School of Public Administration Capstone Presentations | Summer 2017

SCHOOL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

SCHOOL OF PUBLIC

ADMINISTRATION CAPSTONE PRESENTATIONS Summer 2017 | Friday, August 4, 2017

Presenters

Panel 1 Room: CPACS 109A Evaluators: Cody Griner, Michael Daspit, Patrick McDermott 1:00 PM: Elizabeth Johnson (online) A Case on National Policy for Powered Lift Aircraft: A Look at the AW609

Problem Statement: Late in 2018 Augusta Westland (AW), a large manufacturer of rotorcraft intends to bring a new type of entrant known powered lift into the NAS. Designed with aspects of both fixed wing airplane and rotorcraft, powered lift vehicles take-off and land vertically similar to a rotorcraft but fly like a fixed wing airplane. Unfortunately, there exists no regulatory guidance that would permit entry of the AW609 or any powered lift into the NAS. Could the lack of regulatory policy cause a delay in the integration of powered lift into the NAS? This case study seeks to provide an answer as to why regulatory policy for powered lift operating in the NAS has not been established, and if the lack of policy could cause a delay in bringing the category of aircraft known as powered lift into the NAS. By exploring the aviation policy community and its impact on the agenda setting process, it is anticipated that answers to powered lift policy issue shall be discovered.

1:30 PM: Michal London (online) Association of Disaster Recovery Assistance with Poverty Change

Problem Statement: Is the amount of federal disaster recovery assistance positively associated with poverty reduction in a disaster-impacted community? Does the rate of poverty change depending on the types of projects that receive federal disaster recovery assistance? These questions form the basis of this research project with the goal of helping public administrators during disaster recovery planning. An understanding of how the size and allocation of federal disaster recovery assistance affects poverty in disaster-impacted communities can aid public administrators, elected officials, and community members in their decisions during the disaster recovery period.

2:00 PM: Erik Stegman Leadership Theory Applied to UNO’s Flight Training Program

Problem Statement: Due to its perceived importance to organizational goal realization and subordinate motivation, studies focusing on leadership have been applied to a wide variety of organizations settings such as military, private business, education, etc. Aviation organizations have also received much attention from leadership researchers especially regarding how the existing leadership theories fit into the safety driven organization structures of commercial passenger air transport operations. However, one area under the aviation umbrella that has been largely ignored by leadership researchers are collegiate flight training programs. Collegiate flight training programs are highly regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regarding required certification of instructors, lesson syllabus and training facilities. However, other than flight time experience criteria, little is said in the regulations regarding leadership.

The purpose of this study is to bridge the connection between current leadership theory and collegiate flight training organizations. Specifically, by using the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s (UNO) flight training program as a testing subject.

2:30 PM: Jason Graber Aircraft Rescue Firefighting Career Development Framework & Handbook

Problem Statement: In the United States, airport based firefighting assets are the only federally mandated fire service as required in 14 CFR Part 139. This mandated fire service and the personnel that make up the staffing at our nation’s five hundred and thirty-one certificated Part 139 airports are relied upon to provide vital emergency services to the flying public and the stakeholders that collaboratively operate each organization. However, these departments only account for about 2% of the United States Fire Service and are often regarded as a “necessary evil” or an expensive insurance policy in the eyes of many airport management officials. Within airport based fire departments, many fallacies exist respective to minimum staffing requirements, training, education and career development as a legitimate and substantial program beyond basic Aircraft Rescue Firefighting certification (NFPA 1003) has never been able to be developed and ultimately implemented, despite the efforts of many legends of the industry.

