Public Policy Commons^™

Project Child Health Impact Assessment, Unyi Agba, Kristina Chung, David Diehl, Marisol Olivera, Yolanda Perez

Emerging Leaders Program Team Projects

The 2005 Project Child Health Impact Assessment (CHIA) at the Boston Medical Center (BMC) for the UMass Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) is closely related to one that members of the 2004 ELP cohort assisted with. The 2004 project team provided BMC with preliminary research regarding similar concepts in Europe, Canada and the United States. With this research in hand, the Project CHIA team at BMC decided to research, develop, write and publish pilot analyses that illustrated the impact of public policy on children's health. The 2005 ELP team was asked to provide guidance regarding a communications strategy for these pilot …

Juvenile Fear Of Crime And Attitudes Towards The Police: The Effect Of Implementing A School Resource Officer Program In Alaska High Schools, Sean A. Case

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper presents data concerning the effect uniformed police officers have on attitudes towards the police and fear of crime within the high school setting. Two identical surveys were administered to 522 high school students at two periods during a school year. The primary purpose was to determine whether placing uniformed police officers, called School Resource Officers, in high schools would improve attitudes towards the police and reduce the fear of crime. Although opinions towards the police were positively affected and the fear of crime was reduced, neither was affected significantly. The primary implication drawn from this research is that …

Mainecare And Its Role In Maine’S Healthcare System, Paul Saucier

Disability & Aging

No abstract provided.

The Challenge Of Health Care Delivery In Connecticut, Joanne M. Bortone, Michael Emery, Patricia W. Walker

Occupational Therapy Faculty Publications

The challenge of health care is explored by Jody Bortone, Michael J. Emery, and Patricia W. Walker in chapter six of Public Policy in Connecticut. They focus particularly on the shortage of health care professionals in the Connecticut workforce, the increasing difficulty Connecticut residents face with respect to accessing and receiving appropriate health care services, and the rising costs associated with the many dimensions of health care. The authors conclude their essay with a very specific set of remedial measures designed to resolve the disturbing trends in the state's health care system.

Mainecare Behavioral Health Care Expenditures State Fiscal Years 1996 – 2002, Susan Payne Phd, Stuart Bratesman Mpp, David Lambert Phd

Disability & Aging

No abstract provided.

Mainecare Managed Care Performance Report 2003, Catherine Ormond, Stuart Bratesman

Disability & Aging

No abstract provided.

Public Posting As A Strategy To Increase Walking: A Worksite Intervention, Rayleen Earney, Timothy J. Bungum

Environmental & Global Health Faculty Research

Because most American adults do not meet recommended physical activity guidelines, the need for new and innovative strategies is apparent. The current study employed public posting in an attempt to increase walking behavior in a worksite setting. Pedometer generated data was publicly posted in a prominent location in the worksite. In our study that utilized a pre-experimental design, we found that walking steps were statistically higher during the intervention and in a post intervention period as compared to the baseline data. We conclude that the public posting of physical activity data has the potential to increase walking behavior.

Maine Employer Experience And Perceptions Related To Providing Health Insurance: 2003 Summary Report, Gino Nalli, Elizabeth Kilbreth

Disability & Aging

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of Rink Link Alpha One – Center For Independent Living, Josephine M. Laplante

Disability & Aging

No abstract provided.

The Citizens Health Prescription: Coping With Rising Drug Costs, Shannon Cadres

New England Journal of Public Policy

Prescription drug prices have climbed to unaffordable levels in recent years, creating a serious public policy problem for lawmakers at both the state and federal levels. The U.S. Medicare program only covers the costs of inpatient prescription drugs, and only seventy-five percent of beneficiaries are receiving coverage through some other means. But because of the tremendous power of the pharmaceutical industry on Capitol Hill, lawmakers in Washington have been unable to agree upon a workable solution. As a result, many states are experimenting with different strategies to provide some relief. Massachusetts has attempted to solve the problem through the Prescription …

Applying Managed Fee-For-Service Delivery Models To Improve Care For Dually Eligible Beneficiaries, Stuart Bratesman, Paul Saucier

Disability & Aging

No abstract provided.

