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September 15, 2023
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This report is part of a series of annual publications
which provide official estimates of school crime and safety
from a variety of data sources, including national surveys
of students, teachers, principals, and post-secondary
institutions. The report presents data on different types
of student victimization, measures of school conditions,
and student perceptions about their personal safety at
school. This report found that for students ages 12-18, the
rate of non-fatal criminal victimization (including theft
and violent victimization) at school in 2019 was not
significantly different than the rate in 2010. From 2019 to
2021, the rate at school decreased from 30 to 7
victimizations per 1,000 students. Lower percentages of
public school teachers in 2020-21 than in 2011-12 reported
being threatened with injury by a student from their school
(6% versus 10%) and being physically attacked by a student
from their school (4% versus 6%). However, higher
percentages of public schools in 2019-20 than in 2009–10
reported problems with student cyberbullying (16% versus
8%) at least once a week. Lower percentages of students in
grades 9–12 in 2019 than in 2009 reported the following
issues: having been in a physical fight on school property
in the previous 12 months (8% versus 11%); carrying a
weapon on school property during the previous 30 days (3%
versus 6%); and using alcohol on at least 1 day during the
previous 30 days (29% versus 42%).
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice
Statistics
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This report, published for over 40 years by the National
Center for State Courts with the support of state court
administrative offices across the United States, serves as
the primary record of compensation for state judicial
officers and state court administrators. The website tracks
judicial salary information since 1974, highlights recent
special reports, and provides the most recently published
salary information. General jurisdiction trial court
judges’ salaries averaged $143,989 in July 2014 and
$176,430 in July 2023, an increase of 22.5% or around 2.3%
a year. Every state other than Nevada has reported a
salary increase in this decade. South Carolina has
increased judicial salaries the most over the last decade
from $136,905 in July 2014 to $212,987 in July 2023, an
increase of 56%. Additionally, Utah, New Mexico, South
Dakota, and Washington salaries have increased by over 40%.
Intermediate appellate court judges averaged $153,128 in
July 2014 and $192,170 in the July 2023 data, a change of
25% or about 2.5% a year.
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Source: National Center for State Courts
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Employment is an important factor in determining an
individual’s success upon reentering the community
following incarceration. However, individuals who have been
involved with the criminal legal system face structural
disadvantages in finding high-wage employment, such as
difficulty establishing work history or education
credentials or developing the skills needed in today’s job
market; they must also confront the stigma associated with
having a criminal record. In 2019, the California Board of
State and Community Corrections awarded a grant from the
Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act grant program to launch
the Skills and Experience for the Careers of Tomorrow
(SECTOR) program. The SECTOR program provides employment
and training services, cognitive behavioral interventions,
and connections to mental health and substance use disorder
services for people with previous legal system involvement.
The SECTOR program uses a sector-based approach, consisting
of five core components: job readiness services, cognitive
behavioral interventions, labor market demand-driven skills
training and paid work experience, financial assistance,
and job placement assistance. The model anticipates that
behavioral health, well-being, employment, and earnings
improvements will reduce future interactions with the
criminal legal system. This report includes an
implementation study and an outcomes study. The
implementation study describes how the community-based
organizations implemented the SECTOR program, whether it
was implemented as intended, and whether it met its
intended service quality and outcome goals. The outcomes
study tracks one-year outcomes for the cohort of
participants enrolled between January 1, 2021, and December
31, 2021 (the study period and first year of operation),
focusing mainly on employment and criminal legal system
contact and whether SECTOR successfully connects
individuals to mental health and substance use disorder
services. The evaluation found that the SECTOR program
offers a promising approach to help participants with
previous criminal legal system involvement in finding
employment in high-growth sectors.
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Source: MDRC
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This report provides 2018-19 rates for grade K-12 student
participation in homeschooling, full-time virtual
education, and both combined (“instruction at home”) from
the 2019 Parent and Family Involvement in Education Survey
of the National Household Education Surveys Program. The
report finds that in 2019, an estimated 2.8% of students
ages 5-17 were homeschooled, and 1.2% were in full-time
virtual education. Overall, about 3.7% received instruction
at home (either homeschooled or in full-time virtual
education). White students were homeschooled more often
than Black or Hispanic students (4.0% versus 1.2% and
1.9%), and students in grades 6-8 were homeschooled more
often than students in grades 9-12 (3.4% versus 2.3%).
Students living in rural areas were homeschooled more often
than students living in other areas (4.7% versus 2.2% to
2.5%). The most commonly reported reasons for homeschooling
were concern about the school environment (80% of
homeschooled students had parents who reported this
reason), wanting to provide moral instruction (75%),
wanting to emphasize family life together (75%), and
dissatisfaction with academic instruction at other schools
(73%).
