Evaluating Welfare Reform A Framework and Review of Current Work, Interim Report (1999) / Chapter Skim
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4 Recommendations
4 Recommendations
Pages 79-89
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From page 79... ...
BROAD ROLE FOR THE DEPARTMENT The 1996 PRWORA legislation and earlier DHHS waiver programs embodied the viewpoint that the federal government should accord substantial discretion to states in designing and administering social welfare programs. In turn, many states have chosen to give considerable discretion to their counties and cities.
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From page 80... ...
Many of the representatives from states and counties receiving ASPE leaver grants who attended the panel's November 1998 workshop expressed the view that governors and state legislators are very interested in evaluations of the policy changes and how the results of these evaluations compare with results from other areas. States have an interest in learning the most cost-effective methods for data collection and analysis of the low-income population, including cross-state (and within-state)
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From page 81... ...
taking steps to ensure that federal and state-level research addresses all the key populations of interest for social welfare policy analysis; (3) fostering improved capabilities for data collection and research on social welfare programs at the federal and state levels; (4)
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From page 82... ...
It would also be useful to maintain close relationships with interstate coordinating mechanisms that the states have already established (e.g., WELPAN, the Midwest Welfare Peer Assistance Network, which is a network of senior welfare officials from seven Midwest states who meet to discuss the policy and administrative issues of welfare reform)
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From page 83... ...
We recommend that the department expand its ties with all levels of government to focus on obtaining early warning of key policy concerns. Such efforts can assist in a long-range planning perspective that, in turn, can guide the department's current efforts in data collection and research at the federal and state levels.
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From page 84... ...
(2) The panel recommends that the Department of Health and Human Services address the definition of key populations of interest for welfare policy analysis in its research agenda and take steps to ensure that its grant and contract research programs adequately cover all important population groups for welfare reform.
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From page 85... ...
· DHHS should encourage recipients of departmental grants and other state and local jurisdictions to invest in developing the appropriate staff skills for conducting surveys and analysis. The department could bring states together with academic survey organizations to develop appropriate short courses in survey and analysis methods that specifically address data collection and analysis issues for the low-income population.
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From page 86... ...
(3) The panel recommends that the Department of Health and Human Services make the improvement of capabilities for data collection and research on social welfare programs at both federal and state levels a priority.
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From page 87... ...
In subsequent rounds of leaver studies, ASPE could also consider asking grantees to focus their data collection and research on key outcomes, such as employment and income. A benefit of such an approach is that it is likely more cost-effective to measure fewer outcomes well and comparably across areas than to try to cover too many outcomes in one grant program.
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From page 88... ...
Most grantees are completing data collection and are beginning data analysis. Hence, some of the ideas suggested above for ways to further enhance the cross-area comparability of data items beyond the significant efforts that ASPE has made in this regard with the current grantees through its technical workshops and listserve must await subsequent rounds of grants.
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From page 89... ...
We recommended above (Recommendation 2) that the Department of Health and Human Services address the definition of key populations of interest for welfare policy analysis and take steps to ensure that grant and contract research programs adequately cover key population groups.
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