Selected Projects
Rural Self-employment Opportunities Grant
The Rural Institute, University of Montana has long been a player in the field of self-employment for people with disabilities. Discussions with the Institute over the course of the UWISE and UWISE.BIZ projects (described below) resulted in a successful grant application from the National Institute on Disabilities and Rehabilitation Research. This multi-year project will involve, among other goals, consideration of the appropriateness of adapting the UWISE self-employment process we developed to make it available to Vocational Rehabilitation programs in other states. We are technical advisors on the grant and expect to participate for the next three to five years. The start date was October 1, 2013.
The Rural Institute, University of Montana has long been a player in the field of self-employment for people with disabilities. Discussions with the Institute over the course of the UWISE and UWISE.BIZ projects (described below) resulted in a successful grant application from the National Institute on Disabilities and Rehabilitation Research. This multi-year project will involve, among other goals, consideration of the appropriateness of adapting the UWISE self-employment process we developed to make it available to Vocational Rehabilitation programs in other states. We are technical advisors on the grant and expect to participate for the next three to five years. The start date was October 1, 2013.
Training and Transition of UWISE Self-employment System to the Utah State Office of Rehabilitation
At the end of the five-year grant-funded process known as UWISE (see below), Walsh and Weathers and the Utah State Office of Rehabilitation agreed to test the self-employment assistance system we had developed. The intent was to determine if the system would meet Vocational Rehabilitation counselors' and clients' needs if delivered on a fee for service basis by a for-profit vendor with specialized self-employment and benefits planning expertise. To that end, in 2008 we established a separate business, UWISE.BIZ, and began to deliver the services statewide in that fashion. We also worked closely with USOR Administration to track, monitor, and evaluate the pros and cons of the arrangement. After five years of assisting clients and their counselors with business planning and development through this arrangement, USOR's interest in self-employment as an option for their clients had continued to grow. They determined that they would bring our process in-house. The agency hired a Self-employment Specialist with business ownership experience and designated an experienced Benefits Planner to serve clients pursuing a self-employment goal. USOR contracted with us to train these employees on the UWISE system and adapt policies, practices, and materials as needed. We completed that project in June 2013.
At the end of the five-year grant-funded process known as UWISE (see below), Walsh and Weathers and the Utah State Office of Rehabilitation agreed to test the self-employment assistance system we had developed. The intent was to determine if the system would meet Vocational Rehabilitation counselors' and clients' needs if delivered on a fee for service basis by a for-profit vendor with specialized self-employment and benefits planning expertise. To that end, in 2008 we established a separate business, UWISE.BIZ, and began to deliver the services statewide in that fashion. We also worked closely with USOR Administration to track, monitor, and evaluate the pros and cons of the arrangement. After five years of assisting clients and their counselors with business planning and development through this arrangement, USOR's interest in self-employment as an option for their clients had continued to grow. They determined that they would bring our process in-house. The agency hired a Self-employment Specialist with business ownership experience and designated an experienced Benefits Planner to serve clients pursuing a self-employment goal. USOR contracted with us to train these employees on the UWISE system and adapt policies, practices, and materials as needed. We completed that project in June 2013.
Medicaid Infrastructure Grant - Technical Assistance Contract on Self-employment for People with Disabilities
WorkAbility Utah (under Utah's Medicaid Infrastucture Grant) was established to facilitate employment success for people with disabilities. WorkAbility contracted with Walsh & Weathers in 2005 to provide technical assistance on self-employment, understanding the very different nature of business ownership as an employment option. Walsh & Weathers staffed the Self-employment Work Group WorkAbility, established to facilitate self-employment for this population and address systems barriers they confront. Our role was ensure that the group had access to expertise on both business and the special issues encountered by entrepreneurs who also rely on Social Security disability benefits, Medicaid, and other public benefits while their businesses are getting up, running, and successful. To increase chances that any policy and procedural barriers could be removed, the Work Group membership included primarily high level administrators from the Utah State Office of Rehabilitation, Utah Department of Workforce Services, Division of Services for People with Disabilities, Utah Medicaid, Social Security Administration, Utah Developmental Disabilities Council, and Utah Benefits Planning Assistance and Outreach, as well as the Utah Small Business Development Center. Walsh & Weathers continued advising this group until the MIG grant expired at the end of 2011.
Products: Various policy and procedural analysis aids and papers, training curricula for consumers on self-employment issues, and meeting summaries.
