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Field Trip!

(Apr 25, 2011) BPA's HR and IT Manager, Frances Laskey, gave a training on communication and stress management to a group of about 50 administrative staff from the One-Stop Centers in the Yuba-Sutter-Yolo county area. Held in Yuba City, the training covered a range of topics, including identifying both good stress and bad stress (and healthy and unhealthy responses to stress); considering the role communication plays in creating or alleviating stress; looking at the various components of communication; and learning about personal communication styles and how understanding your own style can help you adapt to and work with others. Frances reports that it was a lively and enthusiastic crowd, and that--for her at least!--the three-hour training just flew by.

Report on Low-Literate Adult ESL Learners Released

(Jan 2011) A report on "The Impact of a Reading Intervention for Low-Literate Adult ESL Learners" was released by the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance at the Institute of Education Sciences. The impact study used an experimental design to test the effectiveness of the basal reader Sam and Pat in improving the reading and English language skills of adults enrolled in 66 ESL literacy classes at ten sites. Berkeley Policy Associates was part of the study team, along with American Institutes for Research (prime contractor), the Lewin Group, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., Educational Testing Service (ETS), and World Education. Fannie Tseng and former BPA colleagues Jacklyn Altuna and Johannes Bos are cited as authors on the report.

2010 California Parent Survey Report Published

(Dec 2010) Commissioned by the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health, BPA conducted a survey that asked California parents about their children's health and well-being. The 2010 California Parent Survey report provides a wealth of information about the status of children in California. Kudos to the BPA team of Emily Rosenthal, Dwayne Banks, Fannie Tseng, Katie Hornung, Kristin Tyler, Svetha Janumpalli, Vincent Chan, and Thomas Goldring.

Mayor Appoints BPA VP and CFO to WIB

(Dec 2010) Berkeley Policy Associates VP and CFO Paul Wright was recently appointed to the City of Oakland Workforce Investment Board by Mayor Dellums. No stranger to public service, Paul previously chaired Oakland's Civil Service Board.

Congratulations, Paul!

U.S. Department of Education Releases Final RLIS Report

(Sep 7, 2010) The U.S. Department of Education has released the Evaluation of the Implementation of the Rural and Low-Income School (RLIS) Program: Final Report (2010), which provides information on the implementation of the RLIS program in school year 2008-09 and on achievement trends in RLIS districts between school years 2002-03 and 2007-08. Drawing on interviews with nine RLIS state coordinators and 43 RLIS district coordinators and on analyses of district-level demographic and achievement data, researchers from Berkeley Policy Associates and Learning Point Associates, led by BPA's Kay Magill, found that the districts used the RLIS money in ways that were intended to improve the quality of instruction and increase student achievement. District coordinators reported that the flexibility of the RLIS program allowed them to use these funds to meet specific needs in their districts; districts receiving funds from the RLIS program in school year 2008-09 reported that they used the funds to purchase technology, to provide professional development for teachers, and to support instructional programs designed to help low-income students. The report was recently cited in the Public Education Network Weekly NewsBlast for August 13, 2010, in a segment called "Tackling rural challenges."

BPA VP and CFO Receives Federal Appointment

(Aug 2010) BPA is proud to announce the appointment of Paul Wright, BPA's Vice President and CFO, to the U.S. Small Business Administration Regulatory Fairness Board. The board consists of small business representatives who work in concert with the SBA Office of the National Ombudsman, whose primary mission is to "assist small businesses when they experience excessive or unfair federal regulatory enforcement actions, such as repetitive audits or investigations, excessive fines, penalties, threats, retaliation or other unfair enforcement action by a federal agency." Congratulations, Paul!

The National Ombudsman receives comments from small business concerns and acts as a liaison between them and federal agencies. Comments received from small businesses are forwarded to federal agencies for a high level review and federal agencies are requested to consider the fairness of their enforcement action.

Paul will participate in meetings and hearings from time to time in the SBA's San Francisco office, but he will also travel to Washington, D.C. at least once per year. He will combine those trips with visits to BPA's D.C. office, as well as key clients DOL, HHS, and ED. Paul's first meeting will be in D.C. the week of August 29.

BPA Rates Mention on EdWeek Blog

(Jul 12, 2010) Berkeley Policy Associates received a mention on Education Week's "Learning the Language" blog in an article about the QTEL project. Led by Project Director Raquel Sanchez, BPA's evalutaion of QTEL (Quality Teaching for English Learners) is a five-year random assignment study being underwritten by the U.S. Department of Education. QTEL is a unique professional development program that helps teachers and teacher educators become better equipped to educate secondary students who are also learning English as a second language.

BPA Welcomes New President and CEO

(Jun 1, 2010) Berkeley Policy Associates is pleased to welcome Dwayne A. Banks, Ph.D., as our new President and CEO. Dwayne has been a professional health economist for more than 20 years. He has extensive experience in applying advanced economic analysis to both domestic and international health systems. Prior to joining BPA, Dwayne held the position of Dean of the School of Business Administration at the American University in Dubai.

Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) Introduces Cosmos Chaos

(Apr 6, 2010) Cosmos Chaos™ is an educational role-playing adventure game on the Nintendo DC that's designed to help struggling 4th grade readers. This game targets the "4th grade slump," a well-documented drop-off in standardized test scores that occurs as students encounter more difficult texts when reading to learn instead of learning to read. BPA, in partnership with the Hawai'i State Department of Education, Alpha Island, Inc., and Stanford University, conducted a rigorous random control trial research study to determine the efficacy of the game intervention in improving students' vocabulary acquisition, use of word learning strategies, and reading comprehension. The BPA team was lead by Raquel Sanchez.

U.S. Department of Education Publishes RLIS Interim Report

(Mar 1, 2010) Recently published to the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development website, the Evaluation of the Implementation of the Rural and Low-Income School (RLIS) Program: Interim Report (2009) provides information on the implementation of the Rural and Low-Income Schools (RLIS) program in school year 2007-08. The RLIS program provides funds to support the improvement strategies that are being implemented by rural districts serving low-income students to make adequate yearly progress (AYP). This BPA-authored report draws on interviews with nine RLIS state coordinators and demographic district-level data.

Project Director Kay Magill thanks Emily Rosenthal, Phyllis Weinstock, and the much-missed Sean Aten for their work on this project, and Jane Skoler (and Tricia Cambron for work a year ago!) for helping to get it out the door at last.

