Recommendations for Delivering Employment Coaching and Case Management from the Pathways to Work Evidence Clearinghouse

• In Event: Employment Strategies for People Facing Complex Barriers: Evidence from Multiple Randomized Controlled Trials

Abstract

The Pathways to Work Evidence Clearinghouse, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, reviews studies of employment and training programs for people with low incomes, assesses the quality of the research, and identifies the most effective programs. Pathways to Work presents evidence at the program level because studies are typically designed to evaluate entire programs—which can include many different individual service components. This introduces a key challenge for frontline program providers, who often do not have the resources to adopt programs wholesale.

To expand the audience who can act on the evidence the clearinghouse contains, Pathways to Work has developed a new product line called Evidence-to-Practice Guides. The power of Evidence-to-Practice Guides is they distill findings to individual service components which can be integrated into existing programs. This provides opportunities to transform everyday practice. The first Evidence-to-Practice Guide, which covers case management and employment coaching, is expected to be released in summer 2026. To develop this Evidence-to-Practice Guide, the Pathways to Work team conducted a systematic evidence review of programs that provided direct, sustained employment coaching or case management. Next, the Pathways to Work team convened a panel of eight nationally-recognized experts in coaching and case management to interpret the results of the systematic review and identify a set of practice-focused recommendations.

The Evidence-to-Practice Guide was designed to address three key research questions: (1) Which programs providing case management and coaching are effective at supporting job seekers and workers with low incomes in improving their employment, earnings, and education and training attainment? (2) What specific aspects of case management and coaching are associated with stronger effects? And (3) Which aspects of case management and coaching are particularly effective for specific subgroups of job seekers and workers with low incomes? The Evidence-to-Practice Guide provides step-by-step guidance on how to implement each recommendation. Each recommendation also includes a section on potential roadblocks during implementation and strategies to overcome those roadblocks.

The panel identified five key recommendations over the course of two meetings. These five recommendations are undergoing further refinement at the time of this writing but will be ready well in advance of the presentation. This guide is designed for use by staff from three different sectors that fall under the purview of Pathways to Work: TANF agencies, workforce agencies, and community colleges. Recommendations in the guide can drive systemic change across these sectors.

The presentation will include both an overview of key recommendations as well as a discussion of how Evidence-to-Practice Guides can be used to support uptake of evidence-based practices. It will include discussion of how Pathways to Work’s Evidence-to-Practice Guides compare to practice guides funded by other systematic review efforts (e.g., What Works Clearinghouse, Evidence-based Practices Resource Center). The presenter will also lay out the team’s communications strategy to support uptake of recommendations in the Evidence-to-Practice Guide.

Author

• Brian Louis Freeman, Abt Global
  Presenting Author