The City of Columbia, Boone County, and the Heart of Missouri United Way (HMUW) are constantly evaluating ways to provide a more targeted approach to address social service needs in the community. IPP has the opportunity to support this mission by offering analysis of current population trends and social services in Boone County.

In November 2012, Boone County voters approved a sales tax aimed at establishing a local Children’s Services Fund. This fund is expected to raise $6 million annually and will serve as a funding bank for programs serving local children, youth, and families. IPP has been hired to consult for the nine-person board assigned to oversee the funding allocations to local agencies.

IPP has contracted with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) to evaluate sexual violence prevention strategies of organizations that received Rape Prevention and Education (RPE) funding.

Preferred Family Healthcare, Inc. (PFH) enhanced and expanded treatment services to rural drug court participants in Missouri through the Portal Plus program. This program provides virtual counseling services to individuals in outpatient treatment and offers a random sample of participants’ additional technology services through a smart-phone counseling support application.

Preferred Family Healthcare, Inc. (PFH) offers enhanced and expanded substance abuse treatment services to 18-24 year olds in central Missouri through the Portal II program. This program provides virtual counseling services to individuals in outpatient treatment with barriers to those unable to attend conventional classes. Portal II intends to demonstrate that the use of technology results in longer periods of connection with consumers, lower drop-out rates, higher participation levels and greater consumer satisfaction.

IPP was contracted by Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to conduct program surveillance and analysis for the Missouri Arthritis and Osteoporosis Program (MAOP). The grant was awarded in July 2012 through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is a multi-year project.

The Institute of Public Policy has been contracted by Harris-Stowe State University to serve as the external evaluators for their Collaborative HIV Prevention Intervention grant which was awarded September 30, 2013. The grant is a multi-year project focusing on reducing risky sexual behaviors on the Harris-Stowe campus and in the St. Louis community surrounding the campus by partnering with a community-based organization to implement three risk reduction evidence-based interventions: d-up!, NIA, SISTA, and BASICS.

The Women’s Foundation is partnering with IPP as they expand their geographical reach across Missouri. The Foundation aims to increase its public policy outreach by undertaking a baseline study of the status of women in Missouri. The baseline study will center around six dimensions of women’s lives – age, diversity, earnings, education, marital status, and poverty. The Foundation’s previous work examined the state of women in the Greater Kansas City Area and determined that many barriers to success exist for women.

This brief synthesizes research on paid family leave policies and practices and highlights the current status of paid family leave legislation in Missouri.  Paid Family Leave programs allow a portion of the employee’s wages to be paid if he or she takes leave from work for the birth or adoption of a child or to care for an ill or injured family member. In some cases, paid family leave has been extended to include leave taken for situations related to domestic violence such as court proceedings or relocation, or in support of a family member who is on active military duty.

This research analyzes occupational licensing in Missouri and identifies remedies that could be implemented by the community, administration, or legislature to reduce the barriers to women entrepreneurs without sacrificing safety.