The Employment Retention and Advancement Project: Benefit-Cost Findings for Three Programs in the Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) Project

This report presents an analysis of the financial benefits and costs of three diverse programs designed to increase employment stability and career advancement among current and former welfare recipients. The programs are part of the national Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) project, which tested 16 models in eight states. Each program was evaluated using a random assignment research design, whereby individuals were assigned, at random, to the ERA program group or to a control group that received services generally available in the sites’ communities. MDRC is conducting the ERA project under contract to the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.