Clinical trial NCT02829411: Testing the Effectiveness of Integrating Relationship Education Into an Existing Workforce Readiness Program
Official title: Testing the Effectiveness of Integrating Relationship Education Into an Existing Workforce Readiness Program
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Marriage
Family Relations
Lead sponsor: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Department of Health and Human Services
First posted: 2016-07-12
Enrollment: 909
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 30
Standard ages: ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: The project will test the strategy of integrating 25 hours of relationship education into an existing employment program for low-income individuals ages 18-30. It will use a 2-arm randomized controlled trial to test the effect of this full package of services on participants' employment outcomes and relationship outcomes.

Detailed description: The study will examine the programming by FWCA, which currently offers the Career Pathways Bridge program in three locations in St. Louis County in Missouri. The evaluation will test the strategy of integrating relationship education into an existing workforce readiness program. FWCA plans to add approximately 17 hours of content from the Within My Reach relationship education curriculum to the two-week job readiness workshop it offers as part of the Career Pathways Bridge program. Second, FWCA will add up to eight additional one-hour relationship skills education sessions that customers can attend in the five weeks after completing the initial two-week job readiness workshop.

The evaluation will use a 2-arm randomized controlled trial to test the effect of this full package of services on participants' employment outcomes and relationship outcomes. The target population will be low-income individuals ages 18-30 living in St. Louis County, Missouri. The study will aim to enroll 1000 individuals over 2 years. The Metropolitan Employment and Training (MET) Center will be the primary recruitment and service location.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* disconnected from workforce

Exclusion Criteria:

-

Primary outcomes:
measure: Perceived romantic relationship skills
timeFrame: 1 year after random assignment
measure: Perceived conflict management skills
timeFrame: 1 year after random assignment
measure: Support for going slow in romantic relationships
timeFrame: 1 year after random assignment
measure: Disapproval of couple violence
timeFrame: 1 year after random assignment
measure: Any exposure to psychological abuse
timeFrame: 1 year after random assignment
measure: Any exposure to physical abuse
timeFrame: 1 year after random assignment
measure: Any perpetration of physical abuse
timeFrame: 1 year after random assignment
measure: Involved in an unsteady relationship
timeFrame: 1 year after random assignment
measure: Had an unintended pregnancy
timeFrame: 1 year after random assignment
measure: Employed or training to improve job prospects
timeFrame: 1 year after random assignment
measure: Monthly earnings, administrative records
timeFrame: 1 year after random assignment
measure: Monthly earnings, survey report
timeFrame: 1 year after random assignment
measure: Better off financially now
timeFrame: 1 year after random assignment
measure: Economic hardship
timeFrame: 1 year after random assignment
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Saint Louis
country: United States
facility: FWCA
state: Missouri
Study officials:
affiliation: Mathematica Policy Research
name: Brian Goesling, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: