Pennsylvania
Leading Example
11. Community Participation
The government has practices for proactively engaging and empowering residents and community partners to inform policy development, program design and delivery processes with an emphasis on historically underserved communities.
11. Community Participation
PA Heart & Soul creates residentially driven plans that guide future town planning. In this process, residents are brought together to identify what matters most and reflect on what they love about their towns. The process ensures that all voices are heard, particularly ones that are often missing from these types of discussions. The Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) partners with the PA Humanities Council and Community Heart & Soul on this initiative.
PennDOT strives to attract businesses, employees, and stimulate the economy through compliance functions and outreach activities. PennDOT has several equal opportunity initiatives:
1. the Paths to PennDOT Workshops initiative to assist disadvantaged business enterprises (DBEs) in learning about PennDOT and how to secure future contracting opportunities
2. The Mentor Protégé Program (MPP) to increase diversity and participation in the DBE Program through outreach to underserved and underrepresented companies. MPP directly addresses PennDOT’s 2018 Disparity Study findings. MPP teams up contractors and new DBE subcontractors so that new subcontractors can learn how to grow their business. PennDOT partners with its DBE Supportive Services Center to provide training, technical assistance, and business development services to DBE firms to enable them to acquire the proficiency, experience, and expertise necessary to compete on an equal basis, with non-DBE firms for federally assisted PennDOT contracts and subcontracts. An upcoming disparity study will provide the most up-to-date information to create new opportunities and address identified barriers.
Governor’s Commissions on African American Affairs, Asian American and Pacific Islander Affairs, Latino Affairs, LGBTQ Affairs, Women, and Next Generation Engagement, with leading and respected executive directors and more than 120 commissioners appointed by the Governor, help in making state government accountable and responsive to the needs of historically underserved communities by advising the Governor, Cabinet, and all agencies under the Governor’s jurisdiction on policies, legislation, and programs to advance the status of those communities.
DHS has a rich history of engaging stakeholders and seeking feedback on the policies and programs utilized by those groups. The Office of Developmental Programs is in the process of engaging its stakeholders for feedback on a selective contracting proposal. Also, the Medical Assistance Transportation Program has conducted dozens of consumer listening sessions to improve non-emergency medical transportation; the Enrollment Assistance Contractor convenes regular consumer advisory committee meetings that provide input about the HealthChoices consumer experience; and, since 2019, DHS has worked closely with advocates and families to develop interventions to address the challenges children experience when receiving pediatric shift care services.
Promising Examples
1. Evaluation Leadership
The government has a designated leader and/or team responsible for coordinating evaluation policy and use of findings (e.g., Chief Evaluation Officer).
1. Evaluation Leadership
The Pennsylvania Governor’s Executive Order 2023-01 established the Pennsylvania Longitudinal Data System (PALDS), headed by an Executive Director. The EO’s intent is to bring together independent data sets related to education, workforce, and human services that would allow state agencies and policy makers to: understand long-term outcomes and contribute to better informed funding and policy decisions; spend less time finding and validating disparate data sources and more time analyzing it; establish transparent, trackable goals; develop partnerships to identify key research questions, performance measures, and outcomes; align investments to effective programming; and demonstrate progress towards workforce system goals and recommendations. The EO also established a Governance Board to coordinate evaluation of policy and use of findings. The PALDS program efforts also are guided by the Director of Research for the Governor’s Office who works cross-department and cross-agency to track and identify the Administration’s impact on the Commonwealth.
Executive Order 2023-05 created the new position of Commonwealth Chief Transformation Officer (CTO) who will enhance Pennsylvania’s ability to evaluate policy and process and will work to take a data-centric approach to reform initiatives. The CTO and the Office of Transformation and Opportunity have the ability to convene multiple agencies and stakeholders, both public and private, to evaluate policies and processes for efficiency and effectiveness. Initial endeavors have focused on improving efficiencies in permitting, licensure, and professional certifications, as well as increasing the percentage of the Commonwealth’s procurement spend on small and diverse businesses.
2. Data Leadership
The government has a designated leader and/or dedicated team responsible for coordinating the governance, collection, sharing, and analysis of data (e.g., Chief Data Officer).