Panel 2 Room: CPACS 213 (online) Evaluators: Stephen Mehlhaff, Lisa Parnell-Rowe, Todd Reckling 1:00 PM: Benjamin Kalinkowitz Causes and Implications of Physical Therapist Burnout

Problem Statement: While physician burnout and its effects on patient outcomes is an established field of study, there has been comparatively little research on burnout in the physical therapy profession. The purpose of this study is to assess how burnout affects practicing physical therapists in the United States, and whether burnout affects the therapists’ perceptions of their ability to deliver quality care. The last comprehensive study of burnout among American physical therapists was done in 2002. With major changes in U.S. health care policy over the past ten years, including the Medicare Cap on rehabilitation services under the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 and changes to insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act, and the attendant changes in practice, another study is overdue. Determining physical therapists’ burnout rates and their perceptions of burnout’s effects can offer an important window into the net effect of over two decades of healthcare changes. If the study shows that burnout continues to be an issue in physical therapy, the results could offer an opportunity to start a conversation about measures that can be taken to address these concerns, and to formally study the ways that burnout might adversely affect patient outcomes. If, conversely, burnout is no longer an issue in physical therapy, it could offer an opportunity to study what the field is doing right, and share that success with health care professionals in other specialties.

1:30 PM: Anton Jelinek Equality of Piping; A Comparison of Kearney’s Sanitary Sewer Pipe Policy

Problem Statement: The City of Kearney, Nebraska currently requires that all sanitary sewer mains installed for city use be constructed from vitrified clay pipe (VCP). This has been the policy for the city since the community organized and installed a sanitary sewer system to serve the citizens back in the late 1800’s or early 1900’s as the earliest log book found on sanitary sewer was dated the year 1906 and there was VCP in place before this project. Many developers and different pipe sales personal have questioned this practice and the added cost when compared to the use of polyvinyl chloride pipe (PVC). My analysis seeks to determine how other First-Class Nebraska communities are managing their sanitary sewer – what type of pipe materials they use and what reasoning they use to support this decision – to determine the best course of action for Kearney, NE.

2:00 PM: Chase Horky Digital Governance in Nebraska

Problem Statement: The research will analyze the relationship between digital governance capabilities in Nebraska.

The research will examine if the region where a city is in the state of Nebraska will influence a village or cities digital governance capability. It is expected the population of the village or city will influence digital governance capability.

2:30 PM: Andrew Budell Quantitative Metrics and Research Administration: The role of metrics in developing an effective research administration organization

Problem Statement: In developing and maintaining an effective Research Administration entity in a university setting, metrics can be a vital tool in building an effective framework. In this project, I will examine the use of metrics as utilized by high-performing institutions, specifically the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and its research peers (as defined by total research expenditures, total enrollment, faculty/staff employment and presence of a medical school). This examination will focus specifically on the process – decision making and utilization – of metrics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with peer information used to compare and contrast.

Panel 3 Room: CEC 118 Evaluators: Theresa Crum, Sara McClure, James Temme 1:00 PM: Esmeralda Bravo-Ramos Environmental Scanning: Nebraska Children’s Home Society’s endeavors in using organizational SWOT analysis to update strategic plan goals

Problem Statement: In creating a successful strategic plan for an organization, a critical component of the process is an analysis of the organization’s strengths weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis). SWOT analysis is regarded as one of the most popular, and most criticized approaches for gathering data (Al-Araki, 2013, p. 615).

Despite the importance for an organization to examine its critical success factors, surprisingly little existing research has examined the applicability of strategic management concepts such as SWOT analysis through the lens of nonprofit and strategic management development (Kong, 2007). My project addresses the effective use of SWOT through the lens of Nebraska Children’s Home Society’s strategic planning process.

1:30 PM: Katelyn York Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging Strategic Plan: Analysis of opportunities and challenges the organization faces with the growing aging population

Problem Statement: The category of individuals aged 65 and older is growing rapidly. According to Ortman, Velkoff and Hogan (2014), “Between 2012 and 2050, the United States will experience considerable growth in its older population.

