This paper examines if active labor market programs help unemployed job seekers find jobs using a novel random caseworker instrumental variable (IV) design. Leveraging administrative data from Denmark, our identification strategy exploits that (i) job seekers are quasi-randomly assigned to caseworkers, and (ii) caseworkers differ in their…

Social workers can help advance public health through increased acceptability of harm reduction principles and practices. This study evaluated Master of Social Work students' attitudes towards harm reduction before and after a substance use and social work practice course and assessed differences in students' attitude outcomes across multiple…

University student support services are broad and varied. These services are generally located centrally on campus rather than in a specific academic area. Offering a decentralized, college-specific student support and retention model that partners with academic and student affairs allows for a more holistic, integrated approach to student support…

A collection of data points can show an abundance of information about a college student, telling a data-driven story about a student's past, current, and sometimes predicting future challenges at the university but some challenges may not be able to be indicated by data points alone. Challenges such as mental health, financial challenges,…

Many institutions of higher education struggle with low retention rates. One state liberal arts college addressed this concern by assigning an academic case manager to higher risk students. This project evaluated the effectiveness of the case manager on student credit hours and retention using a randomized control trial. The case manager contacted…

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) contracted with three child welfare providers that operate transitional living (TLP) or independent living (ILO) programs (or both) to implement LifeSet, an intensive case management program developed by Youth Villages, for youth in care who are 17.5 to 21 years old. LifeSet helps…

Mixed-income initiatives provide critical investments in neighborhoods, including investments to improve schools, and provide case management and family support services to low-income families. The Choice Neighborhoods Initiative (CNI) is one of the largest and most comprehensive mixed-income neighborhood redevelopment initiatives to date;…

This brief describes the relationship between placement stability and youth engagement in the Youth Transitions Partnership (YTP), a program developed and implemented by the Alameda County Social Services Agency (SSA) for 14- to 20-year-olds in foster care who have multiple risk factors for experiencing homelessness. The authors used program data…

As the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted learning and services across communities, the Upgrade program in San Antonio, Texas, was able to continue serving adult learners through preestablished service delivery methods. A case management approach to advising set the foundation for the program to build upon established relationships with students to help…