Public Policy Commons^™

Resolution, Reinvestment, And Realignment: Three Strategies For Changing Juvenile Justice, Jeffrey A. Butts, Douglas N. Evans

Publications and Research

In recent decades, legislators and administrators have created innovative policies to reduce the demand for expensive state confinement and to supervise as many young offenders as possible in their own communities. This report reviews the history and development of these strategies and portrays their methods as following one of three models: resolution, reinvestment, and realignment.

Colloquium Brief: American Society And Its Profession Of Arms, Leonard Wong

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

No abstract provided.

Process Evaluation Of The Chicago Juvenile Intervention And Support Center, Jeffrey A. Butts

Publications and Research

Researchers investigated the operations of a pre-court diversion program that provides services and supports to station adjusted youth offenders after contacting the Chicago Police Department but before they have been formally arrested and referred to the Cook County Juvenile Probation Department. The purpose of the study was to determine the suitability of the program for evaluation and to work with staff to enact any procedural modifications that may be needed to facilitate future evaluation activities.

Why Do Some Nations Have More Renewable Energy Policies?, Melissa Dahl

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Some nations have considerably more renewable energy policies than others and this research is attempting to discover why. Renewable energy use is quickly growing in our world and has become a major topic in today’s politics. Existing literature suggests various theories as to why some nations have more renewable energy policies than others. I test these theories with data from two major data sources; REN21, the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century, and the International Energy Agency. I anticipate that nations with a larger number of effective political parties, higher GDPs, and larger population would have more renewable …

Federal Earmarks In The State Of Georgia, Jeffrey Lazarus

Georgia Journal of Public Policy

Earmarks have been controversial ever since becoming a prominent part of the congressional spending process. Critics charge that earmarks fund projects with little or no economic value (for instance Ted Stevens’ “Bridge to Nowhere,”) but instead allow Congress members to direct government spending to campaign contributors (the charge leading to a federal investigation of the now-defunct lobbying firm PMA Group). On the other side of the controversy, congressional earmarks do fund a number of community improvements which are very valuable, at least locally. In Georgia, the fiscal 2010 appropriations bills included earmarks which allocated $450,000 to update College Park’s emergency …

Those Pesky Winds Of Change..., Walter Lotze

Human Rights & Human Welfare

When a police officer slapped a fruit seller by the name of Mohammed Bouazizi in the Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid, nobody could have anticipated that a revolution had commenced. Bouazizi, a twenty-six-year-old computer science graduate unable to find work, had resorted to selling fruit from a street cart in an attempt to support himself and his seven siblings. Slapped by the police officer and ordered to pack up his goods, Bouazizi himself snapped. He marched to the local governor’s office and demanded an appointment, threatening to set himself alight if the governor did not meet with him. In frustration, …

Hastening The Wheels Of Change: International Cold War Pressure And Civil Rights Reform During The Truman Presidency, Caley A. Robertson

Honors Theses

In the early Cold War arena, international pressure on the United States to live according to its ideological rhetoric enabled the Truman Administration to set a precedent for federal engagement in domestic civil rights reform. As the United States led the march to institutionalise human rights as the standard of moral legitimacy in the global arena, the country’s grisly record of racial oppression and violence invited foreign and domestic criticism alike. This paper intends to prove five discrete points. First: Cold War tensions brought questions of moral legitimacy to the forefront of the U.S. national agenda. Second: during the Truman …

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: …

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 …

Through The Looking Glass: Finding And Freeing Modern-Day Slaves At The State Level, Michelle L. Rickert

Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article delves into the interaction between federal and state laws prohibiting human trafficking. The article advocates for comprehensive human trafficking laws at the state level, including police training, victim aftercare, forfeiture, and prosecution as essential elements. It looks comprehensively at the existing state laws prohibiting human trafficking. Additionally it examines the five existing models for state law and suggests benefits and potential improvements for each model. The article concludes y advocating a holistic law prohibiting human trafficking in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Success Of Theme Implementation: Small Leadership Theme High Schools In New York City, Samantha Leigh Wiese

