Research Agenda of the Office of
the Assistant Secretary for
Planning and Evaluation (OASPE)
Annual Research Meeting of AcademyHealth
San Diego, California
June 8, 2004
William P. Marton, Ph.D.
Director, Division of Disability and
Aging Policy
What is OASPE

Located in the Office of the Secretary
(OS) of the Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS)

Originally established in 1965 in HEW as
the Office of the Assistant Secretary for
Program Coordination

OASPE currently contains a diverse staff
of approximately 75 professional
employees

Our total budget is approximately $40
million; about $20 million is devoted to
policy research and evaluation
Functions of OASPE
OASPE performs four major functions:

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Policy analysis and development
Strategic planning, coordination and
management
Policy implementation
Policy support through research,
evaluation and data collection
Organization of OASPE
Immediate Office
Michael O'Grady
Assistant Secretary for Planning
Planning and Evaluation
Ann-Marie Lynch
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary
Office of Disability, Aging,
and Long-Term Care Policy
John S. Hoff
Deputy Asistant Secretary
Office of Science and Data Policy
Jim Scanlon
Deputy Assistant Secretary
(Acting)
Office of Health Policy
Donald Young
Deputy Asistant Secretary
Office of Human Services Policy
Don Winstead
Deputy Assistant Secretary
Office of Planning and Policy Support
Vacant
OASPE Funding Mechanisms
OASPE uses a number of funding
mechanisms:

Contractual research
 Full and open competition
 Sole source
 Delivery orders/task orders

Grants

Other
Office of Disability, Aging, and
Long-Term Care Policy (DALTCP)

DALTCP is charged with developing,
analyzing, evaluating and coordinating
HHS policies and programs that support
the independence, productivity, health
and long-term care needs of children,
working age adults and older persons
with disabilities.

Organized into two divisions
DALTCP Research and Evaluation
Recent research activities have focused
on a number of areas:
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Home and Community-Based Services
Long-Term Care Workforce
Nursing Home Quality
Long-Term Care Financing
Data Infrastructure and Modeling
Home and Community-Based
Services

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Cash and Counseling Demonstration
and Evaluation
 Partnership with RWJ
 Demonstration in AR, NJ, FL
 Early results are encouraging
Cash and Counseling Non-Participant
Study
Study of Home Modification and
Assistive Technology Policy and Practice
Long-Term Care Workforce

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National initiative to improve the
recruitment and retention of the longterm care paraprofessional workforce
Better Jobs/Better Care Demonstration
and Applied Research Program
National Symposium on the
Recruitment and Retention of Direct
Care Workers
National Nursing Assistant Survey
Nursing Home Quality

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Understanding and improving nursing
home quality assurance processes
Resident-centered practices in nursing
homes
Ensuring that the MDS is compliant with
Consolidated Health Informatics
standards
Evaluation of the single-task worker
regulation
Long-Term Care Financing


Understanding the role of private longterm care insurance
 Analysis of new claimants
 Survey of purchasers of federal longterm care insurance
Exploring Insurance and Saving Options
 Policy development (e.g., tax
incentive policies such as credits or
deductions)
 Cost estimation and modeling
Data Infrastructure and Modeling

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Exploring new approaches to defining
and measuring elderly disability
Developing assistive technology and
environmental assessment instruments
for national surveys
Designing a survey of alternative
residential care facilities
Actuarial and microsimulation model
development