Larry L. Orr
Associate, Institute for Policy Studies
Bloomberg School of Public Health 4402 Leland Street
Johns Hopkins University Chevy Chase, MD 20815
Consultant, Research and larry.orr.consulting@gmail.com
Evaluation 301-467-1234
Key Qualifications______________________________________________________________
Forty years experience in the design and analysis of large-scale research and evaluation projects, including major social experiments in education, housing, welfare reform, health insurance, home health care, reform of disability programs, and employment and training. Extensive experience and publications in evaluation and policy analysis. Author of graduate level text on the use of social experiments to evaluate public programs. Areas of specialization include experimental design and analysis, evaluation methodology, education, housing, welfare, and labor economics.
Education_____________________________________________________________________
Ph.D.,
B.S.,
Relevant Professional Experience_________________________________________________
Associate, Institute for Policy Studies, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University (2010 – present). Teach core course on program evaluation to second-year students in Master’s of Public Policy program.
Independent Consultant (2007- present):
Co-Principal Investigator, External Validity in Education Evaluations (2010-present). Project to assess the external validity of the sampling designs commonly used in education, estimate how much difference the sampling design makes empirically, and propose research designs with more externally valid designs. Client: Abt Associates Inc. (for the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education)
Design Consultant and Project Quality Advisor, Benefit Offset National Demonstration Implementation (2007-present). Consult on experimental design and provide review and guidance for the design and implementation of a nine-year demonstration project to test changes in financial incentives and employment supports designed to increase the proportion of SSDI beneficiaries who become employed. Client: Abt Associates Inc. (for U.S. Social Security Administration)
Midstream Assessment of IES Evaluation Research (2008-09). Together with Professors Robinson Hollister and Rebecca Maynard, review and assess the evaluation research produced by the
Advisory Panel, Design Options for an Evaluation to Turn Around Chronically Low-Performing Schools (2008-09). Client: Abt Associates Inc. (for
Technical Working Group, Impact Evaluation of the DC Choice Program (2007-10). Advise on the design and analysis of evaluation of
Technical Working Group, National Charter School Evaluation (2007-10). Advise on the design and analysis of experimental evaluation of the impacts of charter schools. Client: Mathematica Policy Research (for
Advisory Panel, Initiative To Identify and Validate Social Interventions Meeting “Top Tier” Evidence of Effectiveness (2007-present). Member of expert panel that reviews candidate projects to determine whether they meet the standards of evidence for inclusion on a website that identifies social programs that have been proven to be highly effective in rigorous evaluations. Client: Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy.
Project Quality Advisor, Pre-Purchase Homeownership Counseling Demonstration (2008). Provide technical guidance and review of the experimental design of a Congressionally mandated test of alternative forms of pre-purchase homeownership counseling on the delinquency and foreclosure rates of home buyers approved for high loan-to-value ratio, FHA-insured mortgages. Client: Abt Associates Inc. (for the
Design Consultant, Impact of Housing and Services Interventions for Homeless Families (2008-09). Consult on design of a large, multi-site experimental test of the effects of four interventions on the stability and well-being of homeless families. Client: Abt Associates Inc. (for the
Project Quality Advisor, Innovative Strategies for Increasing Self-Sufficiency (2007-present). Provide technical guidance and review of project to design and test experimentally the next generation of interventions to enhance the self-sufficiency of TANF recipients and other low-income families. Client: Abt Associates Inc. (for the
Project Director and Chief Economist, Abt Associates Inc. (1982-2007)
Project Quality Advisor. Impact Evaluation of the
Project Director, Impact Analysis. Evaluation of the New Deal for Disabled People (2001-2007). Under contract with the University of Loughborough (UK), Abt Associates and the Urban Institute had lead responsibility for the design and implementation of an impact evaluation of the
Principal Investigator, National Benefit Offset Demonstration (2004-2007). Abt Associates was selected by the U.S. Social Security Administration to design the benefit offset demonstration for the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program mandated by Congress in the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999. The Benefit Offset Demonstration will test changes in financial incentives and employment supports designed to increase the proportion of SSDI beneficiaries who become employed. Currently, disabled workers lose their entire SSDI benefit if they have earnings above a specified threshold. The demonstration will allow earnings above this level with a benefit reduction of less than $1 for each additional $1 earned, eliminating the “cliff” currently in effect. To measure the impact of the demonstration interventions, SSDI applicants and beneficiaries in up to 250 local offices across the country will be randomly assigned to alternative combinations of benefit offset and employment supports or to a control group that continues to be governed by existing regulations. (Client:
Co-Principal Investigator. Supporting Healthy Marriage (2003-2007). This nine-year, $38 million project will design, implement, and evaluate programs to provide marriage education and other services to low-income couples, to support and strengthen their marriages. In each of eight sites, 1,000 couples will be recruited and randomly assigned to a treatment group, which will receive these services, or to a control group, which will be excluded from the program. Follow-up interviews to measure effects on marital health and stability and child well-being will be conducted by Abt Associates at 12, 36, and 60 months after random assignment. (Client: MDRC, under contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services/Administration for Children and Families) Responsible, jointly with the MDRC Project Director, for technical leadership of the project; task leader for evaluation design.
