J-PAL North America, the regional office of MIT’s Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), is a regional office of MIT’s Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL). Announced six new partnerships with nonprofit organizations. August 2022. These collaborators span the continental United States and represent a wide range of social policy areas.
Over the next several months, each organization will work with J-PAL North America staff and affiliated researchers to design a randomized evaluation of one of their policies or programs. Randomized evaluations, in which participants are randomly assigned to either receive the program in question or “treatment as usual,” are unique in that they can prove causal effects of the program. The goal of these evaluation incubators is to help organizations generate and leverage evidence to answer important policy questions about state and local efforts to reduce poverty and address homelessness and housing stability. .
The three collaborators aim to reduce homelessness and promote housing stability. One Roof, a continuum of care coordination agency in central Alabama, is evaluating the effectiveness of a new risk assessment questionnaire for individuals experiencing homelessness using the Coordinated Entry (CE) system. Jennifer Harrell, director of coordinating entry for One Roof, said: “The CE program serving central Alabama wants to use the locally driven, evidence-based data results from the randomized evaluation to begin the process of redesigning the CE system to deliver more outcomes. The idea is to provide fair housing for people experiencing homelessness. ”
The Legal Aid Society of Eastern Virginia (LASEV) provides legal services to low-income Virginians. “LASEV is excited about the opportunity to work with J-PAL to develop an evidence-based strategy to address the eviction crisis facing low-income households in our service area.” said Holly Yates, grants manager. Through its Housing Stability Assessment Incubator, LASEV designs assessments to assess the impact of providing legal information and reminders to individuals and families facing eviction.
Pierce County Human Services (PCHS) in Washington will evaluate the impact of an eviction prevention program that provides comprehensive case management, financial counseling, and funding to low-income families who are behind on their rent. PCHS Director Heather Moss said, “This evaluation of our program examines how we use our limited resources to support neighborhoods at risk of losing their homes. It helps the county understand what’s best.”
The remaining collaborators work in clear and important policy areas, such as judicial process, transportation, and income support. The Anaheim Police Department in California aims to evaluate two of his police officer training programs, Health and Judicial Procedures, to assess their impact on community trust. Deputy Police Chief Rick Armendariz said their goal is to “train officers to understand the importance of building strong relationships with the community so they can handle a difficult, complex and stressful job.” It’s about providing that.” Specifically regarding the topic of procedural justice, the Anaheim Police Department hopes the evaluation can inform police policy more broadly.
The Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) will pilot and evaluate a guaranteed basic income program for low-income families with children. “Assessing new and existing government programs provides data that decision-makers can use to make government as efficient and effective as possible,” said a senior from MMB’s Results Management Unit. Weston, the manager, said Merrick. “This particular project aims to understand the impact of a guaranteed basic income pilot program on income, public assistance use, health, and housing stability in a large county in Minnesota.”
King County Metro, a transportation service provider for the greater Seattle area, is evaluating a new on-demand transportation service for travelers with disabilities. Carrie Shihak, Metro Program Project Director, spoke of her excitement to join the state and local evaluation incubator and said the initiative “will provide King County Metro decision-makers with evidence on the questions that matter most to us. We will be able to do that.” Our partnership with J-PAL allows our community to benefit most from innovative mobility solutions. ”
By designing rigorous evaluations of programs through state and local and housing stability assessment incubators, collaborators have the potential to not only understand their impact but also maximize its effectiveness. J-PAL North America and its partners are excited to use these findings to inform their practices and enhance support for constituents. Findings from these projects are also expected to contribute to broader policy lessons across this set of sectors.
For more information, please contact Mera Cronbaugh for questions regarding the State and Local Assessment Incubator and Laina Sonterblum for questions regarding the Housing Stability Assessment Incubator.