Policy Design, Analysis, and Evaluation Commons^™

U.S. State Employee Pension Systems: An Investigation Into The Causes Of Unfunded Liabilities, Chuck Truesdell

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Defined benefit retirement plans for state employees have come under fire, both financially and politically, following recent market volatility and subsequent losses in pension investments. Asset losses matched with liabilities that are set years in advance translate to pressures on state policymakers and plan administrators to either find ways to improve the finances of these pension systems or transition to defined contribution plans that put the financial risk on individual employees rather than the state government. Because most states are legally and contractually obligated to pay retiree benefits regardless of the pension system’s financial condition — even to the point …

The Role Of Evaluations In Community Foundations, Brad R. Watts

Dissertations

Each year, U.S. community foundations are responsible for billions of dollars in philanthropy, yet the outcomes associated with these efforts often remain unknown. Previous research supports the importance of evaluating philanthropic activities and shows that community foundations express a strong interest in evaluation; however, the limited available evidence suggests that evaluation practice is still not widespread.

This study reports the findings from a national survey of community foundations on evaluation practice. The findings indicate that a substantial share of community foundations do not formally evaluate the outcomes of their philanthropic work. Additionally, although previous research has suggested that community foundation …

Implementation Analysis Of Two Legal Means To Grant Undocumented Immigrant Crime Victims U.S. Residency Status, Shelley Sellwood-Davis

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

In order to complete an implementation analysis of the T Human Trafficking Status and the U Victims of Crime Status, legislation, articles, annual reports produced by the government and its agencies, and written documents were assessed and compiled to create a framework for highlighting the significant elements of each status, a process that has not been done prior to this effort. This framework was then examined from an intervention theorist’s perspective to assess whether the statuses have been implemented in a manner that meets the goals of the authorizing legislation.

The T Human Trafficking Status and U Victims of Crime …

Public School Performance: Examining The Relationship Between Teacher Training Program And School Achievement, Lindsay Griffith

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Few would argue the importance of providing today‟s youth with a solid educational foundation, yet the United States ranks as low as 25th educationally among 34 OECD developed nations1 . Many researchers have studied the various factors affecting student performance in the K-12 educational system, but mixed, ambiguous, or conflicting results have led to a general sense of uncertainty regarding who to hold accountable. The research has tended to focus on teacher effectiveness or school funding. While those are among a wealth of valid inputs to examine, this study attempted to determine the viability of examining the effect of teacher …

Understanding Non-Profit Organizations In States With Appalachian Counties: Where They Locate And The Missions They Serve, Rebecca E. Tucker

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

No executive summary.

The Campaign For Bias-Free Policing In Vermont: One State’S Resistance To The Localization Of Federal Immigration Agency, Amanda L. Park

Capstone Collection

There are roughly 1,500 immigrants from Mexico and Central America currently working on farms in Vermont, helping to sustain approximately half of all milk produced in the state. But the lack of adequate visa-to-work options leaves these individuals without proper documentation to be in the US. As such, they are vulnerable to exploitation by their employers, susceptible to harassment from the communities in which they live, and under constant threat of deportation by federal immigration agents. Now, the US Department of Homeland Security—in charge of domestic defense and immigration—is attempting to use local and state law enforcement officers in the …

Achieving Community Preparedness Post-Katrina, Christine G. Springer

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Research

Improving disaster response capabilities within this country requires better coordination not only within the Department of Homeland Security, but also across the federal government as well as with state and local governments, private and non-profit sectors. To do so, according to more than 150 state and local stakeholders that I surveyed in April, 2009 and again in April, 2010, requires that FEMA improve its capacity to fully support state, local and tribal stakeholders … that it improve its internal business practices so as to better implement federal policies and guidance…that it find a way to use thematic goals and transition …

Structurally Unbalanced: Cyclical And Structural Deficits In California And The Intermountain West, Matthew Murray, Susan Clark-Johnson, Mark Muro, Jennifer Vey, Brookings Mountain West, Morrison Institute For Public Policy

Brookings Mountain West Publications

Though the Great Recession may be officially over, economic recovery is slow and tentative, particularly in California and much of the Intermountain West. Among other challenges, the protracted downturn in these states has exposed and aggravated a huge public-sector fiscal crisis—with disconcerting implications for citizens and states’ long-term economic health. This brief takes a careful look at the fiscal situation in Arizona, California, Colorado, and Nevada, examining both their serious cyclical budget shortfalls—those resulting from the recession and its aftermath—as well as the critical longer-term structural imbalances between revenues and expenditures that have developed in Arizona, California, and, to a …

Solar Powering Your Community: A Guide For Local Governments, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Publications (E)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) designed this guide "Solar Powering Your Community: A Guide for Local Governments" to assist local government officials and stakeholders in designing and implementing strategic local solar plans. The 2011 edition contains the most recent lessons and successes from the 25 Solar America Cities and other communities promoting solar energy. Because DOE recognizes that there is no one path to solar market development, this guide introduces a range of policy and program options that can help a community build a local solar infrastructure.

