PHILADELPHIA— Heather Rouse, a Stoneleigh Public Policy Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, has been named deputy research director at the City of Philadelphia’s new Policy and Analysis Center, designed to improve health, education and social services for city residents.

The Stoneleigh Center awarded Rouse a three-year Public Policy Fellowship to help the city incorporate the Kids Integrated Data System model. Using social services and education records, KIDS links the data between agencies to highlight problems that cut across systems, such as the impact of early-intervention services on school achievement or the number of teen mothers in homeless shelters.

Developed by Penn professors John Fantuzzo, Dennis Culhane and Trevor Hadley, the KIDS model established legal, ethical and scientific procedures for using and integrating administrative data for research and evaluation, paving the way for the Policy and Analysis Center.

Based in the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Opportunity, the PAC combines data gathered by the city and the School District of Philadelphia to inform decision making on joint priorities.

“Dr. Rouse’s track record in conducting relevant applied research and her deep interest in addressing the challenges of vulnerable children and families will serve our city well,” Donald Schwarz, deputy mayor for health and opportunity, said.

A research associate for the Penn Child Research Center, Rouse was trained as a clinical and school psychologist. She earned her Ph.D. from Penn GSE in 2007.

The Stoneleigh Center is a foundation committed to improving the well being of children and youth through fellowship awards that support outstanding individuals whose work unites research, policy and practice.