Medicaid Coverage and Spending in Health Reform: National and State-by-State Results for Adults at or Below 133% FPL

Estimates state and national cost increases from the 2010 health reform law's expansion of Medicaid to adults under age 65 with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty line in relation to enrollment increases under two outreach scenarios

The Cost of Failure to Enact Health Reform: Implications for States

Estimates the impact of not enacting health reforms on each state's insurance coverage, public spending, employers' share of premiums, and families' premiums and out-of-pocket costs in 2014 and 2019, under three scenarios for income and healthcare costs

CHILD ABUSE AWARENESS AND PREVENTION PROGRAMS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS: AN EDUCATORS\u27 PERSPECTIVE

This research project focuses on educators’ perceptions regarding implementing a child abuse awareness and prevention program in elementary schools. Participants for this project were teachers who were recruited from an elementary school located in Southern California. This project was completed using a qualitative data gathering method. Interviews were conducted and recorded through a video conferencing software program. The data gathered from the interviews was then transcribed and analyzed. The study found that all the participants were in support of implementing a child abuse awareness and prevention program in elementary schools. Concepts related to educator’s perception included their experience reporting child abuse and neglect, level of training, knowledge of existing programs, perception of program effectiveness, and program development were discovered. This study contributes to both micro and macro social work practice and provides insight on the development of a child abuse awareness and prevention program including the type of program believed to be most effective, the persons responsible for developing the program, and the level of acceptance from an educator’s perspective. Initiating at the micro level, the implemented program could eventually evolve to the macro level where it could potentially impact the lives of millions of children and families

L.I.F.E.

I\u27ve written my creative thesis in support of the Chicago Public School (CPS) System\u27s Character Education initiative. This initiative is composed of a teaching curriculum designed to develop instructional lessons and activities for students, training for teachers and CPS staff, and information for the community that will serve to reduce racial, ethnic and/or religious intolerance and increase sensitivity, cooperation, and understanding. The purpose of this thesis is to give teenage students valuable lessons in character building and allow them to come face to face with various realities of life (i.e., peer pressure, divorce, death, etc.). But more importantly, this thesis has given me an opportunity to utilize my creative abilities to share the results of my research in the areas of 1) teenage pregnancy, 2) fraternity hazing, 3) parenting after divorce, 4) child abuse, and 5) gang affiliations. I have created a total of five fictional works for this thesis. Each story is approximately 20 pages in length, written in first person, and told from the point of view of a teenage male student. After each story, the reader is supplied with a host of questions that require critical thinking and a thorough comprehension of the text. There is also a list of questions that pay particular attention to plot, characterization, and voice in each story. The main thematic concern of this thesis is to elevate the consciousness of our society\u27s youth—in regards to several issues that have been proven to have devastating effects on them. The concern is not to encourage more adults to assume responsibility for our children, but to provide young adults with a means to assess their own priorities, choices, and purposes in life. Other thematic concerns include: 1) education reform, 2) violence by youth, 3) safer sexual intercourse, 4) abortion 5) crime, and 6) domestic violence, etc. … My literary sources constitute a list of authors whose fiction has aided me in sharpening my character development. They have assisted me in discovering original but compelling ways in which to write various scenes—incorporating poetic imagery. Due to my fascination with Toni Morrison\u27s use of symbolism, I have attributed symbolic meanings to various objects, events, and/or relationship in my fiction. My theoretical sources have provided me with valuable information on my subject matter. In conclusion, this creative thesis confronts several pertinent issues that face teenage students from all walks of life. The results of my research is evident in each of the five stories, but no solutions are offered for the problems. This thesis functions as a creative tool for the purpose of reaching out to an adolescent audience

Health Reform: The Cost of Failure

Estimates the intermediate and long-term implications of not enacting healthcare reform. Simulates the effects on employer-sponsored insurance, private non-group coverage, and Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Programs under three scenarios

A Missional Resurgence: Helping Bridges Church Rediscover Her Missional Purpose Resulting in Vibrant Growth

