SCHOOL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
SCHOOL OF PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATION
CAPSTONE PRESENTATIONS Fall 2017 | Friday, December 8, 2017
Presenters
Panel 1 | Online Presentations Room: CPACS 213 Evaluators: Susan Clark, James Davey, Ryan Dudzinski, Elizabeth Garber, Mark Werthmann 1:00 PM: Benjamin Leischner Public-Private Partnerships in Airports: An Analysis of Effective Management and Funding Alternatives for Airports
Many US commercial service airports today are challenged with aging infrastructure or outdated facilities requiring major capital investment or improvement. While the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has developed sustainable revenue streams available to US airports serving passengers in the form of Passenger Facility Charges (PFCs) and capital improvement funding in the form of Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grant money, many airports struggle with obtaining the funding necessary without entering considerable debt or experiencing significant project delay. Alternatives to traditional management and funding options for airports include leveraging public-private partnerships, commonly referred to as PPP, or P3s. Public-private partnerships are arrangements between the airport and private industry where some services that typically fall under the responsibilities of the public sector are provided or delivered by the private sector.
1:30 PM: Edward Tilton (A)Parent Changes in Congregate Care
Despite the Office of Juvenile Justice and Prevention reporting that “Across all juvenile age groups, age-specific Violent Crime Index arrest rates in 2012 were at their lowest level since at least 1980.” (Chart 1) The Annie E Casey Foundation has also released a report indicating that the State of Colorado is leading the nation in placing youth out of the home and in non-familiar placement (Chart 2) or congregate care. Boasting over double (35%) the national average (14%) the city of Denver has worked to respond creating an initiative, “Family Strong”. The creation of this effort is to bring all departments of system involvement (District Attorney’s, Public Defenders, Probation, Denver Schools for truancy and the Department of Human Services) together to be able to better understand the preventive efforts the city can take to reduce the use of congregate care (non- familiar) placement for youth. The objective of this capstone is to identify key indicators that predict system failure and result in out of home placement. The implications of this work will be to support future research of how to best match appropriate dosage in regards to services for families to prevent out of home placement.
2:00 PM: Elise Becker (on-line) Capacity Building: building meaningful and lasting local capacity in the humanitarian sector
The concept of capacity building has grown in popularity in the humanitarian aid sector as aid organizations attempt to help their partner organizations achieve sustainability. Aid programs as diverse as health, agriculture, and post-conflict reconstruction are now prioritizing capacity building as a key program goal. However, the concept of capacity building is often nebulous. According to Goldberg and Bryant, “there is no consensus on how to conduct capacity building, nor have there been rigorous evaluations of capacity building efforts” (2012, page 1). Goldberg and Bryant (2012) discuss a newer concept of country-owned capacity building, whereby recipient countries or organizations build not only capacity, but also develop a sense of local ownership, which may help ensure long-term program sustainability. The U.S. Global Health Initiative has recently started championing the advancement of country ownership of U.S. health aid interventions. However, the concept of country-owned capacity building across a wider range of humanitarian issues is not fully developed. This capstone project will seek to answer the question: how can donor organizations implement capacity-building programs that cultivate ownership within recipient organizations? After examining the literature and frameworks pertaining to capacity building and country ownership, the project will utilize the Marshall Legacy Institute as a case study. Specifically, the project will analyze the Marshall Legacy Institute’s capacity building programs, to determine how the organizational program planning, implementation process and program outcomes fit within the studied literature and frameworks, and to determine whether MLI’s program model achieves country ownership.
2:30 PM: Jessica Holder The Two-Gen Transition: Initiating Inquiries to Diagnose Gaps between Parental Needs and Organizational Responsiveness
In the last half century, nonprofit organizations have increased their focus on children through whole-family interventions by investing in adult-focused community and mental health initiatives (Shonkoff & Fisher 2013). Scholars debate the magnitude this two-generational approach has on children (pg.24), but they have consensus that some degree of success exists in areas of social capital, early and post-secondary education, health and well-being, employment, and economic assets (Ascend 2017). The Greater Omaha Attendance and Learning Services (GOALS) Center is a small nonprofit focused on minimizing truancy; GOALS serves as a single case study with embedded units that want to know how to diagnose alignment between mission (see logic model) and parents of participating families. The key research question is how can the center best identify and track the operational needs of parents? Finally, GOALS would like to use this information to explore the timing of potentially updating organizational assessments and processes to create a more two-generational organizational system.
