AFDC recipients first participated in an assessment to identify barriers to employment success. After receiving counseling from their case managers, participants chose from a set of employment, remedial education, postsecondary education, vocational training, and supported work experience programs that best fit their needs and interests.
Transition WORKS participants completed an initial assessment and then participated in two person-centered workshops focused on self-determination (referred to as "self-determination workshops") in which they set goals and began to plan for their transition to employment.
BHBF was based on the framework developed for the Youth Transition Demonstration funded by the SSA, which focused on making youth with disabilities as economically self-sufficient as possible during their transition to adulthood. BHBF participants met regularly with the community employment development specialists (CEDS), who helped develop and oversee a PCP process, consisting of exercises that helped participants identify their goals in education, emplo
VIDA supported full-time enrollment in educational programs, including certificate programs, associate’s degree programs, or the last two years of coursework to receive a bachelor’s degree related to occupations that pay a living wage and are in high demand in the program’s local area. Participants received intensive, mandatory weekly counseling services focused on developing life skills, such as time management and budgeting, as well as skills to support success in participants’ education programs.
After two days of initial skills assessment, Good Transitions participants were placed in a subsidized job at Goodwill Industries stores. An on-site job coach provided feedback and support while program staff provided case management and job development services. After one month at the Goodwill position, Good Transitions placed participants in a new position, with less on-site support and coaching than the Goodwill position, for about three months.
Urban Alliance’s high school internship program consisted of pre-work training that lasted three to six weeks; an internship program paired with continuous soft-skills training throughout the school year; and post-internship services, which connected alumni to continuing services and potential summer internship opportunities. The pre-work training provided general job and soft skills training for three to six weeks at the start of the school year, after which participants began their paid internships.
YouthBuild programs provided four main categories of services: (1) a combination of educational services designed to lead to a high school diploma or an equivalent credential such as a GED; (2) vocational training in construction or another in-demand industry; (3) youth development services focused on leadership training and community service; and (4) supportive services to help individuals participate in training and employment, including case management, workforce preparation, life skills training, counseling, and stipends for participation.
Community-based organizations (more than 25 as of the time the evaluation was published) offer STRIVE. Participants first attended a job-readiness training that covered interview techniques and helped develop participants’ soft skills, including the attitudes and behaviors necessary to be successful in the workplace. Participants who had been released from jail or prison within the last 24 hours (or within the last 72 hours if released on a Friday or traveling a significant distance) received housing.
The BNF program provided customized, interactive life-skills education, mentoring, and service coordination through home visits. BNF participants received weekly or biweekly home visits during which master’s-level educators (with small caseloads of 12 to 18 clients) delivered curricula designed to improve life skills and family management practices.
Cleveland ERA, also referred to as Achieve, delivered services directly in the workplace to low-wage workers.
