Six to seven weeks after submitting a UI claim, participants were required to report to a job service orientation session. After orientation, they completed a one-on-one assessment of their aptitude and interests and participated in a 15-hour job-search workshop. Participants were required to have at least two additional contacts with staff after these initial activities to report on their job search progress.

Moving Up participants received case management and additional services aligned to their individual needs. These additional services included pre- or post-employment services, career counseling, job-search help, education and training, and child care and transportation assistance. Moving Up provided incentives when participants achieved employment, education, or training milestones. The number of services participants received and the length of participation varied based on participants’ particular circumstances.

Work Plus allowed newly employed Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients to reduce work participation (to 20 hours per week) in order to pursue education and training opportunities. This evaluation directly compared Work Plus to a separate intervention, the Training Focused Program, to better understand which of the two interventions might be more effective.

To continue to receive benefits, TANF participants were required to engage in employment-related activities for 32 hours per week. Program staff allowed TANF participants in the Training Focused intervention to decrease work hours per week to zero hours to pursue education and training activities, with the philosophy that eliminating the requirement to engage in work would allow participants to access the most useful education and training programs.

Participants received a medical evaluation and were assigned to PRIDE if they were deemed not healthy enough to participate in standard welfare-to-work programs, but too healthy to claim federal disability benefits. After an initial assessment by PRIDE staff, a participant was assigned to either a work-based education (WBE) or vocational rehabilitation (VR) track. The WBE track consisted of three days of unpaid work experience and two days of classroom-based adult basic education per week for a total of 35 hours of WBE activities per week over six months.

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

The program, operated by Instituto del Progreso Latino, offered tuition-free instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL) with a focus on language skills for the health care industry and two 16-week courses designed to (1) improve reading and math skills to prepare participants for an LPN program and (2) develop basic vocational skills for the health care industry. The program also helped participants apply to CNA and LPN courses at local colleges, including assistance in applying for financial aid.

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.

At the time this evaluation occurred, two Transitional Subsidized Employment programs were active in Los Angeles County: PWE and an on-the-job (OJT) training program. PWE placed each participant in a fully subsidized, six-month position at a public-sector or nonprofit organization, where they were paid minimum wage by the local Workforce Investment Board.