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

How Can We Build Better Programs for Disconnected Youth? Nearly one in seven 18- and 19-year-olds are disconnected from the worlds of school and work. In a labor market that values education and skills, these young people are at a serious disadvantage. How can we build on the early promise of several current youth programs? How Can We Help Ex-Prisoners Reenter the Labor Market? MDRC Announces Doctoral Fellowship Program for Summer 2010 MDRC Releases 2009-2010 Corporate Report American Youth Policy Forum Highlights MDRC Studies in Guide to Successful Education and Youth Programs

Alternative Welfare-to-Work Strategies for the Hard-to-Employ Testing Transitional Jobs and Pre-Employment Services in Philadelphia Interim results from an evaluation of two different welfare-to-work strategies for long-term welfare recipients show that transitional jobs increase employment and earnings but that it is difficult to successfully engage participants in extensive pre-employment services. New Empirical Evidence for the Design of Group Randomized Trials in Education Modern Regression Discontinuity Analysis Findings for the Eugene and Medford, Oregon, Models Implementation and Early Impacts for Two Programs That Sought to Encourage Advancement Among Low-Income Workers