Center for Human Services Research

CHSR is currently the external evaluator for three System of Care implementation and expansion grants awarded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), including for New York State (focusing on implementing high fidelity wraparound and integration with Health Homes in multiple counties across the state), New York City (focusing on implementing high fidelity wraparound and integration with Health Homes in New York City), and Cayuga County (focusing on implementing DBT in schools in the county).

CHSR’s activities include interview data collection with participating families and youths, program implementation monitoring and impact evaluation, and regular internal and external reporting.

CHSR, in collaboration with the University at Albany School of Social Welfare, worked with Lifespan of Greater Rochester and the Weill Cornell Medicine’s New York City Elder Abuse Center to perform a preliminary program evaluation of the Elder Abuse Interventions and Enhanced Multidisciplinary Team (E-MDT) Initiative in New York State. E-MDTs use a collaborative approach to intervene in complex cases of elder abuse (financial, physical, psychological, sexual, and neglect by others). Members of the teams represent a variety of disciplines including: Adult Protective Services, aging services, health and human services, financial/banking services, law enforcement, and others who meet under the facilitation of an E-MDT Coordinator. The teams are enhanced by access to forensic accountants, geriatric psychiatrists/mental health professionals, and civil legal services.

As of September 2020, there were currently 44 counties with operational E-MDTs and several more under development in the State. Through interviews and surveys with representatives in a number of different roles, CHSR staff established a baseline efficacy of the program in New York State. 

Funding for this preliminary program evaluation was provided from the New York State Office for the Aging and federal Victims of Crime Act/New York State Office of Victim Services to Lifespan of Greater Rochester.

Since 1995, CHSR has been working with the New York State Office of Children and Family Services to conduct a variety of studies of Healthy Families New York (HFNY), a statewide paraprofessional home visiting program using the Healthy Families America model designed to prevent child abuse and neglect, improve parent-child interaction, increase parental self- CHSR’s work aims to monitor program implementation and model fidelity, measure program impact and outcomes, and inform practice and policy in New York State.

Evaluation & Research

Randomized Controlled Trial: CHSR and OCFS conducted a randomized controlled trial that began in 2000. Over 1,000 women were interviewed annually for 3 years; additional waves of data collection occurred in Years 7 and 15. In the study, expectant and new parents were assigned to either a treatment group (offered home visiting services) or a control group (received referral information only). The study compared these women and their children over time to assess program outcomes.  Please see our Scholars Archive page for publications resulting from this work.

Evaluation of Child Welfare Protocol program participation and impact: HFNY has recently implemented an adaptation of the program model aimed at serving families referred in to the program via the child welfare system. CHSR is evaluating whether the families served under this arm of the program are similar to those served under the Signature model practices, or if they differ in significant and meaningful ways, and if program service delivery and participation and/or program impacts and outcomes differ between groups. CHSR will examine program service data, conduct interviews and focus groups, and collect survey data.

Program Development

CHSR is an active participant of HFNY’s Central Administration, an interdisciplinary team of HFNY program administrators, trainers, and evaluators. CHSR researchers and management information system staff regularly attend statewide HFNY leadership team meetings. These meetings provide valuable opportunities to report research findings and discuss ways to integrate them into program practices.

Systems & Software Development

CHSR has designed and maintains a Management Information System (MIS) used by all 54 HFNY sites. Information is gathered on the primary caregiver, child, other caregivers,  and program staff. Data are collected on family demographics, medical events, pregnancy outcomes, home visits, referrals, developmental screens, parental stress, training, educational attainment, and employment. Performance measures monitor attainment toward program goals. In addition to providing evaluation data, the system produces site-specific statistical reports to assist in program monitoring, administration, and management of cases. CHSR offers on-site training, telephone and email support, special report requests, and regular statewide training sessions. CHSR also designed and maintains the statewide HFNY website.

