Overview

Some adults have great difficulty finding and holding jobs even when overall economic conditions are good. These individuals typically have low levels of formal education and skills and other characteristics, such as criminal records, that place them at the back of the queue for job openings. Many programs have been developed to assist these job seekers, but few have demonstrated sustained success. One such model, “transitional jobs,” offers temporary jobs, subsidized with public funds, that aim to teach participants basic work skills or help them get a foot in the door with an employer. Several transitional jobs programs have been evaluated, with mixed results. The Enhanced Transitional Jobs Demonstration (ETJD), sponsored by the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) in the U.S. Department of Labor, was designed to fund and rigorously test employment programs targeting noncustodial parents and individuals recently released from prison. MDRC led the evaluation, along with its partners, Abt Associates and MEF Associates. The project was built on recent studies of transitional jobs programs, which had shown mixed results. Thus, programs funded in the ETJD project included specific enhancements designed to yield stronger results. MDRC also conducted the Subsidized and Transitional Employment Demonstration, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which focused on programs serving parents who were directly or indirectly connected to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.