Several researchers from the Center traveled to Albuquerque, New Mexico, for the annual Association of Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) Fall Research Conference held at the Hyatt Regency Albuquerque and the Albuquerque Convention Center from November 6-8, 2014. This year’s theme was Global Challenges, New Perspectives. Center staff in attendance included Heath Prince, Christopher King, Daniel Schroeder, Greg Cumpton, Kristin Christensen, and Carinne Deeds. Of those staff, Heath, Chris, and Greg were presenters or discussants.
Christopher King presented a working paper on Nov. 7th during the session Big Data and Policy: Use of Administrative Data to Guide Workforce Development Program Planning and Research titled Using Administrative Records for Enhanced Policy Research. You can view his presentation. He also chaired the session Disability Programs: Behavioral Effects and Opportunities for Reform later that day. On November 8th, two of his students from the LBJ School of Public Affairs, Alejandra Cerna Rios and Jaehee Choi, presented a paper on disability and workforce issues during the session How can Processes and Outcomes of Employment and Training Programs be Improved?. Their paper is titled Improving Services for Persons with Disabilities under the Workforce Investment Act and Related Programs.
Heath Prince was a discussant for two papers during the session Low-Skilled Workers: Employment Experiences and Attempts at Workforce Integration on November 7th. The first paper, authored by Treva Stack from the University of Baltimore, titled The Relationship Between School Characteristics, High School Drop Out, and the State Workforce addressed the association between school characteristics and high school dropout propensity along with its direct and indirect effects on a student’s employment propensity and earnings disparity. The second paper, authored by Scott Powell and William Mabe from Rutgers University, titled Quasi-Experimental Evaluation of Occupational Skills Training in New Jersey, took a look at workforce development system outcomes during the recession (abstract and paper not available at this time).
Greg Cumpton presented two papers. The first was during the session High School Strategies to Increase Student Achievement and Post-Secondary Success on November 6th. The paper titled From Automatic to Actual Admission: Exploring the Influence of Race, SES, and Pre-college Experiences on the College Destinations of Texas’ Top Ten Percent Students, co-authored with former RMC staff member Matt Giani, took a look at Texas’s Top Ten Percent Policy (TTPP) where students who graduate with a GPA in the top ten percent of their high school class receive automatic admission to any public college or university in the state. View his presentation. Full paper forthcoming. The second paper, presented during the Low-Skilled Workers: Employment Experiences and Attempts at Workforce Integration session on November 7th, comes out of the Workforce Data Quality Initiative, which uses linked data from across Texas state agencies to examine the transition of students from high school to life after high school, including college and the workforce. View his presentation. Full paper forthcoming.
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