New Chance

New Chance was a national demonstration project implemented by the Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC) from 1989-1992 in 16 locations and 10 states. The program provided young mothers on welfare access to education, employment, and family resources with the goal of increasing their employability, improving their parenting skills, and nurturing their children's health and well-being. The design of the program was primarily shaped by expert opinions that previous intervention programs had been too limited in scope and had been generally inadequate. Thus recommendations were made to develop a more comprehensive intervention model to respond accordingly to the complex issues that young mothers frequently face.

The program's core constituents were mothers aged 16 to 22 who had first given birth as teenagers, were receiving welfare, and had dropped out of high school. Participants were provided with education in core subjects and preparation for the General Educational Development (GED) test, occupational skill training and placement help, as well as health, family planning, and parenting classes and services. In most instances the program was implemented by community service organizations, who received training, technical assistance, funding, and regulation from MDRC.

The program aimed to assist young mothers receiving welfare in achieving economic independence and nurturing their children's development.

An evaluation of the New Chance project found that young women who received greater than 18 hours of education were more likely to earn GEDs than those who did not, and that young women who received vocational training and obtained a college education earned more money than those who did not.