Law Commons^™

Massachusetts Community Mediation Center Grant Program: Fiscal Year 2014 Report & Evaluation, Susan Jeghelian, Madhawa Palihapitiya, Kaila O. Eisenkraft

Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration Publications

The Community Mediation Center Grant Program, funded by the commonwealth and administered by the state’s office of dispute resolution, was established to “promote the broad use of community mediation in all regions of the state” by awarding operating grants to eligible community mediation centers. This annual report describes the progress made in broadening access to community mediation by the grant program under the challenge of reduced state funding in FY 2014. Due to the funding cut, fewer centers were funded in FY 2014 compared to FY 2013, which reduced the quantity of services provided. However, the amount of money per …

Five Year Strategic Plan For Economic Development: Prepared For The Town Of Winthrop, Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center For Public Management, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Edward J. Collins Center for Public Management Publications

In the spring of 2014, the Town of Winthrop hired the Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management at the University of Massachusetts Boston to help develop a Strategic Plan for Economic Development. The Center’s project team began its work by carefully analyzing data in order to understand Winthrop’s current business environment, and to learn how it has changed over time. Multiple sources of information were used, including the Census Bureau’s Decennial Census, American Community Survey, and County Business Patterns, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Claritas retail leakage data. In addition, the project team distributed and …

Invisible No More: Domestic Workers Organizing In Massachusetts And Beyond, Natalicia Tracy, Tim Sieber, Susan Moir Scd

Labor Studies Faculty Publication Series

Domestic workers across the country are making it clear that, even in a difficult political environment, it is possible to make gains for low-wage workers. For the first time in many, many decades, domestic workers are finding ways to win. They are creat
ing policy change that will improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of workers in tangible and substantial ways. The 2014 Massachusetts Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights is the most expansive codification of rights for this long-overlooked part of the labor force ever to be enacted. In one sense, there is nothing new about domestic workers organizing …

Challenges Facing Massachusetts Agencies, Richard Ferrari

Public Affairs Capstones Collection

For many residents of Massachusetts corrections is a part of the public sector that remains hidden behind tall walls topped with barbed wire. These walls do not just keep the inmate population on the inside, but keep the public out. This capstone provides a view from inside the walls of our corrections facilities. Interviews with high ranking corrections administrators throughout Massachusetts give an insiders perspective into the challenges facing Massachusetts corrections agencies. Over a billion dollars is spent on corrections in Massachusetts alone. This capstone looks at how that money is spent and the policies that dictate how our corrections …

An Analysis Of Employment Barriers Facing Blind People, William O'Donnell

Public Affairs Capstones Collection

Blind people, the target population being analyzed, possibly face higher rates of unemployment or underemployment compared to others with disabilities. They face higher poverty rates than any other minority group or group of people with disabilities. Typically, various statistics cite that 70% of working-aged blind people are not in the workforce. Federal acts have been implemented to increase employment outcomes in an attempt to improve employment outcomes for all with disabilities. The ADA and ADAAA been implemented to mitigate and/or eliminate barriers. This study used qualitative research to analyze data from participants to investigate whether or not they were employed …

A Case Study Of The Regulations Imposed Upon Massachusetts' Prescription Monitoring Program, Meredith Rodman

Public Affairs Capstones Collection

This case study focuses on the effectiveness of the recent regulations imposed upon Massachusetts’s prescription monitoring program. Abuse and/or misuse of prescription opioids is becoming increasingly problematic within the United States and as a result many policy makers are looking for ways to combat the problem. In Massachusetts, the OxyContin and Heroin Commission was established to investigate the impact of both OxyContin and heroin on the state. The Commission delivered recommendations that eventually led the state legislature to make changes to Massachusetts’s prescription monitoring program. This study targeted five major stakeholder groups and asked a series of questions through interviews …