The church in America is facing difficult times. The majority of churches are experiencing plateaued or declining attendance and a lack of spiritual vitality. While every church is unique in her own experience, there are some common factors that can lead to new life and vibrancy. The purpose of this study was to understand how to lead a specific church, Bridges Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina to rediscover her missional purpose and discover vibrant growth, as individuals and as a corporate body. This study utilized the REVEAL for Churches Survey, an online survey that is both descriptive and prescriptive in nature, to determine the spiritual vitality of the church and to determine specific interventions leading to greater vibrancy that have been successful in other churches which have taken the survey. This survey was administered to the church twice, once in the Spring of 2019 and again in 2020, with a year of implementing specific interventions between the two. These interventions were specifically focused on creating a more missional culture, a foundation of this church when planted in 2007 and through her first four years but which diminished over time. Each of the interventions was based on specific results from the REVEAL for Churches Survey and led to results placing Bridges Church in the top percentile of churches in the United States in regard to church health and vibrancy

Roberts\u27 Apperception Test for Children: Referred and nonreferred student profiles

The present study examined a recently published projective test, the Roberts Apperception Test for Children (RATC; McArthur & Roberts, 1982). The subjects were 58 students, grades 1-8, from a midwestern suburban school district. One-half of the students had been referred to the school psychologist for an evaluation, either because of behavioral problems or a suspected learning disability, or for routine three-year reevaluations (as required by law). The second group of students were randomly drawn except for the stipulation that they not have been previously referred for a psychological evaluation. All subjects were given the RATC; in addition, the majority of the referred students had scores available for the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Revised and for an individually administered achievement test battery. For the nonreferred group of children, California Achievement Test scores were recorded whenever they were available. Analysis of the data showed that referred and nonreferred groups of students differed only in the kinds of resolutions they provided for identified problem situations, with the former group tending to give quick, easy answers (the lowest level of resolution). Nonreferred students gave proportionately more resolutions to stories. RATC scales may be combined in a global fashion into Adaptive and Clinical scores; contrary to expectation, groups did not differ in their mean scores on this measure. Correlations between the RATC scales and other measures such as IQ and achievement were also examined. The validity of the RATC as a clinical tool was considered. It appears to offer some advantages over similar projective tests which have been used with children, and contributes to a better understanding of a child\u27s emotional status. The findings of this study point to the need to teach problem-solving skills to referred children

L.I.F.E.

I\u27ve written my creative thesis in support of the Chicago Public School (CPS) System\u27s Character Education initiative. This initiative is composed of a teaching curriculum designed to develop instructional lessons and activities for students, training for teachers and CPS staff, and information for the community that will serve to reduce racial, ethnic and/or religious intolerance and increase sensitivity, cooperation, and understanding. The purpose of this thesis is to give teenage students valuable lessons in character building and allow them to come face to face with various realities of life (i.e., peer pressure, divorce, death, etc.). But more importantly, this thesis has given me an opportunity to utilize my creative abilities to share the results of my research in the areas of 1) teenage pregnancy, 2) fraternity hazing, 3) parenting after divorce, 4) child abuse, and 5) gang affiliations. I have created a total of five fictional works for this thesis. Each story is approximately 20 pages in length, written in first person, and told from the point of view of a teenage male student. After each story, the reader is supplied with a host of questions that require critical thinking and a thorough comprehension of the text. There is also a list of questions that pay particular attention to plot, characterization, and voice in each story. The main thematic concern of this thesis is to elevate the consciousness of our society\u27s youth—in regards to several issues that have been proven to have devastating effects on them. The concern is not to encourage more adults to assume responsibility for our children, but to provide young adults with a means to assess their own priorities, choices, and purposes in life. Other thematic concerns include: 1) education reform, 2) violence by youth, 3) safer sexual intercourse, 4) abortion 5) crime, and 6) domestic violence, etc. … My literary sources constitute a list of authors whose fiction has aided me in sharpening my character development. They have assisted me in discovering original but compelling ways in which to write various scenes—incorporating poetic imagery. Due to my fascination with Toni Morrison\u27s use of symbolism, I have attributed symbolic meanings to various objects, events, and/or relationship in my fiction. My theoretical sources have provided me with valuable information on my subject matter. In conclusion, this creative thesis confronts several pertinent issues that face teenage students from all walks of life. The results of my research is evident in each of the five stories, but no solutions are offered for the problems. This thesis functions as a creative tool for the purpose of reaching out to an adolescent audience

The Coverage and Cost Impacts of Expanding Medicaid

Estimates the drop in the number of uninsured and the rise in government costs from not limiting Medicaid eligibility for adults to the disabled and those with dependent children but basing it on income level, under two scenarios. Discusses implications