Public Policy Commons^™

Pol/His 3005: Social Welfare Policy In The United States, Oswaldo A. Mena Aguilar

Open Educational Resources

The United States is one of the richest countries in the world, yet poverty, hardship, and inequality remain central features of American life. This course begins with that paradox. Why does a country with so much economic capacity tolerate so much poverty? Why does its welfare state protect some risks generously while treating other forms of need as individual failure? Why are benefits for the poor so visible, stigmatized, and administratively demanding, while benefits for the affluent are often hidden in the tax code, treated as private achievement, and politically protected? The course is organized around a sequence of questions. …

Ssw 701.50: Social Welfare Policy, Ian G. Williams

Open Educational Resources

This syllabus is an Open Educational Resources (OER) remixed version of SSW 701.50: Social Welfare Policy, which is taught at the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College. This version updated the content and integrated additional OER materials, as part of the Summer 2026 cohort of The Open Knowledge Fellowship at the Mina Rees Library. It is a Zero-Textbook (ZTC) cost course and integrates materials from a range of academic disciplines. Official course description is as follows:

"This foundation course furnishes you with the orienting knowledge and skills needed to examine social welfare policies and to understand their relevance …

New York State Excelsior Scholarship Program: A Post-Implementation Analysis Of Student Success, Eligibility, And Indebtedness – An Intersectional Study Of Black And White Female Students, Marcus I. Richardson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The New York State (NYS) Excelsior Scholarship Program, introduced in 2017, was designed as a “first-in-the-nation” tuition-free initiative intended to expand college affordability for undergraduate students attending public institutions in New York State. While the program aims to increase access to higher education, its eligibility requirements, particularly the expectation that students complete 30 credits annually through continuous full-time enrollment, may disadvantage students whose academic pathways diverge from traditional enrollment patterns. This study examined the relationship between structural, financial, and academic factors and students’ ability to retain Excelsior Scholarship eligibility at the City University of New York (CUNY). Using institutional data …

Transportation Deserts And Structural Mobility Access In New York City, John Cruz

Student Theses

This study examines structural mobility access across New York City census tracts by constructing a tract-level Mobility Access Index (MAI) that integrates employment accessibility, hospital accessibility, and first-mile subway walking burden using MTA GTFS transit data, NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission trip records, and US Census American Community Survey demographic estimates. Three OLS regression models, supplemented by Lasso, Elastic Net, and Random Forest specifications, test whether structural access gaps are associated with short-distance connector trip intensity and per-worker connector cost burden. Results show that MAI varies substantially across tracts, with high access concentrated in Manhattan and along major subway corridors. …

Opportunities, Challenges, And Conspicuous Absences: An Integrative Review Of The Social Work Literature On Artificial Intelligence, Michael J. Massey, Ian G. Williams, Grace C. Polistina, Eathan A. Breaux

Publications and Research

INTRODUCTION: Social work discourse regarding artificial intelligence (AI) in practice, research, and education has proliferated over the last 5 years, reflecting both excitement over its potential and ambivalence about its ethical challenges. However, the extent to which social work is fully engaging with the structure of AI and its enormous impacts on the environment, labour, and distribution of power remains unclear.

METHODS: An integrative review of social work literature from 2020–2024 was conducted to address two research questions: 1) What is the nature of the social work discourse related to AI? 2) To what extent is the discourse …

Latino Economic Inequality In New York City: Income And Snap Recipiency, 2013–2023, Oswaldo A. Mena Aguilar

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

This Latino Data Project Report analyzes trends in the economic well-being of Latino households in New York City between 2013 and 2023, focusing on household income and participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The findings reveal a paradoxical pattern: although median Latino household income increased over the decade, economic inequality within the Latino community widened substantially. Income gains were unevenly distributed, with higher-income households pulling further ahead while the lowest-income households experienced stagnation or decline. Over the same period, Latino households fell further behind all other racial and ethnic groups in the city. Additionally, Latinos consistently exhibited the …

How Armenia And Azerbaijan Are Lobbying For Influence In D.C., Gibran C. Boyce, Dawn Kikel

Capstones

In the wake of President Trump taking office, foreign government agencies and U.S.-based non-profits serving Armenian and Azerbaijani interests have been hiring lobbyists in Washington, D.C. as part of their concerted efforts to curry favor, gain influence, and seek policy changes that would benefit the rival post-Soviet nations.

