MDRC Welfare & Barriers to Employment Publications http://www.mdrc.org Welfare & Barriers to Employment Publications, Fast Facts, Issue Focus Briefs, and Videos from MDRC us-en © 2007 MDRC 2012-02-03 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 More Than a Job: Final Results from the Evaluation of the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) Transitional Jobs Program http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=MgrK6Y7eoL8K05UR7DH5 Ex-prisoners who had access to CEOs transitional jobs program were less likely to be convicted of a crime and reincarcerated. The effects were particularly large for those ex-prisoners who enrolled in the program shortly after release. The recidivism reductions mean that the program is cost-effective generating more in savings than it cost. Alternative Employment Strategies for Hard-to-Employ TANF Recipients: Final Results from a Test of Transitional Jobs and Preemployment Services in Philadelphia http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=4bnmrnY2SdGgwF1J1eqy An evaluation of two different welfare-to-work strategies for long-term welfare recipients finds that: (1) transitional jobs substantially increased employment in the short term, but these effects faded after one year, and (2) it is difficult to engage welfare recipients in extensive preemployment services long enough to improve their employability. Working toward Wellness: Telephone Care Management for Medicaid Recipients with Depression, Thirty-Six Months After Random Assignment http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=rcMEpoXSwjnsZOUWpQDZ A telephonic care management program increased the use of mental health services by Medicaid recipients with depression while the program was running, but it did not help individuals sustain treatment after the intervention ended. The program did not reduce depression on average, nor did it have any effect on employment outcomes. Issue Focus: A Safety Net Built Around Work When There Is No Work http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=YKl9STVxDqfJX3gS9S5G In a commentary published in The Hills Congress Blog, MDRC President Gordon Berlin argues that we need to create a more flexible welfare program that continues to reward work when jobs are plentiful, provides support to poor families when jobs disappear, and begins to address the even more consequential problem of stagnant wages at the low end of the labor market. Issue Focus: Creating Better Programs for Disconnected Youth http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=jxex1l75WwmIaqsOl0XS Since its founding in the 1970s, MDRC has focused on identifying and testing the most promising approaches to helping disconnected youth who number as many as 5.2 million reconnect to the worlds of education and work. Our current portfolio of projects focuses on programs for high school dropouts, youth with disabilities, and youth aging out of child welfare, among other groups. Issue Focus: How Can We Build Better Programs for Disconnected Youth? http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=nuf3Lth8WSKyEoIF9Lf0 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? VIDEO: Effective Ways to Move Welfare Recipients into Work http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=gSYNzf83_dPUaYCnjbFY The most effective strategy for increasing welfare recipients employment and earnings is neither to help them find jobs first nor to encourage them to enroll in education and training programs first. Find out what works best in this seven-minute video presentation, which summarizes the findings from 16 years of rigorous research in sites across the country. Fast Fact: How Can We Help Ex-Prisoners Reenter the Labor Market? http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=fgGIw6vryyl8XMZzUqHd Fast Fact: High-Needs Users Drive Majority of Medicaid Spending http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=TgtScBOQAkcrWbgjJ4h_ Fast Fact: The Lasting Impact of the Minnesota Family Investment Program http://www.mdrc.org/sps/go.cgi?c=dSRedMUYFXLHq98OpOh3