Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Study On Characteristics Associated With Unmet Adl Needs Among People With Disabilities In Korea, Sun-Gill Jung

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Long-term care services are assistance provided to people with disabilities needing help with ADL (activities of daily living). This study aims to address two research questions regarding people with disabilities in Korea who have ADL needs: 1) who is served and not served by long-term care services from the government, and 2) what characteristics are associated with unmet ADL needs among those who are not served by long-term care services. To answer these questions, this study utilizes data from the supplementary survey of people with disabilities in the 2020 Korea Welfare Panel and conducts descriptive statistics and multiple regressions. The …

Solving The Healthcare Employee Shortage: The Effectiveness Of Incentive Programs In Enticing Young Health Professionals To Appalachian Kentucky Communities, Taylor Williams

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Kentucky’s Appalachian counties have long been recognized as medically underserved areas, with access to care being limited by a shortage of healthcare professionals in the region. This issue, specifically as it pertains to primary care physicians, has been the focus of many programs hoping to improve access to care in these communities for many years. Is the ongoing effort to recruit and retain primary care physicians in Appalachian Kentucky counties effective? Hypotheses The mean number of people per physician in Appalachian Kentucky counties reported in 2013 is equal to the mean number of people per physician in Appalachian Kentucky counties …

Factors Associated With Successful Military-To-Civilian Transition Among Special Forces Veterans, Edward Richter

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

The purpose of this study was to explore the military-to-civilian transitional experience in a sample of Special Forces veterans. Acknowledging challenges in accessing the veteran population, most existing research on the military-to-civilian transition consolidates military occupations into a single sample. This method fails to address the intricacies that may exist within individual military occupations, especially that of U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers. Special Forces qualified soldiers represent the largest portion of all U.S. Military Special Operations Forces and are responsible for the majority of all Special Operations activities, yet their experience in transitioning out of the Army is largely unknown. …

Homeownership And Mortgage Loans: How Important Is A Conventional Loan?, Zachary Owen

Undergraduate Public Policy Capstone Projects

Communities across the United States face a housing crisis that stems in part from a scarcity of conventional home mortgage loans. Conventional mortgage loan application numbers have decreased, and racial disparities persist in mortgage application denial rates. In 2020, the Urban Institute reported that when applying for a mortgage, Black applicants were denied 27.1% of the time, yet White applicants were denied only 13.6% of the time. These denial rates are highly correlated with homeownership rates. Today, despite policy efforts, the difference in White and Black homeownership rates is higher than in the 1960s when the government enforced discriminatory housing …

Foster Caregiving: How Interactions With The Child Welfare Agency Impact Foster Parent Satisfaction, Recruitment, And Retention, Ethan Engelhardt

Theses and Dissertations--Social Work

Professionals of the child welfare system in Kentucky have continuously worked to retain and recruit new foster parents for the foster care system. Foster parents are uniquely placed in a surrogate caring position for children removed from their homes for reasons of abuse or neglect. Foster parents accept this role and step in to provide a safe and loving household for many children. There are more than 9,000 children placed in Out of Home Care (OOHC) on any given day in Kentucky, leaving many children in need of a loving and supportive household. Foster parents hang in the balance between …

Improving Connectivity For Remote Cancer Patient Symptom Monitoring And Reporting In Rural Medically Underserved Regions, Esther Max-Onakpoya

Theses and Dissertations--Computer Science

Rural residents are often faced with many disparities when compared to their urban counterparts. Two key areas where these disparities are apparent are access to health and Internet services. Improved access to healthcare services has the potential to increase residents' quality of life and life expectancy. Additionally, improved access to Internet services can create significant social returns in increasing job and educational opportunities, and improving access to healthcare. Therefore, this dissertation focuses on the intersection between access to Internet and healthcare services in rural areas. More specifically, it attempts to analyze systems that can be used to improve Internet access …

A Study On Motivators And Satisfaction In Arts And Culture Public Programs: Implications For Policy Implementation, Eunyoung Yi

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

This study examines individuals’ motivations related to their participation in arts and culture activity programs and their support for the active roles of the government in cultivating such programs in South Korea. In doing so, this study suggests policy implications that help policymakers and stakeholders develop effective arts and culture programs in the public sector.

This study claims that redesigning the program contents reflecting sociopsychological motivations, expanding the policy target to the general public, and embracing the concept of lifelong arts and culture education will ensure inclusive accessibility and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all citizens.

