RSS 1.0Public Policy publications (MU)
Items in this collection are the scholarly output of the Institute of Public Policy faculty, staff, and students, either alone or as co-authors, and which may or may not have been published in an alternate format. Items may contain more than one file type.
Items in MOspace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.
Recent Submissions
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Safety Implications of Changing to a Primary Enforcement Seat Belt Law
(University of Missouri - Columbia Institute of Public Policy, 2001)In 1984, New York became the first state to enact a mandatory seat belt law; since then, the District of Columbia and every state except New Hampshire have adopted similar laws. Of the 49 states with seat belt laws, eight ... -
Missouri's Senior Population: The Facts
(University of Missouri - Columbia Institute of Public Policy, 2001)During the past century, the percentage of Americans who are age 65 years and older has more than tripled, from just over 4% of the total population in 1900 to nearly 13% of the total population in 1999. Older individuals ... -
Improving Enforcement of Protection Orders in Domestic Violence Situations
(University of Missouri - Columbia Institute of Public Policy, 2002)Domestic violence is increasingly recognized as a serious social problem in Missouri. Protection orders are designed to offer individuals some level of safety, but nationally it is estimated that a quarter of such orders ... -
Should We Continue to Incarcerate Non-Violent Offenders?
(University of Missouri - Columbia Institute of Public Policy, 2002)This brief seeks to determine what types of offenses and offenders warrant punishment in prison and what types of offenders could be penalized using a community-based sanction. As one of the most expensive forms of punishment, ... -
Federal Election Reform Bill Will Require Action by Missouri
(University of Missouri - Columbia Institute of Public Policy, 2002)President Bush has just signed into law the “Help America Vote Act” (H.R. 3295). The bill authorizes almost $4 billion in grants to states for improvements in voting technology and election administration, and imposes ... -
The Cost of Incarceration in Missouri and the Benefits of Sentencing Alternatives
(University of Missouri - Columbia Institute of Public Policy, 2002)Many and probably most persons sentenced to prison are not good candidates for alternative sentences, either because they pose a danger to public safety or because they committed a crime for which a prison sentence is ... -
Would Deadlines Improve the Effectiveness of the Missouri General Assembly?
(University of Missouri - Columbia Institute of Public Policy., 2003)This report is the result of a request for information about the use of deadlines in other state legislatures. The analysis focuses more on the Senate than the House, in part due to the position of those requesting the ... -
Immigrant Drivers: Traffic Safety, Drivers' Licenses and Homeland Security
(University of Missouri - Columbia Institute of Public Policy, 2003)The question of who qualifies for a state drivers' license, once a mundane issue, has become the focus of national debate - state by state - in part because of homeland security concerns. In fact, 38 states, including ... -
Children of TANF Leavers in Missouri: How Are They Faring?
(University of Missouri - Columbia Institute of Public Policy, 2003)In 1998, Missouri was one of 14 states chosen by the Department of Health and Human Services to assess the well-being of individuals leaving cash assistance. Approximately 2400 households that left Aid to Families with ... -
Trends in Food Pantry Use Since Welfare Reform: Evidence from the Kansas City Metropolitan Area
(University of Missouri - Columbia Institute of Public Policy, 2003)This study uses a unique database to examine the trend in the use of food pantries in the Kansas City metropolitan area from 1997 to 2000. We find a slight increase in the use of food pantry services over this period, less ... -
How Can Missouri Protect the Best Interests of the Child When a Parent is Incarcerated?
(University of Missouri - Columbia Institute of Public Policy, 2003)This brief builds upon information presented to and gathered by the Missouri Children's Services Commission to assess the impact of parental incarceration on both their children and society as a whole. The first section ... -
Representation in State Legislatures
(University of Missouri - Columbia Institute of Public Policy, 2003)In Summer 2003, the Institute of Public Policy conducted a mail survey of state legislators to determine how legislators feel about constituency service and the use of technology, whether they believe email has a positive ... -
The Food Safety Net After Welfare Reform: Use of Private and Public Food Assistance in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area
(University of Missouri - Columbia Institute of Public Policy, 2003)This study uses a unique database of clients of private food providers in the Kansas City metropolitan area to document the use of private food assistance from January 1998 to May 2001. We show that, while the use of private ... -
Toll Roads in Missouri?
(University of Missouri - Columbia Institute of Public Policy, 2004)In the past few years, Missouri legislators have been considering whether the state should implement toll roads. Historically, Missouri and other states have funded transportation projects on a "pay-as-you-go" basis, paying ... -
Representation in State Legislatures: A Focus on Missouri
(University of Missouri - Columbia Institute of Public Policy, 2004)In Summer 2003, the Institute of Public Policy conducted a mail survey of state legislators in Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, New Jersey, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and South Dakota. We found that the number ... -
New Approaches to Incarceration in Missouri
(University of Missouri - Columbia Institute of Public Policy, 2004)Pressure for revisions in Missouri's sentencing laws has been increasing, fueled by analyses of the severity of those laws, by the examination of alternatives to sentencing, and by the escalating cost of incarceration. The ... -
A Preliminary Evaluation of the Missouri Family Development Training and Credentialing Program (MOFDC)
(University of Missouri - Columbia Institute of Public Policy, 2004)In this brief, we present preliminary findings from a quantitative evaluation of the Missouri Family Development Training and Credentialing Program (MO FDC). The MO FDC is designed to reorient human service practice to the ... -
The Case of Interagency Coordinating Councils: Examining Collaborations in Services for Children with Disabilities
(University of Missouri - Columbia Institute of Public Policy, 2004)Children with disabilities often require a myriad of services to develop to their full potential. In the current era, centralized services and residential institutions have become less accepted as a matter of course. Interagency ... -
Spatial Variations in Factors Affecting Poverty
(University of Missouri - Columbia Institute of Public Policy, 2004)There is abundant research that focuses on the causes and consequences of poverty in rural areas, and on the factors that ameliorate rural poverty. While a comprehensive review of this literature is not possible in this ... -
Facts on Child Safety Seat Laws & Missouri
(University of Missouri - Columbia Institute of Public Policy, 2004)List of facts regarding Child Safety Seat Laws in Missouri.