M. Rebecca Kilburn

Senior Economist

Off Site Office

Education

Ph.D. in economics, University of Chicago; M.A. in economics, University of Chicago; B.A. in economics, Kenyon College

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Media Resources

This researcher is available for interviews.

To arrange an interview, contact the RAND Office of Media Relations at (310) 451-6913, or email media@rand.org.

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Overview

M. Rebecca Kilburn is a senior economist at the RAND Corporation. She has served as the principal investigator for over a dozen research projects designed to improve knowledge on human capital formation. Her research studies have examined both program implementation and effectiveness, most have employed mixed methods, and they have typically worked closely with community collaborators in order to ensure that the findings are directly useful to stakeholders. She has experience executing randomized trials, cleaning and using administrative data, and collecting data from service providers, families, and children. She has also undertaken systematic reviews and cost and outcome analyses. Kilburn has recently studied home visiting programs for new parents, the four-day school week, and successfully scaling up evidence-based programs. She earned her Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago.

Research Focus

Recent Projects

Evaluation of the Four-Day School Week
Taking Effective School Violence Prevention to Scale
Welcome Baby Implementation and Outcomes Evaluation
First Born Program Randomized Trial Evaluation
Evaluation of Hawaii's P-3 Initiative

Selected Publications

Hunter, Sarah B., M. Rebecca Kilburn, Teryn Mattox, Jill S. Cannon, Terry Marsh, Melissa Felician, Maya Buenaventura, Lauren Davis, and Matthew Cefalu, The Welcome Baby Program: An Implementation and Outcomes Evaluation, RAND Corporation (RR-2440), 2018

Kilburn, M. Rebecca, Kate Lyon, Cyndi Anderson, Pamela Gutman, and Nancy Rumbaugh Whitesell, "Methodological Considerations for Home Visiting Research in Tribal Communities," Infant Mental Health Journal, 2018

Cannon, Jill S., M. Rebecca Kilburn, Lynn A. Karoly, Teryn Mattox, Ashley N. Muchow, and Maya Buenaventura, Investing Early: Taking Stock of Outcomes and Economic Returns from Early Childhood Programs, RAND Corporation (RR-1993), 2017

Kilburn, M. Rebecca and Jill S. Cannon, "Home Visiting and Utilization of Infant Health Care: A Randomized Clinical Trial," Pediatrics, 139(1), 2017

Zellman, Gail L., and M. Rebecca Kilburn, Final Report on the Hawai’i P-3 Evaluation, RAND Corporation (RR-1100), 2015

"Testimony presented before the House Ways and Means Committee, Subcommittee on Human Resources on April 2, 2014," in Kilburn, M. Rebecca, Evidence on Home Visiting and Suggestions for Implementing Evidence-Based Home Visiting Through MIECHV, RAND Corporation (CT-407), 2014

Kilburn, M. Rebecca and Jill S. Cannon, "Factors that Influence the Successful Start-Up of Home Visiting Sites: Lessons Learned from Replicating the First Born® Program," Journal of Primary Prevention, 36(4), 2015

Mattox, Teryn and M. Rebecca Kilburn, "Understanding Evidence-Based Information for the Early Childhood Field: Tips From RAND's Promising Practices Network," Zero to Three Journal, 32(4), 2012

Honors & Awards

Promising Practices Network named Finalist, Harvard's Innovation in American Government Awards

