Sponsoring Agency: Job Opportunities Task Force
Project Officer: Jason Perkins-Cohen
Performance Period: May 2005 – July 2005
Project Summary:
The project team – from Capital Research Corporation and Johns Hopkins University’s Institute for Policy Studies – conducted a rapid response assessment of Project Bridge aimed at assessing: (1) the implementation status of the project to date, and (2) the likelihood that the project will achieve its original goals. The study’s results were intended to inform Steering Committee decisions concerning the future of Project Bridge. The project team provided a briefing to the Project Bridge Steering Committee on July 2005 that highlighted the main study findings and conclusions. A brief report was also prepared to provide a written summary of key study findings, conclusions, and implications. Data collection, analysis, and reporting for this project were conducted over a 3-week period. Study results were principally based on in-person and telephone interviews conducted with: Goodwill Industries, the Center for Fathers, Families and Workforce Development (CFWD)/STRIVE Baltimore, Associated Catholic Charities, the Second Chance Project, Inc., the Department of Corrections (DOC) administrators at four facilities, the Center for Employment Opportunities, and most members of the Project Bridge Steering Committee. To supplement these interviews the project team also: (1) attended a Behind the Fence (BTF) workshop, which included in-person discussions with eight inmates attending a session; (2) conducted in-person interviews with four Project Bridge participants at Goodwill; and (3) collected and reviewed background documentation and data runs focusing on program performance. Report: J. Trutko and B. Barnow, An Assessment of Project Bridge: Highlight of Key Study Finding and Conclusions, Capital Research Corporation and Johns Hopkins University, prepared for the Project Bridge Steering Committee, 2005.