T Lab Microtrials Begin

We’re just over the halfway through T Lab’s third and final pilot year. Our teams are getting ready to unveil their ideas in the areas of child care, pre-k education and prisoner reentry. For the next eight weeks, Problem-Solvers will road test their service concepts, gaining important feedback from those in the community along the way.

Our child care team last reported that many low-income families rely on patchwork care to fill gaps and meet their daily needs. This insight led them to the current hypothesis: families stand to benefit from access to a child care guide. A guide could be a peer who provides resources and support in a personalized, informative and trustworthy way. As the team begins to test this theory, they will attempt to answer several outstanding questions:

- What do parents want and need to know about child care options?

- What is the best way to deliver this knowledge?

- If we address short-term needs, will families be better positioned to take advantage of traditional research and referrals for long-term care?

- Can parents’ peers help breakdown barriers that lead to isolation among many low-income care givers?

Our pre-k education team’s research led them to focus on the importance of secure attachment between parent and child as prerequisite for a child’s development of social and emotional skills. The team’s microtrial will explore the use of individualized support — via a doula, for example — to encourage this bond. This team will dig deeper in the following areas:

- Are there ways to increase access to traditional doulas for low-income families?

- Can we further enhance the intervention by designing mobile technology to deliver ongoing resources related to child development?

- What kinds of support can be delivered in a group setting?

- How can a new service model support secondary caregivers as well?

Our prisoner reentry team researched the needs of youth. Specifically, they examined how the strengths and passions of young adults on probation can be leveraged for career path connections or to attain longer-term life goals. Their microtrial will be built around the hypothesis that a mobile, neutral space can foster engagement between young adults, probation officers, case managers and the community and that an interactive platform — perhaps a digital device like a tablet — can be used develop roadmaps for short and long-term goals.

Can the combination of a neutral environment and engaging tools foster a positive relationship between a young adult and probation officer? How might it better promote cross-collaboration among all parties involved in each individual’s journey from probation forward?

Stay tuned for more as the teams’ microtrials get underway this month. And visit tippingpoint.org/tlab to learn more about the program.