Recent Research/Whitepapers
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Scattergood Foundation: Precision Care for Better Outcomes
Currently, psychiatric residential treatment programs play an important role in our mental health care system, but do they really improve the long-term outcomes for the children served? This is a question that many social programs have to deal with. Instead of using evidence-based studies, this paper will discuss the benefits of applying precision analytics.
Silver Springs Martin Luther School (SS/MLS) conducted a precision care project to determine if their administrative datasets could be utilized to determine the best treatment program for each child. This paper delves into the results of this program and the potential application of precision analytics on a much broader scale for other social programs.
HUD: Process Evaluation of Section 811 Project Rental Assistance
BCT Partners was contracted by HUD to research and evaluate the progress of implementation, identify potential roadblocks, as well as highlight areas for improvement for the Section 811 Project Rental Assistance Demonstration Project.
Since 1991, HUD has administered the Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities program, providing interest-free capital advances and Project Rental Assistance Contract (PRAC) funds to nonprofit sponsors to develop and operate group homes, independent living projects, and condominiums for very low-income people with disabilities.
The Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act of 2010, or Melville Act, introduced several reforms to the Section 811 program:
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811 PRA option - connects services and expands affordable housing options for nonelderly people with disabilities who have extremely low-income.
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Provides subsidies for scattered site units in affordable housing developments financed by other funding sources and occupied by people with and without disabilities.
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Creates or builds on incentives for owners and developers to create additional supportive housing by tapping available Medicaid funding streams.
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Forms service partnerships and develops referral networks to identify eligible households that need service-enriched housing.
Households eligible for the 811 PRA must be extremely low-income, nonelderly persons with disabilities between the ages of 18 and 61 at the time of admission and who are eligible for Medicaid or a similar program offering community-based, long-term services and supports. PRA assistance may be targeted to people who are living in institutions, homeless, or at risk of institutionalization or homelessness.
This report presents the results of a process evaluation of 12 states’ experiences implementing the Section 811 Project Rental Assistance (811 PRA) program.
Click here to access the Case Studies.
Click here to access the Evaluation of the Section 811 Project Rental Assistance (PRA) program.
EPRI: Community Renewables Rising
Renewable power generation capacity continues to see significant growth worldwide, with more new renewables capacity than fossil fuel generation capacity being added each year since 2013. However, these trends have not meant that there is “equal opportunity” access to renewable energy and the associated benefits. There remains a significant number of potential customers who do not have access to any renewable energy options.
This white paper looks at community renewables programs, which extend access to a broader base of customers, and are growing in number both in the United States and around the world.
Four main types of models are examined in further detail:
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Offsite shared renewables programs
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Onsite shared renewables programs
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Community group purchasing models
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Community-driven financial models
NWAF: Foundations’ Role in Ending Racial Inequity
This article explores the multiple approaches that foundations can use to advance racial equity and prosperity. It specifically addresses the following issues:
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Challenges of racial disparities faced by communities
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The evolution of the role of philanthropies in addressing poverty
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History of racialization in institutions and systems
Finally, this article focuses on a specific set of approaches used by the Minnesota-based Northwest Area Foundation. This strategy could be employed by others who are working for racial equity to create more impactful solutions.
HHS: Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education Program Profile
There is a substantial skills gap between the education and training of the labor force and the needs of employers in many high growth industries, including healthcare and manufacturing. This gap results in unemployment while good- paying jobs go unfilled. At the same time, many low-skilled adults persist in low- wage work with little opportunity for advancement.
Career pathways programs are an approach to fill a vital need for skilled workers in the economy and provide low-wage workers the opportunity to obtain work skills that will help them advance into the middle class.
Career pathways programs provide:
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Training and clearly articulated steps to employment
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Instructional support that is specifically designed for the target audience
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Supportive services such as resume building and job interview skills
There is great interest in this program among policy makers and practitioners because it could provide a framework for improved education and training approaches for low-skilled individuals. This report focuses on nine career pathway programs across the country.