Populations with Barriers to Employment

Many people who want and need to work face major barriers to doing so, from a physical or mental disability to the lack of a high school diploma or a history with the criminal justice system. MDRC designs and evaluates programs to help people who face such obstacles to overcome them and live more productive, fulfilling lives.

Issue Focus Population

Former Prisoners Veterans People with Depression Substance Abusers People with Disabilities

Highlights

Report

New Perspectives on Creating Jobs

Final Impacts of the Next Generation of Subsidized Employment Programs

“Transitional jobs” are temporary, subsidized jobs meant to teach participants basic work skills or help them get started with an employer. The Enhanced Transitional Jobs Demonstration tested seven such programs for people recently released from prison or low-income parents behind on child support. This report presents the final impact results.

Overview »

Full

Report

Scaling Up a Place-Based Employment Program

Highlights from the Jobs Plus Pilot Program Evaluation

Jobs Plus promotes employment among public housing residents through employment services, rent rule changes that provide incentives to work, and community support for work. Within the first 18 months, all nine public housing agencies in this evaluation had begun structuring their programs, building partnerships, and implementing the model’s core components.

Overview »

Full

Report

Findings from In-Depth Interviews with Participants in Subsidized Employment Programs

Subsidized jobs programs seek to increase employment and earnings among individuals who have not been able to find jobs on their own. This report presents the perspectives of participants of 11 such programs. Although there were successes, the majority could not translate their experiences into unsubsidized work.

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Full

Bridging Access to Benefits and Care (BABC) Focus Area: Health Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Case Management Locations: New York	HomePath Focus Area: Health Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Coordinated Care/Care Management	MDRC Center for Criminal Justice Research Focus Area: Pretrial Justice Reentry Youth and Juvenile Justice Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Young Adults
MDRC Center for Effective Career and Technical Education Focus Area: High School Transition to Postsecondary High School Dropouts Youth Employment Job Retention and Advancement Population: Young Adults Populations with Barriers to Employment Low-Income Populations 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: Low-Income Populations Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Asset Building, Financial Incentives Locations: New Jersey	MDRC Center for Data Insights: Improving Programs and Systems with Actionable Data Science Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Low-Income Populations Children and Schools Young Adults Families
Pretrial Justice Reform Study Focus Area: Pretrial Justice Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Low-Income Populations	Building Evidence on Employment Strategies for Low-Income Families (BEES) Population: Low-Income Populations Populations with Barriers to Employment	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
STRIVE Future Leaders Implementation Study Focus Area: Foster Care and Juvenile Justice High School Dropouts Youth Employment Youth and Juvenile Justice Population: Young Adults Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Mentoring, Case Management, Career & Technical Education, Behavioral Interventions, Counseling/Advising, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: California, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania	Process and Impact Evaluation of New York City’s Pretrial Supervised Release Program Focus Area: Pretrial Justice Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Low-Income Populations Locations: New York	Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Employment (CBE) Focus Area: Reentry Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Employment Services Locations: New York
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	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	Changing Attitudes and Motivation in Parolees (CHAMPS) Evaluation Focus Area: Reentry Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Locations: Colorado, Iowa, Texas	Rent Reform Demonstration Focus Area: Housing/Community Initiatives Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Low-Income Populations Intervention: Financial Incentives
Reintegration of Ex-Offenders Random Assignment Evaluation Focus Area: Reentry Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Employment Services	The Enhanced Transitional Jobs Demonstration Focus Area: Reentry Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Transitional Jobs/Subsidized Employment Locations: California, Georgia, Indiana, New York, Texas, Wisconsin	The Subsidized and Transitional Employment Demonstration (STED) Project Focus Area: 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 Low-Income Populations Children and Schools Intervention: Behavioral Interventions	Using Financial Incentives to Encourage Weight Loss Focus Area: Health Financial Incentives Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Counseling/Advising, Financial Incentives Locations: California, New York	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

GED 21st Century Learning Pathways Pilots Focus Area: Instruction and Curricula High School Dropouts Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Curricular/Instructional Reforms, GED Completion Locations: New York	Evaluations of State Welfare-to-Work Programs Focus Area: Welfare Reform Population: Low-Income Populations Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Case Management, Employment Services, GED Completion, Job Training, Reemployment Programs, Welfare-to-Work Locations: California, Connecticut, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Vermont, Wisconsin	Transitional Jobs Reentry Demonstration Focus Area: Reentry Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Transitional Jobs/Subsidized Employment Locations: Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin
Coordinated Care for High-Cost Medicaid Recipients with Disabilities Focus Area: Health Disability Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Coordinated Care/Care Management, Telephonic Services Locations: Colorado, New York	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	Progressive Goal Attainment Program (PGAP) for Veterans Focus Area: Disability Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Counseling/Advising, Employment Services Locations: Connecticut, Texas
Accelerated Benefits Demonstration Focus Area: Disability Health Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Coordinated Care/Care Management	Enhanced Services for the Hard-to-Employ Focus Area: Child Care and Early Education Two-Generation Programs 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	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
Literacy in Libraries Across America Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Reading Instruction Locations: California, New York, North Carolina	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	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

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Populations with Barriers to Employment

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Completed Projects