Study Details | Pathways to Work

0094-Study of Hire Up

Study quality: Low

Low

Reason for the rating: This study received a low study quality rating because the program was always provided in combination with another factor and the effect of the program cannot be disentangled from the effect of that other factor.

Program: Hire Up

Characteristics of study participants:

Unemployed, Young adults (age 16-24)

Services provided:

Basic skills/bridge programs, Case management, Housing supports and subsidies, Job development, Job placement, Job readiness, Job search assistance, Performance- or behavior-based financial incentives, Post-employment participant follow-up, Soft skills training

Setting: Urban only

Methods and Standards Protocol version used for review: Version 1.0

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Study design

Design:

Quasi-experimental design

Study group formation:

Youth ages 18 to 23 who were living on the streets or in a homeless shelter and were physically and mentally healthy enough to hold a full-time position but had no other stable housing alternatives were eligible for the Avenues to Independence (ATI) residential program. Those who entered ATI in 1998, after Hire Up (an on-site job-readiness, placement, and mentoring program) launched, formed the program group, and those who participated in ATI before Hire Up was available formed the comparison group.

Time period of study:

The individuals in the program group began receiving services between 1998 and 2001. Outcomes were assessed at program exit (duration of service receipt was 6 to 18 months).

Pathways to Work only reports results from studies with a study quality rating of high or moderate.

Sample characteristics

Age

Mean age	19 years
Young adults (age 16-24)	100%

Sex

Female	39%
Male	61%

Race and ethnicity

Black or African American	39%
White, not Hispanic	35%
Hispanic or Latino of any race	13%
Asian	13%

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.

Employment and public benefit status

Were employed	13%
Were unemployed	87%

Specific employment barriers

Were experiencing homelessness

100%

Program implementation

Implementing organization:

Larkin Street Youth Services

Program services:

Hire Up, a supplementary service to ATI (see comparison condition), was a job-readiness course comprising three weeks of daily three-hour sessions. Course participants learned job search skills and basic work skills while identifying promising careers and creating a career development strategy. As part of the course, youth met weekly with the program’s employment coordinator to discuss entry-level opportunities in the student’s field of interest. After placement, Hire Up coordinators continued to provide support to the employer and the former program member to ensure job retention. Youth also met monthly with a career mentor who offered guidance about career goals, current challenges, and other opportunities. All youth in the program group also received the services from the ATI program, described in the comparison condition.

Mandatory services:

None.

Comparison services:

The comparison group included those youth who received ATI for at least two months and did not receive Hire Up. ATI required residents to work full time in a legitimate position, as determined by the program, while the program provided them with a supportive environment in which to develop independent living skills, further their education through GED or postsecondary education courses, and pursue life goals with assistance from a case manager. While in the program, residents allocated 30 percent of their earnings to rent, which the program saved for them in an account that they transferred to clients after they completed the program.

Study publications

Rashid, Sonja (2004). Evaluating a transitional living program for homeless, former foster care youth, Research on Social Work Practice 14(4): 240-248.

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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.

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