Susanne James-Burdumy

The Effect of Maternal Labor Force Participation on Child Development

The effect of maternal employment on child development is examined using fixed effects models. Hausman tests suggest that ordinary least squares models produce biased and inconsistent estimates. Fixed effects results show that only one of three tests (PIAT math) was negatively affected by maternal hours and weeks worked in year 1 of the child’s life. The PIAT reading score was negatively affected by weeks worked in year 1 but not hours worked in year 1. None of the tests were affected by weeks or hours worked in year 2. Finally, weeks worked in year 3 positively affected PIAT math scores.

Community case management for former jail inmates: Its impacts on rearrest, drug use, and HIV risk

Dramatically increasing incarceration rates in the United States have led to large concentrations of formerly imprisoned people in poverty-stricken urban areas. Therefore, identifying ways to belp inmates who exhibit multiple, serious problems and who are at great risk of experiencing poor postrelease outcomes is especially important to urban communities, as well as to service providers and policymakers concerned about these communities. Our research provides evidence about the effectiveneess of one strategy, called Health Link, which recruited adult women and adolescent men while they were incarcerated in a New York City jail and offered case management services during the especially challenging first year after release. About 1,400 participants who enrolled during a 3-year period were ramdomly assigned either to a group that was eligible for intensive discharge planning services and community-based case management services or to a group eligible for less-intensive discharge planning and no community-based services. We investigated whether the availability of these services reduced rates of drug use, HIV risk, and rearrest. Using data from interviews and bair analysis to measure impacts during a 1-year follow-up period after clients’ release from jail, we detected increased participation in drug treatment programs and weak evidence for reduced drug use. However, we did not observe reductions in rearrest rates orin activities with high risk of HIV infection. We conclude that a well-executed case management program can make modest differences in a few short-term outcomes of former inmates. However, the intervention did not lead to the hoped-for changes across a range of outcomes that would clearly indicate greater success in community reintegration or improved health.

AFTER‐SCHOOL PROGRAM EFFECTS ON BEHAVIOR: RESULTS FROM THE 21ST CENTURY COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTERS PROGRAM NATIONAL EVALUATION

This paper presents evidence on after-school programs effects on behavior from the national evaluation of the U.S. Department of Educations 21st Century Community Learning Centers after-school program. Findings come from both of the studys components: (1) an elementary school component based on random assignment of 2,308 students in 12 school districts and (2) a middle school component based on a matched comparison design including 4,264 students in 32 districts. Key findings include higher levels of negative behavior for elementary students and some evidence of higher levels of negative behaviors for middle school students. (JEL I21)

When Elementary Schools Stay Open Late: Results From the National Evaluation of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program

This article presents evidence from a national evaluation of the effects of 21st Century Community Learning Center afterschool programs. The study was conducted in 12 school districts and 26 after-school centers, at which 2,308 elementary school students who were interested in attending a center were randomly assigned either to the treatment or control group. The findings indicate that the programs affected the type of care and supervision students received after school, with parents less likely to be caring for their child and other adults more likely, but there was no statistically significant effect on the incidence of self-care. Students in the program reported feeling safer after school, but their academic outcomes were not affected and they had more incidents of negative behavior.

Effectiveness of Four Supplemental Reading Comprehension Interventions

Abstract This article presents evidence from a large-scale randomized controlled trial of the effects of four supplemental reading comprehension curricula (Project CRISS, ReadAbout, Read for Real, and Reading for Knowledge) on students’ understanding of informational text. Across 2 school years, the study included 10 school districts, more than 200 schools, and more than 10,000 fifth-grade students. Schools interested in implementing 1 of the 4 supplemental curricula were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatment groups or to a control group. The impact analyses in the studys first year revealed a statistically significant negative impact of Reading for Knowledge on students’ reading comprehension scores and no other significant impacts. The impact of ReadAbout was positive and significant in the studys second year among teachers with 1 year of experience using the intervention.