[Shown here are Schuyler Evans,Chris Zablocki, and Kahlie DuFresne]
On Monday, May 18th, three Policy Research Shop students, Schuyler Evans, Christopher Zablocki, and Kahlie Dufresne testified before the Interbranch Criminal and Juvenile Justice Council (ICJJC) in Concord, New Hampshire. The ICJJC is chaired by John T. Broderick, Jr., Chief Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court. The testimony provided research results and policy recommendations on the students' report entitled, "Improving Coordination of the County Jails and State Prisons to Meet Mental Health and Substance Abuse Challenges." Chief Justice Broderick and Commissioner William Wrenn, Department of Corrections, welcomed the students to the Council and thanked them for their work. This experience provided the students with an invaluable opportunity to hear directly from state officials who are working on one of the most pressing challenges of our time.
[(L-R) Professor Ron Shaiko, Tyler Ford, Professor Parama Chaudhury, Kristen Liu, Kelsey Clark, Jessica Guthrie, Derek Summerville, Michael Fields, and graduate fellow Matthew Davis frame one of four murals in the New Hampshire Senate Chamber. The mural depicts the first commencement at Dartmouth College]
The Policy Research Shop was a busy place during the last week in April. Two groups of PRS students traveled to Concord to testify before the Executive Departments and Administration Committee in the New Hampshire House of Representatives, chaired by Rep. Anne-Marie Irwin. The theme for the committee hearing was the financial well-being of New Hampshirites at all stages of life. The committee hearing began with opening remarks from Rep. Laurie Harding, sponsor of the PRS research, followed by testimony from the New Hampshire Women's Policy Institute; NHWPI staff presented data on the financial fate of elderly women in New Hampshire. The first PRS group followed NHWPI. PRS students Kelsey Clark, Tyler Ford, and Jessica Guthrie presented their findings on "New Hampshire Retirement Savings." The students highlighted some of the key findings in their report, including models of voluntary retirement savings plans being considered or implemented by other states. The second PRS group presented its analysis of "Personal Financial Literacy in New Hampshire." PRS students Kristen Liu, Michael Fields, and Derek Summerville analyzed financial literacy training options for adults and also assessed financial literacy programs offered in high schools across the country and in New Hampshire. Both PRS groups received pointed questions from the audience of more than two dozen legislators that included not only committee members but also the chairs of the Ways and Means, Local and Regulated Revenues, Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs, and Finance committees. The State Treasurer and Deputy State Treasurer were also in attendance. Following the committee hearing, the students visited with New Hampshire Speaker of the House of Representatives Terrie Norelli and toured the House and Senate chambers.
[PRS students discuss their testimony with state legislators following the committee hearing]
[New Hampshire Rep. Liz Merry and PRS students Anya Perret and Alicia Modeen respond to questions from the audience following the PRS presentation]
On Thursday, April 23, 2009, four Dartmouth students from the Policy Research Shop in the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center traveled to Concord, New Hampshire to testify before the New Hampshire Mental Health Caucus on the topic of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Insurance Parity. The Caucus is an informal legislative group comprised members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives and Senate, but it also includes representatives of outside stakeholder organizations from around the state. Rep. Liz Merry, Caucus Chair, introduced PRS students Karen Doster, Alicia Modeen, Jennifer Murray, and Anya Perret to the overflow audience of legislators and mental health organization leaders. The PRS students discussed the current state of insurance parity relating to mental health and substance abuse coverage. They also addressed the potential impacts of recent federal legislation on insurance coverage in New Hampshire. Following the presentation, Rep. Merry formally expressed her thoughts to the Rockefeller Center staff: "Please extend my thanks to the entire group, including Karen, Alicia, Jennifer, and Anya, for the wonderful presentation they made yesterday to the Mental Health Caucus. After my early warning to you all about concerning low attendance [floor activity in the House during the meeting time], I was pleased with the ‘standing room only crowd' and the attention they paid to every word!... Keep up the good work and focus on this important social issue."
[PRS students Anya Perret, Alicia Modeen, Karen Doster, and Jennifer Murray present their findings before the New Hampshire Mental Health Caucus]
[Sue Minter discusses Vermont transportation funding levels with PRS students Tara Wohlgemuth and Christine Souffrant]
On Wednesday, April 15, 2009, four Dartmouth students from Policy Research Shop in the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center testified before the Vermont House and Senate Transportation Committees in the historic Vermont Senate Chamber. Dartmouth seniors Kahlie Dufresne and Tara Wohlgemuth and sophomores Chase Raines and Christine Souffrant presented the key findings in their report, "Public Transportation in Vermont: An Assessment of Applicable Methods of Improvement and Funding for Vermont Transportation." Speaking before a group of more than two dozen Vermont legislators as well as representatives from the Vermont Department of Transportation and directors of regional transportation authorities, the PRS students offered a Powerpoint presentation to convey their findings regarding possible improvements in information collaboration as well as possible infrastructure and route links between the thirteen regional transportation systems across the state. Vermont Representative Sue Minter, sponsor of the PRS research project, introduced the students to the joint-committee session of the House and Senate Transportation Committees.
[PRS students Kahlie Dufresne,Tara Wohlgemuth, Christine Souffrant, and Chase Raines]
[Rep. David Pierce, Vice Chairman of the NH House Committee on Election Law, introduces Policy Research Shop students Brian Freeman, Raymond Rodriguez, and Michael Fields prior to their testimony on Voter Suppression before the committee]
On Thursday, March 12th, three Policy Research Shop students, Brian Freeman, Michael Fields, and Raymond Rodriquez testified in the New Hampshire Legislature at the request of Rep. David Pierce. The testimony provided an overview of the students' policy report, "Voter Suppression: New Hampshire's Response to a National Problem." Rep. Pierce serves as the Vice Chairman of the Committee on Election Law wherein he has sponsored several pieces of legislation to increase criminal penalties for those convicted of voter suppression activities in New Hampshire. The students were welcomed in the capitol by a bipartisan gathering of about 25 legislators, including the Deputy Secretary of State. This testimony represents the first of several scheduled events for this academic year.
[PRS students Michael Fields, Brian Freeman, and Raymond Rodriguez meet with Deputy Secretary of State David Scanlan
and Rep. Jane Clemons, Chairman of the Committee on Election Law in the NH House of Representatives following their testimony]
