State-level Trends Research Articles

Reasons for and Challenges of Recent Increases in Teen Birth Rates: A Study of Family Planning Service Policies and Demographic Changes at the State Level

After declining for over a decade, the birth rate in the United States for adolescents aged 15-19 years increased by 3% in 2006 and 1% again in 2007. We examined demographic and policy reasons for this trend at state level. With data merged from multiple sources, descriptive analysis was used to detect state-level trends in birth rate and policy changes from 2000 to 2006, and variations in the distribution of teen birth rates, sex education, and family planning service policies, and demographic features across each state in 2006. Regression analysis was then conducted to estimate the effect of several reproductive health policies and demographic features on teen birth rates at the state level. Instrument variable was used to correct possible bias in the regression analysis. Medicaid family planning waivers were found to reduce teen birth rates across all ages and races. Abstinence-only education programs were found to cause an increase in teen birth rates among white and black teens. The increasing Hispanic population is another driving force for high teen birth rates. Both demographic factors and policy changes contributed to the increase in teen birth rates between 2000 and 2006. Future policy and behavioral interventions should focus on promoting and increasing access to contraceptive use. Family planning policies should be crafted to address the special needs of teens from different cultural backgrounds, especially Hispanics.

Voting with their feet: Relative economic conditions and state migration patterns

Over the past decade, state and local policymakers and business leaders across the U.S. have expressed concern regarding the ability to attract and retain skilled workers, given the economic climate of their states compared with other parts of the nation. Examining the factors underlying state-level migration trends is important to determine what role, if any, public policy might play in addressing their potential impact on local labor supply. Using data from the Internal Revenue Service for each of the 48 states in the continental United States from 1977 through 2006, this paper examines the role of three economic factors—namely labor market conditions, per capita incomes, and housing affordability—in determining domestic state-to-state migration flows. Estimates from a logistic model of out-migration show that while all three measures of relative economic conditions are significant determinants of migration, the magnitude of their impact varies and has changed considerably over time. For example, the importance of per capita income as a determining factor has fallen considerably since the late 1970s, while that of housing affordability has risen. Interestingly, the role of labor market conditions—while significant throughout the entire 30-year period—was most prominent in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Estimates from the model are used to forecast migration for 2009 for selected states. The results from this exercise are surprisingly accurate when compared to actual state migration patterns for that year.

Mammography Use from 2000 to 2006: State-Level Trends with Corresponding Breast Cancer Incidence Rates

Although breast cancer incidence and mortality rates have declined, a significant number of women are affected by this disease each year. Mammography is currently the most effective way to detect breast cancer at an early stage when it is most treatable, but there have been reports of decreasing or stagnant mammography use in the United States. For this study, we investigated the trend in mammography use for each state in comparison with the corresponding breast cancer incidence trend. We used data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System for 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006 to assess the percentage of women >or= 40 years old who reported undergoing mammography within the past 2 years and data from the National Program of Cancer Registries and the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program to assess breast cancer incidence rates from 2000 through 2004, the latest year for which data were available at the time of the study. The majority of states had a decreasing tendency in mammography use from 2000 to 2006. Only one state had a statistically significant increase in reported mammography use, whereas two states had significant decreases. There was a correlation between breast cancer incidence rates and mammography use by states (r = 0.6), but no correlation between the time trends in breast cancer incidence rates and mammography use was observed. There was little statistically significant change in self-reported mammography use from 2000 to 2006. Continued monitoring of breast cancer screening practices and breast cancer incidence trends is important for targeting at-risk populations with effective interventions to improve breast cancer prevention and early detection.

State-level trends moving rapidly, but some open to question

Natural GasVolume 15, Issue 11 p. 1-5 Article State-level trends moving rapidly, but some open to question Ruth K. Kretschmer, Ruth K. Kretschmer Ruth K. Kretschmer is a commissioner of the Illinois Commerce Commission. The opinions and views expressed in this presentation are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Illinois Commerce Commission or other commissioners.Search for more papers by this author Ruth K. Kretschmer, Ruth K. Kretschmer Ruth K. Kretschmer is a commissioner of the Illinois Commerce Commission. The opinions and views expressed in this presentation are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Illinois Commerce Commission or other commissioners.Search for more papers by this author First published: 09 January 2007 https://doi.org/10.1002/gas.3410151102 AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Volume15, Issue11June 1999Pages 1-5 RelatedInformation

Developing Statewide Indices of Environmental, Economic, and Social Sustainability: a look at Oregon and the Oregon Benchmarks

This research develops a method to transform the Oregon Benchmarks, a set of internationally recognized quantitative indicators designed to measure a broad array of state-level trends, into indices of social, economic, and environmental sustainability. Through multiple means, an original set of 90 Oregon Benchmarks has been narrowed into a smaller set of sustainability indicators in order to gain an integrated view of statewide sustainability as well as the capacity to look at social, environmental, and economic sustainability in isolation. The three-domain sustainability indices presented here are designed both to understand the current sustainability situation and to create a useful and informative tool for state-level policy makers interested in incorporating sustainability principles into their decision making.

