Introduction
Research Questions
- Do the coaching programs improve the outcomes of adults with low incomes after 9 to 12 months?
- Do the coaching programs affect participants’ intermediate outcomes related to goal pursuit and other skills associated with labor market success?
- Do the coaching programs affect participants’ employment and economic security outcomes?
- Are the coaching programs more effective for some groups of participants than others?
These four program impact briefs present short-term impact findings for each of the four employment coaching programs participating in an experimental study conducted as part of the Evaluation of Employment Coaching for TANF and Related Populations. The briefs present estimates of impacts of coaching on participants’ self-regulation skills, employment, earnings, self-sufficiency, and other measures of personal and family well-being at 9 or 12 months (depending on the program) after study enrollment. The programs participating in the evaluation are:
- Family Development and Self-Sufficiency (FaDSS), which serves TANF recipients and their family members in Iowa. The FaDSS impact brief is available at this link. (PDF)
- Goal4 It!TM, which provides employment coaching to TANF recipients in Jefferson County, Colorado in lieu of traditional case management. The Goal4 It! impact brief is available at this link. (PDF)
- LIFT, which is a voluntary coaching program operated in four U.S. cities. The LIFT impact brief is available at this link. (PDF)
- MyGoals for Employment Success (MyGoals), which served recipients of housing assistance in Baltimore, Maryland and Houston, Texas. The MyGoals impact brief is available at this link. (PDF)
Findings for all four programs are available in the main impact report. Future reports will present longer-term findings on the programs’ impacts at approximately two years after study enrollment and again for some programs at four to six years after study enrollment, when most participants will have completed their coaching.
Purpose
Research suggests that the stresses and uncertainty of poverty can be overwhelming, leaving less mental bandwidth for effective development and use of self-regulation skills, including those that are critical in finding and maintaining employment. Examples of self-regulation skills relevant to employment include: the persistence needed to keep at a task despite setbacks; the time management skills that make it possible to consistently show up to work on time; and the emotional understanding and regulation to deal productively with co-workers. Research suggests that coaching can promote self-regulation skills and hence may be a way to help adults with low incomes become economically secure. For this reason, some Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and other employment programs that serve adults with low incomes have been implementing employment coaching.
The purpose of this study is to examine whether coaching is effective in improving participants’ goal pursuit and other self-regulation skills, employment, earnings, self-sufficiency, and other measures of personal and family well-being. These program impact briefs are intended to inform interested policymakers, practitioners, researchers, and other stakeholders about the effectiveness of the four employment coaching programs participating in the evaluation.
Key Findings and Highlights
We found that, at 9 or 12 months (depending on the program) after study enrollment:
- FaDSS improved program participants’ goal-setting and attainment. The program likely had a small, positive effect on self-reported earnings, but the impact was not statistically significant. FaDSS did not have an effect on earnings in the type of jobs reported to the state unemployment agency. FaDSS reduced economic hardship.
- Goal4 It! did not improve goal-setting and attainment skills. The program likely had a small, positive effect on self-reported earnings, but the impact was not statistically significant. Goal4 It! did not have an effect on earnings in jobs reported to the state unemployment agency. Goal4 It! did not reduce economic hardship.
- LIFT did not improve goal-setting and attainment skills. The program likely had no impact on self-reported earnings. LIFT did not reduce economic hardship.
- MyGoals improved goal-setting and attainment skills. The program likely had a small, positive effect on self-reported earnings, but the impact was not statistically significant. MyGoals had a small, negative impact on earnings in the type of jobs reported to the state unemployment agency. MyGoals did not impact economic hardship.
Methods
The short-term impact findings are based on comparisons of outcomes of study participants randomly assigned to either a program group that had access to employment coaching or a control group that did not. Outcomes are from the 9 or 12 months after study enrollment and collected through surveys, administrative employment and Unemployment Insurance records from the National Directory of New Hires, and records from public service agencies. At the time of the survey, many participants were still receiving coaching.
Citation
Quinn Moore, Tim Kautz, Sheena McConnell, Ankita Patnaik, Owen Schochet, and April Wu (2023) “An employment coaching program using home visiting showed promise in improving TANF participants’ outcomes: Impacts of FaDSS at 9 months” OPRE Report #2023-168. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Quinn Moore, Tim Kautz, Sheena McConnell, Ankita Patnaik, Owen Schochet, and April Wu (2023) “TANF participants who were offered employment coaching and those offered traditional case management had similar short-term outcomes: Impacts of Goal4 It! at 9 months” OPRE Report #2023-165. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Quinn Moore, Tim Kautz, Sheena McConnell, Ankita Patnaik, Owen Schochet, and April Wu (2023) “An employment coaching program for parents of young children has limited effects in the short-term: Impacts of LIFT at 9 months” OPRE Report #2023-167. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Quinn Moore, Tim Kautz, Sheena McConnell, Ankita Patnaik, Owen Schochet, and April Wu (2023) “An employment coaching program serving adults receiving housing assistance showed promise in improving outcomes: Impacts of MyGoals at 12 months ” OPRE Report #2023-166. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Related Documents
Can a Participant-Centered Approach to Setting and Pursuing Goals Help Adults with Low Incomes Become Economically Stable? Short-Term Impacts of Four Employment Coaching Programs
Files
- PDF Impacts of Goal4 It!™ at 9 months (267.34 KB)
- PDF Impacts of MyGoals at 12 months (262.65 KB)
- PDF Impacts of LIFT at 9 months (385.91 KB)
- PDF Impacts of FaDSS at 9 months (238.95 KB)