Center for Social Policy Publications

Why Use the Services of Alternative Staffing Organizations: Perspectives from Customer Businesses

Françoise Carré et al. — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 07:03:07 PST

Organizations that aim to improve the experiences and employment chances of job seekers who face barriers to employment have, over the years, had to contend directly with potential employers and their requirements. This is particularly true for community-based job brokers that use a temporary staffing model, offering job access and immediate work to their service population.

Alternative staffing organizations (ASOs) are worker-centered, social purpose businesses that place job seekers in temporary and “temp-to-perm” assignments with customer businesses, and charge their customers a markup on the wage of the position. These fee-for-service organizations can help job seekers who face labor market barriers gain work experience and access potential employers. Created by community-based organizations and national nonprofits, ASOs are often embedded within larger organizations that provide other employment, training, and human services to their community. The parent organizations may also be operating other social enterprise ventures.

Businesses that contract ASOs for staffing services are customers that expect a service, but also represent an opportunity for employment and work experience for job seekers. Thus ASOs must operate with a dual agenda to serve both sides of the equation. In related publications, we have explored how ASOs operate as social enterprises and how the model fits within the goals of the parent organization. With detailed information from five well-established ASOs, and as part of two waves of a demonstration initiated by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, we have documented the employment experiences of workers placed in assignments and their employment status after leaving the ASO.

In this paper, we address engagement with businesses and their perspectives on ASO services. This is a major issue for ASOs as well as for other workforce development organizations.

How Youth Are Put At Risk by Parents’ Low-Wage Jobs

Lisa Dodson et al. — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 07:26:48 PST

In this report, we present a first-ever overview of what is known about the relationship between the status of youth and their parents’ low-wage jobs. Of the 20 million adolescents with working parents, 3.6 million (one out of every six) are in low-income families where parents have low-wage jobs. We identify several ways that young people are harmed by their parents’ low-wage, low-quality jobs that point to the urgency of this issue.

Pathways to Family Success Final Evaluation Report

Berna Kahraman et al. — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 09:41:18 PDT

This report presents findings from the second year of the evaluation of the Pathways to Family Success Programs (PFS) funded by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE) and conducted by the Center for Social Policy (CSP) for the period September 2010 through June 2011. The 2010-2011 evaluation aimed to determine the extent to which PFS activities and interventions were effective in supporting learning outcomes and goal attainment for participating families and their children, and to identify strengths and areas of growth for the PFS Programs and partners. There were four Program sites implementing the PFS indepth project during the second year evaluation period. These leading agencies for the PFS sites included the following:

Cambridge Community Learning Center
Greater Lawrence Community ActionCouncil, Inc.
Holyoke Public Schools
Berkshire Children and Families, Inc.

The evaluation design involved gathering information on three different outcome levels: the first level includes outcomes for adults, children and families; the second includes outcomes at the program level, and the third focuses on outcomes for the community partnership as a whole. The evaluation utilized a mixed-method approach including both qualitative and quantitative methods and a range of data sources to answer the research questions related to the PFS indepth projects and community partnerships. The evaluation team also conducted case studies of a sample of Pathways Families by interviewing two families from each Pathways site at two points in time.

Mattapan United Community Questionnaire

Mattapan United et al. — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 09:30:09 PDT

In the winter and spring of 2012, the Steering Committee of the Mattapan United Resilient Communities/Resilient Families project undertook an assessment of community members’ attitudes and opinions for use in planning and program development.

The Committee was assisted in this endeavor by the Center for Social Policy (CSP), McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies, University of Massachusetts Boston. The work of CSP is supported by a grant from The Boston Foundation to provide analytical and evaluation assistance for its Fairmount Initiative along the Fairmount/Indigo Corridor of Boston.

The questionnaire was widely disseminated throughout Mattapan in hard copy and online to those who reside in the neighborhood and those who work in Mattapan. By design, the MU Steering Committee members distributed the questionnaire through their community network ties, using this needs assessment as a way of not only learning from those who live and work in Mattapan, but also of building momentum and increasing engagement among additional community members for its neighborhood change initiative. In particular, the questionnaire was distributed in locations where Mattapan residents regularly gather (e.g., faith-based settings, schools, library, businesses and other). Of primary importance was hearing from Mattapan youth. A total of 691 completed questionnaires were submitted and were analyzed for this report.

It must be emphasized that those who filled out and submitted the questionnaire do not constitute a scientifically selected sample of those who reside and work in the area. With these caveats, and in conjunction with other information already available to the MU Steering committee, the results reported herein may nonetheless be useful as one source of insight and input for the Mattapan United action planning process.

