Since financial stability is an important part of people’s ability to live healthy and independent lives, Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) wanted to learn more about the work experiences of its clients. Using data from the Allegheny County Data Warehouse and 2018 State Unemployment Insurance records, we found that the majority of eligible DHS clients were disconnected from the labor force in 2018, and those who were able to find work tended to earn less than other Allegheny County workers.

The analysis found that:

• 52% of the client sample was disconnected from the labor force in 2018.
• Only 24% of the client sample worked in all 4 quarters in 2018.
• Among clients who worked in all 4 quarters, 38% had earnings that fell below the federal poverty line.
• Even when holding constant occupation and industry, DHS clients appear to be working in lower-paying positions than the average Allegheny County worker.

But there were bright spots for some DHS clients:

• 9% of clients had earnings that exceeded the Allegheny County median.
• The utilities industry offered the highest earnings for DHS clients, who had mean earnings of more than $40,000 per year.

By investigating employment experiences, DHS and its partners can gain insight into clients’ economic challenges and tailor services like education and job training to better meet the needs of clients and employers.

Read the full report here.

National research shows that young adults transitioning out of foster care into adulthood face more challenges than their peers. This report examines outcomes for Allegheny County young adults who had been in a child welfare placement and exited the system from 2006 through 2016. Outcomes examined include achievement of legal permanency, education, employment, early parenting, homelessness, involvement in mental health and/or substance use disorder treatment, unexpected violent deaths (homicides, overdoses and suicides) and criminal justice involvement. The goal of the analysis was to provide a barometer of those outcomes that affect transition-aged youth and to record County resources that have been directed toward this population.

Read the report here.

Allegheny County homeless service programs are assessed yearly as part of a process of evaluating and prioritizing projects for funding. This evaluation process has historically been based on administrative data about clients’ housing and self-sufficiency outcomes. In order to more fully evaluate these services – and to align with suggestions from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – DHS and other stakeholders are piloting feedback methods and tools to better understand clients’ experience with the services they receive. During the first iteration of the pilot, more than 200 clients receiving a range of homeless services responded to a survey by text, online or in person.

This report describes the 2018 pilot process for the development and administration of the survey, analyzes findings from the survey, and discusses insights and recommendations for future survey administration.

Read the report here.

What is an out-of-home placement? 

The Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) is mandated by law to protect children under the age of 18 from abuse and neglect. When a child welfare investigation finds that a child is at risk of abuse or neglect, a case is opened, and DHS works with the family to identify natural supports and other supportive services that will help the child remain safely in the home.

If DHS finds that the child cannot continue to reside safely in the home, the case is brought before a judge, who may determine that a temporary home, called an out-of-home placement, is necessary. Whenever possible, out-of-home placements are in homes of relatives or friends of the family (known as kinship care) or in foster homes. Less often, children are placed in congregate care in either a group home or a residential treatment facility. At the end of an out-of-home placement, DHS aims to reunite children with their families whenever possible. If a child cannot return home, DHS works to identify other permanent options such as adoption or permanent legal custodianship.

What data is tracked?

This report and related dashboard provide an overview of child welfare placement dynamics during the decade 2008-2017. Data describe characteristics of children in placement, what types of placements were used, how long children stayed there, where they went after their placement ended (also known as exits) and how many returned to the child welfare system after returning home (also known as re-entries).

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Related materials

• Report: 2000-2009 data

The Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) offers free tax preparation services at its downtown location for income-eligible County residents. This data brief provides a summary of DHS’s 2019 tax assistance service, the taxpayers using the service and the volunteers who were involved. Data is from participants’ tax returns with additional information self-reported by participants.

Click here to read the report.

The Allegheny County Jail Collaborative is an alliance of government agencies and nonprofit groups dedicated to addressing the needs of people returning to the community after leaving the Allegheny County Jail. This report describes Jail Collaborative activities during the past year and progress on the Collaborative’s 2016-2019 strategic plan.

Click here to read the report.

The dashboard below displays information about Allegheny County suicides since 2002. View trends in yearly suicides, demographics of people who died by suicide, and locations within the county. The data is updated monthly.

A related data brief is also available.

Problems viewing the dashboard? You can view it directly here.

