Living in safe “opportunity neighborhoods” that provide quality services, employment, and schools is a recognized way for children and families to increase their economic opportunities and class mobility. The authors of this Urban Institute paper propose using tiered-evidence grantmaking, or funding programs based on the evidence-based robustness of their underlying approach, to increase access to opportunity zones for all. If a program shows promise, tiered-evidence grantmaking lets them apply for more funding for evaluation, scaling, and replication. This model is accessible to local institutions with intimate knowledge of their community’s situations, and also can incentivize new ideas while strongly supporting proven interventions.

In this Brookings Paper on Economic Activity, the authors focus on children within the safety net programs of Medicaid, EITC, CTC, SNAP, and TANF, and how federal money has shifted over time to currently benefit families with earnings above the poverty line. Because much research has been done on the substantial and lasting effects of poverty on child development and later well-being, current social net programs may be negatively affecting the poorest children. Over the past twenty years, funds allocated toward children have mostly remained the same, as have the number of children in poverty, but social program benefits have been shifting to benefit those at or above the poverty line more than those below it. While the authors do not discuss many policy implications, they emphasize the harm that cuts to these programs may do and promote adaptable reforms that quickly supplement income during recessionary times.

Re-employment services (RES) are crucial to connect unemployed works with current job market opportunities to help both the worker and the local and national economies. This page highlights many resources and presentations that support reemployment and can help program administrators implement reemployment strategies. They highlight one Department of Labor tool, the Worker Profiling and Reemployment Services system, which profiles those on unemployment insurance (UI) to identify those likely to need RES or who may use up their UI benefits. State and local entities can use this system, in conjunction with other resources listed on this page, to help fill labor needs in growing markets and decrease unemployment.

This brief reviews the recent trend of intracity income inequality, which is rising at a faster rate than national household income inequality. While policymakers cannot fully control drivers of inequality and the resulting economic and spatial segregation, they can leverage housing as a tool to combat this concerning trend. Researchers recommend implementing affordable housing policies across cities, enforcing fair housing policies to prevent discrimination, and exploring alternative housing models like housing cooperatives or community land trusts. These suggestions can decrease the disparities in education, community resources, and economic productivity that segregated areas face to mitigate the vicious cycle of affluence flight.

Recent causal research shows that people’s earnings are directly linked to the neighborhoods where they grew up, with impoverished and underserved communities at the bottom end of the earning scale. Johns Hopkins’ 21st Century Cities Initiative offers three categories of policy suggestions to help economic mobility for people living in distressed neighborhoods. First, place-based programs like revitalization and infrastructure development can create needed services and economic opportunities. Second, housing mobility programs can provide access to higher opportunity areas. Third, placelinking programs can physically reconnect isolated areas without moving residents or building completely new infrastructure. Together, initiatives like these can revamp and reinvigorate impoverished neighborhoods.

Urban Institute fellow and podcast host Justin Milner, along with experts in the U.S. Department of Labor and the Brookings Institution, speaks about what evidence-based policy is and what it looks like in practice. The speakers emphasize basic research, statistical evaluation, performance management and measurement, and experiential evidence to build effective and applicable programs. Because policy makers do not always use robust evidence, many government programs do not have large impacts when statistically scrutinized. Thus, including researchers is important in the policy debate and program development stages to create successful new initiatives and identify existing effective programs for expansion.

In this article issued by the Institute for Research on Poverty, discussion highlights the effects of paid leave on mothers’ post-birth employment and on child well-being. Policies, such as work requirements, time limits, and child care subsidies, are effective levers for increasing employment. Yet this research also suggests that any assessments of these policies must consider not only benefits of increased maternal employment, but also the potential costs associated with reduced child well-being.

Studying large public social programs can be a challenge for social scientists. Recent technological developments have allowed researchers to use big data — data sets that combine survey and administrative data — to examine how social programs work and how they affect their participants. One method by which researchers accomplish this is “text mining,” a process of finding patterns from large amounts of unstructured text data. In this report from Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, researchers explore how text mining contributed to a better understanding of the behavior of families in the foster care system and the role of the courts on reunification.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services highlights the importance of kinship care – care by a close relative or friend – if a child cannot remain with their parents. Research has shown that children have the best outcomes when raised in a supportive environment by people they know. This article emphasizes the preference for kinship connections and provides links to the Children’s Bureau website, where there are tips and advice for those interested in child welfare and kinship care. The website also hosts an outreach tool to help advocates and professionals engage the public in fostering child well-being.

This blog post from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is part of the "Self-Sufficiency Series: Solutions from the Field" and highlights the Building Wealth and Health Network for the work they do to build social and financial capital of TANF recipients. Based on research that shows the beneficial effects of high social and monetary capital, the Network provides group financial empowerment classes and other resources with a specific focus on those overcoming violence or adversity in their past. There is also a peer support component that creates connections among participants, which increases social capital and helps members feel engaged and self-sufficient and makes the program sustainable. Randomized control trial results suggest that this program increased employment, earnings, and self-sufficiency while decreasing depression and economic hardship among members.