WALSH & WEATHERS Research and Policy Studies
Selected Clients and Projects
Utah Work Incentives Self-Employment (UWISE) Project.
UWISE is a collaborate effort to develop and provide services and supports that will help people with disabilities make informed choices about self-employment. The appropriateness of self-employment for some people with disabilities had been recognized in Utah for some years, but very little activity had occurred. In 2004, the Executive Directors of the state’s six independent living centers and Walsh & Weathers Research and Policy Studies decided to try to understand why, and what might be needed to enhance self-employment outcomes. Soon other partners expressed interest and in 2005, the UWISE Steering Committee was formed with representatives from the Association for Independent Living of Utah, the Utah Statewide Independent Living Council, the Utah Department of Workforce Services, the Utah State Office of Rehabilitation, the Department of Human Services’ Division of Services for People with Disabilities, the Disability Law Center, Utah WorkAbility, the 1 For 2 Social Security Pilot Project, and a non-member advisor from the Small Business Administration. Walsh & Weathers staff the Committee. UWISE has no funding, rather the UWISE Steering Committee meets monthly to advise a series of grant-funded projects that seek to fulfill the UWISE mission. The following are UWISE projects, all of which were or are staffed by Walsh & Weathers Research and Policy Studies (in chronological order):
- Benefits Planning for Self-Employment. The Department of Workforce Services funded this project sponsored by the Association for Independent Living of Utah (AILU) to ensure that prospective entrepreneurs with disabilities could get accurate information about the impact of self-employment income on the full range of their benefits and access appropriate work incentives that could help their businesses succeed. Walsh & Weathers facilitated meetings of policy specialists on Social Security, Medicaid, Food Stamps, Child Care, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Housing Assistance, and Benefits Planning Assistance & Outreach to identify, analyze, and articulate each program’s self-employment rules. (January – June 2005)
Product: A preliminary training curriculum for Benefits Planners to augment their understanding of the impact of wage earnings on benefits to include the unique rules for self-employment earnings. (Simultaneously, Walsh & Weathers began training required by Social Security for Benefits Planning Assistance & Outreach specialists. They received certification in October 2005.)
- Choose To Work Self-Employment Pilot (CTWSEP). AILU was awarded funding by the Department of Labor to help 12 prospective entrepreneurs with disabilities explore and pursue self-employment in one urban and two rural areas in partnership with the One-Stop System. The goal was to identify services participants needed, inventory existing services that might meet those needs and help participants access them, and provide/develop services and supports that were needed, but not available. AILU successfully competed for a second year of funding. (July 2005 – June 2007)
Products: A process and outcome evaluation, project forms and participant tools, monthly UWISE Steering Committee meeting summaries, participant case management files and tracking mechanisms.
- Utah Self-Employment Partnerships (USEP). The Utah Statewide Independent Living Council (USILC), also in partnership with the One-Stop System, successfully applied for funding from the Department of Labor to further test and refine the services developed to meet the needs of CTWSEP participants and develop and implement a sustainability strategy. Services include benefits analysis/planning, initial assessment of self-employment readiness, help researching/writing a business plan, help developing a financing strategy, and mentoring to help attain profitability. This project serves 30 participants in one urban and four rural counties. (July 2006 – December 2008)
Products: A process and outcome evaluation, final report, and project and participant tools and mechanisms.
Utah Attorney General's Office, Salt Lake City, UT: Safe Havens Project Needs Assessment.
The Utah Safe Havens Project has as its goal the establishment of programs for supervised visitation and child custody exchange suitable for a broad range of currently underserved domestic violence victims and their children. The Utah Attorney General's Office, Utah Domestic Violence Advisory Council, Administrative Office of the Courts, YWCA of Salt Lake City, South Valley Sanctuary, Legal Aid Society of Salt Lake, and Utah Association of Family Support Centers received funding from the U.S. Department of Justice for this project. Beginning in the summer of 2004, Walsh & Weathers is designing a needs assessment in consultation with these entities and will conduct focus groups and written surveys with domestic violence victims and perpetrators, as well as structured interviews with experts in pertinent disciplines and individuals who are knowledgeable about populations such as low-income families, racial and ethnic minorities, and families with a parent or child with disabilities.
Products: Research instruments and a report of findings from focus groups and interviews, including detailed data summaries from all instruments and activities.
Utah Statewide Independent Living Council, Salt Lake City, UT:
Centers for Independent Living Needs Assessment.
