Considerations in Applying Benefit-Cost Analysis to Preventive Interventions for Children, Youth, and Families Workshop Summary (2014) / Chapter Skim
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5 Translating Results to Inform Policy and Practice
5 Translating Results to Inform Policy and Practice
Pages 53-62
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From page 53... ...
All agreed that benefit-cost analyses have provided valuable guidance to policy makers. A PERSPECTIVE FROM THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET1 For decades the U.S.
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From page 54... ...
In seeking to do comprehensive assessments of all federal programs, the Bush administration developed the Program Assessment Rating Tool, which required agencies to evaluate every program, largely on the basis of performance data. This generated a lot of work on defining outcomes and outputs, Stack reported, but the data produced often did not say much about impacts or cost effectiveness.
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From page 55... ...
Though most policy makers are not focused on doing random assignment studies, virtually every large program has opportunities for doing such studies if program managers can be connected with researchers at the appropriate time. The OMB is encouraging programs to generate data about effectiveness, Stack concluded, but evidence standards in addition to incentives could work to encourage people to adhere to those standards.
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From page 56... ...
The preschool program had a number of components, including its full-day duration, a maximum of 15 children per class, a requirement that teachers have a bachelor's degree and a P-3 certification, the use of master teachers who have at least 5 to 7 years of experience, assistance from family workers, and transportation. Cost was a major consideration, which required considering the benefits from several of the program's components.
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Ongoing conversations can help policy makers learn about the complexity of an issue, encouraging them to ask more informed ques
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From page 58... ...
Policy makers may know the research and have the data, but they may not take action without knowing about the human aspects of a program. The Complexity of Using Research to Inform Policy Benefit-cost analyses tend to focus on particular aspects of a program and ignore other aspects, Smith said.
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From page 59... ...
Making Policy Decisions with Limited Budgets Benefit-cost analyses can be hugely important in implementing and sustaining a program, and more are needed, particularly as decisions are made about the future of Head Start and child care programs in the United States, stated Smith. Given that policy makers need to make decisions with the information available and limited resources, these can be very difficult decisions to make.
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From page 60... ...
MacArthur Foundation, said that the initiative is essentially trying to replicate a model developed by the Washington State Institute for Public Policy. The initiative is working with 14 states and 2 counties in California to replace Washington State–specific data with data specific to other locations to provide benefit-cost analyses to policy makers in a form that they can use.
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From page 61... ...
Finding a Baseline of Practice to Inform Policy Policy makers cannot wait several years for research results to be available, according to VanLandingham. They need to make decisions in real time.
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