B2W provided participants with 35 hours per week of mandatory, in-person services that included group and individual job search classes, case management, job development and job search support, job interview support, and soft-skills training. B2W also provided supportive services that included transportation and work clothes. Participants typically received services for 6 to 8 weeks, and job search support activities were limited to 12 weeks. After attaining employment, participants were offered monthly contact with program staff for six months. B2W participants were people who applied for but had not yet received cash assistance and who were deemed job ready by program staff after attending two B2W orientation sessions. B2W was delivered in New York City, NY.
Comparing the effectiveness of B2W to the effectiveness of IJS indicates the effect of being referred to a set of services that includes those unique to B2W; the comparison indicates how much better the offer of B2W meets participants’ needs than the offer of IJS. Services provided by B2W were mandatory and delivered in person for 35 hours per week. Services unique to B2W included one-on-one job search classes, soft-skills training, and job interview support. IJS required participants to search for employment independently for 35 hours per week, and additional in-person services were optional.
B2W provided job search assistance to cash assistance applicants who were deemed job ready by B2W staff. Participants received soft-skills development, job search support, and interview support. This evaluation directly compared B2W to a separate intervention, IJS, in order to better understand which of the two interventions might be more effective; the distinctive features of B2W are mandatory, in-person services; one-on-one classes; soft-skills training; and job interview attendance.