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Office of Human Services Policy (HSP)

The Office of Human Services Policy (HSP) strives to improve the well-being of children, youth, and families and break down silos across government. It does so by providing timely, actionable, cross-cutting policy analysis and research, and by leading cross-government coordination to address urgent human services challenges. The office works closely with federal, state, local, and private sector partners on issues including economic mobility and employment, child poverty and well-being, child welfare, family strengthening and fatherhood, early childhood education, youth development, community initiatives, child support, recidivism, and homelessness.

HSP advises the ASPE and other HHS leadership on human services policy matters. It leads and actively participates in interagency initiatives to align federal programming; conducts policy analysis and other research on human services and related issues; shares findings with and provides technical assistance to a diverse range of stakeholders; and coordinates development of HHS’s human services legislative proposals. HSP serves as a liaison with other agencies on broad economic matters and is the Department’s lead on poverty measurement.

The Office of Human Services Policy has three divisions:

  • The Division of Children and Youth Policy focuses on policies related to the well-being of children and youth, including early childhood education and child welfare, and leads the Children’s Interagency Coordinating Council and the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs.
  • The Division of Family and Community Policy covers policies to strengthen low-income families and communities and address barriers to economic mobility. The division leads the Interagency Council on Economic Mobility.
  • The Division of Data and Technical Analysis provides data analytic capacity for policy development through data collection activities, secondary data analysis, modeling, and cost analyses. The Division also issues annual updates to the poverty guidelines and reports to Congress on indicators of welfare dependence.

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Human Services Policy: Miranda Lynch-Smith

Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for Human Services Policy: Jennifer Burnszynski

Reports

Displaying 251 - 260 of 973. 10 per page. Page 26.

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Overlapping Eligibility and Enrollment: Human Services and Health Programs Under the Affordable Care Act

This report presents information on overlaps in eligible and participating populations in various health and human services programs, and identifies three main human services programs – the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) – as having considerable overlap with health insurance progra

Supplemental Poverty Measure Brief: 2009-2012

This brief summarizes data released by the Census Bureau on the research supplemental poverty measure.

Change in Child Poverty by Select Demographic Characteristics: 2007-2012

Since the Great Recession poverty has increased overall and particularly for children. Nearly all of the increase in child poverty occurred between 2007 and 2010 with the national rate rising by 3.8 percentage points, as shown by the orange bars (from 18.0 percent to 21.8 percent). In 2011 and 2012 the national poverty rate leveled off with little change, as shown by the green bars.

Change in Child Poverty by Selected Demographic Characteristics: 2007-2012

This brief analyzes and summarizes changes in child poverty from 2007-2012. Cited statistics include changes in the poverty rate and number of children in poverty by age, race and ethnicity, family type, and immigrant generation.

Emerging Child Welfare Practice Regarding Immigrant Children in Foster Care

As the number of immigrant children and children of immigrants in the U.S. has grown, child welfare agencies are serving an increasingly diverse spectrum of families, including many with at least one parent or some children who were born outside the U.S.