefit receipt	Average monthly SDA benefit, follow-up survey	Month 24	High	138.00	130.00	-8.00	2020 dollars	346
Decrease long-term benefit receipt	Average monthly SNAP benefit, follow-up survey	Month 24	High	197.00	191.00	-6.00	2020 dollars	346
Decrease long-term benefit receipt	Average monthly SSI benefit, follow-up survey	Month 24	High	33.33	16.88	-16.45	2020 dollars	346
Decrease long-term benefit receipt	Average monthly TANF benefit, follow-up survey	Month 24	High	2.11	14.75	12.64	2020 dollars	346
Decrease long-term benefit receipt	Average monthly unemployment or worker's compensation benefit, follow-up survey	Month 24	High	14.19	8.25	-5.94	2020 dollars	346
Decrease long-term benefit receipt	Average SNAP benefit, monthly, administrative data	Month 60	High	152.00	157.00	5.00	2020 dollars	427
Decrease long-term benefit receipt	Average SNAP participation rate, monthly, administrative data	Month 60	High	36.90	38.40	1.50	percentage points	427
Decrease long-term benefit receipt	Current SDA benefit receipt, follow-up survey	Month 24	High	16.60	14.00	-2.60	percentage points	346
Decrease long-term benefit receipt	Current SNAP benefit receipt, follow-up survey	Month 24	High	50.50	53.20	2.70	percentage points	346
Decrease long-term benefit receipt	Current SSI benefit receipt, follow-up survey	Month 24	High	2.70	1.00	-1.70	percentage points	346
Decrease long-term benefit receipt	Current TANF benefit receipt, follow-up survey	Month 24	High	1.60	4.00	2.40	percentage points	346
Decrease long-term benefit receipt	Current unemployment benefit receipt, follow-up survey	Month 24	High	1.60	1.30	-0.30	percentage points	346
Decrease long-term benefit receipt	Current WIC benefit receipt, follow-up survey	Month 24	High	14.70	8.20	-6.50	percentage points	346

Short-term outcomes are those measured 18 months or fewer after participants are first offered services. Long-term outcomes are those measured between 18 months and 5 years after participants are first offered services. Very long-term outcomes are those measured 5 years or more after participants are first offered services.

Means are not displayed when not reported or not aligned with the impact estimates. For example, if the impact estimate is regression-adjusted but only unadjusted means are reported in the study, the unadjusted means are not displayed as they are not aligned with the adjusted impact estimate.

Impact estimates are not shown when the estimate units cannot be converted to natural units.

Findings quality key:

High
Moderate

Study quality terms?

The findings quality describe our confidence that a given study’s finding is because of the program. We do not display findings that rate low.

Findings key:

A moderate-to-large favorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A moderate-to-large favorable finding that might to be due to chance
A small favorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A small favorable finding that might be due to chance
A favorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
A favorable finding that might be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
A moderate-to-large unfavorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A moderate-to-large unfavorable finding that might to be due to chance
A small unfavorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A small unfavorable finding that might be due to chance
An unfavorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
An unfavorable finding that might be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
A finding that is unlikely to be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size or direction
A finding of no effect that might be due to chance

Favorable findings are impacts in a direction that is socially desirable. Statistical significance indicates the likelihood that a study finding is due to the program, rather than due to chance. Findings are described as moderate-to-large if the program produced a sufficiently large change in the outcome. An impact receives this designation if the standardized effect size is equal to or greater than 0.25 or equal to or less than -0.25.

Sample characteristics

Participants were adults between 18 and 55 years old who were willing and able to work; resided in Tarrant County, TX; and had low family incomes (below 185 percent of the federal poverty line). Most participants were female (85 percent). The majority of participants were recipients of public assistance (65 percent) and single mothers (56 percent). Less than half of participants (40 percent) were employed at baseline, and 25 percent of participants had a high school diploma or GED. The average age of participants was 37 years old.

Age

Mean age

37 years

Sex

Female	85%
Male	15%

Race and ethnicity

Black or African American	48%
White, not Hispanic	15%
Hispanic or Latino of any race	30%
Unknown, not reported, or other	8%

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.

Family status

Single parents

56%

Employment and public benefit status

Were employed	40%
Cash assistance recipients	65%

Education

Had a high school diploma or GED	25%
Did not have a high school diploma or GED	30%
Postsecondary credential	20%

Specific employment barriers

Were experiencing homelessness

Program implementation

Implementing organization:

Catholic Charities Fort Worth

Program history:

Catholic Charities Fort Worth had been providing emergency financial assistance to individuals prior to the start of study in 2015, but the Padua Pilot program was a new program for the organization. The Padua Pilot study enrolled participants from 2015 to 2016 and ran through 2018. New individuals who were not part of the study were offered Padua services beginning in 2018.

Program services:

The Padua Pilot offered individualized and holistic case management services, which included job training, housing assistance, immigration assistance, budgeting, financial literacy, and coaching for overall well-being. The Padua Pilot had five key components to deliver intensive case management services: detailed assessment of goals, skills, and barriers to success; a strengths-based individualized service plan; using two-person teams of a case manager and case worker; case management services that include coaching, mentoring, direct services, and referrals; and providing flexible financial assistance to address obstacles.

Mandatory services:

None

Comparison services:

The comparison group received standard services, consisting of a short-term, modest amount of financial assistance.

Service receipt duration:

Study services were offered over a period of up to 24 months, with the average participant receiving services for 16 months.

Program funding:

The source of program funding was not described in the study.

Study publications

Evans, William N., Shawna Kolka, James X. Sullivan, and Patrick S. Turner (2023). Fighting poverty one family at a time: Experimental evidence from an intervention with holistic, individualized, wrap-around services, NBER Working Paper No. 30992. National Bureau of Economic Research. Available at: https://www.nber.org/papers/w30992

Evans, William N., Shawna Kolka, James X. Sullivan, and Patrick S. Turner (2025). Fighting poverty one family at a time: Experimental evidence from an intervention with holistic, individualized, wrap-around services, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 17(1): 311-361. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1257/pol.20200716

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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.