Technical Advisor. Welfare to Work Housing Voucher Evaluation (1999-2007). To assess the role of housing assistance in promoting self-sufficiency among welfare recipients, in FY1999 Congress appropriated $283 million for Section 8 tenant-based assistance to help families making the transition from welfare to work. In authorizing a controlled experiment of the Welfare to Work Voucher Program, Congress sought to provide evidence of the extent to which providing tenant-based rental assistance to low income families not only meets their immediate housing needs but will, over the long term, increase the families' effective work effort by helping families to move where the jobs are and find and keep employment. (Client: HUD/Office of Policy Development and Research) Responsible for overall technical guidance of project. Task leader for site selection and evaluation design.
Principal Investigator. The Interim Impact Evaluation of the Moving to
Technical Reviewer. Evaluation of Project NetWork (1992-1999). A five-year evaluation of eight demonstration projects testing the use of case management and financial incentives as a means of increasing rehabilitation services and employment among recipients of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. The study used random assignment of 8,400 voluntary participants to treatment and control groups, plus a separate sample of 200,000 nonparticipants, to analyze program service delivery, client selection, impacts (on earnings, SSDI and SSI benefits, and other outcomes), and overall benefits and costs. (Client:
Project Director. Evaluation of National and Community Service Programs (1992-96). The National and Community Service Act of 1990 was an innovative approach to meeting the social needs of the country through voluntary community service, both in school and out of school. In 54 sites involving 4,000 participants, Abt used baseline forms and follow-up interviews, as well as intensive on-site data collection, to measure program outcomes and impacts on the participants and the communities, cost-effectiveness, and which programs are effective in meeting the objectives of the Act. (Client: Corporation for National and Community Service). Responsible for overall direction of all project activities. Lead responsibility for design, site recruiting and implementation of random assignment.
Senior Technical Advisor. Evaluation of the
Senior Technical Advisor. Evaluation of the Comprehensive Child Development Program (1990-95). The Comprehensive Child Development Program was an innovative attempt by the Administration on Children, Youth and Families to provide early and comprehensive social and educational services to enhance child health and development and to support families in gaining economic self‑sufficiency. From 1990 to 1998, Abt Associates designed and implemented a long‑term evaluation of the impacts of two cohorts of CCDP projects in areas such as children's health, physical development, and school readiness; parent's aspirations and education; and the economic self‑sufficiency of participating families. For the second cohort of projects, Abt Associates also designed and conducted an evaluation of program implementation. (Client: Administration for Children, Youth and Families,
Project Director. Evaluation of the Effectiveness of JTPA Title II-A Programs (1986-94). A six-year, $19 million study to evaluate the impacts of Job Training Partnership Act programs for disadvantaged adults and youth, on participants' employment, earnings, and receipt of public assistance, using a classical field experiment operating in 16 sites nationwide. (Client:
Project Director (1985-1988). Durable Medical Equipment (DME) Competitive Bidding Demonstration. Project to design, implement, administer and evaluate a three-year demonstration to test the use of competitive bidding as a method of setting Medicare reimbursement rates for DME. (Client: Health Care Financing Administration.) Responsible for overall direction of all project activities. Lead responsibility for design of competitive bidding system and evaluation design and implementation.
