Building a Partnership to Meet the Region's Needs
Hurricane Katrina roared ashore near the Louisiana-Mississippi border on August 29, 2005. The storm, the most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history, displaced millions of people and destroyed schools, homes, businesses and health care facilities. Hurricane Rita, the fourth most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded, hit the region less than a month later.
The storms and their aftermath exacerbated the region's social, economic, and human development problems. In Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, "shadows in the sunbelt" continue to suffer from poor schools, little economic opportunity, insufficient social services and a dearth of cross-racial leadership.
The RAND Gulf States Policy Institute (RGSPI), a collaboration among RAND Corporation and seven Gulf states universities, is assisting in long-term recovery efforts by providing evidence-based policy guidance to facilitate and speed regional recovery and growth, re-establish services and result in a wise investment in infrastructure.
More News & Reports »Recent News and Reports
Schools Not Sustaining Mental Health Aid to Children Displaced by Hurricane Katrina — Oct. 18, 2007
Despite strong initial efforts to support the mental health needs of students displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, many schools have not been able to fulfill students' mental health needs over the long term.
Lessons Learned from the State and Local Public Health Response to Hurricane Katrina — October 5, 2007
This Working Paper is the collected and synthesized public health lessons learned from the response to Hurricane Katrina.
Partnership with REACH-NOLA Receives $1.2 Million for New Orleans Mental Health Project — October 2, 2007
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has awarded the RAND Corporation a $1.2 million grant for a two-year project to help develop improved, culturally appropriate mental health services in New Orleans.
Repair and Replacement of Affordable Housing Lags in Mississippi's Post-Katrina Recovery — Sep. 27, 2007
While construction permits have been issued for approximately 60 percent of the housing damaged by Hurricane Katrina, repair and replacement of multi-unit housing significantly lags behind repair and replacement of single-family homes in three coastal counties in Mississippi heavily damaged by the hurricane.
Full Document
News Release Research Brief
RAND Gulf States Policy Institute opens office in New Orleans — August 20, 2007
The RAND Gulf States Policy Institute is expanding with the addition of a new office in the central business district of New Orleans.
Wind Insurance Costly and Scarce on Gulf of Mexico Coast — July 18, 2007
Wind insurance costs for businesses have increased dramatically while policy coverage has dwindled, and in some cases risk has shifted from insurers to taxpayers. The scarcity and high cost of wind insurance has delayed some business investments in the Gulf States region.
Lessons Learned from the Army's Response to Hurricane Katrina — Jun. 4, 2007
The U.S. Army should change the way it plans for domestic emergencies to better support state and local first responders.
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Public Safety Research Area
RAND Gulf States Policy Institute Awards Scholarships for Gulf Research — May 29, 2007
The Gulf States Policy Institute has awarded $110,000 in scholarships to six graduate students whose dissertation and research work will stimulate evidence-based policy direction for the region.
Improving recruitment and retention in the New Orleans Police Department — March 30, 2007
The RAND Center on Quality Policing released a series of practical recommendations for attracting new recruits and retaining serving officers in the post-Katrina New Orleans Police Department. For example, the report notes that the most immediate boost would come from giving junior officers pay raises they have already earned, but not yet received.
News Release Research Brief Full Document
When Students Disappear… — Feb. 21, 2007
Fifty-three thousand students disappeared from Louisiana's public school system after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Another 10,000 enrolled temporarily after the storms and then departed. They did not return to the state's public schools for the remainder of the 2005-06 school year, writes John F. Pane.
RAND Child Policy Congressional Newsletter highlights RGSPI studies — Jan. 31, 2007
Two studies by the RAND Gulf States Policy Institute are highlighted in the quarterly Child Policy Congressional Newsletter. The first looks at how hurricanes Katrina and Rita have affected the region's public education system. The second examines how schools can help students recover from the more long-lasting consequences of the devastation.
