About the Study

In 2017, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO), in collaboration with the Employment and Training Administration (ETA), funded contractor Mathematica, with Social Policy Research Associates, to conduct the Reentry Project Grants Evaluation. This implementation and impact evaluation aims to identify and evaluate promising practices used in reentry employment programs, which are comprehensive strategies to address the range of challenges formerly incarcerated adults and young adults who have been involved in the juvenile or adult justice system face in making a successful transition back to the community.

The implementation study has three main goals: (1) describe the structure of RP grant-funded services over two grant cycles (2018 and 2019), including how funding was used during these cycles, the ways in which grantees operated their programs, and the services grantees delivered; (2) highlight unique and potentially promising strategies to support justice-involved individuals, including strategies that grantees used during the COVID pandemic; and (3) inform the interpretation of impact study results by identifying structural differences across programs as well as variations in implementation. Grant documents, a grantee survey, virtual site visits, and administrative data from the Workforce Integrated Performance System (WIPS) informed the present implementation findings. An impact study is ongoing, and findings are expected in 2024.

This Department of Labor-funded study was a result of Section 169 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) as well as the annual process to determine the Department’s research priorities for the upcoming year. It contributes to the labor evidence-base to inform employment and training programs and policies and addresses Department strategic goals and priorities.

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Project Duration: 60 Months

Contract End Date: September 2024

Contractor: Mathematica Policy Research, with Social Policy Research Associates

For More Information: ChiefEvaluationOffice@dol.gov

The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) sponsors independent evaluations and research, primarily conducted by external, third-party contractors in accordance with the Department of Labor Evaluation Policy. CEO’s research development process includes extensive technical review at the design, data collection and analysis stage, including: external contractor review and OMB review and approval of data collection methods and instruments per the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), Institutional Review Board (IRB) review to ensure studies adhere to the highest ethical standards, review by academic peers (e.g., Technical Working Groups), and inputs from relevant DOL agency and program officials and CEO technical staff. Final reports undergo an additional independent expert technical review and a review for Section 508 compliance prior to publication. The resulting reports represent findings from this independent research and do not represent DOL positions or policies.