Social policy evaluations usually use classical statistical methods, which may, for example, compare outcomes for program and comparison groups and determine whether the estimated differences (or impacts) are statistically significant — meaning…

This First Focus report from the Brookings Institution offers a summary of the economic recession’s impact on children in the United States. During an average month in 2011, an estimated 6.5 children had an unemployed parent, with more than 1…

From Lawrence Mead and Ron Haskins, through the Center on Children and Families at the Brookings Institution, this article analyzes why low-skilled men typically work in lower level positions and provide little support for their children. Authors…

This report provides a synthesis of research and existing ACF resources for serving at-risk youth. It describes what we know from research about at-risk youth. It then describes how at-risk youth are currently being served by ACF programs and by…

This paper is from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and shows why collaboration and coordination across programs is critical in terms of policy, procedure, and data utilization. Designed for practitioners, authors discuss the…

One of the aims of the Minnesota Child Care Choices study is to explore the factors that influence child care stability and parents’ employment outcomes. This Research Brief looks at the work experiences of parents in the study and the…

This report from Portland State University summarizes the discussion that took place at the 2011 Summer Institute on Youth Mentoring, a gathering of over 50 mentoring researchers, practitioners, service providers, and policymakers that focused on…