| Principal Investigator: | Daniel Schroeder, Ph.D. |
| Sponsor: | US Department of Agriculture |
| Project Duration: | July 2012 to September 2016 |
| Description: | The objective of this research is to gain a better understanding of the income trajectories of persons who have experienced job loss and the roles that Unemployment Insurance (UI) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) play in mediating income loss. The research will add to ERS’s understanding of the prevalence and severity of income volatility and how decreases in income associated with job loss may affect decisions regarding SNAP participation and duration of assistance, especially among the working poor. Research results can inform program and policy decisions regarding targeting of program outreach efforts, the interdependence of program budget needs between the nation’s two largest social safety-net programs during different portions of the business cycle, and how duration of available assistance is correlated with future earnings growth. |
Resident Opportunities for Self Sufficiency Evaluation
| Principal Investigator: | Dan O’Shea, MA Co-principal Investigator Heath J. Prince, PhD |
| Sponsor: | Housing Authority of the City of Austin |
| Project Duration: | January 2013 – December 2013 |
| Description: | The Ray Marshall Center has been awarded a contract to conduct a detailed process analysis of the Resident Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (ROSS) Program administered by the Housing Authority of the City of Austin (HACA). The ROSS Program supports Priority One programs that connect public housing residents with workforce development and supportive services available through community-based partnerships. The evaluation will include a detailed examination of client flow, services, partnerships, and outcomes, as well as forms and procedures for client intake, initial assessment, case management, and program performance measurement. The ROSS Services Delivery Assessment Report will be completed June, 2013. Heath Prince and Dan O’Shea are serving as co-principal investigators for the project. |
| Reports Available: | Assessing the Resident Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency Program of the Housing Authority of the City of Austin Authors: Dan O’Shea and Heath Prince Date: August 2013 Publication Type: Report, 38pp. |
Local Rule – Integrated Child Support System (ICSS) Evaluation
| Principal Investigator: | Daniel G. Schroeder, PhD |
| Sponsor: | Texas Office of the Attorney General, Office of Child Support Enforcement |
| Partner: | Child and Family Planning Research Partnership |
| Project Duration: | June 2011 – August 2016 |
| Description: | The Ray Marshall Center is conducting a program evaluation to measure the impacts of the Integrated Child Support System (ICSS) that requires those getting divorced or separated to be referred to the Texas Office of the Attorney General (OAG) for IV-D child support services. Operating under a waiver from the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) in 17 counties, the ICSS changes the default action from opt-in to opt-out in order to increase participation in IV-D services, raise child support compliance, and avoid the accumulation of child support debt.The evaluation will report on child support compliance over time, including amount of payment and stability of payment as well as enforcement actions taken, cost effectiveness, and reasons parents choose to opt out.Researchers will conduct the waiver evaluation using a combination of random assignment and comparison site evaluation designs to measure the impacts of the waiver at statewide and county-level operational scales in Texas. The evaluation will use multiple data sets, including OAG administrative records data for determining child support case characteristics, child support obligations, collections, and enforcement actions; Unemployment Insurance (UI) quarterly wage records, U.S. Census data, county level child support data, and other data sources. |
| Reports Available: | Texas Integrated Child Support System: Final Evaluation Report Authors: Daniel Schroeder and Ashweeta Patnaik. Date: August 2016 Publication Type: Report, 113pp. |
Austin College Access Network (ACAN)
| Principal Investigators: | Christopher T. King, PhD and Tara Smith, MPA |
| Sponsor: | TG Public Benefit Program |
| Research Partners: | E3 Alliance |
| Project Duration: | October 2011 – August 2012 |
| Description: | In partnership with E3 Alliance, the Ray Marshall Center (RMC) is participating in the Central Texas College Access and Persistence Program Evaluation. The evaluation seeks to increase regional capacity to provide critical and effective support to traditionally underrepresented college students to help ensure that they enter college and persist in their studies through completion. The project has two primary goals: 1) to increase Austin College Access Network (ACAN) member awareness of the nature and breadth of college access and persistence services offered in Central Texas and identify service gaps; and 2) to increase the capacity of ACAN member organizations for program evaluation and continuous improvement activities.