Recent Media Appearances

Interviews: 2 Minute Medicine

Commentary

The Lopsided Telework Revolution
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated a transition to telework, protecting the jobs and the health of those whose work can be performed remotely. Creative policies in a post-pandemic world are needed to help more broadly distribute the benefits of increased remote work.
Nov 16, 2020 Route Fifty
Hawaii Reading Scores Improved After 'Preschool to Third Grade' Initiative
Hawaii's “preschool to third-grade” initiative significantly improved third-grade reading scores. The P-3 approach is a promising education reform that should be considered by those seeking to improve early education performance.
Dec 21, 2015 Honolulu Star-Advertiser
A Comprehensive Approach to Early Education
A relatively new approach to improving long-term educational outcomes, called “preschool to third grade,” or P-3, focuses on the youngest students. Hawaii's recent initiative has been successful at raising third-grade reading scores.
Nov 23, 2015 U.S. News & World Report
MIECHV Reauthorization: Recommendations from Research
Funding for the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program was extended through fiscal year 2017, without policy changes. If Congress decides to make policy changes to MIECHV in the future, research on home visiting programs can inform recommendations.
Apr 17, 2015 The RAND Blog
Realizing the Potential of 'My Brother's Keeper'
The White House has mobilized an impressive coalition to address a critical national challenge, and used the power of research evidence to begin to structure the initiative. By drawing more lessons from research, the initiative can further bolster its chance to build strong and lasting ladders of opportunity and success for boys and young men of color.
Mar 16, 2014 The Hill
Support for Implementing Home Visiting Under the Affordable Care Act
One groundbreaking provision of the Affordable Care Act is its funding for home visiting programs that match the parents of young children with trained specialists who provide information, social support, parental skill instruction, and more.
Jan 8, 2014 The RAND Blog
The Time Is Ripe for Evidence
Earlier this year, the European Commission renewed its commitment to promoting child well-being. One of the guidelines was to strengthen the use of evidence-based policy. This is noteworthy because it represents one of the first times that the EC has specifically advocated the use of evidence in policy making.
Dec 2, 2013 The Alliance for Useful Evidence
The President's Early Childhood Expansion Should Take a 'Portfolio' Approach
A optimal approach to strategically expanding access to early childhood programs is one that helps states and communities identify evidence-based approaches that address their particular needs, within the context of their characteristics, writes M. Rebecca Kilburn.
Feb 21, 2013 The RAND Blog