U.S. Dept. of Labor Publishes Second Interim WIRED Report

(Feb 9, 2010) In December 2009 the U.S. Dept. of Labor Employee and Training Administration (ETA) announced the publication of BPA-authored ETA Occasional paper The Power of Partnership: American Regions Collaborating for Economic Competitiveness, 2009 Generation I WIRED Interim Evaluation Report on its website. The report summarizes the progress that the Generation I regions made during their second year of funding in establishing collaborative efforts with workforce development, economic development, and education partners. The collaboratives aim to transform their regional economies. Congratulations to Project Director Sherry Almandsmith and the whole WIRED team!

Research Analyst Moonlights as Co-Editor and Co-Author

(Jan 4, 2010) While editing Toward Useful Evaluation Practices in College Foreign Language Education, BPA Research Analyst Castle Sinicrope worked with colleagues from University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa evenings and weekends over the past year. Recently published by the National Foreign Language Resource Center, the volume focuses on innovative, useful evaluation work conducted within U.S. college foreign language programs. Castle is also a co-author on the final chapter, which reflects on the status of evaluation in college FL education and articulates an agenda for making evaluation a key component in language education practice. Congratulations, Castle! (View the cover here.)

Pasadena Office Community Service Event

(Dec 14, 2009) The Scholarship Association for ESL Students (SAESL) held its 5th Annual Personal Statement Workshop Series at Wilson High School in East Los Angeles in November 2009. Raquel Sanchez and Xochitl Quintero of BPA's Pasadena office joined other volunteers in providing high school students assistance with writing personal statements for college applications. SAESL’s mission is to award scholarships and provide academic resources to increase the number of ESL (or ELL) and underprivileged Latino students succeeding in higher education. In doing so, SAESL seeks to engage students in the arts and provide cultural exposure leading to personal growth, social responsibility and community engagement. View photo here.

BPA Community Service Event

(Nov 17, 2009) BPA staff volunteered at the Alameda County Community Food Bank, sorting and packaging over 7,000 pounds of oranges destined for needy families. The Food Bank’s mission? To alleviate hunger by providing nutritious food and nutrition education to people in need, educating the public, and promoting public policies that address hunger and its root causes. View photos here.

BPA Survey Referenced in New York Times

(Oct 30, 2009) BPA staff members Hannah Betesh, Kristin Bard, and Will Martinez led a survey of truck drivers at the Port of Oakland during the fall of 2008. An article about the issue which references BPA's study findings has been published in the October 30, 2009 New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/30/us/30sftruckers.html?_r=3&pagewanted=all

Fannie Tseng Promoted to Principal Analyst

(Sep 1, 2009) Berkeley Policy Associates congratulates Fannie Tseng on her promotion to Principal Analyst. We deeply appreciate Fannie’s hard work, dedication, commitment, and expertise. She has helped us out in so many ways—at a corporate level and on a landslide of project work—they are too numerous to count. Congratulations, Fannie!

Read more about Fannie here.

BPA Expands Roster

(Jul 9, 2009) BPA added five new staff members this year. Research Assistant (and Employee of the Month) Thomas Goldring joined us in January 2009, followed by Research Assistant Mary Rodriguez in April. Benefits and Bookkeeping Assistant Ainisha Smith and Production Specialist Jane Skoler came aboard in May. And in June former BPA Junior Analyst Katie Hornung returned as a full-fledged Research Analyst following the completion of her masters degree in Sociology and Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. Welcome one and all!

Beacon Economics and Berkeley Policy Associates Team Up for Report

(May 11, 2009) Berkely Policy Associates recently teamed up with Beacon Economics to evaluate the economic impact of California's spending on human services programs. The report was prepared for The Child and Family Policy Institute of California. See Spending on County Human Services Programs in California: An Evaluation of Economic Impacts.

WIRED Initiative 2007 Interim Evaluation Report

(Sep 25, 2008) The U.S. Department of Labor Employment & Training Administration has posted "Early Implementation of Generation I of the Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Initiative: 2007 Interim Evaluation Report," on its website.

Berkeley Policy Associates launches news page in affiliation with After Ed.

California's Child Development Facility Accreditation Project

(Sep, 2008) BPA is excited to announce a new partnership with Learning Point Associates of Chicago. We are conducting an extensive literature review of 21st Century after school programs for Learning Point Associates, which will become part of a larger joint study of these programs. This review is part of a large U.S. Department of Education funded project aimed at building a national database of 21st Century Learning Centers to capture the after school services provided by these centers, the outcomes for participating students, and the impact of state-level after school policy on center operations. The BPA literature review will be conducted by Phyllis Weinstock and Yasuyo Abe, with assistance from Vanora Thomas.

BPA Completes Six-Year Study for the California Judicial Council
In 1994, the Judicial Council adopted California Rules of Court, rule 1424, to serve as program guidelines for Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) programs, which are administered by the California Judicial Council to assist children involved in juvenile dependency proceedings. The Legislature requires the Judicial Council to report on the implementation of the CASA grants program and to make recommendations on continuation and expansion of funding. The Peer Assessment and Compliance Review (PACR) project, created by the Judicial Council in collaboration with California Court Appointed Special Advocates Association (CalCASA) was developed in response to these reporting requirements. BPA was contracted to lead the PACR Evaluation Team which included the Judicial Council CASA Grants Analyst, a Judicial Council Attorney, a county CASA program Executive Director, and a CalCASA representative. The objectives of the PACR field study were to identify:

  • local CASA program accomplishments
  • innovative strategies useful to other CASA programs
  • areas requiring technical assistance
  • capacity to track program-related outcomes
  • appropriate outcome measures for future research
  • compliance with rule 1424

The Peer Assessment and Compliance Review (PACR) Innovative Strategies Report is available on-line or by contacting info@bpacal.com.

California's Child Development Facility Accreditation Project
BPA recently completed an evaluation of California's Child Development Facility Accreditation Project (CDFAP), a statewide initiative designed to improve the quality of child care in 370 state-subsidized child care centers and 900 family child care homes. BPA's evaluation included two rounds of observations of a sample of forty participating programs; a post-project survey of a stratified random sample of 145 participating programs; on-site interviews and focus groups in five counties; and analysis of project demographic data and baseline program assessment data.