In 2050, the population aged 65 and over is projected to be 83.7 million, almost double its estimated population of 43.1 million in 2012” (p. 1). Founded in 1975, Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging (ENOA) serves individuals 60 years and older with social and economic needs. The agency was created as one of 650 area agencies on aging (AAA) under the Older American Act created by Congress. With the growth in the aging population, ENOA is in need of a strategic plan to help project the future needs of the aging population to plan a course of action for the organization. Strategic planning is important to organizations that want to survive, prosper, and create public value. This paper will focus on conducting an internal and external environment assessment through analysis of ENOA’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats/challenges (SWOT/C analysis) to better understand what challenges the organization will face in the future.

2:00 PM: Rosa Najera Analysis of Legal Success: Comparing Individuals Who Access Legal Aid Services to Those Without Legal Aid

Problem Statement: Poverty drastically shapes the relationship an individual has with the court system in the United States. It can be a daunting system that is built with the assumption that all parties will have legal representation.

But acquiring a private attorney can be expensive and time consuming for both parties. Access to Justice Centers are provided by Legal Aid of Nebraska (LAN) where clients can handle their own legal issues with minimal assistance from an attorney such as brief advice and counsel as opposed to full legal representation. Clients have to be low income to qualify for services. Therefore a sample size of 100 legal cases were analyzed of both LAN and non LAN individuals, and the expectation is that when you compare individuals in poverty facing legal proceedings, those with LAN will have higher success rates than those without. Do brief services at the Access to Justice Center make a difference in legal outcome for LAN clients? How do variables such as case length, case cost, and case outcome compare between the two samples of non and LAN clients?

2:30 PM: Emily Brodersen Predictive Factors for Length of Stay: Evaluation of Lincoln Regional Center

Problem Statement: In Nebraska, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) estimates there are nearly 62,000 adults experiencing a severe mental illness (2014). According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), a severe mental illness can be categorized as a mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder (excluding developmental and substance use disorders) that meets diagnostic criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) (2015). At times, severe mental illness may require stabilization in a hospital setting. The Lincoln Regional Center is a 250 bed psychiatric hospital that is run by the Nebraska DHHS. It is a mental health facility that requires significant state resources. Hospitals, such as the Lincoln Regional Center, use length of stay as a measurement tool used to evaluate care and cost. A hospital of this scope would benefit from the ability to predict a patient’s probable length of stay. There may be measurable factors that could help predict if a patient will experience an extended length of stay. This information could help hospital administrators create a precise plan for care. Are there predictive factors to extended length of stay in a hospital setting, particularly at the Lincoln Regional Center? This research project will further investigate this question and apply the knowledge to the case of the Lincoln Regional Center.

3:00 PM: Joanna Raffety Sex Offender Registry: A Comparison between a Risk Assessment Based Registry versus an Offense-Based Registry

Problem Statement: Sex offender registries were created to help increase public safety and address public concerns regarding sex offenders being released back into the community. Nebraska implemented a sex offender registry in 1997 (Spohn, 2013). When the Registry was initially implemented, it utilized a risk assessment tool to determine the risk level of each offender’s potential to re-offend (Spohn, 2013). The Nebraska State Patrol was the state agency tasked with administration of the registry. In 2009, the State transitioned to an offense-based registry consistent with 2006 federal legislation. The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), also known as the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, determined the risk level of offenders based on the type and seriousness of the crime for which they had been convicted (Spohn, 2013). This paper will review the two disparate models that Nebraska has used to register sex offenders as well as the methods that each of Nebraska’s neighboring states have used to protect their citizens.

Panel 4 Room: CPACS 208 Evaluators: Mike Helgerson, Dennis Snook, Harry Bullerdiek, Greg London 1:00 PM: Jossy Rogers GIS mapping of basic needs in Omaha: A visualization of access to water, electricity and food

Problem Statement: Research indicates that environmental stress factors such as lack of access to consistent food, electricity, and water negatively impact both the health and educational attainment of children and adolescents (Bausch, 2011, p. 650). In recognition of the intersectionality of health, education, and basic needs, Charles Drew Health Center, Inc. (CDHC) and Omaha Northwest High School (Northwest) conducted an adolescent risk assessment in 2016 including areas of basic needs. Using that data from the assessment, this research study seeks to examine following questions: Which students at Omaha Northwest Magnet High School are at greatest risk for lack of access to running water, electricity, and food? Can geographical information system (GIS) mapping of students experiencing risk provide a useful visualization of the areas of need?

