This MDRC report is an impact evaluation of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Enhanced Transitional Jobs Demonstration (ETJD) program. The ETJD program was targeted to persons who were either returning citizens or are low-income parents who have had trouble making timely child support payments. The evaluation reviews the impact of the program on participants 30 months after initial enrollment and after nearly all participants had left their transitional jobs.

This blog post from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) discusses the challenges of determining the scope of youth homelessness due to the lack of consistent methodology for defining and counting homeless youth. The post illustrates ways that estimates have been attempted and how this research is shared. It also provides links to resources available from the Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) to address this issue, including a national hotline.

In this report, the Urban Institute assesses New York City’s Arches Transformative Mentoring program, a group mentoring program that serves young adult probation clients by engaging mentor “credible messengers” or direct service providers with backgrounds similar to those they serve. The evaluation found that Arches participants experienced reduced felony reconviction rates by approximately two-thirds after one year of participation and by approximately one-half after two years of participation.

This U.S. Department of Agriculture policy brief outlines the employment and training barriers faced by SNAP participants experiencing homelessness or housing instability. The brief also illustrates models of effective employment and training services supported by SNAP programming. Other discussion centers on how SNAP E&T programs can work in partnership with public housing and homeless assistance programs, citing collaboration between Massachusetts’ SNAP Path to Work and the Secure Jobs Program as an example.

This interactive dashboard developed by Mathematica Policy Research depicts the death rate, risk factors, and treatment facilities for opioid use in the United States. S.T.Op NextGen allows users to search by zip code, helping individuals and communities to make informed, data-driven decisions. It also includes a map showing nearby treatment facilities, based on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator data.

On December 6, the Annie E. Casey Foundation will conclude its Leading with Evidence: Informing Practice with Research webinar series on child welfare. This presentation will explore how researchers and child welfare practitioners can form partnerships to learn from each other to execute the best possible evidence-based initiatives. Because federal program funding is increasingly tied to research quality, this topic is especially important. Researchers and practitioners alike will share their experiences working together to implement youth-oriented programs and services and discuss available resources for research-practice partnerships.

The Aspen Institute’s UpSkill America initiative provides innovative approaches for career pathways and advancement for frontline retail workers. This set of three podcasts from the Retail Opportunity Network highlights the benefits for employers and employer engagement strategies to hire unemployed and hard to serve persons in this industry sector.

This MDRC policy brief identifies the positive earnings and employment outcomes of three programs designed to support upward mobility in youth: YouthBuild, Year Up, and New York City’s Young Adult Internship Program. In particular, a key finding from evaluating these programs is that a systems approach is needed to help young people navigate these programs and address their tailored needs.

This joint report by the Center for Law and Social Policy and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities offers guidance on how to improve the administration of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid at the state and local levels. Rather than critiquing existing programs, this report illustrates implementation of management reforms in the intake and renewal processes.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report explores the importance of the relationship between self-regulation and improved economic outcomes. The report identifies the psychological insights behind self-regulation, which refers to the personality factors and skills that allow individuals to intentionally control their emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. This control enables people to set goals and solve problems. Also included is a discussion of ways to increase this internal capacity.