In the spring of 2004, Utah's six Centers for Independent Living (CILs), the Utah Statewide Independent Living Council (USILC), and the Utah State Office of Rehabilitation (USOR) collaborated on a needs assessment to assist with their future planning process. Their
specific goal was to learn consumer views on skills needed for people with disabilities
to live independently and on barriers to independent living in some key issue areas. Walsh & Weathers assisted in the design of the needs assessment and facilitated a series of focus groups held at the CILs. They compiled, analyzed, and presented data from those groups.
Products: The focus group instrument and a report of findings provided to USILC, USOR, and the six CILs that presents analysis of focus group results from a statewide and center-by-center perspective. Includes detailed data summaries from each focus group.
Utah Department of Workforce Services, Salt Lake Community Action Program, and Utah Department of Human Services, Salt Lake City, UT: Utah Reauthorization
Project.
The Utah Reauthorization Project (UREAP) is a public/private partnership designed to give Utah a voice
in the next phase of national welfare reform and workforce development. It does this by providing a mechanism for interested parties to participate in the congressional reauthorization of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) and the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA). Begun in April 2001 and ongoing as reauthorization of these
laws is debated, UREAP operates through a consensus process to consider possible statutory changes and develop positions on introduced legislation. Participants include over 400
consumers and representatives of around 250 public and private entities statewide.
Walsh & Weathers Research and Policy Studies designed and staffs the project, researching
issues and preparing analyses, legislative summaries, position papers,
and other necessary documents and communications for the group input process.
Specific topics in PRWORA include the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
(TANF) Program, the Child Care and Development Block Grant, child welfare,
child support, Food Stamps, Medicaid, and welfare reform issues of importance to special populations such as people with disabilities, Indian Tribes, and
immigrants. WIA reauthorization includes the workforce development system
for adults and youth, One-Stop career centers, Wagner-Peyser, Adult Education,
and Vocational Rehabilitation. UREAP works closely with Utah's public policy-makers
and Congressional Delegation, as well as local and national organizations and congressional staff.
Products: Analysis, legislative summaries, position papers, comments,
and various other types of communications to convey UREAP positions on reauthorization
issues to Utah's Congressional Delegation and other key members of Congress,
the Bush Administration, and national organizations; and a website (
http://www.slcap.org/ureap/ureap.htm
) that includes all UREAP products, as well as principles, meeting summaries, membership, and links to other information sources.
Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), Washington, D.C., and the Charles
Stewart Mott Foundation, Flint, MI: Welfare Reform Reauthorization Round
Table
Against the backdrop of impending 2002 Congressional reauthorization of
its 1996 Welfare law, CLASP oversaw a Mott foundation-funded educational
and consensus-building project on Welfare Reform reauthorization conducted
in Utah and three other states. CLASP contracted with Walsh & Weathers
Research and Policy Studies to organize and facilitate a one-day "Welfare
Reform Reauthorization Round Table" that was held in Salt Lake City on March
15, 2002. The Round Table brought together a diverse group of 50-60 agency
administrators, employers, community service providers, state legislators,
local government officials, researchers, religious leaders, advocates, consumers, state budget
analysts, and local Congressional staff to consider key reauthorization issues
and recommendations, identify those on which there was consensus in our state,
and promote further involvement by attendees in reauthorization discussions.
Products: Advance participant briefing materials and two reports--one
on outcomes of the Round Table event and one summarizing subsequent involvement
of Utah spokespersons and organizations in Congressional reauthorization
activities. All materials were provided to CLASP, the Mott Foundation, and entities in Utah
interested in state activities related to welfare reform and its reauthorization.
Governor's Council for People with Disabilities, Salt Lake City, UT:
Welfare Reform Reauthorization Training for Consumers and Advocates
for People with Disabilities.
Walsh & Weathers organized and facilitated a day-long training session
on welfare reform reauthorization issues likely to affect people with disabilities. Walsh & Weathers researched issues and prepared advance materials designed to assist consumers and advocates in considering refinements to the national welfare law that could improve the support system available in Utah. An interactive process helped trainees find ways to convey their views to the state's Congressional Delegation.
Products: Training materials specifically tailored to help this population
learn about pertinent legislative issues and about how to become involved in the legislative process. A final report was provided to the funder.
Association of Independent Living of Utah and Interagency Outreach
Training Initiative, Logan, UT: Minority Outreach Training Project.