CHSR is working with the New York State Kinship Navigator program and the New York State Office of Children and Family Services to evaluate the provision of services and supports to kinship caregivers (e.g., grandparent or relative caregivers in lieu of parents) as part of statewide efforts to implement kinship caregiver services meeting national What Works Clearinghouse standards. Kinship Navigator’s goal is to foster family stability, safety, well-being, and permanency for youth in kinship care. New York State has also trained and designated “Kinship Champions” in local Departments of Social Services, who are meant to support kin caregiver families and connect families with the Navigator.

CHSR is currently reviewing currently approved models from other states to determine potential options for New York. CHSR will also be surveying local Commissioners and Kinship Champions to learn more about local systems in place and relationships with Kinship Navigator, and holding focus groups of families served by these Champions to learn about program successes and areas needing additional support.

CHSR is collaborating with the New York State Office of Children and Family Services to research youth transitioning out of foster care.

The National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD) collects information on youth in foster care and their outcomes as they transition out of foster care. The survey asks about employment, education, financial resources, and family relationships. The New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) contracts with CHSR to track and survey these youth at ages 17, 19, and 21.

The project requires close communication with regional and agency liaisons and caseworkers to obtain youth data; ongoing contact with youth to maintain current contact information; the administration of telephone, web, and paper surveys; and regular submission of data reports to OCFS.

CHSR is working with the Albany County Department for Children, Youth, and Families to provide data collection and analysis expertise in juvenile justice.

This work is a continuation of the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) that begin in Albany in 2013. The goals of JDAI are to reduce juvenile detention admissions and expand the array of local detention alternatives, minimize re-arrest and failure to appear rates pending adjudication, and reduce racial and ethnic disparities in juvenile detention.

The current work seeks to further these goals through community engagement and interagency collaboration.

CHSR works with local agencies to identify and utilize data in making policy and case-level decisions and in developing strategies to improve the local juvenile justice system. Data pertaining to juvenile justice processes and alternatives to detention are collected, analyzed, and presented to local stakeholders.

The Victim Legal Assistance Network project seeks to expand and enhance the information and resources available on the New York Crime Victims Legal Help Network website. It is a collaborative effort between Empire Justice Center (EJC), Pro Bono Net (PBN), and CHSR. It is funded by a grant from the New York State Office of Victim Services.

This project is a continuation of a federal grant from the Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime. The goal of the federally funded project was to develop a comprehensive, collaborative network to meet the civil legal needs of crime victims in New York State, outside of New York City.

CHSR’s work includes conducting needs assessments of specific victim populations, obtaining feedback about how victims and service providers use the website, and analyzing data to inform the content and reach of the website.

The Center for Human Services Research was awarded a contract from the New York State Office of Victim Services (NYS OVS),to conduct an assessment of the training needs of victim service providers throughout New York State. CHSR worked to ascertain the basic skills that victim service providers need to provide quality assistance, services, and support to victims and survivors of crime; specify the types of training and topics needed to improve victim services; identify specific modalities and delivery methods of training for victim service providers; and determine the sustainability of training efforts over time.

CHSR’s needs assessment activities included an online survey of service providers and telephone interviews with key stakeholders, and culminated in a final report including recommendations for delivering and sustaining trainings that meet the needs of victim service providers across New York State.

The vision of the New York State Preschool Development Grant Birth Through Five initiative was for every child in New York to be supported by a mixed-delivery system that is informed by parent voice and provides access to high quality, equitable and comprehensive early care and learning environments and services essential for healthy development and lifelong success. The grant is administered by the NYS Council of Children and Families. Learn more about these activities here: Preschool Development Birth Through Five (NYSB5).

Needs Assessment

As part of this initiative, the Center for Human Services Research (CHSR) conducted a series of statewide birth through five Needs Assessments to better understand the strengths and needs of New York State’s mixed delivery early childhood system. Activities included conducting key informant interviews and focus groups with families and providers (with a focus on vulnerable populations); administering electronic surveys for families, direct care staff, and administrators; and reviewing reports, briefings, and published statistics.

