Study Details | Pathways to Work

3153.03-Study of Opportuniti

Study quality: Low

Low

Reason for the rating: This study received a low study quality rating because it is a high-attrition randomized controlled trial that does not demonstrate that the intervention and comparison groups were sufficiently similar before the intervention.

Intervention: Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC) Minority Female Single Parent (MFSP) Program

Population and employment barriers:

Parenting (Parents, Single parents), Public Benefits Recipients (Cash assistance recipients, Public benefits recipients)

Services provided:

Basic skills/bridge programs, Case management, Job readiness, Job search assistance

Setting: Urban only

Study design

Design:

Randomized controlled trial

Study group formation:

This study is a randomized controlled trial. The Minority Female Single Parent (MFSP) evaluation took place in four community-based organizations across the United States. This review focuses on the program operated by the OIC in Providence, RI. Between November 1984 and December 1987, the study randomly assigned low-income, minority single mothers to the intervention condition—in which study members were offered the opportunity to participate in the program—or to the comparison group—in which study members were ineligible to participate in the MFSP program but could seek training programs or support services elsewhere. Participants did not need to be collecting welfare (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) payments in order to be eligible. The OIC randomized sample included 663 participants, the 12-month follow-up analysis sample included 597 participants, and the 30-month follow-up analysis sample included 509 participants. The timing of the surveys is with respect to sample members’ application to receive services. Information on the time between application and random assignment or service receipt is not available.

Time period of study:

Enrollment occurred between 1982 and 1987. Individuals were followed for 30 months.

Pathways only reports results from studies with a study quality rating of high or moderate.

Sample characteristics

Participants enrolled in the study were single-parent, female minorities. On average, intervention-group respondents to the 30-month survey were 27 years old at baseline; about 68 percent were African American, and 24 percent were Hispanic. Less than half of these participants had received a high school diploma (39 percent), about 16 percent had a GED, and most participants (84 percent) reported receiving public assistance in the year before the baseline survey.

Age

Mean age

27 years

Sex

Female

100%

Participant race and ethnicity

Black or African American	60%
Hispanic or Latino of any race	29%

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	100%
Single parents	100%

Participant employment and public benefit status

Public benefits recipients	85%
Cash assistance recipients	85%

Participant education

Had a high school diploma or GED	44%
Did not have a high school diploma or GED	56%

Intervention implementation

Implementing organization:

Opportunities Industrialization Center

Intervention services:

The MFSP program implemented by the OIC prioritized helping participants meet academic standards. The OIC emphasized completing high school or attaining a GED before any skills training; the organization implemented standardized testing to assess clients’ academic skill levels and provided remedial education. The OIC supported occupational skills training after clients had overcome any academic barriers. For instance, it offered skills training for those who had attained at least a GED, provided by other divisions within the OIC or outside organizations. The OIC also provided in-house counseling services and arranged or provided subsidized child care services.

Mandatory services:

None

Comparison services:

Comparison group participants were able to obtain services available in the community but did not receive specific referrals or support from the OIC for 30 months.

Study publications

Burghardt, John, and Anne Gordon (1990). The Minority Female Single Parent demonstration: More jobs and higher pay—how an integrated program compares with traditional programs, New York: The Rockefeller Foundation.

Burghardt, John, Anu Rangarajan, Anne Gordon, and Ellen Kisker (1992). Evaluation of the Minority Female Single Parent demonstration: Volume I—Summary report, Princeton, NJ: Mathematica Policy Research. Available at https://www.mathematica.org/our-publications-and-findings/publications/evaluation-of-the-minority-female-single-parent-demonstration-volume-i.

Gordon, Anne, and John Burghardt (1990). The Minority Female Single Parent demonstration: Report on short-term economic impacts, Princeton, NJ: Mathematica Policy Research.

Kerrachsky, Stuart (1994). The Minority Female Single Parent demonstration: Making a difference—does an integrated program model promote more jobs and higher pay?, Princeton, NJ: Mathematica Policy Research.

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.

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Study of Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC) Minority Female Single Parent (MFSP) Program