Public Policy Commons^™

Investing In Mission-Driven Advocacy, Raymond Alqaisi, Carrie Warick

The Foundation Review

Philanthropy has a significant role to play in public policy advocacy, both in involving the individuals they support in advocacy and ensuring that advocates have the tools to be successful — not only in funding, but also in robust capacity-building assistance.

Looking at the work of the National College Attainment Network, this article explores how philanthropic investments can impact advocacy, in both financial and capacity-building support, through a recounting of a recent advocacy grantmaking initiative. It also details the key conditions conducive to policy change and the supports that were provided to grantees during the funding period.

As philanthropic leaders …

A Needs Assessment: Exploring The Unknown Needs Of The Homeless Unaccompanied Youth Within A West Texas Independent School District, Amy Grace Weiss

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT This exploratory study aims to explore the unknown needs among the unaccompanied youth population within a small urban community in West Texas. This cross-sectional study surveyed a convenience sample of 10 unaccompanied youth attending school within an independent school district. Data were collected using a social worker’s case load during the spring semester of 2020, during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Findings showed a certain level of need within this community, such as emergency shelters and further research on food insecurity for this population. This implies the need for practice and policy on multiple levels to help this population who …

The Study Of Motivation For Defection Within The Intelligence Community: Hindering The Government's Ability To Prevent And Detect Defection, William Virgili

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Since its inception, the global community has been marred by insecurities about the intentions of other states, which led to states creating intelligence agencies to engage in human intelligence operations. In defense against foreign intelligence services, the U.S. has implemented policies and procedures, informed by defection research, to prevent and detect defection. However, this leads to the question does current research on motivation for defection adequately inform government policies and procedures to prevent and detect defection within the intelligence community? To interrogate this question, I present an in-depth analysis of motivation; the ways in which these conclusions have or have …

Temporal And Spatial Analysis Of The Wage Gap For Women And Underrepresented Minorities In The Architecture, Engineering, And Construction (Aec) Workforce, Saba Nikkhah Manesh

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry has failed to solve persistent labor shortage problems or to fill the labor demand in the workforce by recruiting from untapped/underrepresented groups such as Women and Underrepresented Minorities (WUMs). There have been several studies on diversity and inclusion in the AEC industry, but the issue still persists, as the AEC industry has failed to solve these issues. If the industry better understands the status of wage gaps by gender and race, as well as how the industry has performed in terms of providing comparable wages for the workforce over time, along with the …

Enhanced Model Of Collaboration And Social Capital: Hampton Roads All Hazards Advisory Committee: A Replication Study, Adale M. Martin

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

To address the call for improving the understanding of collaboration in public policy, this dissertation is designed to validate a study by Morris, Gibson, Leavitt, and Jones (2013), entitled, The Case for Grassroots Collaboration: Social Capital and Ecosystem Restoration at the Local Level. The Enhanced Model of Collaboration (EMC), which was developed to explore collaboration and social capital deriving from grassroots efforts, will be applied to examine agency-based regional collaboration in southeastern Virginia.

The population for this study is the members of the Hampton Roads All Hazards Advisory Committee (AHAC). Members include representatives of local, state, and federal government agencies, …

Governance Impact On Public-Private Partnerships For Member Countries Of The World Bank Group, Kouliga Koala

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

Member countries of the World Bank Group (WBG) increasingly turn to public-private partnerships (PPPs) to finance their transportation infrastructure projects due to the financial burden of undertaking big projects on their own. The World Bank coordinates the PPPs between investors and recipient countries. PPPs are expected to produce positive outcomes that respond to policy objectives. However, the outcomes and benefits of PPPs not only depend on several factors, but more importantly on how those factors interact with one another to yield the expected outcomes. This dissertation has identified good governance, PPP governance, and PPP outcome as the key concepts in …

Covid-19 - Revealing Unaddressed Systemic Barriers In The 45th Anniversary Of The Southeast Asian American Experience, Quyen T. Dinh, Katrina D. Mariategue, Anna H. Byon

Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement

2020 marks the 45th year anniversary of the Southeast Asian American (SEAA) experience, starting with the first wave of refugees who fled Cambodia, Laos, and Viet Nam as a result of American occupation and wars throughout the region. Collectively, this community is the largest community of refugees ever to be resettled in America. Yet despite four decades in this country, Southeast Asian Americans continue to face disparate challenges like other low-income, immigrant, refugee, communities of color — ranging from poverty, to educational inequity, health disparities, and harsh immigration policies. COVID-19 pandemic has also revealed and exacerbated systemic barriers that have …