The Association for Independent Living of Utah (AILU) partnered with Walsh & Weathers Research and Policy Studies to organize, facilitate, and evaluate Minority Outreach Training sessions offered at Utah's CILs and on the Uintah-Ouray Indian Reservation. The sessions were cosponsored by the Utah Division of Indian Affairs and the Utah Offices of Hispanic, Black, Asian, and Pacific Islander Affairs, and were structured interactively to foster and enhance
relationships and service coordination.
Products: Training sessions in Logan, Ogden, Salt Lake City, Provo,
St. George, Green River, Price, Huntington, and on the Uintah-Ouray Reservation
in 2001-2002 and an Evaluation Report that allows the project to be replicated in other localities. The report also includes outreach plans for each of the six Centers for Independent Living.
Utah Department of Human Services, Salt Lake City, UT: Systems Change
Grant Proposals
Working under the Deputy Director of the Department of Human Services,
Bill Walsh was hired in the summer of 2001 to facilitate a group planning
and consensus process, and to produce two out of three proposals relating
to the Olmstead planning process submitted to the Center for Medicaid Services.
The proposals describe how services to persons in the long term care system
would be provided in the least restrictive setting, in accordance with the
Olmstead decision. The "Utah Real Choice Proposal," funded at $1
million, created a Coordinating Committee across two Departments, including
five Divisions. The "Community-integrated Personal Assistance Services and Supports
(CPASS) Proposal" would have restructured how personal assistance services are coordinated and delivered to the long term care population. CPASS was not funded,
but some coordination aspects developed during the process are being pursued.
Products: The two grant proposals named above, July 18, 2001.
Center for Public Policy and Administration, University of Utah, Salt
Lake City, UT: Welfare Reform Initiative
The Welfare Reform Initiative, begun in 1997, was a multi-year research
and partnership-building project to consider how national and state welfare
reform affected various groups and entities in Utah. The first phase of
the project included publication of a foundation report to describe welfare
changes and their potential impact on religious institutions and other social
service nonprofit organizations. Shirley Weathers performed the necessary
research and policy analysis and wrote the report.
Products: Shirley A. Weathers, Ph.D., Foundation Report: The Charitable
Sector and Welfare Reform in Utah, April 1999.
The second phase of the Welfare Reform Initiative centered on research
to ascertain the impacts on Utah charitable organizations of welfare changes
and the capacity of those organizations to meet increased need as federal
and state roles shrink. Focus groups were held in various parts of the state
to obtain input on the proposed survey instrument, as well as to begin to
gather observations from charitable organizations. Simultaneously, focus
groups were held statewide with county elected and appointed officials to
learn how welfare changes may be affecting county social services. Walsh
& Weathers Research and Policy Studies organized both sets of focus groups.
They also facilitated the county focus groups, compiled and reported findings,
and developed recommendations to address concerns raised by participants.
Product: Shirley A. Weathers, Ph.D. and William P. Walsh, Jr. with
Hillary Diamond, Welfare Reform: Unintended Consequences for Utah Counties
, December 1999.
The Utah Department of Workforce Services and Utah Division of Indian
Affairs funded a project under the Welfare Reform Initiative to investigate
the impact of welfare reform on Native Americans in Utah's Uintah Basin.
Walsh & Weathers Research and Policy Studies conducted this research
during 2000 and produced a report and recommendations. Walsh & Weathers
also analyzed administrative data comparing some welfare reform experiences
of Indian families with non-Indian families, and conducted a follow-up inventory
of responses to recommendations in the first report to produce an addendum
report.
Products: Shirley A. Weathers, Ph.D. and William P. Walsh, Jr.,
Welfare Reform: The Impact on Native Americans in Utah's Uintah Basin
, February 2001 and Welfare Reform: The Impact on Native Americans in
Utah's Uintah Basin, Phase II, May 2002.
The above-mentioned reports are available for inspection and download
at http://www.cppa.utah.edu/wri/
.
Social Research Institute, Graduate School of Social Work, University
of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT: Medicaid Infrastructure Grant Proposal
The "Medicaid Infrastructure Grant Proposal to Support Competitive Employment
of People with Disabilities" was written in conjunction with the Utah State
Office of Education and twenty agencies and organizations as part of the
Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 (TWWIIA). The
proposal was funded at $2,225,000 over four years to provide Medicaid health
coverage that was not available for people with disabilities returning
to work or seeking work. Bill Walsh facilitated meetings of the Utah Work
Incentive Coalition (UWIC) and wrote major sections of the proposal.
