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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

The effectiveness of the Postemployment Services Demonstration: Preliminary findings (Rangarajan, Meckstroth, & Novak 1998)

Review Guidelines

Causal Evidence Guidelines

Absence of conflict of interest.

Citation

Rangarajan, A., Meckstroth, A., & Novak, T. (1998). The effectiveness of the Postemployment Services Demonstration: Preliminary findings. Springfield, IL: Illinois Department of Human Services. [Chicago]

Highlights

  • The study’s objective was to examine the impact of the Postemployment Service Demonstration (PESD) program on employment, earnings, and public benefits receipt. This profile focuses on the Chicago PESD program. The authors investigated similar research questions for other sites, the profiles of which can be found here.
  • The study used a randomized controlled trial to compare outcomes between individuals who received PESD services and a control group. Using survey data, the authors conducted statistical models to compare outcomes one year after PESD enrollment.
  • The study found that Chicago PESD program participants received significantly less monthly public benefits than the control group.
  • This study receives a high evidence rating. This means we are confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the Postemployment Services Demonstration, and not to other factors.

Intervention Examined

Chicago’s Postemployment Service Demonstration (PESD)

Features of the Intervention

The Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS) program is a welfare reform initiative under the Family Support Act of 1988 that attempts to promote work by increasing education and training. The Postemployment Services Demonstration (PESD) program was funded by the Administration for Children and Families and the Department of Human Services in 1993 to promote job retention and reemployment among newly employed Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) recipients. The PESD program provided additional case management services and support for employment expenses.

The PESD program in Chicago, Illinois provided counseling and support, job search assistance, assistance in applying for and resolving issues related to benefits, payments for work related expenses, and referrals for additional services. The Chicago PESD program targeted individuals who received welfare, were referred to or had participated in the JOBS program, and found a job that was reported to JOBS case management staff.

Features of the Study

The study used a randomized controlled trial to examine the impact of Chicago’s PESD program on employment, earnings, and public benefits receipt. The authors identified newly employed welfare recipients who had been referred to or participated in the JOBS program between March 1994 and December 1995. Of the 1,545 newly employed individuals, the authors randomly assigned 552 individuals to the program group to receive PESD program services. The 993 individuals assigned to the control group received regular welfare services offered through the state and through the JOBS program. The study sample was predominantly female (98%) with an average age of 30 years old. The majority were Black (82%) and over half had a high school degree or equivalent (57%). Study data were collected through a survey distributed to a random subset of the program and control group participants who enrolled between July 1994 and August 1995. The study authors used statistical models to compare employment, earnings, and public benefit receipt outcomes between the program and control group one year after program enrollment.

Findings

Earnings and wages

  • The study found that the individuals in the PESD program group earned $588 more than the control group at the one year follow up; however, this difference was not statistically significant.

Employment

  • The study found no statistically significant relationship between PESD and employment.

Public benefits receipt

  • The study found that the control group received $21 more in monthly AFDC benefits than the PESD program group at the one year follow up. This finding was statistically significant. The study also found that the control group was 7.9% more likely than the PESD program group to continue to receive AFDC benefits at the one year follow up, but this was not a statistically significant finding.
  • The study found that the control group received $10 more than the PESD program group in monthly food stamps at the one year follow up. This difference was statistically significant. The study also found that the control group was 7.3% more likely than the PESD program group to continue to receive food stamps at the one year follow up, but this was not a statistically significant finding.

Causal Evidence Rating

The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is high because it is based on a well-implemented randomized controlled trial. This means we are confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the Postemployment Services Demonstration (PESD) program, and not to other factors.  

Reviewed by CLEAR

June 2022

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