About Social & Health Policy Center
The accelerated changes taking place in our nation's social
and health services policies are revealed in each state's
increased responsibility and accountability for the performance
of their service delivery programs.
The Social and Health Policy Center examines new solutions
to our nation's social and public health problems, as well
as best practices in program management and innovative funding
strategies to ensure their performance-based reporting,
continuity and effectiveness. The center works to identify
and disseminate the learned lessons and leading innovations
in youth and adult workforce development and performance
measures and program strategies for public health services.
It is also committed to achieving permanency and outcome
goals for youth and family services programs such as Head
Start, child care, foster care, adoption, homelessness,
and early childhood education.
The center also researches the mandates and program initiatives
set forth by such legislation as the School Readiness Act,
Adoption and Safe Families Act, and the reauthorization
of the Workforce Investment Act. Government agencies, policymakers,
program administrators and citizens collaborate to achieve
the desired outcome of self-sufficiency for families, and
safe and healthy environments for all children.
The Social and Health Policy Center applies a performance-based
methodology to improve program implementation challenges
across a number of social policy agency programs. We take
an outcome-oriented approach to the administration of social
services programs that helps to dilute costly and inefficient
processes in service contracting and delivery. Using a results-oriented
approach consistent with the hard-to-serve nature of many
of social services clients, the "Logic Model"
framework illustrates the cause and effect relationships
between program activities and outcome results. This proven
method provides social and health services program directors
and case managers with the tools necessary to implement
effective performance measures that improve the efficiency
of their programs and ultimately bring the program closer
to achieving self-sufficiency for children and families.