Product: "Medicaid Infrastructure Grant Proposal," July 2000.
Governor's Council for People with Disabilities: Managed Care Improvement
Project.
The Managed Care Improvement Project (MCIP) spent two years studying Utah's
health care insurance and delivery systems. A core group of people with
disabilities and family members met and discussed services and operations
with administrators of seven of Utah's major managed care providers. The
initial focus on managed care for people with disabilities broadened to
include all forms of delivery. In the final phase of the project, the group
identified key issues and developed recommendations for improving health
care for all populations. One recommendation--to create of an Office
of Consumer Health Assistance--was passed into law during the 1999 General
Session of the Utah Legislature. Bill Walsh was the Project Consultant, assisted
with the legislative campaign, and co-authored the final report.
Product: Catherine E. Chambless, Ph.D. and Bill Walsh, "If It's
Done Right . . .": Final Report of the Managed Care Improvement Project,
1997-1998 , December 1998.
Governor's Council for People with Disabilities: Partners in Policymaking
Partners in Policymaking was an intensive, participatory training process
for people with disabilities and their families, sponsored by the Utah
Governor's Council for People with Disabilities. In January and October
1997 and October 1998, Walsh & Weathers Research and Policy Studies
provided day-long training sessions on the Utah and national legislative
processes, and facilitated interactive activities to teach skills and techniques
for getting a message across to elected officials.
Products: Legislative Process training materials and handouts tailored
to the needs of the specific group.
Social Research Institute: Single Parent Employment Demonstration Program
Evaluation.
The Utah Single Parent Employment Demonstration (SPED) program was a state
welfare reform waiver project initiated by the Utah Department of Human
Services in 1993. SPED was based on an individualized approach to encouraging
and enabling all families receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children
(AFDC) to increase earned income, become self-reliant, and move out of poverty.
The Social Research Institute used data collected from 1993 through 1995
to evaluate the effectiveness and measure outcomes of this approach. Shirley
Weathers was a member of the evaluation team, analyzed data, and co-authored
the evaluation report.
Product: Fred V. Janzen, Ph.D., Mary Jane Taylor, Ph.D., and Shirley
A. Weathers, Ph.D., An Evaluation of Utah's Single Parent Employment
Demonstration Program, July 1997.
Social Research Institute: Medicaid Redesign Project and Grant Proposal.
The Medicaid Redesign Project was a collaborative effort by Utah's Medicaid
program, five contracting medical Health Management Organizations, community-based
organizations, the Social Research Institute, and the three divisions of
Utah State government that serve approximately 15,000 adults who are elderly
or have disabilities. The project began in April 1998 and its self-help and managed care navigation tools are still being provided to these and other Utah Medicaid populations. Bill Walsh facilitated collaborative planning meetings over the course of one year and wrote the successful Robert Wood Johnson Foundation proposal (funded at $500,000 over three years and
matched with local funds to total nearly $2 million). The Medicaid Redesign
booklet has been revised and produced for two additional populations--rural
recipients and children with special health care needs.
Product: "Utah's Medicaid Redesign Project" proposal to the Center for
Health Care Strategies, Inc., November 1997.
United Health Care, Salt Lake City, UT: Focus Groups on Health
Services to Children in Welfare Families.
United Health Care (UHC), one of Utah's health maintenance organizations that contracted to serve Utah Medicaid clients, found substantially higher utilization for children's
health services by Utah families receiving Aid to Families with Dependent
Children than those in other states. UHC contracted with Walsh & Weathers Research
and Policy Studies to develop, facilitate, and report on two focus groups
with parent clients in this population to understand more fully how they
made their decisions to utilize health care for their children.
Product: Bill Walsh and Shirley Weathers, "United Health Care Focus Groups
on Health Care Utilization by Women with Young Children," September 1997.
Center for Entrepreneurship Training, Salt Lake Community College,
Salt Lake City, UT: Marketing Curriculum Module for Welfare Parents in
Entrepreneurship Training.
The Center for Entrepreneurship Training offered "Jump Start II Entrepreneurship
for Single Parents," a course to guide classes of largely single, female
parents of welfare families through the process of developing a business
plan. The curriculum for the course was developed early in 1997. Shirley
Weathers held the position of Adjunct Faculty Curriculum/Program Developer
and developed one of the curriculum modules.
Product: Curriculum Module, "How to Draw Customers to Your Business,"
in Jump Start II Entrepreneurship for Single Parents curriculum,
Spring 1997.
Return home