RESEA Evidence-Building Week—A Celebration and Sharing of States’ RESEA Evaluation and Evidence-Building Efforts

The Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessments (RESEA) Program is at the forefront of federal efforts to promote ongoing program learning and improvement in workforce policy by incorporating evidence building as a permanent feature of the program. Established by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Employment and Training Administration (ETA), RESEA aims to help Unemployment Insurance (UI) claimants return to work more quickly and promote integration of services with the broader workforce system. Since 2018 when amendments to Section 306(c) of the Social Security Act permanently authorized RESEA and allocated funding for state evaluations, states have played a central role in building evidence around what works to help UI claimants return to work. 

Join us for RESEA Evidence-Building Week to highlight and celebrate the efforts and accomplishments of states in evaluating their RESEA Programs! Abt Global and its partners co-sponsored a series of virtual panel sessions with DOL’s ETA and Chief Evaluation Office (CEO). The series features presentations and moderated discussions among states, DOL’s Office of Unemployment Insurance (OUI), Office of Policy Development and Research (OPDR), CEO, and DOL’s contractors with the RESEA Evaluation Technical Assistance (EvalTA) Team.

Session 1: Look How Far We’ve Come! A Celebration of States’ RESEA Evaluation Efforts
Tuesday, August 8, 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. ET
This session celebrated the progress of RESEA evaluation efforts and described the status of states’ RESEA evaluations nationally. In addition, state panelists discussed their experiences implementing different evaluation types and lessons learned about planning and conducting RESEA evaluations.

• Deborah Beaudoin, Director Employment Services Operations, Connecticut Department of Labor 
• Ellie Hartman, Chief Evaluation Officer for the Workforce Data Integration System, Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development  
• Melissa Johnston, RESEA Program Manager, New York State Department of Labor  
• Matthew Owens, RESEA Program Administrator 3, Ohio Department of Job & Family Services 
• Wayne Gordon, Director, U.S. DOL, Employment and Training Administration
• Jim Garner, Administrator, U.S. DOL, Office of Unemployment Insurance
• Elizabeth Copson, RESEA Evaluation Technical Assistance Team, Abt Global 

Session 2: Always Learning Something New: How Building a Culture of Learning and Evaluation Leads to Program Improvement
Tuesday, August 8, 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. ET
This session discussed the value of learning about RESEA programs through evaluation and how ongoing evidence-building contributes to continuous program improvement. State panelists discussed what building a learning culture means to them.

• Gustavo Aviles, Chief Analytics Officer/LMI Director, Washington State Employment Security Department  
• Suja Joseph, Director of Reemployment Programs, Maryland Department of Labor  
• Suzette Robinson, Director, RESEA Program, Texas Workforce Commission 
• Gloria Salas-Kos, Senior Program Analyst, U.S. DOL, Employment and Training Administration
• Larry Burns, Workforce Development Specialist, U.S. DOL, Office of Unemployment Insurance
• Daniel Hays, Division Chief for Legislation, U.S. DOL, Office of Unemployment Insurance 
• Demetra Nightingale, RESEA Evaluation Technical Assistance Team, Urban Institute 
• David Kaz, RESEA Evaluation Technical Assistance Team, Abt Global 

Session 3: Emerging Evidence from RESEA Evaluations
Wednesday, August 9, 2:30 – 4:00 p.m. ET
This session shared the state of the evidence on RESEA and included a discussion among state panelists on what they are learning from their RESEA evaluations and how they have used or plan to use evaluation findings.

• Jenn Adams, RESEA Program Coordinator, Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations  
• Sarah Bramblet, Assistant Director of Workforce Development Services, Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training 
• Megan Swindal, Director of Data and Performance, Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training  
• Kathy Cedillo, RESEA Program Coordinator, Nebraska Department of Labor
• Evan Murphy, Evaluation Specialist, U.S. DOL, Chief Evaluation Office 
• Eric Davenport, Workforce Development Specialist, U.S. DOL, Office of Unemployment Insurance
• Andrew Clarkwest, RESEA Evaluation Technical Assistance Team, Abt Global 

Session 4: What’s Next for RESEA and State Evaluations?
Thursday, August 10, 2:30 – 4:00 p.m. ET
This session focused on the future of RESEA evaluation efforts. It included an overview of the Clearinghouse for Labor Research and Evaluation (CLEAR) and a moderated discussion with DOL and the Evaluation TA team on the evidence base and future DOL-led RESEA evaluation efforts.

• Evan Murphy, Evaluation Specialist, U.S. DOL, Chief Evaluation Office
• Kelly Gleason, Senior Mathematical Statistician, U.S. DOL, Chief Evaluation Office 
• Michelle Beebe, Deputy Administrator, U.S. DOL, Office of Unemployment Insurance 
• Angelique Crutchfield, RESEA Evaluation Technical Assistance Team, Abt Global 
• Correne Saunders, RESEA Evaluation Technical Assistance Team, Abt Global