Study Details | Pathways to Work

26712.06-Study of Milwaukee A

Study quality: Low

Low

Reason for the rating: This study received a low study quality rating because it is a quasi-experimental design that does not demonstrate that the intervention and comparison groups were sufficiently similar before the intervention.

Intervention: Milwaukee Area Healthcare Alliance

Population and employment barriers:

Employment status (Unemployed)

Services provided:

Job search assistance, Occupational or sectoral training, On-the-job training

Setting: Tested in multiple settings

Study design

Design:

Quasi-experimental design

Study group formation:

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.

Time period of study:

Participants enrolled from January 2010 to February 2012. Their outcomes were analyzed through the end of 2012.

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

Sample characteristics

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.

Age

Young adults	39%
Adults (age 25+)	61%
Older adults (age 50+)	11%

Sex

Female	94%
Male	6%

Participant race and ethnicity

Black or African American	74%
White	6%
Hispanic or Latino of any race	5%
Unknown, not reported, or other	12%

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.

Participant employment and public benefit status

Were unemployed

100%

Intervention implementation

Implementing organization:

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.

Intervention services:

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.

Mandatory services:

None

Comparison services:

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.

Study publications

Michaelides, Marios, Peter Mueser, Scott Davis, and Kassim Mbwana (2016). Quasi-Experimental Impact Study of NFWS/SIF Workforce Partnership Programs: Evidence on the Effectiveness of Workforce Partnership Programs in Ohio and Wisconsin. Columbia, MD: IMPAQ International, LLC. Available at https://americorps.gov/sites/default/files/evidenceexchange/JFF_Final%20Report_3.10.17_1.pdf.

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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 Milwaukee Area Healthcare Alliance