Department of Health and Human Services
	Research, Demonstration, and Evaluation Activities FY 2003 Plan and Budget February 2002

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RESEARCH AND DEMONSTRATIONS

(by HHS Strategic Plan Objective)

IMPROVE THE ECONOMIC INDEPENDENCE OF LOW INCOME FAMILIES, INCLUDING THOSE RECEIVING WELFARE (OBJECTIVE 2.1)

FY 2003 Priorities

SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH AND DEMONSTRATIONS (ACF)

Research: Social service research funds will be used to support a variety of projects, primarily to improve the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA). There is continuing interest and need for sound research to help guide state and local efforts to help low income families become and remain economically self-sufficient and to strengthen families.

Social services research is also included in the Welfare Research category below.

WELFARE RESEARCH (ACF)

Research: Welfare research funds will be used to continue important work already begun and to support research in new areas to improve the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The priorities include:

• how implementation of TANF has progressed; to what extent responsibilities devolve even further to local governments and with what effects.
• how employment and child care needs are met and with what effects; what are the effects

on family stability, responsible parenthood, and child welfare.

• how TANF programs affect special populations (e.g., tribal recipients and the disabled); the effects of TANF on other human service sectors.
• how services are allocated between the working poor and TANF recipients.

Demonstrations: ACF will undertake welfare demonstrations to:

• develop and test programs with a primary mission of supporting employed families.
• replicate on a larger scale the enhanced transitional employment programs modeled on the success of the Supported Work Programs for welfare and other low income individuals with severe barriers to employment.

Evaluations: ACF will continue to assess the impact of welfare reform on families including:

• descriptive and impact studies of welfare reform interventions on low income families= employment and the effects on children.
• the identification of more effective strategies for helping harder-to-employ individuals, improving employment retention and advancement, reducing teen pregnancy, making affordable quality childcare more accessible, strengthening families, and protecting children.
• the continuation of multi-site evaluations to measure the impacts of state employment retention and advancement strategies and state rural TANF initiatives. Increased funding for these initiatives is necessary as sites involved in testing effective strategies move from planning and development to full implementation and assessment. In some sites, we will include “2-generation” programs which provide employment services to adults and direct services to children and youth.

INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT ACCOUNTS (ACF)

Demonstrations: The Individual Development Accounts (IDA) program will continue to provide client and program services as a five-year demonstration effort. The IDAs are dedicated savings accounts for low income individuals and families that can be used for purchasing a first home, paying for a post-secondary education, or capitalizing a business. These investments are associated with high rates of return that have potential to bring a new level of economic and personal security to families and communities. The demonstrations will encourage participants to develop and reinforce positive habits for saving money. Sponsoring organizations provide intensive financial counseling to develop investment plans for education, home ownership, and entrepreneurship.

Evaluations: ACF will continue to assess the effects of incentives and organizational/institutional support on savings behavior in the demonstration project and examine the effects of Individual Development Accounts on saving rates, home ownership, level of post-secondary education attained, and self-employment; how such effects vary among different populations or communities will also be evaluated.

DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES PROJECTS OF NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE (ACF)

Demonstrations: ACF will conduct demonstration projects to continue activities to help families of children with disabilities in two broad areas:

• expand and modify statewide family support systems that address school readiness issues for children with disabilities, and that help families address problems such as inadequate child care options, missed job training and job opportunities, loss of medical assistance, and teen pregnancy.
• continue the 22-year longitudinal database on public funding of long term care services for people with mental retardation and other developmental disabilities. The monographs that result from the extensive analyses of this data provide policymakers and others with important information on site specific and national trends that are used to make crucial decisions about resource allocation.

TANF RESEARCH (ACF)

Demonstration: Funds will be used to demonstrate the effectiveness of programs targeted to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families goals of family formation and marriage.

Evaluations: FY 2003 priorities include evaluation of the effectiveness of efforts to encourage family formation and marriage, and to reduce illegitimacy. Family formation including illegitimacy reduction, marriage promotion, marriage counseling, domestic violence prevention, anger management and child well-being will be evaluated, and best practices will be shared.

REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT TRANSITIONAL AND MEDICAL SERVICES (ACF)

Demonstrations: These funds will be used to support and expand demonstrations to improve the delivery of cash and medical assistance services to eligible refugees, entrants, asylees and trafficking victims as well as foster care services for refugee, entrant, asylee, and trafficking minors until emancipation. The priorities include:

• developing and testing programs that provide services such as temporary cash. assistance, case management, job development, and job placement to refugees.
• developing alternative projects for refugees that encourage self-sufficiency.
• developing activities for providing foster care to entrant unaccompanied minors.

Evaluations: ACF will support evaluations to assess the effectiveness of the Transitional and Medical Services program.

PROMOTION AND SUPPORT OF RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD (ACF)

Demonstrations: In FY 2003, funds will support grants to faith-based and community organizations that help fathers improve their job skills and establish positive relationships with their children and their children’s mothers and to promote marriage among parents.

Evaluation: Funds will be used to identify and test community-based programs and activities that effectively encourage and support responsible fatherhood that can be replicated in other communities. (Also related to objective 2.2.)

POLICY RESEARCH (ASPE)

Research: Of the $20.5 million requested for ASPE policy research in FY 2003, $7.125 million will be allocated to the study of the outcomes of welfare reform. Priority will be given to cross- cutting research on the outcomes of welfare reform through state-specific surveys and administrative data and national data sets. Such efforts enhance state capacity to carry out research foster linkages with programs. Other areas of emphasis include:

• conducting secondary analyses of national-level data sources to add to our understanding of the effects of welfare reform, using a variety of national surveys for analytical work focused on labor market and economic issues affecting low income families with children, low-wage workers and the working poor.
• examining State welfare-to-work policies, particularly state flexibility in the use of TANF funds, non-traditional service providers, and the interactions between TANF and other programs (e.g., Medicaid, food stamps, child care). Conduct research to identify and develop effective strategies to assist hard to employ parents and their children.
• evaluating and improving the effectiveness of strategies being used to strengthen fragile families, assist teen parents, and increase child and medical support available to children who do not live with both parents. Strengthening the ability of fathers to fulfill their responsibilities both economically and emotionally.
• trends, indicators, data quality, and the examination of incentive and performance standard policies.