Study Details | Pathways to Work

2939.03R - Success Through Empl

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: Success Through Employment Preparation (STEP) (as compared to Transitional Jobs Program at the Transitional Work Corporation (TWC))

Population and employment barriers:

Cash assistance recipients, Employment status and income level (Unemployed)

Services provided:

Case management, Education, Soft skills training, Training, Work readiness activities (Employment coaching, Job development/job placement)

Setting: Urban only

Study design

Design:

Randomized controlled trial

Study group formation:

Three Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (DPW) sites recruited eligible participants: persons who had received cash assistance for 12 months since 1997 or who lacked a high school degree or equivalent. Participants were randomly assigned at the time of recruitment and eligibility determination to the TWC program, the STEP program, or a comparison group. Between October 2004 and May 2006, 1,942 participants were randomly assigned as follows: 731 to the TWC, 725 to STEP, and 486 to the comparison. This review focuses on the TWC and STEP groups, treating the STEP group as the intervention group and the TWC group as the comparison group. A seperate review compares these study groups treating TWC and the comparison group and STEP as the intervention group. Contrasts of the TWC versus comparison group and the STEP versus comparison group are also available in separate reviews.

Time period of study:

Participants were randomly assigned between October 2004 and May 2006. Researchers assessed impacts for the first six quarters.

Primary outcome domains examined:

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

Other outcome domains examined:

None

Study funded by:

The study was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 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	Earnings, follow-up period	Quarters 1-6	High	4,941.00	3,741.00	-1,200.00	2005 dollars	1,456
Increase short-term employment	Ever employed, follow-up period	Quarters 1-6	High	80.50	60.80	-19.70	percentage points	1,456
Decrease short-term benefit receipt	Amount of AFDC/TANF benefits, follow-up period	Quarters 1-6	High	5,500.00	6,152.00	652.00	2005 dollars	1,456
Decrease short-term benefit receipt	Amount of Food Stamps/SNAP benefits, follow-up period	Quarters 1-6	High	5,985.00	6,119.00	134.00	2005 dollars	1,456
Decrease short-term benefit receipt	Received AFDC/TANF, follow-up period	Quarters 1-6	High	99.30	99.20	-0.10	percentage points	1,456
Decrease short-term benefit receipt	Received Food Stamps/SNAP, follow-up period	Quarters 1-6	High	99.30	99.20	-0.10	percentage points	1,456

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

Among participants assigned to both groups, the average age was between 29 and 30. In the TWC group, 79 percent of assigned participants were Black, 17 percent were Hispanic, 3 percent were White, and 2 percent reported another race or ethnicity. In the STEP group, these percentages were 84, 12, 3, and 1, respectively. In addition, 24 percent of the TWC participants and 25 percent of STEP participants reported having received Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) for five or more years.

Age

Mean age

29 years

Participant race and ethnicity

Black or African American	82%
White, not Hispanic	3%
Another race	1%
Hispanic or Latino of any race	14%

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	7%
Parents	97%

Participant employment and public benefit status

Were unemployed	100%
Were eligible for or receiving cash assistance	100%
Percent hard to employ	100%

Participant education

Had a high school diploma or GED	44%
Did not have a high school diploma or GED	56%

Intervention implementation

Implementing organization:

Jewish Employment and Vocational Service (STEP) and Transitional Work Corporation (TWC)

Program history:

The STEP program was run by the Jewish Employment and Vocational Service organization and is based on the Maximizing Participation Project. The STEP program was discontinued after June 2007. The TWC's transitional work program was initiated in 1998 to provide transitional jobs to Philadelphia TANF recipients. The TWC was implemented largely as is for the study.

Intervention services:

The STEP program supported TANF recipients in securing jobs. STEP participants received home visits from staff, followed by extensive assessment to determine barriers to employment. Participants were then assigned a case manager and began participating in activities tailored to overcoming their barriers. Activities included GED preparation, English classes, life-skills classes, professional development, behavioral coaching, and so forth. They then worked with job coaches and job developers to find permanent employment.

Mandatory services:

People had to participate to continue receiving TANF, and they were sanctioned for nonparticipation.

Comparison services:

The TWC began with a two-week orientation and then placed participants in a government or nonprofit job (paid minimum wage by TWC) for six months, during which time they also received case management services, job mentoring, job search assistance, and general education diploma (GED) preparation. Participants were also eligible for retention bonuses of up to $800 after six months of employment in a permanent job.

Service receipt duration:

A typical participant in the TWC engaged in up to six months of transitional employment and was eligible to receive additional supports from TWC for up to six months after finding or being placed in permanent employment. Information is not available on the typical length of receipt of STEP services.

Intervention funding:

The program was funded through Pennsylvania TANF.

Study publications

Bloom, Dan, Sarah Rich, Cindy Redcross, Erin Jacobs, Jennifer Yahner, and Nancy Pindus (2009). Alternative welfare-to-work strategies for the hard-to-employ: Testing transitional jobs and pre-employment services in Philadelphia, 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/alternative-welfare-to-work-strategies-for-the-hard-to-employ-testing.

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 Success Through Employment Preparation (STEP) (as compared to Transitional Jobs Program at the Transitional Work Corporation (TWC))