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This bibliography compiles a curated list of resources relevant to employment coaching, approaches to strengthening self-regulation skills in employment programs, and complementary financial coaching approaches. It focuses on accessible, practitioner-oriented materials that provide insights into coaching approaches, self-regulation skills, and program implementation. The bibliography supplements the list of briefs and reports from the Employment Coaching project.
The resources are organized into three main categories:
- Self-regulation Skills in Employment Programs, which presents key resources on approaches to strengthening self-regulation skills and their application in employment programs. The section is organized into three subcategories:
- Foundational Research and Concepts, which provides theoretical frameworks and basic research;
- Program Applications and Evidence, which examines how these concepts are applied in employment programs; and
- Implementation and Measurement Strategies, which offers practical guidance for employment and workforce development programs interested in incorporating a focus on strengthening self-regulation skills into their service delivery models.
- Employment Coaching Programs and Evaluations, which highlights specific employment coach program examples where coaches work collaboratively with participants to set and work toward goals without directing the participant, and their outcomes.
- Financial Coaching Programs as a Complementary Approach, where the coaching models incorporate financial management and demonstrate how financial coaching often complements employment services – as in programs like LIFT and MyGoals.
Each resource includes a summary and, where applicable, notes on related categories or subcategories within the bibliography.
Self-regulation Skills in Employment Programs
Foundational Research and Concepts
| Study | Summary | Related subcategories/categories |
|---|---|---|
| Building Core Capabilities for Life: The Science Behind the Skills Adults Need to Succeed in Parenting and in the Workplace. Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 2016. | This report combines research from the biological and behavioral sciences with practical lessons from working with adults and families to provide effective solutions for helping individuals develop more effective skills for coping with adversity. It explores how core capabilities develop, how they relate to success in parenting and the workplace, and how to provide opportunities to develop them. | |
| Using Brain Science to Design New Pathways Out of Poverty. Babcock, E. Boston, MA: Crittenton Women's Union, 2014 | EMPath (formerly Crittenton Women's Union) CEO and Frontiers of Innovation associate Beth Babcock spoke at TEDxBeaconStreet about taking a science-informed approach to breaking the cycle of poverty. Her talk explains how poverty impairs the development of executive function in the brain and discusses new coaching models intended to allow clients to practice and rebuild their executive function skills. | |
| Fostering and Measuring Skills: Improving Cognitive and Non-cognitive Skills to Promote Lifetime Success. Kautz, T., Heckman, J.J., Diris, R., ter Weel, B., & Borghans, L. OECD, Paris, 2014. | This report reviews the literature on measuring and fostering various cognitive and non-cognitive (self-regulation) skills. It provides a framework for measuring skills and summarizes a range of interventions designed to enhance such skills. |
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Program Applications and Evidence
| Study | Summary | Related subcategories |
|---|---|---|
| Goal-orientated Adult Learning in Self-Sufficiency (GOALS). Using Psychology-Informed Strategies to Promote Self-Sufficiency: A Review of Innovative Programs. Anderson, M. A., Brown, E., Cavadel, E., Derr, M., and Kauff, J. OPRE Report #2018-41, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2018. | This report describes five employment programs that use coaching or other psychology-informed strategies to promote self-sufficiency among low-income adults. It explores how these programs aim to strengthen participants' self-regulation skills and create supportive environments, discusses implementation successes and challenges, and offers lessons for other programs considering similar approaches. | |
| Self-Regulation and Goal Attainment: A New Perspective for Employment Programs. Cavadel, E., Kauff, J., Anderson, M.A., McConnell, S., and Derr, M. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2017. | This report defines self-regulation and the specific self-regulation skills that may be most relevant for attaining employment-related goals. It describes how these skills may be hindered by environmental factors and how they can be strengthened through interventions. | |
| Using the Science About Self-Regulation to Improve Economic Outcomes for TANF Families. Derr, M., McCay, J., Person, A., and Anderson, M.A. OPRE Report #2018-88, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2018. | This brief articulates a vision for TANF programs informed by the science related to self-regulation and goal achievement. It emphasizes three principles for helping TANF recipients use self-regulation strategies to improve economic outcomes: reducing sources of stress, strengthening core life skills, and supporting responsive relationships. | |
| Executive Function Skills: What They Are and Why They Are Relevant for Workforce and Related Human Service Programs. Pavetti, L. Paper prepared for the Association for Public Policy and Management Annual Conference, Washington, DC, November 9, 2018. | This paper provides program administrators and staff with information on self-regulation skills (referred to as executive skills) relevant to their work and identifies implications for the design and delivery of workforce programs. It aims to help programs develop new models of service delivery that will result in better employment and earnings outcomes for adults and their children. |
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Implementation and Measurement Strategies
| Study | Summary | Related subcategories |
|---|---|---|
| New Perspectives on Practice: A Guide to Measuring Self-Regulation and Goal-Related Outcomes in Employment Programs. Cavadel, E.,. Kauff, J., Person, A., and Kahn-Kravis, T. OPRE Report #2018-37. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2018. | This brief aims to help programs collect and use data from goal-related measures in a way that minimizes cost and disruption to program operations, has the potential to inform ongoing program improvements, and provides evidence for the field about how to affect goal-related outcomes. | |
