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Econometrica Supports HUD Toolkit Responding to Education Challenges From COVID-19

by | Aug 2, 2021 | Econometrica Blog

COVID-19 has impacted the nation in many ways, including children’s education. As schools get set to reopen this fall, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has released a toolkit aimed at strengthening families and students living in HUD-assisted housing during the pandemic.

From August 2020 to March 2021, Econometrica supported HUD in a series of COVID-19 education peer exchanges. A key outcome from this series is Supporting Our Kids’ Education: Tools to Strengthen Resident Families & Students During COVID-19 & Beyond, a toolkit for public housing agencies and their community partners that responds to the educational challenges experienced by families and children during the pandemic.

The toolkit was developed by HUD’s Office of Choice Neighborhoods in partnership with grantees and expert consultants from Econometrica to provide case studies, ready-to-use family flyers, and a wealth of evidence-based resource links. Topics include:

  • Addressing learning loss.
  • Strengthening families’ ability to support their children’s learning.
  • Developing high-quality out-of-school time programming and tutoring.
  • Establishing learning hubs.

The toolkit highlights open source, research-based tools and resources as well as promising practice case studies that equip housing authorities and their partners to provide targeted educational services and strengthen the ability of families to support their children’s learning.

HUD focused on education because “COVID-19 has exacerbated the stark disparities between low-income housing residents and their higher-income peers.”

“With remote and hybrid learning, children living in public housing and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-assisted housing often face a variety of hurdles, from increased food insecurity and spotty internet service to challenges with student engagement and disruptions in specialized education supports.”

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“With remote and hybrid learning, children living in public housing and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-assisted housing often face a variety of hurdles, from increased food insecurity and spotty internet service to challenges with student engagement and disruptions in specialized education supports.”

Audiograms: A New Solution to Your Video Needs

by | Jul 26, 2021 | Econometrica Blog

Audiogram Graphic Ephraim RossEconometrica supports our clients by helping them select the best learning solution to convey their content. We work hard to stay at the cutting edge of content delivery, learning and employing new technologies to meet the needs of our clients and audiences. We are currently employing a new training delivery modality called Audiograms for one of our newest projects.This article outlines why Audiograms are useful to our clients and audiences and how you can use them in the future.

Why We Discovered Audiograms

While designing a training for international public health practitioners, we identified that telling authentic field-based stories would be most impactful to our international audience. We also discovered that the international subject matter experts our client wanted to showcase via video did not have the internet bandwidth to record a high-quality video. In the past, our solution would have included going onsite to record videos. Given the pandemic and the geographic dispersion of the experts, though, that solution was not feasible.

Instead, we explored products and communication strategies that would allow our subject matter experts to share their story in a compelling way within the limitations of their technology. And we determined that Audiograms were the best solution for our client.

What is an Audiogram?
Audiograms are audio files that are combined with simple visual content and live captions.

Check out this audiogram below to understand more about the new modality.

How to Use Audiograms in Your Own Work 

Audiograms are ideal for short-form, standalone content, such as:

  • Audio presentations
  • Interviews
  • Conversations
  • Panels

Audiograms are also great item to embed within a longer training to break up and diversify the types of content. They are easy to share directly through social media—a medium that many organizations have found to be the simplest way to communicate with their audience.

Our clients have told us that Audiograms have a uniquely modern look and feel to them, and they are an excellent solution for experts who are trusted sources of information but do not wish to appear on camera or are remote. Other advantages of using Audiograms include:

Production advantages:

  • Quick and easy to produce high-quality content.
  • Cost-effective production mechanism.
  • Seamless edits and transitions (which is not possible when using a video of a presenter talking).
  • Can include additional media (images, animations).
  • Easy to create custom-branded templates for your project or brand.

Audience advantages:

  • Accessible content with live transcripts/captions.
  • Appropriate media to use for a low-bandwidth audience.
  • Can easily be shared on social media (can post video directly to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.).

Let us know if you are interested in learning more!


Stuck on a training challenge? Give us a call! Creative learning solutions (whether big or small) are our specialty.

Sarah Gillam, M.Ed.
Senior Instructional Designer
SGillam@EconometricaInc.com

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CMS Releases Updated Look at COVID-19’s Impact on the Medicare Population

by | Jul 1, 2021 | Econometrica Blog

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released a snapshot of the impact COVID-19 has had on the Medicare population. The monthly update, released June 30, shows there were more than 4.3 million COVID-19 cases among the Medicare population and more than 1.2 million COVID-19 hospitalizations.

Data in the snapshot covers the period January 1, 2020, to April 24, 2021.

