James Bell Associates, a Washington, D.C. area consulting firm, is nationally recognized for excellence in independent program evaluation, applied research and technical assistance. JBA has a reputation for delivering high-quality and useful findings to program management and policy decision-makers in the health care and human services arenas to enhance the well-being of individuals, families and communities; especially in the fields of child welfare and family services, health care services, mental health and substance abuse services, prevention services, and coordination and integration of services.

Current JBA Program & Policy Areas

Child Welfare & Family Services

JBA has conducted over 50 projects focused on child welfare and family services for Federal and state agencies, including the Children's Bureau, the Office of Family Assistance, the National Institute of Justice, and the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services. These projects have addressed multiple areas of child and family well-being, including child maltreatment prevention, adoption, foster care, family preservation and support, responsible fatherhood, healthy marriage and Title IV-E state child welfare waivers.

Health Care Services

JBA has had nearly 30 years of experience conducting health care projects ranging from short-term qualitative assessments of policy changes to randomized clinical trials on behalf of the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research and several states. These projects have addressed Medicaid managed care, behavioral health outcomes, chronic disease management, integrated HIV/AIDS care, HIV/AIDS medication adherence, coverage for investigational drugs, and innovations in rural and frontier health care.

Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services

JBA has had 15 years of experience evaluating mental health and substance abuse services for Federal agencies, including the National Institute on Mental Health, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. These projects have addressed issues such as co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders, stigma and discrimination that effects persons with mental health issues, service utilization and costs, cultural competence, trauma, medication management, provider education and training, and the complex co-morbidities of mental illness, substance abuse and HIV/AIDS.

Child & Adolescent Development

JBA has conducted numerous research projects concerning child and adolescent development for Federal and state agencies, including the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the Children's Bureau, and the Maternal and Child Health Bureau. These studies have focused on: teenagers facing emancipation from the foster care system; adolescent self-management of diabetes (Type 1); infants, toddlers and preschoolers in early intervention programs such as Head Start; school-based child maltreatment prevention programs; and child care.

Prevention Services

JBA has designed and conducted nearly 20 evaluations of prevention programs serving vulnerable populations. Clients have included the HIV/AIDS Bureau, the Office of Child Abuse and Neglect, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Kansas Health Foundation, and the Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Fund. The projects have focused on family preservation, childhood immunization, HIV primary and secondary prevention, protective factors for school-aged children, and breast cancer screening.

Research Resources & Administration

JBA has conducted more than 20 projects focusing on health sciences research resources and grants administration systems and procedures for the institutes and centers of the National Institutes of Health and foundations such as the Lilly Endowment. Topical foci have included shared-use scientific instrumentation, electronic grants administration, general clinical research centers, research career development awards, protections for human research subjects, funding for pilot research biomedical engineering services, medical arts, central computing resources, and veterinary resources.

Service Collaboration, Coordination & Integration

JBA has conducted nearly 20 projects focused on blending funding streams and combining multiple agencies' efforts around a common need. These projects have been supported by multiple Federal and state agencies—including the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (DHHS), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Administration for Children and Families, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention—and have addressed strategies for improving the flow of juvenile cases across the child protection, law enforcement and court systems, integrating mental health and substance abuse services to improve HIV treatment adherence, and cross-agency collaboration to enhance substance abuse prevention.