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FY 2003 Annual Performance Plan

PART II: PROGRAM PLANNING AND ASSESSMENT

ACF's program efforts are carried out through partnership with the State, Territorial, local and Tribal governments and non-profit/private sector grantees that implement its programs. Social research, demonstration and evaluation programs are directed at developing reliable knowledge to support program policies, learning about effects on children and families, identifying paths to program quality improvement, and discovering better ways to conduct technical assistance, disseminate information, and deliver effective services.

Performance goals have been stated under the program sections throughout the eight strategic program objectives and four management improvement objectives in this plan. This approach continues to provide a framework for individual programs and program activities to collaborate and direct their efforts to achieve ACF-wide cross-cutting program goals. This framework enables ACF partners in State, Territorial, Tribal and local governments and nonprofit and private agencies to use the various program resources within ACF to focus on early childhood enrichment and economic and social well-being and productivity of families. "Data sources" under the various measures refer to OMB-approved program data collection instruments. The programs that support each of the goals and objectives are listed below:

Strategic Goal 1: Increase economic independence and productivity for families

1. Increase employment
   
       Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
       Developmental Disabilities: Employment
       Refugee Resettlement
       Social Services Block Grant
   
   
2. Increase independent living
   
       Developmental Disabilities: Housing
       Assets for Independence
   
   
3. Increase parental responsibility
   
       Child Support
   
   
4. Increase affordable child care
   
       Child Care: Affordability
   

Strategic Goal 2: Improve healthy development, safety and well-being of children and youth

5. Increase the quality of child care to promote childhood development
   
       Child Care: Quality
       Head Start
   
   
6. Improve the health status of children
   
       Head Start: Health Status
   
   
7. Increase safety, permanency, and well-being of children and youth
   
       Child Welfare
       Developmental Disabilities: Education
       Developmental Disabilities: Health
       Youth Programs
   

Strategic Goal 3: Increase the health and prosperity of communities and Tribes

8. Build healthy, safe and supportive communities and Tribes
   
       Community Services Block Grant
       Family Violence Prevention Program
       Low-Income Home Energy Assistance
       Native Americans Programs
       Strategic Goal 4: Build a results-oriented organization
   

Strategic Goal 4: Build a results-oriented organization

9. Develop and retain a highly skilled, strongly motivated staff
   
   
10. Improve automated data and management systems
    
    
11. Streamline ACF organizational layers
    
    
12. Ensure financial management accountability

In most cases, baselines have been established in either FY 1998 or FY 1999 for the FY 2003 measures. ACF is largely dependent upon State administrative systems for collecting performance data which results in substantial delay in the availability of data for many of the ACF State grant programs for the current reporting period. In Section A.8 of the Appendix, a budget table has been provided in which performance goals and measures for each of the twelve strategic objectives are included. The relationship between these goals and the mission of DHHS as reflected in the DHHS Strategic Plan is shown in the table in Section A.3 of the Appendix.

Program research and evaluations focus on measuring and understanding the impacts of ACF programs on children and families. They provide information to design and improve the results of those programs, and inform performance measurement methodologies. (A table listing selected evaluations is included in Section A.6 of the Appendix.)

Because ACF is interested in trends of improvement over time, measured against a carefully-chosen starting point, many (though not all) of the baselines in the following section are likely to remain the same in subsequent annual editions of this plan, rather than rolling forward to a new baseline year. Such baseline stability is important since the baseline year has been selected to indicate when a new program initiative, statute or rule begins to have a measurable effect

 

 

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