Matthew Powers, M.A

Matthew Powers, M.A.

Data Analyst

Matthew Powers isa data analyst for Hornby Zeller Associates, Inc. He came to the firm in the summer of 2015, bringing with him a wealth of research and analytical experience. Working from the firm’s South Portland, Maine office, his strong analytical skills have enabled him to contribute to a number of the firm’s undertakings.

Shortly after his arrival at HZA, Mr. Powers assisted with the firm’s evaluation of Maine’s Moving Forward initiative, a program designed to address the needs of transition-aged youth and young adults with emotional disturbances, placing emphasis on youth-directed planning and the development of practical skills leading to independence. For this project, he analyzed client-level interview data to measure youth’s emotional and behavioral outcomes at three different points in time. He also assisted in drafting the final report.

Mr. Powers’ analytical abilities have been put to good use on other projects, as well. For the firm’s Healthy Homes Mississippi program evaluation, he conducted data analysis of a survey administered to staff to determine the extent to which they were prepared to engage fathers in the lives of their children, breaking information down by region and program type. He used t-tests to measure statistical significance and assisted in writing summaries for the various data components.

Presently, Mr. Powers isworking on HZA’s evaluation of Maine’s Title IV-E Waiver initiative which is designed to improve the stability, health and well-being and quality of permanent connections of young children and their families in Maine. As an integral member of the firm’s analytical team, he is heavily involved in data collection and analysis efforts for the evaluation.

For three years prior to his arrival at HZA, Mr. Powers worked in primary neuropathology and toxicology at the Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) in Boston, Massachusetts. He performed primary data collection for decedents associated with clinical infection and managed a data archive for long-term reporting requirements. He also handled toxicology requisitions and conducted statistical analyses for pathology personnel and visiting academics. Preceding his time at Massachusetts OCME, Mr. Powers spent a year workingin non-secure server maintenance at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Plymouth, Massachusetts, where he managed database query tools and updated and maintained the hospital’s unrestricted server. Prior to that, while completing his graduate program, Mr. Powers was a cohort study researcher at the University of Cincinnati (Ohio). He conducted research within the Generation R cohort study database and produced recommendations for possible thresholds of metalloestrogens during early skeletal ossification. He designed the quantitative analysis of large data sets for multiple variable outcomes and conducted point source hydraulic contamination analysis for the study.

Mr. Powers received his B.A. in Biology from Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts in 2007, and went on to earn his M.A. in Anthropology in 2009 from the University of Cincinnati.

Court Involvement

From Michigan 17-Year-OldAdult Court and Correctional Systems Cost Study Proposal – February 2017

Matthew Powers, M.A., Data Analyst

Office Location: South Portland, Maine

Dedicated Hours: 552

Matthew Powers’ strong analytical skills have enabled him to contribute to a number of the firm’s undertakings such as the evaluation of Maine’s Moving Forward initiative, a program designed to address the needs of transition-aged youth and young adults with emotional disturbances, placing emphasis on youth-directed planning and the development of practical skills leading to independence. For this project, he analyzed client-level data to measure youth’s emotional and behavioral outcomes at three different points in time and assisted in drafting the final report. He also conducted data analysis of a survey administered to staff as part of the firm’s evaluation of Mississippi’s Healthy Homes program. The evaluation was used to determine the extent to which program staff were prepared to engage fathers in the lives of their children, breaking information down by region and program type and using t-tests to measure statistical significance.

Presently, Mr. Powers is working on HZA’s evaluation of Maine’s Title IV-E Waiver initiative which is designed to improve the stability, health and well-being and quality of permanent connections of young children whose parents have a substance use disorder. Using data from the State’s statewide child welfare and program-level case management data systems, Mr. Powers is measuring outcomes for families referred and engaged in the program as well as for a comparison group, selected through the use of propensity score matching.

For three years prior to his arrival at HZA, Mr. Powers worked in primary neuropathology and toxicology at the Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Boston, Massachusetts. He performed primary data collection for decedents associated with clinical infection and managed a data archive for long-term reporting requirements. He also handled toxicology requisitions and conducted statistical analyses for pathology personnel and visiting academics. While completing his graduate program, Mr. Powers was a cohort study researcher at the University of Cincinnati (Ohio). He conducted research within the Generation R cohort study database and produced recommendations for possible thresholds of metalloestrogens during early skeletal ossification. He designed the quantitative analysis of large data sets for multiple variable outcomes and conducted point source hydraulic contamination analysis for the study.

Mr. Powers received his B.A. in Biology from Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts and went on to earn his M.A. in Anthropology from the University of Cincinnati.