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Source: National Center for Education Statistics
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The 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress
results reflected the largest decline in fourth and eighth
grade math scores in 30 years and may highlight ongoing
opportunity gaps among historically underserved racial and
socioeconomic student groups. Even prior to the COVID-19
pandemic, math achievement lagged as shown by international
comparisons. In 2019, U.S. fourth graders ranked 15th among
64 participating educational systems worldwide. Between
2011 and 2019, the U.S. had the second largest score gap
between students at the 10th and 90th percentiles among 47
participating countries. While some states have amped up
their K-3 literacy systems and aligned instruction with the
science of reading, early mathematics has often received
less policy attention. Some states that have taken policy
actions to support mathematics learning for early childhood
education include West Virginia (requiring the state board
of education to develop rules to establish an approved list
of assessments in mathematics for K-3 students), Colorado
(requires the department of education to annually publish
and update a list of evidence-informed curricula and
assessment options for math), and Alabama (created the
Postsecondary Mathematics Task Force responsible for
developing guidelines for educator preparation of early
childhood and elementary math instruction).
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Source: Education Commission of the States
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This research describes the roles that salary and work
hours play in teachers' intentions to leave their jobs and
how these factors relate to teacher well-being. The
research indicates that teacher dissatisfaction with hours
worked, salary, and working conditions appears to drive
poor well-being and lead teachers to consider leaving their
jobs. In addition, recent gains in racial and ethnic
diversity in the teacher workforce could be in jeopardy
because Black teachers were more likely to consider leaving
their jobs than White teachers were; many cited low pay as
their top reason. The research found that on average,
teachers reported working 15 hours per week longer than
required by contract. One out of every four hours that
teachers worked per week, on average, was uncompensated.
Teachers who said that their base salary was inadequate
desired, on average, a $17,000 increase in base pay. Black
teachers reported working more hours per week and were less
satisfied than White teachers with their base salary. The
authors recommend increasing teacher pay, reducing hours
worked, and improving working conditions to boost teacher
retention.
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Source: RAND Corporation
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The odds of finding a potential mate in the United States
were in men’s favor in 2019; there were 89.8 unmarried men
for every 100 unmarried women, according to a new U.S.
Census Bureau analysis. States or state equivalents with
among the five highest and the five lowest unmarried sex
ratios show where unmarried men outnumber women and vice
versa. Ratios greater than 100 indicate more unmarried men
than women, while ratios less than 100 indicate more
unmarried women than men. States with ratios above 100
include Alaska (117.0), North Dakota (106.7), Wyoming
(106.1), South Dakota (103.2), and Colorado (101.9). The
states / territories with the lowest ratios include
Maryland (82.9), Alabama (82.4), Delaware (82.0), Puerto
Rico (81.3), and the District of Columbia (80.0). In
Florida, the ratio is 86.2. Although the overall sex ratio
for unmarried adults in the United States was about 90 men
per 100 women, the 30-to-34 age group had the highest ratio
at nearly 121 men to 100 women. This is likely due to men
having a higher median age at first marriage (30.1) than
women (28.2). In other words, because men typically marry
later, on average, there are more of them available to
marry at younger ages. This pattern reverses at older ages,
but likely for a different reason. The 55-and-over age
group had the lowest unmarried ratio, with approximately 57
men per 100 women. This is likely driven by a shorter life
expectancy for men than women, which produces
disproportionately high counts of unmarried women at older
ages — many who may be single simply because they outlived
their spouse.
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Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau
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Traffic congestion wastes time and money and can also
jeopardize drivers' safety. Moreover, congestion-related
challenges are projected to increase. Deploying intelligent
transportation systems (ITS) is one way that state and
local transportation agencies have attempted to address
issues related to traffic safety and congestion.
Intelligent transportation systems consist of sensors,
computer hardware and software, and communications systems
that, for example, automatically change the timing of
traffic signals. This report describes (1) ITS technologies
selected state and local government agencies have deployed
and (2) the benefits identified from using ITS to manage
traffic, and the associated factors and challenges of ITS
use. According to U.S. Department of Transportation 2020
surveys of state and local agencies, some technologies are
widely deployed on arterials (roads with traffic signals)
or freeways, while others are less widely deployed.
Examples of widely deployed technologies include dynamic
message signs, which provide information to travelers;
technologies that detect vehicles and other roadway users
to provide information on traffic flow; and emergency
vehicle preemption, which provides green lights to
emergency vehicles. Examples of technologies deployed by
less than 30% of survey respondents include adaptive signal
control technology and ramp meters that control vehicle
access to freeways. The authors found that ITS can provide
benefits related to traffic congestion and safety, but
various factors and challenges can limit the extent of
these benefits. For example, officials said that after a
crash, ITS enables them to get emergency services to people
and to clear lanes more quickly. Because blocked lanes can
lead to secondary crashes, these activities reduce
post-crash congestion and improve safety. One study of
crash data from 2011 to 2018 on five corridors found that
adaptive signal control technology, which is designed to
keep traffic flowing smoothly, led to a reduction in
crashes of about 5%. Many state and local officials told
the U.S. Government Accountability Office that their
ability to realize such benefits depends on sustained
funding and leadership. In addition, these officials
described challenges to operating their ITS, such as
procurement and obsolescence issues, interoperability
problems with ITS-related equipment, and staffing-related
challenges.
