<p> In the United States, approximately 50 percent of people experience mental illness during their lifetimes (Cunningham, 2009). However, previous studies estimate that up to 80 percent of people living with a mental illness do not access services (Mackenzie et al., 2007). While there are numerous explanations for such disparity, this study posited that stigma associated with mental illness is a significant contributory factor. </p><p> In an attempt to address the gap between prevalence of mental illness and access to services, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), 2010 (US Government Printing Office, (a) 2011) mandated that Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) integrate physical and mental healthcare. This research employed case study methods to examine the implementation of this federal policy in FQHCs, focusing on what role, if any, stigma plays in such implementation. Analyzing data obtained from in-depth interviews and direct observations at two case study sites, as well as key informant interviews, and background information, this research explores the following questions: Does stigma impact the implementation of mental health policy and affect access to treatment in FQHCs for people living with mental illness? And, if stigma does impact mental health policy implementation and access to mental healthcare in FQHCs, how does this occur? </p><p> Study findings include: multiple definitions of and approaches for integrating physical and mental healthcare; mental healthcare being subsumed into, rather than integrated with, the medical model; and institutional stigma persisting in the agencies studied, resulting in the reinforcement of exclusionary policies and practices and limited access to mental healthcare for FQHC patients. </p><p> Empirical findings inform a new theoretical framework that identifies the role of institutional stigma in mental health policy development and implementation in FQHCs. Policy recommendations include: the adoption of non-stigmatizing practices in FQHCs; the inclusion of a single clear definition of integration within enabling legislation; restructuring of mental healthcare funding streams to facilitate agencies' access to resources; and federally mandated reporting of mental health outcomes to improve FQHC accountability. These recommendations aim to promote the equitable implementation of integration policy within FQHCs and increase access to mental healthcare for those persons in need.</p>

abstract: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA or ACA) Public Law No: 111-148, substantially changed health insurance access in the United States. One group that the law particularly affects is young adults, defined as individuals between the ages of 19 to 26. Specifically, the expansion of young adult dependent coverage was one of the first provisions that went into effect after the ACA’s enactment. This dissertation comprehensively studies the impact of the ACA’s dependent coverage provision on young adults. Across three empirical chapters, the dissertation examines outcomes related to health insurance coverage, labor market outcomes, and educational enrollment. Chapter 1, titled “Impact of the Affordable Care Act on Young Adults Insurance Coverage,” documents the changes in health insurance take-up for the young adults population, which has historically had the lowest rates of such coverage. Changes in coverage are also evaluated separately for sub-groups of young adults. Chapter 2, titled “Labor Market Outcomes for Young Adults,” evaluates whether the law altered employment decisions and earnings for this group. It also assess whether the ACA led to increased job mobility for young adults. Finally, Chapter 3, titled “Does having Dependent Coverage from the ACA impact Educational Enrollment,” evaluated changes in educational enrollment levels for young adults following the expansion of parental dependent coverage. The research conducted in this dissertation provides evidence of the ACA’s impact on health insurance coverage, employment, and education. It also provides support for the claim that the ACA covers insurance gaps that young adults might experience as they go through life transitions when they are likely to lose coverage. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Public Policy 2017

abstract: Science can help inform policy decisions by providing information on the risks and benefits of a technology. In the field of nanotechnology, which is characterized by high degree of complexity and uncertainty, there are high demands for scientists to take an active role in policy debates with regulators, policy-makers and the public. In particular, policy-makers often rely on scientific experts to help them make decisions about regulations. However, scientists’ perceptions about policy and public engagement vary based on their individual characteristics, values, and backgrounds. Although many policy actors are involved in nanotechnology policy process, there are few empirical studies that focus on the establishment of coalitions and their impact on policy outputs, as well as the role of scientists in the coalitions. Also, while the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has regulatory authority over nanoscale materials, there is a lack of literature that describes the use of science on EPA’s decision making of nanotechnology. In this dissertation, these research gaps are addressed in three essays that explore the following research questions: (1) how are nano-scientists’ individual characteristics and values associated with their perceptions of public engagement and political involvement? (2) how can the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) can be applied to nanotechnology policy subsystem? and (3) how does the EPA utilize science when making regulatory decisions about nanotechnology? First, using quantitative data from a 2011 mail survey of elite U.S. nanoscientists, the dissertation shows that scientists are supportive of engaging with policy-makers and the public about their results. However, there are differences among scientists based on their individual characteristics. Second, qualitative interview analysis suggests that there are two opposing advocacy groups with shared beliefs in the nanotechnology policy subsystem. The lineup of coalition members is stable over time, while the EPA advocates less consistent positions. The interview data also show a significant role of scientific information in the subsystem. Third, the dissertation explains the EPA’s internal perspective about the use of science in regulatory decision making for nanotechnology. The dissertation concludes with some lessons that are applicable for policy-making for emerging technologies. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Public Administration and Policy 2017

<p> The scholarly research on emergency supply chain management acknowledges its inherent significance in efficacious disaster response, however, what is unknown is how to employ alternative means of transportation, specifically hybrid airships, to deliver relief aid direct to a point of need amidst a lack of intact infrastructure following disaster. The purpose of this study was to investigate subject matter expert opinions to determine the level of consensus on how to apply the innovative transportation mode of hybrid airships to emergency supply chain management through delivery of emergency supplies direct to a point of need despite a lack of intact infrastructure following a disaster event. It addresses the following research question: How do subject matter experts envision effective employment of hybrid airships in emergency supply chain management within the United States? This research was a qualitative, Type 2 case study of Hurricane Sandy utilizing the examination of publicly available documents and focused interviews. The interview sample was a criterion-based selection of subject matter experts who participated in the logistical response to Hurricane Sandy, and the sample of documents were obtained from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Qualitative data analysis was used to identify and interpret themes throughout the data, and content clouds were specificity used to assist in visualizing interview transcript data. The consensus among subject matter experts is that hybrid airship application to emergency supply chain management should commence via a FEMA initiative to preposition the craft regionally throughout FEMA zones. Future research should address integration challenges through a Delphi study to poll a broader range of subject matter experts to refine consensus on hybrid airship employment in disaster logistics.</p><p>

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-97). / This thesis evaluates implementation of budget reform within the Department of Health and Social Services in Mpumalanga, and the extent to which this has led to implementation of policy objectives and improved equitable service delivery.

