John Glenn College of Public Affairs
Ohio Education Research Center

Ohio’s Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment

The Ohio State University is collaborating with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) to conduct a statewide randomized controlled study (RTC) evaluating the effectiveness of the Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) program.

RESEA is a federally funded initiative designed to help Unemployment Insurance (UI) claimants return to work more quickly. The program verifies the eligibility of UI claimants and provides job search assistance, such as one-on-one meetings and labor market information workshops, for claimants at most risk of exhausting UI benefits.

The statewide randomization began in July 2024 and will continue through December 2025 with randomization of approximately 45,000-50,000 claimants to ensure statistically meaningful results. Eligible participants are randomized weekly into three groups:

  • Treatment Group 1: Two one-on-one appointments with RESEA advisors;
  • Treatment Group 2: Two one-on-one appointments with RESEA advisors and a workshop;
  • Control Group: No RESEA services.

We supplement these quantitative analyses with an implementation study to document Ohio’s RESEA service delivery model and examine barriers to program implementation and claimant participation.

We will utilize this randomization opportunity to examine additional outcomes and subgroups. Specifically,

  • We will examine whether RESEA services increase participation in the workforce programs.
  • We will also study whether RESEA services significantly benefit vulnerable populations, such as those who enrolled in SNAP benefits concurrently, by improving their labor market outcomes and reducing reliance on both UI and SNAP benefits.
  • We anticipate that findings in this study will inform ODJFS of the effectiveness of the RESEA services, identify areas for improvement, and help prioritize specific populations who may benefit more from RESEA services.
  • After randomization concludes in December, 2025, we expect to complete the analysis of UI duration and reemployment outcomes and to release the final report in Summer 2027.