Chapin Hall

State and local human service agencies regularly wrestle with how to make the most of resources designed to help low-income families. Improving the timeliness and relevance of data analysis is key  to better program management and, ultimately, to a clearer understanding of how agencies can improve family well-being. Agencies maintain large and complex data systems to track program participation and eligibility. Accessing and using these data analytically, however,  requires considerable staff and technical capacity.

Two Chapin Hall projects, the Family Self-Sufficiency Data Center (FSSDC) and TANF Data Innovations, are designed to identify the challenges faced by these agencies and develop innovative technology and training solutions to reduce these barriers. A 2014 needs assessment report provided an initial overview of the landscape. The team is now implementing a more detailed, 50-state capacity assessment to add more depth and context to the conversation about state data needs.

Products have included a model for versatile analytic data to address communication challenges between analysts and database managers. We’ve also developed a website for code sharing across states and counties, allowing database managers to use each other’s existing computer code to solve shared challenges, and written a series of reports on combining human services data to support these analyses. The project team has also worked one-on-one with state agencies to build capacity and led workshops for state data analysts. We published a report on lessons learned for improving the use of data in state and local human services agencies based on the activities of the FSSDC.

This project produced two briefs: Exemplary Data Use by State TANF Agencies: Beyond Routine Reports and Analyses and Unpacking Data Use in State TANF Agencies: Insights from the TANF Data Innovation Needs Assessment

Both the Family Self-Sufficiency Data Center and TANF Data Innovations are funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation. The FSSDC team also includes the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, the University of Washington Evans School of Public Policy, and NORC at the University of Chicago. TANF Data Innovations is led by MDRC and also includes partners from New York University and University of Pennsylvania.