Current Projects
Evaluation of Virginia's Child Protective Services Program
Principal Investigator: Renee Loeffler, PhD
Period of Performance: 2008
In 2008, the Virginia Tech Institute for Policy and Governance (VTIPG) will conduct an evaluation of Virginia’s child protective services program under a contract with the Virginia Department of Social Services. This work is a continuation of a multi-year project to assess the effects of the Differential Response System, a new approach to child protection adopted by the state in 2002.
VTIPG will use statewide data on all child protective services cases in 2007 to assess outcomes and to analyze trends in key program variables. A topic for special study in 2008 will be the activities of Virginia’s local departments of social services in providing services to families to treat or prevent child abuse or neglect. This project will culminate in a report to the 2009 General Assembly.
VTIPG will also provide a separate report to each of Virginia’s 120 local departments of social services. The local agency reports include local, regional and state data for key CPS program variables so that each local department can compare itself to regional neighbors and the state as a whole.
Assistance to Virginia's Lead-Safe Program
Principal Investigator: Renee Loeffler, PhD
Period of Performance: 2008
In 2008, the Virginia Tech Institute for Policy and Governance (VTIPG) will continue its work with the Virginia Department of Health’s Lead-Safe Virginia Program. The goal of the Lead-Safe Virginia Program is to eliminate childhood lead poisoning. This work is part of a national goal to eliminate childhood lead poisoning by 2010. VTIPG provides a variety of program evaluation and consultation services to VDH in response to specific needs identified by the Lead-Safe Virginia Program.
Comparing Operational Costs of Shared Site Intergenerational Day-Care Facilities to Non-Intergenerational Day-Care Facilities
Principal Investigators: Aaron D. Schroeder, PhD and Shannon Jarrott, PhD
Period of Performance: January 1, 2008-June 30, 2008
The Virginia Tech Institute for Policy and Governance and the Center on Gerontology are conducting research to determine whether or not costs associated with intergenerational child day care and adult day care facilities and non-intergenerational facilities are appreciably different.
The final analysis will show whether or not a relationship exists, the strength of that relationship, and whether or not that relationship is positive (higher levels of operational integration lead to increased expenditures), negative (higher levels of operational integration lead to reduced expenditures), or neither (expenditures are not related to level of operational integration). Finding either a negative relationship (higher levels of operational integration lead to reduced expenditures) or no relationship (expenditures are not related to level of operational integration) would provide evidence supporting our hypothesis that operational costs of day care facilities with intergenerational components are the same or less than the operational costs of day care facilities without intergenerational components.
Generations United (GU) is the national membership organization focused solely on improving the lives of children, youth, and older people through intergenerational strategies, programs, and public policies. GU represents more than 100 national, state, and local organizations and individuals representing more than 70 million Americans. Since 1986 GU has served as a resource for educating policymakers and the public about the economic, social, and personal imperatives of intergenerational cooperation. GU acts as a catalyst for stimulating collaboration between aging, children, and youth organizations, providing a forum to explore areas of common ground while celebrating the richness of each generation.
A Proposal to Assess Human Resource Efficacy and Per Diem Rate Sensitivity for the Virginia Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services
Principal Investigator: Mary Beth Dunkenberger
Period of Performance: July 1, 2007—April 30, 2008
The Virginia Tech Institute for Policy and Governance (VTIPG) is assessing the current environment of human resource capacities and per diem rates of state facilities to guide the efficient and effective distribution of resources among the 15 state mental health facilities. Informed by the current context and national best practices, the Department wishes to evaluate staffing levels, patient acuity and external workforce dynamics and other factors impacting per diem rates at state facilities, to determine a range of staffing ratios and other cost assumptions for serving the Department’s constituency populations. While administrative data is available on state facilities, the accuracy of this information will be verified, with each facility’s context and needs taken into account. To assist DMHMRSAS as it addresses policy implementation and management decisions, IPG’s role is to identify national best practices and perform comparative research to identify key quality indicators used by other states that relate to efficient and effective staffing levels; to conduct analysis and verification of existing administrative data based on clinical level of care and the population being served; and identify factors that affect per diem rate sensitivity. Finally, IPG will develop recommendations for next steps to model and establish efficient and effective staffing levels for the Department’s facilities.
Community Based Peace Building
Principal Investigators: Max Stephenson and Laura Zanotti
Period of Performance: January 1, 2008—June 30, 2008
Community foundations and community-based philanthropies play increasingly significant roles in efforts to mediate and build social capacity for the mitigation and management of long-lived conflicts in the societies of which they are a part. We are exploring this little-studied phenomenon by examining the conflict amelioration and management role(s) of three such foundations in three diverse nations. We hope to develop a contextualized analysis of the emergent roles of these foundations in peace building and the mechanisms they employ to pursue these newfound responsibilities by exploring the effects of the interaction between global and local organizations and their intended and unintended consequences. We will compare and contrast the efforts of our sample organizations against their own aspirations, against international strategies for making peace, against the strategies they have adopted and against the goals afforded by FFP for the diffusion of alternate modes of conflict management and mediation. Comparative case analysis should yield a strong overview of how these institutions are proceeding in what for them is a new arena of activity as well as what range of strategies they are employing and the rationales they offer for selecting and pursuing those.
