MDRC Low-Wage Workers & Communities Publications http://www.mdrc.org Low-Wage Workers & Communities Publications, Fast Facts, Issue Focus Briefs, and Videos from MDRC us-en © 2007 MDRC 2008-06-12 Brad Petrie <brad.petrie@mdrc.org> Brad Petrie <brad.petrie@mdrc.org> MDRC Logo http://www.mdrc.org/images/site/nav_logo.gif http://www.mdrc.org The Employment Retention and Advancement Project: Results from the Valuing Individual Success and Increasing Opportunities Now (VISION) Program in Salem, Oregon http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=_LwO3FupESYmz03Ga8pv A program to promote better initial job placements, employment retention, and advancement among unemployed applicants to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program faced implementation challenges and had no employment-related impacts after one year of follow-up. Implementation and Second-Year Impacts for Lone Parents in the UK Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) Demonstration: http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=4oBOi1_PpgCczA3QLo0v This report presents new and positive findings on the effects of Britains Employment Retention and Advancement demonstration. After two years, the program increased employment and earnings for single-parent participants. ERA offered a combination of job coaching and financial incentives to encourage low-income individuals to sustain employment and progress in work. The Employment Retention and Advancement Project: Results from Two Education and Training Models for Employed Welfare Recipients in Riverside, California http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=pNsixx2gd36jhkFPV6sg Two education and training programs for employed, single-parent welfare recipients had small impacts on attendance in basic education or training overall but had larger impacts for disadvantaged groups. However, over two years, neither program increased employment and earnings levels overall or for any subgroup. Issue Focus: Hometown Projects: MDRCs Work in New York City http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=8mHizxx5_XClat12JfjD MDRC has built a diverse portfolio of research projects focused on improving the lives of poor families throughout the city, developed in collaboration with state and local agencies, schools, and nonprofits. MDRC's newest hometown venture is Mayor Bloomberg's Opportunity NYC, a conditional cash transfer program to help families break the cycle of intergenerational poverty. Issue Focus: Climbing the Economic Ladder and Rising Out of Poverty http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=te9c_qXwlwuYDlVacNWg MDRC's research identifies effective strategies to help low-income youth and adults escape poverty by achieving success in the labor market. MDRC studies programs that assist the working poor to retain employment and move up to better-paying jobs, improve employment prospects for people with serious obstacles to work, and enable low-income young adults to acquire the skills and credentials that will prepare them for better jobs. Issue Focus: Building a New Network of Services to Support Work in Low-Income Communities http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=6Hfc3vL2kcDburrHqiCE Recent MDRC projects are helping policymakers develop new approaches to deliver services that make work pay for low-income populations. VIDEO: Promoting Work in Public Housing http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=cDyvTmRdKB5T99aTo1YU The findings from a long-term study of Jobs-Plus an employment program that substantially increased the earnings of people in some of the nations poorest urban public housing developments are summarized in a short video by Jim Riccio, director of research for the study. VIDEO: Supplementing the Earnings of Low-Wage Workers: The Impacts on Adults http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=umikzc4ZKd6iYO_4v30I Policies that supplement the earnings of welfare recipients and other low-wage workers increase work, raise incomes, reduce poverty, and improve the well-being of young children. Fast Fact: Why Has the Poverty Rate Not Fallen Since the Early 1970s? http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=wqGUSxD23QZ3nXYaIWSg Fast Fact: Food Stamp Participation Rate Among Eligible Working Poor Remained Flat, 1994-2004 http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=xcNhCTEDDpt2BHjkd4D4 Fast Fact: Low-Wage Workers and Poverty: Making Work Pay http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=blUfC1nFg1hy53i2AurP