Work and Income Security

Long regarded as the premier investigator of policies designed to improve the lives of low-income families on welfare, MDRC is bringing its research skills and reputation for methodological rigor to the new challenge of learning what works best to improve the economic and social health of low-income workers and communities.

Issue Focus Area

Job Retention and Advancement Financial Incentives Housing/Community Initiatives Work Support and Asset Building Welfare Reform

Highlights

Report

Work, Engagement, and Well-Being at the Midpoint

Findings From the Family Self-Sufficiency Evaluation

The federal Family Self-Sufficiency program works with Housing Choice Voucher recipients to foster economic self-sufficiency and boost assets through case management and an escrow account for participants’ increased earnings. This three-year report examines program implementation, participants’ engagement, and impacts on employment, government benefits receipt, and material and financial well-being.

Overview »

Full

Issue Focus

Promoting Equity: Employer Partnerships Strengthen Career Education Programs

Career and technical education programs are trying to address challenges faced by disadvantaged students, particularly Black students and other students of color. Access is only part of the path to equity as these programs focus on inclusive workplace environments, meaningful mentorships, and language that emphasizes strengths rather than real or presumed deficits.

Overview »

Issue Focus

Sector Strategies for Success

Meeting the Needs of Workers and Employers

Low-wage workers have been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, experiencing greater levels of unemployment than their higher-wage-earning peers. Training programs that focus on moving workers into skilled jobs in industries with strong local demand could reposition them for 21st-century success.

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The Noncredit Career and Technical Education Study at the Virginia Community College System Population: Populations with Low Incomes Young Adults Intervention: Career & Technical Education, Job Training	Employment Services for Individuals with Substance Use Disorders Population: Populations with Low Incomes Populations with Barriers to Employment	Individual Placement and Support Model for Employment Services Population: Populations with Low Incomes Populations with Barriers to Employment
Sectoral Training at the City Colleges of Chicago: A Case Study Population: Young Adults Intervention: Career & Technical Education Locations: Illinois	Green Jobs Case Study Focus Area: Job Retention and Advancement Population: Young Adults Intervention: Career & Technical Education Locations: New York	Career Impact Bonds (CIBs) Project Focus Area: Job Retention and Advancement Financial Aid Population: Young Adults Populations with Low Incomes
Google’s Career Certificates Initiative Focus Area: Job Retention and Advancement Population: Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Sectoral Training, Job Training	Income Share Agreements and Related Programs to Finance College or Career Training Focus Area: Financial Aid Student Services Financial Incentives Job Retention and Advancement Population: Young Adults Intervention: Sectoral Training, Student Services, Tutoring, Mentoring, Career & Technical Education, Counseling/Advising, Financial Incentives, Job Training	From Theory to Practice (T2P) Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Populations with Low Incomes
Understanding Transit Riders' Payment Decisions and the Role of Cash in King County, Washington Population: Populations with Low Incomes Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Behavioral Interventions	Pay for Success Clean Energy Training Focus Area: Job Retention and Advancement Youth Employment Population: Populations with Low Incomes Young Adults Intervention: Sectoral Training, Career & Technical Education, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: New York	Returning Citizens Stimulus Study Focus Area: Corrections and Reentry Financial Incentives 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	Supporting Moves to Opportunity Focus Area: Housing/Community Initiatives Population: Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Counseling/Advising, Financial Incentives Locations: Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin	CTE Advise: Advising Tools in Secondary Education Focus Area: High School Transition to Postsecondary Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation Youth Employment Job Retention and Advancement Population: Young Adults Populations with Barriers to Employment Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Career & Technical Education, Counseling/Advising, Job Training, Employment Services, Dual-Enrollment/Bridge Programs
Applied Behavioral Coalition (ABC) Focus Area: Child Care and Early Education High School Two-Generation Programs Corrections and Reentry Health Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Children and Schools Intervention: Transitional Jobs/Subsidized Employment, Case Management, Career & Technical Education, Behavioral Interventions, Employment Services	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	Moving To Work Focus Area: Housing/Community Initiatives Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Financial Incentives
Creating Moves to Opportunity Focus Area: Housing/Community Initiatives Population: Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Counseling/Advising, Financial Incentives Locations: Washington	MDRC Center for Effective Career and Technical Education Focus Area: High School Transition to Postsecondary Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation Youth Employment Job Retention and Advancement Population: Young Adults Populations with Barriers to Employment Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Career & Technical Education, Counseling/Advising, Job Training, Employment Services, Dual-Enrollment/Bridge Programs	Grameen America Evaluation Focus Area: Work Support and Asset Building Financial Incentives Population: Populations with Low Incomes Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Asset Building, Financial Incentives Locations: New Jersey
TANF Data Innovation Focus Area: Welfare Reform Population: Populations with Low Incomes	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	Building Evidence on Employment Strategies (BEES) Population: Populations with Low Incomes Populations with Barriers to Employment
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	MyGoals for Employment Success Focus Area: Housing/Community Initiatives Financial Incentives Work Support and Asset Building Population: Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Financial Incentives, Employment Services Locations: Maryland, Texas
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	Breaking Barriers San Diego Focus Area: Welfare Reform Disability Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Welfare-to-Work, Case Management, Employment Services Locations: California
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 SNAP Employment and Training Evaluation Focus Area: Job Retention and Advancement Welfare Reform Work Support and Asset Building Population: Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Reemployment Programs, Career & Technical Education, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Virginia	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	Subprime Lending Data Exploration Focus Area: Work Support and Asset Building Population: Populations with Low Incomes	NYC Change Capital Fund’s Economic Mobility Initiative Focus Area: Housing/Community Initiatives Population: Populations with Low Incomes Populations with Barriers to Employment Families Locations: New York
SaveUSA Focus Area: Work Support and Asset Building Financial Incentives Population: Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Asset Building, Financial Incentives Locations: New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Texas	Rent Reform Demonstration Focus Area: Housing/Community Initiatives Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Financial Incentives	WorkAdvance Focus Area: Job Retention and Advancement Population: Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Sectoral Training, Reemployment Programs, Career & Technical Education, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: New York, Ohio, Oklahoma
Paycheck Plus: Expanded Earned Income Tax Credit for Single Adults Focus Area: Work Support and Asset Building Population: Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Asset Building, Financial Incentives Locations: Georgia, New York	The Family Self-Sufficiency Program Evaluation Focus Area: Housing/Community Initiatives Work Support and Asset Building Population: Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Case Management, Asset Building, Financial Incentives, Employment Services Locations: California, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas	Chicago’s New Communities Program Focus Area: Housing/Community Initiatives Elementary and Middle School Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation Population: Populations with Low Incomes Locations: Illinois
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	WIA Adult and Dislocated Worker Programs Gold Standard Evaluation Focus Area: Job Retention and Advancement Population: Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Sectoral Training, Reemployment Programs, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin	Mayor’s Fund & Center for Economic Opportunity Social Innovation Fund Project Focus Area: Work Support and Asset Building Financial Incentives Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation Housing/Community Initiatives Population: Populations with Low Incomes Young Adults Intervention: Sectoral Training, Reemployment Programs, Asset Building, Financial Incentives, GED Completion, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas
The Subsidized and Transitional Employment Demonstration (STED) Project Focus Area: Corrections and Reentry Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Transitional Jobs/Subsidized Employment	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	Jobs-Plus Community Revitalization Initiative for Public Housing Families Focus Area: Housing/Community Initiatives Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Financial Incentives, Employment Services Locations: California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington

Work Rewards Focus Area: Work Support and Asset Building Financial Incentives Housing/Community Initiatives Population: Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Financial Incentives, Employment Services Locations: New York	Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Employment (CBE-Emp) Focus Area: Corrections and Reentry Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Employment Services Locations: New York	The “Make Work Pay” Experiments Focus Area: Financial Incentives Welfare Reform Population: Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Financial Incentives Locations: Canada, Connecticut, Minnesota, Wisconsin
Evaluations of State Welfare-to-Work Programs Focus Area: Welfare Reform Population: Populations with Low Incomes Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Reemployment Programs, Welfare-to-Work, Case Management, GED Completion, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: California, Connecticut, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Vermont, Wisconsin	The Enhanced Transitional Jobs Demonstration Focus Area: Corrections and Reentry Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Transitional Jobs/Subsidized Employment Locations: California, Georgia, Indiana, New York, Texas, Wisconsin	Transitional Jobs Reentry Demonstration Focus Area: Corrections and Reentry Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Transitional Jobs/Subsidized Employment Locations: Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin
TANF/SSI Disability Transition Project Focus Area: Disability Health Welfare Reform Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Case Management, Employment Services	AutoSave Focus Area: Work Support and Asset Building Population: Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Asset Building Locations: California, New York, Ohio	Enhanced Services for the Hard-to-Employ Focus Area: Child Care and Early Education Two-Generation Programs Corrections and Reentry Health Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Telephonic Services, Transitional Jobs/Subsidized Employment, Case Management, Employment Services Locations: Kansas, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island
Employment Retention and Advancement Focus Area: Job Retention and Advancement Welfare Reform Population: Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Reemployment Programs, Welfare-to-Work, Case Management, Financial Incentives, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: California, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas	Next Generation Focus Area: Two-Generation Programs Population: Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Welfare-to-Work Locations: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Wisconsin	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
New Chance Focus Area: Two-Generation Programs Population: Young Adults Intervention: Parenting Skills Programs, Case Management, Counseling/Advising, GED Completion, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania	Work Advancement and Support Center Demonstration Focus Area: Work Support and Asset Building Job Retention and Advancement Population: Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Reemployment Programs, Case Management, Benefits Planning, Counseling/Advising, Financial Incentives, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: California, Connecticut, Ohio, Texas	The UK Employment Retention and Advancement Project Focus Area: Job Retention and Advancement Financial Incentives Population: Populations with Low Incomes Families Intervention: Reemployment Programs, Welfare-to-Work, Financial Incentives, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: United Kingdom
The Camden Regional Equity Demonstration Project Focus Area: Housing/Community Initiatives Population: Populations with Low Incomes Locations: New Jersey

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Work and Income Security

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