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Partner Profile: The Nation's Leaders Turn to Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.

September 10, 2007
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In addition to the many grantees that First 5 LA works with, we also partner with organizations to help inform our planning and decision-making process. This column will highlight some of those organizations and their work.

Addressing challenging social policy issues is not an easy task, and providers and policymakers often aren't sure if their efforts have a desired impact. To help evaluate whether public programs are working as intended, many organizations and policymakers turn to Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.

Mathematica is a non-partisan firm that looks to improve public well-being through data collection and analysis. Through policy research and surveys, Mathematica's studies inform policymakers and help organizations improve program delivery. The firm's reputation for quality and objectivity is widely known.

Formed in 1968, Mathematica is headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, and has offices in Washington, D.C., and Cambridge, Massachusetts. Its staff is composed of economists, psychologists, sociologists, physicians, education specialists, statisticians, and other experts that work collaboratively across disciplines.

Mathematica's early childhood expertise has been spotlighted in several large-scale national evaluations, including a longitudinal study of the federal Early Head Start program at 17 sites. The research focused on family functioning and children's development at 14, 24, and 36 months. The firm also conducted follow-up data collection of the children when they were in pre-kindergarten and now in fifth grade.

In addition to early childhood policies and programs, the company studies health care, welfare, education, employment, and nutrition initiatives and has conducted two national evaluations of the federal SCHIP program.

Mathematica is currently working with First 5 LA and LAUP to study the implementation of LAUP programs and how they contribute to the school readiness of the children served in L.A. County. Based on analyses of child development measures in the first phase of the study (spring 2007), the evaluation team identified those that are most appropriate for the culturally and linguistically diverse children and families LAUP serves. These are being used in a main study beginning this month. Results are expected by fall 2008.