Study Details | Pathways to Work

2941-Transitional Jobs Re

Study quality: High

High

Reason for the rating: This study received a high study quality rating because it is a low-attrition randomized controlled trial with no known issues that suggest the findings cannot be attributed to the intervention.

Intervention: Transitional Jobs Reentry Demonstration (TJRD)

Population and employment barriers:

Sex (Male), Specific employment barriers (Former incarceration)

Services provided:

Case management, Employment retention services, Financial incentives, Supportive services, Work and work-based learning (Subsidized employment, Transitional jobs), Work readiness activities (Job development/job placement)

Setting: Urban only

Study design

Design:

Randomized controlled trial

Study group formation:

Former prisoners were recruited in each of the four sites from early 2007 to September 2008. Each site implemented its own recruitment strategy, which varied across sites and over time. The participants were randomly assigned to either the TJRD program or to a comparison group, which received job search assistance.

Time period of study:

Random assignment occurred on a rolling basis from early 2007 to September 2008. Participants' outcomes were measured one and two years after random assignment.

Primary outcome domains examined:

Increase short-term earnings, Increase long-term earnings, Increase short-term employment, Increase long-term employment

Other outcome domains examined:

Criminal justice

Study funded by:

The Joyce Foundation funded the study with support from the JEHT Foundation and the U.S. Department of Labor.

Results

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Outcome domain	Measure	Timing	Study quality by finding	Comparison group mean	Intervention group mean	Impact	Units	Sample size
Increase short-term earnings	Annual earnings	Year 1	High	2,917.00	4,336.00	1,419.00	2008 dollars	1,774
Increase short-term earnings	Unsubsidized annual earnings	Year 1	High	2,917.00	2,292.00	-625.00	2008 dollars	1,774
Increase long-term earnings	Unsubsidized annual earnings	Year 2	High	2,790.00	3,166.00	376.00	2010 dollars	1,774
Increase short-term employment	Employed for four consecutive quarters	Year 1	High	11.60	20.20	8.60	percentage points	1,774
Increase short-term employment	Ever employed, quarterly	Quarter 4	High	31.30	35.50	4.20	percentage points	1,774
Increase short-term employment	Unsubsidized employment, annual	Year 1	High	59.20	50.30	-8.90	percentage points	1,774
Increase long-term employment	At least three consecutive quarters of unsubsidized employment	Year 2	High	17.20	17.10	-0.10	percentage points	1,774
Increase long-term employment	Employed at any time in follow-up period	Year 2	High	65.30	94.30	29.00	percentage points	1,774
Increase long-term employment	Unsubsidized employment, Year 2	Year 2	High	40.40	41.00	0.60	percentage points	1,774

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.

Findings quality key:

High
Moderate

Study quality terms?

The findings quality describe our confidence that a given study’s finding is because of the intervention. 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 intervention, rather than due to chance. Findings are described as moderate-to-large if the intervention 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

The program was offered to men age 18 or older who had been released from prison within the previous 90 days, were interested in and available for full-time employment, and had not participated in transitional employment within the previous year. The average participant enrolled 44 days after release.

Age

Mean age

35 years

Sex

Male

100%

Participant race and ethnicity

Black or African American	81%
White, not Hispanic	10%
Unknown, not reported, or other	4%
Hispanic or Latino of any race	5%

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

Parents

52%

Participant education

Had some postsecondary education	6%
Had a high school diploma or GED	75%
Did not have a high school diploma or GED	25%

Specific employment barriers

Were formerly incarcerated

100%

Intervention implementation

Implementing organization:

Goodwill (in Detroit and St. Paul), Safer Foundation (in Chicago), and New Hope Project (in Milwaukee)

Program history:

The TJRD program was developed for this demonstration project. It had been in operation for two years at the time of data collection for this study. The organizations providing the services, however, each had longer histories in their communities.

Intervention services:

The TJRD program provided former prisoners with 30 to 40 hours of temporary paid employment, job search assistance, and other supports, including job coaching and classes before employment. Participants in later cohorts in the Milwaukee and St. Paul sites also received bonuses (up to $1,500) for obtaining and retaining unsubsidized employment.

Mandatory services:

None.

Comparison services:

Participants assigned to the job search assistance program received job search and placement assistance through the placement organization in their city.

Service receipt duration:

Participants began reporting to their temporary jobs within two weeks of random assignment. The programs were designed to offer 90 days of subsidized employment, with the option to extend as slots were available.

Intervention funding:

Joyce Foundation.

Cost information:

The average cost of providing the intervention was $4,879 per participant. The average cost of providing comparison group services was $1,097 per person. The net intervention cost, or difference between the two, was $3,782 per person. This represents how much more it cost to provide intervention services compared to comparison services.

These figures are based on cost information reported by study authors. The Pathways Clearinghouse converted that information to a single amount expressed in 2018 dollars; for details, see the FAQ. This information is not an official price tag or guarantee.

Study publications

Jacobs, Erin (2012). Returning to work after prison: Final results from the Transitional Jobs Reentry Demonstration, New York: MDRC. Available at https://www.mdrc.org/sites/default/files/full_626.pdf.

Redcross, Cindy, Dan Bloom, Erin Jacobs, Michelle Manno, Sara Muller-Ravett, Kristin Seefeldt, Jennifer Yahner, Alford A. Young Jr., and Janine Zweig (2010). Work after prison: One-year findings from the Transitional Jobs Reentry Demonstration, New York: MDRC. Available at https://www.mdrc.org/publication/work-after-prison.

View the glossary for more information about these and other terms used on this page.

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

Study of Transitional Jobs Reentry Demonstration (TJRD)