Ethics, Discipline, Goals, Employment (EDGE) - Enhanced Community College Services (ECCS) group provided intensive case management to new and current SNAP work registrants, focusing on able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs), requiring participants to enroll in a four-week career readiness course followed by a choice of three pathways—academic (basic education, post-secondary education, or occupational skills training), work (subsidized or unsubsidized employment), or life skills (work or behavioral skills). The four-week EDGE class included completing the Test of Adult Basic Education and WorkKeys assessments, career readiness workshops, and an individual career plan that informed which of the three pathways participants would enter. Participants also received intensive case management and support services from career navigators at EDGE colleges.
The duration of the education and life skills pathways varied by program selected; the work pathway provided up to 320 hours of subsidized employment. Career navigators met with participants weekly during the EDGE class phase and monthly during the pathways phase and provided up to 90 days of employment retention services to participants who found employment.
The study was conducted in 29 counties in Mississippi.
Ethics, Discipline, Goals, Employment (EDGE) - Enhanced Community College Services (ECCS) group provided intensive case management to new and current SNAP work registrants, focusing on able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs), requiring participants to enroll in a four-week career readiness course followed by a choice of three pathways—academic (basic education, post-secondary education, or occupational skills training), work (subsidized or unsubsidized employment), or life skills (work or behavioral skills).