December 2008
DHHS, Health Resources and Services Administration
The Lewin Group and Altarum Institute recently completed a study for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on the future adequacy of supply of pharmacists. A previous Health Resources and Services Administration (2000) report documented the current and growing shortfall of pharmacists. Since release of that report the U.S. Bureau of the Census revised upward its projections of population growth, the Federal Government enacted the Medicare Part D program which expands prescription drug coverage to more elderly; technology continued to advance, minimum credentials for entry into the workforce for new pharmacists changed from baccalaureate to doctorate degrees, the Nation’s educational capacity to train new pharmacists and pharmacy technicians continued to expand and enrollment in schools of pharmacy has been at an all time high, and the role of pharmacists in providing care to patients continued to evolve. The Lewin Group and Altarum revised HRSA's Pharmacist Supply and Requirements Model (PhSRM) to examine current and projected future adequacy of pharmacist supply in the United States taking into account trends in the latest supply and demand determinants.
The overall findings are that the supply of pharmacists is growing significantly faster than was previously projected, but the demand for pharmacists continues to grow rapidly due in large part to population growth and aging. There is currently a moderate shortfall of pharmacists. The overall conclusion of this study is that the Nation has responded to earlier predictions of a growing shortfall of pharmacists, and to market forces that have raised pharmacist earnings, by expanding supply and increasing the use of technology and technicians. Still, the increase in supply will only be sufficient to keep pace with a rising demand due to changing demographics. Supply would need to increase further than currently projected to meet the demand caused by growth in per capita consumption of pharmaceuticals. Improvements in productivity through further employment of pharmacy aides and technicians and the application of evolving technologies should continue to help the supply meet these increases in demand.
Client Area: Federal Government
Expertise Area: Employment, Training, and Workforce Development
April 2008
Colorado Department of Human Services
The enactment of the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) provided states with considerable flexibility to design their own welfare programs. The result was an increase in the variation between states’ welfare programs. In an effort to understand how Colorado’s TANF program compares to other programs across the country, the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) commissioned The Lewin Group and its partners—the University of Colorado’s Health Sciences Center (UCHSC), the Johns Hopkins University’s Institute for Policy Studies (JHU), and Capital Research Corporation (CRC)—to perform an in-depth study of Colorado’s TANF program (Colorado Works) on a variety of different dimensions. This report examines how Colorado compares with other states on dimensions such as caseload changes, program expenditures, eligibility requirements and benefits, work requirements, financial incentives to work, sanctions, work participation rates, employment outcomes, and diversion policies.
Client Area: State and Local Governments
Expertise Area: Employment, Training, and Workforce Development, Income Security
March 2008
DHHS, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Refugee Resettlement
One of three case studies from The Lewin Group’s evaluation of two federally-funded employability programs serving refugees resettled in the U.S., this report presents findings from interviews with service providers, focus groups with program participants, and analysis of administrative, programmatic, and survey data on refugees served in Sacramento, California. The study focused on refugees who entered the country between 2000 and 2004 and received RSS or TAG services at some point in Sacramento, including primarily refugees from countries in the former Soviet Union and Hmong arriving in 2004. Themes emerging from this case study include Sacramento’s strong emphasis on English language training as a component of employability services; the use of on-the-job training by several service providers as a tool for moving refugees into permanent employment; and the importance of the welfare system in understanding the context in which the refugee employability programs operate. The report also presents employment, income, and public assistance outcomes of service recipients.
Client Area: Federal Government
Expertise Area: Employment, Training, and Workforce Development, Income Security
March 2008
DHHS, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Refugee Resettlement
One of three case studies from The Lewin Group’s evaluation of two federally-funded employability programs serving refugees resettled in the U.S., this report presents findings from interviews with service providers, focus groups with program participants, and analysis of administrative, programmatic, and survey data on refugees served in Miami, Florida. The study focused on refugees, asylees, and related populations who entered the country between 2000 and 2004 and received RSS or TAG services at some point in Miami, including primarily Cubans, Colombians, and Haitians. Themes emerging from this case study include the role of Miami’s extensive network of experienced service providers and community support for arrivals; the strong focus on employment in refugee services; the relatively high education level of refugees served in Miami; the importance of bi-lingual Spanish and English skills; and special challenges facing the Haitian population The report also presents employment, income, and public assistance outcomes of service recipients.
