The Enhanced Transitional Jobs Demonstration (ETJD), funded by the Employment and Training Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor, tested seven transitional jobs programs that targeted people recently released from prison or low-income parents who had fallen behind in child support payments. The ETJD programs were “enhanced” in various ways relative to programs studied in the past.

Key Findings include:

• The ETJD programs increased participants’ earnings and employment rates in the final year of the study period.
• The three ETJD programs targeting people returning from prison reduced incarceration in prison among those at higher risk of reoffending.
• The ETJD programs targeting noncustodial parents did not increase the amount of child support paid in the last year of the follow-up period.
• Results varied somewhat among the programs.
• ETJD program costs ranged from about $7,000 to $11,100 per program group member.