Effect of Psychotropic Medication on Foster Care Experience and Outcomes: A Causal Analysis using Administrative Data

Children in foster care experienced abuse, neglect, or dependency, and for the safety and well-being of the child, must be taken out of their biological home. Not surprisingly, children in foster care have higher rates of serious emotional and behavioral problems. Although pharmacological treatments can be an important component of the treatment plan, there seems to be a higher rate of use than would be expected. An estimated 13-25% of foster children are prescribed mind- and mood-altering medication vs. 4% in the general population. Children in foster care are considered a vulnerable population and research involving these children justifiably requires additional measures to ensure their protection. As a result, studies on the use of psychotropic medication among youth in foster care have relied primarily on secondary data‚ typically administrative data. This study used linked administrative datasets to rigorously examine the effect of psychotropic medication on foster care experiences and outcomes among children who entered foster care in North Carolina between March 2006 and June 2012. The dataset was constructed by linking the North Carolina’s child welfare administrative records (also known as the Services Information System [SIS]) with the Medicaid claims database (also known as the Eligibility Information System [EIS]) for medical and mental health services received by the foster youth. Inverse probability of treatment weighting was calculated and applied to mimic a randomized study. Results revealed that children on medication stayed in care longer, less likely to experience placement disruption, and more likely to exit to adoption

Evaluation of Landowner Perceptions of Participating in Conservation Easements in the Beaver Lake and Illinois River Watersheds: Motivators and Barriers

Conservation easements (CEs) are an effective way to protect natural resources with minimal impact on the daily activities of landowners (LOs), but there is still resistance to CE adoption among landowners in Northwest Arkansas and Northeast Oklahoma. Therefore, there is a need to characterize LOs’ perceptions of CEs in these regions and adjust easement organization programming accordingly. This study followed a non-experimental, exploratory survey research design to gather information regarding demographics, awareness, attitudes, and preferences of LOs in the Beaver Lake and Illinois River watersheds. Likert-scale survey responses were assigned numerical values and averaged to find Pearson correlation coefficients between variables of interest. Descriptive statistics were used to provide an overview of survey responses. Seventy-seven LO responses were analyzed, finding that while attitudes towards conservation easements are generally positive, awareness of specific CE organizations is low, and misconceptions may exist regarding perceived disincentives of CEs. Survey results indicated that as awareness of CE programs increases, perceived CE risks decreases, suggesting a need for clear and comprehensive CE information to be easily accessible to LOs to encourage CE adoption. Also indicated in survey results was the relative importance of “shared interest” motivators relating to conservation and technical assistance over “self-interest” financial motivators such as tax reduction or payments. Additionally, there were observed differences in CE perceptions depending on LO demographics, suggesting easement organizations may need to adjust CE programming depending on the LO population of interest

It Takes a Moment

The world we live in today has caused many people to lose their faith in humanity. We are encouraged to discount each other’s differences instead of embracing them; we are either “blue or red”, “pro this or pro that”, “for us or against us. In such a world, how can we remind ourselves that we are all part of the human family? That there is more that unites us than divides us? I wanted to find a path towards finding these answers, and I propose that path is theatre. After all, researchers in London found that watching live theatre has the ability to synchronize heartbeats of perfect strangers, and helped an autistic boy to speak for the first time. Through research of the scientific effects of theatre on the human brain, body, and psyche, combined with anecdotal evidence to support that research, this thesis attempts to prove the importance and need for theatre in today’s society. It is more important than ever for people to be active audience members at live theatrical performances, because theatre reminds us at our core we are all humans. The research and anecdotes then became the source material for the creation of my devised twenty minute piece called, It Takes a Moment

Evaluation of Landowner Perceptions of Participating in Conservation Easements in the Beaver Lake and Illinois River Watersheds: Motivators and Barriers

Conservation easements (CEs) are an effective way to protect natural resources with minimal impact on the daily activities of landowners (LOs), but there is still resistance to CE adoption among landowners in Northwest Arkansas and Northeast Oklahoma. Therefore, there is a need to characterize LOs’ perceptions of CEs in these regions and adjust easement organization programming accordingly. This study followed a non-experimental, exploratory survey research design to gather information regarding demographics, awareness, attitudes, and preferences of LOs in the Beaver Lake and Illinois River watersheds. Likert-scale survey responses were assigned numerical values and averaged to find Pearson correlation coefficients between variables of interest. Descriptive statistics were used to provide an overview of survey responses. Seventy-seven LO responses were analyzed, finding that while attitudes towards conservation easements are generally positive, awareness of specific CE organizations is low, and misconceptions may exist regarding perceived disincentives of CEs. Survey results indicated that as awareness of CE programs increases, perceived CE risks decreases, suggesting a need for clear and comprehensive CE information to be easily accessible to LOs to encourage CE adoption. Also indicated in survey results was the relative importance of “shared interest” motivators relating to conservation and technical assistance over “self-interest” financial motivators such as tax reduction or payments. Additionally, there were observed differences in CE perceptions depending on LO demographics, suggesting easement organizations may need to adjust CE programming depending on the LO population of interest

Integrated Planning for Rural Rail Transportation

Population growth in rural areas has led to new interest in rail transportation. Planning a passenger rail system involves numerous difficult decisions, most representing a trade-off between customer service and cost. In this work, we attempt to integrate many of these planning decisions. We consider strategic decisions such as station location and vehicle procurement, as well as tactical issues that include vehicle scheduling. Our integrated model exploits the linear network structure that best suits many rural American communities, including Northwest Arkansas. Due to the intractability of the integrated rail planning problem, we have developed a customized heuristic approach to solve real world instances. In our case study, we have applied our model and solution methodology to study the possibility of implementing a passenger rail system in Northwest Arkansas. Our work represents the first steps in a passenger rail feasibility study for Northwest Arkansas, while providing new mathematical modeling and solution methodology contributions to the area of transportation research