Program Assignment Research Articles

Supported employment, supported education, and career development.

Two articles in the current issue of the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal bring into focus the important question of the importance of work, and in particular meaningful employment, in people with a serious mental illness. Gewurtz, Cott, Rush, and Kirsh (see record 2012-34112-003) present findings from a change in policy in Canada for the funding of vocational services for people with a serious mental illness from a fee-for-service model to an outcomes-based model, with reimbursement based on successful competitive job placement and retention, irrespective of job type and consumer preference. The results indicated increased rates of competitive work, mainly in entry-level jobs, but they also raised questions as to whether the narrow focus on job attainment may have been at the cost of less career development and ultimately less meaningful work for the consumers. Baksheev, Allott, Jackson, McGorry, and Killackey (see record 2012-34112-002) found that a combined supported employment and education program for people with a first episode of psychosis led to higher rates of employment and class completion than usual services. The analysis presented in this report showed that no individual consumer characteristics other than program assignment (supported employment and education vs. usual services) predicted vocational or educational outcomes. The findings underscore the potency of supported employment, and suggest that combining it with educational services may be fruitful for people who have recently experienced an episode of psychosis. These findings raise several questions that will be touched on in this editorial, including: Why are career development and supported education important? What have we learned about supported education? What are the current gaps in our knowledge about supported education?

Bias and Bias Correction in Multisite Instrumental Variables Analysis of Heterogeneous Mediator Effects

We explore the use of instrumental variables (IV) analysis with a multisite randomized trial to estimate the effect of a mediating variable on an outcome. We use a random-coefficient IV model that allows both the impact of program assignment on the mediator (compliance with assignment) and the impact of the mediator on the outcome (the treatment effect) to vary across sites and to covary with one another. This extension of conventional fixed-coefficient IV analysis illuminates a potential bias in IV analysis, which Reardon and Raudenbush (forthcoming) refer to as covariance We first derive an expression for this bias and then use simulations to investigate the sampling variance of the conventional fixed-coefficient two-stage least squares (2SLS) in the presence of varying (and covarying) compliance and treatment effects. We next develop an alternate IV that is less susceptible to compliance-effect covariance bias. We compare the bias, sampling variance, and root mean squared error of this IV estimator with those of 2SLS and ordinary least squares (OLS). We find that when the first stage F-statistic exceeds 10 (a commonly used threshold for instrument strength), the bias-corrected typically performs better than 2SLS or OLS. In the last part of the paper, we use both the new and 2SLS to reanalyze data from two large multisite studies.

Intensive Coaching of New Immigrants: An Evaluation Based on Random Program Assignment*

AbstractThe purpose of this study is to evaluate whether intensive counseling and coaching by Public Employment Service (PES) caseworkers improves the employment opportunities of new immigrants in Sweden. This is tested within the framework of introduction programs for new immigrants. A trial introduction program was implemented from October 2006 to June 2008. Within participating municipalities, new immigrants were randomly assigned into treatment (intensive coaching) or control (regular introduction programs). The results indicate that there are significant treatment effects on employment probabilities as well as on participation in intermediate PES training programs.

Best Management Practices for a Successful Transition into an Administrative Role

Many successful county Extension educators aspire to "higher" positions in administration, such as a county director, regional director, etc. However, such administrative roles likely have more complex duties related to managing people and teams than faculty have experienced in their program assignment. This article provides essential management concepts and techniques to help faculty gain perspective and build a foundation for success in transitioning to an administrative assignment. Best management practices are shared that can significantly improve administrators' leadership skills and the likelihood of success in managing faculty and staff to maintain a productive, positive, and supportive office environment.

Are You Ready to Be an Administrator? A Self-Assessment to Help You Manage Expectations When Assuming a New Role

As a county Extension educator is successful and matures, it is natural for him or her to seek advancement to an administrative position. However, such a role likely has more complex duties related to managing people than the faculty member may have experienced or been trained to address in his or her program assignment. This article outlines some of the differences in duties and perspective that may be encountered when changing from a program-driven faculty member position to one with administrative leadership duties in the form of a self-assessment that may help determine whether you're ready to serve in an administrative role.

