The TransitionsSF program, which took place in San Francisco, CA, served unemployed and underemployed noncustodial parents. TransitionsSF included three stages. The first stage, which typically lasted three months, was a pre-transitional job period, during which participants took assessments to determine whether they required substance abuse services, mental health services, or other services. This stage also included individualized job-readiness training that helped participants develop their soft skills. In the second stage, participants were placed in subsidized transitional jobs for three months. In the third stage, program staff helped participants for a year either with job searching if the participant had not yet found an unsubsidized job or with retention and advancement if they had found a job. During each stage, participants received case management services. Participants also received incentives related to financial and child support to continue participating in the program. In total, participants received services for about a year and a half.
The evaluation of TransitionsSF was part of the Enhanced Transitional Jobs Demonstration (ETJD) evaluation, which also tested similar subsidized employment interventions in Atlanta, GA (Good Transitions); Milwaukee, WI (Supporting Families Through Work); Syracuse, NY (Parent Success Initiative); Fort Worth, TX (Next STEP); Indianapolis, IN (RecycleForce); and New York, NY (Ready, Willing & Able Pathways2Work).
TransitionsSF supported unemployed and underemployed noncustodial parents in finding and maintaining work with the goal of improving participants’ employment outcomes and ability to pay for child support.