Population: Low-Income Populations

Low-Wage Workers

The income of low-wage workers is often not enough to lift them and their families out of poverty. MDRC is designing and testing initiatives to improve the financial well-being of low-wage workers and help them remain steadily employed and move into better jobs.

The Latest

Report

Connecting Parents to Occupational Training

The Families Forward Demonstration examined strategies to help parents with low and middle incomes make reliable child support payments by increasing employment and earnings. The model, which emphasized free occupational training activities, shows promise for helping parents qualify for jobs in their chosen fields and for improving child support compliance.

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Brief

Civil Contempt of Court for Child Support Noncompliance at the PJAC Demonstration Sites

The Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) project integrates procedural justice (the idea of fairness in processes) into enforcement at six child support agencies. This brief explains which parents these agencies refer to civil contempt for not paying child support, and describes the business-as-usual contempt proceedings.

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Key Documents

Report

Increasing Employment Stability and Earnings for Low-Wage Workers

Lessons from the Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) Project

Many recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and other low-income individuals find or keep jobs for a while, but far fewer remain steadily employed and advance in the labor market. This report describes results and draws lessons from rigorous evaluations of 12 programs seeking to improve employment retention and advancement among low-wage workers.

Strategies to Help Low-Wage Workers Advance

Implementation and Final Impacts of the Work Advancement and Support Center (WASC) Demonstration

WASC sought to increase the incomes of low-wage workers by stabilizing employment, improving skills, increasing earnings, and easing access to work supports. The program increased workers’ receipt of work supports. In the two sites that eased access to funds for training, WASC increased the receipt of certificates and licenses and increased earnings in the third year.

Encouraging Evidence on a Sector-Focused Advancement Strategy

Two-Year Impacts from the WorkAdvance Demonstration

WorkAdvance provides demand-driven skills training and a focus on jobs with career pathways. As detailed in this full report, all four programs studied greatly increased training completion and credential acquisition. Employment outcomes varied by site, with large, consistent impacts at the most experienced provider and promising results at two others.

New York Clean Energy Social Impact Partnership Project Focus Area: Job Retention and Advancement Youth Employment Population: Low-Income Populations Young Adults Intervention: Sectoral Training, Career & Technical Education, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: New York	Returning Citizens Stimulus Study Focus Area: Corrections and Reentry Financial Incentives Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Low-Income Populations	Building and Sustaining the Early Care and Education Workforce (BASE) Focus Area: Preschool Child Care and Early Education Job Retention and Advancement Population: Children and Schools Low-Income Populations Families
Supporting Moves to Opportunity Focus Area: Housing/Community Initiatives Population: Low-Income Populations Intervention: Counseling/Advising, Financial Incentives Locations: Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin	CTE Advise: Advising Tools in Secondary Education Focus Area: High School Transition to Postsecondary High School Dropouts Youth Employment Job Retention and Advancement Population: Young Adults Populations with Barriers to Employment Low-Income Populations Intervention: Career & Technical Education, Counseling/Advising, Job Training, Employment Services, Dual-Enrollment/Bridge Programs	Moving To Work Focus Area: Housing/Community Initiatives Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Low-Income Populations Intervention: Financial Incentives
Creating Moves to Opportunity Focus Area: Housing/Community Initiatives Population: Low-Income Populations Intervention: Counseling/Advising, Financial Incentives Locations: Washington	MDRC Center for Effective Career and Technical Education Focus Area: High School Transition to Postsecondary High School Dropouts Youth Employment Job Retention and Advancement Population: Young Adults Populations with Barriers to Employment Low-Income Populations Intervention: Career & Technical Education, Counseling/Advising, Job Training, Employment Services, Dual-Enrollment/Bridge Programs	Grameen America Evaluation Focus Area: Work Support and Asset Building Financial Incentives Population: Low-Income Populations Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Asset Building, Financial Incentives Locations: New Jersey
The Cascades Job Corps College and Career Academy Pilot Evaluation Focus Area: Youth Employment Student Services Job Retention and Advancement High School Dropouts Population: Young Adults Children and Schools Low-Income Populations Intervention: Sectoral Training, Student Services, Classroom Services, Career & Technical Education, Counseling/Advising, GED Completion, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: Washington	The TechHire and Strengthening Working Families Initiative Evaluation Focus Area: Job Retention and Advancement Work Support and Asset Building Population: Low-Income Populations Young Adults Intervention: Sectoral Training, Reemployment Programs, Career & Technical Education, Job Training, Employment Services	Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt Focus Area: Family Relationships Child Support Population: Families Low-Income Populations Locations: Arizona, California, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia
Families Forward Demonstration Focus Area: Work Support and Asset Building Child Support Population: Low-Income Populations Families Intervention: Sectoral Training, Career & Technical Education, Counseling/Advising, Financial Incentives, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: Colorado, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington	Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency-Next Generation Focus Area: Child Care and Early Education Two-Generation Programs Welfare Reform Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Families Low-Income Populations Children and Schools Intervention: Behavioral Interventions	The SNAP Employment and Training Evaluation Focus Area: Job Retention and Advancement Welfare Reform Work Support and Asset Building Population: Low-Income Populations Intervention: Reemployment Programs, Career & Technical Education, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Virginia
Center for Applied Behavioral Science (CABS) Focus Area: Child Support Child Care and Early Education Two-Generation Programs Welfare Reform Work Support and Asset Building Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Families Low-Income Populations Children and Schools	Subprime Lending Data Exploration Focus Area: Work Support and Asset Building Population: Low-Income Populations	NYC Change Capital Fund’s Economic Mobility Initiative Focus Area: Housing/Community Initiatives Population: Low-Income Populations Populations with Barriers to Employment Families Locations: New York
SaveUSA Focus Area: Work Support and Asset Building Financial Incentives Population: Low-Income Populations Intervention: Asset Building, Financial Incentives Locations: New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Texas	Rent Reform Demonstration Focus Area: Housing/Community Initiatives Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Low-Income Populations Intervention: Financial Incentives	WorkAdvance Focus Area: Job Retention and Advancement Population: Low-Income Populations Intervention: Sectoral Training, Reemployment Programs, Career & Technical Education, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: New York, Ohio, Oklahoma
Paycheck Plus: Expanded Earned Income Tax Credit for Single Adults Focus Area: Work Support and Asset Building Population: Low-Income Populations Intervention: Asset Building, Financial Incentives Locations: Georgia, New York	The Family Self-Sufficiency Program Evaluation Focus Area: Housing/Community Initiatives Work Support and Asset Building Population: Low-Income Populations Intervention: Case Management, Asset Building, Financial Incentives, Employment Services Locations: California, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas	Mayor’s Fund & Center for Economic Opportunity Social Innovation Fund Project Focus Area: Work Support and Asset Building Financial Incentives High School Dropouts Housing/Community Initiatives Population: Low-Income Populations Young Adults Intervention: Sectoral Training, Reemployment Programs, Asset Building, Financial Incentives, GED Completion, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas
Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency Project Focus Area: Child Support Child Care and Early Education Two-Generation Programs Welfare Reform Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Families Low-Income Populations Children and Schools Intervention: Behavioral Interventions	Chicago’s New Communities Program Focus Area: Housing/Community Initiatives Elementary and Middle School High School Dropouts Population: Low-Income Populations Locations: Illinois	WIA Adult and Dislocated Worker Programs Gold Standard Evaluation Focus Area: Job Retention and Advancement Population: Low-Income Populations Intervention: Sectoral Training, Reemployment Programs, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin
Jobs-Plus Community Revitalization Initiative for Public Housing Families Focus Area: Housing/Community Initiatives Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Low-Income Populations Intervention: Financial Incentives, Employment Services Locations: California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington

Work Rewards Focus Area: Work Support and Asset Building Financial Incentives Housing/Community Initiatives Population: Low-Income Populations Intervention: Financial Incentives, Employment Services Locations: New York	The “Make Work Pay” Experiments Focus Area: Financial Incentives Welfare Reform Population: Low-Income Populations Intervention: Financial Incentives Locations: Canada, Connecticut, Minnesota, Wisconsin	AutoSave Focus Area: Work Support and Asset Building Population: Low-Income Populations Intervention: Asset Building Locations: California, New York, Ohio
Using Financial Incentives to Encourage Weight Loss Focus Area: Health Financial Incentives Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Counseling/Advising, Financial Incentives Locations: California, New York	Work Advancement and Support Center Demonstration Focus Area: Work Support and Asset Building Job Retention and Advancement Population: Low-Income Populations Intervention: Benefits Planning, Case Management, Counseling/Advising, Employment Services, Financial Incentives, Job Training, Reemployment Programs Locations: California, Connecticut, Ohio, Texas	Neighborhood Jobs Initiative Focus Area: Housing/Community Initiatives Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Job Training, Employment Services Locations: Connecticut, Dist. of Columbia, Illinois, New York, Texas
California Works for Better Health Focus Area: Housing/Community Initiatives Health Population: Low-Income Populations Intervention: Employment Services Locations: California	The UK Employment Retention and Advancement Project Focus Area: Job Retention and Advancement Financial Incentives Population: Low-Income Populations Families Intervention: Employment Services, Financial Incentives, Job Training, Reemployment Programs, Welfare-to-Work Locations: United Kingdom	The Camden Regional Equity Demonstration Project Focus Area: Housing/Community Initiatives Population: Low-Income Populations Locations: New Jersey
Employment Retention and Advancement Focus Area: Job Retention and Advancement Welfare Reform Population: Low-Income Populations Intervention: Reemployment Programs, Welfare-to-Work, Case Management, Financial Incentives, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: California, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas	Literacy in Libraries Across America Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Reading Instruction Locations: California, New York, North Carolina	Evaluation of Child Care Subsidy Strategies Focus Area: Child Care and Early Education Population: Low-Income Populations Families Locations: Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Washington

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Low-Wage Workers

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