An Alternative to Temporary Staffing: Considerations for Workforce Practitioners

Linda Kato et al. — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 09:22:02 PDT

As the national economy inches toward recovery, risk-averse employers are increasingly turning to temporary workers to fill their hiring gaps. In fact, the temporary staffing industry has been a fixture of the US economy for decades. But the industry added a striking 557,000 jobs from June 2009 to November 2011 — more than half of the jobs created during that period. Growth is likely to continue: A 2011 McKinsey survey of 2,000 firms of differing sizes and across various sectors found that more than a third foresaw their companies increasing their use of temporary workers over the next five years.

The bulk of these temporary workers are employed by for-profit temporary staffing firms that recruit and screen candidates for assignments, as well as handle payroll and a few supervisory duties. These firms supply workers for a sizable share of the low- and semi-skilled, entry-level job openings across many diverse sectors, including blue-collar manufacturing, office/clerical, healthcare and IT.

Workforce development practitioners — who aim to help those with barriers to employment get and keep jobs — have been struggling to make sense of what this growth in the temporary sector means for their clients. While research examining the effects of temporary jobs on subsequent employment and long-term earnings is mixed, such jobs are likely here to stay.

It seems clear that temporary staffing firms will play an increasingly large role in filling the type of job openings that workforce programs often target for their participants. How can program staff navigate this labor market phenomenon? This brief describes the work of “alternative staffing organizations” (ASOs), which seek to mitigate some of the more troubling shortcomings of the temporary employment industry (see “Opportunities, Risks and Dangers of Temporary Jobs” on the next page) with the goal of improving the employment prospects of the most vulnerable job seekers.

The Alternative Staffing Work Experience: Populations, Barriers and Employment Outcomes

Helen Levine et al. — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 09:15:06 PDT

This paper presents results of a three-year study of workers and former workers at four Alternative Staffing Organizations (ASOs). ASOs are fee-for-service job brokering businesses created by community-based organizations and national nonprofits whose objective is to gain access to temporary and “temp to permanent” opportunities for workers facing barriers to employment. The paper looks specifically at the relationship between the personal characteristics of workers, their temporary work experiences through the ASO, and the subsequent employment status of former ASO workers, determined through a follow-up survey conducted by telephone six to eight months after workers had left the ASO. We found several factors influenced employment status at the time of follow-up. Workers with jobs at follow-up had worked substantially more weeks through the ASO, had higher earnings than other study participants, had received some additional services at the ASO, and, in some cases, had held ASO assignments at the ASO’s parent organization. However, workers without a valid driver’s license, those with children and those who were receiving public assistance had more trouble finding a job after their time at the ASO.This paper demonstrates how the complex relationships between individual worker characteristics and experience with an ASO affect future job prospects.

Breakfast and Lunch Participation in Massachusetts Schools

Center for Social Policy, University of Massachusetts Boston et al. — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 09:05:25 PDT

The Center for Social Policy at the University of Massachusetts Boston (CSP), the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget), and the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI), with support from the Eos Foundation, established a research team to examine school food and related programs in Massachusetts.

While the team developed an overview of all federally funded food programs in Massachusetts, the focus of our work was on school meal programs and several aspects of the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP). The full project is composed of several individual pieces of research and analysis, most of which were primarily undertaken by one organization, but all of which benefitted from the expertise and active involvement of the entire team – and from very valuable input from outside experts.

This chartpack, researched and written primarily by MassBudget, analyzes enrollment and participation levels for Massachusetts schools participating in the national school breakfast and lunch programs.

Evaluating the Performance of the U.S. Social Safety Net in the Great Recession

Keith Gunnar Bentele — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 13:06:02 PDT

The following provides an assessment of the performance of both individual safety net programs and the cumulative impact of all safety net benefits and tax credits on household incomes in the early years during and following the 2007-09 recession. Specifically, I examine the extent to which various benefits and tax credits have moderated the impact of earnings losses for households in different positions in the income distribution, with special attention to the experiences of low-income households. In addition, I examine whether these moderating impacts differ for households of various racial/ethnic compositions, female-headed households, and residents of states with more and less accessible safety net programs. Overall, safety net programs have very significantly mitigated what would otherwise have been substantial, and in the case of lower income households, severe losses in income. This has been especially true for many working poor and lower middle class households who have benefited from their eligibility for a range of benefits and credits that are conditional on employment or earnings. However, heavy reliance on employment conditional benefits has reduced access to this income support for households with barriers to labor force participation, such as very poor female-headed households. In addition, across the income distribution non-white households have experienced both disproportionately large earnings losses and less receipt of compensating benefits and credits. Finally, the availability, accessibility, and generosity of benefits and credits varies so substantially across states that very poor households have experienced both the largest and the smallest declines in total household income depending on state of residence. In closing, I stress that many of the programs that have done the most to mitigate earnings losses were either temporary (tax credits) or exhaustible (Unemployment Insurance, TANF) and are not structured to accommodate a prolonged employment crisis such as that we are currently experiencing. Given the dramatic erosion of labor force participation among low-income households and the exhaustibility of the programs that have expanded the most since 2007, I expect the capacity of current safety net programs to mitigate income losses to falter substantially and potentially disastrously in coming years.