Guided by intrinsic and …

An Analysis Of Test Scores In The Central And Eastern Time Zones, Rliey Reed

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

During daylight savings in Kentucky, elementary students in the Eastern Time Zone receive around an hour less of sunlight than students in the Central Time Zone when attending school in the morning. With recent discussion of making daylight savings permanent, it's important to discuss the effects that going to school in the dark has on students' test scores. Research has been done to study the effects that operating on less amounts of sunlight has on school aged children. This study seeks to do the same, by comparing test scores of 3rd grade students on the Central and Eastern Time Zones …

Cares Act Unemployment Insurance Program Implementation In Kentucky: A Case Study, Alicia Landon

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

In March of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in the United States. The deadly virus filled hospitals to capacity and caused approximately 375,000 deaths nationwide over the next nine months (Ahmad et al., 2021). In an effort to slow the spread of the Coronavirus, federal and state governments closed businesses and agencies within a matter of weeks. Almost as quickly as the threat to human health changed the lives of Americans, the secondary threat of economic disruption began to unfold. Nationwide unemployment rates increased from approximately 4% to 15% between February 2020 and April 2020 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, …

Did The Covid-19 Pandemic Cause A Learning Loss In Reading And Mathematics? Empirical Evidence Using 2022 Grade 8 Students In Kentucky., Tiyani Rodrigo

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

In 2020, most United States (U.S.) schools closed abruptly. Due to the pandemic, students and teachers were affected in multiple ways. Nearly three years post-pandemic, it is evident students lost in academic achievement. Lower academic performance may impact the future economy and labor force due to lower productivity. Therefore, understanding the causal impact COVID-19 had on academic achievement is vital to develop policy that will help mitigate the long-term impact. In this capstone, I will estimate the size and direction of the impact COVID-19 had on Mathematics and Reading skills for grade 8 students in Kentucky. Using a Difference-in-Differences (DiD) …

How The Increase In Remote Employees Due To Covid-19 Has Impacted Local Income Tax Revenues For U.S. Cities, Brian T. Pearson

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

This research paper will discuss COVID-19’s impact on remote work and its effect on local income taxes for cities across the United States. The paper specifically will be looking into how the increase in remote workers has affected revenue and policy changes for local income taxes since the pandemic. Before the pandemic, most US citizens with jobs had to be on-site, but COVID-19 seems to have changed how businesses are operating for the foreseeable future. A lot of businesses across the country have shifted to having more of their employees working fully remote or partially remote (hybrid) schedules. This has …

Budget Models And Methods Used In Higher Education, Brad West

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The Cambridge Dictionary defines a budget as “a plan to show how much money a person or organization will earn and how much they will need or be able to spend.” (Budget, 2023). The budget of an institution within higher education is how to allocate the planned amount of revenues received to support the planned expenditures across the organization for an upcoming period, usually a fiscal year or project duration. Various public higher education institutions have many different methods for allocating those planned revenues to support expenditures across their colleges, schools, and administrative units to support the university's mission. This …

The Effect Of Evidence-Based Funding On Student Performance, Jade Gates

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Historically, education funding policies in the United States have been responsible for aiding the disproportionate allocation of resources to public school districts. Illinois school districts in particular have struggled with providing their students with an adequate education. The Evidence-Based Funding (EBF) model was implemented with the intent to distribute funds based on need and ability to reach an adequacy target. This research analyzes how student test scores have changed since the inception of the EBF policy in Illinois. This data is analyzed in an ordinary least squares and interrupted time series model to show the impact and significance of this …

Expanding The Samat In Kentucky Correction Institutions: Benefits And Funding, Blair Lozier

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The United States has seen an increasing rate of substance use disorder among individuals. Those convicted and incarcerated are more likely to have substance use disorder. With correctional institutions becoming overcrowded, policymakers struggle to find an answer to the number of individuals incarcerated with substance use disorder. The Cabinet of Health and Family Services and the Department of Corrections created Supportive Assistance with Medication for Addiction Treatment (SAMAT) in Kentucky. SAMAT is an addictive services program focused on preventing overdose and relapse and aiding recidivism for individuals with opioid and alcohol use disorder. The SAMAT has been deemed successful through …

Public Health Access And Service For All, Austin Nugent

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Collecting, analyzing, and reporting accurate, reliable data is necessary for achieving health equity. Although data alone will not lead to equitable health outcomes for all people, it helps health professionals, researchers, and policymakers understand health disparities and develop effective interventions, programs, and policies to reduce them. Necessary data includes disaggregated health information on diverse demographics, including people with disabilities. However, despite this need, disability data gaps exist. Fortunately, numerous solutions exist to address this issue, including implementing minimum data standards on disability and engaging all levels of health organizations in data practices. This capstone project investigated the current data practices …