Does Your Agency Embrace Evidence -Based Management Practices?, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

Child welfare agencies are encouraged to use evidencebased practices in all aspects of their work to try to improve outcomes for children and families. The child welfare field has made improvements in using data, research, and evaluation to inform practice and decision-making, but still has a ways to go. The primary goal of the Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD) is to build the evidence base regarding strategies to strengthen the child welfare workforce. One means of practicing evidence-based management for improving workforce outcomes is using workforce analytics. As part of the Child Welfare Workforce Analytics Institute, the QIC-WD …

Louisiana Progress Update- Redesigning The Child Welfare Worker Position, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

When there is a high workload, there is often a lot of turnover and when there is a lot of turnover the remaining workforce has an even greater workload. The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) was all too familiar with this negative cycle and the impact it was having on its child welfare workforce. When DCFS became a Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD) site, they were ready to make a significant change to their workforce operations. After a thorough needs assessment, DCFS decided to work with the QIC-WD on a job redesign project to strengthen …

Informal Learning Behaviors, Megan Paul, Robert Blagg

Umbrella Summaries

What are informal learning behaviors?

Informal learning behaviors (ILBs) are self-directed, intentional activities to acquire knowledge and skill outside of formal learning environments (Cerasoli, Alliger, Donsbach, Mathieu, Tannenbaum, & Orvis, 2017). Informal learning is distinct from learning that is externally imposed or required, involves structured content or processes, or occurs accidentally (Cerasoli et al., 2017). It is the day-to-day, on-the-job learning that occurs in the workplace. ILBs include things like observing, asking questions, seeking information, and practicing (Cerasoli et al., 2017). A highly related behavior is seeking feedback, which is sometimes described as a form of informal learning but has …

Covid-19: Metro Recovery Index In The Mountain West, Vanessa Booth, Katie M. Gilbertson, Elia Del Carmen Solano-Patricio, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic recession that is developing as a result, researchers at the Brookings Institution created the “Metro Recovery Index dashboard,” an interactive data set that tracks changes in labor, real estate, and other economic indicators for metropolitan areas throughout the U.S. Using data from January – June 2020, this Fact Sheets highlights the impact of the COVID-19 recession on 13 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in 5 Mountain West states: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.

Virginia Progress Update - The Timely Implementation Of A Technology Solution, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

The pandemic is pushing the U.S. workforce to adapt and seek mobile solutions to carry out key tasks. Virginia’s child welfare workforce strengthening effort, supported by the Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD), includes a transcription service and a mobile solution (an application or app) on iPads to help the workforce manage their administrative and family engagement tasks out of the office. The effort began in 2017 but demand has been heightened by the pandemic. This post summarizes what the Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) has accomplished and learned as they roll out new technology to thousands of …

Liberalism Versus Fundamentalism: The Ideological Conflict Between Tocqueville And Qtub, Mary Catherine E. Morris

Liberty University Journal of Statesmanship & Public Policy

This paper seeks to conclude whether Qtub has successfully discredited the values supported by Tocqueville to draw more Muslims to support an increased role of religion in society and influence the majority of Muslims to conduct violent jihad. It is hypothesized that Muslims agree with Qtub that Islam must be increasingly influential in society, but the majority do not seek to increase its role through, or for the purposes of, violent jihad. Differing in their views on freedom and liberty, freedom of religion and separation of church and state, and man-made laws but agreeing on the negative effects of materialism, …

The Sovereignty Solution: A Common Sense Approach To Global Security, Andrew Higgins

Liberty University Journal of Statesmanship & Public Policy

The Sovereignty Solution calls for a new grand strategy for the United States. The current security paradigm, the book’s authors hold, has yet to be properly modified from a 20^th-century cast of mind. The ad hoc system inherited after the end of the Cold War now fails because it too often applies national power equally to each emerging threat. But security challenges in the 21^st century arise so quickly and unexpectedly that continuing in this manner incurs overextension and further, risks strategic defeat. If the United States continues to behave as if it can be in all …

Biblical Principles Of Government And Criminal Justice, Kahlib J. Fischer

Liberty University Journal of Statesmanship & Public Policy

This article formulates a Biblical perspective on government, public policy, and criminal justice. It does so emphasizing themes of covenant, justice, inalienable rights, and proper boundaries and cooperation between Church and State, and other spheres of sovereignty within a society. These themes are predicated upon central tenants of Scripture--the sovereignty of God, the imago dei of all humans, and the and the centrality of the Gospel.

