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Report
September 2023

Implementation of a Sectoral Training Program for People Impacted by the Criminal Legal System

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.

Brief
September 2023

Supportive Services in the Los Angeles County Innovative Employment Solutions Program

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.

Report
September 2023

Results from the Benefit-Cost Analysis in the Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt Demonstration

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.

Working Paper
September 2023

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.

Issue Focus
September 2023

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.

Report
September 2023

A Mixed-Methods Evaluation of the Male Student Success Initiative for Men of Color

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.

Brief
September 2023

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.

Commentary
September 2023

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.

Report
September 2023

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.

Issue Focus
September 2023

A Resource for Organizational Leaders Participating in Research Studies

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.

Brief
August 2023

Findings from Teacher Interviews on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Early Care and Education Curricula and Professional Development

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.

Issue Focus
August 2023

Teachers Weigh In

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.

Report
August 2023

Implementation Findings

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.

Brief
August 2023

Findings from a Descriptive Evaluation of Roca Baltimore

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.

Brief
July 2023

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.

Brief
July 2023

An Analysis of Participants in the Subsidized and Transitional Employment Demonstration

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.

Issue Focus
July 2023

High-dosage tutoring (HDT) programs are a proven way to accelerate student learning. The Personalized Learning Initiative is studying and supporting the expansion of HDT across the country. This post shares what the team has learned so far plus a planning tool that districts can use to implement such programs. 

 
Issue Focus
July 2023

A Synthesis of the Research for Employers and Local Governments

The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 encourages applicants for federal funding in domestic semiconductor manufacturing to include sectoral partnerships. MDRC has conducted nearly 15 years of research on sector strategies. This paper presents recommendations drawn from evidence that employers and local governments can use to implement sector strategies well.

Brief
July 2023

Resisting Erasure in Higher Education Policy and Practice

A virtual roundtable brought together students, administrators, faculty members, and funders to examine and hear firsthand about the disparities, needs, and knowledge gaps affecting women of color in postsecondary education. This brief offers recommendations from the roundtable participants aimed at improving education and career outcomes for women students of color.

Issue Focus
July 2023

Two new MDRC reports published by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development highlight both the long-term potential of the Jobs Plus employment program to improve economic mobility and the challenges of effectively expanding the model.