Photos: Rich Clement

The NextGen Project Story

What is NextGen?

Project description

The Next Generation of Enhanced Employment Strategies (NextGen) Project is testing innovative, promising employment programs designed to help people facing complex challenges secure a pathway toward economic independence. The study is exploring programs’ designs, implementation, cost, and effectiveness at improving participants’ employment, income, and other outcomes.

The project is funded by the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) in the federal Administration for Children and Families, which has partnered with the Social Security Administration to incorporate a focus on employment programs for people with current or foreseeable disabilities who have limited work history and are potential applicants for Supplemental Security Income.

NextGen logo

Study design

The NextGen Project team worked with employment program administrators, managers, policy makers, technical assistance providers, and researchers to find and recruit innovative employment programs for the study.

The project team is collecting and analyzing information about how the programs operate, their successes and challenges, costs, and effectiveness compared with other employment services available to people in the community. Key components of the study include:

  • Impact studies to examine the programs’ impact on participants’ employment and earnings, and other outcomes of interest.
  • Descriptive studies to describe the design and operations of the selected programs as well as implementation successes and challenges.
  • Cost studies to examine each program’s sources of funding and its cost per participant.
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The employment strategies we are studying

Learn more about the employment programs included in the evaluation, including their key components, location, participants, and staffing structures.
Two people smile at the camera in front of a park, one wearing a shirt with the Bridges logo

Photo: Johnny Willing

Bridges from School to Work (Bridges)

Bridges helps young adults with disabilities find work as they transition out of high school. The program partners with communities in 12 cities across the country. Over 90% of its participants are young adults of color.

One person talks to another, smiling, on couches

Photo: Rich Clement

Individual Placement and Support (IPS) for Adults with Justice Involvement

IPS aims to help people with severe mental illness find and work at jobs of their choice. Five mental health centers in the Midwest and South provide IPS to adults reentering communities after serving time in jail or prison, or being ordered to probation or to serve an alternative sentence.

Two people shake hands over a table filled with pamphlets in a busy public outdoor area

Photo: Philadelphia Works, Inc.

Philadelphia Workforce Inclusion Network (Philly WINs)

Philly WINs aims to help jobseekers with chronic or long-lasting physical, mental, or emotional health conditions match to self-sustaining jobs in Greater Philadelphia.

A group of people stand smiling at the camera, each holding up a t-shirt with the MOMS logo on it

Photo: Kristen Joyce

Western Mass Mental Health Outreach for Mothers (MOMS) PartnershipSM

MOMS aims to reduce depressive symptoms, improve social connections, and improve economic wellbeing of caregivers, who identify as women and nonbinary, with low incomes. The program operates in Holyoke and Springfield, Massachusetts.

Several people focus on computers

Photo: Rich Clement

Utah’s Work Success Program

Work Success is a coaching program designed to help people receiving TANF and other job seekers find employment. Work Success is offered in about 30 American Job Centers throughout the state of Utah.

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In depth looks at what we're learning

Explore the project more deeply through descriptive and special topics reports, videos, podcasts, and more.

Insights and Lessons Learned
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Supporting Workers & Families in Low-Income Households During Economic Downturns

January 31, 2024
Summary

This video features the stories of how individuals working in low-wage jobs experienced and navigated the COVID-19 pandemic, in their own words.

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An Unprecedented Crisis: The WeCARE Program’s Experience Serving People with Mental and Physical Health Challenges During a Pandemic

May 26, 2023
Summary

This study documents how WeCARE served clients before the pandemic, how the program changed in response to the employment and service needs of its clients during the pandemic and economic recession, and the implications of those changes for long-term modifications to the WeCARE model. The lessons WeCARE learned during this tumultuous time could guide other agencies coping with significant shifts in their service delivery environment, including serving people with physical and mental health challenges virtually.

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Understanding the Experiences, Needs, and Voices of Workers in Low-Income Households During COVID-19

May 26, 2023
Summary

This study is designed to deepen understanding of how individuals working in jobs with low wages experienced and navigated the COVID-19 pandemic by listening to their personal narratives. The stories and experiences workers share in this report and brief can help policymakers, employers, and programs that are interested in better supporting individuals with low incomes and their families.

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Employer Engagement: Lessons for Employment Programs from the COVID-19 Pandemic

OPRE Report #2021-135
May 26, 2023
Summary

This brief describes the experiences of six employment programs participating in the Next Generation of Enhanced Employment Strategies (NextGen) Project and presents key takeaways from their efforts to maintain and develop new connections with employers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Stay connected to the NextGen Project

Contact NextGenProject@Mathematica-MPR.com to sign up for the NextGen Project mailing list and get the latest from the project.

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