RAND Research Topic: Midwestern States 2012-05-24T14:57:02Z Copyright (c) 2012, The RAND Corporation RAND Corporation http://www.rand.org/topics/midwestern-states.html National Evaluation of Safe Start Promising Approaches: Assessing Program Outcomes http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR991-1.html Jan 4, 2012 Jan 4, 2012 Safe Start Promising Approaches (SSPA) is the second phase of a community-based initiative focused on developing and fielding interventions to prevent and reduce the impact of children's exposure to violence. This report shares the results of SSPA, which was intended to implement and evaluate promising and evidence-based programs in 15 program sites across the country. Defining and Identifying Hard-To-Staff Schools: The Role of School Demographics and Conditions http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP201100230.html Sep 30, 2011 Sep 30, 2011 The study relies on a survey of Ohio schools to ascertain information on vacancies for 2004-2005. The survey also collected information on principal perceptions of the impact of various school conditions and difficulty in hiring. Links Between Asbestos Bankruptcy Trusts, Tort Cases Examined http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG1104.html Aug 18, 2011 Aug 18, 2011 Asbestos bankruptcy trusts&mdash;created to compensate people injured by the mineral&mdash;may be influencing tort cases. The current way that the trusts and the tort cases are linked together may result in payments that are not consistent with the basic principles of the tort liability system. Bankruptcy Trusts, Asbestos Compensation, and the Courts http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9603.html Aug 18, 2011 Aug 18, 2011 People with asbestos injuries are increasingly receiving compensation from trusts set up by bankrupt asbestos defendants. This brief documents how courts handling these cases consider trust payments when determining compensation. Links Between Asbestos Bankruptcy Trusts, Tort Cases Examined http://www.rand.org/news/press/2011/08/18.html Aug 18, 2011 Aug 18, 2011 Asbestos bankruptcy trusts&mdash;created to compensate people injured by the mineral&mdash;may be influencing tort cases. The current way that the trusts and the tort cases are linked together may result in payments that are not consistent with the basic principles of the tort liability system. How National Health Reform Will Affect a Variety of States http://www.rand.org/news/press/2011/04/05.html Apr 5, 2011 Apr 5, 2011 A series of new reports by the RAND Corporation outlines the impact that national health care reform will have on individual states, estimating the increased costs and coverage that are expected in five diverse states once reform is fully implemented in 2016. Health Reform Will Add Coverage for 1.3 Million in Illinois; State Health Spending to Grow by 10 Percent http://www.rand.org/news/press/2011/04/05/index3.html Apr 5, 2011 Apr 5, 2011 National health care reform will help 1.3 million Illinois residents obtain health insurance and increase health care spending by state government by about 10 percent when it is fully implemented in 2016. How Will Health Care Reform Affect Costs and Coverage? Examples from Five States http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9589.html Apr 1, 2011 Apr 1, 2011 Projects how the coverage-related provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will affect health insurance coverage and state government spending on health care in five states. The Impact of the Coverage-Related Provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on Insurance Coverage and State Health Care Expenditures in Illinois: An Analysis from RAND COMPARE http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR973z5.html Apr 1, 2011 Apr 1, 2011 The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act contains substantial new requirements aimed at increasing rates of health insurance coverage. This report provides estimates, based on the RAND COMPARE microsimulation model, of how the law will affect health insurance coverage and state government spending on health care in Illinois through 2020. Cost Study of the Saint Paul Early Childhood Scholarship Program http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR947.html Mar 15, 2011 Mar 15, 2011 In 2008, the Minnesota Early Learning Foundation created the Saint Paul Early Childhood Scholarship Program, a pilot program to provide families with scholarships to cover the cost of high-quality early childhood education (ECE) programs. This report provides detailed cost and program data for a sample of 12 ECE programs participating in the scholarship program, including the per-child per-hour cost for participation of children in the programs. The Cost of Providing Quality Early Care and Education in Saint Paul, Minnesota http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9581.html