1:30 PM: Cory Ruzicka Sense of Community & Millennials: Retention of Young Professionals

Problem Statement: “Those who think of tomorrow today, make their today as well as their tomorrow” (Singh, 2012, p.

4). This foreboding adage artfully illustrates the need for emerging metropolises to adopt forward-thinking strategies for retaining young professional talent. With the dominant and sizeable Baby Boomer generation reaching retirement age, the composition and preferences of an ever-evolving workforce are shifting. These changes are largely attributed to the coming of age of the workforce’s largest cohort: the millennial generation (Pew, 2015). This generation is discerning and nuanced in the ways its members determine which of a city’s attributes are most important. In particular, these individuals assign high value to being connected to their location and feeling a sense of community therein. This research uses a case study of the retention of young professionals in the Greater Omaha area to answer the research question: To what extent does sense of community contribute to the retention of young professionals in the emerging metropolises?

2:00 PM: Christopher White Exploring the Applicability of Body Worn Camera Program for the LaVista Nebraska Police Department Problem Statement: Law enforcement agencies throughout the world have begun assessing, piloting, and implementing body worn camera (BWC) programs as a means to increase accountability within their departments and to the general public. There has become an expectation that violent encounters involving law enforcement be recorded. The LaVista, Nebraska Police Department has conducted some preliminary research into fielding a BWC program, but has not reached the point of implementing BWC in their department. This paper will explore the applicability of a BWC program for the LaVista Police Department by evaluating the potential implementation obstacles.

2:30 PM: Leah Meyer Evaluating Efficacy of TIF Use in Goals to Impact Population Density and Unemployment: A Case Study of Omaha Problem Statement: Tax increment financing (TIF) is an economic development incentive used by cities to encourage development in areas that would not be developed but for support by the local government. In the city of Omaha, as in many cities, the project must be located in an area of land deemed blighted, otherwise called a community redevelopment area (CRA) and the developer must provide proof that the project would not be economically feasible without the use of TIF. In some cases, criteria for TIF incentives is even more lenient if the project is located within an Area of Civic Importance (ACI), which has been evaluated as having a high need for certain types of development, such as residential living units or necessities such as groceries or medical clinics. There are currently 16,406.59 acres of land in Omaha eligible for TIF incentives (DOGIS, 2017). Given that the city’s objectives in approving TIF incentives is intended to encourage or influence development in areas that are deemed by the city as in need of improvement, this paper will contribute to research by determining if the City’s goals as outlined in its master plan are being accomplished through the use of tax increment financing. Answering this question will assist in determining if the goals of TIF, to encourage development in otherwise blighted or undesirable areas, is actually being accomplished or if cities are simply giving financial incentives in areas.

Panel 5 Room: CEC 128 Evaluators Robert Clines, Donald Gross, Katherine Najjar 1:00 PM: Jill Aksamit Food Bank for the Heartland Employee Retention and Engagement

Problem Statement: Nebraska’s food insecurity rate is 12%, meaning 233,350 Nebraskans have “limited or uncertain access to adequate food” according to Feeding America’s 7-year analysis project Map the Meal Gap. While 45% of Nebraskans may be income-eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, 40% of food insecure households earn too much to qualify (Feeding America). Food Bank for the Heartland is a dynamic organization serving Nebraska and Western Iowa communities that seeks to meet the needs of those people who are ineligible for supplemental nutrition. Employee retention and engagement are vital to this non-profit with a relatively small staff size. The team faces unending need for their resources and skills. The research question asks how Food Bank for the Heartland can retain organizational culture and knowledge, in light of staffing changes and financial constraints.

