Expanding dependent coverage for young adults: lessons from state initiatives

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires that adults up to age twenty-six be permitted to enroll as dependents on their parents' health plans. This article examines the experiences of states that enacted dependent expansion laws. Drawing on public information from thirty-one enacting states and case studies of four diverse reform states, it derives lessons that are pertinent to the implementation of this ACA provision. Dependent coverage laws vary across the states, but most impose residency, marital status, and other restrictions. The federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act further limits the reach of state laws. Eligibility for expanded coverage under the ACA is much broader. Rules in some states requiring or allowing separate premiums for adult dependents may also discourage enrollment compared with rules in other states (and the ACA), where these costs must be factored into family premiums. Business opposition in some states led to more restrictive regulations, especially for how premiums are charged, which in turn raised greater implementation challenges. Case study states did not report substantial young adult dependent coverage take-up, but early enrollment experience under ACA appears to be more positive. Long-term questions remain about the implications of this policy for risk pooling and the distribution of premium costs.     

Conversations with Russian mafiosi

Open interviews and unplanned conversations with criminals are an important part of ethnographic research in criminology. This paper presents an analysis of conversations with members of Russian criminal groups. An attempt is made to explore the value of these informal interviews, the danger of informal contacts with criminals, and the reliability of the information received.

A Multi-Level Conceptual Model to Examine Child Welfare Worker Turnover and Retention Decisions

There is little disagreement about the importance of a healthy stable workforce in promoting effective provision of child welfare services. This review proposes a multi-level conceptual model of child welfare workforce turnover combining traditional individual and organizational impacts with factors associated with community context. Identified gaps in the literature along with a related research agenda are reviewed. Also presented is an overview of the Florida Study of Professionals for Safe Families, a longitudinal study of new hires into the child welfare workforce across Florida, providing opportunities to address gaps and test model characteristics regarding turnover decisions and related outcomes.