RGSPI researcher Lisa Jaycox will be honored with RAND President's Award — Jan. 30, 2007
President's Awards recognize individuals whose work exemplifies RAND's two core values of quality and objectivity and who have also recently made exemplary contributions to the RAND community through new business development or fundraising initiatives, outstanding outreach and dissemination efforts, or effective participation in internal activities aimed at improving the efficiency of our research environment. Made possible by the generosity of donors to the RAND Policy Circle, the awards provide staff with research time and support to pursue activities related to career development or exploratory research.
Louisiana Students Displaced by Hurricanes May Suffer Academically — Nov. 30, 2006
The approximately 200,000 students displaced from public schools by recent hurricanes represent the largest displacement of students in U.S. history. Many of the students missed weeks of schooling and had to adjust to new environments. Only 45% returned to their original schools.
Full Document Research Brief
News Release
Governor Barbour Announces Project to Extend Study of Gulf Coast Housing Needs — Oct. 24, 2006
Governor Haley Barbour announced today that the National Association of REALTORS® and the Mississippi Association of REALTORS® have donated $155,000 to enable the RAND Corporation to extend its study of affordable housing needs along the Gulf Coast in Mississippi.
Aiding Children in Long-Term Recovery from Traumatic Events — Oct. 24, 2006
RAND has released a toolkit that shows how to provide school-based mental health programs for students exposed to violence, natural disasters and other traumatic events. The toolkit will enable schools to help students displaced by natural disasters like Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Full Document News Release
Read About & Search the Database
Advanced Planning Important for Flood Recovery — Oct. 23, 2006
Experience shows that communities recover fastest from major floods when all levels of government and the private sector work together to prepare coordinated response plans ahead of time.
Full DocumentNews ReleaseResearch Brief Energy and Environment Research Area
Commentary
When Students Disappear… — Feb. 21, 2007
Fifty-three thousand students disappeared from Louisiana's public school system after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Another 10,000 enrolled temporarily after the storms and then departed. They did not return to the state's public schools for the remainder of the 2005-06 school year, writes John F. Pane.
Mississippi Comeback — Aug, 20, 2006
Hurricane Katrina caused as much devastation and human suffering along Mississippi's Gulf Coast as it did to New Orleans. It was the worst disaster to hit the state since the Mississippi River floods of 1927 and the Great Depression that soon followed. Katrina's powerful winds and floodwaters claimed 231 lives statewide, caused more than $100 billion in damages and destroyed buildings, crops and livestock as far as 100 miles inland.
RAND Researcher's Travel Notes From New Orleans — Summer, 2006
It was an overwhelming experience. I had heard that post-Katrina New Orleans was like a third world country. Even so, I was not prepared for what I saw, heard, and experienced. The physical damage to housing and infrastructure is so extensive as to almost defy imagination...
Health Costs of Katrina — Oct. 10, 2005
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita took a devastating toll on their victims, tragically killing and injuring some and leaving many not only homeless but jobless — deprived of paychecks and employer-sponsored health insurance. Suddenly unable to pay their medical bills, these people — like many others who were poor and lacked health insurance before the hurricanes — now face a health care crisis.
Healing Storm Victims' Mental Health — Oct. 3, 2005
Victims of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita are now faced with the task of coping with the psychological aftermath of the nightmare storms. Without a major national effort, many may not have the help they need to recover fully, write Kenneth B. Wells and Greer Sullivan.
Prepare for Disaster — Sep. 27, 2005
The glaring lesson in the aftermath of the largest emergency response and relief effort in U.S. history following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita is that it is far less painful and expensive to prepare for disasters than to respond to them. We've seen the same lesson following earlier disasters, but have failed to learn its, write Tom LaTourrette and Ed Chan.
Get Proactive with Disasters — Sep. 27, 2005
Imagine if the Army's main strategy for protecting soldiers was to provide more ambulances, hospital beds, and doctors to treat the wounded — instead of relying on defensive measures such as fortifications, tanks, body armor and helmets to protect soldiers from being wounded in the first place. The strategy of responding only after attacks instead of adequately preparing to defend against them sounds absurd. But it is exactly what the federal government, states and localities have done when it comes to protecting people from disasters such as hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tornados and volcanoes, writes Charles Meade.
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