Outsmarting poverty starts with working smarter
All across America, service providers are doing great work to take on poverty in all its complexity. But we still know too little about what’s working and why.
Notre Dame’s Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO) helps service providers apply scientific evaluation methods to better understand and share effective poverty interventions.
At LEO, we believe rigorous research is a powerful means to an end. An end to injustice. An end to poverty. And a new beginning for millions of families who are ready to thrive.
Creating Evidence
by partnering with poverty's fiercest adversaries to learn what works.
In the News: A new homelessness strategy is sweeping California
Maybe the way out of California’s homelessness crisis is to prevent it in the first place, rather than focusing only on people who have already lost their housing. That’s the thinking behind a program in Santa Clara County — and others like it around the state — that has gained traction and will soon test its strategy beyond California.
In the News: Therapy during detention found to be an effective, cost-efficient way to reduce violent behavior within jail system
A new study by University of Notre Dame researchers shows that introducing a unique and low-cost cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) program for longer-term jail inmates teaches lifelong skills and reduces violent behavior — making the jail safer in the long run.
Evidence to Impact: Padua Takes Its Next Step
Important milestone in our replication work: Goodwill Industries of Michiana has been selected as the first Padua replication site, in partnership with Catholic Charities Fort Worth. This site selection marks the start of implementation planning, partner alignment, and the careful build that’s required when you’re trying to take something proven to a new place.
What Would You Fight For
Fighting to Improve Education Policies
Goodwill wants high school education accessible for all ages—LEO economists are providing the data to get there.
Fighting to Prevent Homelessness
Catholic Charities Chicago runs the city's Homelessness Prevention Call Center and has helped thousands of families stay off the streets. But Catholic Charities knows funding for public programs is never guaranteed, so it wanted to prove its method was cost-effective and impactful.