Publications

Many of the men who participate in fatherhood programs may have experienced trauma from adverse childhood experiences, community violence, or incarceration. This brief provides practical information and easy-to-use tools designed to support trauma-informed practices in a fatherhood program context.

This report explores whether the outcomes and effects of the National Evaluation of Welfare-to-Work Strategies (Portland) vary when estimated using different data sources. The findings identify the strengths and limitations of the data sources used and provide information on which data sources to prioritize when evaluating targeted employment-related interventions.

Individuals with criminal legal system involvement have many disadvantages when seeking high-wage employment. The SECTOR program aims to connect such individuals with training opportunities in high-growth sectors. This evaluation finds that SECTOR offers a promising approach to help participants find jobs that offer livable wages, career advancement opportunities, and benefits.

Individuals on probation face many challenges in reentering the community. This brief describes the Los Angeles County Innovative Employment Solutions Program’s creative approach to providing workforce and supportive services to this underserved population. The program’s unique training and funding model allows staff to respond flexibly to their clients’ complex needs.

The Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) project integrated procedural justice (the idea of fairness in processes) into enforcement at six child support agencies. This report compares the benefits and costs of PJAC services with those of business-as-usual child support enforcement.

High school and college students need more and better training to find jobs in the quickly evolving technical workforce. Courses of study in career and technical education (CTE) aim to provide these skills. This working paper examines the challenges to providing CTE and highlights the need for further research.

MDRC recently conducted an evaluation of training and technical assistance for elementary schools implementing a widely used approach called multi-tiered systems of support for student behavior (MTSS-B). This essay summarizes the findings and offers lessons for future applications of the approach.

Research literature is rich with theories about the challenges faced by male students of color who strive to achieve college success and completion. This report provides the first causal estimates of the effects of a college program targeting male students of color on academic outcomes.

Research shows that corequisite remediation—which enrolls students who have been designated as underprepared into college-level courses and provides simultaneous remedial support—leads to improved student outcomes. This brief describes the implementation of corequisite course models at four colleges in Minnesota and Texas.

In this commentary originally published in Community College Daily, Colin Hill describes a new MDRC tool that helps college administrators estimate both the costs and revenues gained when implementing programs that increase graduation rates and put students on track to labor market success.

The Reentry Intensive Case Management Services program in Los Angeles County connects people who have been involved with the criminal legal system to community health workers who help them navigate services. This report presents encouraging findings from process and outcomes studies of the program and provides recommendations for providers.

Implementation researchers often conduct interviews or surveys with staff members at programs participating in studies. This new post from MDRC’s Implementation Research Incubator blog offers tips to share with the leaders of these programs for communicating with their own staff about these research activities.

Communities of color and those with high poverty rates have disproportionately few high-quality options for early education. In this study, preschool teachers were interviewed about equity and inclusion in their classrooms. The findings suggest that curricula and professional development could provide more guidance on incorporating children’s lived experience in classroom learning.

There is limited evidence on how best to implement high quality early care and education curricula and professional development that is aligned with the diverse backgrounds of children in pre-K settings. An MDRC research team led a project to learn more about how that might be accomplished.

MDRC led an implementation study of 59 student success programs across Texas that were funded by a COVID-relief grant from the U.S. Department of Education. This report presents findings; highlights research findings from previously conducted, rigorous evaluations of student support programs; and offers recommendations for future research and practice.

Roca Baltimore works with young men who have been involved in the justice system and who are at high risk of violence. This brief assesses the extent to which Roca identified and engaged its target population, through an analysis of data on participants.

In 2010, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services launched the Subsidized and Transitional Employment Demonstration, a large-scale research project designed to build evidence on the latest generation of subsidized employment models. This brief presents effects on earnings over a follow-up period of up to eight years.

This brief explores how the COVID-19 pandemic shifted employment, earnings, and unemployment benefit receipt among workers who have historically faced obstacles to finding and keeping jobs in a more typical economic context—workers who were disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

In this commentary originally published in Community College Daily, Lena Novak and DeShawn Preston describe the Texas Completion Repayment Grant program, which provided financial support to college students at risk of dropping out during the pandemic. When coupled with comprehensive student support services, this strategy could help more students complete college.

This blog post discusses two programs, developed by the Virginia Community College System, for helping adults access training and earn credentials that improve their labor market prospects and provide on-ramps to further education. MDRC and the Community College Research Center are conducting studies of the two programs.