Absence of conflict of interest.
Citation
Highlights
- The study's objective was to examine the impact of different employment and training activities of Ohio’s Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program (JOBS) on employment and earnings.
- The study used a nonexperimental design to compare the differences in outcomes between individuals who participated in activities to those who did not. Using administrative data from the JOBS tracking system and Ohio's Unemployment Insurance system, the author conducted statistical models to compare the outcomes.
- The study found a significant relationship between JOBS and higher employment for those assigned to job club, post-secondary education, and job readiness training. It also found a significant relationship between JOBS and higher earnings for those assigned to job club and post-secondary education. However, the study found a significant relationship between JOBS and lower employment and earnings for those assigned to basic education.
- This study receives a low evidence rating. This means we are not confident that the estimated effects are attributable to Ohio JOBS; other factors are likely to have contributed.
Intervention Examined
Ohio’s Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program (JOBS)
Features of the Intervention
Nationally, states are required to provide JOBS services, which include employment and training (E&T), to people who receive Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). Unlike similar programs, people who receive AFDC are required to participate in JOBS the entire time they receive AFDC. However, despite the requirement to participate in JOBS, assignment to E&T is often delayed months or years due to the availability of services and the capacity to make assignments.
In Ohio JOBS, caseworkers placed clients who received Aid to Dependent Children (ADC; Ohio’s version of AFDC) into E&T activities following an employability assessment. The employability assessment measured employment barriers, education, experience, and interests. Individuals without a high school diploma or equivalent were encouraged (not required) to enroll in basic education programs. Individuals with a high school diploma or equivalent were assigned to job skills training, job readiness training, post-secondary education, or Community Work Experience (CWEP). Individuals with work experience were assigned to a job search program called job club.
Features of the Study
The study used a nonexperimental design to compare employment and earnings outcomes between individuals in the treatment group who participated in E&T activities to those who did not participate. The study used only the treatment group data from a randomized controlled trial (Fein, Beecroft, & Blomquist, 1994). Between 1989 and 1990, individuals who began to receive ADC were randomized to be referred to JOBS (the treatment group) or not referred to JOBS (the control group). After referral to JOBS, the treatment group participants completed orientation and an assessment of employability. Treatment participants were assigned to JOBS activities based on participant profiles and E&T availability. The control group participants were never notified about JOBS referral and were excluded from program activities.
The study sample consisted of 12,556 people from 15 counties in Ohio who were randomly assigned to the treatment group from all people who received ADC in 1989 (n=7,773) and 1990 (n=4,783). Approximately 75 percent of participants were White, most were between 20-39 years old and had either no or low income the year prior to involvement in JOBS. The sample included slightly more single-parent homes than two-parent homes. Although all treatment participants were eligible to be assigned to E&T activities, some participants were not assigned immediately, some were never assigned to an E&T activity, and some were assigned to multiple E&T activities. Assignment to E&T activities did not necessarily relate to completion of E&T activities, as completion was not tracked.
Study outcomes included employment (measured using data on if participants had earnings or not) and quarterly earnings for the 4th, 8th, and 12th quarters after JOBS entry. Using administrative data from the JOBS tracking system and Ohio's Unemployment Insurance system, the author conducted statistical models to compare the outcomes of those who were assigned to the E&T activities at any time to those who were not. The author also analyzed the impacts on ‘early assignees’ – individuals who were placed into an E&T activity in year one (prior to the fourth quarter). The author included impacts for each E&T activity: job club, basic education, post-secondary education, job readiness training, and Community Work Experience (CWEP). The author excluded those assigned to job skills training activity due to small sample sizes. Analyses were limited to the treatment group who received ADC in 1989.
Findings
Employment
- The study found that assignment to job club at any time was significantly related to higher rates of employment in all quarters. Assignment to job club was also significantly related to higher rates of employment in all quarters for early assignees.
- Conversely, the study found that assignment to basic education at any time was significantly related to lower rates of employment in all quarters. For early assignees, assignment to basic education was significantly related to lower employment in the 4th quarter only.
- The study found no significant relationships with employment for those assigned at any time to post-secondary education, job readiness training, or CWEP. However, for early assignees, the study found that assignment was significantly related to employment in the 12th quarter for post-secondary education and job readiness training and significantly related to higher employment in the 8th quarter for post-secondary education only.
Earnings and wages
- The study found that assignment to job club at any time was significantly related to higher total earnings in the 8th and 12th quarter. For early assignees, assignment to job club was significantly related to higher total earnings in all quarters.
- The study found that assignment to basic education at any time was significantly related to lower total earnings in all quarters. Assignment to basic education was also significantly related to lower total earnings in all quarters for early assignees.
- The study found no significant relationships with total earnings for those assigned at any time to post-secondary education, job readiness training, or CWEP. However, for early assignees, the study found that assignment was significantly related to total earnings in the 12th quarter for post-secondary education only.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
The author created a complex statistical model to predict the employment and earnings outcomes for the treatment group members if they did not participate in JOBS activities (the comparison group). Next, he conducted a nonexperimental analysis comparing treatment groups members who were assigned to JOBS activities with the statistically created comparison group. However, the analysis did not control for baseline outcomes greater than one year before program participation as required by the protocol, making it ineligible for a moderate causal evidence rating.
Causal Evidence Rating
The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is low because the authors did not ensure that the groups being compared were similar before the intervention. This means we are not confident that the estimated effects are attributable to Ohio JOBS; other factors are likely to have contributed.