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Related materials

• Data brief: 2008-2017 data

The Homeless Services and Supports Coordination (HSSC) program, implemented by the Allegheny County Department of Human Services in 2013, provides comprehensive service coordination for families who use emergency homeless shelters. Upon entering an emergency shelter, participants meet with service coordinators who offer a range of assistance, from accessing public benefits to finding affordable housing, childcare and job training programs.

As part of a wider effort to systematically collect client feedback, a pilot survey was conducted to examine (1) client satisfaction with HSSC services they received and (2) feasibility of using text messaging as a way of gathering feedback from clients in the homeless system. This report presents findings from that survey.

Suicide rates have been rising in nearly every state in the U.S. in recent years, and in Pennsylvania and Allegheny County, suicide rates are higher than the nation’s. This data brief explores Allegheny County suicide trends since 2008 as well as demographics, causes of death, and publicly funded service usage of those who died.

Click here to view the data brief.

Click here to view a related interactive dashboard.

The Allegheny Family Screening Tool (AFST) is a predictive risk model designed to improve decision-making in Allegheny County’s child welfare system. The tool utilizes hundreds of data elements to predict the likelihood that a child referred for abuse or neglect will later experience a foster care placement. The AFST provides additional information – in conjunction with clinical judgement – to assist child welfare workers making a call screening decision.

After a multi-year process that included rigorous research, community feedback, and independent ethical review, Version 1 of the AFST started being used by call screeners in August 2016. Findings from an independent impact evaluation and a commitment to continuous improvement of the tool led to a rollout of Version 2 in December 2018 that updated the algorithm, data sources, and associated policies.

View a comprehensive packet on the AFST that provides all of the County’s published research and partner evaluations to date or select from the following documents:

• Methodology of the AFST
  • • • Version 2 (April 2019)
      • Version 1 (April 2017)
• Evaluations of the AFST, Version 1
  • • • Impact Evaluation Summary and Full Impact Evaluation (April 2019)
      • Process Evaluation (January 2018)
      • Ethical Analysis and Response to Ethical Analysis (April 2017)
• Frequently-Asked Questions

Click here to access recent press coverage of the AFST.

In July 2013, the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) and the Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) launched a partnership to better support child welfare-involved youth achieve healthy sexual and identity development. This institutional analysis prepared by CSSP used data analysis, case reviews, and interviews to understand current experiences of LGBTQ+ children and families who interact with child welfare as well as cultural and practice changes that have occurred since the initiative began.

Click here to read the report.

The dashboard below provides information on licensed substance use disorder and mental health treatment providers in Allegheny County as of August 2018.

Trouble viewing the dashboard? You can view it directly here.

Analysis of arrests over time provides valuable insights about a city and its changing crime trends and law enforcement policies. This series of three reports uses data from the City of Pittsburgh Bureau of Police and the Allegheny County Data Warehouse to look at arrests since 2001 and the people who were involved.

Arrest Trends in the City of Pittsburgh provides an overview of arrests and people who were arrested in 2001 through 2015, including rates over time, crime types, demographics of people arrested and neighborhood trends.

People Arrested More Than Once in the City of Pittsburgh takes a closer look at the people who were arrested multiple times. This analysis describes the demographics of repeat arrestees, the types of crimes for which they were commonly arrested, neighborhoods where repeat arrests occurred, and human services and criminal justice system involvement of repeat arrestees.

Human Services Involvement of People Arrested in Pittsburgh describes involvement with other systems of people who were arrested. Analysis of people’s involvement with human services and the criminal justice system before, during and after arrest offers insight into the needs and service experiences of this population.

 

In 2016, the Allegheny County Jail began offering naloxone, a life-saving medication that rapidly reverses opioid overdose, to people exiting the jail. Since then, the jail has distributed over a thousand naloxone kits. This data brief describes the naloxone distribution program and provides information on the people who received naloxone, including their demographics, the communities they lived in after leaving jail, and how many died of an overdose following their release from jail.

Click here to read the data brief.

Allegheny County Medicaid recipients are entitled to free transportation assistance to their non-emergency medical appointments. Traditionally, this transportation has been provided by paratransit vehicles for those not able to utilize public transportation or their own vehicle. The advent of ride-hailing services like Lyft and Uber has presented a new, rider-friendly option. This report describes a pilot program that tested the viability and user experience of ride-hailing services for people using medical assistance transportation.

Click here to read the report.