Behavioral Science in Human Services

Full Title:  Behavioral Economics and Social Policy Designing Innovative Solutions for Programs Supported by the Administration for Children and Families OPRE Report No. 2014-16b April 2014 BIAS Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency There are 12 easy to read and understand behavioral interventions with examples that…

This document provides an overview of how practitioners can incorporate behavioral insights into their labor programs and is based on Mathematica’s behavioral insights study conducted for the U.S. Department of Labor. From April 30, 2017 Download here The designers of…

This 2017 article in The Atlantic magazine offers a quick overview of the research and features the work done by EMPath which lead to their service delivery model. https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/04/can-brain-science-pull-families-out-of-poverty/523479/?utm_source=twb.%202017

Watch this webinar from Building Better Programs, a project of CalWORKs 2.0 partner, Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.  You can also download a Field Guide and an extensive literature review on the this webinar addresses ways in which incentives…

This website for a multi year federal government project was the first major opportunity to apply a behavioral economics lens to programs that serve poor and vulnerable families in the United States. “Insights from behavioral economics, which combines findings from psychology…

This report from CalWORKs Strategic Initiative Team member, LaDonna Pavetti of Center for Budget and Policy Priorities focuses on executive function skills from the perspective of disadvantaged adults. In many cases, adults are applying for or receiving assistance for the benefit…

This paper published in 2014 by EMPath (formerly Crittenton Women’s Union) highlights the need for programs and policymakers to take into account the impact of social bias, persistent poverty, and trauma on brain development and Executive Function skills (impulse control,…

This short article was heard on NPR’s “All Things Considered” in a health segment. “…it doesn’t matter what kind of scarcity you’re dealing with. When humans don’t have enough of something, that fact dominates our consciousness.” http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2014/07/14/330434597/this-is-your-stressed-out-brain-on-scarcity

This white paper by Ideas42 applies behavioral science to the context of chronic scarcity and includes specific recommendations for policymakers, program designers, direct service providers and others interested in better aligning anti-poverty systems and services with human behavior. http://www.ideas42.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/I42_PovertyWhitePaper_Digital_FINAL-1.pdf