Digital Commons Network^™

Managing Undocumented Students: Do Undocumented Students Hinder Student Performance?, Gregory Hill, Daniel P. Hawes

Public Policy and Administration Faculty Publications and Presentations

Illegal immigration is a salient topic for policy makers and for local units of government who are responsible for implementing policies. One particularly relevant policy topic is to what extent undocumented students affect performance in public schools, and if undocumented students do have an impact on performance, what can be done about it? Using Texas as a case study, this analysis finds that, surprisingly, undocumented students have only a marginal effect on the overall performance on standardized exams. Among Latinos, however, there is a statistically negative effect. Furthermore, evidence suggests that managerial skills can mitigate those negative effects.

Projecting The Impact Of The Money Follows The Person Program On Idaho Medicaid Long-Term Care Expenditures, Andrew Michael Hyer

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Background: It is well established that access to home and community-based services (HCBS) as an alternative to institutional long-term care (LTC) leads to better health outcomes. Because Medicaid is the primary payer for formal LTC services, changes in Medicaid policies favoring access to HCBS play a crucial role in “rebalancing” the nation's LTC delivery system. Prior research indicates that expanding Medicaid HCBS may result in lower per patient expenditures. A key part of Medicaid's rebalancing effort is the recently expanded Money Follows the Person (MFP) program, whereby the federal government offers enhanced match funds to assist state Medicaid programs in …

Analysis Of Carbon Capture And Sequestration Pore Space Legislation: A Review Of Existing And Possible Regimes, Elizabeth L. Aldrich, Cassandra Koerner

Public Policy and Administration Faculty Publications and Presentations

Liability coverage for carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) is of paramount importance if the industry is going to mature and develop in a way that will allow it to make a significant contribution to mitigating climate change. Liability for CCS can be broken into two phases – short-term, which covers the pre-injection, injection, and closure stages of the project, and long-term, which covers the post-closure stage. Since pre-injection, injection, and closure occur over a relatively short period of time that may cover 20-30 years, typical liability instruments like private insurance, letters of credit, performance bonds, trust funds, and escrow accounts …

Providing Shelter For The Homeless: Faith-Based Organizations As Instruments Of The Public Good, Elizabeth D. Fredericksen, Stephanie L. Witt

Research and Reports

Networked public service delivery requires attention to accountability and implementation in the public interest. Using the case of transitional housing in a western US community, we review the challenges of goal incongruence between network members and the resulting management problems. In addition, this case illustrates the role that local governments may play in promoting the primacy of one network member over others through collaborations, contract arrangements and nonmonetary resources and the resulting political and judicial difficulties. The complexity of networked service delivery is compounded when the individual missions of network members supersede public policy goals. In many communities, FBOs, as …

The Role Of The State In Idaho Land Use Planning, Stephanie L. Witt, Carole Nemnich

Research and Reports

Prior to the recession of 2009-10, Idaho was the sixth fastest growing state by population in the country. Even as the economic downturn reduces the pressures of growth, Idaho's diverse cities and counties continue strive for thoughtful planning that will reflect their community values and needs. This White Paper will examine the role of the state in local land use planning by (1) comparing Idaho's structure to those of states with a more pronounced role in land use planning and (2) discussing the attitudes of Idaho city officials, planners and members of the real estate and development communities about the …

The Need For More Academics In Carbon Market Formation, Elizabeth L. Aldrich

Public Policy and Administration Faculty Publications and Presentations

In the wake of climate change negotiations in Cancún, and as New Mexico, California, Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia design their own greenhouse gas markets, I am struck by the dearth of North American academics involved in the creation of climate change policy. Those tracking and attempting to influence the design of these markets are not few; they encompass representatives from energy to agricultural industries, industry trade associations like the International Emissions Trading Association, non-governmental organizations such as the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, World Resources Institute, and Stockholm Environment Institute. However, all of these interests have funding sources …

The United Way Of Treasure Valley 2011 Community Assessment, Public Policy Center, Boise State University

Research and Reports

In February of 2011, the United Way of Treasure Valley (UWTV), in partnership with Saint Alphonsus Health System and St. Luke’s Health System, contracted with Boise State University to conduct a community assessment in the Treasure Valley (primarily Ada and Canyon Counties), which is home to approximately 40% of the state’s population. A community assessment is a process of gathering, analyzing, and reporting information about the needs of the community and the capacities or strengths that are also currently available to meet those needs.¹ The report that follows details the findings of the Treasure Valley community assessment.

The community …

Moving Forward With Citizen Deliberation: Lessons And Inspiration From The National Citizens' Technology Forum, Jason Delborne, Jen Schneider

Jen Schneider

In his article on the National Citizens' Technology Forum (NCTF) in this chapter, Cobb notes that the NCTF was essentially a decendant of the "consensus conference," a form of political engagement that originated in Denmark and then traveled elsewhere. Sponsored by the Danish Parliament, the Danish Board of Technology was tasked with involving groups of citizens in making informed policy recommendations related to science and technology: these policy recommendations were and are considered by lawmakers in forming science policy. Cobb and others have noted that the consensus conference and related forms of public engagement have garnered significant academic interest in …