Performance Evaluation

CHSR provided ongoing evaluation and feedback to project stakeholders throughout the project to continuously monitor and improve grant activities. The goal of evaluation activities were to establish a valid and reliable system of Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI), so that program administrators could make timely and informed decisions regarding mid-course corrections or resource allocations.

Data from this work was used to create and update a series of Tableau dashboards demonstrating granted activity implementation, and resulted in many project-specific and annual reports. CHSR staff also created the Early Childhood Advisory Council’s Early Childhood Data Dashboard, integrating various sources of information about New York’s children and child care system in one place.

Pyramid Model

CHSR developed, tested, and launched an application interface to allow New York State Pyramid Model sites to enter and report on their data. This application has since been adopted nationally, with 13 states currently utilizing the program.

The University at Albany has partnered with CHSR to conduct an application-required self-study and an ongoing evaluation for its HHMI Driving Change initiative award, EXCELlence in STEM. 

Based on the results and needs identified in the self-study, the program is utilizing a three-pronged approach to improve outcomes for all STEM students, and particularly those from historically underrepresented backgrounds, ensuring that more UAlbany graduates are well prepared for leadership roles in STEM careers. 

The program incorporates student-centered interventions (e.g., expansion of the summer bridge program, supplemental instruction support, personalized advising and counseling, etc.), faculty redesign of STEM instruction (core course redesign including transformational learning models, inclusive teaching, and targeted learning pathways, and a faculty learning community), and institutional support (e.g., additional resources, pedagogical enhancements, microcredentials, and planned scholarly research).

CHSR is leading the evaluation of this work, including examining program implementation, impact, outcomes, and sustainability. Activities include student and faculty surveys, interviews and focus groups, and examination of administrative data. CHSR will also build dashboards allowing for visual examination of baseline and annual data to determine areas of success and areas needing additional support.

CHSR conducted an evaluation of six human service departments within Albany County: Department of Social Services, Department of Probation, Department of Health, Department of Mental Health, Department for Aging, and Department for Children, Youth, and Families.

The purpose of this evaluation was to provide county leadership with an assessment of the operations of six county-level human services departments. Utilizing a comprehensive document review, interviews with departmental leaders, and a staff survey, CHSR developed an organizational structure of each department, logic models to outline departmental goals and objectives, and benchmark measures to assist departments in monitoring outcomes on a yearly basis. Additionally, the evaluation gathered data and feedback regarding each department’s current engagement in activities designed to increase equity among the residents of Albany County. This data was used to develop a strategic plan related to a county-wide equity agenda and priority areas, including goals and objectives for participating County departments.

CHSR worked with CARES, Inc. to inform the design and evaluation of the City of Albany’s $1.5 million Empire State Poverty Reduction Initiative (ESPRI) grant, aimed at developing a plan to reduce poverty in Albany. A main focus of the grant was be on increasing employment among out-of-school, unemployed youth. 

The evaluation included reviews of secondary data sources to report on youth demographics and employment trends; a literature and document review to identify best practices, available vocational assessment tools, and outcome measures; interviews with local stakeholders; and administration of electronic surveys to local stakeholders.

In 2014, New York State received $6.42 billion from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to launch the Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) program. DSRIP’s mission was to fundamentally restructure the health care delivery system by reinvesting in the Medicaid program, with the primary goal of reducing avoidable hospital use by 25% over five years. System transformations include reforming managed care payments, shifting payments from fee-for-service to Value Based Payments, and creating Performing Provider Systems (PPS) that include cooperative partnerships between different types of health care facilities.

Evaluation & Research

The University at Albany College of Integrated Health Sciences partnered with CHSR and the University at Albany Econometrics Research Institute to evaluate whether the DSRIP initiatives achieved the desired impact, effectiveness, and value improvements using a pre-post design. The evaluation consisted of an implementation study; an analysis of the comparative effectiveness of different PPSs; and a time series analysis to determine whether health care service delivery, population health, and Medicaid costs change over the study period.

