The Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) program is a federally funded initiative designed to support Unemployment Insurance (UI) recipients who are most at risk of exhausting their benefits. In Texas, RESEA services are delivered through 28 local workforce boards across 100+ offices. These services include outreach to eligible customers, orientation sessions, individualized employment plans, customized labor market information, and comprehensive follow-up services.

Phase I: Implementation and Process Evaluation (IPE)

The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), utilizing grant funding from the Department of Labor (DOL), partnered with the Texas A&M Public Policy Research Institute (PPRI) to conduct a multifaceted evaluation of the program. During the initial IPE phase, the PPRI research team performed an exhaustive review of the program’s infrastructure:

1. Document Review: Analyzed thousands of pages of state, board-level, and internal program documents.
2. Site Visits: Visited all 28 workforce boards and 112 offices across Texas.
3. Qualitative Research: Conducted 109 interviews and focus groups with RESEA providers and board staff.
4. Field Observations: Performed 86 customer interaction observations, including orientations and one-on-one sessions.
5. Surveys: Collected 2,004 customer survey responses (available in English and Spanish) representing all boards and surveyed 1,566 TWC conference attendees over a three-year period.
6. Comparative Analysis: Conducted interviews with RESEA administrators in Florida, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania.

This data collection culminated in a series of interim reports to the TWC and a final comprehensive report. Click here to read the full report.

Phase II: Causal Inference and Effectiveness

In the next phase, the research team will conduct a series of evaluations designed to measure the effectiveness of the RESEA program under specific conditions. PPRI has planned two quasi-experimental design (QED) evaluations using data collected by the TWC.

Additionally, PPRI is collaborating with the TWC to conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the impact of RESEA program services. These evaluations are currently ongoing.

Learn more about RESEA here: https://www.twc.texas.gov/programs/reemployment-services-eligibility​https://www.twc.texas.gov/programs/reemployment-services-eligibility

​