Analysis of Data Related to Pay for Success
D. Crampton, R. Fischer et al.
The Pay For Success initiative seeks to identify potential areas of investment in County programs that could yield ‘cashable’ savings and a return to investors. There are several high risk groups that are believed to engender high costs for the County, and there is an interest in whether a program targeted to these individuals can result in cost savings for the County. The purpose of this data analysis is to determine the size of these high risk groups, the county agencies they are being served by, and the quantities of high cost services that they are currently utilizing. Based on these service levels, it will be possible to estimate the costs that are likely to result if patterns remain the same into the future, along with the potential cost savings if the level of high cost service use can be reduced through investing in a new program or intervention. Our focus to date has been on mothers who use homeless shelters and whose children are in foster care.
Child Well-Being in Cuyahoga County
R. Fischer, E. Anthony, N. Lalich, and M. Blue
In collaboration with Cuyahoga County’s Invest in Children, the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development produced a series of data briefs examining multiple dimensions of child well-being, including birth outcomes, health insurance coverage, lead exposure, child maltreatment, child care receipt, school readiness, and child poverty. Results indicate that with approximately 30% of children under the age of six living below the federal poverty threshold in the suburbs and 60% of children living in poverty in the City of Cleveland, the need for programming and interventions to remediate the burden of poverty is great.
The Cuyahoga County 2010 Child Well-Being and Tracking Update is the most recent evaluation of the Invest in Children program.
Effects of Foster Care and Juvenile Justice Involvement on Early Adult Outcomes: A Study of Cleveland’s Youth
C. Coulton, D. Crampton, Y. Cho, and S.-J. Kim
The transition to adulthood can be challenging for many individuals, but youth who have been involved with various public systems face additional hurdles in completing their education, finding employment and managing their everyday lives. Using linked administrative data from multiple agencies, this policy brief looks at what is happening to Cleveland’s youth from 9th grade until age 21 and how involvement in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems affect their success. We find that system-involved youth are at elevated risk compared to their non-involved peers for poor high school performance and attendance, unemployment, homelessness and incarceration. This study begins to quantify the various points at which Cleveland youth are touched by public systems along their paths toward adulthood. This type of information can be used to estimate potential savings in human suffering and public spending that might be achieved through targeted prevention programs with this population.
Evaluation of the MomsFirst Program
R. Fischer, E. Anthony, M. Blue, and N. Lalich
The evaluation of MomsFirst consists of four complementary/concurrent/cooperative studies, each with a different approach to measuring the effectiveness of the program. An outcomes study looks at the program’s success in achieving better health outcomes through a longitudinal analysis of the experiences of those families served, allowing for the detection of any changes in outcomes as a measure of treatment effect. A multilevel study utilizes the CHILD system to analyze the broader impact of elements of the program associated with improving outcomes at both the individual and community level; using a broader system perspective allows for the examination of additional family outcomes and comparisons between families involved in the MomsFirst program and those of comparable risk that are not involved. A network study focuses on the connections between different involved organizations and how involvement in one service affects the likelihood of a family using another service. These will be evaluated by analyzing coverage indicators, system gaps indicators, system interaction indicators, and neighborhood impact indicators. Finally, an implementation study investigates the best practices for program delivery by measuring how closely services are being provided when compared to the intended model, identifying particular service subgroups that have made significant improvements, and analyzing the degree of correlation between the use of services and positive outcomes.
From Foster Care to Juvenile Justice: Exploring Characteristics of Youth in Three Cities
C. Coulton, D. Crampton, N. Lalich, and E.-L. Lee et al.
This project was a multi-site effort coordinated by Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy (AISP) involving integrated data systems in Cook County, IL, Cuyahoga County, OH, and New York, NY.
This study investigates rates and predictors of juvenile justice involvement among children who first experience foster care. Utilizing integrated administrative records from multiple birth cohorts, analyses considered populations of children from three urban areas: Cook County (Chicago), Cuyahoga County (Cleveland), and New York City. Data were prospective and longitudinal, covering birth through maturity. Crossover rates ranged from 7 to 24%. African American male children and youth, and children and youth who experienced congregate care were at highest risk to crossover to Juvenile Justice. Age at first foster care placement produced a risk gradient with older age associated with progressively greater risk. More foster care spells signaled risk for those first placed as infants. Findings are discussed in terms of understanding processes of risk and resilience, and as actionable intelligence to inform practice and policy.
Investigating the Pathway to Proficiency from Birth through 3rd Grade
C. Coulton, R. Fischer, S.-J. Kim et al.
The purpose of this project is to address pressing developmental and educational research questions concerning kindergarten readiness and third-grade reading achievement by drawing upon shared data between Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) and a broad range of agencies that serve young children. Specifically, the project links student records data from K-3rd grade with early childhood experiences as reflected in administrative records from child care, early education, health and social service providers, along with measures of conditions in the child’s housing and neighborhood. The data was analyzed to examine how early childhood risk factors and programs affect school readiness and student progress in grades 1-3. The results of this work is particularly timely with respect to informing state-level interests concerning school readiness (both its antecedents and its consequences) and third-grade reading achievement.
Leveraging Integrated Data Systems (IDS) to Examine the Role of Housing and Neighborhood Conditions on School Readiness and Early Literacy
C. Coulton, R. Fischer, S.-J. Kim, F. Richter et al.
Children in many big cities enter kindergarten already well behind in their educational progress, presenting a major challenge for public education systems. While it is generally acknowledged that the environment in which children spend their early years is crucial, little is known specifically about how housing conditions both in children’s own homes and the immediately surrounding areas, factor into the problem of school readiness and early learning. Drawing on two, existing, Integrated Data Systems (IDS), this longitudinal, population-based study examines the influence of housing and neighborhood conditions on early childhood experiences, school readiness and early literacy for all children entering kindergarten over a three year period in a big city school system. In addition, this study also demonstrates the cost effectiveness of using IDSs that cover both individuals and properties to investigate housing policy concerns. This study hypothesizes that early exposure to adverse housing and property conditions, at varying levels of spatial granularity, are contributing factors to a lack of school readiness and early literacy among children entering a big city public school system (Cleveland, Ohio). These effects are net of family socio-economic factors, potentially moderated by residential mobility and partially mediated by early exposure to trauma.