Domestic Programs¹
at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies

Domestic Programs is home to several separate programs and activities, many of which are described in detail elsewhere in this report. Some of these programs link the college with the community. The other activities and projects aim to inform the debate on public policy in the metropolitan Atlanta area, the state of Georgia, and the nation through research and education. The issues that are addressed include those associated with the structure of urban area, government tax and expenditure policy, education, program evaluation, social policies, and economic development. Some of the specific topics include the evaluation of pre-K programs, analysis of the transition from welfare to work, studies of teacher retention, a multi-year study of public housing transformation, and studies of the labor market opportunities of low-skilled workers. Domestic Programs also houses the Georgia Poll, a quarterly public opinion poll of Georgia residents, and Atlanta Census 2000 — a portal that allows easy mapping of census data. Funding comes from a variety of governmental, foundation, and business sources. David L. Sjoquist is the Director of Domestic Programs.

Domestic Programs has extensive experience in measuring performance of programs in areas as diverse as education, transportation, and information systems. The evaluation and policy analysis projects have included many studies of educational programs. The office’s work in analyzing the effects of Georgia’s innovative HOPE Scholarship and in evaluating the nation’s first universal pre-kindergarten program has brought national attention. Evaluations conducted by the office’s staff range from large-scale statewide and national programs to school based innovations.

In this Section:

• Activities
• Projects
• Journal Publications
• Presentations
• Reports
• Technical Assistance
• URAG

Activities

The Fiscal Research Center provides nonpartisan research, technical assistance and education in the evaluation and design of state and local fiscal and economic policy, including both tax and expenditure issues. (See the Fiscal Research Center section of this report.)

The Neighborhood Collaborative project, an extension of the Atlanta Project started by the Carter Center, provides the University with a means of enhancing research, teaching and service through more effective partnerships with its urban environment and neighborhoods. (See the Neighborhood Collaborative section of this report.)

The Nonprofit Group is devoted to informing the discussion of policy issues confronting nonprofit organizations in the Southeast. (See the Nonprofit Studies Program section of this report.)

AtlantaCensus2000 is a collaborative effort between the Atlanta Regional Commission and the Fiscal Research Center to support a Web site that provides access to the 1990 and 2000 Censuses of Population and Housing, allows the creation of maps, and contains reports focused on the Atlanta region.

The Educational Policy Group provides research and recommendation on issues related to education policy in Georgia.

The Georgia Administrative Data Project involves the development of a database built on the unemployment insurance records from the Georgia Department of Labor and welfare records for the Georgia Department of Human Resources.

Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), a national repository of data housed at the University of Michigan, maintains and provides access to a vast archive of social science data for research and instruction and offers training in quantitative methods to facilitate effective data use. Domestic Programs served as the Georgia State University representative to ICPSR. In 2003, this responsibility was transferred to the Pullen Library.

The Civic League of Regional Atlanta (RACL) was founded by the merger of Research Atlanta, the Regional Leadership Forum, and the Metro Group. The League is a metro Atlanta citizen organization dedicated to studying public policy issues confronting the Atlanta region and creating discussions by citizens and leaders about these issues. Although independent, RACL is housed at the Andrew Young School, which partners with the RACL.

Survey Research and the Georgia Poll provides data collection and expertise in data management, study design, and project management. The Survey Research Lab has worked on projects varying widely in size, scope, methodology, and complexity, ranging from collecting the opinions of students within Georgia State University to conducting national public opinion surveys.

The Urban-Regional Policy Group provides research and recommendation on issues related to urban and regional policy in Georgia.

