Karin Martinson

Researcher and policy analyst Karin Martinson has extensive knowledge of workforce development and income security policies affecting low-income populations.  With more than 30 years of experience, her research focuses on identifying effective strategies to assist disadvantaged groups seeking to gain a foothold in the labor market. The groups include low-skilled adults, cash-assistance recipients, the long-term unemployed, and those with disabilities or substance use disorders. She oversees Abt’s large portfolio of work at the U.S. Department of Labor and has worked with a wide range of federal and state agencies and philanthropic organizations.  She has led numerous research and evaluation projects, primarily in workforce and income support arena, as a project director, principal investigator, task leader, and content expert. She co-authored more than 50 research reports and briefs and contributed to published volumes on workforce policy. 
 
Martinson oversees proposal development; study design, execution, and quality; budgeting and expenditures; and dissemination activities projects with annual revenue totaling approximately $5 million at the Department of Labor (DOL). Her work includes serving as project director for the Ready to Work Partnership Evaluation and co-principal investigator for the American Apprenticeship Initiative for DOL and the Building Evidence on Employment Strategies project for the Department of Health and Human Services.

Martinson has demonstrated expertise in developing and implementing experimental research designs in a wide range of settings. She has designed and conducted implementation studies using multiple data collection and analytic strategies and synthesized research results. She has in-depth knowledge of program implementation research and application to promote high-quality implementation of evidence-based interventions. She also is adept at helping stakeholders identify appropriate approaches to addressing problems and using data for improvement.

Expertise:

• Employment, education, and training programs for low-skilled adults
• Income support programs
• Substance use disorders
• Implementation studies
• Impact studies using experimental designs

Key Projects:

• Ready to Work Partnership Grant Evaluation, U.S. Department of Labor
• Job Search Assistance Strategies Evaluation, U.S. Department of Labor
• Building Evidence on Employment Strategies,  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• American Apprenticeship Evaluation, U.S. Department of Labor
• Pathways to Advancing Careers and Education, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• Green Jobs and Health Care Impact Evaluation, U.S. Department of Labor

Selected Publications:

• Martinson, Karin, Doug McDonald, Amy Berninger, and Kyla Wasserman. 2021. Building Evidence-Based Strategies to Improve Employment Outcomes for Individuals with Substance Use Disorders. OPRE Report 2020-171. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
• Gardiner, Karen, Karin Martinson, and Samuel Dastrup. 2021. Instituto del Progreso Latino’s Carreras en Salud Program: Three-Year Impact Report, OPRE Report 2021-97. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
• Martinson, Karin, Sung-Woo Cho, Asaph Glosser, Karen Loya, and Samuel Dastrup. 2021. Washington State’s Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) Program: Three-Year Impact Report. OPRE Report 2021-102. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
• Martinson, Karin, Eleanor Harvill, and Deena Schwartz. 2020. The Effectiveness of Different Approaches for Moving Cash Assistance Recipients to Work: Findings from the Job Search Assistance Strategies Evaluation, OPRE Report #2020-113. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
• Martinson, Karin and Carolyn O’Brien.  2010. “Conducting Case Studies” in Handbook of Practical Program Evaluation, Joseph Wholey, Harry Hatry, and Kathryn Newcomer, eds.  San Francisco, CA:  Jossey-Bass.