Funded by the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation in the Administration for Children and Families, the Understanding the Value of Centralized Services study is intended to build knowledge on the costs and benefits of centralizing social services for families with low incomes. This study examined the range of models used to provide centralized services, the advantages, disadvantages, and costs of providing multiple services for low-income families at one location, and the use of virtual coordination as a complement to centralized services provided in person. MEF Associates led the study, with Mathematica as a subcontractor. The study included expert consultation, stakeholder engagement, a literature review, and site visits to three sites that use different approaches for centralized services.
A summary of the case studies and the full list of briefs are available on OPRE’s website.