Projects

The Georgia Prekindergarten Resource Coordinator Program. Dana K. Rickman. The Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Office of Domestic Programs is conducting an evaluation of the state-funded Resource Coordinator (RC) Program operated in conjunction with the Georgia Prekindergarten (Pre-K) Program for four-year-old children. This program is administered By Bright From the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL). The evaluation has two objectives: 1) to determine the effectiveness of the RC Grant Program, especially in terms of its effectiveness in transitioning Category One Pre-K children from high poverty families into kindergarten; and 2) describe the RC program services and benefits to children who are served through the Georgia Pre-K Program. ($227,987)

Lumina Foundation for Higher Education Evaluation. Gary T. Henry and Dana K. Rickman. This project aims to develop an evaluation strategy to examine the Lumina Foundation for Education’s impact on higher education policy in the United States. This is a formative evaluation that utilizes in-person interviews, focus groups, administrative data, file reviews and on-line surveys to produce guidance for the Foundation on ways in which its research and grant-making efforts can more effectively create opportunities to influence policy. ($277,400)

NC DSSF Evaluation: Gary T. Henry and Dana K. Rickman. The Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University is developing and implementing an evaluation plan for the North Carolina Disadvantaged Student Supplemental Funding (DSSF) program. ($500,000)

The evaluation will address whether DSSF is promoting improvements in the following areas:

1. learning for disadvantaged students
2. teacher recruitment & retention
3. principal effectiveness, and individualized instruction for at-risk students
   

Studies of Pre-K Programs in Georgia. Gary T. Henry. The Georgia Early Childhood Study, began in July 2001. This longitudinal study samples approximately 650 children participating in a variety of preschool settings, including Pre-K, Head Start, and other preschool facilities serving four-year-olds. This study will help determine the impact of the various types of preschool experiences on children's future school success, as well as investigate the reasons behind parents' choices for child care arrangements. Children will be followed into the first grade. Each year, data collection efforts will include: individualized standardized assessments with sampled children in key developmental areas, teachers' and parents' assessments of children's skills and behaviors, classroom observations rating the quality of the classroom environments, surveys with teachers and program directors regarding early childhood education, and surveys with parents about preschool arrangements and family demographics. ($2,071,892).

Journal Publications

Henry, Gary T., and Rickman, Dana K. (2006). “Do Peers Influence Children’s Skill Development in Preschool?” Economics of Education Review. 26:1.

Henry, Gary T., Gordon, Craig S., and Rickman, Dana K. (2006). “Early Education Policy Alternatives: Comparing the Quality and Outcomes of Head Start and State Pre-Kindergarten.”  Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. 27:1.

Presentations

Rickman, Dana K. “Evaluating Universal Pre-School Initiatives: Impact of Program Structure on Evaluation Design,” American Evaluation Association (AEA) Annual Conference, Portland, Ore., November 4, 2006.

Rickman, Dana K. “Effects of Peers on Early Education Outcomes,” Head Start's 8th National Research Conference, Washington, D.C., June 24-27, 2006.

Rickman, Dana K. “Outcomes and Quality of Alternative Early Education Policies,” Midwest Political Science Association Annual Conference, Chicago, Ill., April 20-23, 2006.

Rickman, Dana K. and Gordon, Craig S. “Beyond SES: How Subjective Views May Impact  Policy Success,” Midwest Political Science Association Annual Conference, Chicago, Ill., April 20-23, 2006.

Reports

Rickman, Dana K., O’Brien, Katherine C., DiVivo, Karen F., and Henrich, Christopher. “Report of the Findings From The Resource Coordinator Study: Family Support Services Evaluation,” Domestic Programs, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University, 2006.

Henry, Gary T., Rickman, Dana K., with Ponder, Bentley, Henderson, Laura, Mashburn, Andrew, and Gordon, Craig. “The Georgia Early Childhood Study 2001-2004: Final Report,” Domestic Programs, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University, 2006.