Statement Of World Aquatic Scientific Societies On The Need To Take Urgent Action Against Human-Caused Climate Change, Based On Scientific Evidence [Dear Colleague Letter], Scott A. Bonar, Brian R. Murphy, Leanne H. Roulson, Jesse T. Trushenski, Douglas J. Austen, Michael Edward Douglas

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

Dear Colleague Letter from the American Fisheries Society to fellow scientific societies, July 25, 2020, about the urgent need for responsive collective action to mitigate impending radical climate change. Includes the Statement of World Aquatic Scientific Societies on the Need to Take Urgent Action Against Human-Caused Climate Change, Based on Scientific Evidence, emphasizing the importance of aquatic ecosystems. Includes extensive citations and notes.

"Water is the most important natural resource on Earth as it is vital for life. Aquatic ecosystems, freshwater or marine, provide multiple benefits to human society, such as provisioning of oxygen, food, drinking water, genetic resources; regulation …

Park Access And Quality In The Mountain West, Vanessa Booth, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Environment

This Fact Sheet synthesizes data presented in The Trust for Public Land ParkScore® Index. This document presents data for urban parks in the 15 Mountain West municipalities that rank in the top 100 cities nationwide. This document also describes the park amenity rankings for the 4 Nevada municipalities that rank in the top 100 nationwide.

Understanding Fare Evasion Defendant Compliance: An Assessment Of Criminal Records, Nataly Nunez Vasquez

Dissertations and Theses

The present study sought to examine the factors that most distinguish fare evaders who do not pay their fines and fail to appear in court from fare evaders who pay their fines and appear in court. The relationship between prior criminal history and fare evasion offenders who do not pay their fines and fail to appear in court is also explored. A sample of 24,646 defendants who received a citation for fare evasion while riding the Tri-Met transit system in Portland, Oregon were divided into two groups of fare evaders who pay and appear in court and fare evaders who …

Traffic-Related Pedestrian Deaths In The Sun Belt Region, Madison Frazee-Bench, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Transportation & Infrastructure

This Fact Sheet presents data from Smart Growth America on the number of pedestrian fatalities in U.S. states and congressional districts. For the purpose of this fact sheet, the data included focus on the Sun Belt region between 2008 and 2017, highlighting areas with the highest rates of traffic-related pedestrian deaths.

Workplace Supports For Lgbt Employees, Toby Burnham, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What are workplace supports for LGBT employees?

Workplace supports for LGBT employees are organizational policies and practices that are thought to improve the work experiences of LGBT employees and foster diversity within an organization. Although there isn’t one set of specific workplace supports for LGBT employees, one way of summarizing the contextual supports in the workplace is to categorize them as (a) formal LGBT-supportive policies and practices, (b) LGBT-supportive climates, and (c) supportive workplace relationships (Webster, Adams, Maranto, Sawyer, & Thoroughgood, 2017). Formal policies and practices that are supportive of LGBT employees include things like same-sex benefits coverage, LGBT resource …

Strategies For Debt Reduction: Comparing Financial Tips And Financial Counseling, Sophia Fox-Dichter, Madi M. Ryan, Olga Kondratjeva, Stephen Roll

Social Policy Institute Research

U.S. households hold increasingly more debt, with almost 80% of adults holding debt of some form.1 While ownership of debt is widespread, debt burdens can be particularly challenging for low-income households; debt-to-income ratios can be three times higher for these households compared to those with high-incomes.2 Debt reduction has thus become an aim of initiatives to help lower-income Americans increase their financial well-being. This brief examines two different mechanisms for delivering debt management advice and describes the success of each method in helping individuals reduce their debt.

Perspectives From A Prevention Team, Jaqueta Taylor, Rynika Polk, Jackie Gooch

Other QIC-WD Products

Louisiana’s redesign includes the creation of prevention teams. The prevention teams include one supervisor, three child protective services (CPS) workers, two family services (FS) workers, and one child welfare team specialist. Over the course of the past year each team was established, trained, and worked together to build a cohesive unit. Team members expressed a mix of excitement and concern about their new roles. The redesign meant the supervisor was managing new team members, workers were delegating tasks they were previously responsible for, and team specialists were new to the team and had to establish trust with their coworkers. The …

Role Of Municipal Governance In Stabilizing Mature Inner Suburbs: A Study Of Five St. Louis Municipalities 1970-2015, Napoleon Williams Iii

Dissertations

This study explores the role of municipal governance in municipal-level stabilization of inner suburbs in St. Louis County, Missouri. The data, from 1970 to 2015, include a robust collection of official government archives collected from five municipalities in St. Louis County, historical documents, city-state-national statistical data, and related materials. Interviews of 25 stakeholders were conducted and data were analyzed based on the community power structure framework.

