Why Should Transitional Jobs Programs Pay Wages?

The Transitional Jobs strategy uses subsidized employment to help prepare jobseekers facing barriers to employment for a successful transition into the workforce. There are a number of reasons to believe that paid work experience is more beneficial than unpaid experience for facilitating this transition and helping individuals achieve self-sufficiency. For example, paid work experience provides much-needed earned income to stabilize individuals and families, and has positive economic ripple effects throughout low-income communities. Evidence on welfare-to work programs suggests that unpaid work experience has little if any impact on earnings and employment outcomes or reducing reliance on public benefits. Moreover, unpaid work experience fails to reward work, does not promote mobility, and may open the door to exploitation of workers

Getting & Keeping a Job: Best Practices for Employment Retention and Advancement

Transitional Jobs (TJ) programs often measure their success by the number of their participants who are hired into unsubsidized jobs in the private labor market. But of course the ultimate objective is that graduates of TJ programs have the experience, skills, and support to stay in those jobs -- and be successful enough in the workplace to advance to better jobs with family-sustaining pay. This brief outlines tips to maximize success

Funding Transitional Jobs Programs: Identifying Sources and Developing Proposals

Securing adequate funding to operate a Transitional Jobs (TJ) program can be challenging This brief presents some basic tips for finding funding sources and developing proposals that may be helpful for startups and seasoned TJ providers alike as they pursue the financial support necessary for quality programs to help their participants find and keep employment

Ensuring that the Transitional Job is a Developmental Experience

Wage-paying, time-limited employment is the Transitional Job (TJ) strategy's defining feature and what sets it apart from other workforce strategies

Tips for Working with Jobseekers Newly Released from Prison

People who have been recently released from prison face a number of serious barriers to employment such as long gaps in work history and the stigma of a criminal record. The Transitional Jobs strategy has shown promise in helping people reentering from prison gain valuable work experience and stay out of prison by providing recently released prisoners with immediate paid income, work experience, work readiness training and supportive services

Effective Job Development: Strategies for Working with the Chronically Unemployed

Transitional jobs (TJ) programs provide experience, skill building, and earned income to chronically unemployed job seekers with the goal of helping them secure permanent, quality employment in the competitive labor market. Job development, or the process of helping to identify, cultivate, and match job opportunities for subsidized workers to transition into the unsubsidized labor market, is a core component of the TJ strategy.This brief draws from available research, program evaluation findings, and input from experts in the field to offer promising strategies to improve job development success. We encourage employment program providers, administrators, planners, and other workforce development stakeholders to use this brief to help plan and implement an effective job development strategy and better engage with employers

Washington State Community Jobs: A Case Example of Statewide Transitional Jobs Efforts Serving TANF Recipients

This case study documents the development, administration, and outcomes of the Washington State Community Jobs program, the oldest and largest Transitional Jobs program serving TANF recipients

Effective Job Development Strategies for Working with the Hardest to Employ

Effective job development -- creating opportunity for subsidized employees to move into the unsubsidized labor market -- is integral to the goals and successful outcomes of the Transitional Jobs (TJ) strategy. It is also one of the most challenging aspects of TJ program delivery, especially during times of high unemployment

Innovative City and State Funding Approaches to Supporting Subsidized Employment and Transitional Jobs

The paper highlights a number of public-sector agencies that have developed "outside the box" funding strategies to support transitional jobs and subsidized employment initiatives. The report include recommendations for state and city governments that are seeking to support subsidized and transitional employment solutions in an environment of scarce resources

Tips for Transitional Jobs Programs Serving People Experiencing Homelessness

This brief offers recommendations for employment programs using the TJ model to serve jobseekers who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness. These recommendations reflect the most relevant research findings as well as the experiences of expert TJ practitioners