| Self-Regulation and Toxic Stress Report 3: A Comprehensive Review of Self-Regulation Interventions. Murray, D.W., Rosanbalm, K., and Christopoulos, C. . OPRE Report #2016-34. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2016. | This report reviews key concepts related to self-regulation development and the impact of stress and summarizes findings from a review of self-regulation interventions within ACF programs, including employment and training programs. Recommendations focus on skills instruction, caregiver training, co-regulation support, and self-regulation coaching. | |
| Self-Regulation and Toxic Stress Report 4: Implications for Programs and Practice. Murray, D.W., Rosanbalm, K., and Christopoulos, C. OPRE Report #2016-97. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2015. | This report reviews the key concepts for understanding self-regulation, including the relationship between stress and self-regulation. It summarizes principal findings from a review of self-regulation interventions for children and youth. |
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Employment Coaching Programs and Evaluations
| Study | Summary | Related subcategories |
|---|---|---|
| Implementation and Impact of a Goal-Oriented Coaching Program for Cash Assistance Recipients in Michigan. Martinson, K., Gardiner, K., Harvill, E., and Cook, R. OPRE Report #2020-73. Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2020. | This report evaluates two approaches to assist cash assistance recipients in Michigan: (1) goal-oriented coaching, and (2) traditional case-management that focuses on required work activities. The study compares the implementation and impact of these two approaches in helping recipients find and maintain employment. | |
| Experimental Evidence of a Work Support Strategy That Is Effective for At-Risk Families: The Building Nebraska Families Program. Meckstroth, A., Moore, Q., Burwick, A., Heflin, C., Ponza, M., and McCay, J.. Social Service Review 2019 93:3, 389-428. | This study found that the Building Nebraska Families program, an intensive life skills education and home visiting intervention for work-mandatory TANF recipients, had significant, robust effects on employment, earnings, and well-being for the most disadvantaged subgroup, with effects growing over the 30-month follow-up period. | |
| The Future of Executive-Skills Coaching and Behavioral Science in Programs that Serve Teens and Young Adults. Dechausay, N. 2018. New York: MDRC. | This report summarizes how three programs—New Moms in Chicago, Teen Parent Connection in Atlanta, and Women’s Resource Center in Grand Rapids—implemented a model of coaching called Executive-Skills Coaching. It discusses how the programs adapted the coaching, the challenges coaches faced, and the diverse experiences of participants. The clients served by the programs included young pregnant and parenting women and women involved in the criminal justice system. |
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Financial Coaching Programs as a Complementary Approach
| Study | Summary | Related subcategories |
|---|---|---|
| Using a Financial Coaching Approach to Help Low Income Families Achieve Economic Success: Challenges and Opportunities for the Field. Collins, J., and Murrell, K. (2010). | This report explores the growth of financial coaching services for low-income populations, examining various coaching models, challenges, and opportunities for the field. It discusses the potential of coaching to improve financial behaviors and outcomes, while highlighting the need for standardized training, organizational culture shifts, and rigorous evaluation to demonstrate effectiveness. | |
| An Evaluation of the Impacts and Implementation Approaches of Financial Coaching Programs. Theodos, B., Simms, M., Treskon, M., Stacy, C., Brash, R., Emam, D., Daniels, R., and Collazos, J. (2015). Urban Institute. | This evaluation of two financial coaching programs—The Financial Clinic in New York City and Branches in Miami, Florida—found significant positive impacts on participants' savings, debt reduction, and credit scores. The study demonstrates how coaching approaches can effectively support low- and moderate-income populations in achieving financial goals. | |
| Understanding Financial Capability Interventions within Employment-Related Contexts for Adults with Low Incomes: Final Report. Elkin, S., Patnaik, A., Perales, L., Hearn, S., Treskon, M., Fung, L., Sonoda, P., and Wagner, L. OPRE Report 2024-012, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2024. | This report summarizes key findings about the approaches organizations use to integrate employment and training (E&T) services and financial capability interventions, their motivations for doing so, details on the types of financial capability services involved, and participant perspectives on integrated services. | |
| Integrating Financial Capability into Employment Services: Literature Synthesis. Treskon, M., Congdon, W.J., Martinchek, K., and Carther, A. OPRE Report #2021-04, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2021. | This brief looks at research on the integration of E&T services and financial capability interventions and their effects on economic outcomes for adults with low incomes. A growing body of evidence shows that financial capability programs and services may have some positive effects on participants’ financial well-being and that financial capability interventions and E&T programs might work together well to improve financial and economic outcomes for adults with low incomes in numerous ways. | |
| Integrating Financial Capability and Employment and Training Services: Participant Perspectives. Patnaik, A., and Perales, L. OPRE Report # 2024-002, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2024. | This research brief describes the experiences of individuals with low incomes who participated in programs that integrate E&T and financial capability services. Using a composite character approach, the brief narrates the journey of a participant through an E&T program and a financial capability intervention. In addition, the brief presents recommendations from interviewed participants on how programs could improve the integration of E&T and financial capability services. |