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Unemployed workers with low skills who were interested in health care careers were enrolled in the program. Participants enrolled between January 2010 and February 2012. Workers who were employed at enrollment were excluded from the study. Using propensity score matching, evaluators found a comparison group of similar unemployed workers who were located in the same area and pursued state employment and training services during the same period. Job seekers in the two study conditions were matched on employment history, socioeconomic characteristics, and demographics, such as gender, age, and education. The program enrolled 306 unemployed individuals, 19 of whom were excluded because they did not have a match in the comparison group, leaving 287 participants in the intervention group. Of the possible 35,482 comparison group members, 8,666 were matched with the intervention group participants to form the comparison group. The matching of the intervention group participants to comparison group participants was not one-to-one, as indicated by the large difference in the size of the groups.
Participants enrolled from January 2010 to February 2012. Their outcomes were analyzed through the end of 2012.
A National Fund for Workforce Solutions grant from the Social Innovation Fund funded the study.
The majority of the full sample were female (94 percent) and Black (78 percent). About 40 percent were younger than age 25, and another 34 percent were between ages 25 and 34. All study participants in both the intervention and the comparison groups were unemployed at the time of program entry.
The Milwaukee Area Healthcare Alliance, a regional partnership led by YWCA of Greater Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Area Health Education Center, the Milwaukee Area Technical College, and the Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board.
The program was established in 2009.
Unemployed workers interested in mid-level health care careers could receive occupational training focused on mid-level health care jobs. In addition, the program offered on-the-job training and job search assistance.
Unemployed workers in the comparison group could receive state employment and training services from the Wisconsin employment exchange agency. These services were not necessarily specific to the health care or any other field.
None
The study does not specify the duration of service receipt.
The program was funded through a National Fund for Workforce Solutions grant from the Social Innovation Fund, in addition to other public and private sources.
Milwaukee, WI