Deborah Harburger

Deborah Harburger, MSW, is the Director of Policy and Financing at the Innovations Institute and an Assistant Extension Professor at the UConn School of Social Work. With over two decades of experience in public child- and family-serving agencies, she has served as a project director and principal investigator on federal/state-funded contracts and taught graduate-level social work courses.

• Institutional Affiliation: University of Connecticut (Innovations Institute, School of Social Work)
• Academic Rank: Assistant Professor

Education:

• BA in Psychology, Pennsylvania State University Schreyer Honors College (summa cum laude)
• MSW, University of Maryland School of Social Work (concentration: management/community organization; specialization: families/children)

Research and Policy Expertise: Ms. Harburger focuses on systemic solutions for child welfare, including Medicaid financing for behavioral health services, homelessness prevention, and interagency structures to coordinate children’s service arrays. Her work emphasizes sustainable funding models and implementation of federal initiatives like Title IV-E and FFPSA Prevention Plans.

Technical Assistance and Grant Work: She provides technical assistance to states on Medicaid/T4E compliance, child welfare systems, and strategic planning. Her grant-related work includes developing state plan amendments, fiscal analyses, and white papers for federal and state contracts.

Key Contributions: Ms. Harburger has authored Medicaid State Plan Amendments, Title IV-E Waivers, and strategic frameworks for children’s behavioral health services, shaping policy and financing practices across multiple jurisdictions.