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Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office
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In 2018, DoorDash, the food delivery service, launched
Project DASH, to aid food banks, food pantries, and other
social impact organizations in using DoorDash logistics to
power the delivery of charitable food and other essential
items. This research evaluates the effectiveness of
Project DASH’s home delivery partnerships, which helps
anti-hunger organizations to deliver food directly to
clients and improve access to charitable food. The authors
analyze survey responses from approximately 400 home
delivery clients, largely from the San Francisco Bay Area,
alongside a survey of all Project DASH anti-hunger
organization partners and several interviews with partner
staff and home delivery clients. This research finds that
home delivery removed food access barriers by helping the
majority (97.8%) of clients save money and by providing
charitable food to 78.4% of clients who faced chronic
health conditions and mobility challenges. Additionally,
home delivery filled food access gaps, as less than half
(44.0%) of respondents reported receiving charitable food
before receiving home delivery was available. However, home
delivery clients identified communication challenges, as
Project DASH partners primarily serve older adults who may
struggle to communicate on the app-driven platform.
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Source: Urban Institute
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This report presents 2021 infant mortality statistics by
age at death, maternal race and Hispanic origin, maternal
age, gestational age, leading causes of death, and maternal
state of residence. Trends in infant mortality are also
examined. A total of 19,928 infant deaths were reported in
the United States in 2021, up 2% from 2020. The U.S. infant
mortality rate was 5.44 infant deaths per 1,000 live
births, essentially unchanged from the rate of 5.42 in
2020. The neonatal mortality rate was essentially unchanged
from 3.56 in 2020 to 3.49 in 2021, but the post-neonatal
mortality rate increased from 1.86 to 1.95. The overall
infant mortality rate increased for infants of Asian
non-Hispanic women and declined for infants of Dominican
women in 2021 compared with 2020; changes in rates for the
other race and Hispanic-origin groups were not significant.
Infants of Black non-Hispanic women had the highest
mortality rate (10.55) in 2021, followed by infants of
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander non-Hispanic and
American Indian or Alaska Native non-Hispanic (7.76 and
7.46, respectively), Hispanic (4.79), White non-Hispanic
(4.36), and Asian non-Hispanic (3.69) women. By gestational
age, infants born very preterm (less than 28 weeks of
gestation) had the highest mortality rate (353.76), 170
times as high as that for infants born at term (37–41 weeks
of gestation) (2.08). The five leading causes of infant
death in 2021 (congenital malformations (20% of infant
deaths), disorders related to short gestation and low birth
weight (15%), sudden infant death syndrome (7%),
unintentional injuries (7%), and maternal complications
(6%) were the same as in 2020. Infant mortality rates by
state for 2021 ranged from a low of 2.77 per 1,000 live
births in North Dakota to a high of 9.39 in Mississippi.
Florida’s rate was 5.90 per 1,000 live births.
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Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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This guidance document updates the federal Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) 2018
document and outlines best practices for the implementation
and operation of recovery housing, a support services
designed for individuals initiating and sustaining recovery
from substance use issues. These best practices are
intended to serve as a tool for states, governing bodies,
providers, recovery house operators, and other interested
stakeholders to improve the health of their citizens,
reduce incidence of overdose, and promote recovery housing
as a key support strategy in achieving and sustaining
recovery. The guide presents 11 best practices for
supporting recovery housing including, establishing and
sharing written policies, procedures, and resident
expectations and promoting person-centered, individualized,
and strengths-based approaches to ensure that the
individual’s strengths, needs, preferences, and goals are
at the center of decision-making.
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Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration
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Early-life socioeconomic status (SES) and adversity are
associated with late-life cognition and risk of dementia.
This study examines the association between early-life SES
and adversity and late-life cross-sectional cognitive
outcomes as well as global cognitive decline, hypothesizing
that adulthood SES would mediate these associations. The
population sample was a racially and ethnically diverse
cohort of non-Hispanic/Latino White (48%), Black (27%), and
Hispanic/Latino (19%) participants from Northern
California. The authors estimated early-life (e.g.,
parental education, whether participant ever went hungry)
and adult (participant’s education, main occupation) SES
factors and their associations with cross-sectional and
longitudinal cognitive outcomes of episodic memory,
semantic memory, executive function, and spatial ability.
The authors found that early-life sociocontextual factors
are more strongly associated with cross-sectional late-life
cognitive performance compared to cognitive change; this
effect is largely mediated through associations with
adulthood SES. Adulthood SES mediated a large percentage
(68–75%) of the total early-life effect on cognition.
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Source: Mathematica
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Government Program Summaries (GPS) is a free resource for legislators and the public that provides descriptive information on over 200 state government programs. To provide fiscal data, GPS links to Transparency
Florida, the Legislature's website that includes continually updated information on the state's operating budget and daily expenditures by state agencies.
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