Research and Reports
DHS has a national reputation as an innovator in the delivery of human services. It is important to acknowledge, however, that innovation in and of itself does not ensure quality service delivery. Only through ongoing feedback, assessment and evaluation – and a demonstrated willingness to make program and policy changes indicated as a result – can we maintain our commitment to excellence in service delivery. This feedback loop depends upon information generated from a number of sources, including consumer feedback, professional input, data collection, research and analysis. While dedicated to continuous quality improvement through internal evaluation of our programs and services, we are also interested in research conducted by those outside of DHS who have an interest in evaluating the work that we do.
External Research
DHS is committed to contributing to the national conversation about system change. Because of this commitment, and our belief that transparency leads to better outcomes for all stakeholders, we make our data and research widely available to anyone who might benefit from our experience or challenge our assumptions. Frequently, this information is used by those independent of DHS to prepare reports or evaluate our process. These reports, using our data and/or examining our service delivery methodologies, structure or policy, are extremely valuable for their honest, unbiased appraisal of our work. They are an important part of our feedback loop.
Click here for a sampling of external reports.
Research Conducted by and for DHS
The Office of Data Analysis, Research and Evaluation (DARE) both conducts internal research and contracts with external researchers and experts to evaluate our programs and services. Research products range from documentation of program design and implementation to analysis of the effectiveness of programs and their impact on individual consumers and the system as a whole. The results of this research inform policy decisions and program/system improvements at DHS. All research reports are reviewed by at least two independent (one external) peer reviewers to assess the appropriateness of the methodology used, the interpretation and discussion of results, the strength of the conclusions and the accessibility of the report to multiple audiences (consumers, providers, policy makers and the general public) prior to publishing.
The most recent research products in each topic area are posted below. Click on the appropriate link in the box above to go to the archive of internally produced research products.
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Allegheny County LINK: A Summary of Data and Consumer Feedback
Brian Bell, Charles Odah, Evelyn Whitehill and Erin Dalton
Published May 2012.
The Allegheny County LINK (LINK) was founded in 2006 and designed to simplify and streamline access to long-term living services and supports and provide assistance to consumers who are seeking services and making long-term living decisions. A review of data and a consumer survey indicated that LINK’s services are valued and increasing in demand and that the majority of calls relate to housing and home accessibility issues. Details of this analysis as well as recommendations for service expansion can be found in this report.
More Reports
Basic Needs
Prevention Programs Across the DHS
Megan Good, Brian Bell, Ebony Robinson and Erin Dalton
Published August 2011.
Many DHS programs and services include a prevention component, and a persistent challenge for administrators is developing a comprehensive understanding of what they all are and how well they work. This report presents a framework for prevention in the human services field, classifies and catalogs the prevention efforts across DHS, and discusses key pieces of information that are important to understanding the evaluation status and priorities of each program or service. Next steps are formulated and presented based on DHS-wide trends and specific priorities for program evaluation.
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Behavioral Health & Disabilities
Allegheny County LINK: A Summary of Data and Consumer Feedback
Brian Bell, Charles Odah, Evelyn Whitehill and Erin Dalton
Published May 2012.
The Allegheny County LINK (LINK) was founded in 2006 and designed to simplify and streamline access to long-term living services and supports and provide assistance to consumers who are seeking services and making long-term living decisions. A review of data and a consumer survey indicated that LINK’s services are valued and increasing in demand and that the majority of calls relate to housing and home accessibility issues. Details of this analysis as well as recommendations for service expansion can be found in this report.
More Reports
Child Development & Education
The Allegheny County Department of Human Services & Pittsburgh Public Schools Data Sharing Partnership
Disparities in Achievement: Human Services Involvement of Children in Pittsburgh Public Schools
Emily Kulick and Erin Dalton
Published June 2011.
A data sharing agreement between the Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) has created the opportunity to measure the educational impact of human services involvement by PPS students. This report fully details the results of this analysis and highlights the achievement disparities for those students involved in human service programs.
Based on these findings, an intervention has been designed to improve educational outcomes for a subset of the identified group. This intervention will be described in a future report.
Data briefs on a number of the outcomes identified in this report are posted below.
Data Briefs: The DHS-PPS Data-Sharing Agreement
Data Briefs: DHS Service Involvement
Data Briefs: Academic Outcomes
Data Briefs: Outcomes by Race
More Reports
Children, Youth and Families
System of Care Initiative: Building Creative Partnerships - Involving Families in Program Evaluation
Sheila Bell, Administrator, Integration Project Management
Published 2012.
Over a period of 13 years, the Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) received federal funding to implement three programs designed to serve children with serious emotional disturbance who are involved in multiple child-serving systems and their families. Serving over 1,000 families between 1999 and 2011 in nine Pittsburgh communities, Allegheny County’s three grants were collectively known as the System of Care Initiative (SOCI). A core value of SOCI was the involvement of family members at every level of program implementation. In addition to participating in each of the three individual programs, Allegheny County’s family members played an important role in SOCI’s system-wide evaluation. The challenges and rewards of this innovative approach are the focus of this report.
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Crime and Justice
Evaluation of Allegheny County’s Crisis Intervention Team Training Program
Beth A. D. Nolan, Alexis Blandford, and Danielle Kirin
Published 2012.
Between 2007 and 2009, 95 officers from the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police and other municipalities received crisis intervention training designed to teach them how to identify and intervene with individuals with mental illness at an earlier stage, in order to avoid escalation of the behavior, prevent possible injury and reduce the possibility of subsequent arrest among youth and adults who are experiencing a behavioral health crisis. This program was a component of a broad-based strategy implemented to decriminalize individuals with mental illness who may encounter the criminal justice system and to seek solutions through diversion programs. This report summarizes the process of development and implementation of the training program, describes the community interventions in place to support the officers, and examines course ratings and evaluation feedback from participants.
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Innovation, Reform and Policy
An examination of Allegheny County DHS service usage: Cross program/bureau service activity trends from 2005-2010
James D. Schlosser
Published 2012.
The service records of almost 3,000 DHS consumers, who received service from 2005/2006 through 2010, were studied in order to determine the frequency with which more than one DHS service was utilized. During this period of time, more than twelve percent of these consumers received services from two or more program offices. This report offers a broad informative view of consumers’ service activity between program offices and bureaus. Because a random sample was studied, this report offers insight into broader trends of cross-program/bureau service activity by DHS consumers.
More Reports
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