3354-Parents to Work!

Eligible noncustodial parents (NCP) were randomly assigned to Parents to Work! or a comparison group. To be eligible for random assignment, NCPs had to be underemployed, employed part time, employed seasonally, or employed at less than a living wage; not be a full-time student; not currently receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families; be without physical or mental disabilities that would affect employment; and be free from substance abuse problems that would hinder employment. The intake methods included referrals from child support enforcement officers and courts, walk-in referrals, referrals from establishment workers, criminal justice referrals, referrals based on an ad hoc report from an administrative child support enforcement database, and other methods. The probability of random assignment varied by intake method. The authors wrote, “As a result, a disproportionate number of comparison group cases were drawn from the ad hoc report. This allowed a greater percentage of cases that were referred by workers and the court to be assigned to the treatment [intervention] group. This helped gain support for the program.” The implication is that the authors deliberately created a random assignment process in which individuals referred by workers and the court had a greater probability of assignment to the intervention group and that those drawn from an ad hoc report had a lower probability of assignment to the intervention group.