http://www.abtassociates.com/ Recent Results, New Projects, and News from Abt Associates Copyright 2010, Abt Associates webmaster@abtassociates.com http://www.abtassociates.com/ http://www.abtassociates.com/images/abt_logo.gif http://www.abtassociates.com/Page.cfm?PageID=41018Preventing homelessness was one of the objectives of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). In a recent survey of U.S. city officials by Abt Associates, 72 percent of them reported that a provision of the Recovery Act would fundamentally change the way [thei? community provides services to people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.http://www.abtassociates.com/Page.cfm?PageID=41007The Abt Associates-led PATHS2 project, a $195 million contract from the U.K. Department of International Development, is supporting this renewed leadership commitment in the health sector with an eye on new approaches and not just business as usual. PATHS2 began supporting the government of Nigeria through the Federal Ministry of Health to create change in the health sector.http://www.abtassociates.com/Page.cfm?PageID=41002In this research Abt Associates developed and tested a model that can be used to design studies that estimate the impacts on households of receiving food assistance under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp program. http://www.abtassociates.com/Page.cfm?PageID=12605&CSB=1&OWID=2109769275Abt Associates staff, under a contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, are working with the National Commission on Children and Disasters to prepare a report advising President Barack Obama and Congress on the unique needs of children in natural or manmade disasters.http://www.abtassociates.com/Page.cfm?PageID=12605&CSB=1&OWID=2109769259Congress mandated that the Social Security Administration (SSA) conduct a study to determine whether recipients of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits will increase their work effort and earnings if they are able to retain more of their benefits while doing so. Abt Associates designed the policy testcalled the Benefit Offset National Demonstration (BOND)and recently was awarded the contract to implement the demonstration and evaluate its effects.http://www.abtassociates.com/Page.cfm?PageID=12605&CSB=1&OWID=2109769257Abt Associates will support the Government of Tanzanias progression towards decentralization and devolution, through a USAID-funded project called Wajibika, which means be accountable in Swahili. http://www.abtassociates.com/Page.cfm?PageID=41023 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has awarded Abt Associates two new contracts to evaluate the effectiveness of the H1N1 vaccine among health care workers and children under the age of 18. In December 2009 the CDC awarded the company a related contract to evaluate the vaccines effectiveness among pregnant women. http://www.abtassociates.com/Page.cfm?PageID=41022 Allyson Ross Davies, Ph.D., M.P.H., has joined Abt Associates as Vice President and leader of its Health Policy Practice within its Domestic Health Division. Dr. Davies is a nationally recognized expert in the development of patient-based assessments of health status and quality of care, and their use for performance evaluation and quality improvement. http://www.abtassociates.com/Page.cfm?PageID=40998 At the request of the USAID mission in Santo Domingo, Abt Associates has been asked to provide support to several hospitals along the Dominican Republic border with Haiti through its Maternal & Child Centers of Excellence Project, as part of the U.S. Government emergency relief efforts.