The San Diego County Bridge to Employment in the Healthcare Industry Program: Implementation and...

“This report documents the implementation and early impacts of the Bridge to Employment in the Healthcare Industry program, designed by the San Diego Workforce Partnership and operated by three community-based organizations in San Diego County, California. Bridge to Employment is one promising effort to help low-income, low-skilled adults access and complete occupational training that can lead to increased employment and higher earnings. It is one of nine career pathways programs being evaluated under the Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) study sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families.

The…program consisted of five components:

1. Assessments to determine eligibility for training programs;
2. Navigation and case management services to help students choose their training and address barriers to participation;
3. Individual training account (ITA) vouchers to cover the cost of training;
4. Supportive services for transportation, child care, and other services; and
5. Employment services to help participants find employment after training….

Primary Research Questions

• Was the intervention actually implemented as designed?
• How did services received differ between study participants who could access the Bridge to Employment program versus those who could not?
• What were the effects of the program on credentials received?” (p.v).

“Methods

The Bridge to Employment evaluation’s implementation study examined the design and operation of the program and the treatment group’s participation patterns, and its impact study measured differences in education and training and employment outcomes. From July 2012 to October 2013, more than 1,000 program applicants were randomly assigned to either the treatment or the control group. The impact study used data from a follow-up survey at 18 months after random assignment. Prior to estimating program impacts, the research team published an analysis plan that organized…statistical tests conducted so as to avoid the problem of ‘multiple comparisons’ in which a potentially large number of the tests could reach conventional levels of statistical significance by chance. To address this issue, the team established three categories of hypotheses (confirmatory, secondary, and exploratory) and publicly registered…outcomes prior to starting analyses” (p.vi-vii).

(Abstractor: Author)

Full publication title: The San Diego County Bridge to Employment in the Healthcare Industry Program: Implementation and Early Impact Report

“Using a rigorous research design, the study found that Bridge to Employment increased the credentials its participants received and increased employment in a healthcare occupation within the 18-month follow-up period” (p.v). “Key Findings & Highlights • More than 80 percent of treatment group members enrolled in a healthcare training program using an ITA from the Bridge to Employment program. The most popular programs included training to become certified nursing assistants, phlebotomists, medical assistants, and medical records and health information technicians. • Most treatment group members who attended training (more than 75 percent) chose to enroll in training offered by for-profit private schools. Bridge to Employment participants could use their ITAs at any accredited training provider. More participants chose private for-profit schools instead of community colleges because they could generally enroll in the training more quickly and complete the training programs in less time. Additionally, community colleges did not accept ITAs, thus participants would need to pay upfront and get reimbursed. • Bridge to Employment increased the percentage of its participants who received a credential. After 18 months, 64 percent of treatment group members received a credential compared with 34 percent of control group members, a 29-percentage point impact. • Bridge to Employment produced positive impacts on employment. The program increased the proportion of study participants working in a job requiring at least midlevel skills. Also, more treatment group members than control group members were working in a healthcare occupation. The program did not increase the percentage of treatment group members who were working in a job paying at least $12 per hour” (p.vi). “Next Steps in the Bridge to Employment Evaluation…. At 36 months after randomization. The next Bridge to Employment report will cover a 36- month follow-up period for the full research sample….The report will examine employment outcomes, such as average rate of employment and average earnings over successive follow-up quarters, and job characteristics, such as occupation, hourly wage, receipt of benefits, and career progress. Thus, it will begin to answer whether the occupational training gains that program participants achieved after 18 months will translate into economic gains in the workplace in the longer term” (p.ix). (Abstractor: Author).

• Last Updated:
• Created:
• Resource Publication Date: 2017
• Author(s): Farrell, Mary; and Martinson, Karin.
• Organizational Author(s): Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE)
• Funding Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• Resource Availability: Publicly available
• Posted by: Wesley Peterson
• Posted in: Workforce System Strategies