The Leonetti/O’Connell Family Foundation established emergency aid programs at USC and LACCD in 2019. Although the programs differ slightly in their application and disbursement processes, both programs provide cash assistance to students experiencing financial hardships that threaten to derail their academic success.
To analyze the outcomes of the emergency aid pilots, the evaluation utilized administrative data, which included information such as the types of expenses for which students were requesting help. Additionally, the evaluation included interviews with program recipients to understand how receiving the aid impacted students’ lives.
