SWFI Evaluation Overview And Update Molly Irwin & Christina Yancey Chief Evaluation Office U.S. Department of Labor Strengthening Working Families Initiative Grantee Convening – October 31, 2017

Why the Focus on Evidence Increased emphasis on evidence-based policymaking at all levels of government and in the private sector, for example: The President’s FY18 budget, “An effective and efficient Federal government requires evidence—evidence about where needs are greatest, what works and what does not work, where and how programs could be improved...” The Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking Evidence reviews and tiered-evidence funding initiatives Private philanthropic organizations calling for evaluation and the use of evidence Increased emphasis on learning and program improvement on the ground

Why the Focus on Evidence Plan Use Evaluation to Improve Implement Evaluate

What we know now Grantees based some programs on promising practices, such as direct employer relationships, work-based training, and career pathways, as well as on innovative practices, such as rapid, rigorous training strategies. SWFI is building new evidence on the programs, but also on the supportive and/or referral services and the systems linkages between workforce development and childcare.

How the SWFI evaluation will build evidence It will answer these questions: How did the programs both remove childcare barriers and address the individual job training needs of participants? What is the impact of the training programs on employment, earnings, and other outcomes? How were systems and partnerships built and maintained? By implementing the following design: Implementation study involving all SWFI programs Impact evaluation Random assignment with 2 grantees Quasi-experiment with all SWFI programs

Where you fit in As partners in building evidence about workforce programs and helping parents overcome barriers to access, so we can continue to improve the programs and outcomes for the people we serve.

Overview of Evaluation Activities Type of Information Target Date All Grantees DOL WIPS data, QPRs Quarterly Grantee web survey Sept 2018 Partner Information Form July 2018 Partner web survey Telephone interviews (Grantees and Partners at non-RCT sites) Feb 2019 Only RCT-Grantees Random assignment Beginning Jan-June 2018 Grantee site visits April 2018, Oct 2019 Participant surveys (6 & 18 months follow-up) July 2018 thru June 2020

Grantee Responsibilities Ongoing: Regularly update WIOA WIPS In 2018: Complete a grantee survey on the web Program context, partnerships, training strategies, supportive services, implementation successes and challenges, etc. In 2019: Participate in a telephone discussion to follow-up on survey responses In 2019: Provide contact information for key partners so the evaluation team can contact them for a survey

Evaluation Team Responsibilities Keep you informed and provide updates on the research progress. Provide technical support to ensure research is minimally burdensome. Share research findings in a wide array of formats (brief, key takeaways + technical reports) as soon as we can. Be available.

Contacts Molly Irwin, Ph.D., DOL Chief Evaluation Officer Irwin.Molly.E.@dol.gov Christina Yancey, Ph.D., DOL Evaluation Lead Yancey.Christina.L@dol.gov Joseph Gasper, Ph.D., Westat, Project Director, JosephGasper@westat.com