A factsheet and additional information can be fund at:

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Econometrica specializes in research and management across numerous industries in both the public and private sectors. We are always looking to hire the best and brightest in data science, health, grants management, energy, homeland security, housing and community development, capital markets and finance, and transportation. We work as the lead service provider, and also as a capable outsource partner to other consultancies. To work with us on your next project, visit us online and email a member of our executive staff in your preferred specialty. To explore the benefits of working for us, visit our careers page.

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Econometrica Ready for New CMS Priorities Under Brooks-LaSure

by | Jun 11, 2021 | Econometrica Blog

Chiquita Brooks-LaSure was sworn in as Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on May 27, 2021. With any change in administration, new priorities take precedence.

Akin Gump of Strause Hauer & Feld LLP wrote a primer prior to her confirmation hearings on some of the priorities CMS will pursue under Brooks-LaSure, including healthcare coverage expansion, health equity, surprise billing, and healthcare financing.

These priorities match Brooks-LaSure’s career in the public and private sectors. She was intimately involved in the writing of and implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), first as a staffer for the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means and then for CMS’ Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO). She has also worked to improve access, quality, and efficiency in healthcare, and she consulted on healthcare financing and cost transparency.

Econometrica has worked with CMS for more than two decades and looks forward to continuing this partnership under Brooks-LaSure.

Source: CMS

CMS
Chiquita Brooks-LaSure – Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)

Work With Us, Work for Us

Econometrica specializes in research and management across numerous industries in both the public and private sectors. We are always looking to hire the best and brightest in data science, health, grants management, energy, homeland security, housing and community development, capital markets and finance, and transportation. We work as the lead service provider, and also as a capable outsource partner to other consultancies. To work with us on your next project, visit us online and email a member of our executive staff in your preferred specialty. To explore the benefits of working for us, visit our careers page.

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The Evolution of the Housing Supply Shortage

by | May 21, 2021 | Econometrica Blog

For years, the United States has faced a housing shortage, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent analysis from Freddie Mac examines how a combination of strong demand and low mortgage rates have contributed to the shortfall, with estimates indicating the shortage rose 52 percent from 2.5 million in 2018 to 3.8 million in 2020.

The research note—which builds on an article Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Vice President and Chief Economist, wrote in April—points to the long-term decline in the construction of single-family homes as a main driver of the housing shortfall.

“As we navigate our way through the year and get beyond the pandemic, we expect the housing supply shortage to continue to be one of the largest obstacles to inclusive economic growth in the U.S.,” Khater wrote. “Simply put, we must build more single-family entry-level housing to address this shortage, which has strong implications for the wealth, health and stability of American communities.”

The number of new entry-level homes has fallen precipitously since the 1970s, according to the estimates. In 2020, Freddie Mac estimated that only 65,000 new entry-level homes were completed, less than one-fifth of the same homes constructed in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

202105 note housing supply

High demand and low mortgage rates have driven the shortfall even higher. “This high demand has driven the housing supply shortage even higher and has also caused home prices to rise over 12% from a year ago,” Freddie Mac wrote.

The research notes several other reasons for the shortfall, including:

  • Lack of available construction labor.
  • Increasing raw material costs. During the pandemic, lumber prices increased more than 150 percent.
  • Land use regulations and zoning restrictions.
  • Demographic changes. In particular, Millennials, which are the largest demographic in the United States, are reaching prime first-time homebuying age.

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The number of new entry-level homes has fallen precipitously since the 1970s, according to the estimates. In 2020, Freddie Mac estimated that only 65,000 new entry-level homes were completed, less than one-fifth of the same homes constructed in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Utilizing the Social Security Administration’s Disability Analysis File

by | May 12, 2021 | Econometrica Blog

Since 2011, the Social Security Administration has offered its Disability Analysis File (DAF) on an annual basis, compiling data from a range of internal and external data sources into one cohesive database with additional composite variables. With historical data reaching back to 1994, these files contain data on all those individuals with disabilities below retirement age who have received benefits under the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) programs. Data on these beneficiaries include one-time variables such as date of birth and Social Security Number, as well as historical and longitudinal data (e.g., eligible and actualized benefit payments, State of residence) tracked across multiple years. With the ability to retrieve reliable longitudinal data on beneficiaries with disabilities, the DAF is an important resource for those looking to perform any sort of analysis on this population.

More information about the DAF can be found on the Social Security Administration website at:

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With the ability to retrieve reliable longitudinal data on beneficiaries with disabilities, the DAF is an important resource for those looking to perform any sort of analysis on this population.