Absence of conflict of interest.
Citation
Rowe, G., Mabli, J., Hartnack, J., & Monzella, K. (2022). Expanding opportunities & reducing barriers to work: Final summary report. Alexandria, VA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Office of Policy Support. https://fns-prod.azureedge.us/sites/default/files/resource-files/SNAP-ET-FinalReport.pdf [Illinois SNAP E&T pilot]
Highlights
- The study's objective was to examine the impact of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Employment and Training (E&T) pilots on employment, earnings, and public benefits receipt. This profile focuses on the Illinois SNAP E&T pilot, known as Employment Opportunities, Personalized Services (EPIC). The authors investigated similar research questions for SNAP E&T pilots in other states, the profiles of which can be found here:
- The study was a randomized controlled trial at the Illinois site. The authors conducted statistical analyses of participant surveys and administrative data to compare the outcomes of the treatment and control group participants.
- The study found that EPIC participants had higher earnings and lower SNAP benefits receipt than control group participants. The study found no statistically significant differences in employment between EPIC and control group participants.
- The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is high because it was based on a well-implemented randomized controlled trial. This means we are confident that the estimated effects are attributable to EPIC, and not to other factors.
Intervention Examined
Employment Opportunities, Personalized Services (EPIC)
Features of the Intervention
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a federal nutrition assistance initiative for individuals and families with low incomes. SNAP participants receive monthly benefits to access food. Some participants also receive work supports through SNAP Employment and Training (E&T) programs, such as assessment, support services, job search assistance, occupational skills training, and basic education. To expand the knowledge base on effective approaches for helping SNAP participants gain skills and find employment, Congress funded ten state SNAP agencies in 2015, including Illinois, to implement SNAP E&T pilots that tested innovative strategies for connecting participants with jobs that boost their incomes and reduce their reliance on public assistance benefits.
Illinois’ SNAP E&T pilot, Employment Opportunities, Personalized Services (EPIC), provided career planning, case management, basic education, employment retention services, job readiness preparation, job search assistance, occupational skills training, work-based learning, and support services. The program was designed to serve unemployed or underemployed work registrants with low skills or limited work experience, including able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs), and individuals working 30 or more hours per week but needing skill upgrades.
Features of the Study
The study was a randomized controlled trial at the Illinois site that assigned 5,038 individuals to the treatment or control group. Nearly two-thirds of the participants were Black (63 percent), another two-thirds were male (65 percent), and the average age was 34. About a quarter of participants did not have a high school diploma or equivalent education. Nearly all participants had worked at some point, but just 7 percent were employed at the point of random assignment. Around 86 percent of study participants had participated in SNAP in the year before enrolling.
Treatment group members were eligible to receive the enhanced set of E&T services developed under the pilot, which included career planning, case management, basic education, employment retention services, job readiness preparation, job search assistance, occupational skills training, work-based learning, and support services. Control group members were eligible for existing SNAP E&T services and programs as well as any other services available in the community.
The authors used administrative service use data, unemployment insurance (UI) wage records, SNAP administrative data, and follow-up survey data. Follow-up surveys were conducted at 12 months and 36 months after random assignment. The authors used statistical models to compare the outcomes of the treatment and control group members. The authors’ regression models controlled for participants’ baseline characteristics, and incorporated weights to ensure the results represented all participants in the pilot program.
Findings
Employment
- Based on administrative data, the study found no statistically significant differences in employment rates between EPIC and control group participants.
Earnings
- Based on administrative data, the study found that EPIC participants had higher earnings than control group participants in Year 3. However, the study did not detect statistically significant differences in earnings between the two groups in Year 1, Year 2, or Years 2 and 3 combined.
Public benefits receipt
- Based on administrative data, the study found that EPIC participants had lower SNAP participation rates, lower SNAP benefit amounts, lower SNAP benefits as a percentage of maximum benefit amount, shorter duration of SNAP participation, and higher SNAP exit rates than control group participants. These differences were statistically significant.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
This profile summarizes study findings for outcomes measured using administrative data. Because they were measured using administrative data, these outcomes had low attrition and the analyses of these outcomes received a high causal evidence rating. The study authors also conducted analyses of outcomes measured using survey data. Outcomes measured using survey data had high attrition but analyses of these outcomes received a moderate causal evidence rating since the authors ensured that the groups being compared were similar before the intervention.
The study authors estimated multiple, related impacts on outcomes related to employment, earnings, and public benefits receipt. Performing multiple statistical tests on related outcomes makes it more likely that some impacts will be found statistically significant purely by chance and not because they reflect program effectiveness. However, to address multiple comparisons bias, the authors selected two primary confirmatory outcomes before analyzing the data: (1) earnings (based on both the UI wage records and survey data) and (2) SNAP participation in the two years after random assignment.
The study authors report p-values of less than 0.10 as statistically significant. When assessing the statistical significance of study findings, CLEAR reviews use a p-value threshold of less than 0.05. Thus, only results that demonstrated a p-value of less than 0.05 are considered statistically significant in this profile.
Causal Evidence Rating
The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is high because it was based on a well-implemented randomized controlled trial. This means we are confident that the estimated effects are attributable to Employment Opportunities, Personalized Services (EPIC), and not to other factors.