About MDRC
Treskon primarily serves as an implementation and cost researcher for MDRC’s evaluations of programs serving populations with barriers to employment, particularly young adults who are not working or in school. Among her primary responsibilities are designing implementation research projects and data-collection instruments, managing project teams, and designing cost analyses. Her current work includes evaluations of Annie E. Casey’s Learn and Earn to Achieve Potential (LEAP), the Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) project, and the Strengthening the Link into College and Careers project. Past projects include the PACE Center for Girls, the Children’s Institute, Inc., and YouthBuild. Treskon holds an MA in international affairs from The George Washington University and an MS in applied social research from Hunter College. Before working at MDRC, Treskon worked in program development for several nonprofit organizations serving low-income populations.
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MDRC Publications
BriefAugust, 2022The Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) project integrates procedural justice (the idea of fairness in processes) into enforcement at six child support agencies. This brief draws on interviews conducted with noncustodial and custodial parents in the study and describes parents’ perspectives on and experiences with the child support program.
ReportJune, 2022The Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) project integrated procedural justice (the idea of fairness in processes) into enforcement at six child support agencies. This report compares the service and enforcement experiences of parents randomly assigned to receive PJAC services with those of parents assigned to business as usual.
ReportLessons from an Implementation Study of the Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt Demonstration
March, 2022The Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) project integrated procedural justice (the idea of fairness in processes) into enforcement at six child support agencies. This report presents the first systematic analysis of the implementation of the PJAC model.
ReportAn Analysis of Programs Serving Young People Not Connected to School or Work
March, 2022This report, a companion to an online compendium, offers findings from a systematic analysis of programs supporting young people who experience disconnection from school and work during the transition to adulthood. It focuses on services to help them reconnect to education, obtain employment, and advance in the labor market.
ReportA Map of Evidence and Opportunities
March, 2022This report, a companion to an online evidence gap map, presents findings from an analysis of 60 studies of programs to support young people who experience disconnection from school and work during their transition to adulthood. The evidence gap map provides insights into what evidence exists and where there are opportunities to build evidence.
BriefPartnering with Young People to Study Persistence and Engagement in the Learn and Earn to Achieve Potential Initiative
July, 2021Participatory research—including members of a group being studied—recognizes that people closest to a problem have unique perspectives and knowledge. MDRC collaborated with a group of youth fellows in the Learn and Earn to Achieve Potential project, and found that this approach can lead to better evaluation results.
BriefFebruary, 2021The Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) project integrates procedural justice (the idea of fairness in processes) into enforcement at six child support agencies. This brief explains which parents these agencies refer to civil contempt for not paying child support, and describes the business-as-usual contempt proceedings.
ReportPromising Results from a Bridge-to-College Model
May, 2020Bridge-to-college programs aim to help people complete high school and enroll in postsecondary education. This evaluation of one such program at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in Green Bay, WI finds that it helped more students earn their GEDs and enroll in college courses.
ReportLessons on Adapting Interventions for Young People Experiencing Homelessness or Systems Involvement
September, 2019Young people who experience homelessness or involvement in foster care or justice systems face unique challenges. The Learn and Earn to Achieve Potential (LEAP)TM initiative aims to help this population reach its full potential. An MDRC evaluation of two programs adapted by 10 LEAP grantees will contribute knowledge to this field.
ReportResults from the Evaluation of PACE Center for Girls
January, 2019PACE provides academic and extensive social services in a gender-responsive environment to girls at risk of juvenile justice system involvement. Over a one-year period, PACE increased school enrollment and attendance, as well as girls’ likelihood of being “on track” academically.
ReportFindings from the Changing Attitudes and Motivation in Parolees Pilot Study
May, 2018A training program for parole officers in Dallas, Denver, and Des Moines sought to address the persistently high recidivism rates among individuals leaving prison. This study’s results show that officers generally already knew many of the curriculum’s concepts, and changes to their practices were limited.
Issue FocusInsights from Qualitative and Quantitative Analyses of the PACE Center for Girls
July, 2017Researchers recognize the importance of program culture, but how can it be measured? The Implementation Research Incubator provides an example of a mixed-methods approach that evaluated the experiences of both participants and staff members at a youth program’s multiple sites.
ReportAn Implementation Study of the PACE Center for Girls
April, 2017To serve at-risk girls, PACE provides academic and social services in a gender-responsive environment, focusing on safety, relationships, and girls’ individual strengths while accounting for the effects of trauma. The program offers low staff-to-student ratios, counseling and case management, and a life skills curriculum targeted to girls.
Issue FocusApril, 2017The integration of evidence-based treatment with usual-care practices can pose challenges for organizations that deliver many services. The Implementation Research Incubator reports on a study of the Children’s Institute, Inc., whose staff has worked to employ such treatment in its services for low-income children and families.
