Sponsoring Agency: U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration
Project Officer: Jonathan Simonetta
Performance Period: February 2013 – February 2016
Project Summary:
The Reemployment and Eligibility Assessment (REA) Program Impact Study is a high priority study for the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) in the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). Previous evaluations of the REA program have established that REA lowers both weeks of receipt of UI benefits and UI benefits paid. Those studies provide suggestive evidence on how REA works and therefore how states might shape their REA programs to increase their impact or reduce UI benefit costs. This new evaluation is intended to examine the effectiveness of REA in reducing UI duration and increasing employment, with a focus on understanding how REA works. It is intended that the study will provide participating states the opportunity to test some alternatives that they may later wish to incorporate in their REA program to improve outcomes and lower costs. The evaluation aims to address: Who should get REA to yield the largest impact? How to design REA programs to yield the largest impact? The basic REA design has two parts: a requirement to appear for a meeting (including an eligibility review, an orientation session, the preparation of a reemployment plan, and the provision of labor market information) and the delivery of reemployment assistance. To better understand the contribution of various combinations, states are implementing multiple program models, assigning REA participants to these models using a random assignment. By randomly assigning REA participants to particular services, any differences in their outcomes can be attributed to the specific REA model. The findings will help us to design better REA programs. Capital Research Corporation is assisting Abt Associates in developing the design of program interventions to be tested using an experimental design, recruiting 5 to 8 states to be part of the evaluation effort, setting up random assignment at the states that agree to participate in the demonstration effort, and then analyzing data collected from each state to estimate net impacts of the treatment on UI benefit receipt, earnings, and other outcomes.