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Department of Health and Human Services |
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Research, Demonstration, and Evaluation Activities
FY 2003 Plan and Budget
February 2002 |
RESEARCH AND DEMONSTRATIONS
(by HHS Strategic Plan Objective)
CROSS-CUTTING RESEARCH, DEMONSTRATION, AND EVALUATION ACTIVITIES
Table XXXIV
(Dollars in thousands) |
PROGRAM |
FY 2001 Actual |
FY 2002 Appropriation |
FY 2003 Presidents Budget Request |
Evaluations (OIG) |
$15,009 |
$15,459 |
$15,923 |
Policy Research
(ASPE)4 |
$9,613 |
$13,375 |
$13,375 |
Evaluations (ASPE) - includes PHS 1%
evaluation set-aside |
$17,000 |
$17,000 |
$17,000 |
PHS 1% Evaluations
(OPHS) |
$4,442 |
$4,552 |
$4,552 |
Total |
$46,064 |
$50,386 |
$50,850 |
FY 2003 Priorities
A number of centrally managed research, demonstration, and evaluation
activities support a range of projects that address virtually all of the
Departments strategic goals and objectives. They also support the
analysis and development of public policy options for the Secretary and
Congress. For purposes of this presentation, these activities have not been
separated into specific strategic goals and objectives. Rather, they are
displayed as discrete activities in this section. This was done because many of
these RD&E activities support projects that cut across numerous goals,
making judgements with respect to where activities fall unclear. They address
RD&E priorities not addressed by other Agencies and priorities that cut
across Department programs and Agencies. These activities include:
- program evaluations (usually called inspections) conducted by the
Office of the Inspector General (OIG).
- policy research conducted by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for
Planning and Evaluation (ASPE).
- the use of the PHS 1% Evaluation Set-Aside Program by ASPE and the
Office of Public Health and Science (OPHS).
EVALUATIONS (OIG)
Evaluation: The OIG's Office of Evaluations and Inspections (OEI)
conducts short-term progrram evaluations (called inspections) that focus on
issues of concern to the Department, Congress, and the public, such as Medicare
services, device and drug approvals/removals, child support enforcement
programs, and Medicare client satisfaction. The results of this work generate
rapid and reliable information on how well HHS progras are operating and offer
recommendations to improve their efficiency and effectiveness. A more detailed
description of OIG evaluation activities is available in the annual OIG work
plan.
RESEARCH (ASPE)
The purposes of the Policy Research program are to provide
policy-relevant information on national trends in public and private health and
human services activities; to analyze the potential costs and benefits of
proposed public sector policy changes; and to identify emerging policy issues
and potential ways to address the issues. Research priorities for FY 2003
include the following:
State Innovation
Funds will be used to demonstrate and evaluate new models for delivering
health and human services at the community level, including models that:
- facilitate access to health services for the uninsured.
- expand gateways to all services (e.g., through faith-based entities).
- promote family formation, responsible fatherhood, and responsible
child-rearing.
- provide longitudinaldata to assess changes in teen attitudes and
behaviors concerning abstinence from sexual activity.
Health Policy
- The research emphasis in FY 2003 will be to more comprehensively
understand private sector systems and their interactions with changes in public
programs, including an understanding of:
- health insurance markets, especially the individual market, health
care workforce, and health delivery issues.
- changes in major Departmental programs such as Medicare and Medicaid,
as well as new efforts to prevent disease and keep people healthy.
- implementation and effectiveness of SCHIP in enhancing insurance
coverage and improving health quality for various populations.
- the impact of the Balanced Budget Act (BBA) on Medicare and Medicaid.
Human Services Policy
The research emphasis in FY 2003 will be to examine human services
program policies, and delivery of services to low income families and children,
to understand the effectiveness of these programs, including:
- the impact of welfare reform and changing labor markets on employment,
poverty, family composition and the well-being of low income families and
children.
- the socio-demographic characteristics and service needs of low income
families and children.
- the demographic and poverty dynamics of those who are unemployed and
not receiving cash assistance.
- how to measure proverty.
- effective strategies for job retention and advancement for persons
moving from welfare to work and self-sufficiency, including the role of
critical support services.