The evaluation found that quality improvements resulting from the project, and sustained for six months post-project, included improvements in staff-child interactions, program materials and activities, and some areas of basic care. The project succeeded in bringing 340 subsidized child care centers, 740 family child care homes, and twenty school-age child care centers through the self-improvement and application processes for accreditation. A majority of survey respondents had not been officially accredited with six months of completion of the project, but most continued to await validator visits or official decisions about accreditation status. About one-third of survey respondents reported receiving post-project support for accreditation, either through their own organizations or through county agencies.

New Projects & Partnerships

The SOURCE* Program: An Intervention to Promote College Application and Enrollment Among Urban Youth

In partnership with EdBoost Education Corporation and support from the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), BPA has completed the recruitment phase of its evaluation of the SOURCE program, and has enrolled over 2,000 L.A. high school students to participate. SOURCE targets high school juniors who aspire to attend a four-year college and have completed a substantial portion of their UC/CSU requirements. The program provides the students with mentors/advisors who are currently college students themselves, and the goal of the program is to increase the number of urban youth applying to and enrolling in college. The three-year demonstration project will draw from LAUSD high school students, a majority of whom reside in low-income households. BPA's random assignment evaluation of the program is designed to test whether or not providing high school students with advisors during the college application process helps more students get into college.

The project began in July 2005, and will run for 39 months, with a final evaluation report due in October 2008. The SOURCE Program Demonstration and Evaluation has received funding through grants from the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences, and the W.T. Grant Foundation.

*SOURCE - Student Outreach for College Enrollment.

Evaluation of the City of Oakland's Violence Prevention and Public Safety Act (VPPSA, also known as Measure Y)
BPA, the RAND Corporation, and Leapfrog Consulting are collaborating on an evaluation of VPPSA-funded program activities. Funded by the City of Oakland, this project includes evaluations of individual programs funded by Measure Y; a study of inter-program and inter-agency collaboration (focusing on collaboration across violence prevention and community policing programs); and a study of the aggregate effects of the VPPSA, including design of a logic model for the initiative as a whole, and analysis of citywide crime effects as well as citizen perceptions of public safety.

Project News

(Sep, 2008) Study of the Implementation of Rigorous, Project-Level Evaluations Conducted by Teaching American History Grantee
BPA was recently awarded a project by the U. S. Department of Education to carry out a study of the implementation of evaluations conducted by Teaching American History (TAH) Grantees. Project goals are to examine the challenges faced by the TAH grantees in conducting rigorous evaluations and to make recommendations on how these challenges might be addressed.

The Teaching American History grant program recognizes the need for greater content knowledge of American History among teachers in elementary and secondary schools. These grants fund collaborative programs to raise student achievement by improving teachers' knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of American history. Professional development activities vary widely and include coaching and mentoring approaches, technology-based and distance learning, field trips and field research opportunities, summer institutes with school-year follow-up workshops or colloquia, and combinations of pre-service and in-service training. Content ranges from a focus on major national political themes and events to cultural or social history of specific groups, state and local history, and development of student skills in historical inquiry.

Introducing BPA's Vice President of Operations

(Apr 14, 2008) The CEO and Board of Directors of Berkeley Policy Associates are pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Paul Wright as Vice President of Operations and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Wright joins BPA in the midst of a sustained phase of growth and diversification in our project portfolio. He replaces Dr. Fannie Tseng, who recently relocated to Seattle and will continue to work at BPA as a Senior Research Analyst.

Mr. Wright, who holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Minnesota, has extensive experience in financial and corporate management. His background includes the management of construction and government services firms in the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as seven years of service in the U.S. Army, where he served as Supervising Attorney.

Mr. Wright's appointment fills a new full-time senior management position in our firm, reflecting our continued growth and increased profitability in recent years. In his new position Mr. Wright will be in charge of streamlining BPA's financial management, contracting, and quality assurance processes. He will be the company's primary point of contact for our growing number of clients and partner organizations, and will oversee our financial, human resources, information technology, and office management functions. In addition, Mr. Wright will support and advise BPA's project directors in their project management responsibilities.

BPA is a 100 percent employee-owned, majority woman-owned small business. Founded in 1972, BPA has a staff of approximately 30, and works with many consultants and subcontractors as it carries out large-scale evaluation and technical assistance projects in a range of policy areas that include education, workforce development, welfare reform, youth violence prevention, disability, and child development. BPA's projects have study sites throughout the U.S. and Pacific Rim. BPA's principal office is in Oakland, CA and BPA also has staff located in Pasadena, CA; Hilo, HI; and Seattle, WA.

 

Johannes M. Bos, Ph.D.
President and CEO

Sandra Petznick
Chair of the Board of Directors

U.S. Department of Labor Posts BPA WIRED Report

(Mar 1, 2008) The U.S. Department of Labor Employment & Training Administration has posted "Early Implementation of Generation I of the Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Initiative: 2007 Interim Evaluation Report," on its website. http://wdr.doleta.gov/research/keyword.cfm?fuseaction=dsp_resultDetails&pub_id=2360&mp=y

Project News

(Oct 1, 2007) BPA and SRI International will be conducting an evaluation of the Teaching American History Program (TAH). Awarded by the U.S. Department of Education, Policy and Program Studies Service, this study will examine the relationship between teachers' participation in the Teaching American History program, increased teacher content knowledge, and student achievement.

In 2001, Congress established the TAH program to support teaching American history, improve instruction in the subject, and provide high-quality professional development for teachers by providing funds to local school districts for developing and operating three-year professional development projects. As an integral part of the program, grantees are required to partner with one or more institutions of higher education, nonprofit history or humanities organizations, or libraries or museums to tap into the content expertise and instructional support in American history that these entities can provide. The funded projects are expected to use best instructional practices indicated in research, support the development of critical skills necessary for teaching to higher standards, and demonstrate how school districts and institutions with content expertise can collaborate to improve American history teaching.

Building upon past TAH grantee evaluations, our evaluation will focus on the outcomes of the TAH programs, particularly on program contributions to teachers' content knowledge and student learning. Specifically, the evaluation addresses the following set of questions:

  • What is the association between participation in TAH and teacher content knowledge?
  • What is the association between teacher participation in TAH and student achievement?
  • What are the grantee practices associated with gains in teacher content knowledge?
  • What are the grantee practices associated with gains in student achievement?
  • What is the technical quality and rigor of existing TAH grantee evaluations that use national or state tests to measure teacher content knowledge and student achievement?