Comparing Campaigns To End The Subminimum Wage With A Multiple Streams Approach, Chris Peraino

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Labor organizations do not significantly represent the interests of restaurant workers in the United States. In the absence of labor representation, nonprofits have become the main advocates for restaurant workers in politics. Among the most active is OneFairWage (OFW), a nonprofit focused on eliminating the subminimum wage for tipped restaurant workers. OFW’s legislative efforts have had mixed outcomes. Two of its campaigns - D.C. and Chicago - were successful. All other campaigns, like those in New York state and Michigan, have struggled to achieve their goal. Why has nearly identical legislation with the same target population of restaurant workers passed …

Path Dependency And The Politics Of U.S. Health Reform, Sophia Spadafore

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study examines the impact of path dependency on health reform efforts in the United States, specifically analyzing how past policy decisions constrain subsequent reform possibilities. Utilizing the theoretical framework of historical institutionalism, the study investigates two significant cases—the passage of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965 and the The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010—to illustrate how successful healthcare reforms embed institutional arrangements that limit future policy innovation. Through a comparative case study approach grounded in legislative records, historical texts, and scholarly analyses, the research highlights that major healthcare reforms in the U.S. have consistently been structured …

Global Constructions Of Gender, Sexuality, And Migration: An Analysis Of Five Immigrant Memoirs, Grace Halvorson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This capstone analyzes five memoirs by LGBTQ+ migrants—Jose Antonio Vargas, Edafe Okporo, Staceyann Chin, Danny Ramadan, and Samra Habib—to explore how governments weaponize gender and sexual orientation to construct national identity and exert control over both citizens and migrants. Their diverse migration experiences highlight how “gender border control” operates across families, communities, and national government systems, reinforcing heteronormative structures that regulate queer identities. My analysis of their memoirs reveals how both formal tools, such as immigration policies, and informal tools, such as social exclusion, make individuals outside heteronormative identity categories susceptible to state and societal violence. These personal narratives shed …

Moving The Needle: The Policy Of Change On Syringe Access, New York City And State, 1988–2023, Joyce Rivera

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

By the mid-1980s, the HIV/AIDS epidemic breached a longstanding consensus between the political class and its bureaucratic alliances that had relied for decades on attitudes and orientations that championed punitive prohibition toward drugs as a bedrock principle of policy making. This ‘focusing event’ created an opening for HIV/AIDS activists to build a movement that offered an alternative, a more effective and just approach to how government policies and practices can manage illegal drugs and the persons who use drugs.

The dissertation uses several theoretical and methodological tools to address the central research objective that highlights the critical role played by …

The Jamaica Now Leadership Council: A Study Of Stakeholder Participation In The Revitalization Of Downtown Jamaica, Queens, Melva M. Miller

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Urban revitalization in the United States has often been characterized by uneven community development, where marginalized communities bear the costs while receiving limited benefits. This dissertation examines how the dynamics of stakeholder participation impacts the practice of Community Economic Development (CED), focusing on the Jamaica Now Leadership Council (JNLC) as a case study. Formed to oversee the Jamaica Now Neighborhood Action Plan, the JNLC represents a model of inclusive, stakeholder-driven urban development aimed at addressing historical disinvestment and promoting equitable economic growth in Downtown Jamaica, Queens.

The study explores how power dynamics, stakeholder histories, and role expectations shape participation in …

Gender Equity In Municipalities: Understanding Local Policy Priorities, Maria J. D’Agostino, Nicole M. Elias, Nicole Dimaria

Publications and Research

The purpose of this research is to examine policy priorities of municipal legislation designed to promote gender equity. We ask the following research question: How does municipal policy address gender equity? To answer this question, we identify New York City legislation that targets gender equity passed under the DeBlasio administration (2014–2022). Using Atlas.TI, legislation is organized around The New York City Commission on Gender Equity’s goals to identify policy priorities. Our findings indicate that despite progressive policy efforts, policy priorities remain focused on gender stereotypes and long-standing issues, particularly sexual harassment and violence.

Examining Drug Policy In Portugal And Greece, Collin Fernandes

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines the divergent drug policies implemented in Portugal and Greece, analyzing why Portugal's comprehensive decriminalization model has been more successful than Greece's partial approach. Since 2001, Portugal has pioneered a drug policy that decriminalizes all drugs for personal use while investing in harm reduction services, rehabilitation, and social reintegration. In contrast, Greece maintained criminalization while implementing more limited harm reduction measures, particularly through OKANA (the Organization Against Drugs). The research highlights how economic factors, particularly the 2008 financial crisis and austerity measures, negatively affected both countries' programs but hit Greece's initiatives with greater severity. Portugal's programs have remained …