- effective ways to strengthen families and prevent out-of-wedlock
pregnancies.
- successful approaches for promoting social capacity, emotional health,
cognitive development, physical health, and school readiness of children.
- how to improve child support enforcement activities such as father
involvement and paternity establishment.
Disability, Aging, and Long-Term Care Policy
In FY 2003, priority will be given to research that supports the
development of new programs and practices that provide people with disabilities
and their families a broader array of community-based long-term care services.
Research will focus on:
- projecting the future need for long-term care workers and strategies
for workforce development.
- developing new models for financing long-term care services.
- understanding the role and dynamics of family care-giving in the
long-term care system and the impact of workplace policies on the availability
and persistence of informal care.
- understanding the impact of health care availability and long-term
support services on employability and job retention of working age persons with
disabilities.
- assessing the impact of rehabilitation services and assistive
technologies on functioning, quality of life, and costs.
- understanding the impact of private long-term care insurance and other
private approaches to increasing long-term care coverage.
- developing and testing effective methods (surveys, enforcement
instruments) to improve the quality of care in nursing homes.
- understanding the organizational and financial complexities of
integrating supportive housing and community based long-term care in a way that
is affordable and responsive to consumer preferences.
Science Policy
Research in this area will:
- formulate strategies to foster development and responsible
applications of genetic testing and xenotransplantation.
- develop strategic approaches to addressing childrens
environmental health, especially health problems such as asthma.
- continue to participate in developing responses to bioterrorism.
- support efforts to address bioethical issues.
EVALUATIONS (ASPE PHS EVALUATION SET-ASIDE FUNDS)
In FY 2003, ASPE evaluation priorities will focus on the following
areas:
- assessing how new insurance coverage (SCHIP, VCF) affects the use of
safety net providers by the newly insured.
- studying how well scientific information is translated to promote
effective health care practices.
- evaluating the impact of selected crosscutting public health
activities including those designed to prevent risky behavior and promote
healthy youth development (e.g., childrens health, teenage pregnancy
prevention, domestic violence prevention, mental health, and substance abuse
treatment and prevention).
- developing indicators of child and youth health and well-being.
- assessment of the effects of changes in safety net programs on
individuals and families served by public health programs.
- evaluations of recent changes in the way health care services are
financed, managed, and delivered (e.g., managed care innovations, Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, Balanced Budget Act, and State
Childrens Health Insurance Program, welfare reform), and how these
changes affect the health and health care of populations served by public
safety-net health programs.
- development of data and analytical tools used to evaluate public
health programs and provide other technical support necessary for the conduct
of evaluations of public health programs and policies.
- examining community health services for adult and child special
populations (e.g., domestic violence, mental health, substance abuse,
child-only cases, families with incarcerated adults), including supportive
services; location-based barriers; and culture, language, and eligibility
issues for particular populations (e.g., immigrants, rural, Native Americans).
PHS ONE PERCENT EVALUATION SET-ASIDE (OPHS)
Evaluations: In FY 2003, OPHS will carry out evaluations in the
following areas:
- conduct activities to develop and evaluate communication and
implementation strategies for the Healthy People 2010 Leading Health
Indicators.
- assess the use of the Internet and emerging wireless communications to
promote health related behavior change and the use of healthfinder.gov to reach
selected populations through these technologies.
- assess the nature and extent of health disparities among minorities
and monitor progress toward elimination of such disparities, including an
assessment of data collection infrastructure needs among community-based
organizations (CBO) and grantees serving minority communities.
- evaluate the activity on Elimination of Racial and Ethnic Disparities
in Health, with particular emphasis on evaluating projects that seek to
identify and examine root causes of, and effective strategies to address,
such disparities.
- evaluate the National Centers of Excellence in Womens Health and
the National Communities Centers of Excellence in Womens Health.
- assess efforts being made by institutions and research labs to prevent
research misconduct, the oversight and technical assistance provided by the
Office of Research Integrity in misconduct cases, compliance with the
regulatory requirements, and evaluation of the Responsible Conduct of Research
Education Program.
4 FY 2002 and FY 2003: includes $18
million transfer from PHS 1 percent evaluation set-aside account.