Partner spotlight: Madeleine Levin and Social Policy Research Associates
Today we’re introducing Madeleine Levin, MPH, Senior Associate at Social Policy Research Associates (SPRA) in Oakland, CA as we kick-off our partnership on an exciting 2-year project to evaluate the Economic Security for All Initiative for the Washington State Employment Security Department.
After a decade as a policy analyst and advocate in Washington, D.C., Madeleine made the switch five years ago to focus more deeply on examining human services policy and program implementation, leveraging her subject matter expertise in federal nutrition programs such as the National School Lunch Program and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program).
“It has been gratifying to contribute to a program through this lens,” Madeleine shared, “and I continue to meet fantastic new colleagues in the field, like Alicia Koné, who I have been collaborating with for the past few years.”
The work on which SPRA and Koné Consulting are collaborating is part of an initiative which awarded a total of $5.8 million of federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Statewide Activities funds to four local Workforce Development Councils to test new poverty reduction models and support replication of successful models.
“We’re excited to work with Koné Consulting to document the successes and challenges of these cutting-edge, comprehensive approaches to reducing poverty,” said Madeleine.
One of Madeleine’s career highlights was working at the Food Research and Action Center, where she helped develop the Community Eligibility statute in the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. This provision allows the nation’s schools and districts to serve breakfast and lunch at no cost to all enrolled students in high poverty areas, without collecting household applications. Instead, schools that adopt CEP are reimbursed using a formula based on the percentage of students categorically eligible for free meals based on their participation in other specific means-tested programs, such as SNAP and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
Now 13.6 million children in 28,614 schools and 4,698 school districts have access to school breakfast and lunch at no charge. Great work, Madeleine!
“Here at Social Policy Research Associates, we just completed a large study for USDA to better understand how to maximize elder (60+) access to SNAP,” Madeleine explained. “We are excited to share our findings with the public soon via the USDA website.”
Social Policy Research Associates is a small business that provides customized services in evaluation, organizational development, and facilitation and training. They work collaboratively with clients to bring innovative approaches to new or existing strategies, programs, and initiatives. SPRA offers expert advice and personal service, with the capacity, experience, and expertise to handle large sophisticated analyses.