Zero Textbook Cost Syllabus For Paf 9140 (Budget And Financial Analysis), Rahul Pathak

Open Educational Resources

Managing available resources effectively and undertaking appropriate financial analysis is central to strategic decision-making. This course provides an overview of public finance, budgeting, and fiscal decision-making in the public sector and nonprofit sector. The course covers key topics in public finance and budgeting, and aims to provide students an opportunity to learn some essential skills for financial analysis, which are central to becoming good managers. Expertise over the course material should be advantageous to anyone who is aiming for positions such as a budget analyst in a government, bond rating/credit analyst in the private firm, and various other consulting roles …

Digital Environments Of Reception And Governance: A Landscape Analysis Of Immigration-Related Webpages On U.S. State Websites, Orunima Chakraborti

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

American state governments occupy unique political roles when it comes to critical public-facing policy areas like education, health, transportation, and commerce, and therefore they administer many public services and benefits that affect immigrants and their communities. This study expands the existing knowledge of the ways in which U.S. state governments digitally engage with their immigrant populations, doing so through a landscape analysis that maps the information and resources provided for and about immigrant communities on 413 immigration-related webpages across all 50 U.S. state governments’ official websites. Data was collected in four categories for each webpage: its bureaucratic orientation, the government …

The State Of The Unions 2024: A Profile Of Organized Labor In New York City, New York State, And The United States, Ruth Milkman, Joseph Van Der Naald

Publications and Research

This report released by the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies, State of the Unions 2024: A Profile of Organized Labor in New York City, New York State, and the United States, is a part of an annual publication series, documents recent trends in unionization patterns. The CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies’ latest annual report on unionization patterns shows that private-sector union organizing efforts continued to increase across the country over the last year. The report documents that growth in union election petitions since 2020 has reversed a decade of decline, reaching a level not seen since …

Socioeconomic Inequalities Between The Bronx And Other Counties In New York City, Mexican Studies Institute Cuny, Eliana Checo-Genaoa

CUNY Mexican Studies Institute

The Bronx, despite its proximity to the other boroughs of New York City, has the highest poverty rates among them. Using data from 2010 to 2022, this study examines the socioeconomic disparities between the Bronx and Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. Key indicators analyzed include poverty levels, SNAP benefits, unemployment rates, median income, educational attainment, homeownership rates, business creation, and GDP per capita. Our study reveals that the Bronx has the highest poverty, unemployment, and SNAP benefit dependency rates, lower educational attainment, and the lowest median income and homeownership rates. Our findings underscore the persistent socioeconomic challenges faced by …

Strengthening U.S. Jail Systems’ Response To Infectious Diseases: An Evaluation Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Erinn Bacchus

Dissertations and Theses

Jails across the United States were struck with increased infections and deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic. Studies have shown the structural make up of jails, lack of preparedness plans, and overcrowding contributed to health risks and poor health outcomes both inside jails and local communities. Yet little research has been dedicated to strengthening jail responses to infectious disease outbreaks spanning prevention measures, data collection, and reentry planning. Gaps include information on the (1) myriad infectious disease mitigation strategies used in jails and adherence to CDC prevention guidelines, (2) development of a standardized epidemiologic surveillance system, and (3) experiences working at …

Legislating The Taboo: Taboo Subcultures, Political Communication, And Public Policy, Rebecca S. Krisel

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation, titled "Legislating the Taboo: From Subculture to Public Policy," comprises three articles that collectively delve into the intersection of taboo subcultures, political communication, and public policy. While the fields of sociology and anthropology more thoroughly explore the concepts of "taboo" and "subcultures," political science has not given them due attention. This research seeks to bridge this gap by examining how taboo subcultures evolve into political constituencies with policy demands and how these demands are communicated through various mediums, including mainstream and social media.

The first article, "Virtual Dance Communities and The Right to the Internet," investigates how the …

Normative Orientations To Housing Activism And The Uneven Path To Nonprofitization In New York City, 1964–1989, Andrew Wilkes

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

What are the distinct contributions of normative orientations (including theological and ideological ones) in the public policy process? While the literature on policy formation in the past three decades has embraced at least some idea that ideology matters, little has focused on whether the content of their specific normative orientations leads groups to contribute to, and engage in, a policy process differently. By examining Paul Sabatier’s advocacy coalition framework in conversation with Rev. Dr. Gayraud Wilmore’s tripartite, theoethical framework of liberation, elevation, and survival, this dissertation contends that the normative commitments of advocacy stakeholders within New York City’s tenant movement …