2. Data Leadership
A 2017 executive order enhanced Pennsylvania’s enterprise approach to using data as a strategic asset by creating an open data program, establishing a statewide Chief Data Officer (CDO) and data advisory committee that includes data stewards, and encouraging the sharing and use of data. The CDO reports to the Deputy Secretary for Information Technology and State Chief Information Officer (CIO) in the Governor’s Office of Administration, and is charged with overseeing the use, management, and governance of data statewide. In 2021, the Chief Information Officer described the governance structures (Appendix E) related to shared services, including data management, in a 2021 testimony to the State Senate and its Communications and Technology Committee on state information technology legislation.
Additionally, in July 2021, the Commonwealth hired a Deputy General Counsel for Privacy, a chief privacy officer, within the Office of General Counsel to review relevant legislation and inform decisions regarding improving data laws, policies, and regulations. Two agency-level examples are: 1) the Office of Strategic Information Services within the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) and 2) the Center for Workforce Information and Analysis (CWIA), which enters into data-sharing agreements to share confidential data with numerous government entities.
3. Investment in Capacity to Learn What Works
The government invests at least 1% of discretionary program funds in evaluations [and evidence building] and uses evaluation findings to advance the agency’s mission.
3. Investment in Capacity to Learn What Works
The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) has several program areas that utilize at least 1% of program funds to evaluate the effectiveness of programming. For example, the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Unit of PCCD’s Office of Justice Programs sponsors Penn State University’s Evidence-Based Prevention and Intervention Support Center (EPIS), which has provided technical assistance and training resources to PCCD grantees implementing youth prevention programming since 2008. EPIS tracks program metrics to confirm that Violence and Delinquency Prevention Program (VDPP)-funded projects ($4,183,000 as proposed in the FY 23-24 Budget) and other related initiatives are implemented as researched to ensure that the best results are achieved. The JJDP Committee partners with DHS and the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) to jointly support EPIS ($1,100,000, proposed FY 23-24). Additionally, DDAP and PCCD have partnered to use State Opioid Response (SOR) funding to implement the Opioid Misuse Prevention Project (OMPP). Over the first four years of the project, over $5 million has been invested to support five pilot sites.
PCCD recently announced the approval of a $3 million Violence Intervention and Prevention (VIP) Grants Evaluation initiative, which will help capture early impacts of the agency’s investments in gun violence prevention and reduction strategies. This two-year initiative will launch on July 1, 2023 and will be spearheaded by researchers at the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago in partnership with Temple University. Researchers will examine activities supported by a subset of projects funded with VIP Grant monies ($105 million, proposed FY 23-24) and sites recently awarded Coordinated Community Violence Intervention Strategies Pilot Grants ($12 million, FY 22).
5. Data Policy and Practices
The government has documented, user-friendly policies and practices to expedite internal and external data sharing, linkage and access.
5. Data Policy and Practices
The Governor’s executive order on open data, data management, and data governance, first issued in 2017 and amended in 2019, states that data shall be shared internally and externally, whenever possible unless restricted by federal, state, or other statutes or regulations or by policies, standards, or best practices that prohibit the sharing of specific data, in order to foster innovation, cooperation, and transparency. In 2017, the state also created an enterprise data-sharing memorandum of understanding (eMOU), providing a more efficient process to obtain and provide data by, between, and among Commonwealth agencies. When it comes to sharing geospatial data in particular, the Pennsylvania State Geospatial Board has a publicly available data-sharing agreement to facilitate the sharing of data between government entities and non-state data owners, including academia, business, and nonprofits. The impact of data sharing is reflected in the board’s annual reports and special reports on state and local data sharing, importance of broadband access, COVID-19 response and recovery efforts, and land use and transportation planning.
Use of the PA Open Data Portal continues to increase each year. Currently available datasets, stories/visualizations, and other open data pages can be accessed by the public through the portal’s data catalog.
