The Charlotte Observer reports that beginning this autumn, North Carolina will launch a new policy in the hopes of improving reading proficiency among youth. Children in the third grade who fail to pass an end-of-the-year reading test will not be permitted to move on to fourth grade. Studies have shown that the inability to read […]
North Carolina Addresses Youth Illiteracy with Consequences Read More »
A new study, Foster Youth Transitions, released by the Institute for Evidence-Based Change (IEBC), in conjunction with the University of California, Berkeley’s Center for Social Science Research (CSSR), with funding from the Stuart Foundation, examines the educational outcomes of foster youth in comparison to peers from similar disadvantaged backgrounds. Foster youth often experience instability and
Breakthrough Study Finds Foster Youth Face Significant Academic Hurdles Read More »
The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released a report entitled “Sustained and Coordinated Efforts Could Facilitate Data Sharing While Protecting Privacy.” This report affirms that when different agencies share data, not only are administrative policies improved, services for individual clients are improved as well. Building on this, GAO looked at the different issues
GAO Releases Report on Privacy Protection Read More »
January 2013–David Bornstein’s NY Times Opinionator piece argues that there are more than two ways to approach the federal budget deficit. While Republicans focus on cutting programs and Democrats focus on raising taxes, Bornstein points out that a third option exists–utilizing evidence-based research in order to determine which government programs are working and which should
Evidence-based Research–The Third Option in Battling the Budget Deficit Read More »
The NY Times notes that, though the main goal of implementing Electronic Health Records (EHRs) is to reduce costs and improve efficiency, EHRs actually have the potential to make a greater impact in the field of medical research because of the rich data they contain. For further information: NY Times Article
NY Times Highlights the Importance of Electronic Health Records for Health Data Read More »
Jon Baron argues the Importance of Applying Evidence to Social Programs In a New York Times Economix article Jon Baron, President of the Coaliation for Evidence-Based Policy, argues that in order for social programs and policies to work better, the focus needs to shift to “scientific evidence of ‘what works.’” He notes that fields such as medicine
NY Times: Applying Evidence to Social Programs Read More »
A new article in the California Journal of Politics and Policy highlights effective integrated data system use through the illustrative example of recent efforts to restructure Los Angeles County’s General Relief Program. The article is available from the publisher at: http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/cjpp.2012.4.issue-2/cjpp-2012-0005/cjpp-2012-0005.xml Citation Byrne, T., Metraux, S., Moreno, Culhane, D. P., Toros, H., & Stevens, M.
New Article Highlights IDS Use in LA County Read More »
The Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy (http://coalition4evidence.org ) recently published an overview and demonstration of rigorous-but-low-cost program evaluations. The publication highlights the use of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with administrative data systems, providing a number of examples from existing studies. RCTs have long been a best practice with respect to program evaluation. The use of integrated
The Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy (http://coalition4evidence.org/) has released a summary and correspondence with Jacob Lew, director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), emphasizing the importance of considering cross-program effects in program evaluation. Referring to the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 and special guidance from OMB, Mr. Lew noted that agencies must score the