Brief
The BIAS study results from Indiana and Oklahoma, in addition to an H&R Block FAFSA experiment, suggest that behavioral interventions that are designed to increase active participation in benefitprograms may be more successful if they can incorporate more personal interactions with targetedindividuals. The interventions may be more costly, but may make up for that added cost in being more effective. Springing on the opportunity to complete a form “now” or being able to respond to individuals’ questions, and creating more trust in trying something new, may make an important difference.
Brief
Low-income families face significant challenges navigating both low-wage employment or education and training programs and also finding good-quality child care. Programs that intentionally combine services for parents and children can help families move toward economic security and create conditions that promote child and family well-being. Although these programs in general are not new (see Background), policymakers and program leaders are now experimenting with innovative approaches to combining services. Yet, most currently operating programs, sometimes called “two-generation” or “dual…
Brief
In child support programs, parents must often make complicated decisions with little information in a context where emotions can run high. Such situations can affect both the quality and speed of decision making. Behavioral science can ameliorate some of the impact that such environments might have on decision making, while also providing a new way of thinking about questions that child support staff often confront, such as: Why do some parents fail to attend order establishment hearings (where a child support amount can be set), or forget to bring paperwork that would help with the…
Brief
The Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS) team designed and implemented 15 tests of low-cost behavioral interventions to improve the efficacy of key U.S. poverty alleviation policies using rigorous randomized controlled trials. The author reports that behavioral nudges (defined as subtle and modest changes that help improve individual decision making), reminders, or information are not sufficient to have large impacts on child support compliance when individuals don’t have the financial resources to comply or don’t view the required payments to be “legitimate.” The…
Brief
The purpose of this research brief is to highlight the unique challenges – and the strengths – of rural communities and provide suggestions for integrating culturally responsive healthy relationship education into existing safety-net services to strengthen rural families in poverty. (Author abstract)
Brief
The Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS) study results from Indiana and Oklahoma, in addition to an H&R Block FAFSA experiment, suggest that behavioral interventions that are designed to increase active participation in benefit programs may be more successful if they can incorporate more personal interactions with targeted individuals. The interventions may be more costly, but may make up for that added cost in being more effective. Springing on the opportunity to complete a form “now” or being able to respond to individuals’ questions, and creating more trust in…
Brief
The Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS) project is an ambitious effort to apply behavioral science principles to improving services related to child care, child support, and work support. As is the case with most behavioral research, the BIAS project focuses on individual client behavior. This approach provides significant benefits by allowing for low-cost, incremental improvements that can accumulate over time. One extension to this individual-level approach would be to consider the behavior of individual staff members who work with those clients. Another beneficial…
Brief
The Learn, Innovate, Improve (LI2) process is a systematic, evidence-informed approach to program improvement. LI2 involves a series of analytic and replicable activities, supported by collaboration between practitioners and applied researchers, to help human services programs design, implement, and iteratively test programmatic changes. As a continuous improvement process, LI2 is intended to build practitioners’ capacity for better using and producing high-quality evidence; ultimately, this process can be institutionalized within the program environment.Human services programs (such as…
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Integrating financial security services into workforce development programs can achieve more impactwithout requiring significantly extra cost and time. Corporation for a Skilled Workforce (CSW) and TheFinancial Clinic (the Clinic) have partnered to analyze the impacts of financial security services onworkforce development programs, with results released in four upcoming issue briefs. (Author abstract)
Brief
This National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse (NRFC) resource provides information on paternity establishment for practitioners who work with unmarried fathers. Laws and procedures vary from state to state; therefore, we provide information that is generally true across states, but recommend practitioners are prepared to discuss state-specific information with their participants. For help finding more information, you or the fathers you work with can call the NRFC Helpline at 1-877-4DAD-411. You can also go to our online state profiles, which include information about specific laws on…