Rapid Re-Housing of Families Experiencing Homelessness in Massachusetts: Maintaining Housing Stability

Tim H. Davis et al. — Tue, 01 May 2012 07:27:39 PDT

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“Recovery Act”) provided $1.5 billion for the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP), a temporary program that addressed both homelessness prevention and rapid re-housing of families already experiencing homelessness. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) allocated $44.5 million, including $26.1 million to individual Massachusetts communities and $18.4 million to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Of its funds, the state allocated $8.3 million for rapid re-housing of families who were living in shelters or motels.

This report explores the experiences of 486 of these families who received rapid re-housing assistance from six agencies in four regions of the state. The Center for Social Policy (CSP) at the University of Massachusetts Boston analyzed data about these families to develop a profile of the characteristics of participant families, their assets and barriers related to housing and economic stability, and housing outcomes after 12 to 18 months of program participation. In addition, CSP also completed interviews with staff of each agency, a focus group of Boston area staff, and a detailed review of a selection of case files to provide additional, rich details about the circumstances of individual families.

Low-Wage and Low-Income Workers In The U.S., 1979-2009

Randy Albelda et al. — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 13:04:12 PDT

Three decades of stagnating earnings for bottom decides of male wage earners and 1990s anti-poverty policies promoting employment among poor single mothers suggest increases in the ranks of low-wage breadwinners living in low-income households. Low-wage workers often get few employer sponsored benefits, while antipoverty programs target poor non-earners; these factors suggest low-wage and low-income workers may be unprotected by employer or government supports. Using the Annual Economic and Social Extracts of the Current Population Survey (CPS) from 1980-2010, the authors explore changes in low-income and low-wage earners by gender and family status. The authors find a growth in low-wage and low-income workers for all family statuses over the last three decades, controlling for demographic and human capital characteristics. We also find that for a set of employer and government supports, these workers are the most likely to fall “betwixt and between” eligibility for anti-poverty supports and receiving employer benefits.

The Fairmount Initiative Quarterly Progress Report: People and Places: Understanding the Processes, Outcomes and Impacts of Interventions of the Fairmount Corridor

Donna H. Friedman — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 12:31:37 PST

The Boston Foundation has contracted with the Center for Social Policy as an analytical and evaluation partner for a five year period, December 1, 2010 to November 30, 2015, to maximize effectiveness and create alignment among its people and place based efforts in Boston’s Fairmount commuter rail corridor. The geographic area, encompassing Fairmount neighborhoods which are home to approximately 88,000 residents, extends for 9.2 miles from the Newmarket Transit Station in the north to the Readville Transit Station in the south.

The detail to follow in this report provides an overview of each of the four initiatives, its progress over the past quarter, from July 1, 2011 through September 30, 2011, as well as the Center’s completed and upcoming evaluative and analytical work.

The LONG TERM GOALS, as delineated in The Boston Foundation’s Outcome plan with the Center for Social Policy, provide a structure for the content to follow.

Finding the Right Fit: How Alternative Staffing Affects Worker Outcomes

Françoise Carré et al. — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 12:20:11 PST

This report reviews our findings from two and one-half years of monitoring and evaluating the activities of four alternative staffing organizations (ASOs). ASOs are worker-centered, socialpurpose businesses created by community-based organizations and national nonprofits. These fee-for-service organizations use the model of temporary staffing services to help job seekers who face labor market barriers access work experience and potential employers. They place job seekers in temporary and “temp-to-perm” assignments with customer businesses, charging their customers a wage-based markup fee. This field of practice first emerged in the 1970s and grew rapidly in the 1990s; it now includes over 50 ASOs. Alternative staffing complements other workforce development approaches, including job readiness, training, and sectoral strategies, to successfully connect people to jobs and promote career progression.

We conducted this monitoring and evaluation study between 2009 and 2011. It focuses on outcomes for workers who use ASO services to find employment and on customer businesses that fill jobs through these services. Our study is part of the Alternative Staffing Demonstration (ASDII), an initiative of the C. S. Mott Foundation; it is the second national demonstration sponsored by the Foundation.

