Thomas Longoria

Multiple Risk Factors for Lead Poisoning in Hispanic Sub-Populations: A Review

As a result of recent media attention to lead (Pb) in consumer products, Pb exposure and toxicity to children has been placed back on the national agenda. This review presents the current literature on sources of Pb in Hispanic sub-populations in the broader context of national lead poisoning trends, sources, and exposure pathways. Pb poisoning among Hispanics is a multi-dimensional issue that is far more complex than for the general population in terms of environmental, cultural, and social dimensions. As a result, a higher percentage of Hispanic children have elevated blood lead levels compared to the general population. Given the additional risks that Hispanics face, all Hispanic children should be defined as “at risk” for lead exposure and included in targeted screening programs. This review concludes with specific public policy recommendations that directly address the increased risk of Pb poisoning to Hispanic children so that Pb will poison fewer children in the future.

The Distribution of Public-Private Partnerships: Targeting of Voluntary Efforts to Improve Urban Education.

With increasing activity of volunteers in service provision, effectively managing voluntary involvement is a significant issue for local governments. This study examines the distribution of school-business and school-community-based-organization partnerships as voluntary efforts to improve urban education. This study uses multivariate regression analysis to examine the distribution of partnership programs as a function of school-level characteristics. Based on a consideration of the motivations for founding partnerships and the scope and sponsorship of the partnerships, several hypotheses are proposed. The study finds differences in the targeting to schools and students in the most need based on the scope of effort and the sponsorship. The findings have implications for the management and organization of partnerships in public schools.

Are We All Equal at Death?: Death Competence in Municipal Cemetery Management

Managers of local government cemeteries should balance social and cultural expectations with fiscal responsibility and when they do so they demonstrate death competence in cemetery management. This study reviews the cultural and social equity aspects of the consumption of cemetery services and develops tools to take into account social equity and cultural concerns for public sector cemetery managers. Cemetery demand and pricing models are developed and applied to the case of Austin, Texas. These models enhance the estimation of demand by taking into account cultural factors and contextualize pricing in terms of social equity concerns.

Predicting Use and Solicitation of Payments in Lieu of Taxes

Some local governments solicit voluntary Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILOTs) from nonprofit organizations. PILOTs are intended to substitute for property and other taxes nonprofit entities do not pay even though they consume local government services. The diffusion of PILOTs to other jurisdictions depends in part on local government financial managers’ knowledge and perceptions. Using a mail survey of local government financial managers, this study explores factors that explain the use and solicitation of PILOTs. Jurisdictions where local government financial managers do not view administrative and political costs as greater than benefits of revenue are more likely to have and solicit PILOTs. Proximity to other jurisdictions that have a PILOT make it more likely a jurisdiction will consider soliciting a PILOT. However, perceived stakeholder support for the tax exempt status of the nonprofit sector makes a jurisdiction less likely to consider soliciting PILOTs.