The project will be directed by Phyllis Weinstock. The project team includes Raquel Sanchez, Hans Bos, and Lorena Ortiz Adams. SRI International is a subcontractor on the study.

Day to Day at BPA

(Jun 1, 2007) The rest of our website has a lot of information about what we do at BPA. But what is it really like to work here? Let's take a look!

BPA is a small, employee-owned, majority woman-owned business, and each of those adjectives describes something about our day-to-day environment. As a small business (27 staff at this writing), we are a close-knit group, with very little bureaucracy or hierarchy. We work together in project teams of anywhere from two to ten people, and most staff work on two to four projects at a time, so staff have the opportunity to work with just about everybody in the company at some point. We get to know each other well, and support each other in professional and personal growth. We all pitch in as needed to meet project and proposal deadlines, as well as to design and implement corporate policies and initiatives to improve our company as a whole. As a small business we also offer staff, particularly junior or mid-level staff, earlier opportunities to take on new responsibilities than they might be offered in a larger company.

As an employee-owned business, we share responsibility for the company's success and are deeply involved in maintaining a high level of quality and integrity, not only in the work we take on, but in the process of determining what work we would like to pursue. Our employee-owners determine as a group what topic areas we are active in, and what types of projects we pursue within those areas. In addition, we share information about our finances with all staff, and invite staff questions and suggestions regarding corporate planning and decision-making.

As a majority woman-owned business, we value consensus in decision-making, and flexibility and accommodation in providing a good work/life balance for our staff. We regularly seek input from staff on both major (strategic planning) and minor (new coffee maker) issues. We allow staff to work schedules that meet their needs outside of work: start early/end early; start late/end late; time off in the afternoon to pick up a child from school; scheduling around volunteer commitments or continuing education; working from home as needed; even working less than full time.

The best thing about working at BPA day in and day out, however, is the people who work here. We have a great group of people who are smart, come from many different backgrounds and bring many different perspectives to the work, and above all are deeply committed to the work that we do and to our mission of providing high quality information to promote good social and public policy.

Staff News
BPA has been busy welcoming the 2007 "cohort" of new staff, while also saying fond, though sad, farewells to a few departing staff members.

In May two of our junior staff, Katie Hornung and Lan Phan, both left BPA to move to New York. Katie will be entering Teachers College at Columbia University in the fall to pursue a Master's degree in Education, while Lan is moving to be with family. We wish both of them the best of luck!

As for new staff, we have added a grand total of eight (!!) new staff since the beginning of December. Shereda Robinson and Kristina Lara both joined us as Research Assistants in December. In February, Jacklyn Altuna came on board as a Research Analyst, specializing in education policy. Glen Wolf joined us in April as a quantitative Research Analyst. Tsung-Yun (Jamie) Tzeng started in May as a Research Assistant. And in the first week of June Fenella Carpena (Research Assistant), Hannah Betesh (Research Analyst), and Savitha Moorthy (Senior Research Analyst) all joined us. We are tremendously excited about this new wave of talent, and look forward to getting to know everyone.

Finally, in addition to our new hires, we are also celebrating the arrival of two altogether new additions to our "family." Jacqueline Berman (Principal Analyst) and Raquel Sanchez (Senior Analyst) each gave birth to a daughter recently (in April and June, respectively). We wish them and their families health and every happiness!

BPA Wins New DOL WIRED Evaluation Contract!

(Dec 1, 2006) Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) is a new initiative which focuses on the role of talent development in an effort to improve regional economic competitiveness, increase job growth, and create new opportunities for workers. The WIRED Initiative concentrates on labor market areas that comprise multiple jurisdictions within state or across state borders. It supports innovative approaches to education and workforce development that go beyond traditional strategies for preparing workers to compete and succeed both within the United States and globally. Through the WIRED Initiative, Governors have a unique opportunity to design and implement strategic approaches to regional economic development and job growth. The WIRED Initiative will take place over the course of three years and is intended to catalyze the creation of high-skill and high-wage opportunities for American workers within the context of regional economies. This initiative is designed for regions that have been affected by global trade, are dependent on a single industry, or are recovering from natural disasters.

DOL recently awarded BPA the contract to complete a four-year evaluation of this initiative. The project will be directed by Sherry Almandsmith and the project team includes Kay Magill, Linda Toms Barker , and Tommy Smith. We are partnering with subcontractors at the University of California at San Diego.

Louisiana Family Recovery Corps
BPA, in partnership with the Policy & Research Group in New Orleans, Dr. Phuong Pham of Tulane University, and the Tulane Community Outreach Group, will evaluate the implementation of Louisiana Family Recovery Corps (LFRC) services throughout the state of Louisiana and the impact of these services on residents displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The project is a one-year process and outcome evaluation of a state-funded initiative to support low-income families who were displaced by the hurricanes. Jacqueline Berman will serve as Project Director and Yasuyo Abe will serve as Principal Investigator.

Upward Bound
BPA is partnering with Abt Associates and the Urban Institute on the U.S. Department of Education's Evaluation of Upward Bound's Increased Focus on Higher-Risk Students. This project is a random assignment evaluation conducted over five years.

Evaluation of Conversion Magnet Schools-Feasibility Phase
BPA is participating as a subcontractor to The American Institutes for Research (AIR) to conduct an impact evaluation of magnet schools for the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Project team includes Sherry Almandsmith and Raquel Sanchez.

Staff News
BPA staff recently volunteered time and labor in assisting the Alameda County Community Food Bank in their Food Bank office and warehouse facilities. Through a network of 300 community based organizations, including food pantries and soup kitchens, the Alameda County Community Food Bank provides food assistance to 40,000 people each week, including low-income and working poor adults, children, the elderly, people with disabilities, abuse survivors, people living with AIDS, and the homeless. The Food Bank also works with statewide and national anti-hunger organizations to support legislation addressing low-income people's food needs.

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BPA Showcased at the Workforce Innovations Conference

(2006) BPA recently was a Silver Sponsor of the 2006 Workforce Innovations Conference , which took place mid-summer in Anaheim, California. Organized by the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration (ETA) in collaboration with the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD), Workforce Innovations is the premier annual conference for local, state, and national workforce leaders and their partners from industry, education, and economic development. This year's conference theme was "Regional Strategies...Global Results: Talent Driving Prosperity," and attendees explored the important role of workforce professionals and their partners in meeting the national challenge of global competition. Sherry Almandsmith presented findings from the Evaluation of the Wisconsin Reemployment Project: Strengthening Connections Between Unemployment Insurance and One-Stop Delivery Systems. The evaluation described the implementation of this innovative reemployment demonstration project, and assessed its impact on UI claimants who participated in project services.

