Search Results

School Readiness Assessments < Back View Full Report View Full Report Executive Summary Executive Summary View Full Report View Full Report View Full Report Executive Summary

Claire Miller, PhD Senior Research Analyst II Dr. Miller has 15 years of research experience within the areas of social sciences, experimental research design, advanced quantitative research methodology, and learning analytics. In addition, she has extensive experience working with large data sets, designing data visualization dashboards in Tableau, and writing reports for publication. Dr. Miller has expertise in basic inferential statistics, including parametric and nonparametric analytic methods, as well as advanced quantitative methodologies, such as structural equation models (path analysis, factor analysis, multivariate analysis, latent growth curve models) and generalized linear mixed models (hierarchical models). Her work has been presented at multiple national conferences, including the American Educational Research Association and American Psychological Association, and has been published in peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Miller has over 10 years of experience teaching undergraduate and graduate level courses, including educational psychology, classroom assessment, research methods, and advanced statistical methods (e.g., multiple regression). In her spare time, Dr. Miller enjoys traveling and paddleboarding. < Back claire@appliedsurveyresearch.org

View Full Report Executive Summary Process & Outcome Evaluations Process-oriented evaluations look at how well an effort is being implemented, usually for the formative purposes of making improvements. Outcome-oriented evaluations look at the summative impact of an effort on participants. Most of ASR’s evaluations include both process and outcome components so we can help you get a holistic view of how your efforts are helping create positive change. Highlight Project: First 5 Sacramento Evaluation Report < Back View Full Report Additional work samples F5 Santa Clara F5 Tehama View Full Report Exec Summary View Full Report Exec Summary F5 Siskiyou View Full Report Exec Summary CAFES Program, Santa Cruz County Probation Department View Report

View Full Report Executive Summary App & Text-Based Data Collection ASR can help you find innovative ways to reach your audience. We use online surveys such as Qualtrics and SurveyMonkey, text-based surveying such as Slicktext, and phone-based polling such as Menti-meter. Recent Homeless PIT counts have used app-based data collection techniques. Highlight Project: San Francisco Homeless Count and Survey View Full Report Executive Summary < Back Additional work samples Monterey County Homeless Count and Survey View Report

Julie Burr Senior Research Analyst Ms. Burr has been engaged with ASR since 2014 in a number of different capacities including intern, community partner, and now ASR team member. Julie is a public health professional with a varied background in finance, research, writing, project management and community organizing. Her areas of experience have primarily been focused on the prevention of chronic disease, community violence, and addressing systemic inequities. Her passion lies in working towards equity and thriving for all through individual and collaborative action. She received an associate’s degree in Business Administration, Accounting from Cabrillo College, and her bachelor’s degree in Collaborative Health and Human Services from California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB). In 2014-2015, Julie interned with the Santa Cruz County Youth Violence Prevention Network (YVPN) and helped co-author Turning the Curve: Youth Violence Strategic Plan for Santa Cruz County. Since graduation, she has worked as a Research Analyst with the Institute for Community Collaborative Studies at CSUMB, and as the Community Impact Coordinator for YVPN at the United Way of Santa Cruz County. In her role with YVPN, she organized the multi-sector collaborative network in addressing community needs and implementing activities that promoted the inclusion of youth and community voice in public safety efforts. With ASR, Julie has supported a variety of projects across the greater Bay Area including community assessments, homeless point-in-time counts, program evaluations and strategic planning. Julie continues to stay connected to the California Violence Prevention Network (CalVPN) , currently serving as one of the Network’s Administrators. She was also an active alumni and practitioner coach with the Radical Transformational Leadership Program in the Bay Area for seven years. Her other research interests include community trauma and healing, women’s health, civic engagement, food security, criminal legal system reform, racial equity and other issues impacting social injustice. < Back Julie@appliedsurveyresearch.org

View Full Report Executive Summary Focus Groups and Listening Sessions Quantitative data is ”lonely” without qualitative data. ASR can help you listen to community voice, such as focus groups and listening sessions to explore and generate issues (exploratory, divergent thinking), and listening sessions to confirm a set of issues and offer solutions (confirmatory, convergent thinking). Highlight Project: Communities of Practice Listening Sessions Data Snapshot View Snapshot < Back

Community Health Needs Assessments In 2012, ASR pioneered a methodology to help hospitals complete community health needs assessments (CHNA) in a way that met the requirements of the Affordable Care Act but also provided insights as to how to best direct community benefits funding. Since then, ASR has completed dozens of CHNAs across the Bay Area, as well as in other states. Highlight Project: Oakland Medical Center Community Health Needs Assessment < Back View Assessment Kaiser Permanente San Jose 2022 View Assessment Dominican Hospital CHNA 2019 View Assessment Mark Twain Medical Center CHNA 2017 View Assessment Kaiser Permanente Richmond 2022 View Assessment

Early Learning & Kindergarten Readiness Quality early learning experiences and kindergarten readiness predict later school achievement. In 2001, ASR developed a 20-item assessment tool completed by teachers called the Kindergarten Observation Form to measure children's kindergarten readiness. Used across California and in several other states, this validated form can be used to show how key programs like pre-K help prepare children for school success. Project Highlight: Santa Clara County Kindergraten Readiness Report View Full Report Executive Summary < Back Additional work samples Napa Valley Early Learning Initiative View Full Report Exec Summary

