Dana Schultz

Photo of Dana Schultz
Senior Policy Researcher
Pittsburgh Office

Education

M.P.P. in public policy, Harvard University

Media Resources

This researcher is available for interviews.

To arrange an interview, contact the RAND Office of Media Relations at (310) 451-6913, or email media@rand.org.

More Experts

Overview

Dana Schultz is a senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. She has extensive experience in research and evaluation design, implementation and outcomes evaluations, quantitative and qualitative methodologies, developmental and participatory evaluation approaches, and collaborative research relationships with agencies and organizations in different health and social service sectors. Schultz has conducted numerous evaluation studies to document implementation and assess effectiveness of programs designed to improve health, mental health, and other outcomes for parents, children, and families. She brings substantive expertise in child welfare, children exposed to violence, child and adult behavioral health interventions, and child and adolescent well-being. Recent work to improve child and family-serving systems include efforts to address infant mortality by identifying infant mortality risk and reducing that risk through referrals to an optimized and personalized mix of health, social service, and community prevention strategies; develop a model of the child welfare system that allows for an assessment of the costs and benefits of a wide range of different policy options designed to improve child outcomes; and evaluate a cross-system quality improvement effort to improve system capacity and care for families facing the dual challenges of parental depression and early childhood developmental delays. She received her M.P.P. from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Research Focus

Recent Projects

  • Strategy Evaluation of the Healthy and Equitable Futures Initiative
  • Prediction and reduction of infant mortality in Allegheny County
  • Evaluation and research services relating to the Connections to Care initiative
  • Strategic planning and support for the Health and Well-being program
  • Evaluation of the Helping Families Raise Healthy Children initiative to improve systems of care for families

Selected Publications

Schultz, D., Peet, E., and Lovejoy, S. , Examining Interventions to Address Infant Mortality in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, RAND (RR-A858-1), 2021

Ayer, L. and Schultz, D., eds., Mental Health Task-Shifting in Community-Based Organizations: Implementation, Impact, and Cost — Evaluation of the Connections to Care Program, RAND (RR-3083), 2020

Ringel, J., Schultz, D., Mendelsohn, J., Holliday, S., Sieck, K., Edochie, I., and Davis, L. , Improving Child Welfare Outcomes: Balancing Investments in Prevention and Treatment, RAND (RR-1775), 2017

Schultz, D., Jaycox, L., Ayer, L., Setodji, C., Mahmud, A., Kofner, A., Barnes-Proby, D. , Improving Outcomes for Children Exposed to Violence: Safe Start Promising Approaches, RAND (RR-1728), 2017

Barnes-Proby, D., Schultz, D., Jaycox, L., and Ayer, L. , Five Strategies for Successful Recruitment and Retention of Children and Families in Human Service Programs, RAND (TL-242), 2017

Schultz, D., Reynolds, K., Sontag-Padilla, L., Lovejoy, S., Firth, R., and Pincus, H. , Transforming Systems for Parental Depression and Early Childhood Developmental Delays: Findings and Lessons Learned from the Helping Families Raise Healthy Children Initiative, RAND (RR-122), 2013

Schultz, D., Reynolds, K., Sontag-Padilla, L. Lovejoy, S.L., Firth, R., Schake, P., Hawk, J., Killmeyer, S., Troup, E., Myers-Cepicka, M., Perich, M., A Toolkit for Implementing Parental Depression Screening, Referral and Treatment Across Systems, RAND (TL-102), 2012

Schultz, D., Jaycox, L., Hickman, L.J., Setodji, C., Kofner, A., Harris, R., Barnes-Proby, D. , "The relationship between protective factors and outcomes for children exposed to violence," Violence and Victims

Commentary

  • A mother holding a baby in a rocking chair while looking out a window

    New Depression-Screening Guidelines Could Help Both Mother and Child

    Behavioral health professionals and community agencies often do not consider the impact of parental depression on young children or focus on the adult's role as a parent. New guidelines recommending depression screening during primary care visits for pregnant women and new mothers are a critical first step.

    Mar 18, 2016 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

  • U.S. President Barack Obama is introduced to speak by Christian Champagne from Chicago at the unveiling of Obama's "My Brother's Keeper" initiative

    Realizing the Potential of 'My Brother's Keeper'

    The White House has mobilized an impressive coalition to address a critical national challenge, and used the power of research evidence to begin to structure the initiative. By drawing more lessons from research, the initiative can further bolster its chance to build strong and lasting ladders of opportunity and success for boys and young men of color.

    Mar 16, 2014 The Hill

  • Preschool Pays Off

    Published commentary by RAND staff: Preschool Pays Off, in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

    Sep 20, 2006 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Publications