 

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Staff News
Over the past six months, BPA has welcomed on board five new members of our research staff. In April Lorena Ortiz Adams and Lan Phan joined us, as Junior Analyst II and Research Assistant respectively. Lorena has settled in as our statistical wizard, while she works toward completion of a Master's degree in Statistics from Cal State East Bay. Lan comes to us from U.C. Berkeley with a B.S. in Environmental Science, Policy and Management and a B.A. in Japanese Language and Arts. Her interest in the social impacts of environmental policy will provide additional perspective to our work, particularly in the area of poverty-related research.
In June we hired Dina de Veer as a temporary summer Office Assistant. Dina is currently a senior at U.C. Berkeley, double majoring in Sociology and Peace and Conflict Studies. As of September 1st, she has been converted to a regular BPA employee, and will be working for us full time as a Research Assistant after her graduation in December. Most recently we have welcomed two new Research Analysts to our staff, Tommy Smith and Emily Rosenthal. Tommy is a long-time Oakland resident who has just completed his Masters in Public Administration at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, and Emily has just received an M.A. in Developmental Psychology from Teachers College at Columbia University. Tommy brings to BPA expertise in public sector operations and business/organizational issues. Emily brings early childhood development knowledge training that will enhance our education and youth-related projects. Altogether, we are very excited by the diversity of training, skills, and background among our new staff!

While we celebrate and welcome our new staff, we have also had to bid farewell to two of our talented researchers who have moved on to other challenges recently. Maria de los Angeles Ryan has joined the City and County of San Francisco to help them analyze their succession plans in the face of the retirement of a significant proportion of the workforce over the next few years. Chris Furguiele has joined the U.C. Office of the President and will analyze financial aid issues. We wish them both well in their new positions.

BPA Projects and Staff News

(2006) Evaluation of the University of California's Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) Program
Funded by the National Science Foundation, the objective of the AGEP program is to increase the number of African-American, Latino, and Native American students receiving doctoral degrees in math, science, engineering, and technology fields. To further this objective, the AGEP program funds activities such as targeted recruiting efforts, summer institutes, and career counseling and career placement services. BPA's multi-year evaluation of UC's AGEP program will document program implementation and assess program effectiveness. The study extends to all ten campuses and will identify best practices that can be shared among all UC campuses and with the larger national AGEP community. Yasuyo Abe will direct this project; other key staff include Jacqueline Berman, Katie Andrew, and Chris Furgiuele

Evaluation of Principles Based Professional Development to Improve Reading Comprehension for English Language Learners
In partnership with Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL), a Honolulu-based education research firm, BPA is conducting a large-scale multi-year evaluation of teacher professional development throughout the Pacific Region. This study, which is funded by the U.S. Department's Institute of Education Sciences (IES), uses random assignment at the school level to assess the impact of a comprehensive approach to teacher professional development in schools with large numbers of students who are English language learners. The study focuses on 4th and 5th graders in schools in Hawai'i, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. BPA will conduct classroom observation, survey teachers, assess program implementation, and collect and analyze student outcome data. Yasuyo Abe is directing this project and key staff include Linda Toms Barker, Vanora Thomas, Raquel Sanchez, and Chris Furgiuele.

Evaluation of the San Bernardino Teaching American History Program
In collaboration with the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools (SBCSS) and Dr. Roger Chesswas, BPA is conducting classroom observations and interviews with teachers to evaluate the county's Teaching American History (TAH) Program. BPA staff observe classes in several grades and will analyze the extent to which teachers successfully use the training and resources they received as part of the U.S. Department of Education's TAH grant program.

New Faces at BPA
We are excited to welcome two new staff members to BPA. Lorena Ortiz is our new Research Analyst, and Lan Phan is our new Research Assistant. Projects that they are primarily involved in include BPA's Evaluation of the City of Oakland's Violence Prevention and Public Safety Act (Measure Y), our Effectiveness Study of the Extended Learning Time Strategies and Approaches in South Carolina, and the Program for Infant/Toddler Caregivers (PITC), a large multi-year experiment BPA is conducting with WestEd.

New Projects

(Jan 1, 2006) A Rigorous Test of the Value Added Method of Assessing Teacher Performance
BPA was recently awarded a project from the U.S. Department of Education, Institute for Education Sciences (IES), to design a study to assess the robustness of Value Added Modeling (VAM) methods. Value Added Modeling is a promising technique to help local and state education agencies assess the quality of teacher performance in the classroom. Many state and local agencies are beginning to use VAM methods to inform important education policy decisions, including evaluation of teacher performance in a few agencies. The overall objective for this project is to present the Department with a research design that will help to answer key questions about the validity of VAM estimates of teacher effectiveness. BPA is partnering with the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and the RAND Corporation on this study.

Effectiveness Study of the Extended Learning Time Strategies and Approaches in South Carolina
BPA is subcontracting with Learning Point Associates on this statewide study for the South Carolina Education Oversight Committee. Among the goals of the study are to determine the impact of extended learning time programs on student achievement and to assess the programs' adherence to best practices. BPA will take the lead in designing and analyzing surveys of program staff and school principals based on a stratified random sample of state-funded extended learning programs. The survey will be designed to obtain a statewide picture of program structure, policies, practices and effectiveness. In addition, BPA will assist Learning Point Associates with site visits and student outcomes analyses and will conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis.

Staff News
Many of our staff are active in organizations outside of BPA that provide opportunities to give back to the community. Frances Laskey, our HR/IT Director, has recently taken her outside involvement to new levels. She is currently President of the California Employer Advisory Council (CEAC), which is a 501(c)(6) organization that works with the California Employment Development Department (EDD) and approximately 50 local Employer Advisory Councils to provide education on employment law, programs, and practices to California employers, as well as providing a conduit for two-way communication between EDD and employers. In this role, she has recently been asked to serve on the Business and Industry Special Committee of the California Workforce Investment Board (CWIB), which promulgates policy for the local WIBs and the state One-Stop system.