WorkAbility Utah (under Utah's Medicaid Infrastucture Grant) was established to facilitate employment success for people with disabilities. WorkAbility contracted with Walsh & Weathers in 2005 to provide technical assistance on self-employment, understanding the very different nature of business ownership as an employment option. Walsh & Weathers staffed the Self-employment Work Group WorkAbility, established to facilitate self-employment for this population and address systems barriers they confront. Our role was ensure that the group had access to expertise on both business and the special issues encountered by entrepreneurs who also rely on Social Security disability benefits, Medicaid, and other public benefits while their businesses are getting up, running, and successful. To increase chances that any policy and procedural barriers could be removed, the Work Group membership included primarily high level administrators from the Utah State Office of Rehabilitation, Utah Department of Workforce Services, Division of Services for People with Disabilities, Utah Medicaid, Social Security Administration, Utah Developmental Disabilities Council, and Utah Benefits Planning Assistance and Outreach, as well as the Utah Small Business Development Center. Walsh & Weathers continued advising this group until the MIG grant expired at the end of 2011.
Products: Various policy and procedural analysis aids and papers, training curricula for consumers on self-employment issues, and meeting summaries.
Utah Work Incentives Self-Employment (UWISE) Project
UWISE was a collaborative effort to develop and provide services and supports to help people with disabilities explore and pursue self-employment. The appropriateness of self-employment for some people with disabilities had been recognized in Utah for some years, but little activity had occurred. In 2004, the Executive Directors of the state’s six independent living centers and Walsh & Weathers began investigating what might be needed to enhance self-employment options. 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 Social Security Administration, the Disability Law Center, Work Ability Utah, and the 1 For 2 Social Security Pilot Project. Two non-member business advisors from the Small Business Administration and the Utah Business Lending Corporation assisted. Over the next four years until December 2008, four pilot projects operated with funding from the U.S. Department of Labor and the Department of Workforce Services. Walsh & Weathers staffed the Steering Committee and projects, developing and providing a specialized set of services to 65 project participants statewide. The Committee also studied policy and procedural barriers to self-employment that emerged during the pilot projects and developed the sustainability strategy to continue services after grants.
Products: Process and outcome evaluation, project forms and participant tools, monthly UWISE Steering Committee meeting summaries, and tracking mechanisms.
UWISE was a collaborative effort to develop and provide services and supports to help people with disabilities explore and pursue self-employment. The appropriateness of self-employment for some people with disabilities had been recognized in Utah for some years, but little activity had occurred. In 2004, the Executive Directors of the state’s six independent living centers and Walsh & Weathers began investigating what might be needed to enhance self-employment options. 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 Social Security Administration, the Disability Law Center, Work Ability Utah, and the 1 For 2 Social Security Pilot Project. Two non-member business advisors from the Small Business Administration and the Utah Business Lending Corporation assisted. Over the next four years until December 2008, four pilot projects operated with funding from the U.S. Department of Labor and the Department of Workforce Services. Walsh & Weathers staffed the Steering Committee and projects, developing and providing a specialized set of services to 65 project participants statewide. The Committee also studied policy and procedural barriers to self-employment that emerged during the pilot projects and developed the sustainability strategy to continue services after grants.
Products: Process and outcome evaluation, project forms and participant tools, monthly UWISE Steering Committee meeting summaries, and tracking mechanisms.
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) was a public/private partnership designed to give Utah a voice in the second phase of 1996 national welfare reform and workforce development. It provided 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 continued until 2005 when the welfare reform law was reauthorized, UREAP operated through a consensus process to consider possible statutory changes and develop positions on introduced legislation. Participants included over 400 consumers and representatives of around 250 public and private entities statewide. Walsh & Weathers designed and staffed the project, researching issues and preparing analyses, legislative summaries, position papers, and other necessary documents and communications for the group input process. Walsh & Weathers worked closely with Utah's public policy makers and Congressional Delegation, as well as local and national organizations and staff to appropriate House and Senate Committees. 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 included the workforce development system for adults and youth, One-Stop career centers, Wagner-Peyser, Adult Education, and Vocational Rehabilitation.
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 that included all UREAP products, as well as principles, meeting summaries, membership, and links to other information sources.
The Utah Reauthorization Project (UREAP) was a public/private partnership designed to give Utah a voice in the second phase of 1996 national welfare reform and workforce development. It provided 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 continued until 2005 when the welfare reform law was reauthorized, UREAP operated through a consensus process to consider possible statutory changes and develop positions on introduced legislation. Participants included over 400 consumers and representatives of around 250 public and private entities statewide. Walsh & Weathers designed and staffed the project, researching issues and preparing analyses, legislative summaries, position papers, and other necessary documents and communications for the group input process. Walsh & Weathers worked closely with Utah's public policy makers and Congressional Delegation, as well as local and national organizations and staff to appropriate House and Senate Committees. 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 included the workforce development system for adults and youth, One-Stop career centers, Wagner-Peyser, Adult Education, and Vocational Rehabilitation.
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 that included all UREAP products, as well as principles, meeting summaries, membership, and links to other information sources.
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.
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.
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/policy_publications.html#social".
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.
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.
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/policy_publications.html#social".
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.