SECTOR INSIGHTS
SECTOR INSIGHTS
As Slingshot continues to work with more poverty-fighting organizations, we build our understanding of what is effective at alleviating poverty. Below are several insights uncovered during our impact study work that help us better understand what factors contribute to effective poverty-fighting efforts.
A conclusion from research on programs that try to help people reenter society from the criminal justice system is that most do not produce effective outcomes (e.g. reductions in recidivism, lasting improvements in income). One reason is that these programs typically have focused exclusively on helping people obtain a job upon reentry, but end once employment is obtained. Research on the reentry programs that have produced effective outcomes concludes that a more holistic approach is required. Services associated with effective reentry programs include employment retention support, individualized mentoring, and mental health services.
In conducting the benefit-cost analysis on several technical education programs, we identified several components that produced significantly greater benefits for program graduates. Some of these program attributes include: designed in partnership with employers most likely to hire the program graduates, incorporated an apprenticeship model to learn from experienced professionals, and included paid-internships as part of the curriculum.
Access to private transportation produces direct improvements in income and health. First, private transportation allows individuals to work longer hours, at uncommon schedules, and to access jobs that are harder to reach. One study found when households transition from zero to one vehicle, they experience an average $8,000 increase in income. Benefits also occurred when households transition from one to two vehicles, with a $6,000 increase observed. In addition, access to private transportation also has measurable health benefits as a study found that patients are more likely to seek preventative care and about 50 percent less likely to miss a medical appointment if they have their own transportation.
Professional certifications (e.g. welding, information technology, automotive, etc.) can create meaningful improvements in income for those experiencing poverty. The evidence, however, is clear that not all certifications provide the same value (with some providing virtually zero value). The most valuable professional certifications tend to be offered by industry associations versus individual employers or educational institutions, include an experiential component versus being entirely classroom based, focus on specific industry skills versus generalized knowledge, and are associated with jobs that are prevalent in the area.
In studying an organization that helps women exit the sex industry, it became clear that this topic has not been rigorously evaluated. High-quality research is very limited on the severity of the challenge, the contributing factors, and the best practices to prevent entrance and enable exit & restoration. This lack of an evidence base can inhibit the ability to develop effective policies and efforts to address sex trafficking. Using data from the organization we studied, it appears there is limited choice about entering the sex trade as 70 percent of the women this organization worked with had entered the sex industry prior to the age of 18.
Social and emotional learning (SEL) are now common for schools, but surveys indicate many schools are challenged to implement it effectively. Compared to peers, students who received social and emotional learning demonstrated significantly improved social and emotional skills, attitudes, behavior, and academic performance (an 11-percentile-point gain in achievement in one study). Successful programs tend to incorporate four important components: 1) a sequenced step-by-step training approach, 2) active forms of learning, 3) sufficient time spent on skill development, and 4) explicit learning goals.
Research shows the initial conditions refugees face have important and lasting impacts on their future economic and social integration. A study compared a low-intensity job and language learning program for refugees with a high-intensity program and found participants of the high-intensity program experienced a 15-percentage point increase in employment rates than peers in the lower-intensity program. The intensive program had three unique characteristics: 1) language and job services were bundled into a single program, 2) intensive assistance was introduced as soon as possible after their arrival, and 3) a work practice component was included.
Diversion programs are arrangements that hold youth accountable while redirecting them from the juvenile legal system through programming, supervision, and supports. Youth who complete diversion programs tend to have less future contact with the criminal legal system and experience greater employment outcomes. A recent study found that after 10 years, youth who participated in diversion had about half as many future convictions and experienced 53 percent greater employment rates than those who entered the juvenile legal system.
The strength of the relationship between a mentor and mentee is key in determining the effectiveness of a mentoring program. Programs structured with weekly meetings and with opportunities to interact outside of a large-group setting were more likely to generate close relationships. Other effective practices include meeting three or four times per month for a period of 5 months, having flexibility on activities and locations, training for the mentors, punctuality, and providing activities for mentors and mentees. Interestingly, a research study showed there was no evidence that mentoring programs with an academic focus produced better academic outcomes than relationship-only mentor programs.
Programs that provide home repairs for households with low-incomes can be a tool for increasing stability and reducing crime. According to HUD, nearly 1 million U.S. households in 2019 lacked basic features such as plumbing, electricity, or heat. 75 percent of participants in an emergency home repair program in Detroit stated they would not have been able to make the repairs without the program. In Philadelphia, a program found that street blocks with houses that had been repaired experienced less crime than similar streets, and that even less crime occurred if more houses on the block had received repairs.
According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control &
Prevention (CDC), 42 percent of children in the State of Tennessee eat less than one vegetable
per day and 36 percent eat less than one fruit per day. To help promote healthier eating,
farm-to-school programs have been implemented by schools and early-childhood
organizations. These programs use various approaches such as gardening, farm visits,
culinary classes, and taste-testing fresh food from local farms to help teach children about
healthy food by engaging all five senses. Evidence shows well-designed farm-to-school
activities improve the quality of children’s diets by increasing daily fruit and vegetable intake
and willingness to try new fruits and vegetables.