Poverty in Massachusetts for Families with Children

Randy Albelda et al. — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 13:45:28 PDT

Massachusetts has lower poverty rates compared to the US average for all families with children. The poverty rates for female-headed families with children (single mother families) are 5.5 times higher than those of married couples with children in Massachusetts and the US.

Poverty rates for families with children differ considerably across Massachusetts’ ten largest cities, and are typically considerably higher than the Massachusetts average for all family types. Springfield has the highest poverty rates for each family type with children while Quincy has the lowest.

Poverty in Massachusetts by Race

Randy Albelda et al. — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 13:43:56 PDT

Massachusetts has lower total poverty rates compared to the US average. However, Asian and other minorities in Massachusetts higher poverty rates while Black and White populations have lower poverty rates than compared to US averages.

Poverty rates by race differ considerably across Massachusetts’ ten largest cities. For Blacks, the highest poverty rates are in Fall River (41.7%), for Asians it is Boston (30.2%) and for Whites is it s New Bedford (19.4%). Quincy’s poverty rates are the lowest for Whites (8.0%) and other racial groups (11.2%), while Cambridge has the lowest poverty rates for Blacks at 15.2% and Brockton for Asians at 4.5%.

Poverty in Massachusetts by Nativity

Randy Albelda et al. — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 13:42:25 PDT

Massachusetts has lower poverty rates compared to US average for both native born and foreign born populations. But, foreign-born poverty rates in Massachusetts are only slightly lower than those for foreign born in the US.

Poverty rates for those born outside the US differ considerably across Massachusetts’ ten largest cities, ranging from 8.3% in Quincy to 28.1% in Springfield. But foreign-born poverty rates do not always exceed those of foreign born. In Brockton, Lowell, New Bedford, Springfield and Worcester those born outside the US were less likely to be poor than the native-born population.

Poverty in Massachusetts by Household Status

Randy Albelda et al. — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 13:39:56 PDT

Household status matters in terms of poverty. People living in married-couples families are much less likely to be poor than those living in non-married households in Massachusetts and the US.

Poverty rates in Massachusetts’ ten largest cities are typically higher than the rates for the state for all households types. Springfield has the highest rates for those in married couples, female-headed families, and males not living with relatives. Lynn has the highest for females not living with relatives. Quincy has the lowest rates among all household statuses.

Poverty in Massachusetts by Gender

Randy Albelda et al. — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 13:38:01 PDT

Massachusetts has lower poverty rates compared to US average. But, like the US, female poverty rates exceed those of males.

Female poverty rates are higher than male poverty rates in Massachusetts' ten largest cities. But, these rates vary widely from 8.2% for males and 9.9% for females in Quincy to 25.6% for males and 29.1% for females in Springfield.

Poverty in Massachusetts by Ethnicity

Randy Albelda et al. — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 13:34:42 PDT

At just under 29%, the poverty rate for Hispanics is Massachusetts far exceed the poverty rate of 22% for Hispanics in the US. The poverty rate for non-Hispanics in Massachusetts is less than the US average.

Almost half of all Hispanics in Massachusetts reside in the 10 largest cities, compared to 25% of the total population (data no shown on table). Hispanic poverty rates differ considerably across Massachusetts’ ten largest cities, ranging from 6.3% in Quincy to 53.3% in Lowell.

Poverty in Massachusetts by Education Status: Population 25 Years and Older

Randy Albelda et al. — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 13:32:43 PDT

Massachusetts has lower poverty rates compared to the US average. But, like the US, the poverty rate for the people with less than high school graduate far exceed those of higher education level.

Poverty rates differ considerably across Massachusetts’ ten largest cities, ranging from 18.2% in Quincy to 39.6% in Springfield for those with the lowest educational attainment. Cambridge, one of the best-known academic center in the nation, has the highest poverty rate among those with a bachelor’s degree or higher educational level.

Poverty in Massachusetts by Age

Randy Albelda et al. — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 13:30:51 PDT

Massachusetts has lower poverty rates compared to the US average. But, like the US, child poverty rates far exceed those of working age adults (ages 18-64) and those 65 and older.

Child poverty rates differ considerably across Massachusetts’ ten largest cities, ranging from 11.1% in Quincy to 41.0% in Springfield. Boston has the highest poverty rates for those who are 65 and older. Even though most over 65 and older are not employed, this group has lower poverty rates than “working-age” adults in six of the cities. In Boston, Lowell, Lynn, and Quincy, elder poverty rates are higher than those 18 to 64 years old.