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Subgroups
In Los Angeles County, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients who were not exempt from TANF work requirements were referred to the county's welfare-to-work program, Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN). TANF participants referred to GAIN participated in a four-week job club. Individuals who had not secured unsubsidized employment by the fourth week were assessed for additional GAIN activities that could improve their employability. At this point, or after completing additional GAIN activities, GAIN caseworkers recruited individuals for Transitional Subsidized Employment if they met the following additional criteria: (1) were able to work the hours required by Paid Work Experience (PWE) or On-the-Job Training (OJT); (2) had at least five months of TANF eligibility remaining; (3) did not participate in Transitional Subsidized Employment in the last year; (4) did not have major employment barriers; and (5) demonstrated to staff that they could work and wanted to work (assessed by staff in various ways across locations). A total of 2,622 individuals who elected to participate were randomly assigned (with equal probability) between November 2012 and November 2013 to one of three groups: (1) PWE, (2) OJT, or (3) a comparison group eligible for standard welfare-to-work services. This review discusses the contrast of the OJT and PWE groups, treating the PWE group as the intervention group and the OJT group as the comparison group. A separate review compares these study groups treating PWE as the comparison group and OJT as the intervention group. Other Pathways Clearinghouse reviews analyze the contrasts of OJT versus the comparison group and PWE versus the comparison group.
The study was conducted from November 2012 to April 2016. Individuals were randomly assigned between November 2012 and November 2013, and the evaluation followed individuals for about 30 months after random assignment.
ACF in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
The program served TANF participants who were unable to secure unsubsidized employment after a four-week job club. At the time of random assignment, all participants were unemployed parents. Participants were predominately young, single females. Across all three study groups included in the evaluation, the average age was 32 years. About 86 percent of study participants were female, and about 86 percent were not married. More than half (55 percent) of participants were Hispanic, and 32 percent were Black and non-Hispanic. More than two-thirds (68 percent) had been on TANF for a year or more, and more than one-third (39 percent) lacked a high school diploma or equivalent. About one-third (35 percent) of participants had worked fewer than six months over the last three years, and about half (48 percent) had never worked for the same employer for more than six months.
The program was operated by the county TANF administrator in partnership with regional welfare-to-work offices and the local Workforce Investment Board. For the PWE group, employment was provided in the public sector and at nonprofit organizations. For the OJT group, employment was provided at private, for-profit employers.
The Los Angeles County Transitional Subsidized Employment program started in 2003 but has been adapted somewhat over time.
TANF recipients randomly assigned to the PWE intervention had the opportunity to be placed in a fully subsidized, six-month position at a public-sector or nonprofit organization, where they were paid minimum wage (which in Los Angeles was $8 when the intervention began) by the local Workforce Investment Board. Seventy-nine percent of PWE individuals were placed in subsidized employment, and the average placement lasted 149 days. In the final month of subsidized employment, individuals received 16 hours of paid time to job search.
TANF recipients randomly assigned to the OJT intervention had the opportunity to be placed in a partially subsidized, six-month position in the private sector. OJT participants were paid up to $8 an hour by the Workforce Investment Board for the first two months, and then employers were expected to move the participants to their own payrolls, for which they received a partial subsidy (up to $550 per month). Forty-two percent of OJT individuals were placed in subsidized employment, and the average placement lasted 84 days.
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Participants assigned to PWE were offered six months of fully subsidized employment. Participants assigned to the OJT program were offered two months of fully subsidized employment, followed by four months of partially subsidized employment.
The demonstration is funded by ACF in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Regional American Job Centers and public, nonprofit, and for-profit employers in Los Angeles County, CA.
Health, Well-being, Social support