Study Details | Pathways to Work

24963.02-ETJD - Milwaukee

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: Supporting Families Through Work (SFTW)

Population and employment barriers:

Employment status and income level (Unemployed), Parents (Noncustodial parents)

Services provided:

Case management, Soft skills training, Supportive services, Work and work-based learning (Subsidized employment, Transitional jobs), Work readiness activities (Employment coaching, Job development/job placement)

Setting: Urban only

Study design

Design:

Randomized controlled trial

Study group formation:

Noncustodial parents were referred by case managers in the Division of Child Support Services' Children First program, the Division itself, criminal justice agencies, and YWCA's Career Opportunity Center. In order to reach their target recruitment number, noncustodial parents were also recruited from community businesses and organizations, from shelters, and through radio ads. Incentives (bus tickets) were also given to participants who made referrals. Individuals were eligible if they were noncustodial parents with child support orders; were unemployed; and were not job ready, which was defined as not having a high school diploma or equivalent, being long-term unemployed (12 weeks), not being continuously employed for 4 or more months in the past year, or having another barrier to employment such as a substance-abuse issue or pending criminal justice action. Potential participants were screened for eligibility and then invited to an information session. Eligible participants were randomly assigned to either the Supporting Families Through Work (SFTW) program or a comparison group. A total of 1,003 people were randomly assigned to either the intervention group (502) or the comparison group (501).

Time period of study:

Evaluators randomly assigned people into groups for the study between November 2011 and December 2013. The study reports impacts up to 30 months after random assignment.

Primary outcome domains examined:

Increase earnings, Increase short-term earnings, Increase long-term earnings, Increase employment, Increase short-term employment, Increase long-term employment, Decrease benefit receipt, Decrease long-term benefit receipt, Increase education and training

Other outcome domains examined:

Child support and family relations, Material hardship, Criminal justice, Economic and personal well-being

Study funded by:

Employment and Training Administration in the U.S. Department of Labor and ACF

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	12 months	High	3,139.00	4,910.00	1,771.00	2013 dollars	1,001
Increase long-term earnings	Annual earnings	Quarters 7-10	High	6,592.00	7,160.00	568.00	2015 dollars	1,003
Increase short-term employment	Currently employed	Month 12	High	46.40	47.40	1.00	percentage points	791
Increase short-term employment	Employed for four consecutive quarters	Year 1	High	12.80	24.60	11.80	percentage points	1,001
Increase short-term employment	Ever employed, quarterly	Quarter 5	High	44.30	55.20	10.90	percentage points	1,001
Increase long-term employment	Currently employed	Month 30	High	52.80	52.40	-0.40	percentage points	783
Increase long-term employment	Employed for four consecutive quarters	Quarters 7-10	High	27.70	31.50	3.80	percentage points	1,003
Increase long-term employment	Ever employed, annual	Quarters 7-10	High	69.20	71.60	2.40	percentage points	1,003
Decrease long-term benefit receipt	Received Food Stamps, monthly	Month 30	High	59.60	56.80	-2.80	percentage points	783
Increase education and training	Earned OSHA or forklift certification	12 months	High	4.30	7.60	3.30	percentage points	791
Increase education and training	Earned professional license or certification (not including OSHA or forklift)	12 months	High	12.40	13.90	1.50	percentage points	791
Increase education and training	Received high school diploma or GED	12 months	High	3.10	3.40	0.30	percentage points	783

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 study examined low-income, noncustodial parents. The majority were male (97 percent) and Black (93 percent). The average age was 35 years. At the time the study began, 5 percent were married, 34 percent had formerly been incarcerated, and 32 percent did not have a high school diploma.

Age

Mean age

35 years

Sex

Female	3%
Male	97%

Participant race and ethnicity

Black or African American	83%
White, not Hispanic	5%
Asian	1%
Another race	2%
More than one race	1%
Hispanic or Latino of any race	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

Married	5%
Parents	100%
Noncustodial parents	100%

Participant employment and public benefit status

Were unemployed	100%
Percent hard to employ	100%

Participant education

Had some postsecondary education	2%
Had a high school diploma or GED	68%
Did not have a high school diploma or GED	32%

Specific employment barriers

Had a disability	6%
Were formerly incarcerated	55%
Were experiencing homelessness	5%
Were military veterans	3%

Intervention implementation

Implementing organization:

YWCA Southeast Wisconsin

Program history:

The New Hope project was developed in 1991 and merged with YWCA Southeast Wisconsin in 2009. The SFTW program replaced the New Hope project.

Intervention services:

The SFTW program served low-income, noncustodial parents. Participants first attended a job-readiness workshop for three to five days. During this time, participants took assessments and participated in job-readiness activities. Participants were then assigned a case manager, who helped participants become more job ready, helped participants develop soft skills, served as job coaches, and helped participants obtain supportive services. Participants were then matched with transitional jobs based on their skills and interests, and these jobs were subsidized to bring wages to $10 per hour for 30 hours per week. These transitional jobs could last up to six months, and then participants were expected to have found unsubsidized employment. Participants also received help with child support, including having interest accumulation frozen for debt owed to the state and having accrued interest forgiven in part or in whole, depending on the participant's progress in the program.

Mandatory services:

None.

Comparison services:

Comparison group members were able to participate in other services offered through YWCA, including a fatherhood group, career center, and FoodShare Employment and Training.

Service receipt duration:

Wages were subsidized for up to six months after finding transitional employment.

Intervention funding:

Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor

Cost information:

The average cost of providing the intervention was $9,518 per participant. The average cost of providing comparison group services was $2,743 per person. The net intervention cost, or difference between the two, was $6,775 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

Barden, Bret, Randall Juras, Cindy Redcross, Mary Farrell, and Dan Bloom (2018). New perspectives on creating jobs: Final impacts of the next generation of subsidized employment programs, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Available at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/resource/the-enhanced-transitional-jobs-demo-new-perspectives-creating-jobs-final-impacts-next-generation-subsidized-employment-programs.

Bloom, Dan (2015). Testing the next generation of subsidized employment programs: An introduction to the Subsidized and Transitional Employment Demonstration and the Enhanced Transitional Jobs Demonstration, OPRE Report #2015-58, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Available at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/resource/testing-next-gen-subsidized-employ-intro-enhanced-trans-jobs-demo.

Fink, Barbara (2018). Findings from in-depth interviews with participants in subsidized employment programs, OPRE Report #2018-120, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Available at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/opre/sted_topics_qualitative_508.pdf.

Redcross, Cindy, Bret Barden, and Dan Bloom (2016). The Enhanced Transitional Jobs Demonstration: Implementation and early impacts of the next generation of subsidized employment programs, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Available at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/resource/the-enhanced-transitional-jobs-demonstration-implementation-early-impacts-next-generation-subsidized-employment-programs.

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 Supporting Families Through Work (SFTW)