CHSR lead the implementation study from 2017 through 2021. Study activities included conducting surveys, interviews, and focus groups with DSRIP administrators, providers, and patients, and writing site-specific and statewide reports. Data collected include the successes and challenges of PPS planning, implementation, operation, and program sustainability plans.

CHSR was selected by the NYS Department of Health (NYSDOH) to conduct an evaluation to assess the implementation, impact, effectiveness and cost savings of the NYS MRT (Medicaid Redesign Team) Supportive Housing Initiative.

NYSDOH launched a pilot program to identify best practices, procedures and methods for supportive housing providers to collaborate with health homes to identify and locate homeless or unstably housed Health Home members and to provide housing as a means to facilitate access to health services and improve the health status of Health Home members, and potentially result in cost savings, from greater access to primary and preventive care.

CHSR lead the evaluation of the program’s implementation, impact, effectiveness, and cost savings. Partners included the Institute for Health Systems Evaluation at the UAlbany College of Integrated Health Sciences and CARES, Inc. The evaluation plan includes a process study, a cost study, and a study of quality-of-life outcomes for program participants. CHSR produced a series of reports and research briefs from this work, which can be found on our Scholars Archive page.

DMAC grew from the work of the Center for Human Services Research (CHSR), which was established in 1991 to conduct evaluation research and design information systems to inform policymakers and service providers.

CHSR is currently a University-wide research center under the Office of the Vice President for Research & Economic Development, and supports an interdisciplinary team of over 35 staff, faculty and graduate students with sophisticated research, technical and management skills.

Project areas include children and family services, children's mental health, economic and community development, education and early childhood development, health behavior and services, and youth development and juvenile justice.

In 2019, CHSR researchers noted a need among University faculty, staff and graduate students for technical assistance and data management support, which fell outside the CHSR core mission of human services evaluation. Interviews with faculty and staff highlighted particular areas of demand for data services.

In collaboration with University ITS and the University Libraries, CHSR launched DMAC as a University-wide resource.

DMAC supports UAlbany researchers, faculty and students with a spectrum of resources for working with data to make your research successful.

Our mission is to build data capacity in the UAlbany community by providing technical assistance and resources to faculty, staff, and student researchers at various stages of the research data lifecycle.

The Survey Research Center (SRC) is a state-of-the-art survey organization that works with researchers at UAlbany and elsewhere to fulfill a broad range of data collection needs.

The SRC provides survey services using Qualtrics, a tool for creating and analyzing web-based surveys for research, teaching, and administrative needs.   

• Disseminate resources on data management and analytics to the UAlbany research community
• Increase applications and funded projects
• Enhance the capacity of UAlbany faculty and researchers to conduct rigorous studies
• Introduce new courses and workshops
• Impact more users in more disciplines
• Maintain new website with more dynamic content
• Build and coordinate a broader community of UAlbany data users

I have a project that I think DMAC could help me with. What is the process for this?

The best way to see how we can assist you is by reaching out to schedule a preliminary meeting to explain your research and data needs. We can discuss what support we are able to offer; if we aren’t able to meet your needs, we will try to connect you with someone at the University who can. If this project will be a funded research partnership, we will put together a preliminary scope of work and budget estimate for your review.

Do you charge for your services? How do you determine what you charge?

DMAC provides limited technical assistance and support as part of our core services supported through the University. Please see the Our Services section below to learn about which services and limitations apply. 

For more involved assistance, we can partner with your research team on funded projects. This would typically involves including our services in your grant proposal. (We will assist with the proposal process on projects in which we are included as funded partners.)

We price our services to the specifics of each individual project, depending upon the mix of staff and the amount of staff time estimated to best suit the needs of that project. Please see the Our Services section below to learn more about which services we can offer in partnership with your research team.

What is the relationship between DMAC and CHSR?

The Center for Human Services Research (CHSR) has provided evaluation support to human services programs since 1991. CHSR projects are focused on supporting human services providers in practice, often in the form of program evaluation, performance indicators, and continuous quality measurement. 

