Based at the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, and funded by the National Institute for Mental Health, MPRC researchers are currently engaged in the following projects:
The JOBS Program for the Unemployed
The JOBS program is designed to help unemployed people reenter the labor market. JOBS has been shown in large scale randomized experiments to produce higher rates of reemployment, better paying jobs, and lower rates of mental health problems. Dissemination programs are planned in Michigan, Maryland and California as well as in Poland, Israel, Russia and Finland.
Winning New Jobs
Under the sponsorship of the California Wellness Foundation, the Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC) has teamed with the Michigan Prevention Research Center (MPRC) to launch the Winning New Jobs project in three communities in California. In Winning New Jobs, MDRC and MPRC will implement a highly acclaimed job search program for 6,500 Californians who are displaced or recently unemployed. This five-year project utilizes the JOBS intervention program, a program developed over the past ten years by MPRC, to help workers find reemployment and inoculate themselves against the adverse mental and physical health effects of unemployment.
The Couples Employment Project
Carried out jointly with investigators at George Washington University, the Couples program is aimed at helping couples cope more effectively with the multiple strains of job loss, job search and economic stress. The Couples program will be tested simultaneously in Michigan and Maryland. Coping with Economic Hardship
Coping with Economic Hardship
This program is being designed to aid individuals and families cope more effectively with the multiple stresses associated with economic adversity. While initially aimed at families experiencing the economic hardship of job loss, the program has potential application to other vulnerable groups who may experience economic hardship, such as elderly or retired persons.
The Welfare to Work Program
The Welfare to Work Program is being developed in collaboration with investigators in the School of Social Work at the University of Michigan, and will be designed to aid young welfare mothers make the transition from welfare to work.