Founded in 1974, MDRC is committed to improving the lives of people with low incomes. We design promising new interventions, evaluate existing programs, and provide technical assistance to build better programs.
MDRC develops evidence about solutions to some of the nation’s most difficult problems. Explore our projects and variety of products, including publications, videos, podcast episodes, and resources for researchers and practitioners.
How Innovations in Course Placement are Helping Community College Students Succeed
For a decade, MDRC and its collaborators have studied multiple measures assessments, an alternative to using tests to determine whether students can succeed in college-level courses.
This report explores Addiction Recovery Care, a Kentucky-based program that combines residential treatment and employment services for individuals with substance use disorders.
Workforce Programs Combine Virtual and In-Person Strategies
This snapshot highlights three lessons that demonstrate how 10 workforce programs created opportunities for improving services during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
This report describes two interventions informed by behavioral science to improve attendance at required activities among recipients of public assistance.
A Photovoice Study on the Pretrial Experience in New Jersey
In this photovoice study, three people who were involved with New Jersey’s pretrial system as defendants explore their experiences and make recommendations for how the system can be improved.
This blog post describes eight processes and cultural shifts that the NYC Human Resources Administration and the Santa Cruz Human Services Department implemented to encourage innovation among staff members in response to the COVID-19 pandemic—and how each of the processes came to life.
Expanding Access and Reducing Barriers for Job Seekers
As part of the Building Evidence on Employment Strategies project, researchers conducted virtual interviews with staff members at 10 workforce programs to learn how they used technology to adapt their services during the COVID-19 pandemic. This blog post examines five adaptations they made.
Learning from the JP Morgan Chase & Co. Summer Youth Employment Program Evaluation
Summer youth employment programs (SYEPs) provide early work experiences to young people. This brief focuses on SYEPs’ efforts to recruit employer partners.
This toolkit provides individuals and organizations with guidance, drawn from learning and experience, on how to use administrative and other data to inform program improvements.
Identifying Core Components in Fatherhood Programs Through a Multimethod Analysis Approach
This brief describes a multimethod approach used to identify for rigorous testing those components of fatherhood programs associated with their success.
The TANF Data Collaborative Pilot Initiative Final Report
This report describes lessons from a series of pilot programs in data use and analysis undertaken by federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families agencies.
In the next decade, the labor market is predicted to create millions of green jobs. This blog post presents the Delaware Department of Education’s response: a project to embed principles of environmental literacy—an understanding of the relationship between human and environmental systems—into statewide career and technical education pathways.
Findings from a Random Assignment Study of Remote Versus Hybrid Supervision in New York City
This report presents new evidence on the effects of remote (phone) supervision compared with hybrid (phone and in-person) supervision for people awaiting trial.
This report describes whether procedural justice (the idea of fairness in processes) works better with some parents than others in a child support context.
This brief presents the effect of using state unemployment insurance wage records—without supplemental out-of-state data—to evaluate employment programs.
MDRC Conducts Three Rigorous Evaluations of Approaches to Supporting Students with Unfinished Learning
K-12 schools have been working to tailor instruction to help students make up the ground they lost academically because of the pandemic. In three studies, MDRC is exploring two promising delivery mechanisms for tailored instruction: tutoring and adaptive educational technology.
The Journey and Right Path programs—which were operated by two county child support agencies in Ohio—provided employment and parenting services and individual case management to parents with child support orders. This brief presents findings from a descriptive study of the programs and lessons for policymakers and practitioners.
Cross-Cutting Themes from a Literature Review, Environmental Scan, and Data Scan
It is challenging to recruit, support, and retain a qualified child care and early education workforce. This brief presents the results of a literature review and an environmental scan that were designed to identify and document existing knowledge about the workforce and develop strategies to strengthen it.
