Assessing Vocational Rehabilitation Agency Capacity to Engage in Evidence-Based Decision Making.

Area of Science:

• Public Policy
• Data Science
• Rehabilitation Services

Background:

• The Evidence-based Policy-Making Act of 2018 mandates federal agencies utilize data for policy and program decisions.
• This legislation emphasizes the critical role of statistical evidence in governmental operations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the capacity of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agencies in leveraging data for evidence-based decision-making.
• Assessing VR agencies' readiness to meet data utilization requirements.

Main Methods:

• A Capacity Survey was administered to VR agencies.
• The survey assessed capabilities in data management, visualization, and statistical analysis, including software availability (e.g., SPSS) and staff expertise.

Main Results:

• Significant capacity gaps were identified, impeding the adoption of data-driven models like return on investment.
• 60% of agencies reported staff lacked competence in statistical software (SPSS, SAS, R, Python, Stata).
• 71% lacked the internal statistical capacity for data analysis using listed programs.

Conclusions:

• Many state VR agencies lack the internal capacity to comply with the Evidence-Based Policy-Making Act of 2018 and accountability regulations.
• Addressing these deficits requires enhancing internal capabilities, fostering partnerships, and promoting cross-agency collaboration.