Publications

Report
The Welcome Baby Program: An Implementation and Outcomes Evaluation
This report presents the findings from an evaluation of First 5 LA's Welcome Baby home visitation program.
Dec 11, 2018
Journal Article
Methodological Considerations for Home-Visiting Research in Tribal Communities
Grantees of the Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (Tribal MIECHV) program employed rigorous methods for study design, data collection, and health measures that are culturally relevant to Native populations.
Jun 29, 2018
Research Brief
Decades of Evidence Demonstrate That Early Childhood Programs Can Benefit Children and Provide Economic Returns
An updated comprehensive review of rigorous evaluations of early childhood programs confirms and strengthens RAND researchers' findings from previous syntheses showing that many early childhood programs can improve a range of outcomes for children.
Nov 16, 2017
Report
Investing Early: Taking Stock of Outcomes and Economic Returns from Early Childhood Programs
This report synthesizes evidence on the outcomes, costs, and benefits of early childhood programs, including those that provide early care and education, home visiting, parent education, government transfers, and combinations of approaches.
Nov 16, 2017
Journal Article
Home Visiting and Use of Infant Health Care: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Home visits delivered by a nurse-parent educator team reduced children's health care use in the first year of life.
Jan 27, 2017
Tool
Supporting Effective Implementation of Evidence-Based Practices: A resource guide for child-serving organizations
This implementation guide provides a framework for programme planners who seek more information on how to effectively plan and implement evidence-based practices in a real-world context.
Dec 1, 2016
Report
Cost Analysis of an Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program In-School Model Site
This report analyzes the costs to implement the Children's Aid Society's Carrera Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program in-school model for one year for 880 students at one school district in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Aug 30, 2016
Tool
Using Evidence to Strengthen Policies for Investing in Children
This evidence guide provides a starting point for policymakers who seek more information on how to use evidence to strengthen policies for investing in children.
Feb 22, 2016
Report
Final Report on the Hawai'i P–3 Evaluation
Results of a five-year evaluation of Hawai'i's P-3 initiative, which aimed to have every child reading at grade level by third grade, show students with more years of P-3 exposure were more likely to score proficient on the state reading test.
Oct 7, 2015
Research Brief
The Hawai'i Preschool-Third Grade Education Reform Initiative: How Well Did P–3 Work?
Summarizes findings from an evaluation of Hawai'i's statewide preschool through third grade (P-3) initiative, which aims to have every child in Hawai'i read at grade level by third grade.
Oct 7, 2015
Journal Article
Home Visiting Start-Up: Lessons Learned from Program Replication in New Mexico
Growth in federal, state, and private funding is fueling the initiation of home visiting programs around the country.
May 18, 2015
Report
Evidence-Based Practices in Child and Family Services
This document provides an overview of evidence-based practices in child and family services, including definitions and criteria for identifying them. It was originally published online as part of the Promising Practices Network Issue Brief series.
Sep 26, 2014
Tool
Programs That Work, from the Promising Practices Network on Children, Families and Communities
This document includes summaries of all of the programs that were reviewed by the Promising Practices Network (PPN) and met the criteria for either a Promising or Proven program, as listed on the PPN website at the time it was archived in June 2014.
Sep 26, 2014
Report
Process Evaluation of the New Mexico Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Competitive Development Grant
This report describes the evaluation of the New Mexico Home Visiting Competitive Development Grant, which aimed to pilot test the use of implementation supports to improve the development and implementation of home visiting in high-need communities.
Jul 23, 2014
Testimony
Evidence on Home Visiting and Suggestions for Implementing Evidence-Based Home Visiting Through MIECHV: Addendum
Document submitted on April 16, 2014 as an addendum to testimony presented before the House Ways and Means Committee, Subcommittee on Human Resources on April 2, 2014.
Apr 22, 2014
Testimony
Evidence on Home Visiting and Suggestions for Implementing Evidence-Based Home Visiting Through MIECHV
Testimony presented before the House Ways and Means Committee, Subcommittee on Human Resources on April 2, 2014.
Apr 2, 2014
Research Brief
How to Develop Home Visiting Programs: A Guide for Communities
Describes the Getting To Outcomes® for Home Visiting manual, a ten-step guide for planning, implementing, and evaluating home visiting programs aimed at improving outcomes for families with young children.
Dec 4, 2013
Tool
Getting To Outcomes® for Home Visiting: How to Plan, Implement, and Evaluate a Program in Your Community to Support Parents and Their Young Children
Describes the ten-step Getting To Outcomes® process for planning, implementing, and evaluating home visiting programs aimed at improving outcomes for families with young children.
Sep 24, 2013
Journal Article
Lessons from the Randomized Trial Evaluation of a New Parent Program: When the Evaluators See the Glass as Half Full, and the Community Sees the Glass as Half Empty
Lessons learned from implementing a randomized trial in a community setting so that other randomized trials can anticipate and prevent some of the challenges encountered.
Sep 1, 2012
Journal Article
Understanding Evidence-Based Information for the Early Childhood Field: Tips from RAND's Promising Practices Network
Mar 1, 2012
Journal Article
Cost and Outcomes Analysis of Child Well-Being
This book chapter explores the use of cost and outcome measures as a complement to traditional program evaluation in assessing child well-being, especially for early childhood intervention programs.
Dec 1, 2011
Draft
Factors that Influence Successful Start-Up of Home Visiting Sites: Lessons Learned from Replicating the First Born® Program
