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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 1 - 10 of 968. 10 per page. Page 1.

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Report

Understanding Economic Risk for Low-Income Families: Economic Security, Program Benefits, and Decisions about Work

IntroductionMeans-tested benefits are designed to support basic needs such as food, health insurance, and child care for households with low incomes. When considering whether to take a new job opportunity that will increase their income, recipients of these benefits may be forced to consider trade-offs. For example:
Fact Sheet, Policy Brief

Understanding Economic Risk for Low-Income Families: Economic Security, Program Benefits, and Decisions about Work

This project explored how workers with low incomes who receive federal benefits weigh factors including marginal tax rates, benefit loss, ease of resuming benefits once lost, and job instability when deciding whether to accept an earnings increase.
Fact Sheet, Visualization

Earnings, Benefit Loss, and Job Instability: What Do People Receiving TANF Consider When Offered a Higher-Paying Job?

Infographic: Earnings, Benefit Loss, and Job Instability: What Do People Receiving TANF Consider When Offered a Higher-Paying Job?Related Products:
ASPE Issue Brief

Federal Alignment with Research-Based Practices on School-Age Development and Well-Being

Childhood development experts recommend specific practices for afterschool and youth development programs to promote well-being and healthy development, including positive relationships; rich learning experiences and knowledge development; environments filled with safety and belonging; the development of skills, habits, and mindsets; and integrated support systems.
ASPE Issue Brief

Case Studies in Supporting Prevention through Human Services Program Integration

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has been working with researchers, human services agency leaders, and persons with lived experience to visualize, describe, and document models of prevention within human services.
Case Study

Supporting Child and Family Well-Being: Case Studies

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) seeks to understand efforts to promote child and family well-being in jurisdictions across the country.
Case Study

Elevating Prevention and Promotion Efforts in Early Childhood Mental Health: A Case Study Series Page

This series of five case studies describe evidence-based, innovative, and exemplary practices that support positive mental health for children. The case studies in five organizations highlight key elements of prevention and promotion efforts in early childhood mental health, as well as the contextual factors that support implementation.Available Reports:
Research Brief

Participant Experiences with Improving Well-Being Through Human Services Programs

This brief summarizes focus groups and interviews with individuals who receive support through human services programs and federal benefits. These conversations explored participants’ feelings about well-being, including what it means to them and how the support they received through federal benefits and local human services programs influenced their well-being.
ASPE Issue Brief

Coordinating Integrated Prevention Approaches to Serve the Whole Person

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has been working with researchers, human services agency leaders, and persons with lived experience to visualize, describe, and document models of prevention within human services.
Research Brief

Elevating Prevention and Promotion in Early Childhood Mental Health

Efforts to promote positive mental health and prevent the onset of mental health difficulties are crucial for supporting healthy early childhood social-emotional development and well-being.