This research-to-practice brief highlights data from the 2009 National Household Travel Survey. Data indicates that low-income households spend a higher proportion of their income on transportation expenses. This disproportionately affects African Americans and Hispanics, who experience the highest rates of poverty. Interestingly, this brief explains that low-income individuals experience transportation differently, depending on the city in which they reside. In Los Angeles and Atlanta, low-income populations have shorter travel radiuses between home and work than the average population. In New York, this trend is the opposite – individuals in poverty are more likely to travel further distances to find work. These trends and challenges have implications for all urban residents, which seem likely to persist in the face of rising transportation costs.

This article analyzes whether access to automobiles and public transport affect employment outcomes for low-income individuals. The authors use longitudinal survey data from participants in the Welfare to Work Voucher Program, which was conducted in five metropolitan areas between 1999 and 2005. Multiple logistic regression shows that access to automobiles has a strong positive correlation to employment. However, neither access to public transport nor registered housing assistance has an impact on job attainment. Research finds that enhancing automobile access for low-income populations could significantly improve employment outcomes among very low-income adults, but that other forms of assistance – including for housing – may not be as effective.

This brief, published by the Urban Institute, argues for a shift in thinking beyond the “cars versus transit” mentality which isolates urban poor from economic opportunities. Car access is often restrictive for poor families, immigrants, and people of color. Yet at the same time, public transport is often cumbersome or inaccessible – especially for those outside of the densest urban areas. This brief argues for the creation of new regional coalitions – which would assess the transportation needs of low-income households and implement solutions – including strategies combining affordable car ownership, ride sharing, and expanded transit access. Reducing barriers and burdens of car ownership and driver’s licenses, while promoting carpooling and car sharing strategies, could significantly benefit mobility and accessibility for urban low-income populations.

The HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) has recently released a report which examines relationships between indicators of economic opportunity and the prevalence of prescription opioids and substance use in the United States. Some of the primary findings reflect that the prevalence of drug overdose deaths and opioid prescriptions has risen unevenly across the county, with rural areas more heavily impacted, and that poverty, unemployment rates and the employment-population ratio are highly correlated with the prevalence of prescription opioids and substance use measures.

This Mathematica research brief examines several interventions utilizing self-regulation for workforce assistance. Traditional workforce programs focus on helping low-income individuals build skills, reduce employment barriers, and develop work experience. Recently, a new approach centers around building participants’ self-regulation. Self-regulation helps individuals to better manage their thoughts, behaviors, and emotions both in and outside of work. Implemented strategies include providing behavioral therapy, mindfulness techniques, and motivational interviewing. Poverty forces people to juggle multiple demanding factors and stressors on a limited budget, while often adhering to assistance program requirements. Self-regulation techniques aim to strengthen an individual’s emotional well-being, motivation, and self-confidence to increase resiliency.

This report evaluates the early impacts of the Year Up program. Year Up is a national training program for youth between 18-24 years of age. It provides individuals with 6 months of full-time training in IT and financial service sectors, followed by a 6-month internship, with an emphasis on professional and technical skills development. Findings indicate that Year Up participants reported higher-than-average earnings after assignment, as well as high satisfaction rates within the classroom. This consistently large and positive effect on incomes – when compared to the control group – represents the largest positive impact to date for any federal workforce program tested in this manner. Findings also indicated that adherence to program design during implementation was also largely positive, though outcomes vary between Year Up offices.

This brief from the National Research Center on Hispanic Children and Families explores who Latino fathers are and how this affects their engagement with their children. For this brief, data from the National Survey of Family Growth was analyzed; a sample of Latino fathers was separated into immigrant and non-immigrant categories because the immigrant experience has been found to have a significant impact on all facets of a father's life. The brief shares key findings about who Latino fathers are and their interaction with the labor market and their children and offers points for discussion and future research.

This study from the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation examined the effects of transitional and subsidized employment programs on outcomes of well-being beyond financial measures. The data was collected as part of the Subsidized and Transitional Employment Demonstration (STED); results of the data analysis are provided and include that STED services create a positive effect on well-being for participants.

This report from MDRC presents the interim impact findings from an ongoing evaluation of YouthBuild, a program that employs at-risk youth in the construction field, teaching them marketable skills while also supporting them to earn their high school diploma or GED. Many of the reported impacts from this randomized control trial were positive, and each is examined in the report.

This brief from Mathematica Policy Research highlights a newer practice in college settings called competency-based education (CBE), which allows students to work at their own pace towards a credential, often meeting workforce demands faster than traditionally paced programs. This brief explores the current research that exists on this model, offers policy recommendations, and provides examples of colleges currently operating CBE models.