Study Details | Pathways to Work

2939.01-Transitional Jobs Pr

Study quality: High

Intervention: Transitional Jobs Program at the Transitional Work Corporation (TWC)

Population and employment barriers: Specific employment barriers

Services provided: Case management, Education, Financial incentives, Sanctions, Subsidized employment, Transitional jobs, Job search assistance

Setting: Urban only

Study Design

Design:

Randomized controlled trial

Study group formation:

Three Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (DPW) sites recruited eligible participants: individuals 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 Success Through Employment Preparation (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 group. This review focuses on the TWC and comparison groups (the STEP versus comparison group contrast is available in a separate review on this site, as is the STEP versus the TWC contrast). The evaluation included two surveys. The fielded sample for the 18-month survey included all 312 comparison group members randomly assigned between January 2005 and mid-February 2006, as well as a random sample of 313 intervention group members randomly assigned during the same period. The sample for the 42-month follow-up survey included all 486 participants assigned to the comparison group and 486 randomly selected participants in the TWC group. The TWC sample included the 173 participants randomly selected for the 18-month follow-up survey (from among those randomly assigned between January 1, 2005, and February 15, 2006) and 313 randomly selected from among those ineligible for the 18-month survey (randomly assigned before 2005 or after February 15, 2006).

Time period of study:

Participants were randomly assigned between October 2004 and May 2006. Researchers assessed impacts for four years after random assignment.

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, Mental health, Substance abuse, Housing, Family formation, Job characteristics

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

View Table Help Need more context or definitions for the Outcome Domain table below? View the "Table Help" to get more insight into terms, measures, and definitions.

Scroll to the right to view the rest of the table columns

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	3,968.00	4,941.00	973.00	2005 dollars	1,217
Increase short-term earnings	Weekly earnings	Month 18	High	161.00	176.00	15.00	2006 dollars	1,217
Increase long-term earnings	Unsubsidized earnings, follow-up period	Years 1–4	High	17,173.00	16,934.00	-239.00	2006 dollars	1,217
Increase short-term employment	Ever employed, quarterly	Quarter 6	High	39.50	41.30	1.80	percentage points	1,217
Increase short-term employment	Employed all six quarters	Quarters 1-6	High			1.50	percentage points	1,217
Increase short-term employment	Ever employed in unsubsidized job, quarterly	Quarter 6	High	36.60	38.60	2.00	percentage points	1,217
Increase short-term employment	Currently employed	Month 18	High	28.20	30.60	2.40	percentage points	496
Increase short-term employment	Employed for four consecutive quarters	Quarters 1-6	High			9.00	percentage points	1,217
Increase long-term employment	Ever employed, quarterly	Quarter 16	High	39.80	37.70	-2.10	percentage points	1,217
Increase long-term employment	Ever employed in unsubsidized job, quarterly	Quarter 16	High	37.70	35.20	-2.50	percentage points	1,217
Decrease short-term benefit receipt	Amount of AFDC/TANF benefits, follow-up period	Quarters 1-6	High	6,097.00	5,500.00	-597.00	2005 dollars	1,217
Decrease short-term benefit receipt	Reported any current income from TANF	Month 18	High	61.80	61.00	-0.80	percentage points	496
Decrease short-term benefit receipt	Reported any current income from SSI or disability	Month 18	High	4.10	2.70	-1.40	percentage points	496
Decrease short-term benefit receipt	Received AFDC/TANF, follow-up period	Quarters 1-6	High	99.20	99.30	0.10	percentage points	1,217
Decrease short-term benefit receipt	Received Food Stamps/SNAP, follow-up	Quarters 1-6	High	99.40	99.30	-0.10	percentage points	1,217
Decrease short-term benefit receipt	Amount of Food Stamps/SNAP benefits, follow-up period	Quarters 1-6	High	6,124.00	5,985.00	-139.00	2005 dollars	1,217
Decrease short-term benefit receipt	Reported any current income from Food Stamps	Month 18	High	85.30	80.90	-4.40	percentage points	496
Decrease long-term benefit receipt	Received AFDC/TANF, follow-up period	Years 1–4	High	99.80	99.40	-0.40	percentage points	1,217
Decrease long-term benefit receipt	Amount of AFDC/TANF benefits, follow-up period	Years 1–4	High	12,863.00	12,419.00	-444.00	2006 dollars	1,217
Decrease long-term benefit receipt	Amount of Food Stamps/SNAP benefits, follow-up period	Years 1–4	High	17,570.00	17,597.00	27.00	2006 dollars	1,217
Decrease long-term benefit receipt	Received Food Stamps/SNAP, follow-up period	Years 1–4	High	99.80	99.60	-0.20	percentage points	1,217

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

29 years

Participant race and ethnicity

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

Family status

Married	7%
Parents	97%

Participant employment and public benefit status

Were unemployed	100%
Were eligible for 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:

Transitional Work Corporation

Program history:

The TWC’s transitional work program was initiated in 1998 to provide transitional jobs to Philadelphia TANF recipients. For the study, the TWC operated in a business-as-usual manner.

Intervention services:

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

Comparison services:

Participants in the comparison group were not required to participate in work activities. Instead, they were provided with a list of community resources and were encouraged to participate in work activities. However, given the challenges associated with tracking these exempt individuals through the TANF system, the authors suggest that some individuals might have been told incorrectly by program staff that they were required to participate in work activities at some point during the study.

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 the TWC for up to six months after finding or being placed in permanent employment.

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.

Jacobs, Erin, and Dan Bloom (2011). Alternative employment strategies for hard-to-employ TANF recipients: Final results from a test of transitional jobs and preemployment services in Philadelphia, OPRE Report #2011-19, 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-employment-strategies-for-hard-to-employ-tanf-recipients.

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

Study of Transitional Jobs Program at the Transitional Work Corporation (TWC)