Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

This paper will describe the final (30-month) impacts of the 7 programs in the Enhanced Transitional Jobs Demonstration, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor. Each of the programs received approximately $6 million from DOL to operate a transitional jobs program for either ex-offenders or low-income noncustodial parents who owe child support. Each program enrolled 1000 people into the evaluation. These individuals were assigned at random to a program group that was offered a temporary subsidized job and other services, or to a control group that was not offered services from the ETJD program, but could seek out other services in the community. The evaluation tracked both groups for 30 months using surveys and administrative records to measure program impacts on employment, criminal justice, and child support, and other outcomes. An earlier report described the implementation of the programs and their impacts through the first 12 months of the follow up period. All of the programs generated large impacts on employment initially but these impacts were mostly driven by the transitional jobs themselves, and it was uncertain whether the impacts would persist after the program period ended. The current proposed paper will answer that question.

ETJD is of great significance nationally, as various forms of subsidized employment have continued to be the subject of policy discussions around low rates of employment and labor force participation for specific hard-to-employ groups.