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Individuals were eligible if they were noncustodial parents with active child support or arrears-only orders in New York, were 18 or older, were low income, were registered with Selective Service (for males), were unemployed, and were hard to employ. To be considered hard to employ, individuals had to not have a high school diploma or equivalent, not have full-time continuous employment for 4 or more quarters, have a criminal history, and have spent at least 60 days job searching, or have been released from prison or jail within the past 60 days. Potential participants came from walk-ins to the Center for Community Alternatives or were referred by one of several partners, including Family Court, the Onondaga County Bureau of Child Support, and Greater Syracuse Works partner agencies such as JOBSPlus!, the New York State Division of Parole, and the Onondaga County Probation Department. To reach their target recruitment number, evaluators also recruited noncustodial parents through television ads and offered incentives (gift cards) to participants who made referrals. Potential participants were screened for eligibility and were then invited to an orientation session. Eligible participants were randomly assigned to either the Parent Success Initiative (PSI) program or a comparison group. A total of 1,004 people were randomly assigned to either the intervention group (506) or the comparison group (498).
Evaluators randomly assigned people into groups for the study between November 2011 and December 2013. The study reports impacts up to 30 months after random assignment.
Employment and Training Administration in the U.S. Department of Labor and ACF
The study examined unemployed and hard-to-employ noncustodial parents. The majority were male (94 percent) and Black (78 percent), and participants had an average age of 35 years. At the time the study began, 8 percent were married, 44 percent had formerly been incarcerated, 9 percent were homeless, and 36 percent did not have a high school diploma.
Center for Community Alternatives
PSI launched in 2000 and was initially funded by a Welfare-to-Work grant from the Department of Labor. As part of this evaluation, PSI added transitional jobs.
The PSI served low-income, noncustodial parents. Participants first attended the Learning Expectations and Developing Employment Readiness Skills (LEADERS) job-readiness course for two weeks. In addition to providing information about the program services and expectations, LEADERS included conflict resolution, work readiness, mock interviews, and help with resume preparation. LEADERS was intended to prepare participants for the National Work Readiness assessment. After completing LEADERS, participants were placed in transitional jobs with either a nonprofit or a public-sector organization. Participants worked at their transitional job for six hours per day for four days per week, earning minimum wage. Transitional jobs were intended to help participants develop general employment skills. Participants could also access several other program services. Throughout their participation in the program, participants met with a case manager. Case managers were expected to have weekly meetings with participants and to meet with them once or twice per month after transitional employment, until the participant was employed for 90 days in an unsubsidized job. While in transitional employment, participants who hadn't taken a similar course were enrolled in parenting education, which helped them develop parenting skills and general communication skills. Participants could receive employment assistance during and after the transitional job, including job development. They could access high school equivalency services and occupational training and received legal assistance, particularly with child support issues. Participants with criminal histories received support addressing barriers unique to that population. After the completing the transitional job, participants could receive financial literacy training and financial incentives to remain in unsubsidized employment.
Comparison group members could not participate in the grant-funded transitional jobs or other aspects of the demonstration, but they could receive services from other providers.
None.
Most participants could only hold transitional jobs for a maximum of four months. Participants could receive some services after their transitional employment for an unspecified amount of time.
Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor
The program took place at a community-based nonprofit organization in Syracuse, NY.
Child support and family relations, Material hardship, Criminal justice, Economic and personal well-being