Under the project, RMC will:
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| Reports Available: | Central Texas College Access and Persistence Program Evaluation: Outcomes and Impacts Summary Report Authors: Tara Smith and Greg Cumpton Date: January 2013 Publication Type: Report, 72pp.Initial Evaluation Findings: Central Texas College Access and Persistence Programs Authors: Tara Smith and Greg Cumpton Date: May 31, 2012 Publication Type: Report, 47pp. Information Brief: Common Definitions The Ray Marshall Center’s 2010-2011 project with the Austin College Access Network, as well as available reports, are accessible via this link: ACAN – “Staying Powers” Project |
Administrative Data Research and Evaluation (ADARE) Alliance, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Study
| Principal Investigators: | Daniel G. Schroeder, PhD and Ashweeta Patnaik, MPH |
| Sponsor: | U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service |
| Research Partners: | The Jacob France Institute at the University of Baltimore, University of Chicago, University of Kentucky, Georgia State University, and W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research |
| Project Duration: | April 2010 – September 2018 |
| Description: | The goals of the ADARE-SNAP study will be to analyze the interaction of SNAP caseload and recipient household composition dynamics aligned with receipt of Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits and participation in UI covered employment, and to demonstrate by state-specific approaches and accomplishments how analyses based on longitudinal files of linked confidential state administrative data files can be replicated in other states, and extended and refined by the partners in the consortium states.The Ray Marshall Center will link longitudinal files of administrative records – SNAP administrative data, UI benefits data, and State UI wage records – to understand the sequencing of SNAP and UI applications, factors affecting the duration of SNAP and UI benefits, and the extent to which these patterns of outcomes are affected by the recession. |
| Reports Available: |
Austin College Access Network (ACAN) “Staying Powers” Project
| Principal Investigator: | Deanna T. Schexnayder |
| Sponsor: | TG Public Benefit Program |
| Research Partners: | E3 Alliance |
| Project Duration: | December 2010 – July 2011 |
| Description: | In partnership with E3 Alliance, the Ray Marshall Center (RMC) is participating in the Austin College Access Network (ACAN) college persistence project entitled “Staying Powers: Building College Persistence for our Most Challenged Students.” The project’s goal is to conduct a program to enhance the collaboration of participating organizations in the Austin College Access Network to improve college persistence for the region’s low-income and first-generation students at several area colleges and universities. In particular, the program will help establish data capabilities and provide resources for engaging higher education partners to develop shared programming to improve retention.Under the project, RMC will:
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| Reports Available: | Development of a Student Tracking System for ACAN Participants Authors: Deanna Schexnayder, Patty Rodriguez, and Greg Cumpton Date: January 2012 Publication Type: Report, 9pp. The Ray Marshall Center’s 2011-2012 project with the Austin College Access Network, as well as available reports, are accessible via this link: ACAN |
Two-Generation Strategy Initiative
| Principal Investigator: | Christopher T. King, PhD |
| Sponsor: | Foundation for Child Development |
| Project Duration: | April 2011 – June 2016 |
| Description: | In partnership with the Foundation for Child Development, the Ray Marshall Center is implementing a Dual-Generation Strategy Initiative. This project seeks to create and promote the field of “dual-generation” strategies, those in which children simultaneously participate in high-quality early and primary education (PreK-3rd) while their parents participate in leading-edge workforce development and education programs ultimately leading to long-term learning and economic success for low-skilled, low-income families in the United States. The goals of the project are to improve the understanding of dual-generation strategies among policymakers, researchers, and funders, as well as foster the implementation of dual-generation strategies at the federal and state levels. The project potentially has four (4) phases, the first two of which FCD is funding through the Center:
The Foundation for Child Development (FCD) is a national private philanthropy in New York City dedicated to promoting a new beginning for American education from PreKindergarten through Third Grade (PreK-3rd). PreK-3rd Grade Education is a seamless learning continuum, connecting high-quality PreK programs with high-quality elementary schools, to create a well-aligned primary education for all our nation’s children. The Foundation promotes the well-being of children, and believes that families, schools, nonprofit organizations, businesses, and governments at all levels share complementary responsibilities in the critical task of raising new generations. |
| Reports Available: | Promoting Two-Generation Strategies: A Getting-Started Guide for State and Local Policy Makers (Revised and Updated) Author: Christopher T. King, Cynthia J. Juniper, Rheagan Coffey, and Tara C. Smith Date: August 2016 Publication Type: Report, 55pp Austin Two-Generation Pilot Project Evaluation – UWGA Promoting Two-Generation Strategies: A Getting-Started Guide for State and Local Policy Makers Dual-Generation Strategy Initiative Research Brief Investing in Children and Parents: Fostering Dual-Generation Strategies in the United States |
Achieving Change for Texans Demonstration Waiver Evaluation
| Principal Investigator: | Deanna Schexnayder, MBA |
| Sponsor: | U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Texas Health and Human Services Commission (formerly Texas Department of Human Services) |
