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Researchers outline BEAS study to test employment supports for people with behavioral health barriers
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Summary
Researchers leading the Building Evidence on Employment Strategies (BEAS) project described a multi-partner evaluation of employment programs for people with substance use disorders and behavioral health conditions, saying the work—13 studies across 19 programs in 13 states—aims to inform the Administration for Children and Families (ACF).
Researchers leading the Building Evidence on Employment Strategies (BEAS) project described the initiative and its goals in a recorded briefing of program staff and partners. Presenter said, “Finding employment can be difficult for many people, including those with barriers like substance use disorder or mental health diagnosis.”
The project, led by MDRC with external research partners, is designed to build evidence on which employment interventions help low-income people experiencing behavioral health barriers move into work and increase earnings. "BEAS is a large scale evaluation and learning project," a Researcher said, adding the evaluation is intended to "help inform the Administration for Children and Families about promising interventions for employment strategies for people with low incomes who may experience a range of barriers to employment." The transcript also names MAF Associates and APT Global as research partners and later references MEF Associates and AbtGlobal as collaborators; the transcript uses multiple spellings for some partner names.
Organizers said BEAS combines different study designs to evaluate programs on employment outcomes, program operations, and participant experience. "Bee's is conducting 13 studies of various designs at 19 different programs across 13 states," the Presenter said. Staff and program specialists described the populations and day-to-day challenges the studies examine: many participants have caregiving responsibilities, need a GED, face transportation limits and criminal-record barriers, or are managing recovery.
An Employment specialist said staff work one-on-one with participants to identify job preferences, contact employers to understand hiring practices, and tailor supports accordingly. "I work with the participant, and then we work together in term of finding them job," the Employment specialist said. On local barriers, the specialist added, "I'd say the biggest barrier to employment in Toledo is transportation," and another staff member described using geographic mapping to locate jobs within walking distance for clients.
Researchers and program staff said peer learning is a project component: in 2024, BEAS staff convened in New York City for a "summer swarm" hosted by MDRC and partners to exchange practices and collaborate. Program staff said those convenings surface both shared challenges and local differences in what works, which researchers said will help explain why techniques succeed in some settings and not others.
Project leaders framed BEAS as intended to produce evidence that the Administration for Children and Families and other funders could use to guide investments in employment supports. "We are really interested in building the evidence base that the Administration for Children and Families and hopefully other entities can use," a Researcher said, noting the project’s potential to inform policy and program expansion.
The briefing did not include formal votes or policy decisions; presenters described ongoing evaluation work, peer-learning activities and the project’s stated aim to feed findings to ACF and other funders.
