In December, MDRC was awarded a $979,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support work in two projects focused on addressing poverty: (1) replicating a promising performance-based scholarship for low-income community college students and (2) exploring interventions to help young men, particularly African-Americans, who are disconnected from the worlds of school and work.

Community colleges are the gateway to higher education for the majority of low-income students, students of color, and low-wage working adults. Yet only 31 percent all students who enter a community college with the intention of earning a degree accomplish this goal at a higher education institution within a six-year period, and the attrition rates are even greater for students who start needing developmental or remedial classes. Building on the positive findings from its Opening Doors study of a performance-based scholarship program at two Louisiana community colleges, MDRC is in the early stages of developing a replication demonstration in at least three locations around the country.

In Louisiana, MDRC tested a program that provided a $1,000 scholarship per semester for two semesters to low-income parents if they met two conditions: staying enrolled at least half time and earning a grade point average of “C” or better. The scholarships were paid in increments over the semesters, so that program counselors could monitor student performance. Compared to a control group, scholarship recipients earned significantly more course credits and were more likely to stay in school.

Many studies have documented the deteriorating economic status of young men — particularly African-American men — who lack postsecondary education. In addition, the incarceration rate for black men is 6.5 times higher than for white men, and nearly one-third of African-American men will be incarcerated at some point in their lifetimes.

MDRC has a long history of projects targeting disadvantaged young men, including current studies of transitional jobs programs for ex-prisoners and of National Guard Youth ChalleNGe, a national residential program for out-of-school youth. With support from the Gates Foundation, MDRC will continue its effort to identify and test new approaches for disconnected youth.