Project Director (1983-1987). AFDC Homemaker-Home Health Aide Demonstration. Design, development, and evaluation of seven-state demonstration to train and employ AFDC (welfare) recipients to provide home care services to elderly and other individuals who are at risk of institutionalization. As part of impact analysis, 9,500 AFDC recipients and over 20,000 aged and disabled applicants for home care were randomly assigned in more than 100 localities. (Clients: Health Care Financing Administration and the states of
Other Professional Experience
Visiting Fellow. Centre for Research in Social Policy, Loughborough University, U.K. (2005-06).
Editorial Board. Evaluation and Program Planning (1992-2007).
Guest Scholar. Brookings Institution (1995-96). Wrote graduate textbook on the design, implementation, and analysis of large-scale social experiments. Consulted with federal agencies on policy and research in the areas of affirmative action, state welfare programs, and medical savings accounts.
Director, Office of Technical Analysis. Office of Assistant Secretary for Policy, Evaluation and
Director, Office of Income Security Policy Research. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation,
Federal Executive Fellow. Brookings Institution (1976-77). Research and policy analysis in AFDC, Food Stamps, and welfare reform. (On leave from HEW).
Staff Economist.
Staff Economist. Institute for Research on Poverty, University of
Assistant Professor of Economics.
Honors and Awards____________________________________________________________
2004 Daniel Bell Award for Social Science Research.
2000, Invited participant, White House
1982 Citation of Merit Award,
1977 Federal Executive Award presented by the Council for Applied Social Research for government official who has done the most to improve applied social research.
Income, Employment, and Urban Residential Location selected as one of “Outstanding Books in Industrial Relations and Labor Economics, 1975”, by Princeton University Industrial Relations Section.
Expert Advisory Panels_________________________________________________________
Assessing the New Federalism (co-chair), Urban Institute and Annie E. Casey Foundation
Review of Welfare Reform Waiver Demonstrations,
National Learn and Serve Evaluation, Corporation for National Service
Youth Fair Chance Demonstration Evaluation,
Ticket to Work Evaluation,
National Evaluation of the Head Start
Evaluation of D.C. Choice Voucher Program, Institute for Education Sciences
Initiative To Identify and Validate Social Interventions Meeting “Top Tier” Evidence of Effectiveness, Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy
Design Options for an Evaluation to Turn Around Chronically Low-Performing Schools, Institute for Education Sciences
Abstracts of Social Experiments
Evaluation of the Regional Education Laboratories sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences.
Selected Publications____________________________________________________________
Books:
Social Experiments: Evaluating Public Programs with Experimental Methods. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc., 1999.)
Does Job Training for the Disadvantaged Work? Evidence from the National JTPA Study, with Howard S. Bloom, Stephen H. Bell, Winston Lin,
Program Applicants as a Comparison Group in Evaluating Training Programs, with Stephen H. Bell, John D. Blomquist, and Glen G. Cain. (Kalamazoo, MI: Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, 1995).
Preparing for the Workplace: Charting a Course for Federal Postsecondary Training Policy, ed. Janet Hansen,
Income, Employment, and Urban Residential Location (New York: Academic Press, 1975). Japanese edition (Tokyo: Keiichi Tanaka, 1979).
Income Maintenance: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Research, coeditor with Robinson Hollister and Myron Lefcowitz (Chicago: Markham Publishing Co., 1971)
Articles in Refereed Journals:
“Screening (and creaming?) applicants to job training programs: the AFDC homemaker-home health aide demonstrations,” with Stephen H. Bell, Labour Economics, 2002.
“Educating the Client,” Professional Practice Department, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Winter 2002.
“Welfare Reform After 5 Years,” Evaluation and Program Planning, November 2001.
“Special Section: Evaluation of Welfare Reform,” editor, Evaluation and Program Planning, November 2001.
"The Benefits and Costs of JTPA Title II-A Programs: Key Findings from the National JTPA Study", with Howard S. Bloom, Stephen H. Bell, George Cave, Fred Doolittle, Winston Lin, and Johannes M. Bos, Journal of Human Resources, Summer 1997.