Mainecare Enrollees With Disabilities Work Experience: Results From A 2002 Survey, Sara T. Salley, Larry Glantz

Disability & Aging

No abstract provided.

Public Policy And Law Since Love Canal, Jon Cannon

Buffalo Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Characteristics Of Effective Employment Services: The Consumers’ Perspective, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Jennifer Schuster, Doris Hamner, Jennifer Bose

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

This monograph reports on a study investigating the characteristics of effective state service systems. Findings are based on the experiences of individuals with disabilities who have used a state agency (Vocational Rehabilitation, Department of Mental Retardation, Department of Mental Health, or One Stop Center) to find employment. Interviews were conducted to examine individuals' experiences with employment services including job search, job entry, strategies that facilitated involvement, supports provided, and barriers experienced. Findings indicated five key components to effective service delivery, including agency culture, consumer-directedness, access to resources, quality personnel, and coordinated services. Obstacles faced during the employment process and personal …

Vocational Rehabilitation Outcomes For People With Mental Retardation, Cerebral Palsy, And Epilepsy: An Analysis Of Trends From 1985 To 1998, Dana Scott Gilmore, Jennifer Schuster, John Butterworth

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

This monograph presents the results of secondary analysis of the RSA-911 database from the Rehabilitation Services Administration. All successful VR closures for individuals with mental retardation, cerebral palsy, and epilepsy for six data points between 1985 and 1998 were investigated. Trends in competitive labor market and extended employment (sheltered workshops) closures were examined. The use of supported employment in the VR system and its outcomes were also discussed. Findings include increased incidence of competitive labor market closures and supported employment services, with a decrease in extended employment closures.

Comparisons of successful VR closure outcomes to trends in the general labor …

Mainecare Managed Care Performance Report Sfy 2000, Catherine Ormond, Tina Gressani, Maureen Booth

Disability & Aging

No abstract provided.

Alternatives To Incarceration For Substance Abusing Female Defendants/Offenders In Massachusetts, 1996-1998, Carol Hardy-Fanta, Sylvia Mignon

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

In July 1997, the Massachusetts State Legislature, recognizing the challenge presented by the problem of substance abuse for women in the criminal justice system, authorized funds to the Department of Public Health’s Bureau of Substance Abuse Services for a study of substance using female offenders to be conducted by the John W. McCormack Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Since March 1998, a group of researchers at the McCormack Institute and the Criminal Justice Center at UMass Boston has gathered and analyzed a wealth of quantitative and qualitative information on women offenders in Massachusetts.

This information includes data from …

The Political Psychology Of Abortion: Some Implications Of Free Choice, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes some logical implications of a "free choice" position on abortion public policy.

How Tuberculosis Threatens Supporters And Opponents Of Racial Profiling, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article explores peculiarities of logic and reason among supporters and opponents of racial profiling as a tool of developing and implementing public policy.

Research To Practice: Working It Out: Workplace Experiences Of Individuals With Hiv And Individuals With Cancer, Sheila Fesko

Research to Practice Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

This brief describes the experiences of individuals with these illnesses, underlines similarities and differences between the two groups, and provides strategies for disclosure, support, and personal advocacy in the workplace.

The Potential Demographic Impact Of Hiv/Aids In The Pacific, Dennis A. Ahlburg, Heidi J. Larson, Tim Brown

Pacific Studies

The number of HIV infections and cases of AIDS reported in the Pacific Island nations is growing steadily. Since many, if not all, of the risk factors for HIV infection are present in the Pacific, without change in behaviors that place people at risk of infection the potential exists for an HIV/AIDS epidemic. This article shows that such an epidemic would considerably increase mortality and slow but not reverse population growth in many Pacific Island countries. As yet, well-designed, multisectoral responses to the threat of an epidemic are lacking. The longer such responses are delayed, the larger will be the …

Research To Practice: The Most Important Member: Facilitating The Focus Person's Participation In Person Centered Planning, Jean Whitney-Thomas, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons

Research to Practice Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

This brief summarizes research that explored the participation of young people in person centered planning, and gives specific recommendations to assist facilitators in maximizing student participation.