An Analog Experiment Comparing Goal-Free Evaluation And Goal Achievement Evaluation Utility, Brandon W. Youker

Dissertations

Goal-free evaluation (GFE) is the process of determining the merit of an evaluand independent of the stated or implied goals and objectives, whereas goal achievement evaluation (GAE), as the most rudimentary form of goal-based evaluation, determines merit according to the evaluand’s level of accomplishment with regard to its goals. This study examines the utility of GAE and GFE from the perspective of the evaluation’s intended users. In the study, two evaluation teams, goal achievement and goal-free, independently and simultaneously evaluate the same human service program. Each team produced a final evaluation report, which was read by the evaluation’s users, who …

Lost In Translation: Linguistic Minorities In The European Union, Nirvana Bhatia

Human Rights & Human Welfare

“A nation without a language is a nation without a soul,” declares a Gaelic proverb. Indubitably, language is a product of national identity; it preserves heritage, reflects societal beliefs and values, and expresses a cultural spirit. The current international human rights regime, however, does not recognize an individual’s right to language choice; instead, it promises freedom from linguistic discrimination. The implications are not quite the same and, as a result, states have successfully repressed minority populations by controlling their language options. The European Union in particular—with its panoply of languages—demonstrates an inconsistent approach toward linguistic minorities; it attempts to promote …

Exploring Collaborative Governance: Case Studies Of Disruptions In Coastal Zone Management Collaborations And Resulting Effects Upon The Collaborations And Outcomes, Roselyn Zator

Dissertations

This study examined disruptions in collaborative governance in four state coastal zone management commissions or councils in California, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and South Carolina. The comparative case study used qualitative analysis of pre- and post- disruption conditions. The disruption was defined as a chain of events that started with a loss or diminished level of public trust in the decision-making of the commission or council. The loss of public trust led to changes in the external environment meta-variable (political action) that affected (disrupted) the institutional design and relationship dynamics meta-variables of the commissions or councils.

To better understand the …

How Are The Torres Strait Islander's Traditional Hunting Practices Affected By The Current Rate Of Decline In Dugong And Sea Turtle Populations And The Australian Government's Co-Management Policies On Marine Preservation?, Katilyn Price

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

This paper will attempt to identify the extent to which the Torres Strait Islanders traditional hunting practices have been disrupted by the overall decline in dugong and sea turtle populations, which has directly correlated to an increase in hunting restrictions put in place by the Australian Government. The traditional hunting of dugongs and sea turtles provides not only a food source, but brings prestige to the men who catch them and serves as an educational platform to teach the younger generations about their culture. There are many environmental threats that impact the populations of sea turtles and dugongs though the …

Demographic Analysis Of Recovery Act Supported Jobs In Massachusetts, Quarters 1 And 2, 2010, David Sparks, Paige Ransford, Carol Hardy-Fanta, Christian Weller, Meryl Thomson, Robert Turner

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

Massachusetts policy makers decided to go beyond existing ARRA federal reporting requirements and collect additional data in order to gauge the effectiveness of ARRA’s fiscal policy by counting the number of individuals who have received an ARRA-funded paycheck. In addition, policy makers wanted to look at some of the demographic characteristics of this population. This report provides an in-depth analysis of the data that the MA Recovery Office collected during the first and second quarters of 2010, with a particular focus on job creation and retention by race, ethnicity, gender, disability status, and geographic location.