"Is Subsidized Employment Cost-Effective for Welfare Recipients? Empirical Evidence from
"Are Classical Experiments Needed for Manpower Policy?", with
"Some Interim Results from a Controlled Trial in Health Insurance," with Joseph P. Newhouse et al.,
"Income Transfers as a Public Good: Reply," American Economic Review, December 1978.
"Income Transfers as a Public Good: An Application to AFDC," American Economic Review. June 1976.
"Welfare Policy and the Employment Rate of AFDC Mothers," with Irwin Garfinkel, National Tax Journal, June 1974.
"The Health Insurance Study: Experimentation and Health Financing Policy," Inquiry, March 1974.
"The Incidence of Differential Property Taxes on Urban Housing," National Tax Journal, September 1968.
"The Incidence of Differential Property Taxes: A Response," National Tax Journal, March 1970.
"The Incidence of Differential Property Taxes on Urban Housing: Reply," National Tax Journal, June 1972.
Other Publications:
Long-term impacts of the New Deal for Disabled People, with Stephen H. Bell and Ken Lam. Research Report No. 432, Department for Work and Pensions,
“What Can Ticket to Work Learn from Other Performance-Based Payment Systems?” in Paying for Results in Vocational Rehabilitation: Will Provider Incentives Work for Ticket to Work? (
The Lifelong Learning Demonstration: Final Evaluation Report on the Experimental Site, with Larry Buron, Satyendra Patrabansh, and Wang Lee. Research and Evaluation Report Series C 99-C. (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, 1999).
Social Experimentation: Evaluating Public Programs with Experimental Methods (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1997).
Youth Corps: Promising Strategies for Young People and Their Communities, with JoAnn Jastrzab, John Blomquist, and Julie Masker (Bethesda, MD: Abt Associates, 1997).
"Are Nonexperimental Estimates Close Enough for Policy Purposes?" with Stephen H. Bell, Proceedings of the American Statistical Association, Section on Government Statistics, 1995.
"Using Random Assignment to Evaluate an Ongoing Program: The National JTPA Evaluation," with Howard S. Bloom and Michael E. Borus, Proceedings of the American Statistical Association, Social Statistics Section, 1987.
"The Use of Experimental Methods to Evaluate Demonstration Projects," Evaluation Studies Review Annual, Volume 10, Linda H. Aiken and Barbara H. Kehrer, eds. (Beverly Hills: Sage Publications, 1985).
"Micro-Experiments vs. Macro-Experiments for Health Policy: Comment," in Social Experimentation, Jerry A. Hausman and David A. Wise, eds. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985).
"A Two-Part Model of Demand for Medical Care: Preliminary Results from the Health Insurance Experiment," with Joseph P. Newhouse et al., in Health, Economics, and Health Economics, J. Van Der Gaag and M. Perlman, eds. (Amsterdam: North-Holland Publishing Co., 1981).
"The Evolution of the Work Issue in Welfare Reform," with Felicity Skidmore, in Welfare Reform in
"The Health Insurance Study: Experimentation in Health Financing Policy," in The Utilization of the Social Sciences in Policy Making in the United States, Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (Paris, 1980).
"Income Maintenance Program Data Needs," in Proceedings of the Survey of Income and Program Participation Workshop (Washington, D.C.: Mark Battle Associates, 1978).
"An Overview of the Findings of the Rural Income Maintenance Experiment," in Welfare in Rural Areas (Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution, 1978).
"The Ethics of Large Scale Social Experimentation," with Edward M. Gramlich, in Ethical and Legal Issues of Social Experimentation (Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution, 1975).
"Policy Implications of the
"Organizations for Social Experimentation," with Charles G. Field, in Experimental Testing of Public Policy (Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1975).
"Strategy for a Broad Program of Experimentation in Income Maintenance," in Income Maintenance,
"Responses to Non-financial Parameters of Income Maintenance Programs," in Income Maintenance,
"Policy Issues for Further Research in Income Maintenance," Proceedings of the APPA Symposium on Program Evaluation, Association for Public Program Analysis,
Project Reports: [List of project reports available on request.]
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