Study Details | Pathways to Work

101004-Study of Career STRE

Study quality: High

High

Reason for the rating: This study received a high study quality rating because it is a low-attrition randomized controlled trial with no known issues that suggest the findings cannot be attributed to the intervention.

Intervention: Career STREAMS

Population and employment barriers:

Educational attainment (At least a high school diploma or equivalent)

Services provided:

Case management, Financial education, Job development, Job readiness, Performance- or behavior-based financial incentives, Transportation assistance

Setting: Urban only

Study design

Design:

Randomized controlled trial

Study group formation:

Individuals seeking employment services from the Family and Workforce Centers of America (FWCA) in St. Louis, Missouri first attended an in-take appointment during which an in-take specialist provided information on FWCA ‘s employment programs and the Career STREAMS study. Individuals interested in participating in the study provided verbal consent and completed a baseline survey and were then randomly assigned to either the intervention or comparison group. A total of 908 individuals were randomized, with 455 assigned to the intervention group and 453 to the control group.

Time period of study:

The study's participants were enrolled from August 2016 to December 2018 and were followed for one year.

Primary outcome domains examined:

Increase short-term earnings, Increase long-term earnings, Increase short-term employment

Other outcome domains examined:

Relationship skills, relationship attitudes, intimate partner violence, relationship experiences, better off financially now, and economic hardship.

Study funded by:

Contract Number: HHSP233201500095G from Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Results

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Outcome domain	Measure	Timing	Study quality by finding	Comparison group mean	Intervention group mean	Impact	Units	Sample size
Increase short-term earnings	Monthly earnings across one year	1 to 4 quarters	High	676.00	676.00		2019 Dollars	724
Increase long-term earnings	Monthly earnings across two years	1 to 8 quarters	High	799.00	803.00	3.00	2020 Dollars	724
Increase short-term employment	Currently employed	One-year followup	High	76.00	76.00		percentage points	641
Increase short-term employment	Currently employed	One-year follow-up survey	High	76.00	76.00		percentage points	641
Increase short-term employment	Ever employed, annual	1 to 4 quarters	High	92.00	89.00	-3.00	percentage points	724
Increase short-term employment	Number of quarters employed since random assignment		High	2.96	2.87	-0.09	Count	724

Short-term outcomes are those measured 18 months or fewer after participants are first offered services. Long-term outcomes are those measured between 18 months and 5 years after participants are first offered services. Very long-term outcomes are those measured 5 years or more after participants are first offered services.

Findings quality key:

High
Moderate

Study quality terms?

The findings quality describe our confidence that a given study’s finding is because of the intervention. We do not display findings that rate low.

Findings key:

A moderate-to-large favorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A moderate-to-large favorable finding that might to be due to chance
A small favorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A small favorable finding that might be due to chance
A favorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
A favorable finding that might be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
A moderate-to-large unfavorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A moderate-to-large unfavorable finding that might to be due to chance
A small unfavorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A small unfavorable finding that might be due to chance
An unfavorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
An unfavorable finding that might be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
A finding that is unlikely to be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size or direction
A finding of no effect that might be due to chance

Favorable findings are impacts in a direction that is socially desirable. Statistical significance indicates the likelihood that a study finding is due to the intervention, rather than due to chance. Findings are described as moderate-to-large if the intervention produced a sufficiently large change in the outcome. An impact receives this designation if the standardized effect size is equal to or greater than 0.25 or equal to or less than -0.25.

Sample characteristics

The study targeted young adults seeking employment services. The majority of study participants were female (63 percent) and most (93 percent) were Black, non-Hispanic. Some 81 percent had at least a high school diploma, and 80 percent were actively looking for work. Two-thirds relied on public assistance (60 percent), and 49 percent had at least one child.

Age

Mean age

24 years

Sex

Female	63%
Male	37%

Participant race and ethnicity

Black or African American	93%
Another race	7%

The race and ethnicity categories may sum to more than 100 percent if the authors reported race and ethnicity separately; in these cases, we report the category White, rather than White, not Hispanic.

Family status

Parents

49%

Participant employment and public benefit status

Were employed	57%
Were unemployed	43%
Public benefits recipients	60%

Participant education

Had a high school diploma or GED	81%
Did not have a high school diploma or GED	19%

Specific employment barriers

Were involved with the justice system

17%

Intervention implementation

Implementing organization:

Family and Workforce Centers of America

Program history:

The program was launched in 2015.

Intervention services:

The Career STREAMS program offered an enhanced employment training program integrated with education on healthy relationships and finance literacy. Career STREAMS group members also received individualized employment case management and job development services.

Mandatory services:

None

Comparison services:

Control group members received the traditional employment training program offered by the Family and Workforce Centers of America (FWCA), and individualized employment case management and job development services.

Service receipt duration:

Career STREAMS participants were expected to participate in a two-week workshop. Following the two-week workshop, participants were expected to attend five, one-hour booster sessions. In addition, they were eligible to receive employment case management for up to one year.

Intervention funding:

Office of Family Assistance within the Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Study publications

Goesling, Brian, and Robert G. Wood (2023). Integrating healthy marriage and relationship education with economic stability services: Findings from two programs. OPRE Report No. 2023-12. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Goesling, Brian, Max Gross, and Julieta Lugo-Gil (2022). Integrating Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education into an Employment Training Program: The Impacts of Career STREAMS. OPRE Report No. 2022-162, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Gross, Max, Brian Goesling, and Julieta Lugo-Gil (2023). Integrating healthy marriage and relationship education into an employment program. Family Relations, 72(4), 1405-1421. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12866

View the glossary for more information about these and other terms used on this page.

The Pathways Clearinghouse refers to interventions by the names used in study reports or manuscripts. Some intervention names may use language that is not consistent with our style guide, preferences, or the terminology we use to describe populations.

Study of Career STREAMS