Much of the expertise developed and honed by CHSR over many years of experience has applications to projects beyond the field of human services delivery. In 2019, we determined that there was significant demand for the types of skills and expertise that CHSR has developed from researchers in departments throughout the University, particularly in regard to the collection, management, and analysis of research data. DMAC was created to fill this need. 

DMAC is able to draw on the skills and knowledge of CHSR researchers to provide technical assistance and support to the broader UAlbany community on a wide variety of research projects that use quantitative or qualitative data and methods across a variety of disciplines.

What are the backgrounds of DMAC staff?

DMAC has a primary core of staff, including a senior research scientist, a data scientist, and a certified Qualtrics research expert. 

Additionally, DMAC can also draw from the larger pool of CHSR staff, who have years of experience in quantitative and qualitative research methodologies and backgrounds in fields as diverse as sociology, psychology, neuroscience, political science, economics, social work, community health, demography, epidemiology, and criminal justice. 

DMAC also has access to the CHSR IT staff, who design customized computer information solutions for research and evaluation data.

Can DMAC partner with entities outside the University?

DMAC does not provide any of our core services at no charge to researchers outside the UAlbany community. As part of CHSR, we can, however, enter into funded research partnerships with organizations external to the University. In this case, the typical Research Foundation indirect rate will be charged in addition to the direct costs associated with our services.

What statistical software packages are your staff conversant in?

Our staff typically use SPSS, but we do have staff who use SAS or R to varying degrees. 

We also have a certified Qualtrics research expert on staff who can offer support in the use of Qualtrics for survey data collection.

Can DMAC provide me with tutoring/coursework help?

DMAC does not provide tutoring or help with coursework.

Can you help me with statistical programming?

DMAC will not write programs for your project (except as part of a funded research partnership where this is included our scope of work), but we may be able to assist with you trouble-shooting your code and making recommendations. We have staff with expertise in SPSS and SAS, and some familiarity with R.

We can also provide guidance in accessing databases using MS Access, SQL, or Python.

Can you help me write an IRB protocol?

DMAC staff are available for consultation on issues related to human subjects’ protections, including protecting participant confidentiality during data collection, writing effective informed consent documents, de-identifying data, and storing protected data.

Can you help me recruit research participants?

DMAC staff are experienced at identifying and recruiting research participants. We may be able to offer advice and suggest strategies for effective participant recruitment. As part of a funded research partnership, we can manage and coordinate participant outreach and recruitment for you.

Our Role

The role of DMAC is to facilitate your research. We can assist you with issues that you may encounter with respect to data collection, preparation (importing, merging, and cleaning data), analysis (implementing statistical tests), and results (understanding the formatting of the output). 

We provide short-term support (up to 3 hours per project) in the form of advice in the following areas:

• Research project planning: study design and tools
• Research data processing / cleaning
• Selection and interpretation of statistical methods
• Research data visualization

The role of the Survey Research Center is to facilitate the technical aspects of your survey design and research needs. We can assist you with issues that you may encounter with respect to the practicalities of digital survey design (survey logics, survey flow, distributions, capturing and using embedded data, etc.)

Types of assistance not covered by our service:   

• Tutoring and general inquiries about methodology and survey topics
• Coursework
• Assistance with projects of commercial nature or those involving classified information, non-disclosure agreements, related to or likely to be involved in litigation, etc.

Note: Our role in consulting support is to assist you with your research, rather than to conduct your research for you. If you would like to contract with us to take a deeper role in your funded research project, please read about our Research Partnerships.
 

Consulting Services

Specifically, we can provide help with:

Data Preparation

• Work with the documentation and codebooks to explain how the data is organized;
• Copy files from one computer system or storage medium to another;
• Extract subsets from large files;
• Merge data;
• Convert data among the standard formats used when working with data.

