About MDRC
Since joining MDRC in 2008, Bernardi has worked on site development, research operations, and implementation data collection and analysis. She currently manages site operations for HomePath, an evaluation of a Housing First intervention with shared medical appointments that aims to reduce homelessness and substance abuse relapse among “frequent users” of social systems, and Paycheck Plus, which simulates an expanded Earned Income Tax Credit for single workers without dependent children. Recently, Bernardi has been involved in large-scale demonstration projects in early childhood education, such as the ExCEL and VIQI projects, where she is responsible for the provision of technical assistance, the development of strategic partnerships, and site recruitment.
Previously, she served as a primary site liaison for Improving Contraceptive Options Now (ICON), a demonstration project evaluating what works in the effort to expand contraceptive choices for low-income women. Earlier in her career at MDRC, she contributed to the implementation evaluation of Project Rise, an internship program for “disconnected” young adults that required participants to attend high school equivalency classes. Bernardi holds a BA in community health and sociology from Brown University and a master’s degree in public administration, specializing in health policy analysis, from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.
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MDRC Publications
ReportFinal Impact Findings from the Paycheck Plus Demonstration in Atlanta
March, 2022Paycheck Plus expanded the Earned Income Tax Credit for single workers with low incomes and without qualifying children in two cities, offering a tax credit of up to $2,000. This report presents three-year findings from the program in Atlanta.
ReportInterim Findings from the Paycheck Plus Demonstration in Atlanta
March, 2020The Earned Income Tax Credit reduces poverty for many low-income families but does little for workers without dependent children. Paycheck Plus, being tested in New York City and Atlanta, offers an expanded credit to this population. This report presents its two-year impacts on employment, earnings, and income in Atlanta.
BriefYear 1 of Paycheck Plus
December, 2015The Paycheck Plus demonstration is testing the effects of a more generous Earned Income Tax Credit-like earnings supplement for low-income single adults in New York City. This brief describes the implementation of the program during the first year and supplement receipt rates during the 2015 tax season.
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Other Publications
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Projects
- Determining the ...
MDRC is leading an evaluation of JPMorgan Chase’s Summer Youth Employment Program, a national program that aims to help economically disadvantaged and out-of-school youth enter the labor market and pursue economic mobility. MDRC will conduct semi-structured interviews with program staff at 27...
Quality early care and education can have lasting positive effects on young children, especially those growing up in low-income families. However, there are ongoing challenges in recruiting, supporting, and retaining a qualified, healthy, and...JoAnn Hsueh, Michelle Maier, Frieda Molina, Samantha Wulfsohn, Marie-Andrée Somers, Electra Small, Sharon Huang, Amena Sengal, Alexandra Bernardi, Marissa Strassberger, Noemi Altman, Ilana Blum, Ebony Scott, Margaret Hennessy, Mervett Hefyan, Mallory Undestad, Sharon Rowser, Amy TaubThe Variations in Implementation of Quality Interventions (VIQI): Examining the Quality-Child Outcomes Relationship in Child Care and Early Education project is a large-scale, rigorous study with several important aims and implications for current child care and early education policy and practices, including:
HomePath is a combined Housing First and shared-medical-appointments intervention. It aims to increase housing stability, improve treatment outcomes, and reduce returns to shelters, emergency rooms, and justice systems for people who have experienced homelessness and are struggling with opioid addiction.
Housing First is a person-centered approach to reducing...
JoAnn Hsueh, Sharon Huang, Meghan McCormick, Michelle Maier, Rebecca Unterman, Desiree Principe Alderson, Barbara Condliffe, Amena Sengal, Sonia Drohojowska, Ilana Blum, Marissa Strassberger, Marie-Andrée Somers, Noemi Altman, Alexandra Bernardi, Mirjana Pralica, Mervett Hefyan, Jálynn Castleman-Smith, Mallory Undestad, Samantha Xia, Emily Davies, Sharon Rowser, Amy TaubWith broad support across the political spectrum, states and localities throughout the country are expanding preschool programs for low-income children. While the public will is strong and the experience to date is encouraging, there is a need for firmer evidence on the most cost-effective ways to produce lasting impacts for children, especially when programs operate...
Kate Gualtieri, Alexandra Bernardi, Anne Warren, Mary Bambino, Caroline Mage, Sharon Rowser, Helen LeeCurrently, almost half of the 6.7 million pregnancies in the United States each year are unintended — a rate higher than that of many other industrialized countries. These unintended pregnancies are roughly evenly divided between women who did not use contraception at all and those who did, but ineffectively. Higher proportions of unintended pregnancies are found among...
Cynthia Miller, Dan Bloom, Gilda Azurdia, Caroline Schultz, Nikki Ortolani, Edith Yang, Alexandra BernardiThe New York City Center for Economic Opportunity has selected MDRC and its partners to implement and evaluate a pilot program to simulate an expanded EITC in New York City for low-income single workers without dependent children, with the goal of increasing employment and earnings and reducing poverty.
In the United States, over six million young people are “disconnected” — neither in school nor working. Over a million of these disconnected young adults are between the ages of 18 and 24 years but lack either a high school diploma or equivalency certificate. These young adults’ limited education and work experience severely reduce their prospects for becoming...