In July 2021, DOH launched the agency’s Data Modernization Initiative (DMI), a comprehensive, multi-stakeholder initiative to improve data sharing and quality standards within DOH and with the department’s external partners. Goals include redesigning data management systems across the agency, developing a data governance model, and coordinating the implementation of best practices for data creation, maintenance, and sharing.
6. Investing in What Works through Grants and Contracts
The government defines and prioritizes evidence of effectiveness in grant programs or contracts in order to achieve equitable outcomes.
6. Investing in What Works through Grants and Contracts
In August 2021, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) released a Notice of Grant Availability for up to $4 million of funding for Pennsylvania Industry Partnerships grants. Grant applicants will be evaluated in part by data collection and performance outcomes (15 points out of 100) as well as evidence building and project effectiveness (10 points out of 100). As part of the latter category, applicants must identify their level (or category) of evidence and “explain how they intend to strengthen their ability to utilize evidence for the purposes of evaluating program outcomes.”
7. Investing in What Works through Direct Services
The government directly administers evidence-based interventions (i.e. government employees deliver interventions) in order to achieve equitable outcomes.
7. Investing in What Works through Direct Services
In 2020, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) launched the PDE Evidence Resource Center to help Pennsylvania schools thoughtfully apply high-quality, relevant research to their local settings. By listing evidence-based interventions in the areas of instruction and curriculum, student support and professional development, and student wellness, this tool helps school districts identify and select strategies to address every aspect of school improvement. This tool also is being used for the PDE’s research agenda that allows the department to identify and measure its progress in meeting its research and learning priorities.
For over 10 years, the Department of Corrections (DOC) has published a biannual State Intermediate Punishment (SIP) performance report that shows significantly lower recidivism rates for the program participants of SIP back to 2005. To increase participation in these effective programs, Act 115/Justice Reinvestment was passed in 2019. DOC expanded the SIP program (now called State Drug Treatment Program) into more institutions, and the savings generated from the inmates going through the program (as a result of their reduced stay in prison and not receiving parole supervision) will be reinvested into county probation programs, sentencing, and victim services.
Pennsylvania has been recognized as a national leader for its efforts to increase availability of the lifesaving opioid overdose reversal medication naloxone. The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) administers the Naloxone for First Responders Program in collaboration with Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) and other sister agencies. Since the program’s launch in 2017, PCCD has collected, tracked, and analyzed naloxone distribution data via a network of 48 Centralized Coordinating Entities and other organizations receiving naloxone directly via a statewide portal (launched in 2021). This distribution data, coupled with drug overdose surveillance data from the DOH ODSMP, has informed the development of a statewide “Naloxone Saturation Plan” by DDAP as part of Pennsylvania’s State Opioid Response (SOR) Plan last year. Drug overdose surveillance data also is shared regularly with the eight agencies that are part of the Interagency Substance Use Response Team (ISURT) for its use in response planning. Several agencies monitor if medication is reaching people and places with the greatest need.
PCCD conducted original recidivism research with assistance from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania to confirm if the County Intermediate Punishment (CIP) program (i.e., diversionary sentence of probation with restrictive conditions with intensive supervision for drug and alcohol offenders), which is supported annually by an $18 million state appropriation, yields better recidivism results for individuals that participate in the program versus a cohort of similar individuals sentenced to state prison. The study found that an individual diverted to a CIP sentence had a lower three-year recidivism rate (25.7%) than a comparable individual sentenced to state prison (34.9%). This study has been used to solidify support for maintaining CIP funding. A presentation of the study was reported during a commission meeting.
9. Performance Management
The government has performance management practices for incorporating evidence and data results to improve decision-making processes and create a culture of accountability.
9. Performance Management
Keystone STARS is Pennsylvania’s Quality Rating Improvement System at the Office of Child Development and Early Learning. It aims to improve the quality of early childhood education programs through a performance standards framework leveraged in state contracts to providers. Early learning programs can earn a quality rating score from a STAR 1 to a STAR 4 based on meeting quality standards. Providers who participate have access to customized supports, grants, awards, and other financial assistance, such as increased subsidized child care payments based on quality level. Eligibility criteria for child care providers to participate in other state-funded initiatives hinges on the STAR 3 or 4 designation, as noted in state regulations and program guidance.
