La Follette student projects inform real-world policymaking in Wisconsin

Three research projects conducted largely by La Follette graduate students during fall 2024 are currently helping to inform items in Governor Evers’ 2025-2027 state budget proposal, potentially paving the way for evidence-based policy updates that could benefit the health and well-being of residents across the state. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) commissioned two of the studies – one addressing the expansion of mobile dentistry throughout the state, and the other revisiting the state’s intervention threshold for elevated blood lead levels. The third report, conducted on behalf of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), examined eligibility for a program that helps private well owners pay for water quality testing and well remediation. The students conducted all three studies as coursework for La Follette’s cost-benefit analysis class under the guidance of Professors David Weimer and Morgan Edwards. During the course, renowned for its real-world implications, student groups partner with organizations to evaluate the social benefits and costs of policy changes under consideration. Students presented all three projects at the UW-Madison Day at the Capitol on April 30, 2025.

Mobile dentistry for underserved communities

The DHS cost-benefit analysis conducted by Lindorfer, Francis Amedoadzi, Frankie Lin, Jack S. Myers, and Megan Westerman investigated expanding mobile dentistry to areas where residents struggle to receive routine dental care. Their analysis identified that if DHS implemented mobile dentistry and deployed mobile dental vans to underserved communities, it could result in a net benefit to the state of $111,470 per mobile dental van. With this study as a backdrop and DHS’ support for the program, Governor Ever’s budget proposes providing grants to community health centers to support mobile dentistry. “La Follette’s cost-benefit analysis course gave me firsthand experience working with a real client on a meaningful project that has the potential to help many Wisconsinites,” says graduating La Follette student Alivia Lindorfer, who worked on the DHS mobile dentistry project and has since accepted a position with DHS. “It also deepened my understanding of health policy, Medicaid, and dental access in Wisconsin. I think this experience was instrumental in helping me secure my current position with DHS.”

Wisconsin’s lead poisoning threshold

The second DHS project considers three policy alternatives to the current Wisconsin threshold for a public health response for children with lead poisoning of 15 micrograms per deciliter (μg/dL) or greater. This far exceeds the CDC-recommended threshold of 3.5 μg/dL, leaving many children with lead poisoning untreated in Wisconsin. Anthony Carreño, Caroline Corona, David Heinritz, Ayah Kenj Halabi, and Luis Navarrete analyzed the effects of using different threshold levels in statewide policy. Their results show that lowering the intervention threshold is inversely related to costs, with benefits increasing as the threshold decreases. In January, Governor Evers proposed an emergency rule to lower Wisconsin’s lead poisoning definition from 5 to 3.5 µg/dL to align with the CDC’s recommendation. This study helped inform DHS’ recommendations for the lead hazards section of the Governor’s budget, and commitment to increase local public health capacity to respond to more poisoned children. “The Department of Health Services is appreciative of the opportunity to engage with policymakers of the future; it is energizing for our staff,” says Brian Weaver, Lead Policy Advisor in DHS’ Division of Public Health. “The cost-benefit analysis study was essential to the department’s analysis; it demonstrated the financial and societal value of increasing the investment in local public health’s response to lead-poisoned children.”

Eligibility in the state’s well compensation grant program

The DNR project compared the state’s well compensation grant program, which has strict eligibility requirements, with an expanded version temporarily funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The well compensation program provides financial support to private well owners to test for drinking water contamination and mitigate those risks. Led by students Caroline Riordan, Sammy Rothman, Al Schultz, and Rachel Widra, this report provided comprehensive analysis that supports the permanent expansion of the well compensation grant program eligibility to align with the ARPA criteria. DNR recommendations included in the Governor’s budget suggest increasing the well compensation program by $5 million and amending the well compensation program eligibility criteria to bring it in line with federal water quality standards. “Wisconsin’s federally funded well compensation program, created by Governor Evers, awarded hundreds of grants to replace, reconstruct, or treat contaminated wells at private homes and non-community water systems in just a few years,” DNR Secretary Karen Hyun says. “We look forward to building upon this program’s success through Governor Evers’ budget, which will increase funding and expand eligibility requirements for Wisconsin’s existing state-funded program to help ensure more Wisconsinites have access to clean, safe drinking water across our state.”

A history of real-world impact at La Follette

La Follette’s cost-benefit analysis course is known for tackling difficult, real-world problems and leading to significant policy changes for partnering organizations. In addition to addressing issues here in Wisconsin, students work with clients at the federal level and across the world. For example, additional cost-benefit analyses in fall 2024 addressed forestry management in Nepal and the effects of various methods for distributing water filtration systems in Honduras. The course is also not the only opportunity for La Follette students to work with organizations on such concrete and meaningful projects. Students in La Follette’s spring capstone class, a requirement to earn a master’s degree in the program, also partner with organizations to solve real-world policy problems through comprehensive and rigorous analyses. La Follette continues to expand its experiential learning courses through new courses focusing on undergraduate education. You can apply to be a client in a future cost-benefit analysis, capstone project, or undergraduate course here. [uw-reusable-content id=’5470′]