Nobel Prize winners Esther Duflo, Abhijit Banerjee, and Michael Kremer worked together in Kenya in the 1990s. They developed a method for addressing the challenges of global poverty: They broke the challenges down into chunks. Dealing with one problem at a time, their work has resulted in policy changes that... View Article
In June, a 9-year-old named Ryan in Napa, California, learned about school lunch debt from a news story. In a classic instance of so-called “lunch shaming,” a 5-year-old had been denied lunch because of her outstanding lunch debts. Ryan took action. When he asked, the school said the total outstanding... View Article
Kelly Mays discusses implementing Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin’-By-World in a rural, small-town setting.
When, on the contrary, all the citizens are independent of one another, and each of them is individually weak, no one is seen to exert a great, or still less a lasting power, over the community. At first sight, individuals appear to be absolutely devoid of any influence over it;... View Article
Last year’s portion of the federal budget that was spent on children hit a 12-year low, rivaling numbers we haven’t seen since 2007. Just 9.2% of federal spending was for programs like early education, food stamps, and help for children with disabilities. Worse yet, spending is projected to decline further... View Article
Research evidence supporting Getting Ahead Beth Wahler and Phil DeVol We know many of you have witnessed firsthand the effectiveness of Getting Ahead in the lives of investigators and your communities, and you look forward to the day when Getting Ahead is considered evidence-based by scholars. The goal of this... View Article
Sitting on the windowsill of my mother’s low-income apartment, I prayed my father would not fail to show up again. Tears poured down my cheeks. Confusion and anger set in, starting decades of chaos. How did I fail my father? What could I do to gain his love? It took... View Article
Making your way out of poverty not only requires determination, but also a lot of meaningful support to stabilize your life for long-term success. A fundamental component of Peterborough Social Services is the provision of case management and coaching. Life stabilization coaching is used to support participants who are pursuing... View Article
The Austin American-Statesman Sunday edition published commentary from Ruby Payne on the root causes of gun violence, especially in schools. Toughening physical security measures only goes so far, Payne writes, “because the root causes of school shootings are emotional issues.” From the opinion piece: An acquaintance told me that during... View Article
Authors Phil DeVol and Gene Krebs continue their talk on how to use their book Bridges Across Every Divide to make policy changes that reduce poverty. Missed Part 1? Listen here.