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)

This video from the 2016 Research and Evaluation Conference on Self-Sufficiency contains a breakout session focusing on disconnected families--those in which adults are neither working nor receiving cash assistance. Panelists discussed the characteristics and circumstances of these families and barriers they face to self-sufficiency.

This technical assistance circular (TAC) from the Rehabilitation Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Education sets forth the vision for the Vocational Rehabilitation program as a partner in the workforce development system. The TAC describes a framework to support implementation activities that help workers with disabilities acquire the skills and credentials needed to pursue in-demand jobs and obtain competitive integrated employment.

This report, released by the Workforce Data Quality Campaign, assesses the current landscape of employment data. It proposes technical enhancements to help agencies and institutions more effectively collect and share information, and provides policy recommendations to better inform students and other key stakeholders.

This resource guide from Jobs for the Future presents working models of successful employer engagement to help education and training providers secure and sustain strategic, long-term, and intensive partnerships with employers. It provides step-by-step tips for practitioners who provide workforce, career, and technical and adult education services.

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, this guide features a collection of resources for TANF administrators and other practitioners on career exploration and assessment, career pathways and sector strategies, and labor market information. These resources may be helpful for those working with TANF recipients and low-income families in connecting their clients to jobs with wages that support self-sufficiency. There are four types of resources included in the guide: 

• Research Studies
• Technical Assistance Resources
• Client Assessments
• Data Sets Related To Education And Employment. (author abstract)

This study, completed by the Aspen Institute Workforce Strategies Initiative in 2015, explores whether individuals who obtain credentials work more and earn more over time than they would without such credentials. The study is the first to estimate the causal impact on earnings from obtaining a credential for low-income job seekers.