This report presents interim impact and implementation findings of seven transitional jobs programs from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Enhanced Transitional Jobs Demonstration. Two of the sites in that study — in Atlanta and San Francisco — are also a part of ACF’s Subsidized and Transitional Employment Demonstration. The two studies closely coordinated beyond the shared sites, including shared reports, common data collection instruments, and other ongoing collaboration.

The report shares early results in the areas of implementation, employment outcomes, recidivism, and child support payment.

Early results include:

• The Enhanced Transitional Jobs Demonstration programs were relatively well implemented.
• All but one of the programs generated large increases in employment in the early months of follow-up; however, these increases were mostly or entirely the result of the transitional jobs and faded as participants left those jobs.
• Two of the three programs targeting people recently released from prison appear to have reduced recidivism.
• Most programs increased payment of child support. (Author abstract)

Many employment and training programs for low-income individuals include a variety of services that aim to improve employment and earnings. Some also include strategies to address other needs, such as housing. ESER identified a primary strategy for each multi-strategy intervention that the review examined. Those identified include: education; training; work-readiness activities; subsidized employment/transitional jobs; employment retention services; case management; financial incentives or sanctions; supportive services; and health services. This guide from the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation describes the process for identifying a primary strategy.

This brief from the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation highlights 19 interventions identified by the Employment Strategies for Low-Income Adults Evidence Review (ESER) that featured work-readiness services as their chief employment or training strategy. The brief describes these interventions and their impact on employment.

This reporting guide from the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation recommends best practices for study authors on how to describe impact evaluations of employment programs. The guide includes recommendations for describing study characteristics, design and analysis, data, and sample tables.

This issue brief, published by Mathematica Policy Research, Social Policy Research Associates, and the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration, describes the business services provided by 28 randomly selected local Workforce Investment Boards (LWIBs). These LWIBs participated in the Workforce Investment Act Adult and Dislocated Worker Programs Gold Standard Evaluation. The study measured how LWIBs met local business needs.

The Employment and Training Administration recently released a report on the U.S. Department of Labor’s Pay for Success pilots. This Training and Employment Notice details the report and provides background on the pilots.

This video from the Annie E. Casey Foundation highlights Rural Integration Models for Parents and Children to Thrive (Rural IMPACT). Launched in 2015, this public-private partnership aims to combat poverty in ten rural and tribal communities around the country. The initiative provides technical assistance and a peer learning network to help these sites adopt a two-generation approach to address the needs of parents and children together.

This fact sheet and press release from the U.S. Department of Education highlights a joint commitment between the U.S. Departments of Education, Agriculture, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, and Treasury. The agencies are committed to aligning federal supports to promote college access and completion. These efforts will help many Americans break down barriers they face in accessing the knowledge and skills needed to get a well-paying job, support their families, and contribute to their communities.

The Administration for Children and Families has provided information to TANF agencies to clarify the appropriate application of 409(a)(7)(B)(i)(II)(aa) of the Social Security Act (the Act) and 45 CFR 263.5(b), commonly known as the “new spending test,” which limits a state’s ability to count state maintenance-of-effort (MOE) expenditures for certain programs that existed in fiscal year (FY) 1995 to the amount that exceeds the FY 1995 expenditures.

This article from Indian Country Today discusses how the science of epigenetics suggests that human genes can carry “memories” of trauma experienced by ancestors, and may influence how individuals react to their own trauma and stress. According to Lee Bitsoi, a Research Associate at Harvard University, “Native healers, medicine people, and elders have always known this and it is common knowledge in Native oral traditions.” The article describes the research being conducted on this topic and its implications for Native Americans.