3:00 PM: Gregory Monahan (on-line) Body Worn Cameras: The Effective Use of Relevant Technology by the United States Park Police
In 2017, the United States Park Police (USPP) developed a five year strategic plan to address the current and future needs of the communities and resources they protect and the people they serve. One of the strategic themes within the overall plan is the effective use of relevant technology. Body worn cameras (BWCs) are an emerging technology that law enforcement agencies around the world are either evaluating or implementing in an effort to increase the accountability to their personnel as well as to increase their overall effectiveness in response to incidents. To date, the USPP has not implemented a body worn camera program. This capstone project will serve as a program evaluation for the outcomes of the implementation of a BWC program for the USPP through an analysis of the best practices and lessons learned from law enforcement partners. This process will include a survey as well as a cost benefit analysis to evaluate the impact the program would have on the agency’s budget. As such, the program evaluation will be summative in nature and also overlap with an outcome evaluation.
Panel 2 | Urban Studies Room: CPACS 128 Evaluators: Pat Morris, Ryan Morrissey, Jim Murray, Kathy Najjar 1:00 PM: Angela Heim Building Nonprofit Capacity through Sustainability Measures, Effective Governance, and Collaborative Dynamics
Today’s nonprofits face multiple challenges: from influxes in demands for services with consistently fewer resources, managing employees or volunteers alongside filling the needs of the customers they serve, while striving to keep up with shifts in technology in changing environments and evolving communities. As these challenges continue, the capacity building needs of non-profit organizations has gained increased awareness. This research will highlight some of the key factors of the capacity building processes through a case study of a local organization in Benson, Tip Top Thrift Shop.
1:30 PM: Elizabeth Carvlin Fuesel Omaha Municipal Land Bank: How’s it Going so Far? An Assessment of the Progress of the Omaha Municipal Land Bank Three Years into its Operations
The Nebraska legislature voted unanimously to establish the Omaha Municipal Land Bank (OMLB) in 2013. After the Omaha City Council approved the ordinance that guides the land bank, it set the task of implementing the rules to govern activities, hire staff and create bylaws to a newly appointed board. In subsequent years, the land bank has been implementing those steps and expanding the land bank’s efforts. This study will use a process evaluation to look at the land bank’s efforts thus far. This study will take a qualitative look at the land bank using interviews, existing data and survey results. In its relatively early stage, and as the state’s first land bank, the OMLB may serve as a model for other municipalities in Nebraska that seek to turn vacant, abandoned, and tax-delinquent properties into assets rather than liabilities. In reviewing the process to far, this research will attempt to answer the following question: How successful has the OMLB been in establishing its functions, including personnel, funding and communication? How can the OMLB board monitor its progress to ensure its continued success and to avoid the pitfall of politics and mission creep--particularly the potential for slipping toward acting as a developer?
2:00 PM: Corey Kinnan A Case for Urban Infill in Omaha
This project showcases current development trends in the Omaha metropolitan area. Exploring vacant land, housing development, expansion models, and interviews with local stakeholders. The paper ends with an exploration of ideas and suggestions to incentivize infill development.
Panel 3 Room: CEC 118 Evaluators: Shelby Buettner, Theresa Herman, Erin Northwall, Alice Schumaker, Scott Sorrel 1:00 PM: Samantha L. Kafka Public-Private Partnership of Program Implementation: a Program Evaluation of Youth Impact!
This analysis will answer the following question: “What factors contribute to successful program implementation by a public and private partnership?” This examination will focus on the structure, format, challenges, and successes of those involved.
