Urban Institute

About: Urban Institute is a nonprofit organization based out in Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Medicaid & Population. The organization has 927 authors who have published 2330 publications receiving 86426 citations.

Reducing Drug Use and Crime among Offenders: The Impact of Graduated Sanctions

Abstract: The evaluation of the Washington, D.C., Superior Court Drug Intervention Program (SCDIP) compared drug felony defendants randomly assigned to either a docket offering structured graduated sanctions in combination with drug testing and judicial monitoring, or a docket using drug tests and judicial monitoring only. Assignment to the graduated sanctions docket was found to reduce drug use prior to sentencing. Program participants were significantly less likely to use drugs prior to sentencing, and, in the year after sentencing, were significantly less likely to be arrested and and had significantly fewer arrests. This paper describes characteristics of the sanctioning program that appear highly correlated with positive outcomes.

Free-Riding and the Provision of Public Goods in the Family: A Laboratory Experiment

Abstract: We examine the provision of family public goods using experimental economics methods. With sufficient altruism and shared resource arrangements, families can provide the efficient level of family public goods. Becker's Rotten Kid Theorem asserts that transfers from altruistic parents will induce children to maximize family income even if children are not altruistic toward other family members. Consistent with altruism, parents and children contributed more to a public good when in groups with family members than when in groups with strangers. In contrast to the predictions of the Rotten Kid Theorem, however, children's behavior fell short of maximizing family income.

When Do Women Use AFDC & Food Stamps? The Dynamics of Eligibility vs. Participation

Abstract: This paper investigates dynamic patterns in the relationship between eligibility and participation in the AFDC and food stamp programs, using monthly longitudinal data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation. The results indicate that the majority of eligibility spells are relatively short, do not result in program participation, and end with increases in income. Participation is most likely to occur among women with lower current and future earning opportunities, and is also affected by locational and policy parameters. Those who elect to participate in these programs tend to start receiving benefits almost immediately upon becoming eligible. with little evidence of delayed program entry. A substantial number of women exit these programs before their eligibility ends; among at least some of these women it seems likely that there are unreported changes in income occurring. In 1989, if all eligible single-parents families had participated in AFDC and food stamps, benefit payments would have been $13.5 billion higher.

The criminogenic and psychological effects of police stops on adolescent black and Latino boys

Abstract: Proactive policing, the strategic targeting of people or places to prevent crimes, is a well-studied tactic that is ubiquitous in modern law enforcement. A 2017 National Academies of Sciences report reviewed existing literature, entrenched in deterrence theory, and found evidence that proactive policing strategies can reduce crime. The existing literature, however, does not explore what the short and long-term effects of police contact are for young people who are subjected to high rates of contact with law enforcement as a result of proactive policing. Using four waves of longitudinal survey data from a sample of predominantly black and Latino boys in ninth and tenth grades, we find that adolescent boys who are stopped by police report more frequent engagement in delinquent behavior 6, 12, and 18 months later, independent of prior delinquency, a finding that is consistent with labeling and life course theories. We also find that psychological distress partially mediates this relationship, consistent with the often stated, but rarely measured, mechanism for adolescent criminality hypothesized by general strain theory. These findings advance the scientific understanding of crime and adolescent development while also raising policy questions about the efficacy of routine police stops of black and Latino youth. Police stops predict decrements in adolescents' psychological well-being and may unintentionally increase their engagement in criminal behavior.

What Factors Affect the Entry and Exit of Nonprofit Human Service Organizations in Metropolitan Areas

Abstract: The goal of this article is to advance the literature on nonprofit organizational adaptation by assessing the factors that significantly contribute to the entry and exit of human service organizations in metropolitan areas. More specifically, this study uses nonprofit, economic and demographic data and information on welfare reform implementation patterns to examine the causes of the formation and deaths of groups in the nonprofit human service sector from 1992 to 1996. This time frame marked the widespread implementation of welfare reform under the federal Aid to Families With Dependent Children (AFDC) waiver program. This study found that organizational size, age, and service activities are the key determinants in the failure of human service nonprofits, whereas environmental factors such as AFDC waiver implementation relate to the widespread formation of nonprofit providers.