CEO Library

The Chief Evaluation Office of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL CEO) is committed to using innovative tools to meet the Department’s research, evaluation, and data analytics needs. In December 2021, DOL CEO commissioned the Westat Insight and American Institutes for Research® (AIR®) study team to explore potential opportunities to use machine learning methods to facilitate the automated data collection of labor-relevant data.

The report synthesizes findings from third-party evaluator (TPE)-conducted implementation evaluations and subsequent interim reports, supplemented by submitted quarterly narrative reports (QNRs) from March 2023. The synthesis aims to provide an overarching description of the first round of SCC (SCC1) grantees’ progress in implementing their workforce development and career pathways programming and highlight promising practices, implementation barriers, and lessons learned across the grantees.

In 2014, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) contracted with Mathematica Policy Research and ideas42 to examine whether insights from behavioral science can be used to improve outcomes in the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) programs under the Advancing Behavioral Interventions in Labor Programs portfolio of studies.

The Bridging the Gap for New Americans Act, Pub. L. No. 117–210, enacted in October 2022, required the Department of Labor (DOL) to conduct a study about New Americans, defined as lawfully present immigrants and refugees admitted to the United States during the 5-year period prior to the law (October 2017– October 2022) with occupational and professional credentials and academic degrees obtained outside the United States.

The Bridging the Gap for New Americans Act, Pub. L. No. 117–210, enacted in October 2022, required the Department of Labor (DOL) to conduct a study about New Americans, defined as lawfully present immigrants and refugees admitted to the United States during the 5-year period prior to the law (October 2017– October 2022) with occupational and professional credentials and academic degrees obtained outside the United States.

The report presents the findings from a review of existing research to address topics identified in the Bridging the Gap for New Americans Act,1 Pub. L. No. 117-210, enacted in October 2022. The Act asks the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to conduct a study about lawfully present immigrants and refugees admitted to the United States during the 5-year period prior to the law (October 2017–October 2022).

The discussion paper explores issues related to research on application or user fees in programs administered by U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Employment and Training Administration (ETA), based on a review of regulations, guidance, and selected research concerning such fees. The paper reviews available literature from those sources; briefly covers the purposes, general principles and practices related to application or user fees; summarizes possible factors related to research on such fees; and suggests some possible research activities on use of fees in an ETA program.

The handbook is a Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) Evaluation Technical Assistance product to help states and their evaluators to conduct cost-benefit analyses of their RESEA programs.

The brief documents the federal context—in particular within the U.S. Department of Labor—in which evidence-building activities for the Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) program were developed. It also describes the evaluation technical assistance (EvalTA) provided to states from 2018 to 2023 that supported states in planning and implementing evaluations of their RESEA programs.

A 2022 implementation study report drew on data from three waves of a web-based survey of all state RESEA directors. Since completion of that report, the study team conducted a fourth survey wave. Relying on these longitudinal data, this brief addresses the following research questions: 

Appendix to the Tracking Changes in Program Implementation: Findings from Multiple Rounds of the Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) Implementation Survey Issue Brief.

The Navajo Nation Research Brief of the Black Lung Incidence Study identifies the current state of knowledge on black lung disease as it relates to coal mining and residential coal use in the Navajo Nation. It identifies prevalence rates in the U.S. counties that overlap with the Navajo Nation borders, estimates prevalence rates in those counties, and discusses data limitations specific to the Navajo Nation.

One component of the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s (MSHA’s) mission to “prevent death, illness, and injury from mining and promote safe and healthful workplaces for U.S. miners” is protecting coal miners and coal mining communities from black lung disease (“Mission”). In support of that mission, the literature review expands the U.S.

The report presents the findings of a literature review ad quantitative analysis conducted under the Black Lung Incidence Study. The study was designed to examine black lung incidence in the United States, exploring both cases and deaths. Within this scope, the study examined whether black lung incidence is higher among specific subpopulations of interest, including miners, mining communities, the Navajo Nation, and residents of Appalachia.

This report describes the design for the implementation evaluation of the Scaling Apprenticeship through Sector-Based Strategies grants (referred to throughout the report as Scaling Apprenticeship grants) and the Apprenticeships: Closing the Skills Gap grants (referred to throughout the report as Closing the Skills Gap grants).

In 2023, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) partnered with the Employment and Training Administration, to contract with Abt Global and Needels Consulting, to conduct the Unemployment Insurance (UI) Administrative Costs Study under the Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessments (RESEA) Evidence Building Portfolio Project of studies.

The Apprenticeship Evidence-Building Portfolio Evaluation Design Pre-Specification Plan follows the template that evaluators must use to meet the pre-specification practices articulated in OMB Memo M-20-12 Phase 4 Implementation of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018: Program Evaluation Standards and Practices.

The report provides analysis of intermediate impacts on participation in and completion of TechHire and Strengthening Working Families Initiative (SWFI) programs training, receipt of credentials, and use of child care and other services, as well as on longer-term outcomes such as employment and earnings, advancement and job quality, and other, exploratory outcomes such as overall well-being, health, and housing status at about 2 years following random assignment. 

Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs) benefit both apprentices and employers. Emerging evidence suggests that apprentices earn more than they did before becoming apprentices1 and employer reporting suggests strong returns on their investment in registered apprenticeship. Employers also report benefiting from a stronger pipeline of skilled workers, less turnover, greater employee engagement and loyalty, and improved firm culture. To realize these benefits, RAPs must make sure apprentices stay in the programs and complete them.

Graphic presenting evidence-informed strategies to recruit and retain apprentices.

The Evidence Capacity Summary is designed to facilitate conversation and inform actions that staff across agencies may wish to pursue to further strengthen their capacity to use and to produce evidence. The findings presented in the brief summarize insights from 16 agency staff focus groups and the U.S. Department of Labor-wide capacity assessment survey.

The evidence capacity assessment included the 16 U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) agencies in the Department’s Strategic Plan. It reflects data collected through a survey of targeted DOL staff, focus groups with selected DOL staff, and a review of selected evidence documents. The research team used a strengths-based approach that recognizes and leverages DOL’s and agencies’ progress and embodies a continuous improvement mindset.

The brief focuses on the 22 Pathway Home grants awarded in 2021 and describes the grantees’ experiences during their first year of implementation. This brief discusses the grants and describes the types of organizations funded, their locations, staffing structures, partnerships, and the services provided.

The brief focuses on the 22 Pathway Home grants awarded in 2021 and describes the grantees’ experiences during their first year of implementation. This brief details how the Pathway Home grantees implemented services and established community partnerships provide community-based services that address participant needs and help connect them to employment opportunities.

In 2023, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) partnered with the Employment and Training Administration to fund contractor Westat Insight to conduct the Bridging the Gap for New Americans Study under the Administrative Data Research and Analysis portfolio of studies.