This report was authored by Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC), and includes an evaluation of the New Communities Program (NCP). The NCP is a 10-year initiative to improve the conditions in distressed neighborhoods in Chicago.…

The Brookings Institute published an article on the challenges many families face with poverty. A brief overview of the success of poverty reduction over the past decade is addressed, along with the examination of the major causes of poverty,…

The National Bureau of Economic Research released a paper summarizing recent evidence on what achievement tests measure; how achievement tests relate to other measures of cognitive ability; the important skills that achievement tests miss or mis-…

This report summarizes the short term effects of four current demonstration projects from the Social Security Administration (SSA) on the self-sufficiency of recipients of SSI and SSDI. The random assignment evaluations of these projects will…

This report details findings from the Transitional Jobs Reentry Demonstration, which was funded through the Joyce Foundation, JEHT Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Labor. The evaluation was conducted by MDRC, the Urban Institute, and the…

The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation within the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Mathematica Policy Research conducted the Strengthening Families Evidence Review (SFER)…

Cornell University's School of Employment and Disability Institute collaborated to conduct a survey on the practices and policies related to accessibility and accommodation for people with disabilities. On May 17, 2012, these findings were…

Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and South Carolina have been awarded three year grants to implement user-friendly and quick-to-deliver public benefit systems. The grants, as part of the "Work Support Strategies:…

From the Urban Institute, this issue brief is part of the Perspectives on Low-Income Working Families series. Author Sheila R. Zedlewski discusses lessons learned since the welfare reform of 1996, which changed welfare from an entitlement program…

This summary is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and provides 2011 data on employment in the United States. In 2011, 11.5 percent of families included an unemployed person, falling from 12.4 percent in 2010. The labor force participation rate…