| Research Partner: | Texas Health and Human Services Commission (formerly Texas Department of Human Services) |
| Project Duration: | 1997-2002 |
| Description: | Using random assignment in sites around the state of Texas, this evaluation project analyzes the net impact of time limits, the personal responsibility agreement, increased resource limits and other features of the 1995 Texas welfare reform legislation (HB 1863) on a number of outcomes. Impacts of these reforms will be measured for the following client and family outcomes: welfare dynamics, economic self sufficiency, participation in workforce development services, education and immunization of children, access to subsidized child care, and use of child protective services. Net impacts will be measured over a five-year period. |
| Reports Available: | Achieving Change for Texans Demonstration Waiver Evaluation: Net Impacts Through December 1997 Authors: Deanna T. Schexnayder, Jerome A. Olson, Daniel G. Schroeder, Alicia Betsinger, and Shao Chee Sim Date: December 1998 Publication Type: Report, 69pp. Achieving Change for Texans: Evaluation of the Texas Welfare Reform Waiver: Final Summary Report Achieving Change for Texans: Evaluation of the Texas Welfare Reform Waiver: Final Summary Report (presentation) Achieving Change for Texans: Evaluation of the Texas Welfare Reform Waiver: Final Impact Report Achieving Change for Texans: Evaluation of the Texas Welfare Reform Waiver: Final Process Evaluation Report, by the Office of Planning, Evaluation and Project Management, Texas Department of Human Services (January 2003). For printed copies, contact Debora Morris, Texas Department of Human Services, (512)438-3353. Achieving Change for Texans: Evaluation of the Texas Welfare Reform Waiver: Understanding Time Limits: Supplement to the Final Process Evaluation Report, by the Office of Planning, Evaluation and Project Management, Texas Department of Human Services (January 2003). For printed copies, contact Debora Morris, Texas Department of Human Services, 512/438-3353. Achieving Change for Texans: Evaluation of the Texas Welfare Reform Waiver: Texans Who Receive a One-time Benefit: The Year After, by Laura Lein, Karen Douglas, Susan Jacquet, Audrey Steiner, Greg Ellis, and Veronica De La Garza, Center for Social Work Research, School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Austin (January 2003). For printed copies, contact Debora Morris, Texas Department of Human Services, (512)438-3353. Achieving Change for Texans: Evaluation of the Texas Welfare Reform Waiver: Texans Who Timed Out of Welfare: The Year After, by Laura Lein, Karen Douglas, Audrey Steiner and Greg Ellis, Center for Social Work Research, School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Austin (January 2003). For printed copies, contact Debora Morris, Texas Department of Human Services, (512)438-3353. |
Demonstration of Administrative Records Improving Surveys (DARIS)
| Principal Investigator: | Daniel G. Schroeder, PhD |
| Sponsors: | U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce |
| Research Partner: | Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago |
| Project Duration: | July 2008 – December 2013 |
| Description: | The Demonstration of Administrative Records Improving Surveys (DARIS) research project will show the value of administrative records to Census Bureau demographic surveys. Initially, the project will focus on the two test states of Illinois and Texas. Later, the project may expand to other states. The objective of the project is to demonstrate methods of integrating data from surveys and administrative records, produce data sets that more accurately represent the target population’s characteristics than survey data alone, conduct experiments in disclosure-proofing hybrid data sets, and document feasibility. Results of the analysis will also be used to improve Census surveys, which many program administrators and researchers use to estimate the shares of eligible populations that actually participate in the government programs. |
NCHS Data Linkage with Food Assistance and Other Related Data in Texas
| Principal Investigator: | Daniel G. Schroeder, PhD |
| Sponsor: | National Center for Health Statistics |
| Project Duration: | March 2009 – September 2012 |
| Description: | The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) has conducted the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) continuously since 1999. One of the major components of NHANES is the nutrition and dietary component. A recent National Academies panel on Enhancing the Data Infrastructure in Support of Food and Nutrition Programs recommended linking the NHANES data with food assistance and other related program records to more fully understand decisions that the population makes on food consumption and to guide policy makers. NCHS has decided to link 2005-2008 NHANES data with Food Stamp Program and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families administrative records in Texas. If additional funds become available, NCHS will also link 2005-2008 NHANES data with Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and Unemployment Insurance Wage File Reports in Texas.
Under the project, the Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources at the University of Texas in Austin will perform the linkage of records. After the linkage has occurred, statistical analyses will be conducted. The analyses will assess the participation in food program assistance and the effects of long term participation as it relates to food consumption and nutrition. In addition, the analyses will assess the accuracy of collecting this information in a self reported survey compared to the results of record linkage to an administrative database. The results from this linkage analysis will help gain understanding for future food and nutrition-related policy planning in the United States and perhaps future linkage projects. |
