Resource Library

Policymakers are increasingly interested in using administrative data to address policy-relevant research questions. In order to make use of administrative data for social policy research, there are multiple issues to consider...

Featured items in this issue...

Featured items in this issue: ...

While significant research has come forward to improve our collective understanding of human services programs and their contribution to the economic and social well-being of individuals and families, notable knowledge gaps continue to persist regarding how these programs can best serve the needs and interests of rural communities.

Read OPRE’s Division of Family Strengthening (DFS) Fiscal Year 2022 annual report, which includes details of projects related to strengthening relationships, supporting fatherhood, nurturing children through their families, reducing teen pregnancy, supporting positive youth development, and preventing family violence.

A companion to the literature review entitled Human Services Research Dissemination: What Works...

This research brief summarizes the state of the field on cultural competence in social services. The information is relevant for organizations serving children and families from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds, but the brief highlights research and strategies in serving Hispanic populations. The brief describes cultural competence and provides service providers and administrators with concrete strategies for the ongoing self-reflection and development that is key to strengthening...

What does “curriculum” mean when applied to working with infants and toddlers?

This brief discusses the meaning of the term when applied to early education and care programs serving families with infants and toddlers. The discussion focuses on how programs can incorporate and use the concepts of a curriculum in a way that is developmentally appropriate for infants and toddlers...

Administrative data have the potential to help us answer pressing social policy questions. Government stakeholders and researchers are exploring the promises of using administrative data for research purposes.

This brief summarizes an Innovative Methods Meeting that was organized by OPRE in the fall of 2015 that considered the potential benefits and pitfalls of using administrative data for research purposes...

Policymakers are increasingly interested in using administrative data to address policy-relevant research questions. While researchers generally prefer individual-level administrative data in order to provide maximum flexibility to their analyses, it can be both difficult and costly to obtain. When individual-level data are not available or are too difficult or costly, aggregate administrative data can address many policy-relevant research questions...