This Mentoring Best Practices Long-Term Follow-up project assessed outcomes for adults who as children were part of the Study of Mentoring in the Learning Environment, which took place between 2003-2007 at Communities In Schools (CIS) of San Antonio, TX. The Communities in Schools program conducts an initial assessment to determine the needs for community support followed by mobilizing community resources and bringing them to the school campus to address both academic and non-academic barriers to success for students followed by regular periodic monitoring and evaluation to ensure needs are actually being met. . The original randomized study tested short-term benefits for students from participation in the CIS school-based mentoring program. Initially, 516 students who enrolled in CIS-San Antonio at one of 20 elementary, middle, and high schools were randomly assigned to receive either (1) standard CIS services or (2) standard CIS services plus assignment of a mentor. The present study looked at outcomes in adulthood ten years later, and found evidence that those who had enrolled in the CIS school-based mentoring program were half as likely to have been arrested for a misdemeanor and were 10% more likely to have pursued some form of post-secondary education by age 21 than who received only standard CIS services. Educational benefits of mentoring were strongest for females. Analyses linking actual mentoring interactions to these long-term outcomes further revealed the largest benefits were achieved when relationship-building was frequent, and that frequent problem-focused conversations in matches with youth who did not feel they were valued or mattered to their mentor predicted increased likelihood of arrest later.

This report provides counts of prisoners under the jurisdiction of state and federal correctional authorities in 2018 and includes findings on admissions, releases, and imprisonment rates. It describes demographic and offense characteristics of state and federal prisoners. The number of prisoners under state or federal jurisdiction decreased by an estimated 24,000 (down 1.6%) from 2017 to 2018, and by 143,100 (down 9%) from 2008 to 2018. In 2018, the combined state and federal imprisonment rate (431 sentenced prisoners per 100,000 U.S. residents) was the lowest since 1996 (427 per 100,000). The imprisonment rate fell 2% from 2017 to 2018 and 15% from 2008 to 2018. From 2008 to 2018, the imprisonment rate dropped 28% among blacks, 21% among Hispanics, and 13% among whites.

From the U.S. to Colombia to China, millions of public surveillance cameras are at the core of crime prevention strategies. Yet, little is known about the effects of surveillance cameras on criminal behavior, especially in developing economies. The authors study an installation program in Medellín, Colombia and find that the quasi-random allocation of cameras led to a decrease in crimes and arrests. With no increase in the monitoring capacity and no chance to use camera footage in prosecution, these results suggest offenders were deterred rather than incapacitated. The authors test for spillovers and find no evidence of crime displacement or diffusion of benefits to surrounding locations.

States use their accountability systems to identify low- performing schools, which can receive added support and are expected to improve. Alternative schools serve students whose needs are not met in a regular school. They often serve at-risk students who are struggling academically or behaviorally. This report reviews how 15 states, including Florida, hold alternative schools accountable. All 15 states used at least one indicator that researchers and studies consider useful for assessing alternative schools. For example, 11 states used college and career readiness indicators, such as industry-recognized certifications. Ten states allowed for more than 4 years of high school attendance when measuring graduation rates, which may better reflect alternative school achievement. They also found a few states that, as part of their accountability system, adopted approaches to differentiate alternative schools when identifying them for support and improvement. For example, when identifying the lowest performing 5% of schools, Idaho groups alternative schools separately from non-alternative ones.

In response to school closures because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the nation’s school nutrition programs have transformed into emergency community feeding systems, delivering meals to out-of-school students, their families, and in many districts, other members of the community. Because the crisis is expected to continue and the sustainability of many districts’ emergency operations is unknown, researchers assessed the challenges facing families and districts across the nation, the strategies districts are employing to ensure students and families can continue to access nutritious meals, and the situation’s implications for policy changes or future emergencies. Their brief presents five main findings: (1) School meals are a critical part of children’s nutrition system, and without finding ways to replace this infrastructure as schools close, children are at risk of missing meals. Sudden school closures have also put enormous pressure on school districts to adopt different meal delivery strategies; (2) The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has introduced waivers to ease some of the barriers preventing schools from distributing meals most effectively and efficiently, and although takeup of those waivers was initially slow and uneven across states, nearly every state has taken up many of the available options. Interpreting the waivers can be challenging because the states must decipher the different rules, regulations, and details that may or may not apply to their communities and needs; (3) Current strategies adopted by districts are wide ranging and have included Grab and Go service, a model that allows parents and other caregivers to show up at schools or community sites to pick up meals for children, use of community hubs, bus route models, partnership models for home delivery, and various ways of expanding programming; (4) Distribution efforts have incurred additional costs, such as for bags and other necessary materials, delivery and labor, storage space for food items, and personal protective equipment (PPE) for staff, all of which are not typically accounted for in child nutrition program reimbursement rates; (5) As summer approaches, schools face critical questions about how to sustain distribution efforts over time.

