Social Welfare Commons^™

The Oregon Health System Transformation: Preliminary Report Of Coordinated Care Organizations In The First Year Implementation, Carlos J. Crespo, Ellen Smit

Community Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

Because of the US Affordable Care Act, 16% of Oregonians without health insurance will be able to obtain coverage through Coordinated Care Organizations (CCO).

Creating A Community Of Support: An Evaluation Of The Healing For Educational Achievement Resource Team, Ann M. Quintrell

Capstone Collection

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Healing for Educational Achievement Resource Team (H.E.A.R.T.). H.E.A.R.T. is a committee of staff at a middle school in Dorchester. Dorchester is a violence hotspot in Boston, MA, and students in such areas need to heal from traumas while meeting academic requirements. In order to meet their students’ needs and achieve their goals, schools need to practice trauma informed care. H.E.A.R.T. represents a staff-driven effort to meet student needs and establish trauma informed care. H.E.A.R.T.’s effectiveness was evaluated through surveys and interviews of committee members, interviews of the school’s …

Treatment Effects With Unobserved Heterogeneity: A Set Identification Approach, Sung Jae Jun, Yoonseok Lee, Youngki Shin

Center for Policy Research

We propose the sharp identifiable bounds of the distribution functions of potential outcomes using a panel with fixed T. We allow for the possibility that the statistical randomization of treatment assignments is not achieved until unobserved heterogeneity is properly controlled for. We use certain stationarity assumptions to obtain the bounds. Dynamics in the treatment decisions is allowed as long as the stationarity assumptions are satisfied. In particular, we present an example where our assumptions are satisfied and the treatment decision of the present time may depend on the treatments and the observed outcomes of the past. As an empirical illustration …

Social Actors Fight The Rising Tide Of Hiv In U.S. Southern Poor, Courtenay Sprague, Sara E. Simon

Center for Peace, Democracy and Development Publications

The greatest number of persons living with HIV in the United States are now living in the South, and they face poorer health outcomes and increased AIDS-related deaths as compared to the rest of the country. The southern United States has a disproportionate share of low-income individuals, with many lacking access to health care and health insurance. Health facilities are also comparatively fewer and more difficult to reach than in other areas of the United States. The impacts of this already poor health infrastructure on low-income people living with HIV in the South can be life-threatening.

This policy brief summarizes …

Focal Point, Volume 28, Portland State University. Regional Research Institute

Research and Training Center - Focal Point

Between one–third and one–half of young adults with mental health challenges have co-occurring substance use issues. This issue of Focal Point examines treatments and supports for this population.

Winning Safer Workplaces: A Manual For State And Local Policy Reform, Rena I. Steinzor

Book Gallery

We set out to compile a list of rules and policies that could be implemented by state and local governments to provide better protections for U.S. workers. This manual includes more than two dozen such ideas, organized into thematic chapters:

Chapter 1: Empowering Workers, with proposals designed to strengthen workers' individual and collective power to demand changes in their workplaces;
Chapter 2: Making Sure Crime Doesn't Pay, with ideas for strong enforcement of workplace health and safety rules that will punish bad actors and deter similar behavior;
Chapter 3: Strengthening Institutions, with recommendations intended to bolster government agencies' efforts to …

Compensating Victims Of Crime, Douglas N. Evans

Publications and Research

Victims of violent crime are often unable to access financial compensation to offset the costs of victimization (e.g., medical, lost wages, funeral expenses) despite the massive amounts of money set aside for just that purpose. Currently, there is about $11 billion in the federal Crime Victims Fund (CVF). Less than 10 percent of this amount is allocated to state victim compensation programs. This report explores the funding mechanisms used by federal and state governments to compensate victims of crime, and it describes the administrative and policy problems in these systems. The report offers several recommendations for improvement. States have their …

Lessons From Lived Experience: From Fresh Insights To Effective Action, Lisa Deangelis, Maureen A. Scully, Andrea Wight

