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Issue Focus
May 2025

This issue focus shares recommendations for “lived experience” advisory councils, based on the experiences of MDRC staff members and council members.

Report
May 2025

A Scan of Literature, Approaches, and Initiatives

An MDRC study reveals key strategies to boost part-time student success including tailored programs, campuswide collaboration, employer partnerships, and support services.

Issue Focus
May 2025

Working Together for More Effective Programs and Better Outcomes

Announcing Evidence to Practice, a new approach to technical assistance that draws on 50 years of evidence and collaboration to improve programs and outcomes.

Brief
May 2025

This brief combines expert and staff interviews with insights from published works to describe best practices for summer youth employment programs.

Brief
April 2025

Eight-Year Findings from the ASAP Ohio Demonstration

Eight-year findings from a study of the Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) academic support programs at three Ohio community colleges.

Brief
April 2025

An Impact Study of the Returning Citizens Stimulus Program

Formerly incarcerated people in the Center for Employment Opportunities’ Returning Citizens Stimulus (RCS) program had fewer parole violations compared with program nonparticipants.

Report
April 2025

Final Findings from the Career Impact Bonds Study

This report presents findings on Career Impact Bonds, which use income share agreements to promote access to skills training programs.

Brief
April 2025

An Introduction to the Social Impact Partnerships to Pay for Results Act (SIPPRA) Evaluation

This brief describes an innovative clean energy training program that aims to improve job placement for eligible individuals with low incomes in New York State.

Report
March 2025

Insights from SUNY’s Campus Coaching Programs

This study examines how three State University of New York institutions implemented success coaching programs to support online students’ academic experiences.

Brief
March 2025

Three-Year Findings from the Viking ROADS Demonstration

A program at Westchester Community College based on the City University of New York’s Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) boosted graduation rates during the pandemic.

Report
March 2025

Findings from the Optimizing Texting Technology through Engagement Research with Students (OTTERS) Project

This report presents strategies to improve a student support chatbot by incorporating communication best practices and behavioral science principles.

Issue Focus
March 2025

How the Shift to an In-School Model Expanded Access and Improved Attendance

This issue focus describes how New Mexico greatly improved participation in virtual tutoring by moving it into the school day.

Brief
March 2025

An Intervention to Reduce Incarceration and Reincarceration Among Young Adults

This brief presents findings from a qualitative study of Youth Overcoming!, which aims to prevent reincarceration among Los Angeles young people.

Blog
March 2025

Lessons from Fulton County School District

Lessons from Fulton County secondary schools (in Georgia) on setting up tutoring sessions with small groups of students at least three times a week.

Issue Focus
March 2025

This issue focus lays out the benefits of investing in pre-K and kindergarten math and describes evidence-backed strategies to do so.

Brief
February 2025

This brief explains how wage supplements, such as bonuses, stipends, or tax credits, can help retain workers in the child care and early education field.

Report
February 2025

Worker Voices on Economic Mobility in Memphis

Based on interviews and focus groups, this report offers a nuanced portrayal of the challenges people face when searching for living-wage work in Memphis.

Brief
February 2025

A Review of the DOORS Program

This brief describes the DOORS community hub model, providing adults on probation with supportive services located in the same building as their probation office.

Brief
February 2025

Insights from Tech Training Graduates

This brief explores the job search experiences and needs of a group of Per Scholas graduates after they completed a sector-based training program.

Report
February 2025

Implementation and Early Impact Findings

This report presents early findings from a study to determine whether past effects of a program to prevent substance use in teens can be replicated in today’s context.