Promoting Justice, Peace, And Understanding Through Partnerships And Dialogue, Center For Peace, Democracy, And Development, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Center for Peace, Democracy and Development (CPDD) promotes conflict resolution, democracy, economic development, education building, media development, and legal and judicial reform through partnerships and training programs across the globe. We offer academic and practical expertise across the spectrum of conflict management and democratic governance. Moreover, we mentor the next generation of peace and democracy builders from the UMass Boston student body who actively participate in many of our initiatives. The Restorative Justice Mediation Project (RJUMP) is a university-based program that aims to provide restorative justice services, education and training to the Suffolk County law enforcement community, department of …

Massachusetts Municipal Performance Management Program (Mpmp), Michael Ward

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The mission of the MPMP is to make the ongoing, systematic use of data, measures, and goals a permanent feature of Massachusetts municipal government, and to accelerate the sharing of ideas among Massachusetts municipalities.

Through a team of highly-skilled Performance Management Analysts, each working directly with a portfolio of cities and towns, the MPMP provides on-the-ground support to Massachusetts municipalities on all aspects of data and analysis.

Financial Security Scorecard: A State-By-State Analysis Of Economic Pressures Facing Future Retirees, Christian Weller, Nari Rhee, Carolyn Arcand

Public Policy and Public Affairs Faculty Publication Series

As Americans increasingly worry about their retirement prospects, states play an important and growing role in retirement security policy. States already manage long-term care programs for the elderly through Medicaid. Concerned about the impact of future elder poverty on state and local budgets and their local economies, a number of states are exploring the creation of low-cost and low-risk retirement savings plans for private sector workers who lack access to pensions or 401(k)s on the job. Some states have developed programs to help older workers find work.

This report presents the Financial Security Scorecard, designed to inform state-level stakeholders and …

Expanding Women’S Healthcare Access In The United States: The Patchwork “Universalism” Of The Affordable Care Act, Randy Albelda, Diana Salas Coronado

Center for Social Policy Publications

This paper explores the promise of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly called “Obamacare” (referred to here as the ACA), with attention to the ways gender matter by tracing the development and implementation of key US social protection systems, an examination of the current health system with particular attention to women’s coverage, and the potential impacts of the ACA, including how it conforms to international human rights norms for health care. The ACA promises to vastly improve the key dimensions of health coverage in the US, but it conforms with other US social policy by relying on market-based …

Statedata: The National Report On Employment Services And Outcomes, 2014, John Butterworth, Jean Winsor, Frank A. Smith, Alberto Migliore, Daria Domin, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Allison Cohen Hall, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

This report provides statistics over 25 years from several national datasets that address the status of employment and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The authors use abbreviations for both intellectual disability (ID) and intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in this report. We do this because data sources vary in the specific target groups that can be described.

We provide a comprehensive overview that describes national trends in employment for people with IDD, and the appendices provide individual state profiles with data from several sources. These include the ICI’s IDD Agency National Survey of Day and Employment …

Data Note: State Intellectual And Developmental Disability Agencies' Service Trends, Jean Winsor

Data Note Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

In FY2012, an estimated 605,680 individuals received day or employment supports from state IDD program agencies. This number grew from 457,405 in FY1999. The estimated number of individuals in integrated employment services increased from 108,680 in FY1999 to 111,670 in FY2012. State investment continues to emphasize facility-based and non-work services, rather than integrated employment services.

Data Note: Are Young Adults With Intellectual Disabilities Getting Work Experiences From Participating In The Vocational Rehabilitation Program?, Alberto Migliore, Jean Winsor

Data Note Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

To learn about whether young adults with intellectual disabilities in the vocational rehabilitation (VR) program are getting work experience, we examined the age at application of people with intellectual disabilities who exited the VR program in 2012.

Data Note: Vocational Rehabilitation Closure Trends For Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities: A Snapshot Of Five U.S. Territories, Jean Winsor, Daria Domin

Data Note Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

Beginning in FY2013, the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities requested that each Project of National Significance include the five primary territories of the United States in data collection and analysis efforts. The five territories included in this analysis are American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands of the United States.