[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 6, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36359-36360]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-17009]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

[Account Number: 4151-04]


Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation; 
Cooperative Agreement With the Manpower Demonstration Research 
Corporation

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation 
(ASPE).
    The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation's 
(ASPE) Office of Human Services Policy announces that it will award an 
unsolicited cooperative agreement to the Manpower Demonstration 
Research Corporation (MDRC) in support of the Project on Devolution and 
Urban Change.
    The purpose of this cooperative agreement is to support research to 
understand the impacts of welfare reform and welfare to work programs 
on low-income individuals, families, and the communities in which they 
live, with an emphasis on urban areas.
    ASPE will have substantial involvement in all stages of the 
project, including: identifying potential questions that could be 
answered using the data; prioritizing among them based on the available 
resources; determining appropriate methods of data analysis; reviewing 
draft papers and reports; and assisting in their dissemination.
    The goal of ASPE in entering into this cooperative agreement is to 
improve our understanding of the impact of the Personal Responsibility 
and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 in urban areas.

Authorizing Legislation

    This cooperative agreement is authorized under Section 1110 of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1310), Section 5001 of the Balanced 
Budget Act of 1997, and the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and 
Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 1999 
(Pub. L. 105-277).

Background

    Assistance will be provided to MDRC. No other applications are 
solicited. ASPE is committed to supporting high-quality research in the 
area of welfare policy, and has a particular interest in understanding 
the effects of welfare reform in urban areas. Most welfare reform 
studies to date have not been in large cities, and thus have not 
addressed the challenges posed by high levels of unemployment and by 
concentrated poverty. These questions are critical because caseloads 
have not declined as much in cities as in other parts of the country, 
and also because the lessons from urban areas may be applicable 
elsewhere in the case of an economic downturn.
    ASPE believes that MDRC is uniquely qualified to work with ASPE to 
meet this goal for the following reasons:
    1. The Project on Devolution and Urban Change presents a unique 
opportunity to learn about the implementation and impacts of welfare 
reform in four large urban areas--Cleveland, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, 
and Miami. MDRC has an ongoing working relationship with key officials 
in each city and has already obtained commitments from the state and 
local governments in these areas to provide extensive longitudinal 
administrative data for research purposes.
    2. This project brings together data from an unusually wide array 
of sources: longitudinal administrative data for all families receiving 
AFDC/TANF or Food Stamps dating back to 1992; survey data; an 
implementation study; neighborhood indicators; an institutional study 
focusing on local service providers; and an ethnographic study of a 
limited number of families. This will allow the researchers to capture 
effects that might be missed in one approach, and to improve our 
understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of each approach. It is 
unlikely that this breadth of sources could be replicated. MDRC has 
assembled a multi-disciplinary team of distinguished researchers to 
collect and analyze this data.
    3. This project leverages a substantial commitment of private 
sector funding. Of the total $20 million cost of the Project on 
Devolution and Urban Change, approximately $14 million has already been 
committed by private funders, with an additional $3 million informally 
promised. This funding allows for a breadth of research far beyond what 
could be purchased with the federal support alone.
    4. MDRC is one of the pre-eminent institutions in the area of 
welfare and welfare-to-work research, having conducted projects in over 
400 communities in 40 states. MDRC has developed a reputation for 
objective, high-quality work. This project will involve several of 
MDRC's senior researchers, as well as consultants who are recognized as 
leaders in their areas of concentration.
    Approximately $800,000 is available in FY 1999 for a one-year 
project period of this cooperative agreement. A portion of this support 
is provided by the Administration for Children and Families, HHS, and 
the Economic

[[Page 36360]]

Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Where To Obtain Additional Information

    If you are interested in obtaining additional information regarding 
this project, contact Ms. Elizabeth Lower-Basch, Office of Human 
Services Policy, ASPE, 200 Independence Ave. SW, Room 404E, Washington, 
DC, 20201 or telephone: 202 690-6808.

    Dated: June 28, 1999.
Margaret A. Hamburg,
Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation.
[FR Doc. 99-17009 Filed 7-2-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4110-60-U