2013-2020
The Job Search Assistance (JSA) Strategies Evaluation features a multi-site, random assignment evaluation to measure the relative impact of specific job search services offered by TANF programs on short-term labor market outcomes such as earnings and time to employment. The evaluation, led by Abt Associates and its partner Mathematica Policy Research, aims to achieve two goals. First, ACF intends for this evaluation to provide information about the relative impacts of various JSA services and the manner in which agencies provide them. A second goal for this evaluation is to provide actionable and policy-relevant feedback to the TANF field, including federal TANF policymakers, state and local TANF administrators, and frontline caseworkers.
The project team identified three sites to be included in both the implementation and impact studies (Genesee and Wayne County, MI; New York, NY; and Sacramento County, CA), and two with an implementation study only (Ramsey County, MN and Westchester County, NY). In addition to administrative data, the study will also include a survey of participants to capture information on intensity and duration of JSA services, how participants found their current job, attitudes and motivations around job search, and barriers to employment. The participant follow-up survey is complete and data analysis is currently ongoing. Site-specific reports will be available on a rolling basis through 2020.
Point(s) of contact: Girley Wright and Lauren Deutsch.