About: Analyze This Blog

Dennis Putze (retired) is the former Director of OCSE’s Division of Performance and Statistical Analysis where he oversaw the collection, compilation, analysis, and dissemination of state and tribal data to Congress and the general public. Prior to OCSE, he was the Director of the Division of Statistical Analysis for the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare. He has a Master of Arts degree in Government Administration from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from the University of Pittsburgh.

Melody Morales is a Social Science Research Analyst at OCSE, where she analyzes child support data to explore demographic trends among families eligible for child support. Prior to joining OCSE, Melody was a Research and Evaluation Consultant and a visiting professor in the School of Education at Howard University. She has also worked as a Research Associate for the Center for Applied Research and Technical Assistance and as a Behavioral Scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Melody earned a doctorate in Policy Analysis and Management with a concentration in Program Evaluation and Planning from Cornell University.

Elaine Sorensen specializes in data analysis and program evaluation. Her areas of expertise include child support arrears, noncustodial parents and their ability to pay child support, and the anti-poverty effectiveness of child support. As Senior Fellow at the Urban Institute, she wrote numerous articles on child support policy. Elaine earned her doctorate in economics from the University of California, Berkeley. She taught at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst prior to joining the Urban Institute.

Tracy Graham is a Program Specialist for OCSE in Region 8. He has over 20 years of federal and state child support experience including service as Utah’s IV-D Director (2006-2012). Tracy earned a doctorate in Political Science and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Utah.

Arthur K. Pashi is a Social Science Statistician at OCSE, where he analyzes the U.S. Census data to support statistical reports and blogs. Prior to joining OCSE, Arthur was a Research Analyst with the Missouri Department of Health managing and analyzing administrative and survey data. He also taught as an Adjunct Professor in Business at Lincoln University of Missouri and later at Columbia College—Jefferson City Campus. Arthur earned a Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, where he was a lecturer. He also has a Master of Science and Doctorate in Agricultural and Applied Economics from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Joey Arthur is a Supervisory Program Analyst overseeing the collection, compilation, analysis, and release of state and tribal data to Congress and the public.  Previously, he served multiple roles as researcher, database administrator, quality assurance and data analyst. He can explain complicated analyses to audiences at any level. Joey previously worked as a graduate research assistant at Northeastern University as a doctoral candidate in Applied Economics. Joey was a research associate for the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he earned a Master of Science in Economics with a finance concentration and a Bachelor of Science in Economics.