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Introduction: This study reports the research results of small public high schools in New York City whose founding was centered around the theme of leadership. As an undergraduate student who interned in one of these high schools, the researcher has witnessed the disconnect that can exist between a school’s name and its curriculum. While there are many high schools in New York City that support the development of leadership in their students, the 15 high schools studied in this project were selected because they included the word “leadership” in their title. These schools were selected because they are more obvious …

Positive Youth Justice: Framing Justice Interventions Using The Concepts Of Positive Youth Development, Jeffrey A. Butts, Gordon Bazemore, Aundra Saa Meroe

Publications and Research

Positive youth development could be an effective framework for designing general interventions for young offenders. Such a framework would encourage youth justice systems to focus on protective factors and risk factors, strengths, problems, and broader efforts to facilitate successful transitions to adulthood for justice-involved youth. The positive youth development approach supports youth in successfully transitioning from adolescence to early adulthood by encouraging young people to develop useful skills and competencies and build stronger connections with pro-social peers, families, and communities (Butts, Mayer, & Ruth, & Ruth, 2005). Young people engaged with trustworthy adults and peers to pursue meaningful activities and …

Welfare Benefits After The 1996 Reform Act: A New Look At The Idea Of States As Welfare Magnets, Erin Sollund

Political Science Theses and Capstones

The focus of this research is to find the differences of how each state’s welfare policies have changed since the welfare reform act of 1996, and also how recipients have responded to this change. In my analysis I combined data from the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the U.S. Department of Commerce. Preliminary results suggest that states with a higher percentage of recipients on welfare before the reform showed a greater change in number of recipients than states starting with a lower percentage as did states with stronger Democratic leanings, a more …

Women In The Down Economy: Impacts Of The Recession And The Stimulus In Massachusetts, Randy Albelda, Christa Kelleher

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

The “Great Recession” is affecting everyone in one way or another, but not everyone is affected in the same way. Women’s and men’s work (both in and out of the labor force) still differs, so we can expect that the economic crisis has had a distinct impact on women as well as their families. This policy brief discusses how the down economy has differentially impacted women and men in Massachusetts and the gendered implications of federal stimulus spending. It also identifies potential opportunities to promote gender equality as the United States, and Massachusetts in particular, attempt to move beyond the …

Minnesota Mandates: County Government Fiscal Stress In An Era Of Declining State Support, Selena Krueth

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Minnesota counties are experiencing more than just financial burdens from state mandates these days. Counties and local governments currently are seeking the most effective solution of implementing state mandates; leaving behind the argument of no mandates without funding to "give us mandates that work". In my analysis I combined county budgetary and demographic data, with phone survey data gathered from Minnesota counties. I anticipate results that will show a wide variety in county administrator attitudes towards state mandates and varying local capacity to meet them. Costly state mandates, such as health services, and large county populations have proven significant in …

Getting On Track: Consolidating And Streamlining Positions At Clark County, Elaina Bhattacharyya, Kevin Cerny, Craig Christiansen, Elizabeth Muto

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

For more than a decade, Clark County, Nevada was the fastest growing county in the nation and its government (and government services) rapidly expanded in an attempt to keep pace with the ever-increasing needs of County residents. In 1996, Clark County Human Resources (CCHR) endeavored to improve its managerial efficiency by reducing its number of position classifications and succeeded in collapsing some 1100 job classes down to 500. As the population boom continued well into the new millennium, the County was operating largely from a reactive position and experienced yet another spike in classifications; this time reaching 765 job classes …

Stepping Up: Managing Diversity In Challenging Times, Carol Hardy-Fanta

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 …

Parenting From Prison: Family Relationships Of Incarcerated Women In Massachusetts, Erika Kates, Sylvia Mignon, Paige Ransford

