Population: Low-Income Populations

The Unemployed

MDRC has developed and tested many programs to help unemployed people gain a foothold in the labor market, particularly those who face serious obstacles to finding and keeping jobs.

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Behavioral Intervention Materials Compendium

This compendium of written materials comes from the Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS) project. The collection illustrates how specific concepts from behavioral science were used in different settings and formats by practitioners and program designers in child care, child support, and work-support programs.

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Issue Focus

Nudges Are a Lower Bound of What Can Be Accomplished with Behavioral Science

In this commentary from the final report on the Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS) project, Marianne Bertrand talks about the potential for a broader behavioral agenda that would include larger contributions from psychology and could transform public policy in ways that might induce long-term changes in behavior.

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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.

Learn and Earn to Achieve Potential (LEAP) Focus Area: Foster Care and Juvenile Justice Youth Employment Population: Young Adults Populations with Barriers to Employment Low-Income Populations 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: Low-Income Populations Intervention: Financial Incentives, Employment Services Locations: Maryland, Texas	Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt Focus Area: Family Relationships Two-Generation Programs Child Support Population: Families Low-Income Populations Locations: Arizona, California, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia
Breaking Barriers San Diego Focus Area: Welfare Reform Disability Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Low-Income Populations 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 Low-Income Populations 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: Low-Income Populations Intervention: Reemployment Programs, Career & Technical Education, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Virginia
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 Low-Income Populations Children and Schools	NYC Change Capital Fund’s Economic Mobility Initiative Focus Area: Housing/Community Initiatives Population: Low-Income Populations Populations with Barriers to Employment Families Locations: New York	WorkAdvance Focus Area: Job Retention and Advancement Population: Low-Income Populations 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: Low-Income Populations 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: Low-Income Populations 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 High School Dropouts Population: Low-Income Populations Locations: Illinois
WIA Adult and Dislocated Worker Programs Gold Standard Evaluation Focus Area: Job Retention and Advancement Population: Low-Income Populations 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 High School Dropouts Housing/Community Initiatives Population: Low-Income Populations 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 Low-Income Populations 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 Low-Income Populations 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 Low-Income Populations Intervention: Case Management, Employment Services	The UK Employment Retention and Advancement Project Focus Area: Job Retention and Advancement Financial Incentives Population: Low-Income Populations 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: Low-Income Populations Locations: New Jersey
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: High School Dropouts 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: Low-Income Populations Intervention: Employment Services Locations: California	JOBSTART Focus Area: Youth Employment High School Dropouts Population: Young Adults Intervention: Sectoral Training, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas

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The Unemployed

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