May 20, 2024
In January 2022, Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) commissioned Actus to conduct a third-party evaluation of the RCM/RESEA program, combining the requirements of the Federally funded RESEA (Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment) program and those of the state-funded RCM (Reemployment Case Management) program. This program involved early and frequent meetings between Unemployment Insurance (UI) claimants and job counselors throughout their UI claim.
The primary objective of the evaluation is to conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) impact study to assess the effectiveness of the RCM/RESEA program in: 1) assisting UI claimants to secure employment and improve their earnings, and 2) reducing participants’ UI duration and total benefit amount collected.
The Interim Report presents promising preliminary findings about the effectiveness of the program based on data halfway through the evaluation period. Notably, these preliminary findings show that the RCM/RESEA program:
Increased the receipt of job counseling services and facilitated frequent meetings between participants and workforce staff.
Reduced average UI duration by 0.63 weeks.
Led to an average of $204 in UI savings per participant.
Had no statistically significant effects on participants’ employment rates and earnings in the first two quarters after UI entry.
Click here for the full Interim Report.
Click here to learn more about this project.