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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

The Employment Retention and Advancement project: Results from two education and training models for employed welfare recipients in Riverside, California (Navarro et al., 2007)

  • Findings

    See findings section of this profile.

    Evidence Rating

    Not Rated

Review Guidelines

Implementation Guidelines

Absence of conflict of interest.

Citation

Navarro, D., Freedman, S., & Hamilton, G. (2007). The Employment Retention and Advancement project: Results from two education and training models for employed welfare recipients in Riverside, California. 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 Work Plus intervention which provided post-employment services to TANF eligible single parents at 11-county welfare department offices.
  • The study authors conducted an implementation evaluation using data from field research, including interviews, observations, and the time study, and program tracking data.
  • The study found that the conditions of the study may have limited participation in education and training activities, because most enrollees were already working full time and expected to travel during nonwork hours to the venues providing the activities.
  • This is a well designed and implemented study.
  • The embedded impact study was reviewed by CLEAR in November 2016.

Intervention Examined

The Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) Project—Work Plus (Phase 2), Riverside

Features of the Intervention

  • Type of organization:  County Welfare Department
  • Location/setting: Multi-site in Riverside county, CA
  • Population served and scale: TANF-eligible participants, single parents; 800 participants
  • Industry focus: Not included
  • Intervention activities: Education and training, supportive services
  • Organizational Partnerships: Employers; state TANF agency
  • Cost: Not included
  • Fidelity: Not included

The Riverside County Department of Public Social Services (DPSS) operated the Work Plus program at its 11 CalWORKs/GAIN offices in Riverside County. The program was funded by the California Department of Social Services with additional funding from the U.S. Department of Labor. DPSS employed 65 full-time staff to act as Work Plus case managers across the 11 offices. Staff were primarily generalists, however, many performed specialized functions informally, including community college liaison, specialized case management, and running job clubs. The first iteration of the Work Plus intervention was established in January of 1998. There were 800 participants and all were TANF-eligible single parents. Those in the Work Plus intervention were subject to the 32-hour weekly participation mandate as well as the 20 hour per week employment mandate. Full-time education and training activities were not provided to the group; however, participants were eligible for supportive services which included childcare, transportation, and ancillary payments. If a participant's employment dropped below 20 hours a week, they had 60 days to bring the hours back up or were moved back to phase 1 (preemployment services). The intervention staff tried to emphasize employment along with advancement through training and education.  

Features of the Study

The authors provided limited information on the specifics of the implementation evaluation. They used data from field research, including interviews, observations, a time study, and program tracking data to describe how the Work Plus program of the Riverside study was designed, implemented, and operated. A letter was sent to clients notifying them of their assignment into the Work Plus or control group. Case managers scheduled sample members for an intake appointment by calling them or mailing them an introductory letter. In addition, case managers usually attempted to call new clients within two to three days of receiving them on their caseload.   

Findings

Intervention activities/services

  • The study found that the most common training activities included Certified Nursing Aide and Licensed Vocational Nurse certifications, office and administrative support, manufacturing, and truck driving trainings/classes.
  • The study found that case managers would strongly recommend the completion of a GED because they felt that it was a step toward better paying jobs.
  • The study found that Work Plus case managers identified and paid for clients' childcare, transportation, and ancillary needs such as books, uniforms, and tools.
  • The study found that case managers were more likely than clients to initiate contact and contacted clients at least once a month but often spoke to them more often.
  • The study found that during the time study period, case managers had an average case load of 55 clients and spent on average about 2 hours per day with clients, seeing an average of 5.6 clients for about 18.5 minutes each with the most common form of contact being a telephone call.

Implementation challenges and solutions

  • The authors noted that the conditions of the study may have limited participation in education and training activities, because most enrollees were already working full time and expected to travel during nonwork hours to the venues providing the activities. Additionally, attending activities might force participants to reduce their work hours and therefore decrease their income.
  • Case managers noted the importance of customizing the recruitment pitch to each client based on the case file.

Considerations for Interpreting the Findings

The authors did not provide detailed information about study methods such as data collection and analysis.

Reviewed by CLEAR

August 2023

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