Building Evidence on Employment Strategies (BEES): IPS TANF/SNAP

Last registered on October 31, 2022

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Building Evidence on Employment Strategies (BEES): IPS TANF/SNAP
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0010306
Initial registration date
October 24, 2022

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
October 31, 2022, 3:32 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2022-07-05
End date
2026-06-01
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
MDRC, in partnership with Abt Associates and MEF Associates, is conducting an evaluation of Individual Placement and Support (IPS) employment services among Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients and SNAP Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs). The evaluation is part of a broader study called Building Evidence on Employment Strategies (BEES). BEES is funded by the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation within the Administration for Children and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Three sites in Washington State have been selected for this study: Compass Career Solutions, serving Spokane County, CORE Health, serving Cowlitz County and Lewis County, and Sunrise Services, serving Snohomish County.

Broadly, IPS is an evidence-based model for delivering employment services originally developed for people with serious mental illness and implemented in community mental health settings. This study is an opportunity to build upon the strong evidence base about IPS services to explore its effectiveness for TANF recipients and SNAP ABAWDs.

The evaluation is using a randomized controlled trial to understand how access to IPS affects outcomes related to employment and earnings. Individuals who receive TANF or are SNAP ABAWDs, who are eligible for and interested in receiving employment services, are assigned at random to a treatment group, who is offered IPS services, or to a control group, who are referred to other services in the community. The goal is to enroll at least 720 individuals in the study. Outcomes will be measured over a 12-month follow-up period. The main outcomes to be measured are number of quarters employed during the follow-up period, total earnings during the follow-up period, and employment in the last quarter of follow-up.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Martinson, Karin and Charles Michalopoulos. 2022. "Building Evidence on Employment Strategies (BEES): IPS TANF/SNAP." AEA RCT Registry. October 31. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.10306-1.0
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
There is only one treatment group in this study. Individuals eligible for and interested in IPS employment services are assigned at random to a treatment group, which is offered IPS, or to a control group, which is referred to other services in the community.
Intervention Start Date
2022-07-05
Intervention End Date
2024-08-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The confirmatory outcomes are number of quarters employed during the 12-month follow-up period, total earnings during the follow-up period. Exploratory outcome variables include quarterly employment rates, quarterly earnings, and other outcomes related to employment, health, SSI/SSDI application, public benefit receipt, criminal legal system involvement, and housing stability.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Employment outcomes will be constructed using administrative records from the National Directory of New Hires and data collected through a follow-up survey administered to study participants. Outcomes related to housing and health will be based on data from the participant follow-up survey. Outcomes related to SSI/SSDI applications, public benefit receipt, criminal legal system involvement, and housing stability will be constructed using administrative records.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The study includes one treatment group and one control group. The treatment group is offered IPS employment services. The control group will not be offered IPS but will be referred to other services in the community.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization will be done by a web-based MDRC system, and will be accessed electronically by Sunrise Services, Compass Career Solutions, and CORE Health research staff.
Randomization Unit
Individual.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
720 individuals.
Sample size: planned number of observations
720 individuals.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
The goal is to enroll 360 individuals in the program group and 360 individuals in the control group.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Expressed as an effect size, the study would be positioned to detect an impact of 0.20 standard deviations at the 5% significance level using administrative records data. These comprise the outcomes measuring employment and earnings.
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
MDRC IRB
IRB Approval Date
2021-11-10
IRB Approval Number
1829530-1
IRB Name
Washington State IRB
IRB Approval Date
2022-05-06
IRB Approval Number
2022-007