The first year of the agreement that allows the Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) and Department of Human Services (DHS) to integrate data saw steady progress in building a collaborative relationship to improve the academic outcomes and well-being of students of mutual interest. By the end of 2010, the focus had shifted from organizational and technical issues to investigating ways to use the novel data resource for the benefit of students and to improve the effectiveness of the systems that support them.

This publication details the first initiative that was undertaken using integrated student data to develop strategies and interventions to improve education and well being outcomes.

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Click here to read about the data sharing agreement between PPS and DHS.

DHS’s Improving Outcomes for Child and Families initiative utilized a service integration focus to serve families with multiple needs.  It was based on the belief that making systems work together as a team would improve services and reduce the confusion that families face when they need to interact with staff from a variety of child-serving systems. Specifically, DHS believed that widespread service integration could further reduce the number and length of out-of-home child welfare placements.  This paper describes the objectives incorporated into the initiative and the process of implementation.

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Click here to view a related report, “Informing the Design of the DHS ‘Improving Outcomes for Children and Families Initiative.'”
This report informed the early planning efforts of the “Improving Outcomes” Initiative by analyzing child welfare placement data and trends in point-in time placement from the years 1996-2008.

Casey Family Programs

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Integrating Pittsburgh Public School (PPS) data with the Department of Human Services (DHS) Data Warehouse allows unprecedented collaboration between human services and school social workers. Our partnerships with local school districts have lead to a better understanding of the impact certain interventions have on children’s education. And they have provided the basis for richer analyses, which, in turn, helps us to identify areas of need and suggest new approaches to addressing them.

This report describes the process that led to the Memorandum of Understanding between DHS and local school districts.

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Click to read a one-page brief about the key aspects of the data-sharing partnership.

This report details the transformational administrative and operational changes within DHS from its creation in 1997 through 2010.

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RESPOND is an intensive treatment program designed to serve youth whose multiple needs (intellectual disability and significant behavioral challenges) are not able to be met through DHS’s current array of services. RESPOND operates on a collaborative model that integrates effective clinical treatment with principles of psychiatric rehabilitation, applied behavior analysis and community support programs. This report was prepared in order to examine – through evaluation of program data, interviews with caregivers and professional supports, and analysis of service and cost data – whether the program’s goals are being achieved.

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This analysis uses summary violations and criminal convictions to compare recidivism rates of graduates of the Allegheny County Mental Health Court, which was established in 2001 to address the needs of people with mental illness and/or substance use disorders in judicial proceedings.

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Allegheny HealthChoices, Inc.

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This report describes the more than 100 quality improvement activities and initiatives taking place throughout DHS, using the Council on Accreditation’s (COA) Performance and Quality Improvement standards to frame the discussion of how DHS currently manages quality improvement. It discusses best practice approaches and provides benchmarking information about what organizations similar to DHS are doing, and was used to inform the development of DHS’s Quality Improvement unit.

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Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon University

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U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

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U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs in the Office of Community Planning Development

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Family Support Center staff are required to meet hourly training goals each year, in addition to maintaining certifications for specific positions.  This training is primarily provided by the University of Pittsburgh’s Office of Child Development. Focus groups were held to collect feedback about the training and to identify ways in which training could better support FSC staff. This report describes the evaluation process, the findings and suggestions for future trainings.

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This profile of the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Homewood (and subsequent Addendum) was compiled by DHS to assess demographic changes and examine quality of life issues-poverty, education, health care-in Homewood and in the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County to accurately assess the community’s assets and needs.

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Click here to read the addendum report. 

This study documents the service paths of African American and white children following referral to Allegheny County child welfare services, to identify and examine the factors related to service disparities.

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