Negotiating spaces: the in-betweeness of becoming a teacher

Pre-service teachers move through multiple learning communities during teacher education programs, arguably emerging as authentic insiders in teaching culture. In this case study, a critical perspective is offered by Ann, a First Nations learner who described her experience of teacher education, and how she came to question different aspects of her university program and practicum assignment which challenged her understandings of self. The experiences of pre-service teachers like Ann are often hidden from view, and what they perceive as shortcomings in programming are often unseen within institutional contexts. Ann articulated numerous gaps that still reside within teacher culture despite structures that are in place to address such gaps. The situated knowledge of pre-service teachers can offer alternative perspectives to guide the future of teacher education by drawing attention to shifts underway among students that will change the nature of professional practice.

Government Transfers and Political Support

This paper estimates the impact of a large anti-poverty cash transfer program, the Uruguayan PANES, on political support for the government that implemented it. Using the discontinuity in program assignment based on a pretreatment eligibility score, we find that beneficiary households are 11 to 13 percentage points more likely to favor the current government relative to the previous government. Political support effects persist after the program ends. Our results are consistent with theories of rational but poorly informed voters who use policy to infer politicians' redistributive preferences or competence, as well as with behavioral economics explanations grounded in reciprocity. (JEL D72, H23, H53, I38, O15, O17)

TIPping the Scales Towards Greater Employment Chances? Evaluation of a Trial Introduction Program (TIP) for Newly-Arrived Immigrants Based on Random Program Assignment

A Trial Introduction Program (TIP) for newly-arrived immigrants to Sweden was implemented from October 2006 to June 2008 in order to meet the main criticisms directed at existing introduction programs. Two primary innovations were introduced, flexible language instruction parallel with other labor market activities at the Public Employment Service (PES) and intensive counseling and coaching by PES caseworkers with considerably reduced caseloads. Within participating municipalities, newly-arrived immigrants were randomly assigned into TIP (treatment) or regular introduction programs (control). Results indicate significant treatment effects on the probability of attaining regular employment as well as the probability of entering intermediate PES training programs. Hazard rates into PES training programs were also significantly higher for participants in TIP in comparison to participants in regular introduction programs.

Impact evaluation of multiple overlapping programs under a conditional independence assumption

Under the assumption on conditional independence between potential outcomes and program assignment, program impacts measured by the Average Treatment Effect (ATE) and the Average Treatment Effect on Treated (ATT) can be identified and estimated using cross-section regression or propensity score matching (PSM). Traditional impact literature often deals with the impact evaluation of a single program. In reality, one can participate in several programs simultaneously and the programs may be correlated. This paper discusses cross-section regression and PSM methods in this general context. It is shown that under the PSM method, impact of a program of interest can be measured as a weighted average of program impacts on groups with different program statuses. Estimation of impacts of multiple overlapping programs is illustrated using Monte Carlo simulation and an empirical example of impact measurement of international and internal remittances in Vietnam.

Do Batterer Programs Reduce Recidivism? Results from a Randomized Trial in the Bronx

Over the past two decades, a growing number of courts have come to rely on batterer programs as their mandate of choice, especially when the legal issues in a case preclude the imposition of jail. Three of four previous randomized trials produced largely negative results. The present study seeks to provide greater clarification. The study randomly assigned misdemeanor domestic violence offenders in the Bronx, New York to either a batterer program or not; and to either monthly or graduated judicial monitoring, with the latter involving reduced court appearances in response to compliance and increased appearances in response to noncompliance. The study found that neither the batterer program nor either of the two monitoring schedules produced a reduction in official re‐arrest rates for any offense, for domestic violence, or for domestic violence with the same victim. Similarly, 1‐year victim interviews indicated that neither program assignment nor monitoring schedule significantly affected victim reports of re‐abuse, either in general or with regard to specific forms of re‐abuse: physical, threats, or other. While victims expressed greater satisfaction with the sentence when a batterer program was assigned, interpretation of this last finding is difficult in the absence of an effect on re‐abuse.

Culture and Human Capital Investments: Evidence of an Unconditional Cash Transfer Program in Bolivia

This paper uses a policy quasi-experiment created by the introduction of an old-age unconditional cash transfer program in Bolivia to study the intra-household income allocation process towards children's educational expenditure by ethnicity and gender of the recipient. Taking advantage of a sharp discontinuity created by the program assignment mechanism, I investigate the heterogeneity in the patterns of allocation within indigenous, multiethnic, and non-indigenous families, conditional on having one elder and one school-age child living in the household. I find that cultural factors (proxied by ethnicity) count in the decision making process of human capital investments. In particular, the allocation of resources within indigenous families follows rules closely related to patriarchal family structures (in which women have limited decision-making power) and is consistent with unitary, dictatorial, and common preferences theoretical household models. Conversely, non-indigenous families follow decision rules more closely related to collective and bargaining behavior models.

