for the Study of Human Resources
RMC’s Director and Research Scientist Dr. Heath Prince recently wrote an op-ed in the Austin American-Statesmen titled “Worker exploitation in Texas’ throwaway culture” published December 13, 2020. The piece touches on the exploitation of the construction workers, especially during the coronavirus pandemic. You can read the article here.
The pandemic has revealed the importance of child care for a strong economy, especially for working mothers. Yet the majority of those employed in the industry don’t earn a living wage, forcing them to depend on public income support. Those who love the profession and realize its importance have to make hard economic decisions just to stay afloat.
*The Ray Marshall Center is proud to be one of the local partners, joining Austin Community College, the Office of the Mayor of the City of Austin, Travis County Judge’s Office, and Workforce Solutions Capital Area in the grant.
To read more about the initiative and see updates, please visit the dedicated website.
Evaluation of Austin Community College’s Strengthening Institutions Program Grant: Annual Outcomes and Impacts Report
Authors: Ashweeta Patnaik and Greg Cumpton
Date: August 2020
Publication Type: Report, 38pp.
Austin Community College (ACC) received a $1.7 million Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP) grant from the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) in 2015 to develop programs to help students understand smart money management and college financing. ACC hoped to demonstrate that grant-funded activities were linked to improvements in measures of student success such as retention rates, credential attainment rates, and cohort loan default rates. ACC partnered with the Ray Marshall Center (RMC) to perform an implementation evaluation as well as an impact evaluation of the effectiveness of SIP grant activities.
This annual report summarizes findings from the impact evaluation, focusing on ACC’s financial aid text messaging interventions for first-time in college (FTIC) credential seeking students. The impact analyses used a quasi-experimental approach with propensity score matching. Researchers found that texting interventions had a significant large positive impact on fall-to-fall retention – students who received the text messages were 10 percentage points more likely to return to ACC in the fall of their second year of college, compared to students who did not receive the text messaging intervention. Researchers also found a significant positive impact on fall-to-spring retention: students who received the text messages in fall were 5 percentage points more likely to return to ACC the following spring, compared to students who did not receive the text message. Disaggregated analyses also found small but significant positive impacts on first-semester GPA, first-year GPA, and FAFSA refiling rates for certain sub-groups.
These findings contribute to a growing body of research that suggests that low-cost, technological solutions such as text-based outreach can support students in overcoming barriers that hinder college enrollment, retention, and completion, particularly when such interventions are: personalized and tailored to students; delivered by a trusted source; and, informed by behavioral science best practices like nudging, message framing, and logistical guidance. Such interventions may particularly benefit community college students for whom the ability to continue in college likely depends on being able to maintain financial aid.
Evaluation of Austin Community College’s Strengthening Institutions Program Grant: Implementation Evaluation Report Through July 2020
Authors: Cynthia Juniper, Greg Cumpton, and Ashweeta Patnaik
Date: August 2020
Publication Type: Report, 33pp.
This report presents detailed information regarding the implementation of specific initiatives, key modifications made during the reporting period, and factors that impede or support the program in meeting the stated objectives. The first section of this report discusses SMMO text messaging interventions, continuing campaigns, and collaborative efforts; followed by a section describing two student engagement programs: Peer Money Mentors and Rainy Day Saving. The next section describes additional SMMO financial literacy education, services, and outreach activities. The final section of this report provides a summary discussion including information on sustainability efforts, options, and opportunities.
Nuru Kenya 2020 Healthcare Program Impact on Lives Saved Tool (LiST)
Authors: Ray Marshall Center
Co-author: Nuru International, Nuru Kenya
Date: November 2020
Publication Type: Research Memo, 4pp.
This report is commissioned by Nuru International.
RMC researchers have completed an annual research memo on the impact of Nuru Kenya’s Healthcare intervention. In 2020, Nuru Kenya’s Healthcare intervention reached 1,659 households including 9,954 individuals with a health behavior change approach. This intervention was delivered as part of an integrated rural service delivery portfolio including livelihoods, financial inclusion, dairy, and farmer cooperative activities. Using the Lives Saved Tool (LiST), researchers found that the intervention achieved a 24% reduction in under-five child mortality. In total, 20 lives were saved. The cost per person per year was $4.84 for these services. The cost per life saved was $2,433. These intervention activities were delivered and the impact was achieved amidst the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Austin Metro Area Community Workforce Plan Year Two Evaluation Report
Authors: Greg Cumpton, Cynthia Juniper, and Ashweeta Patnaik
Date: September 2020
Publication Type: Report, 50pp.
