Since its founding, MDRC’s work has focused on the critical challenges of identifying the most effective ways to improve labor market outcomes for individuals facing barriers to employment, and understanding how policies to promote work affect the well-being of vulnerable families.  more

Why Focus on the “Hard-to-Employ”? For at least three decades, policymakers, researchers, and program operators have developed and studied strategies to help people who face serious obstacles to steady work. Despite the broad policy interest in serving the hard-to-employ, knowledge about effective program strategies is still relatively undeveloped. The Lasting Impact of the Minnesota Family Investment Program Sue Kim’s Paper at Major Health Research Meeting Named One of Top Abstracts MDRC Experts Featured at Federal Welfare Research Conference, May 28-30 MDRC Receives Gates Foundation Grant for Antipoverty Projects

Welfare Time Limits An Update on State Policies, Implementation, and Effects on Families One of the most controversial features of the 1990s welfare reforms was the imposition of time limits on benefit receipt. This comprehensive review, written by The Lewin Group and MDRC, includes analyses of administrative data reported by states to the federal government, visits to several states, and a literature review. The Employment Retention and Advancement Project Results from the Valuing Individual Success and Increasing Opportunities Now (VISION) Program in Salem, Oregon The Employment Retention and Advancement Project Results from Two Education and Training Models for Employed Welfare Recipients in Riverside, California Transitional Jobs for Ex-Prisoners Early Impacts from a Random Assignment Evaluation of the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) Prisoner Reentry Program