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

Historically in the United States, there has been little concern about the needs of incarcerated women and their family members, especially children. This began to change with the tremendous increase in the number of incarcerated women. The rate of women’s incarceration increased dramatically during the 1980s and today the number of female inmates continues to rise faster than the number of male inmates. In 1986, 19,812 women were incarcerated in the United States and this number rose in 1991 to 38,796. Today, over 112,000 women are incarcerated in state or federal facilities (Sabol et al., 2007; Snell 1994). While in …

Call To Action: A Pay Equity Resource Guide, Kacie Kelly

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

Women continue to enter the workforce at record levels and laws on the state and federal levels prohibit gender discrimination in the workplace. Yet employment discrimination persists and women’s wages remain lower than men’s wages for comparable positions and occupations. With the 2005 publication of GETTING EVEN: Why Women Don’t Get Paid as Much as Men and What To Do About It by Economist and former Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Evelyn Murphy, the issue of wage equity is finally receiving the widespread and sustained attention it deserves.

This resource guide provides an overview of the issues related to the wage gap …

Women’S Municipal Leadership In Massachusetts, Paige Ransford, Miriam Lazewatsky

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

The Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy (CWPPP) at UMass Boston’s McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies has been tracking the election of women at the municipal level in Massachusetts since 1996. In 2003, the Project expanded to include all New England states. CWPPP remains the only research center in the United States that regularly tracks women’s political representation at the local level.

Women Of Talent: Gender And Government Appointments In Massachusetts, 2002–2007, Carol Hardy-Fanta, Kacie Kelly

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

Despite the high educational and occupational attainment—and considerable talent—of women in Massachusetts, the state ranks just 22nd in the nation on women's overall share of top executive, legislative, and judicial posts, compared to their share of the population. The goals of this study were to (1) calculate the percentage of women holding senior-level positions in state government at these four points in time; (2) analyze the distribution of appointments by type of position and executive office; (3) provide possible explanations for the status of women’s representation in these positions; and (4) offer recommendations that will serve to promote the appointment …

Nevada's Textbook Adoption Policy: The Role And Influence Of Parents And Interest Groups, Brady Dehn, David Hood, Barry Michaels, Harry Williams

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The textbook adoption process in the State of Nevada has its share of flaws, bureaucracy red tape, and "legal E's" however; its intentions are meant to benefit all instructors and students in the state. Textbooks are as integral to education as school buildings and teachers, and they should be part of the free, public education provided by the state and school districts (New Sentinel Editorial, 2006). In the complexity of this process, legislators have deemed it important to have parents involved to assist with providing appropriate material for students. What appears to be justifiable and logical thinking has created basic …

The Voting Rights Act And The Election Of Nonwhite Officials, Pei-Te Lien, Dianne M. Pinderhughes, Carol Hardy-Fanta, Christine M. Sierra

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

Voting Rights Act (VRA) is one of the most important—if not the most important—public policies developed over the last half century to increase access to the U.S. political system for people of color. The VRA also provides an important context for understanding the ascension of nonwhite groups into the elected leadership of the nation (Browning, Marshall, and Tabb 1984; Davidson and Grofman 1994; Menifield 2001; Mc-Clain and Stewart 2002; Segura and Bowler 2005; Bositis 2006). This essay assesses the present-day significance of the VRA for the political representation of communities of color by examining the implications of majority-minority districts and …

A Seat At The Table? Racial/Ethnic & Gender Diversity On Corporate, Hospital, Education, Cultural & State Boards, Carol Hardy-Fanta Phd, Donna Stewartson

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

As part of its larger Diversity Initiative, the McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies at UMass Boston has undertaken a number of projects. The first was a public opinion survey conducted around the time of the November 2006 elections. The report, Transformation and Taking Stock: A Summary of Selected Findings from the McCormack Graduate School Diversity Survey, included a comprehensive look at race relations in the Commonwealth at a time of significant transition—demographically and politically. This report was followed by A Benchmark Report on Diversity in State and Local Government, which focused on the percentage of positions filled …

A Benchmark Report On Diversity In State And Local Government, Carol Hardy-Fanta Phd

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

The Pipeline to Public Service Initiative asked the McCormack Graduate School’s Center for Women in Politics & Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts Boston to ascertain the racial diversity in state and local government. The project had the following three goals:

--To identify the race (and gender) of those holding top-level positions filled through gubernatorial appointments, e.g., secretaries, commissioners, directors, deputy commissioners/directors, and undersecretaries, in the Commonwealth’s executive offices and major departments.

