On the Evidence

Latest Episodes:

21 | Policy Labs: Research for State and Local Government Nov 19, 2019

Show notes

State and local governments often lack the capacity to clean, manage, and analyze administrative data that could be useful for achieving political and policy objectives. Some places have established policy labs to leverage researchers' skills to identify trends in the data, evaluate programs, and provide insights for improving public policies. On this episode of On the Evidence, we talk about the policy lab model with Kristin Klopfenstein, director of the Colorado Evaluation and Action Lab, and Melissa Wavelet, a senior fellow at MDRC and the former director of the Office of Performance and Strategic Outcomes at the Colorado Department of Human Services. This episode is part of a series produced by Mathematica in support of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) and its fall research conference. Klopfenstein and Wavelett participated in an APPAM panel about policy labs. More information about the lab is available at: https://coloradolab.org/ More information about Wavelett and her current work at MDRC is available at: https://www.mdrc.org/about/melissa-wavelet

20 | Opioid Use by Disability Insurance Applicants Nov 09, 2019

Show notes

Since 2007, the Social Security Administration has collected data on medication use among applicants for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). The administration can then use the medication data to identify opioid use among SSDI applicants. But the data set is so large and the data themselves are unstructured, with the majority of applicants reporting drug names in open-ended text fields, so the agency couldn't use the information to inform policy and programs. On this episode of On the Evidence, we talk with April Yanyuan Wu, a researcher at Mathematica, who used supervised machine learning to uncover new insights based on those data, including an estimate on the prevalence of opioid use among SSDI applicants. This episode is part of a series produced by Mathematica in support of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) and its fall research conference. More information about April's research on opioids and SSDI applicants is available here: https://www.mathematica.org/our-publications-and-findings/publications/trends-in-opioid-use-among-social-security-disability-insurance-applicants

19 | Paid Leave and Labor Force Detachment Nov 08, 2019

Show notes

Paid leave can help mothers return to work in the year that a child is born, but what about the next few years? On this episode of On the Evidence, we talk about the effects of paid leave on maternal labor force detachment up to four years after a child is born with Kelly Jones, an assistant professor in the Department of Economics at American University and a senior research economist at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. This episode is part of a series produced by Mathematica in support of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) and its fall research conference. Find more about Jones' research, as well as other paid leave research presented at the 2019 APPAM conference, here: https://appam.confex.com/appam/2019/webprogram/Session13294.html In the interview, Jones also mentions a second paper she was presenting at the conference on how abortion access affects educational outcomes. A summary of that paper is available here: https://appam.confex.com/appam/2019/webprogram/Paper31293.html

18 | Engaging Diverse Perspectives in Policy Research Nov 06, 2019

Show notes

For this episode of On the Evidence, my guests are Maria Cancian, the president-elect of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) and the dean of the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, and Matt Stagner, the current president of APPAM and a vice president at Mathematica. We talk about the theme of APPAM's fall research conference in Denver, which is “Rising to the Challenge: Engaging Diverse Perspectives on Issues and Evidence.”

17 | Embracing the Emotional Aspects of Policy Research Oct 30, 2019

Show notes

As social scientists set out to investigate public policy questions, it is vital that they take into account the history of issues and the way people’s emotions will shape interpretations and responses to research findings. That’s the message that Mathematica’s Matt Stagner hopes to convey in his presidential address at a fall research conference hosted by the Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management (APPAM) in Denver. On the Evidence interviewed Stagner about his upcoming address, his work on child welfare, and his reflections on the field of public policy research. This interview is part of a series of episodes produced by Mathematica in support of the APPAM conference in November. A Q&A blog featuring highlights from the conversation is also available on the Mathematica website: https://.mathematica-mpr.com/commentary/embracing-the-emotional-aspects-of-public-policy-research

16 | A Progress Report on States' Use of Data and Evidence Oct 04, 2019

Show notes

The nonprofit Results for America publishes an annual progress report documenting best and promising practices in how state governments use data and evidences in budget, policy, and management decisions to achieve better outcomes for their residents. On this week's episode of On the Evidence, we talk with Jed Herrmann, vice president of state and federal policy implementation at Results for America, about the latest Invest in What Works State Standard of Excellence, released on Friday, Oct. 4. Find the 2019 State Standard of Excellence here: 2019state.results4america.org