This report is organized into four sections. The first section describes the ongoing work of the implementation of the MCWP. The following section discusses the outcomes of the workforce system portion of the MCWP, first overall, by demographic characteristics, and then by agency. The next section discusses the role of upskilling in the region, its role in the MCWP, and outcomes for Year Two upskilling completers. The final section provides conclusions and recommendations, assessing the extent to whether set goals are being met while also thinking through the implications of meeting or not meeting these goals.
Nuru Ethiopia 2019 Impact Report
Principal Author: Ray Marshall Center
Co-author: Nuru International
Date: September 2020
Publication Type: Report, 11pp.
This report is commissioned by Nuru International.
RMC researchers have completed an annual impact report for the impact evaluation of Nuru International’s programming in Ethiopia. In 2013, Nuru Ethiopia (NE) set out to provide meaningful choices that empower communities to lift themselves out of poverty in a sustainable way. The NE development model seeks to address four key areas of need: 1) food insecurity, 2) inability to cope with economic shocks, and 3) unnecessary disease and death. In 2016, the Agriculture and Financial Inclusion programs were combined to make the Rural Livelihoods (RL) Program.
To track program impact, the NE Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) team collects yearly evaluation data to support all data-driven decision making. In 2016, Nuru International partnered with the Ray Marshall Center to better understand program outcomes and impacts. This report documents the analysis of the agricultural yield and income follow-up data collected in 2020 for the impact evaluation of Nuru International’s programming in Ethiopia.
Nuru Nigeria: 2020 Short Term Impacts
Principal Authors: Ray Marshall Center
Co-Author: Nuru Nigeria
Date: September 2020
Publication Type: Report, 14pp.
This report is commissioned by Nuru International.
RMC researchers, Dr. Heath Prince and Ashweeta Patnaik, have completed an interim short term impact report for the four-year impact evaluation of Nuru International’s programming in Nigeria. Nuru Nigeria’s mission is to eradicate extreme poverty in fragile rural areas to build communities resilient to violent extremism. The goal of the multi-year impact evaluation is to study, through a development economics lens, how Nuru’s anti-poverty interventions in Nigeria impact resiliency to shocks. The results presented in this short term impact report reflect the initial limited set of intervention activities implemented from July 2019 to June 2020. The report sets out the follow-up status of various short-term impact indicators and makes comparisons with baseline values for the same indicators and among the same panel of respondents. The report supports continuous improvement by providing Nuru Nigeria with information regarding program progress within the implementation period.
RMC’s Senior Research Scientist Dr. Chris King co-authored an article recently in the Child Development journal published by Society for Research in Child Development. The article, titled “A Two-Generation Education Intervention and Children’s Attendance in Head Start,” was written by Dr. King, Teresa Eckrich Sommer, William Schneider, Elise Chor, Terri J. Sabol, P. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Hirokazu Yoshikawa, and Amanda Morris. You can access the article here.
Abstract:
Two‐generation human capital programs seek to promote the education of parents and children simultaneously. This study examines relations between family participation in CareerAdvance®, which recruits parents of Head Start children into a workforce training program and children’s Head Start attendance. The sample included 293 children (on average 4 years old) and their parents. After one semester, CareerAdvance® children demonstrated higher rates of attendance and lower rates of absence and chronic absence (missing 10% or more of school days) than matched comparison children. These associations were similar across a range of high‐ and low‐risk subgroups at baseline. These findings are discussed in terms of the implications of a family systems approach for improving children’s Head Start attendance.
Evaluation of the CCCCO Financial Literacy Pilot Interim Report
Authors: Ashweeta Patnaik, Cynthia Juniper, and Greg Cumpton
Date: May 2020
Publication Type: Report, 46pp.
Financial wellness and financial literacy are important when it comes to the success of community college students. With this in mind, the California Community College Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO) brought together fifteen California community colleges to pilot a unique financial literacy messaging intervention (FL Pilot) in 2019. The goal of the pilot was to increase student retention and success by delivering useful financial literacy material, focusing on much-needed information about budgeting and credit, and specifically targeting first-year, first-time students, via a texting/email platform.
The CCCCO partnered with the Ray Marshall Center (RMC) to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the FL pilot. RMC’s evaluation included an outcome evaluation for each college and a rigorous impact evaluation for the pilot as a whole. RMC adopted a quasi-experimental evaluation approach and used propensity score matching (PSM) to study the impacts of the pilot on key academic and retention student outcomes. Preliminary analysis suggests that the financial literacy messaging campaign had a small but positive impact on first-semester GPA for all students and a fairly large positive impact on fall-to-spring persistence for first-time college students. This interim report presents early findings from the evaluation and discusses next steps as colleges consider implementing the intervention in the 2020-21 academic year.
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