In 2013, the New York City Leadership Academy developed a leadership intervention—the Targeted Intensive School Support (TISS) program—in collaboration with the New York City Department of Education to support schools that were facing particular challenges. The city conducted an independent evaluation of the program's implementation and effects, and the findings are detailed in this report. The TISS program consisted of five key components: (1) teaming and collaborative training in aligned preservice preparation programs for a principal and assistant principal; (2) co-placement of a principal and an assistant principal into a New York City public school; (3) team-based coaching to support the principal and the assistant principal; (4) 328 hours of extended coaching over the first three years after placement; and (5) use of a diagnostic process to guide goal setting and coaching according to school needs. Findings include that the team-based coaching and extended coaching components were not implemented with fidelity. There was wide variation in the amount of coaching received and the degree to which this coaching was team-based across TISS schools. In addition, substantial barriers hindered the city’s ability to implement TISS with fidelity, including a lack of buy-in from district leadership and some participants, limited understanding of the program among some stakeholders, major challenges in co-placing principals and assistant principals, and limited time among some participants to engage in coaching hours. There were no statistically significant differences in standardized achievement scores when comparing TISS schools with the comparison schools and there were no statistically significant differences relative to comparison schools in the areas of school culture and principal retention.

Although there is a growing consensus about the positive relationship between prevention of overweight/obesity and academic performance in children, relevant studies targeting the relationship between underweight and academic performance are scarce. This study aimed to examine the longitudinal relationship of favorable weight change to academic performance in schoolchildren. The authors analyzed 2-year longitudinal data derived from 197 seventh-grade children aged 12–13 years. Academic performance was assessed using the total grade points of five academic subjects. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated as body weight (kilograms) divided by height squared (m2). A significant interaction effect of baseline BMI and BMI changes over 2 years was noted after controlling for confounders such as socioeconomic status, afterschool learning duration, screen time, exercise habits, and cardiorespiratory fitness. Favorable changes in weight status, that is, weight loss in children with overweight/obesity and weight gain in children with mild underweight/underweight, have a positive influence on academic performance in children independent of socioeconomic factors, learning habits, screen time, exercise habits, and cardiorespiratory fitness.

On average, 17 pedestrians died each day in 2018 as a result of vehicle crashes—up 43% from 2008. Automakers offer safety features on many new cars to help protect pedestrians. For example, crash avoidance technologies use cameras or radar to detect pedestrians and warn drivers or automatically slow or stop the car. This report examines what is known about the relationship between vehicle characteristics and pedestrian fatalities and injuries, approaches automakers have taken to address pedestrian safety, and actions National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has taken to assess whether pedestrian safety tests should be included in the New Car Assessment Program. The New Car Assessment Program is a government program that rates vehicles based on safety. The authors recommend the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration develop an evaluation plan with criteria for expanding its pilot program, make and communicate a decision about whether to include pedestrian safety tests in the New Car Assessment Program, and document the process for making changes to the New Car Assessment Program.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, governments around the world have provided a massive fiscal and monetary stimulus. While this policy is welcome in the short run, it does not address the underlying problem in the medium and long run. The reason is that the pandemic has not given rise to a generalized shortfall in aggregate demand. Rather, it has generated a Great Economic Mismatch, characterized by deficient demand for things requiring close physical interactions among people and deficient supply of things compatible with social distancing, where appropriate. Expansive macroeconomic policy can stimulate aggregate demand, but when social distancing is enforced, it will not stimulate production and consumption whenever this demand is satisfied through physically interactive activities. To overcome the Great Economic Mismatch, readaptation policies are called for. In the medium run, these policies promote a redirection of resources to activities compatible with social distancing; in the long run, these policies make economies more resilient to unforeseen shocks that generate a Great Economic Mismatch. Once the pandemic is over, a more profound rethinking of decision-making—in public policy, business and civil society—is called for. First, decision makers will need to supplement the current focus on economic efficiency with greater emphasis on economic resilience. Second, economic policies and business strategies will need to focus less on incentives for selfish individuals and more on the mobilization of people’s prosocial motives. Finally, to encourage people around the world to cooperate globally in tackling global problems, policymakers at local, national and global levels will need to encourage people around the world to cooperate globally in tackling global problems, with the aid of two powerful tools that humans throughout history have used to coordinate their efforts: identity-shaping narratives and institutions of multi-level governance.

