Client: Albany City School District and Albany Housing Authority
WCS conducted an evaluation of the Albany Even Start Family Literacy Program as required by federal and state laws and regulations. Evaluation topics included issues related to program management, program retention, client satisfaction, and community collaboration.
Client: New York State Conference of Local Mental Hygiene Directors
WCS conducted an analysis of the delivery of jail-based forensic mental health services in New York's counties. This technical assistance report is intended to serve as a resource for counties in evaluating and improving their own forensic mental health programs. This project included three main elements: a best practices analysis; case studies in five New York State counties; and a survey of county forensic mental health expenditures.
Client: New York State Children's Mental Health Coalition
WCS evaluated the New York State Family Based Treatment program with an emphasis on the resources that would be needed to enhance the program's ability to serve children discharged from Residential Treatment Facilities.
Client: New York State Conference of Local Mental Hygiene Directors
Mental health, correctional officials, and community providers are increasingly faced with the task of assessing the risk of violent behavior among individuals with mentally illness. WCS developed a primer for county mental hygiene directors on the topic of mental health risk assessment. This report surveyed the state of our knowledge about risk assessment as it relates to mental health and the prediction of violence. The primer addressed (1) What is risk assessment? (2) How reliable are predictions? and (3) What are the policy issues surrounding the use of risk assessment tools?
Clients: New York State Conference of Local Mental Hygiene Directors
Mental health guidelines for correctional facilities have been developed by several organizations. In addition, several prisons and jails are under consent orders which govern their operations. WCS analyzed these guidelines and summarized key elements in a quick reference spreadsheet.
Client: Center for Governmental Research Inc.
WCS utilized disbursement records maintained by the New York State Comptroller to identify and analyze New York State expenditure patterns by geographic locations and purpose, such as social services, education, and public protection.
Client: Center for Governmental Research Inc.
WCS is assisting CGR in an analysis of the economic benefits provided to New York State by its independent colleges and universities.
Client: New York State Conference of Local Mental Hygiene Directors
WCS developed an evaluation methodology for the Kids Oneida Integrated Children's Services Demonstration Project. Advocates of integrated services argue that integration improves access to care and provides a wider range of services. However, studies of "integrated programs" have produced confounding and controversial results. The evaluation methodology for Kids Oneida was used to help assess whether and how integrated service delivery systems resulted in improved service delivery and treatment outcomes.
Client: Hudson City School District
WCS conducted an evaluation of the Hudson Even Start Family Literacy Program as required by federal and state laws and regulations. Evaluation topics included issues related to program management, community collaboration, and staff training.
Client: New York State Conference of Local Mental Hygiene Directors
WCS worked with the Conference to develop tools to assist county mental hygiene directors in managing the operation of the public mental health system and evaluating the performance of its various elements. These tools are designed to assist county directors in responding to the restructuring of mental health services and Medicaid financing which is creating three parallel service delivery and reimbursement systems including fee-for-service, basic health plan (medicaid managed care), and special mental health plan services for chronically disabled adults and children.
Client: Center for Governmental Research for Monroe County Office of Management and Budget
WCS provided management and organizational consulting service to Monroe County's Office of Management and Budget. The project focused on organization, staffing, relationships with county agencies, and the use of technology in office operations.
Client: Center for Governmental Research for Monroe County Office of Management and Budget
WCS worked with the Office of Management and Budget to evaluate the management and operations of the Monroe County Department of Parks and Recreation. The project examined the department's overall management, service delivery, planning, funding, fees, capital program, maintenance, and staffing practices.
Client: Citizens Budget Commission
WCS assessed the effectiveness and efficiency of the strategies New York has adopted to respond to pressures on the corrections system resulting from the enormous growth in prisoner population. The study looked at causes of prison population growth, assessed operational and sentencing policy alternatives, evaluated state responses to growth, and made recommendations on opportunities for efficiency and improvement.
Client: New York State Conference of Local Mental Hygiene Directors
WCS conducted an analysis of mental health funding streams in New York State. Key elements of this analysis include identifying the range of funding streams available for local public mental health systems; identifying restrictions on and available uses of major mental health local assistance funding sources; and identifying mechanisms used by other states to increase county flexibility in managing mental health funding.
Client: Albany Housing Authority
WCS conducted a process, outcome, and comparative evaluation of activities performed under the Economic Development and Self-Sufficiency grant that the Albany Housing Authority received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In the face of federal and state welfare reform and reductions in family subsidy programs, the Albany Housing Authority engaged in a major effort to improve the employability of its residents by providing them with a range of integrated social and educational services. WCS evaluated the effectiveness and outcomes of these efforts.
Client: Coalition of Voluntary Mental Health Agencies
WCS is conducting an analysis of reimbursement rate methodologies used by New York State for health care programs.
Client: The Fiscal Policy Institute
WCS collected and utilized data from a variety of sources to rank and evaluate the quality of life in New York State. Quality of Life was determined by ranking New York against the other 49 states in 34 different indicator areas covering health, education, safety, environment, transportation, and economic security.
Client: Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government
WCS conducted an assessment of New York State's implementation of welfare reform as part of the Rockefeller Institute's four-year national study of welfare reform in 21 states. The study is designed to investigate the management resources, capabilities, and problems of state governments as they attempt to implement social welfare programs in a devolution environment. The project's mission is to diagnose the major management challenges facing state and local governments, inject management considerations into the national debate over social policies, and develop practical recommendations for improving the administrative capabilities of the American states.
Client: The Rehabilitation and Training Institute
WCS is preparing a white paper on employment programs in New York State for people with disabilities including an identification of funding levels and an assessment of outcome data where known.