Excelling in Impact

Patrick Turner, associate professor of economics, recently published a paper through MIT Opportunity Insights titled, High Schools Tailored To Adults Can Help Them Complete a Traditional Diploma and Excel in the Labor Market. The paper presents the Marginal Value of Public Funds calculations for Goodwill Excel Center charter schools. He presented his findings to Goodwill CEOs at the Columbus Ivy Tech conference this July. The key takeaway for the presentation is that students who attend the Goodwill Excel Center see earnings increase over their lifetime by over $34,000, while the net cost for attending is $1,648. Patrick focused on teaching Goodwill CEOs how they could utilize this evidence in future conversations with funders and policymakers, as the Excel Center model continues to expand across the U.S.

LEO had the honor of being featured in our third “What Would You Fight For” video, which aired during the first Fighting Irish home game. The video highlighted our partnership with Goodwill Excel and how the evidence from our study on the Excel Center’s impact led to important policy changes in Arizona.

Progress through Partnership

Results for America has partnered with LEO to build an emergency financial assistance (EFA) toolkit based on the Destination: Home model, leveraging LEO’s research in Chicago and Santa Clara County. It will be LEO’s first toolkit of this kind, with the goal to offer training and technical assistance for as many as 400+ continuums of care across the country that coordinate homelessness services at the local level.

LEO and King County (Seattle, WA) hosted the latest Evidence Matters event, titled “Nurturing the Null: Learning from Unexpected Results to Improve Community Outcomes.” The online discussion focused on findings from a multi-year randomized controlled trial on preventing homelessness. Over 100 attendees, including providers, government employees, and researchers, participated. The study revealed that individuals receiving case management alongside financial assistance fared worse than those receiving only financial aid. Key changes included shifting focus to emergency financial assistance, reducing case manager caseloads, and targeting case management to those facing complex challenges. The event highlighted the importance of learning from unexpected results to improve community outcomes.

Recently, U.S. Representative Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) introduced the Improving Mental Healthcare in the Re-Entry System Act, a legislative initiative aimed at enhancing mental health services for incarcerated individuals. LEO played a significant role in shaping this legislation by providing insights from our study on mental health screening and outreach, which demonstrated significant reductions in recidivism rates. The proposed bill seeks to allocate $600 million over five years to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, states, and localities to implement comprehensive mental health screenings and facilitate access to treatment. Our research findings have been prominently featured in media coverage surrounding this important legislative effort.

Fighting the Opioid Crisis

The opioid crisis continues to devastate communities across the United States, affecting countless individuals, families, and communities. As our co-founder Bill Evans shared, “The fact that strikes me the most is that between 1999 and 2021, there’ve been about a million deaths from drug poisonings. If you were to total the total number of U.S. soldiers that have died in all military conflicts since the Revolutionary War, it’s about the same number. And so it’s on the scale of armed conflict that our country has faced.”

Notre Dame is dedicated to bringing together top minds and resources to tackle this urgent issue. Our work is grounded in rigorous research, innovative solutions, and collaborative partnerships aimed at making a real impact.

This August, the University of Notre Dame hosted the Summit on the Opioids Settlement: A Pathway to Hope, bringing together over 100 leaders, including federal and state officials, foundation leaders, and experts in addiction and public health. The summit, led by Notre Dame’s Poverty Initiative, focused on strategies to distribute nearly $50 billion in opioid settlement funds, ensuring resources benefit those most affected by the crisis. LEO experts led workshops on applying evidence-based methods to evaluate and optimize fund distribution.

Looking ahead, we are committed to continue our work on this critical issue. The finalized research agenda will serve as a roadmap for our ongoing and future efforts to combat the opioid crisis. This agenda will guide our research initiatives, collaborations, and policy recommendations, ensuring that our work remains focused on making a tangible difference in the lives of those affected by opioids.

To learn more and read the research agenda, visit
leo.nd.edu/fighting-opioid-crisis.

Originally published by Kathryn Desai at leo.nd.edu on October 02, 2024.