2018 - 2028
The Pathways to Work Evidence Clearinghouse is a congressionally mandated systematic evidence review and website that provides reliable, accessible information about what works to help people with low incomes succeed in the labor market. People who run programs for job seekers with low incomes and those looking to promote policies that can improve employment outcomes for individuals with low incomes need evidence about what works. It can be challenging for program administrators and policymakers to know where to find that evidence and determine how it might apply to their programs and populations. By systematically reviewing the evidence, Pathways to Work identifies programs that improve employment-related outcomes for people with low incomes.
Explore the Pathways to Work website
Goals of Pathways to Work
Among the main goals of Pathways to Work are to:
- Conduct a transparent, comprehensive search to identify studies of employment and training programs designed to improve employment, increase earnings, support self-sufficiency, or advance education and training for people with low incomes.
- Rate the quality of those studies to assess the strength of the evidence they provide on the different programs.
- Determine the evidence of effectiveness for those programs.
- Share the results, as well as other Pathways to Work products, on a user-friendly website (pathwaystowork.acf.gov ) to help state and local TANF administrators, other program providers, policymakers, researchers and the general public understand the results and how the evidence might apply to questions and contexts that matter to them.
- Summarize the overall state of evidence in the field by creating and sharing synthesis reports.
Resources on the Pathways to Work website
The Pathways to Work website was designed and is regularly updated with significant input from key partners including TANF administrators, employment service providers, researchers, and technical experts to ensure that the findings are presented in a useful and clear manner.
One the Pathways to Work website, users can find the following:
- Programs that are well-supported, supported, or not supported by the evidence
- Programs that are effective for particular populations of interest
- Detailed study-level information on findings
- Short briefs that summarize the effectiveness of programs using a common approach
- Gaps in the existing evidence
Using Pathways to Work to make decisions
Webinars and presentations related to Pathways to Work are available on the Pathways to Work YouTube playlist .
ACF contracted with Mathematica, Hager Sharp, and MEF Associates to develop and administer the Pathways to Work Evidence Clearinghouse from 2018 to 2023. In 2023, ACF awarded a new contract for the next five years of the Pathways to Work Evidence Clearinghouse (2023-2028) to Abt Global, AIR, and Greene Street.
Point(s) of contact: Amelia Popham, Marie Lawrence, Siri Warkentien, and Kim Clum.
Effective March 2026, ACF realigned select research portfolios to be embedded in the ACF offices that manage the programs. Consistent with this approach, this project and the staff that oversee it are under the oversight of the Office of Family Assistance.