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Quasi-experimental impact study of NFWS/SIF Workforce Partnership Programs evidence on the effectiveness of Workforce Partnership Programs in Ohio and Wisconsin (Michaelides et al. 2016)

Review Guidelines

Absence of conflict of interest.

Citation

Michaelides, M., Mueser, P., Davis, S., & Mbwana, K. (2016). Quasi-Experimental Impact Study of NFWS/SIF Workforce Partnership Programs Evidence on the Effectiveness of Workforce Partnership Programs in Ohio and Wisconsin. Columbia, MD: IMPAQ International. [Milwaukee Area Healthcare Alliance]

Highlights

  • The study's objective was to examine the impact of workforce partnership programs on employment and earnings outcomes. This profile focuses on the evaluation of the Milwaukee Area Healthcare Alliance. The authors investigated similar research questions for other sites, the profiles of which can be found here.
  • The study used a nonexperimental design to compare outcomes between individuals receiving services from the Milwaukee Area Healthcare Alliance to a matched comparison group receiving state employment services. Using program and unemployment insurance wage data, the authors conducted statistical models to examine differences in outcomes between the groups.
  • The study found that individuals receiving services from the Milwaukee Area Healthcare Alliance were significantly more likely to be employed and earn more than individuals in the comparison group.
  • This study receives a moderate evidence rating. This means we are somewhat confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the Milwaukee Area Healthcare Alliance, but other factors might also have contributed.

Intervention Examined

Milwaukee Area Healthcare Alliance

Features of the Intervention

The National Fund for Workforce Solutions/Social Innovation fund (NFWS/SIF) is a collaboration of national foundations that invests in regional funding collaboratives to promote employment and career advancements for low-income individuals and to ensure that employers can obtain a skilled workforce. The Milwaukee Area Healthcare Alliance was funded by NFWS/SF and formed in 2009 by YWCA of Greater Milwaukee, Milwaukee Area Health Education Center, Milwaukee Area Technical College, and the Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board. The Milwaukee Area Healthcare Alliance assists healthcare employers to identify sought after skills and to develop a workforce possessing those skills. The Healthcare Alliance primarily targeted unemployed and low skilled workers with a particular focus on African Americans for entry into mid-level positions in the healthcare industry. Individuals received on the job training, job search services, and occupational training to obtain jobs in healthcare.

Features of the Study

The study used a nonexperimental design to compare the outcomes of individuals receiving services from the Healthcare Alliance (treatment group) to a sample of individuals who received state employment services (comparison group). The authors formed a matched comparison group that was similar to the treatment group on individual characteristics and employment histories. The treatment group included 306 unemployed individuals and the comparison group included 8,666 individuals. The majority of program participants were women (94 percent), Black (74 percent), and under the age of 35 (72 percent). Data sources included Healthcare Alliance program data and employment service data that provided participant socioeconomic and demographic information upon program entry and the type of services that participants received during the study, as well as state unemployment insurance wage data that provided quarterly earnings for all participants. The authors used a statistical model to compare employment and earnings outcomes between the groups through a six-quarter follow-up period.

Findings

Earnings and wages

  • The study found that treatment participants had significantly higher earnings than comparison participants across six quarters.

Employment

  • The study found that treatment participants were significantly more likely to be employed than comparison participants across six quarters.

Causal Evidence Rating

The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is moderate because it was based on a well-implemented nonexperimental design. This means we are somewhat confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the Milwaukee Area Healthcare Alliance, but other factors might also have contributed.

Additional Sources

Michaelides, M., Poe-Yamagata, E., & Mbwana K. (2013). Outcomes Assessment Study of NFWS/SIF-funded Programs. Boston, MA: National Fund for Workforce.

Reviewed by CLEAR

August 2022

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