Inconsistencies in self-reported drug use by adolescents in substance abuse treatment: Implications for outcome and performance measurements

This article presents an analysis of logical inconsistencies in adolescents' reporting of recent substance use to assess the potential effect of inaccurate reporting on measures of treatment outcomes and program performance. We used data on 1,463 clients from 10 adolescent treatment programs to assess the relationship between inconsistent reports and various factors that contribute to program assignment and treatment outcomes. Our results suggest that inconsistencies do not arise at random. Instead, inconsistencies are associated with program assignment and factors widely considered to influence treatment outcomes, including age at first use, living situation, race/ethnicity, and mental distress. We also found a positive relationship between level of inconsistent reporting of drug use and self-reports of improvement over time on several well-established treatment outcome measures. Our study highlights the need for greater awareness on the potential impact of inaccuracies in the reporting of substance use on outcome and performance measurements and that for the development of methodologies to improve accuracy.

Effects of Managed Care on Service Use and Access for Publicly Insured Children With Chronic Health Conditions

Our goal was to estimate the effects of managed care program type on service use and access for publicly insured children with chronic health conditions. Data on Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Program managed care programs were linked by county and year to pooled data from the 1997-2002 National Health Interview Survey. We used multivariate techniques to examine the effects of managed care program type, relative to fee-for-service, on a broad array of service use and access outcomes. Relative to fee-for-service, managed care program assignment was associated with selected reductions in service use but not with deterioration in reported access. Capitated managed care plans with mental health or specialty carve-outs were associated with a 7.4-percentage-point reduction in the probability of a specialist visit, a 6.3-percentage-point reduction in the probability of a mental health specialty visit, and a 5.9-percentage-point decrease in the probability of regular prescription drug use. Reductions in use associated with primary care case management and integrated capitated programs (without carve-outs) were more limited, and integrated capitated plans were associated with a reduction in unmet medical care need. We failed to find significant effects of special managed care programs for children with chronic health conditions. Managed care is associated with reduced service use, particularly when capitated programs carve out services. This finding is of key policy importance, as the proportion of children enrolled in plans with carve-out arrangements has been increasing over time. It is not possible to determine whether reductions in services represent better care management or skimping. However, despite the reductions in use, we did not observe a corresponding increase in perceived unmet need; thus, the net change may represent improved care management.

Do remedial English programs impact first‐year success in college? An illustration of the regression‐discontinuity design

This paper presents an illustration of how the regression‐discontinuity design can be used to obtain an unbiased estimate of the causal effect of participating in a university remedial English program on first‐year grade point average. First‐year grade point averages were collected for 197 first‐time, full‐time university students, along with the scores they received on an English placement examination, and a measure of remedial program assignment. Regression discontinuities indicate that first‐year grade point averages were approximately 0.392 points higher for students who participated in a remedial English program as compared to equivalent students who did not participate in the remedial program. We also present various threats to validity and limitations of the regression‐discontinuity design.

Changes in Physical Activity in African American Participants and Family or Friend Co-Participants in Response to Weight Loss Counseling

PURPOSE: The Supporting Healthy Activity and Eating Right Everyday (SHARE) study is an ongoing randomized clinical trial among overweight/obese African Americans. Index participants (I) enrolled together with 1 or 2 family member or friend Co-participants (Co-P) and were then randomly assigned to one of two social support conditions for weight management. In Program A, weekly group counseling classes were offered to both I and Co-P, attending together. In Program B, classes were only offered to I. This analysis examined the I/Co-P concordance in reported changes in physical activity (PA) at the first follow up (∼ 6 months after randomization). We also examined differences in reported changes in PA by program. METHODS: Participation in moderate PA (MPA), vigorous PA (VPA), and walking was assessed at baseline and follow up with three separate questions that queried the number of days/week and the amount of time/day spent engaging in each activity for at least 10 minutes in a row. Improvement in PA was calculated as reports of an increase of ≥1 day/week in MPA, VPA, or walking. An additional question during follow up asked directly about perceived change in PA since the start of the program. Changes in perceived PA were calculated as reports of adopting structured or lifestyle PA. Cross tabulations were used to compare pre-post changes in PA both within pairs of I and Co-P and across program conditions, with a working hypothesis that PA changes would be greater in Program A vs. Program B participants, and that changes in I/Co-P pairs would be more concordant in Program A vs. Program B. RESULTS: Data were available for 130 pairs, 65 in Program A and 65 in Program B. Participants were 92% female; mean+ SD age = 48.5 +7.0 years. Improvement in PA ranged from 0–3 days/week. I were more likely than Co-P to report improvement in PA overall (49% vs. 36%, p <0.0001) and within program (49% vs. 42%, p = 0.02 for Program A and 49% vs. 31%, p = 0.0009 for Program B). Concordance between PA improvement within pairs did not differ by program (Kappa = 0.29 and 0.38, for Programs A and B, respectively; p = 0.57). Over half (54%) of I and Co-P reported adopting structured or lifestyle PA. On this variable, concordance between I and Co-P was higher for those who reported no adoption of PA compared to those who reported adoption, though these differences were not statistically significant (Kappa = 0.32 and 0.20, respectively; p = 0.52). CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that, regardless of program assignment, I were more likely to increase PA compared to Co-P. Concordance on PA change did not seem to be related to whether both or only one member of a pair participated directly in the weekly classes.