Emerging Leaders Program Team Projects

The 34 fellows in the 2014 Emerging Leaders Program worked with community partners to generate the theme, “Learning from Lived Experience: From fresh insights to effective action." Each year, the projects draw upon a theme or lesson from the prior year. Last year and this year, fellows saw how the lived experiences of both their stakeholders and themselves generated nuanced and appropriate approaches to problem-solving. The fellows worked with six community partners, giving their time and professional skills to understand how to frame complex social challenges, engage new partners and resources, and sharpen strategic plans. They conducted surveys, interviews, open …

Impact : Issue 4, Patients' Behbud Society

IMPACT – The Aga Khan University Hospital Archives

Content

- Chairman’s Message

- Distribution of Patients Assisted by PBS

- Where There is Life There is Hope : Shaukat Qasim Agaria

- Happenings

- Dean, Medical College Comes on Board

- Department of Oncology

- Advancement, innovation and quality : Interview with Mr Moin Fudda

Social Networks, Decision Aids, And Patient Decisions Regarding Knee-Replacement Surgery, Francis G. Caro, Susanne Hoffmann, Alison Gottlieb, Iris Kesternich, Joachim Winter

Gerontology Institute Publications

Objective: Examine how information from social networks is associated with patient decisions in the presence of information from multiple professional sources including decision aids.

Methods: We conducted a stated-choice experiment in which respondents made recommendations for hypothetical patients about whether full knee-replacement surgery should be performed to treat knee osteoarthritis. In addition, we administered a background questionnaire in which we explicitly asked respondents about the experience of people in their social network with knee osteoarthritis and possible treatment options. We examined the manner in which respondents’ recommendations for vignette persons were associated with the experiences of members of …

Examining Racial Disparities In Beaverton, Alexis D. R. Ball

Center to Advance Racial Equity Publications and Reports

Examining Racial Disparities in Beaverton aims to assist the City of Beaverton’s Diversity Advisory Board in understanding the current state of Beaverton’s communities of color as they work to create a “Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Plan.” It synthesizes and analyzes available data to describe racial disparities in Beaverton, Oregon through the use of raw data and secondary analysis, reports and communications from the City of Beaverton, and expert interviews. The presentation of data emphasizes a comparison of outcomes for communities of color and the white community with the purpose of highlighting common experiences across communities of color and demonstrating urgency …

Family Cap: An Evaluation Of Child Exclusion Policies In Massachusetts, Gregory Ashe

Public Affairs Capstones Collection

Between 1992 and 1998, 24 states including Massachusetts adopted provisions specifically designed to reduce the fertility rates of welfare recipients. These adopted measures became known as Family Caps. Under Family Cap, families receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cash assistance would not receive increased aid for having another child. Proponents of this measure believe that by eliminating the financial incentive to have additional children, individuals on welfare would subsequently have smaller families. In this paper, I have used the most up-to-date TANF national data file to determine if an association between states with a family Cap provision and the …

Characteristics Of Working Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Recipients In Maine, According To The 2011 American Community Survey, Victoria Ryan

Muskie School Capstones and Dissertations

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a federal program administered by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). SNAP is designed to provide assistance in purchasing food to low income households in the United States. In Maine, individual benefits are administered by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. Formerly (and still colloquially) known as the Food Stamp program, SNAP makes a dollar-value benefit, based on income, household size, household expenses, and a host of other factors, available to households via a debit or Electronic Benefit Card for the purchase of unprepared food from grocery and convenience stores, …

Learning By Giving: The Youth Homelessness Initiative, Camille Gross, Christina Mccourt, Molly Nash, Eleanor Powell