The Financial Impact Of Undocumented Workers On Kentucky's Economy, Diana Gold

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Undocumented immigrant workers have a significant presence and impact on the economy of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. However, it is difficult to fully understand their financial impact due to the scarcity of published statistics on this topic. In addition, undocumented immigrants try to live unnoticed due to the nature of their legal status and fear of deportation. Some nonprofit organizations and a few public institutions have been able to track data related to their tax contributions, population size, ages, work fields, spending habits, and public resources used. Gathering the available data will help better understand the financial impact of undocumented …

Bourbon Barrel Tax, William Twigg

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

This paper will look at the impacts of barrel tax reform within the state of Kentucky and the impact of the sunsetting of such an important revenue generator for the Commonwealth given the recent passing of Kentucky House Bill 5 (HB5) on March 31, 2023. It will provide a brief history of the bourbon industry, how Kentucky became known as the homeland of bourbon, some background as to what the barrel tax is and why the tax was needed in the first place, and provide some context as to how the tax was assessed, how much it amounted to, and …

An Analysis Of Policy Changes Of State Individual Income Taxes Over Recent Years, Melissa Feddes

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

This paper provides an overview of how often each state implemented changes to its individual income tax policies (if any) and focuses on six states (OH, MD, OK, KY, and PA) to conduct a comparison of changes and structures from 2015 to 2023. It also evaluates how these changes appeared to impact the selected state's revenues over time.

Examining Migration Flows Across Kentucky's Counties, James Brady Stein

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The state of Kentucky is home to many rural counties which experience high levels of outward migration due to their relatively unfavorable economic conditions. While migration trends nationally have begun to plateau, migration flows from county to county show a much more volatile story. This study will examine the relationship between economic opportunity and migration flow estimates in Kentucky’s counties through a multiple regression approach with the response variable being annual migration flow estimates, with multiple predictor variables showing the economic composition of the county. Variables used in this regression include annual unemployment rates, educational attainment levels, county poverty rates, …

Estill County "Twin Cities" Consolidation Study, Logan Hart

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

To provide essential services without imposing an unreasonable financial burden on their residents, local governments, particularly those with a declining population or tax base, are seeking ways to maximize their resources. Municipal consolidation is one of the solutions that many local governments have considered. This study aimed to determine if municipal consolidation would improve the efficiency and financial standing of the Estill County, Kentucky cities of Irvine and Ravenna. The study's findings suggest that consolidation could lead to cost benefits for both cities. However, due to the limited availability of data, further research is required to gain a complete understanding …

Improving Tax Compliance In Indonesia Through The 2022 Voluntary Disclosure Program, Farid Al Firdaus

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Developed or developing countries have conducted Voluntary Disclosure Programs (VDP) to increase tax revenues and taxpayers' compliance. Non-compliant taxpayers prefer this way to regular law enforcement to be more compliant. This study focuses on supporting Indonesia, the lowest tax-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio in Asia and the Pacific, in improving its taxpayers' long-term compliance through the 2022 VDP; this amnesty had fewer participants, shorter periods, and higher rates than the first one in 2016. Using descriptive analysis, it is concluded that the 2022 VDP could reveal taxpayers' wealth known and unknown by the tax authority, increase revenue as a fraction …

Examining Academic Performance And Education Stability Measures For Youth In Foster Care, Alex Asbury

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The state of Kentucky has seen an increase in its population of youth who are involved with child welfare and in the foster care system while also seeing less cases end in reunification with families. While youth process trauma related to the removal from their homes and the potential of experiencing multiple moves through their time with child welfare, it is important that educational stability remain intact to promote normalcy and improve educational outcomes for youth in foster care. Following the signing of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the Kentucky education system has seen improvement in its processes …

Offshoring And Subordinate Financialization In Developing Countries, Logan Kuegel

Undergraduate Public Policy Capstone Projects

This study will investigate the relationship between global value chain integration and financialization in the Global South. It is intended for policy research committees in international organizations such as the United Nations (Commission on Trade and Development Special Committee on Cization), the International Monetary Fund (Development Committee), the World Trade Organization, and World Bank. The global production network represents the international division of production through intermediate offshoring, while financialization represents the entrance of traditionally nonfinancial actors (namely firms, governments/banks, and households) into the financial system.

