The Effects of Customer Choice: First Findings from the Individual Training Account Experiment

This report presents early findings from the evaluation of the ITA experiment, which aims to provide federal, state, and local policymakers with information on the effectiveness of, and trade-offs inherent in, three different approaches to managing customer choice in Workforce Investment Act training programs. The approaches vary in (1) how a customer's spending is determined, (2) whether counseling is required or voluntary, and (3) how much local staff can restrict training choices. The approaches implemented had an influence on receipt of counseling and likelihood of receiving an ITA but limited impact on training choices.