Susan Brutschy President Susan Brutschy co-founded Applied Survey Research in 1981 with Sociology Professor Dane Archer of the University of California, Santa Cruz. She has been President of ASR since 1989, leading hundreds of evaluations, assessments, and strategic planning processes in community quality of life, early childhood development, domestic violence, child abuse and maltreatment, early literacy, K-12 education, and homelessness. Ms. Brutschy has expanded ASR's work to national and international prominence. In 2006, ASR won the prestigious Community Service Award from the Association for Applied and Clinical Sociology (AACS). They noted that ASR won the honor "for its outstanding work in applying its data collection, analysis, reporting, and management skills to addressing homelessness and other social problems." In 2007, ASR and the United Way of Santa Cruz County won a national award from the Brookings Institution for having the best indicator project in the nation, the Santa Cruz County Community Assessment Project (CAP) . Over the last decade, Ms. Brutschy has pioneered an outcomes framework for ASR's work in community assessments, evaluations, and strategic planning processes. This framework, known as Results Based Accountability (RBA), was created by Mark Friedman of the Fiscal Policies Institute. The framework’s goal is to begin with the outcomes that a community would like to achieve. Once a community agrees on those outcomes, Ms. Brutschy and ASR staff use RBA to develop the best methods to achieve those ends. She has successfully led many projects using RBA, including the previously mentioned Santa Cruz County CAP, which functions as a community report card with over 135 indicators; First 5 Santa Cruz County to benefit children ages 0-5 in low income communities of color; and Kindergarten Readiness Assessments in Alameda, Santa Clara, San Francisco, and San Mateo Counties. Ms. Brutschy believes that data should not sit in binders collecting dust, but rather that it should become a catalyst for community change. She has helped many communities in California, Arizona, and Alaska to achieve improvements in health, domestic violence, child abuse and maltreatment, early childhood literacy, drug and alcohol abuse, and school safety. She graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz, with highest honors in Sociology, and received awards for her research in designing and implementing quantitative assessments of community opinion for the Social Research Unit. In addition to her work at ASR, Ms. Brutschy enjoys reading about the history of ancient Egypt, international travel, and camping with her husband and four adult children. < Our Team Susan@appliedsurveyresearch.org

< Back Fair Market Rent Surveys One major strategy to increase access to affordable housing is for counties and cities to provide subsidized housing. Residents can use Section 8 vouchers to pay for housing at the Fair Market Rent (FMR) value. ASR has helped counties such as Santa Cruz and Alameda conduct Fair Market Rent surveys that in turn help establish the current fair market rent value. In high-cost markets such as the Bay Area, it is critical that fair market value of vouchers keeps up with the housing market. Contact Us for More Information

Peter Connery Vice President Mr. Connery is Vice-President and CFO of Applied Survey Research. He directs ASR's work in the area of homelessness, including our homeless census and surveys which have been cited by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as a best practice. The federal government requires that counties count their homeless populations every two years to receive further funding, and HUD provides information about ASR's methodology on their website and in their handbook. ASR has completed homeless census and surveys in several of the largest counties in the United States including San Bernardino County and Los Angeles County in both 2005 and 2007. Other counties include Mendocino, Monterey, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, the Southern Nevada region including Las Vegas, and the greater Atlanta Georgia region. In 2006, ASR won a prestigious award from the Association for Applied and Clinical Sociology (AACS). According to the AACS, the Community Service Award was given to ASR "for its outstanding work in applying its data collection, analysis, reporting, and management skills to addressing homelessness and other social problems." Mr. Connery has also directed one of the largest farmworker health and housing assessments in the United States. ASR organized over 140 people from agricultural worker and health services backgrounds in Washington State to randomly survey over 2,850 farmworkers as they picked crops in fifteen counties, representing 95% of farmworker production in the state. He is also responsible for ASR's infrastructure requirements such as facilities, technology acquisition, networking, strategic partnerships and management of the general ledger. In addition to his work at ASR, Mr. Connery is active in youth sports as a coach of basketball, baseball and soccer. He came to ASR after working for 18 years in the logistics services industry, holding senior management positions in business units ranging from operations to sales and marketing. His project management expertise from the business sector coupled with his academic background in social research has enabled ASR to expand significantly. He graduated with honors from the University of California, Santa Cruz. < Back connery@appliedsurveyresearch.org

Elizabeth Mower (Martinez), MA Project Director Elizabeth Mower was born and raised in the Sacramento area. She received her Masters Degree in Sociology from the University of Nevada, Reno. Ms. Mower is a valuable asset to the ASR Sacramento team, with many years of experience working in research and program evaluation to support initiatives in early childhood development, child health and safety, school climate, student wellness, behavioral health, substance abuse prevention, mental health intervention, and community needs assessments. With an advanced knowledge of statistical analysis and data visualization, her goal is to make data accessible for various audiences to help organizations obtain actionable insights. She is committed to supporting data-driven decisions to improve community outcomes. She has passion for the work, the analytics, the collaboration, and the process to create change and improve the lives of under-served and vulnerable populations. Her personal life is filled with family activities in the Region: going to local farmer’s markets, camping in Camptonville, snowboarding in Tahoe, boating at Lake Oroville, and kayaking at Lake Natoma. < Back Elizabeth@appliedsurveyresearch.org