Needs Assessment

From Delaware Opioid Needs and Gap Assessment Proposal – January 2017

Matthew Powers, M.A., Data Analyst

Matthew Powers is a data analyst with a wealth of research and analytical experience. His strong analytical skills have enabled him to contribute to a number of the firm’s undertakings such as the evaluation of Maine’s Moving Forward initiative, a program designed to address the needs of transition-aged youth and young adults with emotional disturbances, placing emphasis on youth-directed planning and the development of practical skills leading to independence. For this project, he analyzed client-level data to measure youth’s emotional and behavioral outcomes at three different points in time and assisted in drafting the final report. He also conducted data analysis of a survey administered to staff as part of the firm’s evaluation of Mississippi’s Healthy Homes program. The evaluation was used to determine the extent to which program staff were prepared to engage fathers in the lives of their children, breaking information down by region and program type and using t-tests to measure statistical significance.

Presently, Mr. Powers is working on HZA’s evaluation of Maine’s Title IV-E Waiver initiative which is designed to improve the stability, health and well-being and quality of permanent connections of young children whose parents have a substance use disorder. Using data from the State’s statewide child welfare and program-level case management data systems, Mr. Powers is measuring outcomes for families referred and engaged in the program as well as for a comparison group, selected through the use of propensity score matching.

Mr. Powers received his B.A. in Biology from Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts and went on to earn his M.A. in Anthropology from the University of Cincinnati.

Program Evaluation

From Pennsylvania Improving Reentry Education Program Evaluation Proposal – June 2017

Matthew Powers, M.A., Lead Data Analyst

Matthew Powersperforms data analysis using large administrative datasets such as SACWIS and Medicaid claims as well as customized survey data to measure behaviors, attitudes and opinions about various services being evaluated. Shortly after his arrival at the firm in 2015, Mr. Powers assisted with an evaluation of Maine’s Moving Forward initiative, a program designed to address the needs of transition-aged youth and young adults with emotional disturbances, placing emphasis on youth-directed planning and the development of practical skills leading to independence. For this project, he analyzed client-level interview data to measure youth’s emotional and behavioral outcomes at three junctures; he also assisted in drafting the final report. For the firm’s Healthy Homes Mississippi program evaluation, he conducted data analysis of a survey administered to staff to determine the extent to which they were prepared to engage fathers in the lives of their children, breaking information down by region and program type. He used t-tests to measure statistical significance and assisted in writing summaries for the various data components. For the evaluations of Title IV-E Waiver initiatives being implemented in three states, Mr. Powers performs propensity score matching to develop comparison groups to measure outcomes. For the cost study being conducted in Michigan, he is matching data from one administrative data set to another to predict how far 17-year-olds would have penetrated into the justice system if tried as juveniles, and the related costs to the state and its counties.

Mr. Powers received his B.A. in Biology from Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts and went on to earn his M.A. in Anthropology from the University of Cincinnati.

From MeHAF Patient-Centered Care Evaluation Proposal – March 2017

Matthew Powers, M.A., Data Analyst:Mr. Powers is evaluating Prescription Monitoring Program data for the US CDC evaluation and MaineCare data for the Bridging evaluation. For three years prior to his arrival at HZA, Mr. Powers worked in primary neuropathology and toxicology at the Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Boston, Massachusetts. He performed primary data collection for decedents associated with clinical infection and managed a data archive for long-term reporting requirements. Mr. Powers received his B.A. in Biology from Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts and an M.A. in Anthropology from the University of Cincinnati.

From Alabama Prevention Evaluator Services Proposal – January 2017

Matthew Powers, M.A., Data Analyst

Sound and reliable information: Matthew Powers specializes in data analysis and has brought a wealth of research and analytical experience to HZA. Mr. Powers assisted with the firm’s evaluation of Maine’s Moving Forward initiative, a program designed to address the needs of transition-aged youth and young adults with emotional disturbances, placing emphasis on youth-directed planning and the development of practical skills leading to independence. For this project, he used SPSS to analyze longitudinal client-level interview data to measure youth’s emotional and behavioral outcomes at three different points in time. He also assisted in drafting the final report.

Analysis of evaluation results:Well versed in database usage and SQL, Mr. Powers was heavily involved in the data analysis of the Arkansas Title IV-E Waiver Evaluation. This evaluation examined Case Management Information System data to measure outcomes for six initiatives implemented in Arkansas prior to 2015. Additionally, since 2015, Mr. Powers has been working on HZA’s process and outcome evaluation of Maine’s Title IV-E Waiver initiative, designed to improve the stability, health and well-being, and quality of permanent connections of young children and their families in Maine. As an integral member of the firm’s analytical team, he is heavily involved in data collection and analysis efforts for the evaluation.

