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Social and Behavioral Policy Projects

Selected research projects from Social and Behavioral Policy.

CalAccount Feasibility Study
RAND is examining the feasibility of the CalAccount Program, an initiative to create a financial platform for unbanked and underbanked Californians.
Evaluation of California's Statewide Mental Health Prevention and Early Intervention Initiatives
RAND is evaluating California's statewide prevention and early intervention programs, which aim to reduce negative outcomes for people experiencing mental illness.
Eating Well with Loncheras
Eating Well with Loncheras is a pilot program to help Loncheras food trucks in the Los Angeles area offer healthier, alternative meal options to improve the health and well-being of the Latino community.
Evaluating SB 1041 Reforms to California's CalWORKs Program
The California Department of Social Services funded research to determine if SB 1041 is achieving its objectives of improving participant well-being and flexibility of services, as well as if there are any unintended consequences.
Evaluating the PEDALS Program (Positive Emotional Development and Learning Skills)
Early childhood education centers in in Michigan and New York have partnered with RAND to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of PEDALS— a social-emotional learning program.
Getting To Outcomes® (GTO) Toolkit
The Getting To Outcomes®: Improving Community-Based Substance-Use Prevention project assesses the effectiveness of participatory methods meant to assist community coalitions in preventing substance abuse and to improve community health.
Helping Children Cope with Violence and Trauma
RAND researchers collaborated with the Los Angeles Unified School District and UCLA to develop the Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS). Used in numerous schools in the U.S. and across the globe, CBITS has been proven to reduce symptoms related to trauma and boost school performance.
Massachusetts Military and Veterans Study
RAND researchers explore the needs of Massachusetts service members, veterans, and their families to better understand how these needs vary by region, demographics, and socio-economic factors.
Monitoring Behavioral Health in Public Health Emergencies: A Toolkit for Public Health Officials
Public health emergencies can have profound impacts on behavioral health. With improved monitoring and surveillance, public health officials can follow long-term behavioral health trends and better anticipate the impacts of these emergencies. This toolkit shows how existing data sources — unemployment insurance claims, 2-1-1 hotline calls, calls to poison control centers — can be used for behavioral health surveillance.
Navigating Mental Health Care for Veterans
Findings and resources from RAND's vast body of research provide insights on how to help more veterans receive the mental health care they need.
Policy Options for Improving Child Welfare
Every year, about 3 million children in the U.S. face abuse or neglect. Expanding prevention and treatment services in the child welfare system could improve the lives of children and reduce lifetime expenses by 3 to 7 percent.
RAND Assesses Post-Deployment Health-Related Needs of Iraq Veterans
The Invisible Wounds of War Study assessed Iraq veterans' health-related needs associated with PTSD, major depression, and traumatic brain injury; examined the treatment capacity of the current health care system; and estimated the costs of providing quality health care to all military members who need it.
Rise: Improving HIV Treatment Adherence Through Peer Counseling
RAND and APLA Health are partnering on community-based participatory research studies to develop and test Rise, a one-on-one peer counseling program to improve antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence.
The RAND Military and Veteran Caregivers Study
The RAND Military and Veteran Caregivers Study focuses on the caregivers of wounded, ill, and injured military service members and veterans. Research conducted in 2014 and 2024 depicts caregivers' lives and what has changed for better and worse over a decade.
Welcome Back Veterans Initiative
The Welcome Back Veterans initiative supported organizations that provided programs and services to address the mental health needs of returning veterans and their families.