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Office of Human Services Policy (HSP)

The Office of Human Services Policy (HSP) conducts policy research, analysis, evaluation, and coordination on various issues across the Department, including but not limited to, poverty and measurement, vulnerable populations, early childhood education and child welfare, family strengthening, economic support for families, and youth development. HSP serves as a liaison with other agencies on broad economic matters and is the Department’s lead on poverty research and analysis.

The Division of Children and Youth Policy focuses on policies related to the well-being of children and youth. Projects range from quick-turnaround policy analyses to large-scale experimental studies, and major policy initiatives. Key areas include early childhood, early care and education, home visiting, youth development and risky behaviors, parenting and family support, child welfare and foster care, linkages with physical and mental health, methods for evaluating what works, and strategies for improving research and data in these areas.

The Division of Family and Community Policy focuses on policies affecting various low-income populations. This includes policy development around major initiatives such as homelessness and reentry. It also includes conducting and coordinating analysis, research, and evaluation on the safety net, economic mobility and opportunity, welfare-to-work issues, strengthening families and responsible fatherhood, child support enforcement, and domestic violence. Other key priorities include place-based initiatives, the role of social capital in human services, human trafficking, benefits coordination.

The Division of Data and Technical Analysis focuses on policies and programs concerning low-income and otherwise disadvantaged populations. The Division provides data analytic capacity for policy development through data collection activities, secondary data analysis, modeling, and cost analyses. The Division focuses on cross-cutting human services policy issues such as income, poverty, cash and non-cash supports for low-income families, employment, fertility, and child welfare. The Division also issues annual updates to the poverty guidelines and reports to Congress on indicators of welfare dependence.

Topic Areas:

Reports

Displaying 261 - 270 of 952. 10 per page. Page 27.

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In the Running for Successful Outcomes: Examining the Predictive Power of Children's School Readiness Skills

This research brief explores the relative strength of association between skills at school entry and later developmental outcomes both within and across domains of development. It highlights findings from a project aimed at providing an empirical exploration of differential prediction of outcomes in later elementary school from school entry skills considered individually and collectively.

Children in Nonparental Care

Typically, one or two parents and a child – along with any siblings – comprise a family, and the parents’ interactions with the child are a primary driver of the child’s development. Yet nearly 4 percent of U.S. children (nearly 3 million) live in homes with no parent present.

In the Running for Successful Outcomes: Exploring the evidence for Thresholds of School Readiness Technical Report

This study represents a multi-method approach to examining the evidence for thresholds in the association between children's school readiness and subsequent academic, social and emotional outcomes, both within and across domains. In addition to a literature review, multiple analytical methods were applied to two national data sets to examine these issues.
Literature Review

State of the Science and Practice in Parenting Interventions across Childhood: Literature Review and Synthesis

In 2009 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) funded a project designed to better understand how to support parents throughout children’s development in order to ultimately promote positive long-term outcomes; in particular, positive adolescent development and reductions in risky behavior.
Literature Review

Children in Nonparental Care: A Review of the Literature and Analysis of Data Gaps

Typically, one or two parents and a child–along with any siblings–comprise a family, and the parents’ interactions with the child are a primary driver of the child’s development. Yet nearly 4 percent of U.S. children (nearly 3 million) live in homes with no parent present.

Web-Based Benefit Access Tools: Mitigating Barriers for Special Needs Populations

This paper summarizes findings from eight in-depth case studies conducted for the "Helping Vulnerable Populations Access Public Benefits through Web-based Tools and Outreach" project.

Providing Medicaid to Youth Formerly in Foster Care under the Chafee Option

This report draws lessons from 30 states’ implementation of existing optional Medicaid coverage for youth who age out of foster care and applies them to decisions and plans states will consider as they implement new ACA coverage that goes into effect in 2014.

Information on Research Supplemental Poverty Measure. A Summary of 2012 Current Population Survey Data

This ASPE Issue Brief provides information on the research Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) calculated by the Census Bureau. In 2011, 16.1 percent of the U.S. population was poor using the SPM, representing 49.7 million individuals. This compares to 15.1 percent of the U.S. population, or 46.6 million individuals, under the official measure.

Inside the Black Box of Interactions Between Programs and Participants

This report is scheduled for release in mid March. It is the final report of a project exploring evidence-based strategies for reliably identifying subgroups of low-income fathers at the outset of evaluations.