--To compile the same information for members of the most influential boards and commissions in the Commonwealth filled through gubernatorial appointments.

--To assess the diversity of elected …

Minority Women In The Healthcare Workforce In New England, Carol Hardy-Fanta, Erika Kates, Helen Levine, Kate Peery-Wolf

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

Research on health disparities affecting people of color typically focuses on their health status, health treatment and health outcomes with a particular emphasis on the relatively high rates of morbidity and mortality from selected diseases for ethnic and racial minority groups. This fact sheet offers a different but related focus on gender and race/ethnicity in the health care workforce. Our rationale is that the Sullivan Commission on Diversity in the Healthcare Workforce concluded that the lack of minority doctors, nurses and dentists is a significant cause of racial/ethnic health disparities and that the ability to recruit, train and retain minority …

Policy Analysis Of The Victim Offender Restitution Program, Veronica Damon, Marie Bostick, Lamont Mcgary

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Both the criminal justice and the juvenile justice systems have experienced increased strain due to criminal acts committed by juveniles. Many experts suggest that one way to ease the burden of the courts can be found in the theory of restorative justice. Most often the juvenile justice system is most concerned with the risk and needs of youthful offenders without significant consideration for the victims. A key component in the restorative justice theory is victim offender mediation which seeks to reduce the impact of crime on victims and the community. Clark County, Nevada has one such program, the Victim Offender …

Poetry’S Outsiders: Why The Academy Should Embrace Poetry Slam And Its Audiences, Jessica G. Simon

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

This thesis addresses the problem of poetry’s declining audience in America by investigating the relationship between the academic poetry and poetry slam communities. Primary and secondary research on the history and current state of these two poetry communities reveal that the academic poetry community does not currently embrace Poetry Slam and its audiences. First, an audience survey of the three largest Poetry Slam audiences in New York City and interviews with slam poets who perform for these audiences suggest that Poetry Slam has the ability to cultivate audiences for poetry outside of the academy. Second, the results of an online …

United States Senate Catalogue Of Graphic Art, Diane K. Skvarla, Donald A. Ritchie, Office Of The Senate Curator, William H. Frist, Harry Reid, Emily J. Reynolds

United States Senate Documents

This volume is the first comprehensive publication of the almost one thousand prints in the holdings of the United States Senate. The collection represents a 30-year effort to document graphically the 19th and early 20th century history of the Senate, the Capitol, and American political history. The diverse illustrations range from inauguration ceremonies and impeachment trials to senatorial portraits and political cartoons. Represented in the Senate's graphic art collection are some of the most notable artists who worked in the printmaking medium: Augustus Kallner, Rembrandt Peale, Alexander Hay Ritchie, Thomas Nast, and Joseph Keppler. While visually engaging, these prints also …

Benefits For All: The Economic Impact Of The New Jersey Child Care Industry • Infant/Toddler, Preschool And Out-Of-School Time Programs, Brentt Brown, Saskia Traill Ph.D., Caroline Purnell Tompkins, The New Jersey Child Care Economic Impact Council, The John S. Watson Institute For Public Policy Of Thomas Edison State College

Center for the Positive Development of Urban Children

The child care industry includes infant/toddler care and education, preschool and out-of-school time care and education programs in for-profit, nonprofit and public settings that educate and nurture children’s development and enable their parents to work and update their skills. This report examines the economic impact of New Jersey’s child care industry and presents a complete picture of its gross receipts, number of employees and how the industry provides benefits for all. The child care industry is integral to family and economic life of New Jersey residents:

1. Child care and education programs with quality learning environments support New Jersey’s future …

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