Concern over "welfare dependency" has featured prominently in the public discoursearound social assistance programmes in numerous countries for many years. The notionthat social assistance payments tend to sap the recipient's initiative, independence andpropensity for securing paid employment is widespread and is often assumed to be anobjective fact (rather than a concept) by public officials, social commentators and themedia. Consequently, charges of "welfare dependency" have often been used as the basisfor cutting social assistance expenditure, restricting eligibility or preventing newinitiatives. In South Africa, for example, the concept has been used in opposition todeveloping a universal Basic Income Grant (BIG).With the aid of case studies focusing on recent social welfare deVelopments in SouthAfrica, Australia and Brazil, this study attempts to critically analyse the term "welfaredependency" to determine which social values and assumptions inform the concept. Inaddition, the study aims to determine how "welfare dependency" manifests incontemporary social welfare policy and, most importantly, determine if the utilisation ofthe concept is related to other socio-economic agendas.

After the November 2015 Paris, France terror attacks when a terrorist posed as a refugee, the United States and other Western countries increased their concern regarding the flow of refugees into their countries. The United States admitted more than 84,000 refugees into the country from September 2015 through October 2016. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore and comprehend the lived experiences of law enforcement officers from the states of Michigan and Texas and their attitudes and behaviors toward refugees in their state. The main research questions addressed the lived experiences of law enforcement officers in the states of Michigan and Texas relative to stereotyping and bias toward refugees resettled within the US and If there are, how they view refugees and the greatest influences on law enforcement officers' perceptions towards refugees. Implicit bias theory provided the theoretical framework for the study. Data were collected using purposeful sampling and semi-structured recorded interviews of 9 law enforcement officers from the states of Michigan and Texas. This study findings suggested law enforcement officers’ early family experiences were related to stereotyping and bias toward refugees. The present research filled the gap in the literature by investigating if law enforcement officers have a stereotypical implicit bias toward refugees within the United States. The present study encourages positive social change through a qualitative prediction of law enforcement stereotypical implicit bias toward refugees.

For many American families, incarceration has become a way of life. Per the National Resource Center on Children and Families of the Incarcerated, there are more than 2.7 million children who have a parent in prison and some may have one or both in county jail. There are psychological implications in terms of the child's well-being, behavioral, academic, and emotional outcomes, and family-level processes. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to describe the impact that a parent's incarceration has on a child even through adulthood. The research question examined how a parent's incarceration impacts the future of the child into adulthood. Data were collected for this study through interviews with 12 adults who had a parent who had been or; in many cases was still incarcerated. The findings indicated that there is a significant impact on children when a parent is incarcerated and that as a result, children may exhibit externalizing behaviors such as anger, aggression, and hostility towards others. The results of the study may inform social workers and others who serve this population.

Since the welfare reform in 1996, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) research has been centered on the debate with respect to whether states given more independence to make their own choices after 1996, have engaged in a competitive "race to the bottom" to reduce benefits for needy people. Despite the mixed empirical findings, the race to the bottom (RTB) debate in TANF is still a popular subject due to the states’ adoption of more severe sanctions, more stringent eligibility, and the overall decline in TANF caseloads. While discussing the race to the bottom in TANF, little attention was given to the impact of the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) of 2005, which caused significant changes in policy related to implementing TANF. Studies have not been undertaken to determine how states responded to the DRA, not only to meet the tougher requirements but also to serve an increasing number of needy people who were the least likely to be assisted through TANF, were it not for states’ strategic plans (e.g., creating solely state funded programs and creating/extending worker supplement programs). This study seeks to test the impact of states’ policy responses to the DRA on the TANF work participation rates, an official performance indicator of TANF. In order to empirically test this, a multivariate model is introduced to reveal the differences in TANF performances between states that actively responded to the DRA by adopting programs for more lenient coverage (i.e., worker supplement programs and solely state funded programs) and implementing severe sanctions for noncompliance with work requirements, and those that did not. The dataset is a balanced panel, consisting of fifty states over a 7-year period (2007-2013). The test results show that states implementing worker supplement programs achieve higher TANF performance than states without them. Also, we find that sanction effects may be much larger than we have known given that states sanctioning entire families and/or imposing harsh disqualification on SNAP for failure to comply with TANF work requirements are more likely to show higher performance in TANF work participation rates. Unlike our expectation, states’ generous stance in welfare programs does not affect achieving higher TANF performance. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Public Administration and Policy in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester 2016. / October 4, 2016. / Includes bibliographical references. / Frances S. Berry, Professor Directing Dissertation; Carol Weissert, Committee Member; Kaifeng Yang, Committee Member; Keon-Hyung Lee, Committee Member.

The choice of how poverty is conceptualised can have a significant effect on who is defined as poor and consequently who is targeted by government policies aimed at poverty eradication. This thesis examines the discourses of poverty used by the ANC government in its first decade in power and analyses what concepts of poverty underpin those discourses. By examining what concepts are used, this thesis lays a foundation for understanding what effect (if any) the concepts of poverty used by the ANC government might have on its efforts to combat poverty.