OSU_RESEA_SingleSourceJustificationForm_05052025.pdf

Date of Request:

JFS

(Rev.

This is a continuation of work for for an evaluation study of the Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) program funded by the US Department of Labor (DOL). OSU/CHRR was chosen because of the existing partnership with OWD in Ohio Analytics and its role as a researcher and as a data steward for the Ohio Longitudinal Data Archive (OLDA), which includes much of the data that will be used for the study. OSU/CHRR maintains the OLDA on behalf of ODJFS/OWD and the partner state agencies (listed below in question 3). The existing relationship between OSU/CHRR through the Ohio Analytics partnership has provided OSU/CHRR

A comparison of the salary costs in OSU/CHRR’s budget with Occupational Employment and Wage Data for Ohio and the Columbus area show that the budgeted salaries are consistent with state and regional salaries for those occupations. The cost for data preparation is minimized with much of the baseline data already indexed in the OLDA, leaving only the data collection and indexing for the test strategies. Time, as in the hours of state staff as well as the hours that would be involved with an outside supplier learning the RESEA structure, the local workforce structure, the available data, and data is also cost factor to consider. By leveraging

Through the longstanding partnership with OSU/CHRR for Ohio Analytics and the OLDA, OSU has led a multitude of research and analytics projects on behalf of ODJFS and the other Ohio Analytics partner agencies. Further, OSU has completed similar evaluation studies for other OWD programs in the past, including two evaluation studies of OWD projects funded under DOL Workforce Innovation Fund (WIF) grants.

The RESEA program and the related evaluation study will require access to confidential Unemployment Insurance (UI) Claimant data, as all RESEA participants are UI Claimants deemed unlikely to return to their jobs. OSU/CHRR is authorized to access UI data as the OLDA contains UI data files. OSU/CHRR is well-versed in data security protocol and has proven to be reliable and responsible stewards of confidential ODJFS data. The risk of accidental disclosure of the data is significantly lower with OSU/CHRR than sharing data with a potentially unknown supplier. Another factor is that the RESEA Program Manager has no experience with evaluation studies. Given the

Section 306 of the Social Security Act, which authorizes the RESEA program requires an evaluation study to ensure that program services, policies, and procedures are evidence-based with proven successful outcomes.

All state workforce agencies (SWAs) are conducting evaluation studies of their RESEA programs at the same time. DOL has enlisted one of its research contractors, Abt Associates, to coordinate state evaluation activities and to serve as a resource for SWAs from the design phase all the way through implementation. DOL will use the findings from the evaluation studies to not only ensure SWA compliance with RESEA regulations, but to develop nationwide standards and practices for the RESEA program.

OWD and OSU/CHRR have been collaborating to improve the quality of employment and educational data resources for policy and program decisions. The collaboration was formalized in 2011 through a DOL Workforce Data Quality Initiative (WDQI) grant award to ODJFS. Under the grant, the OLDA was developed, and the Ohio Analytics partnership was formed, which in addition to ODJFS/OWD and OSU/CHRR, includes the Ohio Department of Education, the Ohio Department of Higher Education, Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities, and the Ohio Housing Finance Agency. The partnership was solidified under a second round WDQI grant and the