Section 4022 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (PL 113-79) mandated that the USDA conduct a review of effective employment and training (E&T) program components and practices no less than once every 5 years. This is the second in the series of reviews, covering literature published between 2016 and 2020. The study is intended to provide information that can be used to align SNAP E&T policy and programs to achieve the best training, employment, and wage gains for SNAP participants and integrate the E&T program within the broader public workforce system.
Since research specifically on SNAP E&T is limited, this review also includes research on the effectiveness of E&T components offered to low-income individuals by other federal and state agencies and the private sector. The review pays special attention to strategies and topics relevant to developments in SNAP E&T since the last study, including the new requirement to provide case management in SNAP E&T, strategies to improve referral and retention, and promising work-based learning interventions like apprenticeships.
This report summarizes the research review and provides specific recommendations for building effective SNAP E&T programs, including recommendations related to developing successful workforce system partnerships and identifying the right mix of services to meet the needs of participants. The report also includes an annotated bibliography, in Appendix A, containing information about the 105 research studies and papers selected for the review.