Families with Children

MDRCʼs families and children studies aim to deepen public understanding of how the life chances of low-income children and youth are influenced by policies that affect their familiesʼ economic circumstances, family relationships, or the opportunities available for child and youth development.

Issue Focus Area

Family Relationships Child Care and Early Education Two-Generation Programs Child Support

Highlights

Report

Promising Practices for Strengthening Families Affected by Parental Incarceration

A Review of the Literature

More than 5 million American children under the age of 18, a disproportionate number of whom are Black or Latino, have had a parent incarcerated. This report reviews studies about promising programs that seek to maintain and build healthy relationships between parents who are incarcerated and their children.

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Full

Issue Focus

Supporting Families with Young Children

Using Existing Services During the Pandemic

Many families with young children experienced severe strains during the pandemic—unemployment, increasing poverty, and increased anxiety and depression. State program administrators can help by strengthening home visiting services and using pediatric visits to reach families. This brief offers recommendations based on evidence of promising strategies, and insights from MDRC’s work.

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Issue Focus

Alternative Solutions for Child Support

New approaches to child support enforcement aim to be less punitive and to serve the whole family, not just child support recipients. Lessons from Washington State’s Alternative Solutions Program show how this shift in perspective has made a difference during the pandemic.

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The Testing Identified Elements for Success in Fatherhood Programs (Fatherhood TIES) Focus Area: Two-Generation Programs Family Relationships Population: Families	MDRC’s Technical Assistance for Fatherhood Programs Focus Area: Child Support Two-Generation Programs Population: Families	Research-Practice Partnership with Acelero Learning, Inc. Focus Area: Preschool Child Care and Early Education Population: Families
From Theory to Practice (T2P) Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Populations with Low Incomes	Building and Sustaining the Early Care and Education Workforce (BASE) Focus Area: Preschool Child Care and Early Education Job Retention and Advancement Population: Children and Schools Populations with Low Incomes Families	Variations in Implementation of Quality Interventions (VIQI): Examining the Quality-Child Outcomes Relationship in Child Care and Early Education Focus Area: Preschool Child Care and Early Education Population: Children and Schools Families
Strengthening the Implementation of Responsible Fatherhood Programs (SIRF) Focus Area: Family Relationships Two-Generation Programs Population: Families Intervention: Relationship Education, Parenting Skills Programs, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Behavioral Interventions	Head Start Connects Focus Area: Preschool Child Care and Early Education Two-Generation Programs Work Support and Asset Building Population: Children and Schools Families Populations with Barriers to Employment Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Case Management	Guilford Readiness of Children for School (ROCS) Study Focus Area: Child Care and Early Education Two-Generation Programs Population: Families Children and Schools Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: School Readiness, Case Management, Coordinated Care/Care Management, Home Visiting Locations: North Carolina
Child First Focus Area: Health Two-Generation Programs Population: Families Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Home Visiting Locations: Connecticut, North Carolina	MDRC Center for Data Insights: Improving Programs and Systems with Actionable Data Science Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Populations with Low Incomes Children and Schools Young Adults Families	Understanding Poverty: Childhood and Family Experiences Focus Area: Family Relationships Two-Generation Programs Welfare Reform Population: Populations with Low Incomes Families
The TechHire and Strengthening Working Families Initiative Evaluation Focus Area: Job Retention and Advancement Work Support and Asset Building Population: Populations with Low Incomes Young Adults Intervention: Sectoral Training, Reemployment Programs, Career & Technical Education, Job Training, Employment Services	Family Rewards 2.0 Focus Area: Financial Incentives Two-Generation Programs High School Elementary and Middle School Population: Populations with Low Incomes Children and Schools Families Intervention: Financial Incentives Locations: New York, Tennessee	The Mother and Infant Home Visiting Program Evaluation, Long-Term Follow-Up Focus Area: Health Two-Generation Programs Population: Families Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Home Visiting
Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt Focus Area: Family Relationships Child Support Population: Families Populations with Low Incomes Locations: Arizona, California, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia	Families Forward Demonstration Focus Area: Work Support and Asset Building Child Support Population: Populations with Low Incomes Families Intervention: Sectoral Training, Career & Technical Education, Counseling/Advising, Financial Incentives, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: Colorado, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington	The Expanding Children’s Early Learning (ExCEL) Network Focus Area: Preschool Elementary and Middle School Child Care and Early Education Population: Children and Schools Intervention: School Readiness, Professional Development/ Teacher Training, Classroom Services, Curricular/Instructional Reforms Locations: Massachusetts
Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency-Next Generation Focus Area: Child Care and Early Education Two-Generation Programs Welfare Reform Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Families Populations with Low Incomes Children and Schools Intervention: Behavioral Interventions	The Kansas Child Support Savings Initiative Focus Area: Child Support Two-Generation Programs Population: Families Intervention: Asset Building, Behavioral Interventions Locations: Kansas	Behavioral Interventions for Child Support Services (BICS) Project Focus Area: Child Support Two-Generation Programs Family Relationships Population: Families Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Behavioral Interventions Locations: California, Colorado, Dist. of Columbia, Georgia, Ohio, Texas, Vermont, Washington
MDRC Center for Applied Behavioral Science (CABS) Focus Area: Child Support Child Care and Early Education Two-Generation Programs Welfare Reform Work Support and Asset Building Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Families Populations with Low Incomes Children and Schools	The High 5s Project Focus Area: Preschool Elementary and Middle School Child Care and Early Education Population: Children and Schools Intervention: School Readiness, Professional Development/ Teacher Training, Classroom Services, Curricular/Instructional Reforms	Building Bridges and Bonds (B3) Evaluation Focus Area: Two-Generation Programs Family Relationships Population: Families Intervention: Relationship Education, Parenting Skills Programs
Making Pre-K Count Focus Area: Preschool Child Care and Early Education Population: Children and Schools Families Intervention: School Readiness, Professional Development/ Teacher Training, Classroom Services Locations: New York	The Mother and Infant Home Visiting Program Evaluation (MIHOPE)-Strong Start Focus Area: Health Family Relationships Population: Families Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Home Visiting Locations: California, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin	Mother and Infant Home Visiting Program Evaluation (MIHOPE) Focus Area: Health Two-Generation Programs Population: Families Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Home Visiting
Design Options for Home Visiting Evaluation Focus Area: Health Two-Generation Programs Population: Families Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Home Visiting	Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency Project Focus Area: Child Support Child Care and Early Education Two-Generation Programs Welfare Reform Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Families Populations with Low Incomes Children and Schools Intervention: Behavioral Interventions	Opportunity NYC Demonstrations Focus Area: Financial Incentives Two-Generation Programs High School Elementary and Middle School Population: Populations with Low Incomes Children and Schools Families Intervention: Financial Incentives Locations: New York
Head Start CARES Project Focus Area: Preschool Child Care and Early Education Two-Generation Programs Population: Children and Schools Families Intervention: School Readiness, Professional Development/ Teacher Training, Classroom Services, Curricular/Instructional Reforms Locations: California, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas	Supporting Healthy Marriage Focus Area: Family Relationships Two-Generation Programs Population: Families Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Relationship Education, Parenting Skills Programs, Counseling/Advising Locations: Florida, Kansas, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington

Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood (HMRF) Training and Technical Assistance Focus Area: Family Relationships Two-Generation Programs Population: Families	Nudges to Increase Customer Engagement (NICE) in Child Support Programs Focus Area: Child Support Two-Generation Programs Family Relationships Population: Families Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Behavioral Interventions Locations: New York	Childhood Asthma Scan Focus Area: Health Population: Children and Schools Families Populations with Low Incomes
Building Strong Families Focus Area: Family Relationships Population: Families Intervention: Counseling/Advising, Relationship Education, Parenting Skills Programs Locations: Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Oklahoma, Texas	Foundations of Learning Project Focus Area: Preschool Child Care and Early Education Population: Children and Schools Intervention: Professional Development/ Teacher Training, Classroom Services Locations: Illinois, New Jersey	Minnesota Family Investment Program Focus Area: Financial Incentives Welfare Reform Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Case Management, Benefits Planning, Financial Incentives, Employment Services Locations: Minnesota
Evaluation of Child Care Subsidy Strategies Focus Area: Child Care and Early Education Population: Populations with Low Incomes Families Locations: Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Washington	Parents' Fair Share Focus Area: Family Relationships Child Support Population: Families Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Parenting Skills Programs, Counseling/Advising, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: California, Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee

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