Study Details | Pathways to Work

19351-Study of CareerAdvan

Study quality: Low

Low

Reason for the rating: This study received a low study quality rating because it is a quasi-experimental design that does not demonstrate that the program and comparison groups were sufficiently similar before the program.

Program: CareerAdvance

Characteristics of study participants:

Parents

Services provided:

Childcare and/or early education, Employment coaching, Occupational or sectoral training, Peer mentoring, Performance- or behavior-based financial incentives, Tuition assistance/financial aid, Work supports

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:

All parents with children enrolled in the Community Action Project of Tulsa County (CAP Tulsa) Head Start programs were invited to apply for CareerAdvance. A total of 317 parents applied to participate, of which 221 were accepted, and 162 of those who were accepted enrolled in the program in the 2011 to 2014 cohorts. Eligibility was based on having a child enrolled in CAP Tulsa Head Start, as well as an interview, background check, drug test, current health, English language proficiency, and ability to enroll in courses at the local community college. The study team identified 176 parents for the comparison group that had children enrolled in CAP Tulsa Head Start and were similar to parents in the program group based on a large number of characteristics, including neighborhood, race, gender, age, education, relationship to the child enrolled in Head Start, single-parent status, foster-parent status, and household income.

Time period of study:

Individuals enrolled in CareerAdvance between 2011 and 2014. They were followed for about one year after they began the program.

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

Sample characteristics

Age

Mean age

29 years

Sex

Female	98%
Male	2%

Race and ethnicity

Black or African American	40%
White, not Hispanic	28%
Hispanic or Latino of any race	23%
Unknown, not reported, or other	9%

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	100%
Single parents	32%

Education

Had some postsecondary education

49%

Program implementation

Implementing organization:

CAP Tulsa provided all services.

Program services:

Participants in the program group were parents with children enrolled in the CAP Tulsa Head Start program, who applied, were accepted, and ultimately enrolled in the CareerAdvance training program. CareerAdvance is a two-generation program combining a sectoral career pathways training and certification program for parents with high quality early education benefits (provided through Head Start) for children. Program participants enrolled in one of three programs linked to a health care career track (nursing, health information technology, or medical assisting). Each track consisted of a sequence of education and training activities, along with opportunities to attain sectoral certifications. Participants also received funding for tuition, books, and supplies; additional child care assistance (if child care was needed outside CAP Tulsa Head Start hours); financial incentives for meeting program milestones; and coaching. They could also attend peer support groups.

Mandatory services:

None

Comparison services:

Individuals in the comparison condition had children enrolled in the CAP Head Start program but did not receive additional services from CareerAdvance.

Study publications

Chase-Lansdale, P. Lindsay, Terri J. Sabol, Teresa Eckrich Sommer, Elise Chor, Allison W. Cooperman, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Christopher King, and Amanda Morris (2019). Effects of a two-generation human capital program on low-income parents’ education, employment, and psychological wellbeing, Journal of Family Psychology 33(4): 433. Available at https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30843706/

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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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Study of CareerAdvance