I outline five mature St. Louis inner suburbs’ evolution in municipal-level conditions from 1970 to 2015, and I detail the role each suburbs’ municipal governance played in the evolution of municipal-level conditions. I conclude, …

Reducing Gun Violence In New York City, Jeffrey A. Butts, Sheyla A. Delgado

Publications and Research

Most large American cities experienced falling client crime rates in recent decades, with New York City only being second to San Diego is the scale of its decline. This databit looks at the array of initiatives the city implemented to address gun violence as a possible contribution to the decline.

Lessons Learned: A Conversation With Paul A. Volcker, Andrew Metrick, Rosalind Z. Wiggins, Kaleb B. Nygaard

Journal of Financial Crises

On March 26, 2019, Andrew Metrick, the Janet Yellen Professor of Finance at the Yale School of Management and Founder and Director of the Yale Program on Financial Stabilitysat down with Paul A. Volcker to discuss his perspectives on the Federal Reserve, central banking autonomy, “too big to fail,” and how his perspectives on these topics have changed over the decades.It turned out to be one of the last interviews given by the former Chairman of the Federal Reserve System who passed away on December 8, 2019, at the age of 92.

My Experience With Cfs Strong, Lana Sayre

Other QIC-WD Products

I am a child and family services specialist supervisor with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. A few years ago, I volunteered to take over for another member of the workforce retention team that was working with the QIC-WD to develop/select an intervention that Nebraska could implement to reduce employee turnover among child and family services specialists (CFSS), our frontline worker position. Employee retention is a constant, ongoing challenge. Our work is challenging and very stressful. You have to be an expert in child safety and have a broad understanding of all of the issues which affect the …

Presenteeism, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What is presenteeism?

Presenteeism is not simply a matter of attending, or being physically present, at work. Rather, it refers to going to work while ill and, in some cases, also includes the concept of lost productivity as a result (Johns, 2010; McGregor, Sharma, Magee, Caputi, & Iverson, 2017). Unlike absenteeism, which can be measured through personnel records, presenteeism is measured by employee self-report via surveys or interviews. For the more limited definition (going to work ill), employees are asked whether or how often in the past they showed up to work when they were sick and should have taken …

Understanding Attitudes Toward Healthcare Reform: The Roles Of Self-Interest, Group Identity And Racial Resentment, Maria Beatrice Livaudais

Political Science ETDs

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) cemented itself as one of the most controversial pieces of legislation of the decade. Public opinion polls find Americans are often evenly split in support of the ACA. This dissertation explores the roles of self-interest, group identity, and racial resentment on attitudes toward the ACA and healthcare reform. The dissertation centers our attention on variation by race and the impact racial tensions beyond the Black-White paradigm on these attitudes. I find group identity shapes attitudes Blacks’ and Latinos’ attitudes toward the ACA but not Whites’ and racial resentment, directed toward Blacks, Latinos …

Minority Owned Businesses In The Southwest Megapolitan Triangle, Yanneli Llamas, Madison Frazee-Bench, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet presents the potential impact of COVID-19 on minority owned businesses, using data originally published by Brookings researchers Sifan Liu and Joseph Parilla in “Businesses owned by women and minorities have grown. Will COVID-19 undo that?” As noted in the original report, the coronavirus pandemic will shock a variety of industries and communities, but minority-owned businesses are likely to be hardest hit.

Grit, Maggie Thompson, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What is grit?

Grit is a personality trait that is defined as “perseverance and passion for long-term goals” (Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews, & Kelly, 2007, p. 1087) and as “… not just resilience in the face of failure, but also having deep commitments that you remain loyal to over many years” (Perkins-Gough, 2013, p. 14). It has been conceptualized as a higher-order trait comprised of two lower order facets: perseverance of effort (the tendency to work hard even in the face of setbacks) and consistency of interest (the tendency to not frequently change goals and interests). The two primary self-report measures …