28355-Project GROW

Study Name

Project GROW

Study Sharepoint ID

28355

Evaluation name

Evaluation of Project GROW

This study received a low study quality rating because it is a quasi-experimental design that does not adjust estimated impacts for potentially important differences between the intervention and comparison groups.

This study received a low study quality rating because it is a quasi-experimental design that does not adjust estimated impacts for potentially important differences between the intervention and comparison groups.

Design

Quasi-experimental design

Services

Case management

Education

Training

Occupational or sectoral training

Settings in which the intervention was studied

Tested in multiple settings

Demographics

Subgroups

Subgroup data - Female

Subgroup data - Male

Subgroup data - White

Subgroup data - Black

Count age

282

Count Young Adults

Count Hard-to-employ

Count Disability

Count chronically ill

Count mentally ill

Count substance dependent

Count formerly incarcerated

332

Count Justice involved

Count limited work history

Count homeless

Count immigrants

Count refugees

Count veterans

Count female

133

Count Male

Count Any postsecondary education

336

Count With a high school diploma or GED

166

Count No high school diploma or GED

Count Married

Count Parents

Count Single Parents

Count Non-Custodial Parents

Count Employed

Count Self employed

Count Unemployed

Count Disconnected/discouraged workers

Count general low-income population

Count Very low income (as classified by the authors)

Count welfare population

Count long-term welfare recipients

Count Asian

Count Black or African American

374

Count Hispanic or Latino of any race

Count American Indian or Alaska Native

Count Pacific islander

Count White

369

Count White not Hispanic

Count More than one race

Count Unknown race

Count another race

Percent veterans

1.00

Percent female

68.00

Percent Male

32.00

Percent Married

26.00

Percent welfare population

80.00

Percent Black or African American

1.00

Percent Hispanic or Latino of any race

61.00

Percent White not Hispanic

1.00

Percent Unknown or not reported

35.00

Study Characteristics

Group formation formatted

Project GROW participants were recruited to participate at the individual level. Participants were adults with low levels of job skills and college readiness living along the U.S. Texas-Mexico border and eligible for Workforce Investment Act (WIA) services. To participate in Project GROW, recruited individuals had to consent to participation and commit to a targeted occupation in the offered workforce area(s). The evaluation team used one-to-one nearest neighbor propensity score matching with replacement to form the comparison group. Evaluators first pooled all Project GROW participants across service cohorts according to initial college readiness and Tests of Adult Basic Education scores. Then, evaluators drew the comparison pool from individuals listed in Texas Workforce Commission administrative data who had received services under WIA. The evaluation team matched each Project GROW participant to a comparison group participant who had similar observable characteristics.

Study timing formatted

Evaluators studied the intervention for 52 months between September 1, 2012, and October 31, 2016.

Implementing organization formatted

Multiple partners, including five Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs), Jobs for the Future (JFF), Abt Associates, and Business Access.

Treatment condition formatted

Project GROW (Growing Regional Opportunities for the Workforce) provided education and occupational training to adults with low job skills at five Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs) spanning the U.S. Texas-Mexico border. Participant eligibility was determined in accordance with Workforce Investment Act (WIA) criteria. The study team sorted intervention participants into services on the basis of education and college readiness at study enrollment. Adults with a high school diploma or GED whose Tests of Basic Adult Education (TABE) reflected a 9th through 12th grade score equivalency received case management and college readiness training in preparation for subsequent enrollment in occupational training. Participants with high school-level TABE scores who were not enrolled in school and did not have a high school diploma or GED received accelerated GED preparation and occupational training simultaneously. Finally, out-of-school participants with TABE scores below a high school level and without a GED or high school diploma received adult basic literacy education and English as a Second Language (ESL) services alongside case management.

Comparison condition formatted

Participants in the comparison condition were selected from a pool of individuals who received traditional WIA services but were not recruited to participate in Project GROW. Evaluators identified comparison group participants on the basis of their similarity to Project GROW participants, as measured using available observable characteristics in Texas Workforce Commission administrative data.

Mandatory services formatted

None

Setting details formatted

Project GROW was implemented in partnership with five colleges across Workforce Investment Board (WIB) areas spanning the U.S. Texas-Mexico border.

Delivered by public or private entity?

Public

Citations/manuscripts

Earliest publication year

2014

Most recent publication year

2016

Manuscripts