This data snapshot documents workloads of the nation's juvenile courts. In 2020, caseloads for all delinquency offense categories were at the lowest level since 2005. Person offense cases accounted for the greatest proportion (35%) of the delinquency caseload in 2020. During the same period, two-thirds of adjudicated delinquency cases received a disposition of probation. It is important to note that 2020 was the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have affected policies, procedures, and data collection activities regarding referrals to and processing of youth by juvenile courts. Stay-at-home orders and school closures also likely affected the volume and type of law-violating behavior by youth referred to juvenile court.

This guide provides judicial officers with a better understanding of the intricacies of presiding over cases involving military families. The guide focuses on what judges need to know about military families in the court system and factors unique to these families. Information in the guide is pertinent to child abuse and neglect, juvenile justice, family violence, and domestic relations case types. The guide highlights important judicial considerations and relevant questions to ask in hearings. Additionally, it addresses key federal legislation, such as the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, along with the implications of such legislation for cases involving military families.

Youth justice systems offer interventions in lieu of incarceration for youth who pose a significant risk to public safety. This report identifies six program models that consistently produce better results than incarceration: (1) credible messenger mentoring programs; (2) advocate/mentor programs; (3) family-focused multidimensional therapy models; (4) cognitive behavioral therapy programs; (5) restorative justice interventions; and (6) wraparound programs. The report also details the essential characteristics required for any alternative-to-incarceration program, including programs developed by local justice system leaders and community partners, to reduce young people’s likelihood of reoffending and steer them to success.

This guide presents a framework to help school district leaders make informed decisions about the adoption and effective use of technology. It focuses on three critical phases of technology integration in academic settings: (1) selection; (2) infrastructure; and (3) implementation. Through these critical phases, leaders select technology that serves meaningful purposes for students; design infrastructures that integrate new technologies with existing systems and provide privacy, security, and equitable access and use; and develop implementation plans to ensure that teachers, staff, leaders, students, and families equitably and effectively use technology. The framework also considers how equity and evaluation inform the process for effectively leveraging technology for student success.

Researchers used student data (accessible to Florida mathematics teachers) to identify students in need of support and to determine whether teachers are adequately supported to use student data effectively in daily instruction. The report authors found that nearly all kindergarten through grade 12 (K–12) Florida mathematics teachers reported having access to student data on attendance, grades, standardized test scores, and formative student assessment scores through electronic data management systems; more than two-thirds also had access to students' disciplinary and course enrollment histories. However, only one-third had access to student data on postsecondary outcomes, and less than one-half had access to disaggregated student demographic data. Despite this, K–12 Florida mathematics teachers were more likely than mathematics teachers nationally to report access to all the types of student data the authors asked about through electronic data management systems and were more likely to rely on formalized data sources (e.g., standardized mathematics tests) when prioritizing what mathematics content to teach.

This report includes a comprehensive but not exhaustive list of federal programs that could fund community schools, which are publicly funded schools that serve as both educational institutions and centers of community life. While most community schools are funded by a combination of federal, state, local, public, and private funds, the report focuses on the numerous federal opportunities to start, support, and sustain whole child approaches to learning and development through community schools. The report provides a comprehensive overview that maps each program to the Essential Elements for Community School Transformation. The report also serves as a resource for potential federal revenue sources to support community schools, including funding type, program description and eligibility, and the most recent federal appropriation.

The increase in remote work following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has drawn attention to the impact of the shift away from traditional centralized employment locations in several U.S. cities (New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Dallas-Fort Worth). One way to gauge the magnitude of this change is through the commuter-adjusted population estimate, which refers to the number of people in a geographic area during normal business hours. This analysis uses 2019 and 2021 American Community Survey 1-year estimates to highlight how the dramatic increase in home-based work during the pandemic changed the population distribution of certain key metros during a typical workday. In many cases, changes to the commuter-adjusted population reflect changes to total population. Areas where the commuter-adjusted population changed significantly may highlight places where home-based work has become more prevalent.

The U.S. college wage premium doubles over the life cycle, from 27% at age 25 to 60% at age 55. Using a panel survey of workers followed through age 60, the author shows that growth in the college wage premium is primarily explained by occupational sorting (i.e., job choices made by workers). Nearly 90% of life cycle wage growth occurs within rather than between jobs. To understand these patterns, the author developed a model of human capital investment where workers differ in learning ability and jobs vary in complexity. Faster learners complete more education and sort into complex jobs with greater returns to investment. College acts as a gateway to professional occupations, which offer more opportunity for wage growth through on-the-job learning.

The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program for low-income elderly and disabled people has the strictest savings limits of any federal program, with eligibility limited to savings of $2,000 (individuals) or $3,000 (couples). The value of the limit is not indexed to inflation and has not been updated in decades. Administering the limit, often referred to as an asset test, is burdensome for both Social Security Administration staff and for claimants, is the leading cause of erroneous payments, and contributes to beneficiary churn. This brief analyzes several ways to address these issues, including raising the limit amount per beneficiary (e.g., to $10,000, $100,000) or eliminating the limits altogether (as other economic security programs have done). The authors also examine excluding retirement savings from SSI’s resource limits in combination with each option.

This report compares national and subgroup estimates of any level of major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder symptoms among the U.S. adult population from two data sources, the 2019 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and the third round of the Research and Development Survey. Nearly all of the national and subgroup estimates of adults with major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder symptoms were significantly higher based on Round 3 Survey results compared with the 2019 NHIS. The only exception was the depression symptoms estimate among adults aged 65 and over, where the estimates were comparable across the two data sources. These results may inform potential strategies to improve the comparability of mental health estimates from Round 3 Survey results and other surveys like NHIS, such as calibration weights or other model-based methods.

This advisory discusses the epidemiology of mental health symptoms and conditions of Long COVID and provides evidence-based resources for treatment. Long COVID is the term used to describe signs, symptoms, and conditions that persist or develop after initial COVID-19 infection and exist four or more weeks after the initial infection period, may affect multiple systems in the body, and may show a pattern of relapse and remission and progression or worsening over time. This research finds that the mental health conditions associated with Long COVID include, but are not limited to, depression, anxiety, psychosis, obsessive compulsive disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder; other symptoms include cognitive impairment, sleep disturbances, and fatigue. Additionally, the report provides assessment and treatment approaches for mental health symptoms and conditions associated with long COVID as well as tips for primary care providers.

Elder financial exploitation (EFE) is “the illegal or improper use of an older adult’s funds, property, or assets.” Perpetrators range from family members and others known to victims to professional criminals; victims may never report EFE due to shame and embarrassment. Many victims are stripped of a significant part of their retirement savings and experience declines in mental and physical health. Getting restitution is nearly impossible, and re-earning the funds takes time, which many older victims do not have. This report measures the annual financial cost of EFE in the United States, finding that victims over age 60 lose $28.3 billion each year. About 72% of the losses arise from fraud by people known the victim knows, while 28% arise from stranger-perpetrated incidents. The true cost of EFE extends far beyond the $28.3 billion. For example, with a victim’s funds depleted, family caregivers are more likely to incur costs to provide care. In addition, the financial industry loses billions of dollars each year to EFE, for which consumers ultimately pay. The report concludes that states should be provided federal funds to mandate and standardize data collection procedures and that evidence-based intervention strategies should be tailored according to perpetrator type.