A Problem‐Based MBA Curriculum The Ohio University Experience

Ohio University’s MBA program is designed accord‐ing to the principals of problem‐based learning. The curriculum has no courses. Rather, it is organized around problems like those the students will encounter after graduation. Pre‐ and post‐program assessments are used to measure changes in knowledge and skills. Students are required to complete a program assignment in a foreign country. The paper describes the process by which Ohio University made the change from a traditional curriculum to a problem‐based curriculum, includes examples of problems, and includes lessons learned during the past decade.

Assessment of Criminogenic Factors, Program Assignment, and Recidivism

A sample of 107 federally incarcerated male offenders in Canada was followed to examine the outcome of a classification approach, Case Management Strategies. Cases were tracked from point of reception to 6- and 18-month postrelease to assess how criminogenic factors were matched to programs, whether and how these program recommendations were acted on, and whether completion of appropriate programming affected postrelease outcome. The results largely failed to support the efficacy of this case management and program assignment process in classifying offenders to correctional programs as part of the rehabilitation process. Only about half of the program assignments were judged appropriate in targeting criminogenic factors. Only a small proportion of the recommended programs actually were completed by the offenders. Finally, the completion of program interventions, based on appropriate targeting of criminogenic factors, was unrelated to postrelease outcome after 6- and 18-month follow-ups.

Job satisfaction assessment of public health nurses.

Abstract To provide empirical data for dealing with problems of low morale and high turnover in a few districts of a state public health nursing department, survey research was designed to measure the job satisfaction of the public health nurses. Questionnaires that measured satisfaction with 12 job components were received from 741 nurses for a 68 percent response rate. Top‐ranked satisriers were job importance, interpersonal relations, and achievement. Lowest‐ranked satisfiers were job mechanics, recognition, and salary/benefits; administrative interventions were developed to deal with these areas. High levels of job satisfaction were associated with increased educational preparation, increased age and longevity, administrative positions, and program assignment in tuberculosis or child health.

Effects of Labeling and Treatment of Hypertension on Perceived Health

The effects of labeling a person as hypertensive have important implications for hypertension screening. The Hypertension Detection and Follow-up Program (HDFP) provides an opportunity to examine the effects of labeling, treatment, and study assignment on a large group of hypertensives (n = 10,070). Their answers to questions regarding perceived health and general well-being asked at baseline and again one year later were analyzed. There was no significant change in the perceived health status of persons who were unaware of their hypertension at baseline and remained untreated at one year (labeling alone). The effect of labeling plus treatment was associated with a significant decrease in perceived health. The effect of antihypertensive drug therapy on perceived health status was examined in persons who were aware of their hypertension but not on treatment at baseline, and on treatment at one year. The stepped care group (SC) had a significant improvement in their perceived health and a significant decrease in the amount of time spent worrying about their health. The referred care group (RC) had no change. Program assignment effects were studied in individuals aware of their hypertension and on treatment both at baseline and one year later. Both the SC and RC groups had a significant improvement in their perceptions of their health status. The SC group had a significant decrease in time spent worrying about their health, while the RC group showed no change. These reassuring results fail to support the suggestion that labeling persons as hypertensive is necessarily followed by negative psychological consequences.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Trends in Residential and Community Care for Dependent Children and Youth in Israel:

Policy trends and their underlying ideologies are reviewed for Youth Aliyah, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, and the Ministry of Education and Culture. On this basis, the current status of research and evaluation, differential diagnosis and program assignment, and planning accountability are presented with recommendations for needed policy initiatives.