Learning agenda: Priority research areas

The Ecosystem connects data at the person level across state and non-state agencies.  It allows us to ask and answer deep questions about what drives well-being.  The following three priority areas have been identified by Ecosystem Board, Data Stewards, and Program Leads. All study and focus areas we undertake must have race-explicit orientations.

Factors of Economic Opportunity

• What helps families achieve “escape velocity” from poverty cycles?
• Patterns in and effects of stable housing on health and well-being
• Quantify existing disparities that relate to economic mobility – access to benefits, involuntary government interactions
• Churn: Influencers and effects of benefit / eligibility / access churn (Covid affects employment and thus benefit access)

Healthcare Access and Outcomes

• Adult + child behavioral health system: What is most effective way to step down—or up—the intensity of care/state support needs?
• General health and well-being impact of COVID, particularly for those in high density communities and other vulnerable populations
• Substance Use Epidemic – Who is most vulnerable to “on-ramps” on the care continuum; how do we curb deaths?
• How do these outcomes differ for subpopulations we haven’t yet tracked (refugees, gender minorities, disability status)?

Childhood: Equitable Access, Well Being, and Opportunity

• What leads to a child reading proficiently in third grade?
• What are the characteristics of programs that successfully engage and support families of color? 
• How does the quality of a program affect child outcomes? 
• Does our system have enough capacity to address needs of all children—particularly those aged 3 to 5 years, those in need of housing, social-emotional development, behavioral health, and other wrapround services through age 21?