Technical Assistance 

The DPO staff provided technical assistance to numerous government officials and agencies. These included:

• Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning
• Lumina Foundation
• University of North Carolina
• Woodruff Foundation

2006 Urban and Regional Analysis Group Activities

Associated Faculty (Georgia State University faculty unless otherwise noted):

• Roy T. Black, Professor, Real Estate Department
• Colin Crawford, Associate Professor, College of Law
• Carolyn Dehring, Assistant Professor, Department of Insurance, Legal Studies and Real Estate, UGA
• Karen Gibler, Associate Professor, Real Estate Department
• Terry Grissom, Professor, Real Estate Department
• Doug Krupka, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics
• Ragan Petrie, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics
• Christine H. Roch, Associate Professor, Department of Public Administration and Urban Studies
• Jon Rork, Associate Professor, Department of Economics
• Laura O. Taylor, Associate Professor, Department of Economics
• Geoffrey K. Turnbull (URAG Coordinator), Professor, Department of Economics
• Mary Beth Walker, Associate Professor, Department of Economics
• Velma Zahirovic-Herbert, Assistant Professor, Department of Housing and Consumer Economics, UGA

Publications

• URAG Research Notes.
• Douglas J. Krupka, “The Stability of Mixed Income Communities,” Research Notes, 3, January 2006.
• Geoffrey K. Turnbull, “Private Eminent Domain in Georgia: Just Peachy or the Pits?” Research Notes, 4, February 2006.

• URAG Working Papers.  
• Geoffrey K. Turnbull, “Delegating Eminent Domain Powers to Private Firms: Land Use and Efficiency Implications,” URAG Working Paper 601.
• Geoffrey K. Turnbull and Robert F. Salvino, “Kelo v. Leviathan: The Public Purpose Doctrine in Eminent Domain and Government Size,” URAG Working Paper 602.
• Geoffrey K. Turnbull and Michael T. Tasto, “Independent Cities and Counties in Virginia: Substitute Jurisdictions?” URAG Working Paper 603.
• Mary G. McGarvey, Mary Beth Walker, and Geoffrey K. Turnbull, “Copycat Spending Across States: A New Approach,” URAG Working Paper 604.
• Joseph T. L. Ooi, C. F. Sirmans, and Geoffrey K. Turnbull, “The Option Value of Vacant Land,” URAG Working Paper 605.
• Geoffrey K. Turnbull and Jonathan Dombrow, “Individual Agents, Firms, and the Real Estate Brokerage Process,” URAG Working Paper 606.
• Douglas J. Krupka, “Location-Specific Human Capital, Location Choice, and Amenity Valuation,” URAG Working Paper 607.
• Douglas J. Krupka, “The Stability of Mixed-Income Neighborhoods in America, 1990-2000,” URAG Working Paper 608.
• Thomas J. Miceli, C. F. Sirmans, and Geoffrey K. Turnbull, “Lease Defaults and the Efficient Mitigation of Damages,” URAG Working Paper 609.
• Robert F. Salvino, “Home Rule and State and Local Government Size,” URAG Working Paper 701.
• Peter F. Colwell, Carolyn Dehring, and Geoffrey K. Turnbull, “Partial Interests in Recreation Property,” URAG Working Paper 702.

Since being established in 2003, the working papers series has led to 14 publications in the following journals: American Journal of Political Science; Journal of Housing Economics; Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics (4 papers); Journal of Regional Science; Journal of Transnational Law and Contemporary Problems; Journal of Urban Economics; Public Choice; Real Estate Economics (2 papers); Regional Science and Urban Economics; and Urban Studies.

Urban, Regional and Environmental Economics Colloquium

The Urban, Regional and Environmental Economics Colloquium (UREEC) is an URAG and Environmental Policy Program nexus started in Fall semester 2006. UREEC is a biweekly workshop for the presentation of new research. The forum offers opportunities for local faculty and advanced graduate students to present advanced work and receive feedback before moving towards wider dissemination. The colloquium meets on Wednesdays at noon. The coordinator is Douglas Krupka.

Presentations for the 2006AY:

1. For a complete listing of AYSPS Active Research Sponsored Grants from CY2006, see the Appendix: Report on External Funding.