1:30 PM: Claire Rynearson A Financial Case for Integrated Healthcare at Douglas County Health Center: Benefits of Behavioral Healthcare Interventions within a Primary Healthcare Setting It has long been recognized that behavioral health is a significant public health concern within the primary healthcare system. Studies have determined that, within the general population, comorbidity rates of mental illness and chronic disease range from 24% to 40%. Some healthcare centers that have implemented universal screening for chronically ill patients have found that as many as 70% of patients present with mental health symptoms (SAMHSA, 2013). One way in which healthcare organizations strive to improve patient outcomes while reducing healthcare costs is by integrating behavioral health and primary healthcare services, also called Integrated Care (IC). Douglas County Health Center (DCHC) is positioned to make strides towards IC. The Primary Healthcare Clinic (PHC) and the Psychiatric Outpatient Clinic (POP) are co-located on the first floor of the DCHC. Despite this proximity, the two clinics have been historically independent from one another (McCarthy, 2016). There are a number of structural barriers that have prevented integration between the two clinics, including the absence of electronic health records (EHR) at DCHC. Despite this, DCHC has begun taking steps towards IC. In summer 2017, the PHC began distributing a mental health screenings to all PHC patients. Furthermore, the POP has been tracking patient overlap between the two clinics. This data has strengthened the case for IC at DCHC. However, financial, organizational, and technological constraints continue to present barriers to full implementation of IC.
2:00 PM: Kelly Jordan Organizational Culture and Institutional Shared Resources Management in an Academic Biomedical Research Setting: A Case Study The concept of organizational culture and its association with various aspects of organization management, including management style, efficacy, and outcomes, has been widely studied. In contrast, the link between an organization’s culture and its potential impact on another facet of management — the management of institutional shared resources — requires more exploration, and is of special interest to academic biomedical research organizations, particularly in the systems biology era. This work aims to evaluate and further characterize the relationship between organizational culture and institutional shared resources management. Utilizing the Competing Values Framework, it will seek to answer the question: How does an organization’s culture relate to the management of its shared resources? An auxiliary query involves how an institution’s organizational culture is related to its members’ perceptions/evaluations of its shared resource management. The potential answers to such questions may have important implications for demonstrating how an organization can work to align its culture in order to manage its institutional shared resources most effectively. Approaching these questions using the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center as a case study, this project will look for possible answers as they apply to the chosen case organization.
2:30 PM: Brittany Wilmore Which Factors are needed to implement Peer-to-Peer Support Models as Interventions: A Needs Assessment for the Iowa Department of Public Health’s Ryan White Part B HIV Program The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) is responsible for administering the federally funded program for persons living with HIV (PLWH) known as Ryan White. Different components of the Ryan White CARE Act fund different objectives for PLWH. This research will be focused on Part B, which provides supportive services to PLWH. Part of the IDPH Ryan White’s Strategic Plan is to create a peer-to-peer support model for Iowans living with HIV. Peer support models are an evidenced-based intervention that researchers have found “have a unique ability to engage and motivate clients because they can relate to them, have experienced similar challenges and serve as HIV-positive role models who live a healthy, balanced life” (Dutcher et al., 2011, p. 408). Clients were often reported to have better self-efficacy, retention in care, and overall improved self-care (Dutcher et al., 2011). These findings match the IDPH’s goals to ensure all Iowans living with HIV have access to supportive services. Persons living with HIV (PLWH) have unique and cumbersome burdens related to their ongoing health, including adherence to medications, poor health literacy, stigma and lack of social support. Programs designed to address these needs are often not available and/or not delivered in a way that demonstrates evidence-based practices. One of the largest challenges facing implementation of this model in Iowa is the rural geographical distribution of PLWH throughout the state. A growing body of research indicates that peer support models are the most effective interventions in helping PLWH reach health literacy, medication adherence, positive social belonging and numerous other outcomes. This capstone will seek to address the question: which factors are needed to successfully implement peer support models in a rural state like Iowa? This research will be conducted via a needs assessment. The sample will be drawn from those Iowa clients receiving case management services and have access to email, as well as hosting a focus group with other stakeholders known as PITCH (Positive Iowans Taking Charge).
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