For three years prior to his arrival at HZA, Mr. Powers worked in primary neuropathology and toxicology at the Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) in Boston, Massachusetts. He performed primary data collection for decedents associated with clinical infection and managed a data archive for long-term reporting requirements. He also handled toxicology requisitions and conducted statistical analyses for pathology personnel and visiting academics. Preceding his time at Massachusetts OCME, Mr. Powers spent a year working in non-secure server maintenance at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Plymouth, Massachusetts, where he managed database query tools and updated and maintained the hospital’s unrestricted server. Prior to that, while completing his graduate program, Mr. Powers was a cohort study researcher at the University of Cincinnati (Ohio). He conducted research within the Generation R cohort study database and produced recommendations for possible thresholds of metalloestrogens during early skeletal ossification. He designed the quantitative analysis of large data sets for multiple variable outcomes and conducted point source hydraulic contamination analysis for the study. Mr. Powers received his B.A. in Biology from Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts in 2007, and went on to earn his M.A. in Anthropology in 2009 from the University of Cincinnati.

From SAMHSA IDIQ Proposal – December 2016

Junior Research Analyst:Matthew Powers, M.A.

Mr. Powers is a specialist in data analysis. Since joining the firm in 2015, he has analyzed data from the SAMHSA-funded Moving Forward initiative, a program designed to address the needs of transition-aged youth and young adults with emotional disturbances, placing emphasis on youth-directed planning and development of practical skills leading to independence. Specifically, he analyzed client-level data to measure youths’ emotional and behavioral outcomes at three points in time. For an evaluation HZA is conducting of a Healthy Homes program in Mississippi, Mr. Powers analyzed data for a survey administered to staff to determine the extent to which they were prepared to engage fathers in the lives of their children, breaking information down by region and program type, and used t-tests to measure statistical significance.

Mr. Powers iscurrently working on HZA’s evaluation of Maine’s Title IV-E Waiver initiative which is designed to improve the stability, health and well-being and quality of permanent connections of young children and their families in Maine. As an integral member of the firm’s analytical team, his primary duties include data collection and analysis of quantitative data using a complex administrative data set. He has been involved in the construction of historical comparison groups for this study, using propensity score matching to identify children and families similar to those being served through the State’s Waiver program. He has performed qualitative analysis from administrative datasets as well, extracting data from text fields and categorizing them into themes.

For three years prior to his arrival at HZA, Mr. Powers worked in primary neuropathology and toxicology at the Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) in Boston, Massachusetts. He performed primary data collection for decedents associated with clinical infection and managed a data archive for long-term reporting requirements. He also handled toxicology requisitions and conducted statistical analyses for pathology personnel and visiting academics. Preceding his time at Massachusetts OCME, Mr. Powers spent a year working in non-secure server maintenance at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Plymouth, Massachusetts, where he managed database query tools and updated and maintained the hospital’s unrestricted server.Prior to that, while completing his graduate program, Mr. Powers was a cohort study researcher at the University of Cincinnati (Ohio). He conducted research within the Generation R cohort study database and produced recommendations for possible thresholds of metalloestrogens during early skeletal ossification. He designed the quantitative analysis of large data sets for multiple variable outcomes and conducted point source hydraulic contamination analysis for the study.

From Rhode Island DCYF Evaluation Proposal – December 2016

Matthew Powers, M.A., Analyst

Mr. Powers focuses his efforts on analysis of quantitative data, primarily for evaluations of behavioral health funded under SAMHSA. He also works with Dr. McCarthy on the sampling and outcome analysis for the evaluation of Maine’s Title IV-E waiver. For three years prior to his arrival at HZA, Mr. Powers worked in primary neuropathology and toxicology at the Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) in Boston, Massachusetts. He performed primary data collection for decedents associated with clinical infection and managed a data archive for long-term reporting requirements. His primary responsibility for the tasks involved in this project will be to work with Dr. McCarthy analyzing quantitative data.

From Rhode Island Behavioral Health Data Collection, Evaluation and Research Proposal – December 2016

Matthew Powers, M.A., Lead Analyst

Mr. Powers is a specialist in quantitative data analysis. Since joining the firm in 2015, he has analyzed data from the SAMHSA-funded Moving Forward initiative, a program designed to address the needs of transition-aged youth and young adults with emotional disturbances, placing emphasis on youth-directed planning and development of practical skills leading to independence. For three years prior to his arrival at HZA, Mr. Powers worked in primary neuropathology and toxicology at the Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) in Boston, Massachusetts.