1:30 PM: Hannah Gordon Kodiak Island Food Bank Client Utilization: Measuring Length of Time and Frequency

Problem Statement: Food banks and food pantries are often referred to as emergency food assistance, indicating a short assistance time (Daponte & Bade, 2006). Initially, food pantries were designed to aid in emergency hunger situations; however, many food pantries see both short-term and long-term clients. For instance, 51% of clients visited a food pantry in Kent County, Michigan for less than 2 years but almost one quarter (22%) of food pantry clients received services for over 10 years (Kicinski, 2012). The duration of food assistance has implications for the recipient because of the nature of the food supplied to the pantries. This study analyzes the only food bank on Kodiak Island, the Kodiak Island Food Bank (KIFB). The aim of the study is to examine the makeup of Kodiak Island Food Bank clients to determine the extent to which they rely on the food bank and, thus, the extent to which nutritional needs need consideration.

2:00 PM: Taylor Smith Cooperative Agreements to Benefit Homeless Individuals: A Community Network Evaluation

Problem Statement: According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (2016), the state of Nebraska identified 200 chronically homeless individuals in 2016, while the city of Lincoln, Nebraska currently has an annual incidence rate of 76 chronically homeless individuals per year. To address this, a three-year $1.9 million grant from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) was awarded to a collaboration of Lincoln agencies and University of Nebraska centers, led by Region V Systems. The goal of the project is to end chronic homelessness in Lincoln, NE.

2:30 PM: Carly DeBruin An Organizational Comparison: Examining Direct Care Staff Turnover in Adult Day Habilitation Programs Supporting Individuals with Developmental Disabilities in Omaha

Problem Statement: The capacity of public foundations and private agencies to assure access to community support for persons with intellectual disabilities has become increasingly difficult due to direct service provider recruitment, retention, and training challenges. The philosophical shift that came with the deinstitutionalization movement as well as an increasing aging population has created an enormous and steadily growing demand for these direct support providers. Additionally, providers now play significantly different roles in the lives of individuals with disabilities; in institutions, primary roles were providing health, safety, and basic care services whereas current providers are expected to meet these roles as well as support individuals to achieve personal goals, find jobs, connect with peers, and become engaged within the community. These additional responsibilities require employees with particular skill sets that are challenging to find and retain. While some outdated comprehensive national data exists on providers working directly with adults who have intellectual disabilities, very little recent data focuses on region-specific entities who serve these individuals in adult day habilitation programs. By collecting turnover data from two local nonprofit organizations serving adults with similar cognitive/physical abilities and comparing their organizational structures, it is hypothesized that although both facilities face the same challenges in direct care recruitment and retention, organizational incentives and leadership styles implemented by managers in nonprofit and healthcare organizations greatly impact direct care staff satisfaction and retention.

3:00 PM: Megan Weber Discharge Planning Accuracy: Referring to the Most Appropriate Post-Acute Care Setting and Reducing Costs through Lowering Re-admission Rates Problem Statement: Post-acute care (PAC) settings support patients who require ongoing medical management, therapeutic, rehabilitative, or skilled nursing care after a hospital stay. These PAC facilities are most commonly used by the aging population and a growing number of the U.S. population with chronic medical conditions. Patients may receive care from multiple PAC settings during a specific health episode. This includes a long-term acute hospital, inpatient rehabilitation facility, skilled nursing facility, or use of a home health agency. Discharge planning is the development of an individualized discharge plan for the patient, prior to leaving the hospital, to ensure that patients are discharged home at an appropriate time with provision of adequate post-discharge services (Alper, et al., 2017). It is the discharge planner’s goal to safely transition the patient to the next lower level of care, while avoiding re-admission to the hospital.

Discharge planners face many challenges during this process, and there is more research needed to study their roles in PAC facilities. This research seeks to fill that void, focusing specifically on skilled nursing facilities (SNFs).

402.554.2625 | spa.unomaha.edu | facebook.com/unospa The University of Nebraska does not discriminate based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and/or political affiliation in its programs, activities, or employment.