Connecticut Court Improvement Program Reassessment: Executive Summary

In 2005-2006, a reassessment was conducted by the Muskie School to examine the state’s performance since the original assessment with regard to compliance with specific federal and state mandates regarding timeliness, quality and depth of hearings, quality of representation, and the court’s structure and management of child protection cases. What follows is a summary of the key findings and recommendations of the reassessment

Michigan Court Improvement Program Reassessment

The Michigan Court Improvement Program was required to conduct a reassessment of its laws and performance and to adopt a strategic plan to further improve its handling of child protection cases. The Muskie School of Public Service, Cutler Institute for Child and Family Policy, and the American Bar Association’s Center for Children and the Law contracted with Michigan’s State Court Administrative Office to conduct the Reassessment. This report represents the results of the reassessment study

Michigan CIP Reassessment: How Michigan Courts Handle Child Protection Cases - A Report Summary

This summary is drawn from the 2005 report, Michigan Court Improvement Program Reassessment, and represents the results of that study

Maine’s Aging Economy and the Economy of Aging

This paper explores the demographics of aging in Maine and some of the important relationships between these trends and the economy. Growth in the Maine’s population of those 65 and older will substantially exceed growth in total population in Maine from 2000 to 2030. Furthermore, Maine’s elderly population will not occur evenly. These changes will alter perceptions about aging in American society, and there will no longer be a bright line between work and retirement, as the nature of work has changed, retirement savings may be inadequate, and family structure has changed. With increasing populations of older individuals in concentrated rural areas, transportation issues will increase, and state and local fiscal policies will be made even more complex

Rural Health Research in Progress in the Rural Health Research Centers Program

This book describes the research and policy analysis projects underway in the Rural Health Research Centers Program of the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP), Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The objective of this program is to produce research and policy analyses that will be useful in the development of national and state policies to assure access to quality physical and behavioral health services for rural Americans.https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/facbooks/1134/thumbnail.jp

Model State Land Use Legislation for New England

Sprawl is neither the ordained nor the inevitable outcome upon the New England landscape. A coordinated response to sprawl by the public and private sectors is possible, and could dramatically improve land use patterns and reduce the cost of local government. For the New England states, such a response would include, among other elements, legislation to eliminate existing gaps in the land use laws of each state – gaps that presently encourage or sanction sprawling development. It would also include incentives for municipalities to think beyond their borders and to act with greater efficiency and effect. It is the purpose of this omnibus package to respond to both needs. Sprawl has been well described as dispersed, auto-dependent development outside compact urban and village centers, along highways and in rural countryside. Its impacts are well documented and include, among others, the loss of wildlife habitat and productive farmland and forestland, the draining of traditional town and city centers, a loss of sense of place and community, and an increase in health problems in children and adults due to sedentary life styles. The economic impacts of sprawl are great. They include excessive public costs for roads and utility extensions; decline in economic opportunity in traditional town and city centers; disinvestment in existing buildings, facilities, and services in urban and village centers; relocation of jobs to peripheral areas at some distance from population centers; decline in number of jobs in some sectors, such as retail; isolation of employees from civic centers, homes, daycare and schools; and reduced ability to finance public services in urban centers

Maine State Employee Survey on Disability

The Executive Order regarding Maine State Government as a Model Employer of people with disabilities was signed on February 24, 2006. The order included several action steps, including a survey of State employees to ascertain the prevalence of workers with disabilities in State employment. Maine’s Bureau of Human Resources and the Commission on Disability and Employment were named to oversee this survey. The University of Southern Maine’s Muskie School of Public Service administered the survey and analyzed results. Each of these three organizations are members of an Executive Order Working Group designed to overall all action steps under the Executive Order. Maine’s survey was modeled after a Vermont survey of State employees focusing on disability issues in the workplace. This allows comparison of survey findings with another northern New England state

Variations in Health Insurance Coverage for Rural and Urban Nonelderly Adult Residents of Florida, Indiana, and Kansas

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72274/1/j.1748-0361.2006.00023.x.pd

Guiding Growth: A Survey of Tax Incentives

Current development patterns and increased tax pressures in local municipalities combine to harm both Maine’s natural resources and its quality of life. Previous initiatives such as the implementation of zoning laws did not fully result in the desired outcomes. Zoning laws were often too flexible and often did not resist market and political pressures to change zoning regulations to allow development with possible economic growth. A sound taxation system or fee structure may be the solution to slow down development in natural areas and direct it towards areas appropriate for growth. To protect Maine’s natural resources more successfully from future development, more cooperation from current and future landowners as well as developers is needed. In today’s society, there is the desire among many to own a home surrounded by natural beauty and away from urbanization. This life-style causes many valuable acres to be consumed for low-density development. Despite the visible harm to the environment, the demand for low-density development in natural areas continues and shows no signs of slowing, partly due to flexible development regulations at the local level. Besides environmental harm, new development, especially in rural areas, creates externalities for the community at large. Externalities such as increased demand on public services have often been overlooked or ignored in the planning process. This causes the actual costs of the development to be considerably higher than municipalities initially assumed. To recover the actual costs of new development, economic incentives or disincentives may be applied, which either recover the true costs or simply discourage development in rural areas

A Financial Impact Assessment of LD 1725: Stream Crossings (Presentation)

This report looks at the potential financial impact of LD 1725 on the estimated 30,000 stream crossings in the State of Maine that would be affected by the law. Our research for this report included the analysis of nearly 2000 stream crossings and the data collection necessary for the development of extensive stream crossing replacement cost models. We found that the 1.2 bankfull requirements in LD 1725 would result in a 75% ‐ 250% increase in structure widths for stream crossing projects across the state. An upsize of this magnitude would increase the cost of replacing stream crossings statewide by $230 ‐$474 million over the next twenty years. As written, LD 1725 does not provide the funding mechanisms to finance the substantial additional costs that municipalities and state agencies will face