Each year, nearly two million women are released from prison or jail. These women experience unique challenges during their reentry — the period of transition from correctional confinement to the community — but correctional programming to support successful reintegration has largely focused on men. Despite evidence that findings from men’s reentry programs may not be generalizable to women, there has not been a commensurate investment in research, development, implementation, or evaluation of programs that integrate gender-specific factors in their designs. The five facts discussed in this publication are that (1) one in 138 women was under correctional supervision — in prison, jail, or on community supervision — at year-end 2021, but little is known about their characteristics on a national scale; (2) compared to men, women have distinct trajectories into the criminal justice system including differences in family histories of dysfunction, substance use, co-occurring disorders, and victimization, all of which are associated with criminal justice involvement; (3) gender-responsive programming shows promising results for women reentering society; (4) programming that addresses substance use, mental health, or co-occurring disorders before, during, and after supervision can be especially helpful for women; and (5) culturally responsive strategies for reentry programming may enhance success for justice-involved females.

Research indicates that subtle wording choices can impact how prospective applicants perceive advertised jobs and can play a key role in socializing potential applicants to law enforcement agency culture. This document discusses a study conducted by RTI International that explores the impacts of variations on job descriptions that followed standard, diversity-oriented, or policy-oriented wording. The standard wording included the minimum information typically found in policing job descriptions; diversity-oriented wording included information in the standard description along with language that alluded to the agency’s commitment to recruiting diverse applicants and an equal opportunity employer statement; and the policy-oriented wording included information in the standard description along with highlighting the agency’s commitment to work-life balance, listed parental leave under the described benefits, and included academy programs that supported trainees meeting the physical requirements. Findings indicated that the content of the job description was related to several important aspects of applicant perceptions of policing jobs, and women were especially impacted by the changes in the job description language. The document provides six recommendations, followed by specific examples to help agencies take immediate action regarding job description wording, based on the research findings. Recommendations include highlighting diversity and describing desirable candidates’ characteristics; utilizing gender neutral language; emphasizing the public service aspects of policing; explaining resources that support work-life balance; describing financial and non-financial benefits; and clarifying how applicants are supported before and during academy attendance.

In an effort to combat contraband cell phones in correctional facilities, which have been found to challenge the safety and security of prisons and jails, correctional leaders and policymakers have employed a variety of technological and non-technological strategies to find and remove these devices from their facilities. This practitioner-focused report examines one such contraband interdiction strategy: the use of cell phone detection canines (K9s). Historically, agencies have largely used K9s for perimeter patrol, crowd control, escapee apprehension, and drug detection in correctional settings, but more recently, agencies have trained K9s to detect contraband cell phones and other electronic storage devices. K9 cell phone detection programs are widespread, reportedly being used by as many as 80% of states; they vary substantially, however, and little is known about their implementation or efficacy. To address this gap, the research team spoke with 10 state departments of corrections, including Florida, about their K9 programs and outlined seven key components of cell phone detection K9 programs that agencies should consider when developing them.

The U.S. Department of Education is designing and testing a new model to estimate future costs of the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) program, which provides financial assistance to students and their parents for postsecondary education. The department aims to begin using the model with the fiscal year 2028 budget. Over the last 3 decades, the Direct Loan program has grown in size and complexity, with over $1.3 trillion in outstanding loans as of September 2023. This U.S. Government Accountability Office report examines (1) the status of the Department of Education's planned model for estimating Direct Loan costs; (2) how certain federal and private sector estimation approaches would affect Direct Loan budgetary costs over time; and (3) the extent to which the department provides key information about the performance and risks of the Direct Loan program. Authors recommend that the Secretary of Education should enhance the department’s reporting on its Direct Loan program performance and risk information. Enhanced reporting should include further reporting of sensitivity analyses and other factors, such as performance information, credit risk concentrations, and administrative risks.