Highlights of the report include: …

Development Of The Trauma Informed System Change Instrument: Evaluation Of Factorial Validity And Implications For Use, Margaret M. Richardson

Dissertations

This paper outlines the process of developing and evaluating an instrument measuring the extent to which a complex community system has changed as a result of a community initiative, and for purposes of this research, doing this within the content area of developing local trauma informed child welfare systems in specific communities in Michigan. The instrument was designed for the Southwest Michigan Children's Trauma Assessment Center's (CTAC) SAMHSA-funded initiative to bring a trauma informed perspective to professionals working with children in child welfare. Because there is not a standard set to define what constitutes trauma informed treatment of children in …

Decision Models For Foreclosed Housing Acquisition And Redevelopment: A University Of Massachusetts Multi-Campus Collaborative Project - Processes And Findings To Date, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Jeffrey Keisler, Senay Solak, David Turcotte, Rachel B. Drew, Armagan Bayram, Emily Vidrine

Public Policy and Public Affairs Faculty Publication Series

The recent housing foreclosure crisis has had devastating impacts on individuals, communities, organizations and government. In response, several community development corporations (CDCs) have sought new ways to assist neighborhoods suffering from the myriad effects of high foreclosures, including neighborhood instability, increased vandalism and crime, lower property values, and economic disinvestment. This research project focuses on activities of community-based organizations that acquire and redevelop foreclosed properties to support neighborhood stabilization and revitalization. However, the costs of pursuing this strategy far exceed the resources available to typical CDCs. Thus, our project seeks to solve the following decision problem: What subset of a …

Facing Up: Managing Diversity In Challenging Times, Carol Hardy-Fanta, Paige Ransford

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

Since its launch in 2008, Commonwealth Compact has grown steadily, employing several strategies to promote diversity statewide. The Benchmarks initiative has collected data, analyzed in this report, on a significant portion of the state workforce. Guided by Stephen Crosby, dean of the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at UMass Boston, Commonwealth Compact has conducted newsmaking surveys of public opinion and of boards of directors statewide. In addition, it has convened ongoing coalitions with its higher education partners, and established a collaborative of local business schools aimed specifically at increasing faculty diversity. The Compact has sponsored or co-sponsored …

What's New? What's Not? The Kalamazoo Promise In The Context Of Other Scholarship Programs, Michelle Miller-Adams

Presentations

No abstract provided.

¿Amigos, Enemigos O Hermanos En Riña?: Cooperación Y Conflicto Entre El Gobierno De Morales Y La Confederación De Los Pueblos Indígenas, Antti Aki Eemeli Isoaho

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Este trabajo investiga la relación entre la Confederación de los Pueblos Indígenas del Oriente, Chaco y Amazonía Boliviana (CIDOB) y el actual gobierno, es decir, identifica conflictos, así como áreas de cooperación recientes entre los dos. A través de la realización de ardua investigación literaria, distintas entrevistas y participación directa en la Gran Asamblea Nacional de los Pueblos Indígenas (GANPI 2010), esta investigación propone responder de manera detallada la siguiente pregunta: ¿Cómo es y cómo ha evolucionado la relación entre el actual gobierno boliviano (liderado por un indígena) y los pueblos originarios del Oriente? Este estudio revela que a pesar …

The Politic 2010 Fall, The Politic, Inc.

The Politic

No abstract provided.

Perceptions And Evaluation Of An Urban Environment For Pedestrian Friendliness: A Case Study, Elizabeth H. Lee

Master's Theses

Public health is an increasingly important issue addressed from both environmental and public health sectors for the future development of urban environments. From a planning perspective, one possible solution is to increase walkability throughout the cities. Many assessment methods are being developed and administered to evaluate the quality of existing urban environments to promote walkable cities/communities. The results from using these methods provide policymakers and stakeholders with valuable information regarding the existing physical conditions of the environment. Although several US cities started to develop and refocus plans toward pedestrian-oriented policies approaches, results from this particular study determined that the quality …

Forest Futures Visioning Process: Evaluation Report, Madhawa Palihapitiya

Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration Publications

The effectiveness of the Forest Futures Visioning Process, a collaborative process sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation to develop policy recommendations for the future stewardship of Massachusetts forests, is evaluated. The evaluation, based upon a logic model used to assess collaborative environmental governance projects, generally found that goals were met.

Net Impact Evaluation Of Moving Men And Women To Economic Independence In Michigan, Within Reach Program: Year 1 And Year 2 Cohorts, Randall W. Eberts, Jason M. Preuss

Presentations

The authors completed a net impact evaluation of the “Within Reach” component of the Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit program (Moving Men and Women to Economic Independence). This program provided employment-related support services to disadvantaged adults as coordinated by WorkFirst. The net impact evaluation estimated the contribution of the program to the employment outcomes of the participants. It constructed comparison groups of individuals who were similar to the program participants, but who did not participate in the program. The net impact analysis focused on three employment-related outcomes: finding a job, retaining a job (workforce attachment), and earnings.