The New Politics of Sentencing

With this Issue, the Federal Sentencing Reporter concludes its two-issue survey of recent sentencing reform developments at the state level. The previous Issue focused on drug reforms, particularly a series of ballot initiatives in four states mandating treatment in lieu of incarceration for lowlevel drug offenders. The present Issue places those developments in a broader context. Within the past two years, more than a dozen states have adopted important sentencing reforms. Surprisingly, given the general trajectory of sentencing law over the past three decades, most of the current state-level reforms are calculated to reduce sentence lengths (albeit sometimes rather obliquely). Perhaps most notably, legislatures have scaled back mandatory minimums in Connecticut, Indiana, Louisiana, and North Dakota. Thus, one can now ask with a straight face the question posed by Marc Mauer in this Issue: OIs the get-tough era in sentencing coming to a close?O Recent state reforms may indeed suggest a fundamental change in sentencing politics. Not coincidentally, however, they have occurred during a period of economic stress. Shrinking tax revenues put pressure on all aspects of a stateOs budget. Corrections spending is no exception. Thus, successful reform efforts across the country, from California to Louisiana to Virginia, have focused on the cost-savings that can be achieved by reducing the size of prison populations. Yet, as the contributions to this Issue emphasize, Þscal pressures cannot by themselves explain the current move away from long mandatory prison terms. Rather, recent state reforms must also be understood as a resection of social justice concerns and a willingness to employ rehabilitative, instead of purely punitive, approaches to criminal justice problems. Sentence-reducing reforms may thus hold appeal for both Þscal conservatives and social liberals. Not surprisingly, then, reform in many states has been a bipartisan affair. What remains to be seen is whether short-term economic pressures will provide an impetus for far-sighted reform in other states, or, alternatively, promote the adoption of ill-advised quick Þxes. Contributions to this Issue consider recent state developments from three perspectives. First, Marc Mauer, Daniel Wilhelm, and Nicholas Turner offer a national perspective, summarizing recent developments and identifying important patterns across states. Second, Michael Lawlor and Thomas Hammer provide more detailed accounts of recent developments in Connecticut and Wisconsin, respectively. Their articles are complemented by a recent report from the Kansas Sentencing Commission, which also offers an in-depth, state-speciÞc perspective on current reforms. Finally, two recent reports from the Department of JusticeOs Bureau of Justice Statistics provide a statistical perspective on state-level trends and experiences.

Findings from case studies of state and local immunization programs

Background: As part of its examination of federal support for immunization services during the past decade, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committee on Immunization Finance Policies and Practices (IFPP) commissioned eight case studies of the states of Alabama, Maine, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Texas, and Washington; and a two-county study of Los Angeles and San Diego in California. Specifically, the IOM Committee and these studies reviewed the use of Section 317 grants by the states. Section 317 is a discretionary grant program that supports vaccine purchase and other immunization-related program activities. These studies afforded the Committee an in-depth look at local policy choices, the performance of immunization programs, and federal and state spending for immunization during the past decade. Methods: The case-study reports were developed through interviews with state and local health department officials, including immunization program directors, Medicaid agency staff, budget analysts, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention public health advisors to the jurisdiction. Other sources included state and federal administrative records and secondary sources on background factors and state-level trends. The case studies were supplemented by site visits to Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark, and San Diego. Observations: The nature of immunization “infrastructure” supported by the Section 317 program is shifting from primarily service delivery to a broader set of roles that puts the public effort at the head of a broad immunization partnership among public health, health financing, and other entities in both the public and private sectors. The rate and intensity of transition vary across the case-study areas. In the emerging pattern, service delivery increasingly takes place in the private sector and is related to managed care. “Infrastructure” is moving beyond supporting a core state staff and local health department service delivery to include such activities as immunization registries, quality improvement, and coordination with programs outside public health agencies. At the same time, the recent decline in federal Section 317 support is forcing difficult choices between old and new activities at the state and local levels. Conclusions: Immunization programs function as an organic component of the local health care financing and delivery systems of which they are a part. Immunization efforts are organized and conducted within distinctive state and local fiscal, economic, and health care contexts. Section 317 Financial Assistance grants, while playing a vital role in supporting immunization “infrastructure,” have been too unstable and unpredictable to elicit the strategic planning, programming, and own-source spending that would be optimal for state and local programs. The predominant immunization function of state and local public health agencies is becoming assurance of age-appropriate immunization throughout the lifespan. To be successful in this emerging role, the health agencies must be supported with appropriate staffing, interagency collaboration, and clearly articulated authority.

Equity through Vouchers: The Special Case of Gifted Children

The objective of this study was to determine the extent to which policy makers have shifted the burden of educating gifted children from public schools to families. A second objective was to determine the result of this externalization on different socioeconomic segments of the population and to explore policy options for equalizing opportunities where discrepancies exist. Analyses of state-level spending trends and trends in numbers of students served in public schools were performed. In addition, analyses of the growth rates of major private providers of services for the gifted were performed. The results of the analyses were used to construct simulations of policy options including wealth-equalized, talent-based scholarships distributed according to (a) district wealth and (b) family income. The authors then assessed the costs and relative effectiveness of each option.

Human Capital Issues in the Use of Information Technology in Education

Local technological applications and their implications for human capital depend not only on the local environment, but also on successively larger social structures. In a world with a complex international division of labor, events in distant countries now intimately affect the nation, states, cities, and social institutions. Indeed, the long-term effects of the chaotic world economy of the 1970s still ripple through the United States. They impact the national output, national indebtedness, the shift from federal to local responsibilities, and the overbureaucratization and fast-paced technology of the megainstitutions where livelihoods are made and the quality of life is determined. The authors elaborate these themes, working from the most macroscopic or global level to the most microscopic or local level of social organization, and tie their discussion to data on international-, national-, and state-level trends. The authors explore a single but representative local case, which documents the impact of these megaforces on an educational institution.