Study Details | Pathways to Work

3094.04R - Training Focused Pro

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: Training Focused Program (as compared with Work Plus)

Population and employment barriers:

Cash assistance recipients, Employment status and income level (Employed), Parents (Single parents)

Services provided:

Case management, Education, Health services, Supportive services, Training

Setting: Tested in multiple settings

Study design

Design:

Randomized controlled trial

Study group formation:

Clients who had participated in a Phase 1 (pre-employment) Riverside County Department of Public Social Services (DPSS) program, who also had reported obtaining a job and met a series of eligibility requirements, were eligible for random assignment into Phase 2 (post-employment). These eligibility criteria included the following: working 20 or more hours for at least one week over the past 30 days, earning an hourly wage greater than or equal to the state minimum wage ($6.75), and expecting to work an average of 20 or more hours per week for at least 30 days. The evaluation excluded clients who (1) were already enrolled in Phase 2 at the time of random assignment, (2) were New Visions (another evaluation) sample members, and (3) were Post-Assistance Self-Sufficiency members from random assignment. After identifying clients eligible for the study, evaluators collected baseline data and then randomly assigned clients to one of three program groups: the Work Plus Group (the intervention condition for this study), the Training Focused Group (the comparison condition for this study), and the Work Focused Group (discussed elsewhere on this site in contrast to the first two conditions). This study focuses on 1,442 people (969 in Work Plus and 473 in Training Focused) who were randomly assigned in January 2001 through September 2002 and examines their outcomes, according to administrative records, 12 months later.

Time period of study:

Random assignment began in January 2001 and concluded in October 2003. Outcome data were collected for four years after random assignment.

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 Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation in ACF at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services funded the study, with support from 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	7,997.00	7,830.00	-167.00	2002 dollars	1,442
Increase short-term employment	Employed for four consecutive quarters	Year 1	High	49.30	47.50	-1.80	percentage points	1,442
Increase short-term employment	Ever employed, quarterly	Quarter 4	High	64.40	61.40	-3.00	percentage points	1,442
Decrease short-term benefit receipt	Amount of AFDC/TANF benefits, annual	Year 1	High	3,124.00	3,348.00	224.00	2002 dollars	1,442
Decrease short-term benefit receipt	Amount of Food Stamps/SNAP benefits, annual	Year 1	High	1,411.00	1,399.00	-12.00	2002 dollars	1,442
Decrease short-term benefit receipt	Received AFDC/TANF, annual	Year 1	High	87.10	88.90	1.80	percentage points	1,442
Decrease short-term benefit receipt	Received Food Stamps/SNAP, annual	Year 1	High	86.00	81.60	-4.40	percentage points	1,442

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

Single-parent TANF clients who had (1) participated in a Phase 1 (preemployment) Riverside County DPSS program, (2) reported having obtained a job, and (3) met a series of eligibility requirements were eligible for random assignment into Phase 2 (post-employment). Applicants to the program were required to have worked 20 hours or more during at least one week within the past 30 days (earning at least the state's minimum wage) and had to expect to work an average of at least 20 hours per week for the next 30 days. At the time of random assignment, people in the study were on average 30 years old; about 20 percent were Black and non-Hispanic, 45 percent were Hispanic, and about 31 percent were White and non-Hispanic. Slightly more than one-third of sample members had three or more children, and 33 percent had a youngest child who was at least 6 years old. Fewer than half (43 percent) had no high school diploma or general education diploma, and 78 percent reported that they were employed in Unemployment Insurance-covered employment in the year before random assignment.

Age

Mean age

30 years

Participant race and ethnicity

Black or African American	21%
Hispanic or Latino of any race	45%

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	100%

Participant employment and public benefit status

Were employed	100%
Were eligible for or receiving cash assistance	100%

Participant education

Did not have a high school diploma or GED

43%

Intervention implementation

Implementing organization:

The Training Focused condition was implemented by the Riverside County Economic Development Agency (workforce development agency). The Work Plus condition was implemented by the Riverside County DPSS (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families [TANF] agency).

Program history:

In 1998, the Riverside County DPSS created a post-employment program, which focused on encouraging clients to attend training or education courses outside of work. In subsequent years, DPSS staff worked with education and training providers to create variations of this post-employment program (one of which is Work Plus). The Work Plus program started in January 1998, and the Training Focused program started in September 2000.

Intervention services:

Training Focused Program clients could receive intensive case management and enhanced support services, aimed at encouraging employment stability. To continue to receive benefits, participants were required to engage in employment-related activities for 32 hours per week. Program staff allowed Training Focused participants to decrease work hours per week to zero hours to pursue education and training activities, with the philosophy that eliminating the requirement to engage in work would allow participants to access the most useful education and training programs. Participation in education and training was voluntary, but if participants chose not to pursue education and training, they were required to participate in other permitted activities—including work—for at least 32 hours per week. The program also provided clients with support services (for example, child care, transportation, and ancillary payments to participate in program activities), social services (for example, mental health, domestic violence, and substance abuse), referrals to public assistance programs (for example, TANF, Food Stamps, and Medi-Cal), and job search services.

Mandatory services:

Participants had to meet requirements for hours of work or other authorized activities per week; otherwise, they could be sanctioned.

Comparison services:

Program staff encouraged Work Plus participants to decrease work hours per week to 20 hours to pursue education and training activities, with the philosophy that working reinforced the value of education and training and that working while in school or training increased the likelihood of program completion and the use of newly attained skills. Participation in education and training was voluntary, but if participants chose not to pursue education and training, they were required to participate in other permitted activities—including work—for at least 32 hours per week. All other services were provided in the same way as the Training Focused Program.

Service receipt duration:

Work Plus staff worked with unemployed clients for up to 60 days after the date of job loss and then referred them back to Phase 1 job search services. Clients in the Training Focused group had received up to one year of services at the time of data collection. Many continued to receive services after the one-year data collection.

Intervention funding:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; U.S. Department of Labor.

Study publications

Bloom, Dan, Richard Hendra, Karin Martinson, and Susan Scrivener (2005). The Employment Retention and Advancement Project: Early results from four sites, 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/early_results.pdf.

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 Training Focused Program (as compared with Work Plus)