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The study randomly assigned study participants to the WASC group or to a comparison group. To be eligible for the study, participants had to be low-wage workers, or they had to have recently lost a job and been reemployed at a lower wage. Participants receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) were excluded from the study, and no more than 50 percent of participants in each site could be Food Stamp recipients. After an eligible individual consented to participate and filled out a baseline questionnaire, site staff submitted the individual's information online to the evaluators, and an algorithm created by the evaluator performed the random assignment. WASC was implemented in three locations (Dayton, OH; Bridgeport, CT; and San Diego, CA), and this review examines results for Dayton. Other reviews examine the other two locations. The research sample size was 1,184, with 595 in the WASC group and 589 in the comparison group. A study was administered to some participants 12 months after random assignment. To be eligible for the survey, participants had to speak English or Spanish, be randomly assigned between November 2005 and March 2007, and be enrolled from January 2006 through March 2007. Of the 1,184 participants, 1,093 met the eligibility criteria. Of those eligible, 616 were randomly selected to participate in the survey.
The WASC Dayton study site enrolled clients from fall 2005 through March 2007. This study presents Year 1 through Year 4 impacts of the program on employment, earnings, and work supports receipt in Dayton, OH.
Funding for the evaluation in this report came from the U.S. Department of Labor, the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Earlier grants that supported this project were from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the James Irvine Foundation, and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.
The study recruited low-wage workers, reemployed dislocated workers, or people who fit both criteria within certain income eligibility guidelines. A majority of eligible study participants earned less than $10 per hour and had a household income below 130 percent of the federal poverty level. The study also focused on a population that had a limited prior connection to the welfare system and thus was in most need of assistance with work supports. As a result, current recipients of TANF were not eligible for enrollment into the demonstration, and current recipients of Food Stamps made up a maximum of 50 percent of the WASC sample. In Dayton, 81 percent of participants were women, and more than a third of the sample was younger than 24. The WASC sample reflected a particular segment of the low-wage worker population that was more likely to be Black (68 percent), be single mothers (71 percent single and 63 percent mothers), work part-time (about two-thirds), and have some education beyond high school (more than 80 percent).
The Job Center (the local one-stop career center)
The WASC expanded the mission of one-stop career centers to include low-wage workers and therefore was more comprehensive than the existing workforce development system. WASC was implemented in Dayton, OH; San Diego, CA; and Bridgeport, CT.
The intervention group received services from the WASC program. The WASC 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 one-stop career centers, where workforce development and TANF 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 Dayton, OH, focused on providing access to and funding for vocational training and providing financial incentives for maintaining employment and participating in training.
The comparison group received existing employment services with a focus on job placement (instead of advancement) for low-wage workers.
None.
The WASC services were available for two years to all participants.
Workforce Investment Act Governor’s Discretionary Funds; TANF funds; Funds from evaluator.
The program took place in the local one-stop career center (The Job Center) in Dayton, OH.
Physical health, Mental health