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

As part of the Colby Undergraduate Student Philanthropist (CUSP) foundation, funded by the Learning by Giving Foundation, we are collaborating with United Way of Mid-Maine to write a 10,000 grant allocated over a three-year period in support of United Way of Mid-Maines Youth Homelessness Initiative. This program would provide homeless or at-risk for homelessness youth ages in junior and high school (grades 5 through 12) in northern Kennebec, Somerset, and western Waldo counties with the basic needs they require in order to stay in school and ultimately earn a high school diploma.During the 2011-12 pilot project of the Youth Homelessness …

Competing For Federal Grant Dollars In Nevada, Cyndy Ortiz Gustafson, Jennifer Ouellette

Lincy Institute Reports and Briefs

Federal grant funding in Nevada accounts for 19 percent of statewide federal funding, or roughly $3.7 billion a year. Federal grant funding consists of (1) formula based aid and, (2) competitive discretionary grant dollars. In the latter category Nevada is encouraged to substantially improve its performance and secure more federal resources for its citizens.

"I Want To Be Brave": A Baseline Study On The Vulnerabilities Of Street-Working Boys In Sihanoukville, Cambodia, Jarrett Davis, Glenn Miles, M’Lop Tapang

Annual Interdisciplinary Conference on Human Trafficking: 6th (2014)

Focusing on street-working boys in Sihanoukville, this study partnered with social workers and child protection officers from M’lop Tapang (a key social service provider in Sihanoukville) to identify locations where young boys were known to be working along the beaches and within the town center. In recent years, Sihanoukville has become known as a rapidly developing commercial beach area, which has received increasing attention from foreign tourists, backpackers, and ex-patriots. Within this context, it has become a destination for migrant workers from surrounding provinces who have hopes of generating income through selling, begging, and other various means. The study conducted …

The Effect Of Welfare Policies And Hardships On Participation Rates Among The Poor, Matthew W. Cain

Undergraduate Honors Theses

For several decades, a new political prospective has emerged in the Political Science literature - Policy Feedback Theory. Put simply, Policy Feedback Theory looks at the way public policy affects politics. Existing policies can define the political environment, shaping the capacities, interests, and beliefs of political elites and states, which in tum influence the next round of policy-making. However, does public policy only change the politics of elites and states? Can public policy also change the politics of mass publics? Recent Political Science researchers are now examining this question.

Even though much ground has been gained in examining this question, …

The Price Of A Healthy Diet: For Whom Is It Affordable?, Katheryn L. Harkleroad

Muskie School Capstones and Dissertations

This exploratory study addressed the gaps that current research has ignored. What have been missing are studies that focus on tangible costs of realistic, practical, and healthy meal plans. This study was not intended to measure a national average cost of eating a healthy diet. Rather, its focus was to examine the cost of healthy diet in a specific location.

Improving Home Suitability For Aging In Place: A Review Of Programs To Assist Maine's Seniors Make Necessary Home Repairs And Energy Efficiency Updates, Andrea Westbye

Muskie School Capstones and Dissertations

With its median age of 42.7 years, Maine is the oldest state in the nation and it is getting older. The population 65 and older is growing at a rapid pace and this expansion presents many challenges to communities, particularly in the area of housing. Most seniors want to stay in their homes for as long as possible and adequate, accessible, safe, and affordable housing is a primary factor for successful aging in place. Low income seniors face additional difficulties when aging in place. This paper looks at the availability of home repair/modification and energy efficiency programs for Maine’s low …

An Assessment Of The Health Needs Of Maine Veterans And Their Access To Veterans Administration Health Care Services, Kristin Brawn

Muskie School Capstones and Dissertations

On a state level, only a few assessments have been conducted, which indicate that Maine veterans are also experiencing similar mental and physical health issues; however, it does not appear that the adequacy of Maine’s VHA services to meet the needs of Maine’s veterans has been comprehensively evaluated. It is unknown whether the physical and mental health needs of Maine’s veterans are currently being met. Therefore, this project proposes to determine if there is a similar problem among Maine’s veterans in regard to health issues and lack of access to VHA health services, as has been reported at the national …