15 | The Relationship Between Changing Work Schedules, Child Care, and Child Well-Being Sep 25, 2019

Show notes

Our economy has always had jobs that fit outside the conventional 9 to 5, Monday to Friday, schedule, but with the rise of telework, on-demand scheduling apps, "irregular work," and the Gig Economy, more workers not only find themselves earning their paychecks in the early morning, at night or on weekends; but their hours may change on a frequent basis. Finding safe and high quality child care that accommodates non-standard or changing work schedules is a familiar challenge for many workers, but a relatively new area of public policy research. On this week's episode of On the Evidence, we talk about a report that looks at the complicated relationships between changing work schedules, the availability of child care for those schedules, and child well-being. My guests are the co-authors of that report, Angela Rachidi and Rus Sykes, who conducted research on behalf of Mathematica and the American Public Human Services Association, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. An abridged and edited Q&A blog based on the conversation is available here: https://mathematica-mpr.com/commentary/the-complex-relationship-between-changing-work-schedules-child-care-and-child-well-being

14 | How Can We Help Workers with Medical Conditions Stay Employed? Sep 11, 2019

Show notes

Each year, more than two million workers leave the labor force, at least temporarily, because of an injury or illness that prevents them from working. Their absence from work takes a toll on the workers and their families, their employers, and the government programs they often rely on for income and other supports. Some research suggests that if government programs could identify and assist workers early, the employees would be more likely to stay at work or return to work after a short absence. On this week’s episode of On the Evidence, we take a deep dive into the topic of interventions for workers who have begun to miss work because of an injury or illness and are at risk of prolonged or even permanent exit from the labor force. Specifically, we discuss the need for providing assistance early—within the first several weeks of missing work—before the employee’s absence from work has become normalized. Our guests include: • Annette Bourbonniere, a research associate at the University of Rhode Island’s department of environmental and natural resource economics, who also owns a consulting business that helps companies hire, accommodate, and retain employees with disabilities. • Jennifer Christian, the cofounder, president, and chief medical officer of the Webility Corporation, a firm focused on speeding the recuperation of ill and injured employees and supporting the continued employability of those who are aging, chronically ill, or functionally impaired. Dr. Christian is also a physician who is board certified in occupational medicine. • Yoni Ben-Shalom, a labor economist and senior researcher at Mathematica who specializes in policies and programs related to the employment and income of people with disabilities. Read an abridged version of the conversation in the edited Q&A here: https://mathematica-mpr.com/commentary/how-can-we-help-workers-with-medical-conditions-stay-employed

13 | What Doctors Need to Fulfill the Promise of Electronic Health Records Aug 14, 2019

Show notes

A decade ago, the federal government pushed for the widespread adoption of electronic medical records. Now those records are here and they're ubiquitous, but the transition hasn't been smooth. On this week's episode of On the Evidence, we talk with two of Mathematica's in-house experts on electronic health records, Genna Cohen and Llew Brown. We discuss what the research says about challenges in adopting electronic health records, as well as what to do about them. Find an edited Q&A blog featuring highlights from the conversation here: https://www.mathematica-mpr.com/commentary/what-doctors-need-to-fulfill-the-promise-of-electronic-health-records

12 | "Forever Chemicals" in Drinking Water and Their Potential Effects on Health Jul 31, 2019

Show notes

Forever chemicals, a nickname for polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) known for their durability, are a class of chemicals that sometimes appear in tap water but aren’t widely understood or subject to much federal regulation. What we do know is that these substances appear in items we encounter on a daily basis, such as Scotchgard and dental floss, and have been linked to a number of health problems. Recent research also suggests that these chemicals are becoming more common in tap water. On this week's episode of On the Evidence, we speak with Cindy Hu, a data scientist at Mathematica, who studies how humans are exposed to and affected by this class of emerging contaminants in drinking water. We discuss the prevalence of these chemicals in our drinking water, as well as their health implications and ways to address them through public policy.

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