Effects of the Subsidized and Transitional Employment Demonstration on earnings after eight years (OPRE Report No. 2023-204) (Cummings, 2023)

Study Profile What's in a study profile?
Causal Study Rating:
High Causal Evidence
Study Type:
Causal Impact Analysis
Outcome Findings:
Earnings and wages: Mod/high-Favorable impacts
Citation
Cummings, D. (2023). Effects of the Subsidized and Transitional Employment Demonstration on earnings after eight years. (OPRE Report No. 2023-204). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation. [Los Angeles Traditional Transitional Jobs Program]

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Absence of conflict of interest.

Highlights

  • The study's objective was to examine the impact of the Subsidized and Transitional Employment Demonstration (STED) on earnings and wages in seven sites. This profile focuses on Los Angeles’ traditional transitional jobs program, the Paid Work Experience (PWE) program. The authors investigated similar research questions for other sites; profiles of those studies are available here:
  • The study was a randomized control trial that assigned 1,745 participants to either the PWE program or a control group. Using a baseline survey and administrative data from the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH), the author used a statistical model to compare the outcomes of treatment and control group members.
  • The study found treatment group participants had significantly higher annual earnings than control group participants in the first three years after study enrollment and significantly higher cumulative earnings over the eight-year follow-up period.
  • The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is high because it was based on a well-implemented randomized control trial. This means we are confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the PWE program, and not to other factors.

Intervention Examined

Transitional Subsidized Employment: Paid Work Experience

Features of the Intervention

The Los Angeles Department of Public Social Services has been implementing subsidized employment programs for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients since 2003. TANF recipients in Los Angeles County who fail to find employment after four weeks in a “job club” are eligible to participate in the Transitional Subsidized Employment: Paid Work Experience (PWE) program. PWE participants receive traditional transitional jobs in the form of a six-month fully subsidized placement in a non-profit or public-sector organization. PWE participants are paid a minimum wage by a Workforce Investment Board but do not go onto employer’s payrolls.

Features of the Study

The study was a randomized control trial conducted in Los Angeles, California to examine the impact of the PWE program. Of the 1,745 participants enrolled in the study, 874 were randomly assigned to the PWE program (the treatment group) and 871 to the control group that had access to other services offered to TANF recipients. Across all study participants, more than half were Hispanic (55 percent), 32 percent were Black, and 7 percent were White. Nearly two in five did not have a high school diploma (39 percent). The study relied on multiple data sources for analysis, including a baseline survey at study enrollment and quarterly earnings and unemployment insurance data from the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH). The author used a statistical model to compare the outcomes of treatment and control group members.

Findings

Earnings and wages

  • The study found that treatment group participants earned significantly more annually than the control group ($4,440 more) in the first three years after study enrollment.
  • The study did not find statistically significant differences in annual earnings between the treatment group and the control group in years four to eight after study enrollment.
  • The study found that treatment group participants had significantly higher cumulative earnings than control group participants ($10,747 more) over the eight-year follow-up period.

Causal Evidence Rating

The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is high because it was based on a well-implemented randomized control trial. This means we are confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the PWE program, and not to other factors.

Additional Sources

Glosser, A., Barden, B., Williams, S., & Anderson, C. (2016). Testing two subsidized employment approaches for recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families: Implementation and early impacts of the Los Angeles County Transitional Subsidized Employment Program. (OPRE Report No. 2016-77). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation.
Reviewed by CLEAR: June 2026

Topic Area

Registered Apprenticeship and Work-Based Learning

Low-Income Adults

Research Guidelines

Review Protocol: Living Systematic Annual Search and Review Protocol

Review Guidelines: Causal Evidence Guidelines