Data Collection

• Designing experiments and surveys

Working with Data

• Give pointers to appropriate techniques using examples, and a library of sample programs;
• Explain program language syntax;
• Advise on data manipulation techniques related to supported software & tools;
• Provide assistance in understanding and solving coding errors.
• Statistical support for research and grant proposals
• Selecting the most appropriate statistical analyses and their implementation
• Interpreting analyses and summarizing findings
• Reviewing method sections for manuscripts
• Understanding methods used in published research
• Preparing for presentations, committee meetings, and conferences
   

Acknowledging DMAC

To aid us in tracking the impact of our consulting service, we ask that you include a short acknowledgement in your publications and/or talks. You may wish to amend the following text to reflect the type of support you received.

“Data and/or statistical support was provided by data science specialist (consultant names), at the Data Management and Analytics Center, University at Albany." 

We can provide extended support over the lifecycle of a research project through a funded research partnership. As a part of your research team we can help with the following:

• Data entry
• Data manipulation, organization and cleaning
• Basic statistical analysis
• Analysis of survey data
• Model estimation and post-estimation
• Creating graphs and data visualization of raw data and model output
• Complex statistical analysis and modeling
• Writing reproducible syntax/command files
• Producing reports with detailed interpretation
• Writing methods and results sections of papers
• Responding to peer-reviews of our analyses
• Providing comprehensive, long-term follow-up

In return for this extended support, we ask for two things:

1. Authorship: The data science specialist who performs the work will receive author / developer credit on all resulting research / software output (e.g., publications, talks, posters, documents, software packages).
2. Compensation: The ability for DMAC/SRC to partner on longer-term projects is based on staff availability and project scope and funding. Needs, availability, and costs of this service are discussed on a project-by-project basis.
    

Selection Process

We evaluate and select projects for collaboration on a case-by-case basis, based on our available time, our expertise in the area, the feasibility of the project being completed in a reasonable time frame, and our interest in the project.

Note: We cannot collaborate on research projects where the primary output is a sole-authored dissertation / thesis.

Since 2019 DMAC has been an affiliate of the New York State Data Center (NYSDC) for the U.S. Census Bureau. 

The State Data Center (SDC) Program is one of the Census Bureau's longest and most successful partnerships, created to make data available locally to the public through a network of state agencies, universities, libraries, and regional and local governments.

The SDC operates through a network of affiliate organizations throughout the State, with a mission to empower data users with understandable, accurate and timely information. SDC affiliates maintain Census and related economic and demographic data and provide information to local governments, businesses, and the public. 

As an affiliate of the New York State Data Center, DMAC provides:

• Assistance to researchers at UAlbany and beyond in locating and understanding Census Bureau and related data and information.
• Information services in answering Census Bureau data requests, including requests related to access and use of Census Bureau data and requests related to Census Bureau and Program products
• Training and education for the academic and local communities on accessing and using Census Bureau information and related data and reference sources, including offering workshops.

In addition to regularly offered workshops open to the University community, we can schedule workshops for your groups on request. 

Here are some examples of workshop topics that DMAC and SRC staff can offer:

• Best practices in survey design and methodology
• Best practices in data visualization
• Overview of metadata and what it means for researchers
• Using the new Census data retrieval tool
• Census resources at UAlbany
• Other data-related topics as requested

External Resources

Data Access

• Reading ASCII files into SPSS
• Reading ASCII files into SAS
• Working with Census Data
• ICPSR

R Fundamentals

• Reading in Raw Data
• Subsetting Data
• Factor Variables
• Using “Dummy” Coding for Categorical Variables in Regression Models
• Probabilities and Distributions

Data Analysis

• Which stats test to use in which software
• Choosing the correct analysis for various survey designs
• Annoted output from various packages
• SPSS stats coach

Data Interpretation and Dissemination

• R Graphics: Exploring Data with Graphics
   

Software Support Resources

R Support

• R FAQs
• Intro to R

SPSS Support

• SPSS modules

SAS Support

• SAS Learning Modules
• SAS FAQs
• SAS Online Documentation