Proposes measures of successful home visiting program implementation and identifies factors that promote successful implementation or serve as barriers to program initiation based on lessons learned from the replication of the First Born® Program.
Nov 7, 2011
Report
Hawai'i P–3 Initiative: Findings from the First Year of the Evaluation
In 2007, Hawai'i launched its P-3 initiative, which aims for every child to read at grade level by third grade. The first year of RAND's evaluation examined plans, activities, and policy in two demonstration sites and for the initiative as a whole.
Jun 20, 2011
Journal Article
RAND's Promising Practices Network
This document summarizes RAND's Promising Practices Network on Children, Families and Communities.
Apr 1, 2011
Research Brief
Unique Framework Helps Louisiana Community Prioritize Its Investments in Children and Families
Describes a decisionmaking framework, focused on the intersection of needs, assets, and best practices, designed to help the Louisiana community of Shreveport-Bossier prioritize its investments in children and families.
Feb 19, 2010
Journal Article
Endowments and Parental Investments in Infancy and Early Childhood
This article tests whether parents reinforce or compensate for child endowments.
2010
Report
Priorities for Investments in Children and Families in Caddo and Bossier Parishes: Application of a Unique Framework for Identifying Priorities
Describes a decisionmaking framework, focused on the intersection of needs, assets, and best practices, designed to help the Louisiana community of Shreveport-Bossier prioritize its investments in children and families.
Dec 31, 2009
Draft
Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention: Field Reports from the Field and Ideas for the Future
Seeks to assess the current state of the child abuse and neglect prevention field as well as identify potential future directions for the field in terms of emerging priorities and prevention strategies.
Mar 31, 2009
Research Brief
The Socioeconomic, Health, Safety, and Education Disparities Faced by Boys and Men of Color in California
Discusses the large disparities between boys and men of color in California compared with their white counterparts across four broad domains -- socioeconomic, health, safety, and ready to learn.
Jan 27, 2009
Report
Reparable Harm: Assessing and Addressing Disparities Faced by Boys and Men of Color in California, Executive Summary
The summary discusses some of the greatest socioeconomic, health, safety, and school readiness disparities for boys and men of color in California and reviews strategies to reduce disparities, including effective programs, practices, and policies.
Jan 4, 2009
Report
Reparable Harm: Assessing and Addressing Disparities Faced by Boys and Men of Color in California
The study identifies some of the greatest socioeconomic, health, safety, and school readiness disparities for boys and men of color in California and reviews strategies to reduce the disparities, including effective programs, practices, and policies.
Jan 4, 2009
Journal Article
The Response of Household Parental Investment to Child Endowments
The empirical results of this paper imply that such household parental investments compensate for low endowments, as proxied by low birth weight.
Sep 1, 2008
Draft
Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect in the United States: Six Experts' Views
The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation's Child Abuse Prevention Program and the RAND Corporation's Promising Practices Network posed a question to six experts regarding the prevention of child abuse and neglect in the United States.
Jun 29, 2008
Research Brief
What Does Economics Tell Us About Early Childhood Policy?
This research brief describes how insights from the field of economics -- human capital theory and monetary payoffs -- provide science-based guidance for early childhood policy.
May 8, 2008
Draft
The Response of Household Parental Investment to Child Endowments
Child-specific parental resource allocations, especially in families with high socioeconomic status, are more beneficial to relatively poorly endowed siblings.
May 6, 2008
Report
The Economics of Early Childhood Policy: What the Dismal Science Has to Say About Investing in Children
This paper describes how insights from the field of economics -- primarily human capital theory and monetary payoffs -- provide science-based guidance for early childhood policy.
May 6, 2008
Draft
Health Endowments and Parental Investments in Infancy and Early Childhood
Using birth weight as a proxy for endowments, this paper estimates how the difference in endowments across siblings impacts specific parental investments.
Apr 5, 2006
Report
Early Childhood Interventions: Proven Results, Future Promise
Presents a review and synthesis of current research that addresses the potential for various forms of early childhood intervention to improve outcomes for participating children and their families.
Oct 18, 2005
Report
Modeling Reserve Recruiting: Estimates of Enlistments
Given that reserve components are increasingly being called upon to provide support across the entire spectrum of military operations, the authors examine reserve recruiting and the likely challenges facing the reserve components.
Aug 18, 2005
Research Brief
Children at Risk: Consequences for School Readiness and Beyond
This research brief describes work documented in Early Childhood Interventions: Proven Results, Future Promise (MG-341-PNC).
2005
Research Brief
Proven Benefits of Early Childhood Interventions
This research brief describes work documented in Early Childhood Interventions: Proven Results, Future Promise (MG-341-PNC).
2005
Periodical
RAND Review: Vol. 29, No. 3, Fall 2005
Outlines the wisdom of bearing the up-front costs for publicly funded high-quality early childhood intervention programs so that society can reap the plentiful returns over time; also reviews energy security, obesity, and national security issues.
2005
Draft
The Effects of State Regulations on Childcare Prices and Choices
Dec 21, 2004
Draft
The Interactive Effect of Birth Weight and Parental Investment on Child Test Scores
Dec 21, 2004
Report
Recruiting Youth in the College Market: Current Practices and Future Policy Options
Explores how military service can be made more compatible with college plans instead of being perceived as an alternative to attending college.
2003
Report
Meeting Decision Makers’ Needs for Evidence-Based Information on Child and Family Policy
Describes the rationale behind the Promising Practices Network on Children, Families and Communities.
2003
Draft