Client Area: Federal Government
Expertise Area: Employment, Training, and Workforce Development, Income Security
March 2008
DHHS, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Refugee Resettlement
An extension of The Lewin Group’s evaluation of two federally-funded employability programs serving refugees resettled in the U.S., this report outlines ways that the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) can better plan for and institutionalize evaluation and accountability throughout the range of refugee resettlement programs. It presents a variety of options ORR might consider to enhance its existing performance management activities and proposes experimental and non-experimental evaluations of selected service strategies.
Client Area: Federal Government
Expertise Area: Employment, Training, and Workforce Development
March 2008
DHHS, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Refugee Resettlement
One of three case studies from The Lewin Group’s evaluation of two federally-funded employability programs serving refugees resettled in the U.S., this report presents findings from interviews with service providers, focus groups with program participants, and analysis of administrative, programmatic, and survey data on refugees served in Houston, Texas. The study focused on refugees who entered the country between 2000 and 2004 and received RSS or TAG services at some point in Houston, which settled a large, diverse, and frequently changing refugee population. Themes emerging from this case study include Houston’s emphasis on rapid employment, driven in part by the relatively low TANF benefits offered in the state, the necessity of understanding newly arriving refugees’ cultural experiences when providing services to a changing population, and the special challenges facing refugees from Somalia and Liberia, who arrived with very low educational attainment. The report also presents employment, income, and public assistance outcomes of service recipients.
Client Area: Federal Government
Expertise Area: Employment, Training, and Workforce Development, Income Security
March 2008
DHHS, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Refugee Resettlement
This report summarizes findings from The Lewin Group’s evaluation of the Refugee Social Service (RSS) and Targeted Assistance Formula Grant (TAG) programs. The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) administers these programs and sponsored an evaluation to assess how program services are delivered and how refugees who receive them fare over time. RSS and TAG services aim at helping refugees overcome barriers to employment and integration into the United States. The study focuses on refugees in three sites—Houston, Miami, and Sacramento—who entered the country between 2000 and 2004. It relies on administrative and programmatic data, a survey of refugees, and information collected through interviews with service providers and focus groups with program participants. The study documents differences across the sites with regard to which refugee groups they served, the approaches taken for delivering services, and the emphasis placed on ESL instruction versus rapid employment. The report also presents employment, income, and public assistance outcomes of service recipients.
Client Area: Federal Government
Expertise Area: Employment, Training, and Workforce Development, Income Security
December 2007
Colorado Department of Human Services
The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) reauthorized the TANF program and made policy changes that increased the effective work participation rates that states must meet to avoid a financial penalty. In Colorado, counties have been reassessing strategies to meet federal requirements while still providing services and benefits to clients that best help them to meet their immediate needs and overcome barriers to longer-term self-sufficiency. This report examines three related topics affecting participation and engagement in Colorado’s TANF program. They are: (1) Work participation activities and strategies; (2) Diversion policies among Colorado’s counties; and (3) Sanctioning practices in Colorado.
Client Area: State and Local Governments
Expertise Area: Employment, Training, and Workforce Development, Income Security
August 2007
Colorado Department of Human Services
The purpose of this study is to examine Colorado employers’ experiences with welfare recipients they have hired for low-skill, entry-level jobs. The research gathers information on the characteristics of employers and the low-skill workforce, employer hiring practices, staffing needs, overall employer satisfaction, and employer feedback on county Colorado Works offices and workforce centers operated under local Workforce Investment Boards. The survey provides information about the extent to which the Colorado Works program and the clients are able to meet employer needs.
Client Area: State and Local Governments
Expertise Area: Employment, Training, and Workforce Development, Income Security
June 2006
Colorado Department of Human Services
This report examines strategies Colorado counties were using to serve the hard-to-employ TANF population in 2005, highlighting promising approaches that counties might choose to adopt and providing the state with useful information that can help guide future policy choices. While there are a wide range of issues that affect welfare recipients’ ability to succeed in the job market, this report focuses on seven barriers: 1) Physical disabilities; 2) Limited education and learning disabilities; 3) Mental health; 4) Substance abuse; 5) Domestic violence; 6) Limited English skills; and 7) Homelessness.
Client Area: State and Local Governments
Expertise Area: Employment, Training, and Workforce Development, Income Security
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