Study Details | Pathways to Work

3183.3183.01-Jobs First Greater A

Study quality: High

Intervention: Jobs-First Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN) Program

Population and employment barriers: Parents, Single parents, Cash assistance recipients

Services provided: Education, Training, Occupational or sectoral training, Work experience, Work readiness activities, Job search assistance, Job development/job placement

Setting: Tested in multiple settings

Study Design

Design:

Randomized controlled trial

Study group formation:

Nearly 21,000 prospective Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) recipients in Los Angeles County who attended a program orientation at a county office from April 1 to September 11, 1996, and who were not exempt from welfare-to-work program participation, were randomly assigned either to Jobs-First GAIN or to the comparison group. Exemptions were granted for individuals who had a disabling condition, were employed full time, or resided in a rural area with no access to services, and for women who were in the second or third trimester of pregnancy. Both single-parent and two-parent households were included in the evaluation; this review focuses on the sample of 15,683 single parents. Most study participants were randomly assigned in order from a wait list, but a few participants requested and were allowed to jump to the top of the list. The participants that jumped to the top of the list were still randomly assigned to either the Jobs-First GAIN or comparison group.

Time period of study:

The Jobs-First GAIN program began in 1996 and concluded in 1999. This report estimates impacts after two years of follow-up.

Primary outcome domains examined:

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

Other outcome domains examined:

Physical health, Housing, Nutrition, Family formation, Child well-being

Study funded by:

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services commissioned the evaluation, with support from the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ford Foundation.

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	2,438.00	3,187.00	749.00	1996 dollars	15,683
Increase long-term earnings	Annual earnings	Year 2	High	3,938.00	4,807.00	869.00	1997 dollars	15,683
Increase short-term employment	Ever employed, annual	Year 1	High	43.30	54.20	10.90	percentage points	15,683
Increase short-term employment	Number of quarters employed, annual	Year 1	High	1.16	1.51	0.35	quarters	15,683
Increase long-term employment	Ever employed, quarterly	Quarter 8	High	38.40	44.90	6.50	percentage points	15,683
Increase long-term employment	Number of quarters employed, annual	Year 2	High	1.49	1.75	0.26	quarters	15,683
Decrease short-term benefit receipt	Received Food Stamps/SNAP, annual	Year 1	High	94.20	94.00	-0.20	percentage points	15,683
Decrease short-term benefit receipt	Amount of Food Stamps/SNAP benefits, annual	Year 1	High	2,179.00	2,005.00	-174.00	1996 dollars	15,683
Decrease short-term benefit receipt	Received AFDC/TANF, annual	Year 1	High	97.90	97.60	-0.30	percentage points	15,683
Decrease short-term benefit receipt	Amount of AFDC/TANF benefits, annual	Year 1	High	5,795.00	5,363.00	-432.00	1996 dollars	15,683
Decrease long-term benefit receipt	Amount of Food Stamps/SNAP benefits, annual	Year 2	High	1,713.00	1,520.00	-193.00	1997 dollars	15,683
Decrease long-term benefit receipt	Received AFDC/TANF, annual	Year 2	High	79.90	75.70	-4.20	percentage points	15,683
Decrease long-term benefit receipt	Amount of AFDC/TANF benefits, annual	Year 2	High	4,269.00	3,729.00	-540.00	1997 dollars	15,683
Decrease long-term benefit receipt	Received Food Stamps/SNAP, annual	Year 2	High	77.70	74.20	-3.50	percentage points	15,683

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

Age

Mean age

33 years

Sex

Female	93%
Male	7%

Participant race and ethnicity

Black or African American	31%
White	17%
Hispanic or Latino of any race	45%
American Indian or Alaska Native	0%
Unknown, not reported, or other	6%

Family status

Married	7%
Parents	100%
Single parents	100%

Participant employment and public benefit status

Were employed	10%
Were unemployed	91%
Were eligible for cash assistance	100%

Participant education

Had a high school diploma or GED	46%
Did not have a high school diploma or GED	54%

Intervention Implementation

Implementing organization:

Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services (county AFDC agency)

Program history:

Starting in 1988, Los Angeles launched a GAIN program focused primarily on basic education rather than job search activities. Evaluations of the original GAIN program indicated that education was costly and did not produce substantial increases in employment or reductions in welfare receipt. As a result, the county Department of Public Social Services modified the program between 1993 and 1995 to emphasize rapid return to work.

Intervention services:

Applicants to or recipients of AFDC who were assigned to the GAIN group participated in a program strongly emphasizing a rapid return to work, even in low-wage positions. The program orientation reinforced this message through a six-hour motivational meeting. The program then provided job development activities, including three-week job clubs comprised of classroom sessions focused on job application techniques and a supervised job search. Program officials also provided job development, vocational skills assessment, basic education, vocational training, or work experience, depending on the program member's needs.

Comparison services:

Applicants to or recipients of AFDC who were not assigned to the GAIN group could not participate in any GAIN-related activities and did not receive the strong work-first motivation. They did remain eligible to receive welfare and Food Stamps payments.

Service receipt duration:

The initial job club took place over three weeks. Further job development services were available until the recipient found work, exited the welfare system, or both.

Study Publications

Freedman, Stephen, Jean Knab, Lisa Gennetian, and David Navarro (2000). The Los Angeles Jobs-First GAIN evaluation: Final report on a work first program in a major urban center, 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/los-angeles-jobs-first-gain-evaluation-final-report-on-a-work-first-program.

Freedman, Stephen, Marisa Mitchell, and David Navarro (1999). The Los Angeles Jobs-First GAIN evaluation: First year findings on participation patterns and impacts, 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-los-angeles-jobs-first-gain-evaluation-first-year-findings-on.

View the glossary for more information about these and other terms used on this page.

Study of Jobs-First Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN)—Single-parent households