Research and Evaluation – Senator Walter Rand Institute for Public Affairs

Community Conversations: New Jersey’s COVID-19 Storytelling Project

WRI is partnering on a statewide, collective ethnography designed to gather and transform the personal accounts of New Jersey residents, especially those who have faced increased marginalization or greater risk as a result of the pandemic, into the building blocks of a more resilient, compassionate and Healthy New Jersey.

Evaluating New Jersey DCF’s Kinship Navigator Program

WRI is working with the New Jersey Department of Children and Families (DCF) on a training, process and outcome evaluation for New Jersey DCF’s Kinship Navigator Program (KNP). New Jersey’s KNP supports caregivers who have taken on the responsibility of caring for their relatives’ children.

Study seeks to understand region’s workforce challenges

WRI is partnering with the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development and Cooper’s Ferry Partnership to gather valuable information about the region’s workforce. The project, Seeking Work in South Jersey, aims to better understand the barriers facing both employers looking to hire and job seekers looking to connect or re-connect to the workforce.

South Jersey schools and vulnerability to recession: an updated brief

In April 2020, WRI released a report written by Faculty Fellow Michael Hayes examining the 25 largest South Jersey school districts’ financial status and vulnerability to financial recession. This follow up brief examines the financial status of all 179 school districts in southern New Jersey.

Are South Jersey school districts prepared for the recession?

To help the state distribute cuts fairly, and to help school districts plan for the future, it is vital that state and local policymakers in South Jersey are aware of the most financially vulnerable school districts in the region. This study provides actionable and pertinent school district funding information.

Timing County Hospital Bed Shortfall during COVID-19

On March 16, WRI released a research brief comparing estimates of available hospital beds in South Jersey with the likely demand for hospital beds under three coronavirus spread scenarios. This follow-up brief updates the previous model and predicts when demand for hospital beds will first surpass capacity in each of the 21 New Jersey counties.