Frances also serves on the Executive Board of Small Business California (SBCal), a new organization dedicated to working with California legislators to improve the climate for small businesses in the state. She is taking the lead on working with both state and local legislators to create a streamlined and reciprocal process for small business certification. Through her work with SBCal, and with the CEAC which chiefly, although not exclusively, serves small businesses, Frances was recently honored to receive a nomination as the Small Business Advocate of the Year. This award is given out by the National Small Business Association at an award ceremony in May.

All of these extracurricular activities provide opportunities for Frances to expand her personal skills and knowledge; they also allow her to bring additional skills and a wider perspective to her work at BPA.

If you would like more information on any of these organizations, please check out the following websites: www.ceac.org, www.smallbusinesscalifornia.org, calwia.org, and www.nobug.us.


ADA Implementation Project

(Oct, 2005) BPA is partnering with the Disability Rights Education And Defense Fund, Inc. (DREDF) to conduct an Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) Implementation Study for the National Council on Disability (NCD). The project's goal is to improve implementation of the ADA. It will include conducting working sessions with stakeholders, identifying methods and incentives for compliance, working with legal experts to address concerns about the effectiveness of ADA litigation, and developing a new public education campaign, particularly to reach small employers and people with disabilities. The project will include the following activities:

  • ADA Stakeholder Dialogues designed to promote discussion among stakeholders with differing perspectives, including individuals with disabilities, businesses, service agencies, employers, representative associations, chambers of commerce, state and local governments, attorneys and judges, and federal agencies.
  • Identify methods and incentives for ADA compliance through literature review and key informant interviews to identify public-private collaborations, best practices, and successful models for ADA implementation.
  • Convene a panel of legal experts to make recommendations concerning problems that have arisen in ADA litigation.
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of current ADA public education and dissemination efforts and develop a new prototype public information campaign building on state-of-the-art cause marketing and public relations methods and focus group input into message design.

Linda Toms Barker will direct BPA's efforts in this partnership. Other BPA staff include Dr. Kay Magill and Sherry Almandsmith.

Silicon Valley Workforce Investment Network Youth Services Project

(Jul 1, 2005) BPA and the Center for Employment Training of San Jose (CET) are collaborating to conduct a comprehensive analysis of trends in employment opportunities and service needs of low-income youth who live in the area served by Silicon Valley Workforce Investment Network (SVWIN). We will supplement our analysis with a review of best practices SVWIN may use to respond to these trends and address service needs. The results of this study will enable the SVWIN to engage in a well-informed strategic planning process that will guide future resource allocation and policymaking efforts. Ma­ria Ryan will direct the Silicon Valley Workforce Investment Network Youth Services Project.

Practitioners' Guide to Primary Care for Women with Physical Disabilities
BPA is pleased to announce publication of a Practitioners' Guide (Booklet.pdf) for health care practitioners containing practical information about delivering health care to women with a range of disabling conditions. The booklet introduces the Practitioners' Guide to Primary Care for Women with Physical Disabilities, which is a series of articles authored over the last several years by physicians and other health care professionals with specific expertise in delivering care to women with physical disabilities.

BPA has partnered with the Rehabilitation Department of Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley, CA, to develop these articles and put together this introductory booklet to provide basic information about the health care needs of women with physical disabilities, highlighting some of the unique challenges and issues they face, and general strategies for addressing the most common barriers.

BPA Report on Louisiana's Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program

(Feb, 2005) BPA recently completed a final report for our statewide evaluation of Louisiana's TANF Initiatives-funded teen pregnancy prevention program (TPP Final Report.pdf). Prepared for the Louisiana Division of Administration, our report includes a review of relevant teen pregnancy prevention literature, analysis of program design and implementation, and conclusions and recommendations regarding future program improvement. Our report also provides an analysis of participant's knowledge of sex, contraception, and pregnancy prevention; their choices and risk behaviors; and positive and negative influences in their lives. Participant data was captured both at the beginning and the end of each program, utilizing an anonymous, scannable survey (BPA Teen Survey.pdf). This allowed BPA researchers to assess program effectiveness and changes in risk behavior. Nearly 1,700 teens participated in the pre/post survey, which identified a range of outcomes from increased knowledge of some TPP issues to no impact in others. To obtain hard copies of this report, please call 510-465-7884 or email info@bpacal.com.

BPA Celebrates Anniversary

(Oct 24, 2004) Berkeley Policy Associates celebrated its 10th Anniversary as a 100 percent employee-owned company. Since buying the company through our ESOP in 1994, we have continued to evolve according to the interests, commitment, and energy of our staff. (October 25, 2004)

Staff News
BPA welcomes new employees Jacqueline Berman (Sr. Analyst) and Katie Andrew (Sales/Research Assistant). We also extend our congratulations to employee-owners Yasuyo Abe, Lee Ann Huang, Kay Magill, and Mary Moore on becoming 100% vested in their BPA shares in our ESOP!

Project News
BPA finalizes the Year 3 Evaluation of the TANF Initiatives Programs: For the past three years, BPA has conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the State of Louisiana's TANF-funded programs under contract with the Division of Administration. Included in this evaluation are the state welfare programs administered by the Department of Social Services (the Family Independence Temporary Assistance Program and the Strategies to Empower People Program), as well as selected programs under the TANF Initiatives Program. The third year evaluation of the TANF Initiatives covers the following programs: After Schools for All Program and Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program (the Department of Education), Tuition and Upgrade Programs (the Workforce Commission and the Louisiana Community and Technical College System), Post Release Skills Program (the Department of Public Safety and Correction), Pre Release Program for Incarcerated Fathers (the Louisiana Community and Technical College System), Substance Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Program (the Department of Health and Hospitals) and Drug Court Program (the Louisiana Supreme Court).

BPA Completes Major Study

(Jan, 2004) BPA's Colorado team completed its final Colorado Works legislative briefing and the Colorado's State Auditor's Office has recently released our final Evaluation Report of the Colorado Works Program. During this fifth year of the evaluation, BPA researchers focused on four major barriers to participant self-sufficiency: mental health problems, substance abuse, insufficient usage of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), and lack of transportation.

Using a survey of Colorado Works Leavers and an extensive analysis of state administrative data, BPA researchers described the extent to which Colorado Works participants experienced these barriers as well as their use of support services. Other findings reported at the legislative briefing included an increase in the Colorado Works Basic Cash Assistance caseload, accompanied by a small decline in overall Colorado Works Program spending. BPA researchers also saw increases in re-entry rates among Colorado Works leavers, and, as expected, a negative impact of the recent economic slowdown on the employment rate of recent Colorado Works leavers.

