The Lunch @ DC with Dennis Culhane

Homelessness: Emerging Populations and Interventions

Recent research has revealed a growing bimodal age distribution in the homeless adult population. Dr. Culhane will address why we’re seeing this trend and propose some potential interventions to address the age-specific needs of these populations.

Dennis Culhane is the Dana and Andrew Stone Professor of Social Policy at the School of Social Policy and Practice at The University of Pennsylvania and the Director of Research for the National Center on Homelessness among Veterans at the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Culhane is a nationally recognized social science researcher with primary expertise in the field of homelessness. He is a leader in the integration of administrative data for research and directs the Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy (AISP) initiative, a MacArthur-funded project to promote the development of integrated database systems by state and local governments for policy analysis and systems reform.

His homelessness work has positioned him as an early innovator in the use of administrative data for research and policy analysis, particularly for populations and program impacts which are difficult to assess and track. Culhane’s work has resulted in federal legislation requiring all cities and states to develop administrative data systems for tracking homeless services in order to receive HUD funding. Since the system’s implementation, Culhane has provided technical assistance to jurisdictions around the U.S. on using administrative data to inform the local policy-making process. As part of his work with AISP, Culhane recently organized several expert panels to address the challenges and identify state of the art solutions related to developing and using integrated data systems. The panels paid specific attention to issues of data quality, data standards, data exchange methods, and the governance processes associated with developing and sustaining integrated data systems.

In addition to this recent work, Culhane has over 20 years of experience working with a variety of stakeholder groups at the local, state, and federal level to foster the development and use of integrated data systems for program evaluation, policy analysis, and systems reform.

The Lunch @ DC hosts leaders in their field to foster thinking and discussion with D.C. government leaders and the community on a wide range of topics related to evidence and experimentation in government. It’s a time to listen, discuss, and socialize!