Ohio Regional Forum Report Findings From The Survey And Small Small-Group Participation, Ryan E. Spohn

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

The Midwest Child Welfare Implementation Center (MCWIC) is collaborating with The Ohio Office of Families and Children (OFC) to develop and implement a new technical assistance (TA) model. This project is a part of Ohio's systemic effort to improve its child welfare outcomes, and will materially alter how OFC works with Ohio's county-administered child welfare offices. It will build Ohio's capacity to implement evidence-informed and promising child welfare interventions.

To inform the process of developing a new technical assistance model, MCWIC hosted a series of ten regional forums throughout the state during July, 2010. The purpose of these events was …

Centers Of Invention: Leveraging The Mountain West Innovation Complex For Energy System Transformation, Mark Muro, Sarah Rahman

Brookings Mountain West Publications

America needs to transform its energy system to reduce its carbon intensity and make clean energy cheap. At the same time, the Intermountain West region (which includes Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah) possesses a unique confluence of world-class innovation assets; varied energy resources; and unparalleled opportunities to build out next-generation energy systems. To that end, the brief proposes that the federal government begin constructing a distributed Intermountain West network of federally-funded, commercialization-oriented, broadly collaborative energy research and innovation centers. Organized around existing capacities in a hub-spoke structure that links fundamental science with innovation and commercialization, these research …

The Bolivian State In Transition, Fernando García Phd, Associate Academic Dean For Latin America

Fostering Multicultural Competence and Global Justice: an SIT Symposium

This paper will look into some structural features of the Bolivian state-society complex, highlighting the changes now taking place under the government of Evo Morales. Particular attention will be paid to the degree to which the older Liberal-Prebendary state form is actually been replaced by a new state form. Utilizing a framework that looks at long-term historical and structural changes, the author will explore the actual content and current course of the Bolivian transition toward a “socialist horizon”, as Vicepresident Alvaro García Linera recently announced. While still preliminary, the results of this macro-analysis of Bolivian reality will serve as a …

The Case For Increased Cross-Agency Data Sharing In The State Of Nevada, Richard Entringer, Tina Jara, Alysia Peters, Steve Price

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

According to a July 2010 survey conducted by CNBC Nevada ranks 34th in its quality of life. Contributing to this low ranking are remarkable statistics that rank Nevada as the highest state in the nation regarding the percentage of 18 to 24 years olds who are not high school graduates and for 16 to 19 year olds who are not in school and not working. In addition, Nevada currently has the highest unemployment rate in the nation at 14%. Recognizing the need to increase the education and work skill levels for Nevada’s youth, and in an effort to remediate unacceptable …

Making The Most Of Opportunities During A Recession, Christine G. Springer

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Research

The best public managers know that conventional thinking won’t get them through tough times and that a recession is a rich opportunity to reinvent their organization and to lay the groundwork for future successes. Good times are when managers experience their greatest success. But bad times provide the greatest opportunities to rethink how the organization will persist through the inevitable up and down economic cycles so as to be successful in the future. Smart managers today that I have engaged regarding this process say that they plan for both the good and bad times by continually focusing on six processes: …

Volunteer Management Analysis For The City Of Las Vegas, Robert Fash, Jose Rodriguez, Bertral Washington, Heather Whitesides

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The City of Las Vegas current volunteer management program is unable to provide effective administration of its volunteers. We will discuss what type of volunteer management program would work best for the City of Las Vegas? Volunteer management models were examined to determine what best practices can be adopted by the City of Las Vegas. Research shows a correlation between citizen engagement, volunteerism in the community, and a better quality of life for citizens in communities that have active volunteer programs. Thirty-six jurisdictions were surveyed, most of which are in the Western United States, with four jurisdictions being highlighted. The …

Centennial Hills Active Adult Center Business Plan, K. C. Brekken, Jeff Buchanan, David Gordon, Doug Guild

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The economic indicators for the state of Nevada indicate a bleak financial future. The foreclosure rate of the Las Vegas Valley is five times the national average and the highest rate in the country (Hoak, 2010). Sales tax revenues continue spiraling down and fell by 6.6 percent in December 2009 from December 2008 (Garcia, 2010). State politicians face an estimated budget deficit of $3.5 billion. Local conditions are equally dire. The City of Las Vegas faces a budget shortfall of nearly $69 million for this fiscal year (Choate, 2010). City administrators struggle to find creative solutions to fill financial gaps …