Implementation and second-year impacts for lone parents in the UK Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) demonstration

This report presents new findings on the implementation and effectiveness of Britain's Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) demonstration programme, which is being carefully evaluated though a large-scale randomised control trial. Launched in 2003, ERA was envisioned as a Ônext step' in British welfare-to-work policies. ERA's distinctive combination of post-employment advisory support and financial incentives was designed to help low-income individuals who entered work sustain employment and advance in the labour market. The programme was administered by Jobcentre Plus (which operates the nation's main welfare-to-work programmes) in six regions of the UK: East Midlands, London, North East England, North West England, Scotland and Wales. Although the operational phase of this special demonstration project is now over, the evaluation will continue to follow study members' work and benefit outcomes for several more years. <br />

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The analysis presented here focuses on the experiences of lone parents (most of whom are mothers) within the first two years following their entry into the study. A separate companion report examines findings for long-term unemployed customers (most of whom are men).