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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

The Employment Retention and Advancement project: Results from the Los Angeles Reach for Success program (Anderson et al., 2009)

  • Findings

    See findings section of this profile.

    Evidence Rating

    Not Rated

Review Guidelines

Implementation Guidelines

Absence of conflict of interest. 

Citation

Anderson, J., Freedman, S., & Hamilton, G. (2009). The Employment Retention and Advancement project: Results from the Los Angeles Reach for Success program. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Highlights

  • The study’s objective was to examine the implementation of the Reach for Success Program which provides employment related supports in the areas of retention, advancement, and reemployment to welfare recipients.  
  • The study authors conducted an implementation evaluation using case files, interviews with staff, and a time study.   
  • The study found that it was difficult for staff to keep clients engaged, and that they spent more of their time on reemployment services than the model had anticipated. 
  • Due to the overlap with other welfare programs and a lack of robust data analysis, the researchers call for further investigation of this and related models.  
  • The embedded impact study was reviewed by CLEAR in December 2015 and can be found here: The Employment Retention and Advancement project: Results from the Los Angeles Reach For Success program (Anderson et al. 2009) | CLEAR (dol.gov) 

Intervention Examined

Reach for Success (RFS)

Features of the Intervention

  • Type of organization: Department of Social Services - Workforce Support 
  • Location/setting: Los Angeles, California 
  • Population served and scale: Welfare recipients; single parents; 2,710 participants 
  • Industry focus: Healthcare and Social Assistance 
  • Intervention activities: Individualized case management; job advancement support; job retention support; reemployment support 
  • Organizational partnerships: State Public Services Agency; Job Developers 
  • Cost: Not Included
  • Fidelity: Not Included 

The Reach for Success intervention is one of 16 models of service delivery being evaluated by the Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) effort spearheaded by the Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services with support from the Department of Labor. The Reach for Success program provides job placement, retention, and advancement support to welfare recipients. The program was funded and run by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services (DPSS) from March 2002 to June 2005 and operated in three regions in the agency’s service area. The program was designed to provide individualized case management services to welfare or working single-parents who received welfare and GAIN services and were engaged in the workforce a minimum of 32 hours a week. The service delivery was designed to focus on job retention and advancement.

Features of the Study

The study assessed program implementation and examined the effectiveness of the Reach for Success post-employment service model which served 2,710 participants between March 2002 to June 2005. The study looked to answer questions on how the program was managed, how staff spent their time, what messages the program highlighted to participants and how service delivery was different from the control model. The program was assessed through qualitative interviews with staff, qualitative case file reviews, and time-study data. The study sites included the Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN) administrative regions 1 (Western LA County and neighborhoods near LAX), 5 (a majority of South-Central LA including Compton), and 6 (East LA and surrounding area).  

Findings

Intervention activities/services:  

  • The study found that The Reach for Success Program provided individual case management and support for reemployment, job retention, and career advancement through client meetings and collaboration with job developers. 
  • The study found that program participation decreased after initial intake and client engagement. 

Implementation challenges and solutions: 

  • The study found that challenges of implementation included a lack of staff perceived support and a lack of sustained participant interest.  
  • The study found that the model needed a reengagement protocol for client engagement due to challenges posed by the to the lack of differentiation between the new model and the required program components clients recently completed.  

Considerations for Interpreting the Findings

The authors do not provide detailed information on study methods.

Reviewed by CLEAR

July 2023

Topic Area