Federal Reimbursement Unit Partnership for the Advancement of Competitive Employment — PACE
Program Principal Investigator: Mary Beth Dunkenberger
Project Manager: David Moore
Period of Performance: December 1, 2007—September 30, 2008
The Virginia Tech Institute for Policy and Governance and five Local Departments of Social Services (LDSS) in the New River Valley, collectively known as the Partners for Self-Sufficiency (PSS), have worked to redesign our current PACE model to emphasize proven strategies and to meet gaps resulting from TANF policy and program changes. The PACE program provides wrap around services to address clients’ employment barriers and service needs in an individualized manner. The existing partnership expands the network of community partners that represent both employers and human service providers with an emphasis on intensive vocational case management through referral to Vocational Specialists. In addition the PACE program utilizes a Community Liaison and Disability Specialist to expand employer resources and address the full range of needs presented by VIEW participants.
The overarching goal of our regional employment placement, retention, and advancement model is to expedite preparation of Virginia Initiative for Employment Not Welfare (VIEW) participants for entry-level positions with employers who offer benefit packages, greater job security, and some potential for upgrading skills and to provide a strong focus on job retention.
The services provided are 1) the integration of our intensive job readiness program, job development activities, and concentrated vocational case management activities; 2) continued development and refinement of community resources that facilitate employment of TANF recipients; 3) an SSI/SSDI application support service that helps local agencies better evaluate disabled TANF recipients and helps provide access to additional resources to assist them; and 4) focused job retention efforts coordinated with employers.
Over the ten-month project period, the PACE program expects to serve a total of 594 clients.
SSI Advocacy for Employment Options (SAFE)
Principal Investigator: Mary Beth Dunkenberger
Project Manager: Nancy White
Period of Performance: December 1, 2007—September 30, 2008
The SSI Advocacy for Employment Options (SAFE) initiative is developing and delivering a training and technical assistance model for disability assessment and SSI advocacy for the TANF and VIEW programs. The training and technical assistance will be delivered to local departments of social services (LDSS) staff throughout the Commonwealth.
This program focuses on the identification and assessment of disabilities in persons who are participating in the TANF program with an emphasis on the Social Security Administration (SSA) definition of disability as related to Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Building this capacity will enable LDSS staff in the assessment process to determine if persons with disabilities may be served with accommodations in moving toward employment or if the disability appears so severe that a referral to the SSI program would be more appropriate.
The determination of a disability by LDSS staff as early in the assessment process as possible will allow for a more efficient use of time sensitive recourses and will enable LDSS staff to inform TANF participants of the procedures, policies, and timeframes related to SSA determination of disability. Local agencies will be able to structure a disability program that best meets the unique needs of the locality and participant population. The ultimate goal is that after the initial collaborative period, LDSS will have the capacity and organizational knowledge to assess TANF participant disabilities and provide ongoing SSI Advocacy services to TANF and VIEW participants as appropriate under policy and to meet the needs of the participant.
Fairfax County Federal Reimbursement Unit
Principal Investigator: Renee Loeffler
Project Manager: Melony Price-Rhodes
Period of Performance: July 1, 2007—June 30, 2008
The FRU has ongoing responsibilities to facilitate the collection of centralized processes to secure child support from non-custodial parents on behalf of the children in foster care, to access Federal funds on behalf of children in foster care, and to pursue Medicaid funding for certain Medicaid eligible services for CSA funded youth placed out of their homes.
The FRU reviews records of children in foster care and supports the process for reimbursements for those children. The reimbursement of local expenditures via federal funds reduces the local costs (expended by the Department of Family Services and through the Comprehensive Services Act (CSA)) of providing services to children in foster care.
The FRU continues to refine the process so that, where possible, fewer County tax dollars are spent to support children who are in foster care and in receipt of CSA pool funds. More funds will be reimbursed from the Federal Government and parent(s) of the children. Funds accessed for reimbursement, based upon each child’s eligibility, include Title IV-E, Title II and XVI – Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Benefits, Survivors’ Benefits (SSA), Title XIX – Medicaid benefits and Title IV-D – Child Support.
Completed Projects
- Federal Reimbursement Unit
- Child and Family Services Review
- New River Valley Regional Water Plan
- Local DSS Agency Medicaid Provider Feasibility Study
- Southwest Virginia Regional Wastewater Study
- Southside Virginia Community, Economic and Leadership Development
- Inter-University Workshop on Accountability and the Nonprofit Sector
- Fairfax County's Consolidate Community Funding Pool
- World Bank-Civil Society Joint Facilitation Committee
- Virginia Network of Nonprofit Organizations
Federal Reimbursement Unit
"Man and Woman" taken by Bob Veltri
IPG contracted with the VDSS to provide individual reviews of each local DSS agency to evaluate Title IV-E eligibility compliance and its subsequent effects on Virginia's access rate. This project resulted in a significant increase in the access rate with a corresponding increase in federal reimbursement to the Commonwealth for foster care children. The current contract will expire in November of 2004 and we are currently negotiating a two year extension of this contract with a significant expansion of funding and personnel.
