Our mission is to improve the lives of individuals, children, and families by building knowledge and improving the effectiveness and efficiency of public policy and programs. MEF Associates was founded by Mike Fishman and Mary Farrell in 2009. Our staff members are experts in a wide array of social policy areas and have performed work for federal, state, and private clients.

 

NEWS


This report presents a framework describing the range of factors that contribute to individuals’ ability to support themselves and their families; it also recommends tools for measuring varied aspects of individual and family well-being. The framework integrates and expands upon conceptualizations of self-sufficiency and well-being presented in prior research. Developed in support of the Tennessee Opportunity Pilot Initiative, this report can inform policymakers and program staff aiming to understand the impact of programs like TANF on individual and family well-being.

Laura Peck joined MEF as a Principal Scientist and the Director of the Income Security and Economic Mobility domain in January 2024. Laura brings decades of experience as a leader in the field of impact evaluation and research methodology.

We are accepting applications for our summer internship program. Now in its fourth year, this is a unique opportunity for rising college seniors to get applied research experience. The 10 week internship includes a dedicated mentor, professional development opportunities, and a chance to work on a range of social policy projects. Learn more about the opportunity, including upcoming information webinars at our job listing.

We are expanding our food and nutrition portfolio in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service. We have begun four exciting new research studies on nutrition policies for the WIC and SNAP program.

For the WIC Customer Experience Landscape Assessment, we will conduct a web survey and use the results to develop best practices for collecting and reporting on WIC CX.

Under the WIC Participant and Program Characteristics (PC) 2024 study, we will work with Westat to collect longitudinal data and electronic benefit transfer data to bolster the biennial reporting on WIC participant demographics, income, participation in other benefit programs, nutritional risks, anthropometric status, hematological information, breastfeeding status, and food package prescriptions.

We will work with Mathematica on two studies: (1) the WIC & FMNP Outreach, Innovation, and Modernization evaluation which will determine whether State agency modernization efforts have increased enrollment, improved the participant experience, and reduced disparities in delivery of WIC and FMNP; and (2) Guidance for SNAP Eligibility and QC Interviews study which aims to improve the interview experience and expand equitable access to SNAP.

This brief is part of the Promising Occupations Achievable through Education or Training for Low-Income Families project funded by the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation within the Administration for Children and Families. This brief describes how individual and structural biases can influence the staff’s interaction with participants and the delivery of employment services provided by TANF programs, such as job search assistance, skills training, and one-on-one case management. The brief also provides concrete strategies that staff members delivering employment services can adopt when working with participants and strategies to combat biases at an organizational level that TANF program leaders can consider implementing. 

The Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) recently selected MEF Associates and its partners at the Tufts Interdisciplinary Evaluation Research Team (TIER) to conduct a needs assessment as part of the Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5). MEF and TIER will support Massachusetts in designing and executing a needs assessment that includes surveys, focus groups, and interviews with families and the early care and education workforce. MEF will also analyze data from the Early Childhood Information Data System. Throughout the study design and execution, the team is using participatory based approaches to ensure the people most impacted by B-5 policy and programs are a focal part of the needs assessment. Read more about this work here.

As part of its Promising Occupations project, MEF led the development of a new career development website that helps low-income families identify careers that pay family sustaining wages.

These case studies describe innovative interventions to improve employment outcomes for low-income individuals, including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families recipients. MEF developed them as part of work performed with Mathematica for the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation’s Pathways to Work Evidence Clearinghouse. The case studies’ topics range from adaptations to programming related to COVID-19 and remote employment coaching to interventions focused on skills development and increasing the social capital of female refugees and asylum seekers. The case studies provide information for practitioners to learn about the interventions that state, counties, and community-based organizations are implementing but have not yet been rigorously evaluated.


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