Attempting to use a heterodox framework, this paper builds upon literature that synthesizes the two …

Bolstering Resistance To Misinformation Through K-12 Education, Allison Johnson

Undergraduate Public Policy Capstone Projects

Misinformation online and in news media is a problem because it degrades truth and hinders legitimate democratic discourse. As misinformation becomes more prevalent, we need to start finding ways to limit the extent of the problem. To do so, I recommend a policy solution based on inoculation theory. Inoculation theory, as the name suggests, uses the metaphor of a vaccine. When receiving the flu shot, we get a weakened dose of the virus, which in turn helps us to create antibodies and later be more effective at fighting the real flu. In this instance, people are exposed to weakened doses …

Addressing Money Laundering In The United States Real Estate Sector, Hunter Mccormick

Undergraduate Public Policy Capstone Projects

The United States faces threats to economic stability and legal integrity from money laundering practices in the real estate market. Legislative loopholes, complicit enablers, and aging technological systems used by government agencies allow individuals to flow ill-gotten wealth into the United States with little effort. As a result of these factors, local economies suffer job loss, once-inhabited properties lie empty in decay, and trust in government weakens. Illegal wealth is transformed into protected assets in the form of property and can stored to later fund terrorism organizations or influence the American people. Approximately $2.3 billion was laundered through real estate …

Curbing Diabetes Prevalence And Reducing Risk Through Policy, Grayson Blount

Undergraduate Public Policy Capstone Projects

The purpose of this policy brief is to illuminate the dire circumstances surrounding the ongoing diabetes epidemic in Kentucky. Type II diabetes mellitus, a preventable and manageable chronic illness, affects nearly 465,000 Kentuckians currently. Beyond the daily struggle associated with diabetes, many acute complications can arise that are severly detrimental to quality of life, such as blindness or lower extremeity amputation. Additionally, the costs associated with diabetes are tremendous, to patients, to providers, and to the state. It is in the best interest of all stakeholders to do whatever we can in order to reduce prevalence and improve management of …

Convicted Felons And Voting, Olivia Corley

Undergraduate Public Policy Capstone Projects

Felony disenfranchisement impacts nearly 4.6 million individuals in the United States with low-income communities and communities of color disproportionately affected. This policy is a practice that restricts the voting rights of individuals who have been convicted of a felony. This brief provides an overview of the challenges faced by those affected by felony disenfranchisement, as well as the implications for democracy in the United States. Highlighting a 50-state scan of state voter restrictions, I showcase the different laws and policies that restrict the voting rights of individuals with felony convictions across the United States. The history of felony disenfranchisement in …

Child Welfare And The Opioid Crisis In The Bluegrass State, Irina Mohler

Undergraduate Public Policy Capstone Projects

This brief discusses the challenges facing Kentucky's child welfare system, particularly due to the opioid epidemic, childhood adversity, mental health needs, and limited social services. Kentucky has one of the highest child neglect rates and opioid dispensing rates in the nation. The state's child welfare system includes services like the Child and Family Services Plan, Independent Living Program, and Sobriety Treatment and Recovery Team (START), but it faces issues such as high caseloads and data gaps. It aims to emphasizes the importance of providing the highest standard of care for children in Kentucky and seeking effective recommendations by examining similar …

Making Transportation Safer, Jack Reynolds

Undergraduate Public Policy Capstone Projects

While often overlooked, the overreliance on private transportation across the United States has become a major source of danger, with thousands of lives lost every year to motor vehicle crashes. These deaths have been taken for granted, yet what is often forgotten is that in the face of increasing rates of motor vehicle crash deaths, we have the capability to prevent future tragedies like these from occurring through targeted policy decisions. While certain reforms to private transportation were found to be effective in improving traffic safety, such as implementing graduated licensing systems and lowering speed limits, the primary component of …

Three Essays On Rural Education: Descriptive Studies Focused On Federal Rural Definitions And Policy Changes, Kyung Ha Oh

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

Rural education issues in K-12 public schools are understudied despite a large rural student population in the U.S. This dissertation studies how different federal definitions of rural change how rural school districts and their diverse communities are portrayed, in comparison to their non-rural counterparts. This study also explores the recent federal rural policy changes on rural district revenue and student academic outcomes.

This dissertation consists of three descriptive essays. The first chapter shows how we choose to define ‘rural’ changes what differences are accentuated between rural and non-rural districts. Definitions of ‘rural’ is closely related to who gains access to …