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.