BriefEvidence from the Evaluation of the PACE Center for Girls
March, 2017Born out of research showing that girls and boys have different risk factors and pathways into the justice system, gender-responsive programs focus on girls’ unique needs and strengths. This brief summarizes the developing research on their effectiveness and describes how one program enacts the principles in its service delivery.
ReportAn Implementation Study of Children’s Institute, Inc.
August, 2016Children’s Institute, Inc., combines clinical mental health and other supportive services to meet the holistic needs of children affected by trauma. This report describes the implementation of the service model and includes an in-depth fidelity study of its Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy services.
Working PaperA Scan of the Evidence
February, 2016Disconnected young people are the focus of several recent national initiatives to improve their life prospects. Drawing on interviews and available research, this MDRC Working Paper scans the current state of policy and evidence regarding what works in helping young people reconnect to work or school.
ReportFindings from the YouthBuild Evaluation Implementation Study
February, 2015YouthBuild is a federally and privately funded program providing construction and other training, educational services, counseling, and leadership development opportunities to low-income, out-of-school young adults ages 16 to 24. This first report from a Department of Labor-supported evaluation focuses on the implementation of YouthBuild in 75 sites across the nation.
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Other Publications
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Projects
In recent years, policymakers and other leaders have established new systems intended to divert people experiencing mental health crises away from the criminal legal system before an arrest occurs. While there is some research supporting the effectiveness of police-mental health collaboration models, the evidence is mixed and very little is known about long-term...
The Reconnecting Youth project aims to understand systematically what programs and practices are available in the United States to support young people who experience disconnection from school and work during the transition to adulthood (typically defined as ages 16 to 24). It focuses specifically on services to help them reconnect to education, obtain employment, and...
The Learn and Earn to Achieve Potential (LEAP) project is a three-year nationwide program that provides education and employment services to young people ages 14-25 who are homeless or “systems-involved” — that is, young people who are aging out of the foster care system or who are otherwise involved in the child welfare, criminal justice, or...
Melanie Skemer, Dan Bloom, Dina A. R. Israel, Louisa Treskon, Douglas Phillips, Rebecca Behrmann, Caroline Mage, Jennifer (Jenny) Hausler, Yana Kusayeva, Cassandra T-Pederson, Jayce Helpley
The Office of Child Support Enforcement launched the Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) demonstration to test the efficacy of incorporating procedural justice principles into child support practices...Dan Bloom, Louisa Treskon, Yana KusayevaSome 25 million working-age adults in the United States lack a high school diploma or equivalent, barring them from most colleges and many training programs. When high school dropouts seek to continue their education, it is typically via the General Educational Development (GED) exam, and although a GED certificate is...
With 750,000 people released from prisons each year, there is a pressing need for rigorous evidence on the effectiveness of reentry strategies. Returning citizens face a range of challenges to successful reentry into the community, including low levels of employment and substance use problems, all of which impact recidivism rates. Although the issue of reentry among...
Megan Millenky, Jean Grossman, Louisa Treskon, Melanie Skemer, Sally Dai, Lily Freedman, Caroline MageYoung girls and women make up an increasing share of the youth in the juvenile justice system, despite a national decline in the overall rate of juvenile incarceration in this country. In 2011, girls made up nearly 30 percent of all juvenile arrests, up from 20 percent in 1980. However, girls account for a very small share of the juvenile arrests for violent crimes and...
Youth in the child welfare system tend to have been exposed to multiple traumatic events over time. Between one-half and three-fourths of these youth exhibit behavioral or social issues that are severe enough to warrant mental health treatment — a rate up to five times greater than mental health needs among their peers in the community who are not involved in the child...
Cynthia Miller, Dan Bloom, Dina A. R. Israel, Michelle S. Manno, John Martinez, Megan Millenky, Louisa Treskon, Sally Dai, Caroline Mage, Sharon RowserMaking the successful transition to adulthood had become increasingly challenging for disadvantaged young people. Two changes in the labor market have contributed to this trend. First, the rise in demand for higher skilled workers, while increasing the payoff to college, has resulted in declining real wages for less-educated workers. On top of this, youth are finding...
Kate Gualtieri, Dan Bloom, Melissa Boynton, William Corrin, Fred Doolittle, John Martinez, Louisa Treskon, Jean Grossman, Leigh Parise, Marie-Andrée Somers, Michelle S. Manno, Rebecca Unterman, Megan Millenky, Rashida Welbeck, Mary BambinoThe Social Innovation Fund (SIF), an initiative enacted under the Edward Kennedy Serve America Act, targets millions of dollars in public-private funds to expand effective solutions across three issue areas: economic opportunity, healthy futures, and youth development and school support.