The contract will focus efforts of development of a statewide SSI implementation project and increasing efforts to increase federal financial participation through administrative cost recoveries under the Matrix program. Additionally, the project will now include a team devoted to validating 4,000 eligible Title-IV E cases as part of the Program Improvement Plan. Virginia Tech staff will be developing an automated eligibility system for VDSS and will also be working with the Claims Integrity Unit of VDSS to expand administrative cost recoveries to Medicaid, Food Stamps and Child Support Enforcement.
Child and Family Services Review
"Student on Campus" taken
by Gary Colbert
IPG contracted with VDSS in May of this year to conduct a two year program improvement plan for the Child and Family Services Review. IPG will deploy a nine member team that includes two graduate research assistants to review approximately 1700 foster care and child protective services cases. The results of each case review will be included in agency specific reports and recommendations for each locality and be assembled into a statewide assessment of the aggregate data to meet 14 federally mandated performance goals. This is a 2 year contract that will cost approximately $2 million.
New River Valley Regional Water Plan
IPG partnered with the New River Valley Planning District Commission was awarded a grant that reflects a collaborative project between the PDC and IPG to begin the preliminary feasibility analysis for development of a regional water plan in the New River Valley. The $102,000 initial grant should lead to subsequent monies being provided by other granting institutions and local governments. This grant has been extended for an additional year for $140,000 to further develop the governance structure and administrative arrangements to create the regional water authority. We are currently preparing a grant proposal that will fund this project for an additional year and fund the preparation of a Preliminary Engineering Report for construction of the project. Faculty and students from Virginia Tech's Center for Geospatial Information Technology have been and will continue to be engaged in this important project.
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Local DSS Agency Medicaid Provider Feasibility Study
IPG was recently notified that a $375,000 Medicaid feasibility study will be funded by VDSS beginning in January 2005. This study will evaluate the potential for licensing local DSS agencies as Medicaid providers to increase access to Medicaid benefits and to reduce local costs of providing health care to disadvantaged citizens.
Southwest Virginia Regional Wastewater Study
"Blessed is the Match that is Consumed in Kindling a Flame." Hannah Senesh
IPG has been selected by Lamar Dunn & Associates, Inc. to participate in a regional wastewater study within the LENOWISCO, Mount Rogers and Cumberland Gap Planning District Commissions. This study will evaluate the potential for regionalization and expansion of existing wastewater collection and treatment systems and the creation of a regional authority to manage these systems. Significant cost savings are expected and much improved surface and ground water quality as a result of these findings. Total initial project cost is $192,000.
Southside Virginia Community, Economic and Leadership Development
The IGA provides leadership for catalyzing research and outreach efforts in the Southside region of Virginia. The IPG works in collaboration with the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) and Virginia Tech's Outreach and International Affairs Southside Implementation Team (SIT) to develop research and outreach programming that would advance the community development goals of the region. The IPG is working with nonprofit organizations in the region and is in the beginning of an ambitious grassroots leadership development initiative involving multiple universities in the region.
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Inter-University Workshop on Accountability and the Nonprofit Sector
Virginia Tech's IPG and Georgetown University's Center for Democracy and the Third Sector (CDATS) have developed the Inter-University Workshop on Accountability and the Nonprofit Sector. The purpose of the program is to promote innovative research on the impact of an emerging accountability regime on nonprofit institutions through periodic lectures and discussions by leading scholars and practitioners. The intended outcome it to promote debate and dissemination of new ideas. Upcoming topics focus on:
- Accountability and Organizational Learning
- The Emerging Accountability Regime and the Nonprofit Sector
Workshops are open to faculty, students, and interested members of the public from the greater Washington area.
Fairfax County's Consolidate Community Funding Pool
Fairfax County, Virginia pools Federal, State and Local government funds to support the work of nonprofits serving the residents of the county. Decisions funding Fairfax-based nonprofit organizations equaling near $9 million dollars are made by a citizen's committee and approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. An IPG Project Associate served on that 2004-2006 funding cycle selection committee.
World Bank-Civil Society Joint Facilitation Committee
The World Bank-Civil Society Joint Facilitation Committee (JFC) is a consultative body that seeks
- to produce a guiding framework for World Bank-civil society engagement; and
- to establish transparent, accountable and democratic mechanisms for further engagement
Virginia Network of Nonprofit Organizations
IPG has played a critical role in the founding of the statewide association for nonprofit organizations in the Commonwealth of Virginia . We have joined a coalition of nonprofits, consultants and nonprofit academic research centers from across the state to build this new organization. VANNO will provide forums for sharing expertise, experience and best practices, as a central information and resource exchange and gives Virginia's nonprofit sector a statewide voice, policy forum and collective advocacy arm.
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