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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

The Ready to Work Partnership Grant evaluation: Final report of the impact study of four employment services programs for the long-term unemployed (Klerman et al., 2022)

Review Guidelines

Causal Evidence Guidelines

This study was conducted by staff from Abt Associates, which co-administers CLEAR. The review of this study was conducted by ICF, which co-administers CLEAR and is trained in applying the CLEAR causal evidence guidelines.  

Citation

Klerman, J.A., Herr, J.L., & Martinson. K. (2022). The Ready to Work Partnership Grant evaluation: Final report of the impact study of four employment services programs for the long-term unemployed. Prepared for the U.S. Department of Labor. Rockville, MD: Abt Associates. [MTC Program]

Highlights

  • The study’s objective was to examine the impact of the Ready to Work (RTW) Partnership Grant Program on earnings and employment outcomes. This profile focuses on the Maryland Tech Connection (MTC) program. The authors investigated questions for other contrasts, the profiles can be found here:
  • The study used a randomized controlled trial to assign participants to the MTC program or the control group. The study’s primary data source included the National Directory of New Hires. The authors used statistical models to compare the outcomes between participants enrolled in the MTC Program and a control group. 
  • The study found that control group participants earned significantly more than MTC program participants during quarters 5 through 10.  
  • This study receives a high evidence rating. This means we are confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the MTC program, and not to other factors.  

Features of the Intervention

In 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor funded the Ready to Work (RTW) Partnership Grant Program that provided $180 million in grants to deliver customized employment services to long-term unemployed workers (those who have been out of work for at least 27 consecutive weeks). RTW focused on employment preparation for high-growth industries and occupations, particularly those being filled by H1-B foreign workers. 

The Maryland Tech Connection (MTC) program was a collaboration of seven workforce agencies through the Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corporation, a nonprofit organization that served as the lead grantee for the RTW grant. The MTC program was implemented from May 2015 to October 2019 in 12 Maryland counties and Baltimore City and operated out of American Job Centers in the area (known as Career Centers). The MTC program aimed to provide employment to long-term unemployed and underemployed workers with a focus on jobs in advanced manufacturing, bioscience/biotechnology, cybersecurity, healthcare, and information technology. To be eligible for the MTC program, individuals had to be a resident of Maryland, have a high school diploma or GED, have education and/or experience in one of the four targets industries of the program, and have been unemployed for 27 or more consecutive weeks. The MTC program provided employment readiness courses, occupational training, work-based training, job search assistance, and financial support.  

Features of the Study

The study used a randomized controlled trial to examine the impact of the MTC program on earnings and employment outcomes. Upon completion of a baseline survey at study enrollment, 1,029 individuals were randomly assigned to the treatment or control group. Study authors assigned 540 individuals to participate in the MTC program (treatment) and 489 individuals to the control group. Treatment participants received MTC program services. Control group participants were provided with information on community services and could obtain resources from the Career Centers that were not funded by RTW, but were not actively referred to any services. The study sample were primarily women (53%), Black or African American (58%), between the ages of 45-54 years (31%), married (45%), and had a bachelor’s degree (38%). The National Directory of New Hires was the primary data source. The authors used statistical models to compare outcomes between treatment and control group participants. 

Findings

Earnings and wages

  • The study found that the control group participants earned significantly more in average quarterly earnings ($1,065) in quarters 5 through 10 compared to MTC program participants. 

Employment

  • The study found no significant impact of participation in the MTC program on employment in quarters 5 through 10 after random assignment.  

Causal Evidence Rating

The quality of causal evidence presented in this study 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 the Maryland Tech Connections (MTC) program, and not to other factors.  

Additional Sources

Herr, J. L., Klerman, J. A., & Martinson, K. (2022). The Ready to Work Partnership Grant evaluation: Technical appendix for the final report of the impact study of four employment services programs for the long-term unemployed. Prepared for the U.S. Department of Labor. Rockville, MD: Abt Associates. Klerman, J.A., Herr, J.L., Martinson, K., & Copson, E. (2022). The Ready to Work Partnership Grant evaluation: Findings from the interim impact study of four employment services programs for the long-term unemployed. Prepared for the U.S. Department of Labor. Rockville, MD: Abt Associates.

Reviewed by CLEAR

April 2024

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