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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

The Employment Retention and Advancement Project: Results from the Personal Roads to Individual Development and Employment (PRIDE) Program in New York City (Bloom et al., 2007)

  • Findings

    See findings section of this profile.

    Evidence Rating

    Not Rated

Review Guidelines

Implementation Guidelines

Absence of conflict of interest. 

Citation

Bloom, D., Miller, C., & Azurdia, G. (2007). The Employment Retention and Advancement Project: Results from the Personal Roads to Individual Development and Employment (PRIDE) Program in New York City. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Highlights

  • The study’s objective was to examine the implementation of the Personal Roads to Individual Development and Employment (PRIDE) program which matches medically limited TANF recipients in New York City with job placements, and unpaid work and education experiences that aligned with the needs of their medical conditions. 
  • The study authors conducted an implementation evaluation using participant surveys, staff report, staff time study, and New York HRA records. 
  • The study found that the PRIDE program was able to successfully combine welfare and vocational rehabilitation services to deliver employment support to a population of medically limited workers who were previously exempt from these services. 
  • The authors do not provide detailed information on study methods. 
  • The embedded impact study was reviewed by CLEAR in December 2015 and can be found here: The Employment Retention and Advancement project: Results from the Personal Roads to Individual Development and Employment (PRIDE) program in New York City (Bloom et al. 2007) | CLEAR (dol.gov). 

Intervention Examined

Personal Roads to Individual Development and Employment (PRIDE)

Features of the Intervention

  • Type of organization: Human Resources Administration (HRA) 
  • Location/Setting: New York City, NY 
  • Population served and scale: The PRIDE Program served 30,000 individuals receiving TANF who were deemed “employable with limitations”. 
  • Industry focus: Public Administration 
  • Intervention activities: Medical Evaluation; Referral for services; Unpaid work experience; Classroom education (GED exam prep, pre-GED courses, ESL, basic office software); Individualized activities to prepare for job placement. 
  • Organizational partnerships: New York State Education Department, New York State Department of Labor, Federation Employment and Guidance Service, the National Center for Disability Services, Goodwill Industries, and the Brooklyn Bureau of Community Service 
  • Cost: Not Included 
  • Fidelity: Not Included 

The PRIDE program was funded by the Administration for Children and Families and the U.S. Department of Labor as a part of the ERA program. PRIDE was established specifically to target support towards individuals receiving public assistance who were deemed “employable with limitations”. The intervention ran from 1999 to 2004 with collaboration from non-profit organizations and their local partners that serve individuals with disabilities (Federation Employment and Guidance Service, the National Center for Disability Services, Goodwill Industries, and the Brooklyn Bureau of Community Service). 

Within the first two years of implementation the PRIDE program served 30,000 New Yorkers with job placements and unpaid work and education experiences that aligned with the needs of their medical conditions. Participants were assigned to one of two tracks based on a medical assessment of work ability. Those who were able to work with no limitations were referred to New York’s traditional welfare-to-work services for job placement. Individuals who were employable with limitations met with HRA staff for a second assessment and were placed into PRIDE if appropriate. Participants were then assigned to the Work Based Education (WBE) or Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) track depending on their needs. WBE participants participated in three days of unpaid work experiences and two days of classroom education per week (GED exam prep, pre-GED courses, ESL, basic office software) and VR recipients participated in individualized activities to prepare for job placement. Participants on both tracks were supported in finding a job and through follow up services for 6-months after job placement. 

Features of the Study

The implementation study sought to assess program services and delivery, population served, and problem mitigation. Data collection included a participant survey, staff reporting, a staff time study, and analysis of HRA records. The study analyzed survey data from 1,553 single parents participating in the PRIDE program.

Findings

Intervention activities/services: 

  • The study found that the PRIDE program was able to successfully deliver employment services to a population of workers who previously were exempt from employment services. 

Implementation challenges and solutions:

  • The study found that philosophical differences between the collaboration partners and administration contributed to slow participant engagement. 
  • The study found that many of the PRIDE participants were sanctioned for being out of compliance and had their welfare grants lessened or canceled. 

Reviewed by CLEAR

July 2023

Topic Area