Research Assistant
New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States
The John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development based at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University researches and develops strategies to strengthen worker well-being. The Heldrich Center provides an independent source of analysis for reform and innovation in policy-making and employs cutting-edge research and evaluation methods to identify best practices in workforce development and social policy.I assisted in research of trends of states' use of the Family Violence Option (FVO). Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is a time-limited welfare program for low-income families. In 1997, the U.S. Congress established the FVO which allows states to grant waivers to domestic violence survivors when TANF requirements jeopardize their safety or health. This project examined the variation of waiver use across the 50 U.S. states and over time.• Assisted with data collection, data file cleaning, analyses.• Entered data from federal annual reports into Excel by state and TANF waiver type.• Created visualizations and descriptive summaries for prominent states. • Presented findings in draft report and poster.• Assisted in other research of literature and policy reviews for workforce development.