
Introduction
Research Questions
- Six years after random assignment, what were the effects of VIDA on education outcomes?
- Six years after random assignment, what were the effects of VIDA on entry into career-track employment and higher earnings?
- Six years after random assignment, what were the effects of VIDA on individual and family well-being, including income and other life outcomes?
This report documents the impacts for the Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement program (VIDA) six years after random assignment. Established in 1995, VIDA is a nonprofit, community-based organization created through a partnership of faith-based leaders and the business community of the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas. VIDA supports training for unemployed and other low-income adults to obtain certificates and degrees that are expected to lead to jobs that pay well and are in demand locally. It is one of nine programs using elements of a career pathways framework that are being evaluated as part of the Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) project, sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
VIDA consists of five major program components:
- Required full-time enrollment in certificate programs, associate degree programs, or the final two years of bachelor’s degree programs.
- Weekly mandatory group and individual counseling sessions designed to identify and address barriers early, offer social support through staff and peer interactions, and provide workshops to help participants succeed in school and in the labor market.
- Financial support for tuition, books, and other needs.
- The “College Prep Academy,” a 16-week, accelerated, full-time basic skills (“bridge”) program for those who are not college ready, but who have 10th-grade skills levels or higher as demonstrated through math, reading, and writing assessments.
- Regular assessment of local labor markets, including consulting with local economic development corporations to learn about current and anticipated labor needs in the area.
The evaluation of VIDA used a rigorous experimental design. This report describes VIDA’s six-year impacts on educational attainment, earnings and employment, and other life outcomes. It extends the analyses of program effects measured two and three years after randomization.
Purpose
This research was undertaken to evaluate whether VIDA was successful in providing training to low-income, low-skilled adults and whether the program’s efforts led to impacts on credentials, earnings, and other life outcomes. VIDA provides substantial financial and personal supports to low-income students so they can complete college-level occupational programs that prepare them for well-paying jobs in demand in the region.
Key Findings and Highlights
Analyses in this report indicate that after six years, VIDA:
- Increased by 12 percentage points receipt of college credentials requiring at least eight months of full-time equivalent (FTE) college enrollment, the confirmatory outcome in the education domain. Sixty-six (66) percent of the treatment group received such a credential, compared to 55 percent of the control group.
- Had positive impacts on many other education measures. Compared to members of the control group, VIDA increased treatment group members receipt of an associate degree or higher (by 8 percentage points) and total FTE months of college enrollment (by 3 months).
- Had no detectable impact on average quarterly earnings in follow-up quarters 23 and 24, the confirmatory outcome in the employment domain. The average quarterly earnings for treatment group members were $8,409, compared to $8,337 for the control group.
- Had no detectable impact on most measures of job quality or economic wellbeing. VIDA did not have detectable impacts on hours worked or hourly wages, working in jobs above certain wage thresholds, working in jobs offering benefits, or receipt of promotions. Compared to the control group, VIDA reduced the financial distress scale for treatment group members by 0.22 points, and reduced receipt of means tested public benefits by nine percentage points. However, VIDA did not produce a detectable impact on household income, financial resilience, or self-assessed well-being.
Methods
To assess the effectiveness of VIDA, the PACE project used an experimental design in which program applicants were assigned at random to a treatment group that could access the program or to a control group that could not, then compared their outcomes. Between November 2011 and June 2014, a total of 958 program applicants were randomly assigned (478 to the treatment group and 480 to the control group). The six-year impact study used data from a follow-up survey conducted six years after randomization, earnings records from the National Directory of New Hires, and college enrollment data from the National Student Clearinghouse.
Citation
Rolston, Howard, and Douglas Walton. 2022. Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement (VIDA): Six-Year Impact Report. OPRE Report 2022-58. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Glossary
- ACF:
- Administration for Children and Families
- PACE:
- Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education
- TANF:
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families