Population: Low-Income Populations

People Who Are Unemployed or Underemployed

MDRC develops and tests programs to help people who are unemployed, or lack access to jobs with a living wage, gain a foothold in the labor market, particularly those who face serious obstacles on individual and systemic levels to finding and keeping jobs.

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Report

Changing Workforce Development Systems to Better Serve Young Adults and Advance Equity

Unemployment among young people is well above the national average. Among Black young adults, it is even higher. Generation Work aims to address this inequity by improving how local workforce development systems serve this population. This report examines the first five years of the initiative in five cities.

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Brief

From Grant-Funded Study to Enduring Practice

The Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt project integrated procedural justice (the idea of fairness in processes) into enforcement at six child support agencies. After the study ended, the agencies could determine how they wished to continue to use procedural justice principles. This brief describes how they did so.

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Key Documents

Report

What Strategies Work for the Hard-to-Employ?

Final Results of the Hard-to-Employ Demonstration and Evaluation Project and Selected Sites from the Employment Retention and Advancement Project

How a Safety Net Built Around Work Is Not Up to the Job

In this commentary published by Spotlight on Poverty, MDRC President Gordon Berlin makes the case for creating a more flexible safety net that continues to reward work when jobs are plentiful, provides employment to poor families when jobs disappear, and begins to address the problem of stagnant wages at the low end of the labor market.

Job Search or Basic Education Participation First

Which Improves Welfare Recipients’ Earnings More in the Long Term?

Findings after 10-15 years from the National Evaluation of Welfare-to-Work Strategies suggest that while initially stressing job search for participants led to greater earnings in the short term than did initially stressing education and training, neither approach produced substantial effects past the five-year follow-up period.

Evaluation of Generation Work Focus Area: Youth Employment Population: Young Adults Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Sectoral Training, Student Services, Career & Technical Education, GED Completion, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: Connecticut, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington	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	Covenant House Youth Transitions to the Labor Market Focus Area: Youth Employment Population: Young Adults
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	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	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	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
The Cascades Job Corps College and Career Academy Pilot Evaluation Focus Area: Youth Employment Student Services Job Retention and Advancement Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation Population: Young Adults Children and Schools Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Sectoral Training, Student Services, Classroom Services, Career & Technical Education, Counseling/Advising, GED Completion, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: Washington	Learn and Earn to Achieve Potential (LEAP) Focus Area: Foster Care and Juvenile Justice Youth Employment Population: Young Adults Populations with Barriers to Employment Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: GED Completion, Job Training, Dual-Enrollment/Bridge Programs Locations: Alaska, Arizona, California, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York	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	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	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	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
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	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
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

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	Literacy in Libraries Across America Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Reading Instruction Locations: California, New York, North Carolina	Center for Employment Training Replication Focus Area: Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation Youth Employment Population: Young Adults Intervention: Sectoral Training, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: California, Florida, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina
Neighborhood Jobs Initiative Focus Area: Housing/Community Initiatives Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Job Training, Employment Services Locations: Connecticut, Dist. of Columbia, Illinois, New York, Texas	California Works for Better Health Focus Area: Housing/Community Initiatives Health Population: Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Employment Services Locations: California	JOBSTART Focus Area: Youth Employment Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation Population: Young Adults Intervention: Sectoral Training, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas
The UK Employment Retention and Advancement Project Focus Area: Job Retention and Advancement Financial Incentives Population: Populations with Low Incomes Families Intervention: Employment Services, Financial Incentives, Job Training, Reemployment Programs, Welfare-to-Work 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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People Who Are Unemployed or Underemployed

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