http://www.mdrc.org Publications, Fast Facts, Issue Focus Briefs, and Videos from MDRC us-en © 2007 MDRC 2008-09-11 Brad Petrie <brad.petrie@mdrc.org> Brad Petrie <brad.petrie@mdrc.org> http://www.mdrc.org/images/site/nav_logo.gif http://www.mdrc.org http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=Kyiw4HhwT53CeELYKgny This report published by the UK Department for Work and Pensions presents new findings on the effects of a program to help long-term unemployed individuals who receive government benefits in Great Britain and participate in a welfare-to-work program, New Deal 25 Plus, retain jobs and advance in the labor market. http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=bVWdW0u3dFm6mJ1mSxth This working paper introduces the Supporting Healthy Marriage evaluation, the first large-scale, multisite experiment that is testing voluntary marriage education programs for low-income married couples with children in eight sites across the country. The year-long programs consist of a series of marriage education workshops with additional family support services and referrals. http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=f1LHsRZT2cf6T3nK6Kgl This report, from the Employment Retention and Advancement Project, finds that unemployed welfare recipients in an enhanced job club had no better employment outcomes than participants in a traditional job club. At the end of the 18-month follow-up period, about half of both groups were employed. http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=sjcwa35Gdguatsi_OMB2 The National High School Center has just released a set of briefs, authored by MDRC consultants Michael Bangser and Thomas J. Smith, that examine what is known about educational interventions that help students prepare for postsecondary education and employment. http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=Ltq_hn6t2NB4loPZGuq7 Implemented in 1994 in Milwaukee, New Hope provided full-time, low-wage workers with several benefits for three years: an earnings supplement, low-cost health insurance, and subsidized child care. A random assignment study shows positive effects for both adults and children, some of which persisted five years after the program ended. http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=SA81t1CYAd7wtmAnMnqc This month marks the 12th anniversary of the federal welfare reform law, a turning point in the political debate about shifting public assistance toward a system of temporary support with a focus on moving recipients into work. One of the most controversial features of the law was the imposition of time limits on benefit receipt. What have we learned about the effects of time limits since then? http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=p2a3gx4rrwNIY7gmSV7j Community colleges are the unsung heroes of higher education: They enroll close to half of all college students in this country. They serve disproportionate numbers of low-income students, first-generation college students, students of color, and working parents. And they prepare people for jobs that make our communities run: nurses, firefighters, police officers, child care workers, office accountants. http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=NGjbDUTxe_67JlbBmlqx Preschool children who have difficulty regulating their emotions and behaviors have been found to receive less instruction, to be less engaged as learners, and to have fewer opportunities for learning from peers. Researchers and practitioners have developed a new generation of classroom-based strategies that are specifically designed to improve children's skills in these areas. http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=epPMwvC1HgSi3MUwObqz 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. http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=_sZ9INidPtOmBL_glQea Last month marked the eleventh anniversary of the federal welfare reform law, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. What have we learned about the effectiveness of welfare-to-work programs, and what challenges remain for those who have left welfare, as well as for those who are still on the rolls? http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=w4yi0lXABq74THTRpbK0 In this seven-minute video, MDRC researcher Lashawn Richburg-Hayes summarizes promising findings about a performance-based scholarship that boosted academic achievement and retention rates at two New Orleans-area community colleges. http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=7byJBBoM08UzSHTVRAL8 MDRCs study of Talent Development, a program meant to lower dropout rates and increase academic success in low-performing high schools, produced encouraging results. In this seven-minute video, researcher Corinne Herlihy summarizes the findings. http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=ArwdSXoLXVzp2uxj_A35 http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=WqmbNK0ssLLObWP9p0sX http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=RrlJ6uXdxyes_Rc732wd http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=o93NlrjwekWqGgD4JdJ6 http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=7fUmPB4elVXdr0iZa70n