Researchers, federal and state policy leaders and administrators, and center directors all seek to understand what drives high quality Early Care and Education (ECE). The Assessing the Implementation and Cost of High Quality Early Care and Education, or ICHQ (pronounced I-check) project, led by Mathematica and funded by the Office of Planning,…

A growing body of research demonstrating the benefits of high quality early care and education (ECE) programs for young children, particularly those in families with low incomes, has inspired a strong commitment from both federal and state officials to improve the quality of ECE programs nationwide. Policymakers, administrators, and program and…

Nearly 30 years ago, Math Corps--a summer camp for middle school students in Detroit who could benefit from mentoring and positive influences--was started at Wayne State University (WSU). In 2015, the National Science Foundation awarded an Advancing Informal Science, Technology, Education, and Mathematics (STEM) Learning grant to WSU. As part of…

In the 2020-2021 school year, many schools and districts around the country implemented routine COVID-19 testing to proactively detect cases among teachers, students, and staff and stop the spread of the virus. Such testing made it possible for many communities to gain the needed support from teachers and parents to reopen schools and resume…

The Linking Learning to Careers (LLC) program offered high school students with disabilities an individualized and targeted approach to strategically plan for their futures. The Vermont Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) designed LLC to build on its usual services for high school students to emphasize unpaid and paid work-based learning…

To educate students while mitigating the spread of COVID-19 during the fall of 2020, schools across the country used different operational approaches, ranging from fully remote instruction to fully in-person instruction with various "hybrid" approaches in between. This report was prepared for the Pennsylvania Department of Education…

Enacted in 2014, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) was designed to increase collaboration among workforce systems at the federal, state, and local levels to integrate the array of programs and services available to job seekers and businesses through American Job Centers (AJCs). WIOA requires the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to…

Ongoing research and evaluation that produce actionable, widely disseminated evidence are central to the continuous improvement of U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) programs. In addition, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 (WIOA) requires DOL to conduct periodic, independent evaluations to inform the effective operation of WIOA…

In 2015, the U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded pilot grants to 10 States--California, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington--to test innovative strategies for providing employment and training services through Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Employment and Training (SNAP…

In 2015, the U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded pilot grants to 10 States--California, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington--to test innovative strategies for providing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Employment and Training (SNAP E&T). As part of the pilots, all grantees…

The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of Uncommon Schools in a turnaround setting. Uncommon was awarded a 2016 grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Investing in Innovation Fund (i3) to support TurnNJ, a project intended to support Uncommon's whole-school turnaround efforts in Camden and Newark, New Jersey. The study…

The COVID-19 pandemic put unprecedented pressure on Pennsylvania schools to find new ways of educating students amid a worldwide health crisis. Terms like remote learning and hybrid learning became part of everyday language as local education agencies (LEAs) across the Commonwealth implemented different approaches to safely deliver instruction and…

The workforce system offers work readiness training through nearly 2,400 American Job Centers (AJCs) nationwide. However, people in recovery can face unique barriers to employment not covered in traditional work readiness curricula. New Hampshire has a work readiness program called WorkReadyNH, which it offered free of charge to customers…

In Pennsylvania, subgrantee Philadelphia Works, Inc. partnered with JEVS Human Services to implement the National Health Emergency (NHE) demonstration grant. JEVS Human Services offers both employment and training services and behavioral health treatment and recovery services. By developing partnerships with behavioral health providers, the…

Community health workers (CHWs) and peer recovery specialists (PRSs) can play an important role in meeting the health care needs of people with opioid use disorder. Registered apprenticeship programs, an "earn while you learn" approach, can help build a certified workforce of CHWs and PRSs by providing classroom and on-the-job training.…