Child SSI Recipients

"Posttransition Experiences of Former Child SSI Recipients." Pamela J. Loprest and David C. Wittenburg, Social Service Review, December 2007. The authors use new data from the National Survey of SSI Children and Families to study the transition period for a cohort of child Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients after redetermination of benefits at age 18. The article examines differences between those who do not receive benefits after age 18 as adults and those who continue to do so, focusing on the connection between characteristics before age 18 and outcomes after age 18. Important differences in demographic and human capital development characteristics exist across these two groups, indicating a possible need for transition supports for some within the child SSI population. These supports are especially needed by those no longer receiving benefits after age 18 who are not engaged in any schooling, employment, or training.

Health Care Disparities

"Assessment of State Capacity to Identify and Track Disparities in the Leading Health Indicators." Allison Hedley Dodd, Melissa Neuman, and Marsha Gold, December 2007. Assessing health status is a core function of public health on the state level. This report summarizes the data available in each state for health assessment, a necessary step in achieving public health goals. Using the leading indicators from Healthy People 2010, the authors found that while data generally are available across all states, gaps do exist. Across states, data sometimes are not available for a few specific health objectives and for certain age groups.

Educational Privatization and School Choice

"School Competition and Student Outcomes." Brian Gill and Kevin Booker. In Handbook of Research in Education Finance and Policy, 2008. A variety of policies can promote market forces in education, potentially producing competitive effects. These effects—positive or negative—are among the most important outcomes produced by educational privatization and school choice. This chapter addresses issues related to the effects of competition on conventional public schools and the traditional public purposes of education, including student integration and education of citizens.

Early Childhood Accountability

Quality prekindergarten can help provide children with the skills they need to succeed in school and later in life. As a result, states have begun to invest millions of dollars for state-funded early education programs. And they need to know if those investments are achieving the desired outcomes. The Pew Charitable Trusts launched the National Early Childhood Accountability Task Force in 2005. In fall 2007, the task force released its final report and recommendations for developing a comprehensive assessment system to improve the performance of early education programs. The following background papers were commissioned by the task force:

"Uses of Data on Child Outcomes and Program Processes in Early Childhood Accountability Systems: Assumptions, Challenges, and Consequences." John Love, September 2006. This paper examines a number of issues crucial in establishing state early childhood accountability systems. The author notes that these systems require careful consideration of who will be using the results and how the results are likely to be used. Challenges exist in attributing outcomes to program characteristics, implementing a large system with limited resources, and anticipating negative unintended consequences. The paper concludes with five actions that can lead to effective accountability.

"Measuring Children's Progress from Preschool Through Third Grade." Sally Atkins-Burnett, July 2007. Research in the past few decades illustrating the potential benefits of quality early childhood education has led to an increase in state-funded programming. This paper discusses measurement of child outcomes in the context of evaluating effectiveness of preschool programs and highlights ways in which this challenge is being addressed. Problems related to relying solely on traditional, on-demand standardized tests to assess achievement of young children are explained. The author notes that observational measures that span the preschool to elementary age range offer an alternative to direct testing. The use of these measures in formative evaluation efforts is discussed with the caution that high stakes should never be attached to these measures. Using a multimethod approach would provide a richer portrayal of children's performance. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of measuring classroom quality and recommendations for next steps.

Physician Resource Use and Quality Measures

"Health Plans' Use of Physician Resource Use and Quality Measures." Timothy Lake, Margaret Colby, and Stephanie Peterson, October 2007. In recent years, health plans have developed measures of health service resource use to assess efficiency of care physicians and other providers deliver primarily relying on tools commonly known as “episode groupers.” This report investigates the use of episode grouper-based measures in the private sector in four health markets around the country: Austin, Boston, Cleveland, and Seattle. Health plans included in the study have multiple years of technical experience implementing physician resource use and quality measures; however, most are still in the early stages of determining the best ways to use these measures in their local markets. The report includes lessons for future quality measurement efforts in Medicare and other programs.