Evaluating Food Assistance Programs in an Era of Welfare Reform Summary of a Workshop (1999) / Chapter Skim
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5 Research Priorities
5 Research Priorities
Pages 40-47
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From page 40... ...
As the main goal of the workshop, however, was to help identify the key issues for a broad program that examines food assistance as a whole, remaining consistent with the mission of the Economic Research Service, the nutritional issues were emphasized. What follows are the key issues that should be considered when designing an evaluation plan for the food assistance programs, as identified by the workshop discussions.
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From page 41... ...
A comprehensive research framework should encompass the diverse domains affected by the food assistance programs, including nutritional and health status, economic security, food security, and individual and family health and well-being. A list of all the issues identified by workshop participants that should be included in an evaluation effort appears in Box 5-1.
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From page 42... ...
High priority should also be placed on studying the interactions of food assistance programs with the tax and income transfer systems. A variety of studies across disciplines labor market studies on how food stamp usage relates to the minimum wage; nutritional studies on the link between program participation and nutritional status; the effect of housing costs on program participation; income security studies on, for example, what needs go unmet when families must spend more for food all contribute to this broader understanding.
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From page 43... ...
But workshop participants acknowledged that the models that are used must be transparent and widely accessible. Actual participation rates, both in the food assistance programs and the other public assistance programs, can be a very useful tool in evaluating the effectiveness of these programs.
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From page 44... ...
Existing surveys and datasets that provide useful baseline data will also be a necessary resource in future evaluation efforts. For evaluative purposes, workshop participants suggested that the optimal research tool would be a national, longitudinal, multiyear survey linked with administrative records across the country.
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From page 45... ...
Workshop participants emphasized that, in addition to improving the national data collection resources, more state-level data are needed. To gain more information at the state level, workshop participants suggested that national surveys could be augmented by adding state supplements.
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From page 46... ...
ERS should focus its data collection efforts both to meet program agency needs and create a foundation for future policy research. Some participants suggested that the general research community be kept abreast of the efforts being conducted in research related to welfare reform, particularly food and nutrition issues, in order to stimulate interest and involvement in existing studies.
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From page 47... ...
RESEARCH PRIORITIES 47 programs. Although the discussions at the workshop were designed specifically to help ERS design its evaluation program plans to continue to ensure that the basic goals of these programs are achieved, it is hoped that the discussion captured in this summary are of use to all who work in evaluation research.
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