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ESD says RESEA reduces claim durations, ties funding to evidence-based measures
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Summary
ESD told the UI Advisory Committee that its RESEA reemployment program serves roughly 39,000 individuals a year and randomized trials found modest reductions in claim duration and exhaustion rates; the department emphasized evidence-based methods and increased FY27 funding requirements.
The Employment Security Department told the Unemployment Insurance Advisory Committee Dec. 10 that its RESEA (Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment) program reduces claim durations and strengthens program integrity, and that federal rules increasingly require evidence-based interventions.
Assistant director Alberto Isiordan said RESEA serves about 39,000 unique customers annually through roughly 63,000 service appointments, pairing UI claimants with individualized reemployment plans and labor-market information. "RESEA helps claimants return to work faster and reduces average duration on unemployment," he said.
Isiordan cited randomized controlled trials run by the department's labor-market team in 2022 and 2023: reductions in claim duration of about 0.78 weeks in 2022 and 0.59 weeks in 2023, per-person benefit reductions of roughly $452 and $295 in the respective years, and a nearly 3-percentage-point drop in the probability of exhausting benefits. He said RESEA also slightly increased the probability of employment in the quarter after a claim (about 2.5 percentage points in 2022 and 1.3 in 2023).
Funding and requirements: Isiordan explained RESEA funding consists of base funding, additional funding states may claim, and outcome (performance) payments. Washington earned outcome payments in 2023 and 2024 totaling just over $1 million; the department expects 2025 outcome payment results in February. He noted that FY'25 and FY'26 required 40% of RESEA funds go to evidence-based interventions, rising to 50% in FY'27.
Why it matters: The program aims to shorten unemployment spells and reduce incorrect payments, while federal rules tie portions of funding to interventions proven effective by research.
The committee did not vote on the presentation; the department posted its evaluation link in the meeting chat.
