Citation
Miller, C., Tessler, B., & Van Dok, M. (2009). Strategies to help low-wage workers advance: Implementation and early impacts of the Work Advancement and Support Center (WASC) demonstration. New York City: MDRC. [San Diego]
Highlights
- The study’s objective was to examine the early impacts of participation in the Work Advancement and Support Center (WASC) demonstration on employment, earnings, education and training, and receipt of public benefits outcomes.
- The authors randomly assigned eligible individuals to either a treatment group that received WASC services or to a control group that received existing job placement services focused on employment. The authors analyzed data from Unemployment Insurance records, San Diego county administrative records, and a survey administered 12 months after random assignment
- In the San Diego site’s first year, the study found that WASC increased participant’s receipt of Food Stamps by about 23 percent. It also found that 63.2 percent of WASC participants were employed for four consecutive quarters compared with 69.7 percent of control group members
- For outcomes measured with administrative data, the quality of causal evidence presented in this report is high because it was based on a well-implemented randomized controlled trial. This means we are confident that the estimated effects on those outcomes are attributable to WASC and not to other factors. For employment and earnings outcomes measured with survey data, the quality of evidence is low because the authors did not account for preexisting differences between the groups being compared in their analysis. This means we are not confident that the estimated effects on those outcomes are attributable to WASC; other factors are likely to have contributed.
Intervention Examined
The Work Advancement and Support Center (WASC) Demonstration
Features of the Intervention
The Work Advancement and Support Center Demonstration (WASC) program delivered integrated, intensive retention and advancement services to incumbent workers. It provided information about and simplified access to financial work supports such as the Earned Income Tax Credit and child care subsidies. Services were offered at a One-Stop Career Centers, where workforce development and welfare staff worked together in the same unit as a team. Retention and advancement services included career coaching and access to training and education to stabilize individuals' employment and help them find better-paying jobs. The WASC model in San Diego focused mostly on career coaching for advancement in the current job, with less emphasis on vocational training. The San Diego program offered inactive participants additional incentives (gas, grocery, or gift cards) to continue with the program.
Features of the Study
From fall 2005 to 2007, 793 eligible individuals were randomly assigned to either a treatment group, which received WASC services, or to a control group, which received existing employment services with a focus on job placement instead of advancement. The study recruited low-wage workers and reemployed dislocated workers who earned less than $10 an hour, had a household income below 130 percent of the federal poverty level, and had a previously limited connection to the welfare system. The authors compared employment, earnings, and receipt of benefits outcomes of treatment and control group members one year after random assignment using Unemployment Insurance records, San Diego county administrative records, and a survey.
Study Sites
WASC was implemented in three locations (Dayton, Ohio; Bridgeport, Connecticut; and San Diego, California), and this report examined results for San Diego and Dayton. Other reviews examine the other two locations. (This review focuses on Dayton, and a separate review on this site focuses on San Diego.)
Findings
- The study found that WASC increased participants’ receipt of Food Stamps by about 23 percent, from 24.1 percent in the comparison group to 29.6 percent in the WASC group.
- 63.2 percent of WASC participants in San Diego were employed for four consecutive quarters compared to 69.7 percent of control group members.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
Although this report presented short-term findings, the intervention was intended to have both long- and short-term impacts. Further studies examine long-term outcomes.
The data collection component of the survey in this study had high attrition. Although the study did demonstrate the groups were similar on demographic characteristics, education, and program participation before the program began, it did not demonstrate the groups were similar in terms of employment or earnings more than one year before the intervention. The authors also did not account for these preexisting differences between the groups being compared in the analysis. For this reason, all survey-measured outcomes related to employment and earnings should be interpreted with caution.
Causal Evidence Rating
For outcomes measured with administrative data, the quality of causal evidence presented in this report is high because it was based on a well-implemented randomized controlled trial. This means we are confident that the estimated effects on those outcomes are attributable to WASC and not to other factors. For employment and earnings outcomes measured with survey data, the quality of evidence is low because the authors did not account for preexisting differences between the groups being compared in their analysis. This means we are not confident that the estimated effects on those outcomes are attributable to WASC; other factors are likely to have contributed.