Employment Coaching Programs Short-Term Impacts Briefs
Evidence | Publications

Employment Coaching Programs Short-Term Impacts Briefs

Published: Nov 21, 2023
Publisher: Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Human Services Employment Training and Re-employment Family Support TANF and Employment Issues Federal
Associated Project

Evaluation of Employment Coaching for TANF and Related Populations

Time frame: 2016-2021

Prepared for:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation

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Key Findings

We found that, at 9 or 12 months (depending on the program) after study enrollment:

  • FaDSS improved program participants’ goal-setting and attainment. The program likely had a small, positive effect on self-reported earnings, but the impact was not statistically significant. FaDSS did not have an effect on earnings in the type of jobs reported to the state unemployment agency. FaDSS reduced economic hardship.
  • Goal4 It! did not improve goal-setting and attainment skills. The program likely had a small, positive effect on self-reported earnings, but the impact was not statistically significant. Goal4 It! did not have an effect on earnings in jobs reported to the state unemployment agency. Goal4 It! did not reduce economic hardship.
  • LIFT did not improve goal-setting and attainment skills. The program likely had no impact on self-reported earnings. LIFT did not reduce economic hardship.
  • MyGoals improved goal-setting and attainment skills. The program likely had a small, positive effect on self-reported earnings, but the impact was not statistically significant. MyGoals had a small, negative impact on earnings in the type of jobs reported to the state unemployment agency. MyGoals did not impact economic hardship.

Research suggests that the stresses and uncertainty of poverty can be overwhelming, leaving less mental bandwidth for effective development and use of self-regulation skills, including those that are critical in finding and maintaining employment. Examples of self-regulation skills relevant to employment include: the persistence needed to keep at a task despite setbacks; the time management skills that make it possible to consistently show up to work on time; and the emotional understanding and regulation to deal productively with co-workers. Research suggests that coaching can promote self-regulation skills and hence may be a way to help adults with low incomes become economically secure. For this reason, some Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and other employment programs that serve adults with low incomes have been implementing employment coaching.

The purpose of this study is to examine whether coaching is effective in improving participants’ goal pursuit and other self-regulation skills, employment, earnings, self-sufficiency, and other measures of personal and family well-being. These program impact briefs are intended to inform interested policymakers, practitioners, researchers, and other stakeholders about the effectiveness of the four employment coaching programs participating in the evaluation.

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