Increases in a family’s earnings are often offset by declines in public assistance benefits (commonly called “benefit cliffs” when the declines are sharp) and increases in taxes owed. This report summarizes insights from qualitative interviews…

This report reviews the use of technology-based learning (TBL), covering employability or soft skills, basic literacy and numeracy, technological literacy, job search skills, and occupational training and certification. It also examines…

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report examines the Minnesota Subsidized and Transitional Employment Demonstration (MSTED) program that is designed to increase employment outcomes for persons who receive benefits for more than six…

This Urban Institute report highlights qualitative data to explain the reasons why low-wage workers apply for public assistance initially. The report is drawn from interviews with 40 individuals who recently separated from low-wage work and received…

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation-funded (OPRE) study illustrates the early implementation of the Ramsey County, Minnesota, Lifelong Learning Initiative (LLI). Research has found that chronic stress associated with living in poverty…

This Mathematica study, conducted on behalf of the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, examines the impact of four federally-funded Responsible Fatherhood programs: Connections to Success in Kansas and Missouri; Fathers’ Support Center in…

This report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation emphasizes benefits and challenges of building an integrated data system to support two-generation programming and also highlights strategies adopted by several agencies to efficiently track and share…

This brief from the University of New Hampshire’s Carsey School of Public Policy discusses demographics in Southwestern Minnesota, a rural area where the population is aging and becoming more diverse, particularly among youth. The goal of the brief…

The Joyce Foundation launched Shifting Gears in 2007 to assist six Midwest states to increase the number of low-skilled adults with the education and skills they need to succeed in the 21st century economy. The Joyce Foundation extended Shifting…

In 2002, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) instituted the Community Healthy Marriage Initiative (CHMI) evaluation to document operational lessons and assess the effectiveness of community-based approaches to support healthy…