The potential of a couples approach to employment assistance: results of a nonexperimental evaluation |
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Authors: | Rachel A Gordon Carolyn J Heinrich |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Sociology and Institute of Government and Public Affairs, University of Illinois at Chicago, 815 W. Van Buren Street, Suite 525, Chicago, IL 60607, USA;(2) La Follette School of Public Affairs and Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1225 Observatory Dr., Madison, WI 53706, USA |
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Abstract: | We present findings from a nonexperimental evaluation of an employment program in which both partners in young, low-income,
primarily African-American couples simultaneously participated. Mothers participating in the couples program had larger immediate
gains in employment and earnings and decreases in TANF receipt following their exit from the program relative to mothers who
received employment assistance as individuals. Fathers showed similar although weaker results. These immediate benefits appeared
to be driven by higher rates of program completion among couples’ participants. Couples in which both partners completed the
program experienced the largest quarterly earnings gains, and couples with greater earnings’ gains were more likely to still
be together one year after the program ended. Mothers’ earnings gains eroded in the two years following program completion
and many reported new pregnancies and problems with child care. We suggest directions for future programs and encourage future
studies to consider the range of mechanisms associated with a couples focus, including potential motivational benefits and
unintended consequences.
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Keywords: | Employment assistance Low-income youth Couples Parents |
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