Staff News
Effective January 1, BPA's Board of Directors has appointed Fannie Tseng to the office of Chief Financial Officer. Fannie will be responsible for the financial oversight and planning of our company. She brings excellent quantitative skills to the position of CFO, and she also has a background in financial services and is a committed and active member of the Board of Trustees. Before Fannie assumed the CFO position, it was held by Hans Bos who temporarily filled both the CEO and CFO positions.

BPA welcomes our newest Junior Analyst, Tara Cohen! Tara specializes in conducting evaluations for a diverse range of programs including hate crime prevention, diversion of mentally ill offenders, permanent supportive housing, and job training for low-income and formerly homeless individuals. She will work primarily on the H-1B Technical Skills Training Grant Program Technical Assistance project and the Evaluation of California's Traumatic Brain Injury project.


New Projects, New People

(Aug 2004) BPA has won two exciting new projects: a U.S. Department of Education-sponsored peer review and technical assistance project on the Even Start Family Literacy Program and a U.S. Department of Labor-sponsored feasibility study of the use of common performance measures in WIA Indian and Native American programs. Both of these projects open important new policy areas to our company and build on the wide range of skills and experience of our employee-owners.

We have also added three new staff members to our company. Raquel Sanchez, a new Research Analyst, is a Stanford University Ph.D. candidate who will contribute her expertise in the field of English-as-a-Second Language to several BPA projects that target individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP). Vanora Thomas, a new Junior Research Analyst, is an anthropologist who will work on the Even Start project and the Louisiana STEP Evaluation. Cathy Danh is a new Research Assistant who will work on our traumatic brain injury and LEP projects. We are proud to announce that Frances Laskey, our HR Director, has been elected President of the California Employer Advisory Council (CEAC) for a two-year term beginning July 1. This is an important position in which Frances will help to facilitate interactions between the State of California and its employer community.

BPA Surveys Teens in Louisiana about Pregnancy Prevention

(May, 2004) As part of our statewide evaluation of Louisiana's TANF Initiatives program, BPA is currently completing a survey of teens who participate in teen pregnancy prevention programs throughout the state. Administered anonymously using a scanable form, the survey (BPA Teen Survey.pdf) asks teens about their knowledge of sex, contraception, and pregnancy prevention, about their choices and risk behavior, and about positive and negative influences in their lives. The same teens will be surveyed at the beginning and end of their program experience, which will allow BPA researchers to assess program effectiveness. BPA has currently received pre-test surveys from more than 800 teens in Louisiana. We are preparing an interim report to the state of Louisiana and will include our findings in a final report later this year.

Staff News
On April 17th, almost half of BPA's staff members joined with East Bay Habitat for Humanity to help build homes in West Oakland. East Bay Habitat for Humanity addresses the critical need for affordable housing by providing homeownership opportunities for Bay Area families in need, serving low and very-low income families in Alameda and West Contra Costa Counties. This organization approaches the challenge of providing affordable homeownership opportunities to low-income families in an innovative way. Affordable homes are built using a large amount of volunteer labor, donated funds and materials. Homes are then sold at cost to qualifying low-income families. BPA joined the team building project and set to work early on Saturday morning. Our staff spent the day caulking and painting the exterior of one home and hanging dry wall in another home. Volunteers had a great time as they developed new leadership skills in a setting very different from BPA's daily work environment. Working side by side with other community volunteers and the great Americorps staff, BPA staff members learned new construction skills and developed a greater appreciation for working together as a team. Volunteers had such a great time that they continued to talk about their experiences throughout the following week and are making plans to return annually to work with the staff, homeowners, and volunteers that make up East Bay Habitat for Humanity!
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BPA Selected for Job Corps LEP Contract

(Mar, 2004) BPA recently contracted with the National Office of Job Corps to assist in building national strategies for increasing accessibility of Job Corps programs to limited English proficient (LEP) individuals and improving services and support to Hispanic youth. As part of this effort, BPA will conduct a survey of current practices and develop products and services that support successful implementation of these national strategies. During the first year of this project BPA will also develop pilot training materials for improving multicultural communication skills among Job Corps participants and promoting a multicultural environment at Job Corps centers.

Staff News
Earlier this year, BPA bid farewell to Bronwen Macro (Senior Research Analyst), Laura French (Research Analyst), and Laura Vichinsky (Research Assistant). Each of these employee-owners has contributed to the growth of BPA in our areas of workforce development programs for youth and workforce services for individuals with limited English proficiency. Ms. Macro and Ms. Vichinsky are both moving to the East Coast, while Ms. French is returning to graduate school to pursue a career in counseling.

BPA Finalizes Families In Transition Evaluation
BPA has just completed its Final Report for the Evaluation of The Families in Transition (FIT) Program of Santa Cruz County, funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation The evaluation produced a series of reports and policy briefs examining the services FIT provides and the outcomes experienced by participating families at varying points in time.

Families in Transition, founded in 1992, is a community-based program that provides transitional, scattered-site rental assistance and case management services to homeless and near homeless families in Santa Cruz County, California. Its goal is to assist these families with securing stable housing, increasing employment and income, and addressing barriers to self-sufficiency.

Over the course of a six-year descriptive evaluation, BPA has gained numerous insights into FIT's operational and case management strategies. Based on interviews and focus groups with FIT staff, staff at partner agencies, other community affiliates, and FIT clients, we conclude that the holistic approach to service provision embodied in FIT is respected by key stakeholders and viewed as successful. Data from FIT's client tracking system support this conclusion, indicating that those who graduate from the program are considerably better off than they were at program entry in terms of number and severity of barriers, housing status, and poverty status. Although these outcomes cannot all be directly attributable to FIT per se, our conclusion is that the vast majority of graduating families leave FIT with better financial and housing situations than when they entered.

One of the critical factors in FIT's ability to serve a highly disadvantaged population is its close collaboration with the Santa Cruz Human Resources Agency (HRA), the county human services agency that administers cash assistance, Child Protective Services, and other programs. FIT serves as an example of how public agencies and the nonprofit sector might work together to address the needs of traditionally hard-to-serve populations. BPA's evaluation of FIT identified the following strategies as essential to the partnership between FIT and HRA: outstationing of HRA staff at the main FIT office; streamlined coordination between FIT case managers and a variety of HRA service providers; and regular crossover meetings between FIT case managers, HRA staff, and other service providers.