The Availability of Child Care Centers in China and Its Impact on Child Care and Maternal Work Decisions
Examines the role of center availability in child care use and mother's participation in wage labor using the China Health and Nutrition Survey.
2002
Journal Article
Resources Devoted to Child Development by Families and Society
Documents the allocation of resources to child development made by parents, government, and others during this critical period of development.
2002
Report
Assessing Costs and Benefits of Early Childhood Intervention Programs: Overview and Applications to the Starting Early, Starting Smart Program: Executive Summary
The authors identify the conceptual and methodological issues associated with the analysis of costs and outcomes of early intervention programs and review the prior application of these methods to several programs.
2001
Report
Minority and Gender Differences in Officer Career Progression
This report examines whether minority and women officers obtain promotions and choose to continue in their careers at the same rate as other officers.
2001
Report
Patterns of Enlisted Compensation
This study provides a baseline description of the structure of enlisted-personnel compensation.
2001
Report
Assessing Costs and Benefits of Early Childhood Intervention Programs: Overview and Applications to the Starting Early, Starting Smart Program
The authors identify the conceptual and methodological issues associated with the analysis of costs and outcomes of early intervention programs and review the prior application of these methods to several programs.
2001
Research Brief
Analyzing the Costs and Benefits of Early Childhood Interventions
As they pay more attention to accountability, funders and implementers of early childhood interventions are becoming more interested in comparing the benefits their programs produce and the costs they incur.
2001
Report
Directions for Cost and Outcome Analysis of Starting Early Starting Smart: Summary of a Cost Expert Meeting
In August 2000, RAND convened a meeting of national experts to discuss issues surrounding cost-benefit and related analyses of Starting Early Starting Smart (SESS).
2001
Research Brief
Military Recruiting: Trends, Outlooks, and Implications
RAND was asked to first make a quick assessment of the recruiting situation and then carry out a longer-term, in-depth analysis to examine recruiting trends, identify potential problems, and recommend ways to counter them.
2001
Research Brief
What Effects Decisions to Enlist in the Military
To improve the accuracy of recruiting-resource allocation, RAND researchers Rebecca Kilburn and Jacob Klerman have updated the principal economic model of enlistment decisionmaking with data from 1992 and 1994.
2001
Report
An Assessment of Recent Proposals to Improve the Montgomery GI Bill
Congress recently has proposed several changes that would bolster the Montgomery GI Bill's provisions and hopefully boost recruitment during an era when youth are increasingly choosing college alone.
2000
Research Brief
The Montgomery G.I. Bill: Assessing Proposed Changes
Researchers found that while most proposed changes would improve overall recruiting, some could actuallycreate a recruiting problem by reducing the military's ability to channel high-quality recruits to hard-to-fill skill areas.
2000
Report
An Analysis of the Child and Adult Care Food Program in Child Care Centers
An Analysis of the Child and Adult Care Food Program in Child Care Centers
1999
Report
Attracting College-Bound Youth into the Military: Toward the Development of New Recruiting Policy Options
The authors suggest the Department of Defense should consider nontraditional policy options to enhance recruitment of college-bound youth.
1999
Report
Enlistment Decisions in the 1990s: Evidence From Individual-Level Data
Updates previous estimates of individual enlistment models, investigating the relationship between family, individual, local labor market, and other background characteristics and the decision to enlist.
1999
Research Brief
Competing with College: Developing New Recruiting Options for the Military
Explore the factors underlying this increased interest in college, assess the effectiveness of current programs for combining military service and college, and outline potential approaches for increasing the attractiveness of military service to college-bound youth.
1999
Report
Estimating AFQT Scores for National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS) Respondents
This is the first report of a two-part project that estimates the determinants of individual enlistment decisions using the 1992 and 1994 waves of the National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS).
1998
Report
Investing in Our Children: What We Know and Don't Know About the Costs and Benefits of Early Childhood Interventions
This study synthesizes the results of a number of previous evaluations in an effort to gauge the potentially costly programs that intervene early in the lives of disadvantaged children.
1998
Research Brief
Early Childhood Interventions: Benefits, Costs, and Savings
This research brief describes work documented in Investing in Our Children: What We Know and Don't Know About the Costs and Benefits of Early Childhood Interventions (MR-898-TCWF).
1998
Report
The Effects of Changing the Staffing in Military Treatment Facilities
The Effects of Changing the Staffing in Military Treatment Facilities
1998
Draft
Assortative Mating and Family Links in Permanent Earnings
This paper provides a number of new results regarding the contribution of family background to individual permanent earnings.
1997
Report
Ensuring Personnel Readiness in the Army Reserve Components
This project examined the extent of cross-leveling during Desert Shield and Desert Storm, the reasons for it and the likelihood of serious personnel shortfalls in future deployments.
1996
Report
The New Fiscal Federalism and the Social Safety Net: A View from California
These essays review the implications of the new fiscal federalism for the states, particularly California, from the perspective of intergovernmental relations, fiscal impact, program administration, and the consequences for the public.
1996
Draft
Intergenerational Earnings Links: Sons and Daughters
In thiis paper we explore evidence on the mobility of income across generations in Malaysia over the half century from the mid-1930s to 1988.
1995
Draft
Regulating Child Care: The Effects of State Regulations on Child Care Demand and Its Cost
Regulating Child Care: The Effects of State Regulations on Child Care Demand and Its Cost
1995