- Log in to post comments
Parole officers referred potential participants to Pathways, and participants had to take two drug tests before being randomly assigned to the treatment or the control group. People were eligible if they were aged 18 or older; had been convicted of a crime as an adult under federal or state law; had not been convicted of a sex offense; had been released from prison in the past 120 days; did not have an associate's degree or higher, did not have a professional trade license; did not belong to a union; did not have an A+, Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert, Cisco Certified Network Associate, or Oracle certification; were drug-free; were able to read at a fifth-grade reading level; could physically work; could speak English; had not participated in a Doe Fund program in the past five years; did not receive more than $700 in Social Security benefits; and were not living in a shelter. A total of 1,005 people were randomly assigned to either the intervention group (504) or the comparison group (501).
Evaluators randomly assigned people into groups for the study from November 2011 to 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 Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
The study examined formerly incarcerated people. Most people were male (96 percent) and Black (69 percent) and were, on average, 35 years old. At the time the study began, 10 percent were married, 41 percent were noncustodial parents, and 35 percent did not have a high school diploma.
The Doe Fund (a nonprofit organization)
Pathways was a new program funded by the Enhanced Transitional Jobs Demonstration grant.
The Pathways program served formerly incarcerated people. Participants received one week of training and then were placed in a transitional job with a street-cleaning crew or in a kitchen for six weeks. The expectation during this time was that participants would spend three days per week at the transitional job and two days per week participating in job-readiness training, other workshops, and receiving case management. After the transitional job ended, participants were placed in a subsidized internship for eight weeks. If the internship did not lead to unsubsidized employment, participants received funding and job-search assistance while they searched for a job for six weeks. Participants also had access to computer training, financial literacy classes, and soft-skills training. There were also financial incentives for finding employment; for example, participants received $100 when they found an unsubsidized job and up to $1,000 if they were employed for 32 hours per week for five months.
Comparison group members could not participate in the Pathways program, but they received a list of alternative resources including 17 organizations such as the local American Job Centers. Comparison group members were not provided information about the Center for Employment Opportunities' transitional jobs program, which was similar to Pathways, but about one-third did enroll in that program.
Participants were required to attend some classes, or they would not be allowed to return to work.
Transitional jobs lasted either six or eight weeks, subsidized jobs lasted eight weeks, and the job-search stage lasted about six to nine weeks.
Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor
The program took place at a nonprofit in New York City, New York.
Criminal justice, Child support, Material hardship, Economic and personal well-being