Next Generation of Enhanced Employment Strategies Project: Evaluation Design Report

Many people face complex challenges to obtaining, retaining, and advancing in employment that in turn affect their ability to be economically independent. Although current research suggests some promising strategies for people facing complex challenges, there is still much to learn about how to best serve this population. To identify and study innovative employment programs for people facing complex employment challenges, the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) within the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is sponsoring, and Mathematica is conducting, the Next Generation of Enhanced Employment Strategies (NextGen) Project. The NextGen Project is part of OPRE’s Innovative Strategies for Addressing Employment Barriers Portfolio, which seeks to rigorously evaluate the “next generation” of employment strategies for individuals with low incomes, and is partnering with the Social Security Administration (SSA) on select evaluations.

This report describes the design of the NextGen Project, which is evaluating the effectiveness of four programs that provide services for people with physical, mental, or emotional health challenges. Many of these people are potential applicants for Supplemental Security Income (SSI). The four programs are:

• Bridges from School to Work (Bridges), which serves young adults (17–24) with disabilities who are transitioning out of high school. The program aims to meet the needs of both the young adults it serves and local employers. Bridges staff use a strengths-based approach focused on the young adults’ skills, interests, and abilities rather than a deficit-oriented framing focused on their disabilities.
• Individual Placement and Support for Adults with Justice Involvement (IPS-AJI), which provides assistance to adults with mental health issues who are reentering the community after incarceration or who have received an alternative sentence. The program uses the IPS model to offer participants mental health treatment and employment assistance at mental health centers.
• Philadelphia Workforce Inclusion Networks (Philly WINs), which serves adults with low incomes and chronic physical, mental, or emotional conditions or disabilities that could limit their employment. The program develops relationships with and provides technical assistance to a network of employers that provide inclusive workplaces and prepares program participants for jobs at these and other employers.
• Western Mass Mental Health Outreach for MotherS Partnership^SM (Western Mass MOMS), which serves adult caregivers who identify as women or nonbinary, have low incomes, and exhibit depressive symptoms. The program is based on the MOMS Partnership^® model, which is designed to reduce depressive symptoms, improve social connections, and promote economic well-being among mothers. For Western Mass MOMS, the NextGen Project team worked with the MOMS Partnership model developers and the service provider to add employment services.

The results of the NextGen Project will inform policymakers and practitioners interested in helping people with complex challenges to employment become economically independent. The findings also are intended to help SSA better understand the types of programs that effectively connect or reconnect potential SSI applicants to work before they apply for benefits.