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Evaluators determined who was eligible for the demonstration through a two-stage screening process that first identified unemployment insurance (UI) claimants who were permanently separated from their previous job and then selected the claimants who were mostly likely to exhaust their UI benefits. The evaluators then randomly assigned eligible claimants to one of three treatment groups—Structured Job Search Assistance, IJSA, or IJSA+—or to a comparison group. This review focuses on comparisons of the IJSA+ group to the comparison group in Washington, DC. Other reviews examine additional contrasts.
Assignment occurred from June 1995 to June 1996, and individuals were followed for 10 quarters.
The funder for the study was the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Unemployment Insurance Service.
UI claimants eligible for the demonstration in the District of Columbia were slightly more likely to be female (55 percent) than male (45 percent), and the majority of participants were Black (83 percent). At the start of the study, 15 percent of participants did not have a high school diploma. Before the study, 59 percent had been employed in clerical or sales occupations, and 62 percent had been employed in their previous job for fewer than three years.
Local UI offices oversaw service provision by local job service agencies. Economic Dislocation and Worker Adjustment Act staff enrolled individuals in training.
The program was developed for the demonstration.
UI claimants were required to participate in an orientation and a one-on-one assessment interview. During the interview, program staff developed a service plan to address the claimant's needs; the plan’s demonstration-specific services, such as aptitude and interest testing, job search workshops, or additional counseling, were mandatory. In addition, a special effort was made to enroll interested claimants in training through coordination with local Economic Dislocation and Worker Adjustment Act staff; however, very few individuals enrolled in a training program.
UI claimants were required to fulfill the usual requirements in the District of Columbia to continue receiving unemployment compensation benefits. They could receive any services available in the community.
All participants were required to receive services in order to remain eligible for UI.
On average, UI claimants completed service receipt 62 days after they began receiving UI benefits.
U.S. Department of Labor
Demonstration participants were selected randomly from among all eligible claimants in Washington, DC, and were served in a single office.
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