In addition to collaborating with the county human services agency, FIT has implemented several innovative strategies to address client families' barriers to self-sufficiency. An intensive client assessment process that takes place over the course of several weeks enables case managers to establish rapport with client families, identify families' needs and goals, and explore financial planning and budgeting issues in depth. In addition, FIT's case management model features regular and frequent meetings with FIT clients. Case managers consistently follow up with clients to assess progress on their financial goals and other objectives, arrange for necessary housing assistance, and serve as a single point of contact for brokering and coordinating non-housing services received by FIT families. Extensive training and support for case managers, including opportunities to learn from more senior case managers, and a team approach to case management facilitate the successful and consistent implementation of the FIT service model.

Future Dissemination
BPA has received an add-on grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation to continue to disseminate findings from the evaluation through a variety of means, including conference presentations and a journal article. We will be working on these dissemination efforts in the next few months.

BPA to Provide Technical Assistance to DOL H-1B Training Grant Programs

(Dec 01, 2003) Federal legislation allows employers to address skill shortages by employing foreign workers under H-1B visas. The legislation also established the U.S. Department of Labor's H-1B Technical Skills Training Grant Program to provide American workers with the skills needed for occupations where skill shortages exist. To date, the Department has awarded over 100 H-1B Technical Skills Training Grants totaling $243.3 million. The Department recently contracted with BPA to study the implementation of grantees' H-1B training activities and their efforts to engage employers in the Training Grant Program and in the workforce development system as a whole. BPA will review existing grantee materials, conduct site visits to 15 projects that use interesting strategies to involve employers, and survey the grantees' employer partners about their preferences for worker training. The results of this research will be packaged into tools and materials to help the workforce development system implement demand-driven skills training programs. Sherry Almandsmith will direct the project. Other staff include Linda Toms Barker, Kay Magill, Maria Ryan, and Stacy Robinson.

BPA Wins a New Project with the U.S. Department of Education

(Aug 27, 2003) This week BPA won an exciting new project with the U.S. Department of Education focusing on the evaluation of drug and violence prevention initiatives in America's schools. Together with our subcontractor, The Urban Institute, we will analyze existing evaluation efforts of programs funded through the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act (SDFSCA) Program and develop a new random-assignment evaluation of this program. Hans Bos will direct the new study. Other team members include Phyllis Weinstock and Alexa Frankenberg. A more detailed description of this project will be posted shortly.

In other news, we are excited to announce the arrival of Sarah Crow, our newest Research Analyst. Sarah recently graduated from the University of Michigan with a Masters in Public Policy. She is joining the California Welfare Time Limits Study .

Other new projects, as featured on an earlier news page (both directed by Sherry Almandsmith):

A three-year task order contract with the U.S. Department of Labor to study linkages between the Department's One-Stop system and the Unemployment Insurance system. As more and more states use web-based systems to administer unemployment benefits, unemployed workers who receive these benefits are less likely to come into an employment office. This makes it less likely that they will participate in training or receive other services that might improve their reemployment chances. Our new project focuses on ways to better integrate these two systems.

An evaluation of California's Traumatic Brain Injury Project. The seven demonstration sites in this project are implementing different models of post-acute community-based services for people with brain injury. BPA, which has a long history of evaluating programs for people with disabilities, will study implementation and outcomes for these demonstration sites for a period of 18 months.

Welcome to BPA's new website!

(Jul 31, 2003) BPA's employee owners are proud to welcome you to their new home on the web. On this new website you will find background information about our company and our staff, detailed information about BPA's current and recent projects, and a growing collection of reports and papers that are accessible and downloadable directly from our website. Using the advanced search function at the top of this page, you can find information about projects, staff, and publications through a simple keyword search. We hope you enjoy your visit!

New Projects
In the past month, BPA has won competitions for two exciting new research projects. The first is a three-year task order contract with the U.S. Department of Labor to study linkages between the Department's One-Stop system and the Unemployment Insurance system. As more and more states use web-based systems to administer unemployment benefits, unemployed workers who receive these benefits are less likely to come into an employment office. This makes it less likely that they will participate in training or receive other services that might improve their reemployment chances. Our new project focuses on ways to better integrate these two systems.

The second new project is an evaluation of California's Traumatic Brain Injury Project. The seven demonstration sites in this project are implementing different models of post-acute community-based services for people with brain injury. BPA, which has a long history of evaluating programs for people with disabilities, will study implementation and outcomes for these demonstration sites for a period of 18 months.

Staff Changes
After 23 years at BPA, Mary Vencill is leaving our company to become an independent consultant. (Mary will continue to work with us on an ongoing Department of Labor study of services for customers with limited English proficiency.) Mary was a principal analyst and was BPA's first CEO after the company became employee-owned in 1994.

Since late May, Jeff Weinstein, a doctoral candidate in Economics at U.C. Berkeley, has contributed his extensive quantitative analysis skills to several projects at BPA, including the GED Annual Statistical Report project and the Louisiana and Colorado evaluations.

In late July, Laura Vichinsky, a recent graduate from Tufts University, majoring in clinical psychology, joined BPA as a research assistant focusing on workforce services for individuals with limited English proficiency.

On August 8, Audrey Acosta, a BPA research assistant is leaving the company to pursue graduate study in the instruction of English as a second language at San Francisco State University.

BPA Wins Another U.S. Department of Education Study

In addition to our new Drug and Violence Prevention in Schools Project, BPA has won another competitive research project with the U.S. Department of Education: a study focusing on the often difficult transition from Adult Basic Education to Community College. In this multi-year project, we will study this transition in programs across the country and will help the Department of Education identify exemplary programs and the reasons for their success. Vince Valvano directs the new project. Other BPA staff include Megan Angus, Chris Furgiuele, and Deana Tanguay, while MDRC has a major subcontract.

Staff News
Berkeley Policy Associates has grown to 28 staff, up from 20 in the summer of 2002. Our newest employee-owners are Maria Ryan and Chris Furgiuele, both of whom recently completed their Master's degrees. Chris, who specializes in education research, will work primarily on BPA's new Community College Transition Project. Mari­a, who brings extensive hands-on experience in the workforce development field, will contribute to BPA's research and technical assistance projects targeting Department of Labor services for limited English proficient customers.