During his first two weeks in office, Governor Shapiro signed Executive Order 2023-05 creating the Office of Transformation and Opportunity (OTO) within the Governor’s Office. One of the charges of this office is to design and implement a performance management system that is specifically focused on monitoring metrics that ensure the government is serving as an effective partner to the business community. The office will work in tandem with applicable agencies to develop actionable KPIs and will visualize data with the goal of providing real-time insights into agency performance. These insights will shine a spotlight on operational deficiencies, which can be proactively remedied. OTO has taken a similar approach to permitting reform, spurred by Executive Order 2023-07 to catalog all permits issued across all Commonwealth agencies. The creation of this comprehensive data set will, for the first time, allow data that pertains to the timely issuance of permits to be tracked over time. The initiative also identified staffing and technological resource deficiencies, redundant and cumbersome processes, and opportunities for legislative or regulatory reform.
10. Results-Driven Contracting
The government uses strategies to structure, evaluate, and actively manage contracts strategically, using data to help leverage procurement as a tool to achieve equitable outcomes.
10. Results-Driven Contracting
Since 2013, DOC has set performance targets for its community corrections program through performance-based contracts. Providers who meet recidivism prevention goals receive a 1% increase in their rate, while providers who fail to meet targets for two consecutive years can have their contracts terminated. Following the introduction of these performance goals, the program’s recidivism rate dropped by 11.3% in 2014, another 16% in 2015, and an additional 11% in 2016. In 2018, the Commonwealth Foundation’s report on criminal justice reform in Pennsylvania recommended expanding the program to other areas based on these results.
DOC is in receipt of a FY 21 “Pay for Success” grant from the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance. Using federal funds, DOC will pilot a model to provide housing services to hard-to-serve and vulnerable populations after release. Vendors will earn a significant portion of funds by meeting DOC defined outcomes, such as recidivism reduction and placement in permanent housing.
In 2022, the Department of Labor and Industry launched a Results Driven Contracting project with the Harvard Kennedy School’s Government Performance Lab. The project included the completion of a workforce grantee engagement survey aimed at identifying opportunities for improvement in the competitive grant process and the implementation of a grant life-cycle roadmap for use during monthly grantee meetings. The survey was sent to workforce grantees and grant applicants from the previous five years and yielded a 45% response rate. The survey covered awareness of grant opportunities, applying for grant opportunities, and the post-award experience with a focus on grant equity principles. As a result of the survey data, L&I has implemented some key changes: L&I now posts a quarterly workforce grant forecast; the department instituted: a standardized process to review invoicing procedures with grant recipients at the initial grantee meeting and added staff to expedite invoice processing; and the department has developed a new budgeting and invoicing spreadsheet.
12. Identifying Key Outcomes and Tracking Progress
The government has a strategic plan or priorities with measurable goals to achieve equitable outcomes that were informed by underserved communities and the government tracks progress on these key outcomes.
12. Identifying Key Outcomes and Tracking Progress
The Pennsylvania Governor has the following priorities: creating economic opportunity; investing in infrastructure; making government work for you; lowering costs for families; creating opportunity in schools; investing in safer communities for all; ensuring the justice system works; safeguarding our land, water, and air; supporting Pennsylvania farmers; expanding access to healthcare; and holding corporations accountable. Each of these priorities has goals still in development this early in the current administration. These will have performance measures tracked on the state’s open data platform. One such way to trace the progress of accomplishments and outcomes is through the Governor’s Executive Budget Program Measures platform where key program measures for each agency, commission, office, etc. are tracked.
The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) developed a four-year State Plan for 2019–22 with the overarching goals of Reduce stigma, Intensify primary prevention, Strengthen treatment systems, and Empower sustained recovery, known as RISE, on the control, prevention, intervention, treatment, rehabilitation, research, education, and training aspects of substance use disorders throughout the Commonwealth. The plan documents collaboration between other state agencies and local organizations in accomplishing these goals and objectives. There is a plan for 2023–26 under development, which is informed by data still being collected from the 2019 plan.
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