Research To Practice: Building Authentic Visions: How To Support The Focus Person In Person Centered Planning, Jean Whitney-Thomas, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons

Research to Practice Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

This brief summarizes research on behavior during a planning session that increased or decreased participation of the focus person. Recommendations challenge team members to think about how their own behavior influences the focus person's participation.

The Potential Impact Of Workforce Development Legislation On Cbos, Edwin Meléndez

New England Journal of Public Policy

The proposed congressional legislation revamping the employment and training system will result in budget cuts, program consolidation, and block grants for the states. These changes are potentially harmful to community-based organizations (CBOs) because (J ) they eliminate categorical funding that traditionally has required contracting with organizations which specialize in servicing the disadvantaged, and (2) they introduce stricter performance standards that may be unattainable for many small-scale operations. However, the adoption of best practices in serving non-English-speaking and poor populations, increasing connections to emerging government intermediaries in labor markets, and establishing greater linkages to postsecondary educational institutions may offer CBOs the …

From Welfare To What?: The Limitations Of Low-Income Work, Lande Ajose

New England Journal of Public Policy

The premise of the welfare law enacted by Congress is that people living in poverty could vastly improve their economic status if only they were employed. The author argues that economic security for welfare recipients will not be realized simply by increasing the labor-force attachment. Home health aides comprise an occupation that could absorb many of the large pool of workers expected to join the labor market because demand for their services is high and barriers to entry are low. However, as this survey shows, the home health field offers limited promise to welfare recipients because, significantly for women rolling …

Improving Workforce Conditions In Private Human Service Agencies: A Partnership Between A Union And Human Service Providers, James Green

New England Journal of Public Policy

In 1995 the Service Employees International Union Local 509 and four Massachusetts human service providers signed an unusual agreement to forge a partnership in which employers would remain neutral while the union approached its workers with an offer to advocate in the state legislature for greater funding for private human service employees and to promote cooperative relations with their employers. This study examines the context of the agreement and the pressures on public employee unions and small human service providers whose workforce copes with low wages, high turnover, meager benefits, and poor public image as well as the give-and-take between …

Nursing: A New Day, A New Way, Lin Zhan, Jane Cloutterback

New England Journal of Public Policy

The U.S. health care environment is changing rapidly. Its structure, financing, and delivery are being reconfigured toward an integrated system based on managed care. Increasingly, national interest in health promotion and disease prevention is moving care away from a disease-oriented, institutionally based model to a population-focused, wellness-oriented, and community-based system. Health care consumers are diversifying in age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. The approach emerging from these changes and others requires nursing to rethink, redesign, and retool its workforce to meet new challenges. This article analyzes nursing education, practice, and operations. The authors discuss the dilemmas and complexity of developing an …

Contributors: Vol 20 No. 3, The Jonathan Nāpela Center For Hawaiian And Pacific Islands Studies

Pacific Studies

Contributors list of Vol. 20 (1997): Pacific Studies Full Issue 3

Vol. 20 No. 3 (1997): Pacific Studies Front Matter, The Jonathan Nāpela Center For Hawaiian And Pacific Islands Studies

Pacific Studies

Pacific Studies is published two times a year by The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies, Brigham Young University Hawai‘i #1979, 55–220 Kulanui Street, Lāʻie, Hawai‘i 96762, but responsibility for opinions expressed in the articles rests with the authors alone. Subscription rate is US$40.00 yearly, payable to The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies. The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies (formerly The Pacific Institute) is an organization funded by Brigham Young University Hawai‘i. The Center assists the University in meeting its cultural and educational goals by undertaking a program of teaching, research, and …

Research To Practice: Unrealized Potential: Differing Outcomes For Individuals With Mental Retardation And Other Disability Groups, Sheila Fesko

Research to Practice Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

A national study examined job search practices used by community rehabilitation providers and state vocational rehabilitation counselors. Employment outcomes for individuals with mental retardation are contrasted with those for individuals with other disabilities.