Carceral Connections: The Role Of Policing In The Management Of Public Housing In New York City, James Rodriguez

Publications and Research

Between 2006 and 2022, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) attempted to address the fiscal and infrastructural crises in public housing through a number of controversial privatization strategies. This contested push occurred alongside the pervasive role of policing in public housing. The New York Police Department utilizes several policing strategies specific to NYCHA communities, collaborating with the housing authority in the management of public housing residents. This article draws on qualitative content analysis of local policing strategies and public housing policy reforms in New York City to investigate how the state facilitates the displacement of disproportionately poor, non-white, public …

The Affordable Housing Crisis In New York City, Mexican Studies Institute Cuny, Hashim Abdul

Publications and Research

This paper examines the current housing crisis in The Bronx that worsened during and after the COVID pandemic. It examines social and economic factors that contribute to low home ownership and housing instability. Through a comparison with European models, the author concludes that solutions to alleviate the crisis may include rental price caps, increased Airbnb regulations and government “subsidization instead of profitability”.

Regulating The Care Boom: Labor Standards Enforcement And Paid In-Home Care Work, Isaac Jabola-Carolus

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In the United States, population aging has driven explosive growth in care-sector occupations, especially among low-wage home care aides who provide long-term assistance to older adults. These aides, predominantly women and disproportionately people of color, now represent one of the country’s largest and fastest-growing occupational groups. In recent decades, economic inequality and meager social policies have also spurred demand for nannies, housecleaners, and other domestic workers—occupations heavily reliant on immigrant women, many undocumented. While scholarly and public discourse has addressed labor shortages and job quality in such occupations, a related problem is the widespread violation of labor standards, including minimum …

The State Of The Unions 2023: A Profile Of Organized Labor In New York City, New York State, And The United States, Ruth Milkman, Joseph Van Der Naald

Publications and Research

This report released by the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies, State of the Unions 2023: A Profile of Organized Labor in New York City, New York State, and the United States, is a part of an annual publication series, documents recent trends in unionization patterns. The overall level of unionization in both the City and State has been roughly double the national rate over the past two decades. But recently, union density has fallen more in New York City and New York State than in the United States as a whole. In the mid-2010s, both the City and …

The Impact Of Utilitarian Public Policies On Minority Communities: A Comparison Of New York City And New South Wales, Australia., Nicholas Reyes

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The purpose of this thesis is to highlight and critique the ways in which utilitarianism manifests itself in comparative public policy. While public policy studies tend to focus on national levels, cities, and states can also be major sites of theoretical and policy formulation that are adopted globally. The moral ethics that are involved in public policy are especially important because these policies have a direct impact on society. Utilitarianism encompasses the logic of utility maximization: the ends justify the means and the idea that the moral ethical choice is the one that will produce the greatest good for the …

Gender & Sexuality In New York Politics, Bianca M. Guerrero

Open Educational Resources

No abstract provided.

The Political Ramifications Of Judicial Institutions: Establishing A Link Between Dobbs And Gender Disparities In The 2022 Midterms, Udi Sommers, Or Rappel-Kroyzer, Amy Adamczyk, Lindsay Lerner, Anna Weiner

Publications and Research

In the American system of government, courts are designed to operate within the legal sphere, with limited political interference. Is it possible, though, that a behavior that is at the heart of the political process can be influenced directly by a judicial decision? Focusing on voter registration big data for the universe of voters in North Carolina around the time of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the authors assess the roles of gender, political party affiliation, and age in voter registration. North Carolina is the only state whose voter registry has the necessary granularity over time and information needed. …

Coh 1700: Health Care Coordination Syllabus, Sasha Harry

Open Educational Resources

This is the syllabus for a Health Care Coordination course.

The goal of health care coordination is to improve patient outcomes with better health care services. Care coordinators play a critical role in improving patient care. Students will learn how to effectively advocate for patients and interact with members of the healthcare team in finding solutions to provide high quality, value-based, and efficient care. Effective communication styles, assessing patient’s needs and goals, and helping with patients’ transitions of care are among many topics covered in this course. Upon course completion, students will have acquired basic knowledge and skills to educate, …

Happiness And Policy Implications: A Sociological View, Sarah M. Kahl

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The World Happiness Report is released every year, ranking each country by who is “happier” and explaining the variables and data they have used. This project attempts to build from that base and create a machine learning algorithm that can predict if a country will be in a “happy” or “could be happier” category. Findings show that taking a broader scope of variables can better help predict happiness. Policy implications are discussed in using both big data and considering social indicators to make better and lasting policies.