Families across the United States continue to face barriers to financial security and well-being, including unstable income or expenses, low or no savings, and the risk of financial shocks that can destabilize a family’s finances. A lack of financial cushions, including routinely positive cash flow and liquid savings, or cash and money held in checking and savings accounts, poses a barrier for families to maintain and achieve short-term financial stability. Without enough money coming in to cover basic needs, it is extremely difficult to build and replenish personal savings. Moreover, without cash reserves, it is difficult for individuals to undertake mobility- and wealth enhancing steps. This report examines the reasons behind the growing interest in and the conceptual value of access to guaranteed income and cash infusion programs. The paper reviews definitions related to these programs and the evidence from previous studies of cash infusion programs in the United States and abroad. This report is intended for policymakers, funders, program and product designers, and others interested in learning more about the evidence base from programs that provide unrestricted funds to individuals. The report provides evidence that cash infusion programs increase funds for savings and investments without decreasing working hours. The report also shows that these programs reduce poverty, boost health outcomes, and improve educational attainment for children.

Studies have shown that adults in the United States are increasingly postponing marriage, and that a record number of current youth and young adults are projected to forego marriage altogether. Marriage has been shown to be correlated with positive health outcomes and longevity, and a recent report showed that age-adjusted death rates for both males and females are lowest for those who were married at the time of death. Data on the number of marriages have been continuously collected and published in various reports from the federal government since 1867, with information from 1946 to the present collected through the National Center for Health Statistics’ National Vital Statistics System. The marriage rate per 1,000 population has been computed each year using the number of marriages and population data from the U.S. Census Bureau. This report focuses on marriage rates from 1900 through 2018. Much variation can be seen in marriage rates over the 1900–2018 period, with the most pronounced fluctuations occurring during the 1930s and 1940s, at the time of the Great Depression and World War II. Marriage rates ranged between 9.3 (per 1,000 population) and 12.0 from 1900 to 1929 and then declined to a relative low of 7.9 in 1932. The marriage rate more than doubled between 1932 and 1946 when it reached an all-time high of 16.4, and then it generally declined to 8.4 in 1958 and stabilized at 8.5 during 1959–1962. Marriage rates increased beginning in 1963, reaching a relative peak of 10.9 in 1972. The rate then fell to 9.9 during 1976 and 1977 before increasing to 10.6 in 1980–1982. From 1982 to 2009, marriage rates almost steadily declined, before stabilizing from 2009 to 2017 at a range between 6.8 and 7.0. From 2017 to 2018, the rate dropped 6%, from to 6.9 per 1,000 population to 6.5, the lowest of the 1900–2018 period.

As COVID-19 disrupts people’s lives and livelihoods and threatens institutions around the world, the need for fast, data-driven solutions to combat the crisis is growing. This primer is designed to help researchers, data scientists, and others who analyze health care claims or administrative data (herein referred to as claims) quickly join the effort to better understand, track, and contain COVID-19. Readers may use this guidance to help them assess data on health care use and costs linked to COVID-19, create models for risk identification, and pinpoint complications that may follow a COVID-19 diagnosis. This primer builds on the knowledge of researchers who work with Medicare, Medicaid, and all-payer claims every day. It is a living document, with scheduled releases of new chapters and revisions of existing content. The first chapter covers COVID-19 conditions and cohorts, and the second focuses on COVID-19 services and locations. The third includes information on linking COVID-19 files to claims data using different cloud platforms.

This analysis estimates the extent to which workers in industries most vulnerable to pandemic-related unemployment and their family members would be eligible for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or marketplace subsidies if workers lose their jobs. Absent recent data on unemployment increases by industry, the authors chose industries for their analysis that appear most affected by shutdowns of nonessential services. The authors estimate the share of the most vulnerable workers and their dependents who would be eligible for each program under two income replacement scenarios: 1) All the workers in the most vulnerable industries become unemployed as of April 1, 2020, and they apply for unemployment compensation in their states of residence. They are assumed to receive the amount for which they are eligible from their state for the maximum number of weeks, assuming their unemployment persists through all of 2020; 2) All the workers in the most vulnerable industries become unemployed as of April 1, 2020, but they do not apply for unemployment compensation. Findings are shown for vulnerable workers and their family members in expansion and non-expansion states as well as nationally. In addition, the authors provide results separately for those with pre-crisis employer-based coverage, private non-group coverage, and uninsurance. They find that about 60% of vulnerable workers and their family members not already enrolled in public insurance coverage or employer coverage through a less vulnerable industry would be eligible for financial assistance through Medicaid/CHIP or the marketplaces. Those uninsured pre-crisis are the people least likely to be eligible for assistance if they become unemployed.