Mar 15, 2011 Mar 15, 2011 Shares results of a RAND analysis of programs participating in Minnesota's Saint Paul Early Childhood Scholarship Program, which provides scholarships to cover the cost of high-quality early childhood education programs. Coordination Efforts Could Boost After-School Programming http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG1037.html Oct 21, 2010 Oct 21, 2010 Coordinating the work of the many different institutions involved in after-school activities—including schools, nonprofits and municipal agencies like parks and libraries—holds the promise of making programs better and more accessible to urban children and teens who need them. Coordination Efforts Could Boost After-School Programming http://www.rand.org/news/press/2010/10/21.html Oct 20, 2010 Oct 20, 2010 Coordinating the work of the many different institutions involved in after-school activities -- including schools, nonprofits and municipal agencies like parks and libraries -- holds the promise of making programs better and more accessible to urban children and teens who need them. Hours of Opportunity: How Cities Can Use Data to Improve Services in Out-of-School Time Programs http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9551z1.html Oct 19, 2010 Oct 19, 2010 Five cities that received a grant from The Wallace Foundation, along with three other cities that were not part of the initiative, were successful in using data from management information systems to improve out-of-school-time programs. Hours of Opportunity: How Cities Can Build Systems to Improve Out-of-School-Time Programs http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9551.html Oct 18, 2010 Oct 18, 2010 Five cities that received a grant from The Wallace Foundation to increase collaboration, access, quality, information sharing, and sustainability in their out-of-school-time systems used different planning approaches to meet the initiative's goals. Hours of Opportunity, Volume 3: Profiles of Five Cities Improving After-School Programs Through a Systems Approach http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR882.html Sep 27, 2010 Sep 27, 2010 <p>The Wallace Foundation sponsored an initiative to help five cities increase collaboration, access, quality, information sharing, and sustainability in their out-of-school-time (OST) systems. The third in this three-volume series presents in-depth case studies of the grantees (Providence, Boston, New York City, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.) and reveals lessons learned and best practices for the OST field.</p> Hours of Opportunity, Volume 2: The Power of Data to Improve After-School Programs Citywide http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG1037z1.html Sep 13, 2010 Sep 13, 2010 The Wallace Foundation sponsored an initiative to help five cities increase collaboration, access, quality, information sharing, and sustainability in their out-of-school-time systems. The second in this three-volume series describes how Wallace Foundation grantees and three other cities used management information systems to collect and use data on out-of-school-time programs, including enrollment, attendance, and student outcomes. A Prototype Interactive Mapping Tool to Target Low Health Literacy in Missouri http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR811.html Apr 29, 2010 Apr 29, 2010 <p>An estimated 36 percent of American adults have health literacy levels rated at &ldquo;basic or below,&rdquo; indicating that they have difficulty obtaining, processing, and understanding basic health information and services. To help healthcare decisionmakers in Missouri identify neighborhood-level &ldquo;hotspots&rdquo; of suboptimal health or healthcare that may be due to low health literacy, RAND developed a prototype interactive web-based mapping tool. This report describes the tool and includes a User's Guide and Case Study.</p> Reducing Michigan Auto Insurance Rates http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9513.html Mar 4, 2010 Mar 4, 2010 <p>Higher auto insurance rates in Michigan lead to a high proportion of drivers without auto insurance. Introducing options or fee schedules for personal injury protection coverage could help lead to broader, more-affordable choices.</p> Auto Insurance Reform in Michigan: What Can the Data Tell Us? http://www.rand.org/pubs/occasional_papers/OP293.html Feb 23, 2010 Feb 23, 2010 <p>Legislators and consumer groups in Michigan have recently proposed reforms designed to reduce the costs of auto insurance in the state. The fact that premiums are higher in Michigan than in other states can be explained by higher levels of reimbursement provided to injury victims and their medical providers. This pattern suggests that reforms that change claiming behavior may have considerable potential for lowering auto premiums in Michigan.</p>