This information request response provides an overview of different state approaches for funding special education services and a discussion of policy considerations for equitably funding these services. The discussion raises two policy approaches: 1) funding services using multiple weights to better differentiate funding levels according to student needs; and 2) providing high-cost services funding to avoid placing disproportionate spending pressures on certain districts. In addition, the response provides a summary of states that cap special education funding. Funding mechanisms used by states include single-student weight, multiple-student weights, high-cost student systems, census-based funding, reimbursement funding, resource-allocation funding, and categorical grant funding. Florida is one of twenty-one states which uses the most common model for distributing special education funding to districts - multiple student weights. At least 13 states also have spending cap limits for the state’s special education funding.

The release of such generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools as ChatGPT in 2022 was a major advancement in the field of AI. Two burning questions for kindergarten through grade 12 (K–12) educators are to what extent new generative AI tools will change teaching and whether they will improve learning. The answers to these questions are not yet clear and likely will not be for some time. To learn firsthand from educators the ways in which AI is beginning to affect teaching and learning in K–12 public schools, the authors surveyed nationally representative samples of 1,020 teachers and 231 districts, and interviewed 11 leaders from those districts. As of fall 2023, 18% of K–12 teachers reported using AI for teaching and another 15% have tried AI at least once. Middle and high school teachers and those who taught English language arts or social studies were more likely to be AI users. Among those teachers who use AI for teaching, most were using virtual learning platforms, adaptive learning systems, and chatbots on a weekly basis. The most common ways that teachers used AI tools were to adapt instructional content to fit the level of their students and to generate materials. By the end of the 2023–2024 school year, 60% of districts plan to have trained teachers about AI use. Urban districts were the least likely to deliver such training. In interviews, leaders described focusing more on increasing teachers' AI use and less on crafting student use policy, primarily because they saw the potential for AI to make teachers' jobs easier.

The foreign-born population in the United States has grown considerably over the past 50 years in both size and share of the U.S. population. In 1970, it numbered 9.6 million (4.7%) of the total U.S. population. By 2022, it was estimated to be 46.2 million (13.9%) of the total U.S. population. This report provides an overview of the foreign-born population residing in the United States, highlighting select demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. In 2022, nearly a quarter of the U.S. foreign-born population lived in California. In California, New Jersey, New York, and Florida, foreign-born individuals constituted more than 20% of the state’s population. As the U.S. population continues to grow and change, the migration patterns and demographic characteristics of foreign-born are also shifting. Between 2010 and 2022, some of the most notable shifts were for place of birth, naturalization rates, and educational attainment. The foreign-born population had more people coming from Asia and Africa, higher naturalization rates, and higher levels of educational attainment among nearly all regions of birth.

Policy evaluation studies that assess how state-level policies affect health-related outcomes are foundational to health and social policy research. The relative ability of newer analytic methods to address confounding, the distortion of the association between the independent and dependent variables which can be a key source of bias in observational studies, has not been closely examined. In this report, authors conducted a simulation study to examine how differing magnitudes of confounding affected the performance of four methods used for policy evaluations. Results showed that bias increased for each method under certain scenarios, though some methods had lower error rates than others. The authors conclude that no single method consistently outperformed the others, but a researcher’s toolkit should include all methodologic options in order to choose the most appropriate approach for their data.

Loss mitigation refers to the steps mortgage servicers take to work with a mortgage borrower to avoid foreclosure. During the COVID-19 pandemic, policymakers upgraded their loss mitigation waterfall to prevent a large-scale foreclosure crisis. As the first step in the loss mitigation process, borrowers were able to select forbearance, a temporary suspension of their mortgage payments. When the borrower exited forbearance, several options were available depending on the borrower’s financial circumstances; often, these missed payments were appended to the end of the mortgage. This study examines the impact these enhanced loss mitigation policies had on reducing the number of loans progressing from serious delinquency to foreclosure and liquidation, using detailed government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) loan-level performance data. Findings suggest that placing forbearance as the first step of the loss mitigation hierarchy, provisions that have been made permanent, can enhance loss mitigation effectiveness by 46%. Holding loss severities constant, the authors estimate the GSEs could significantly expand access to credit, potentially approving at least 300,000 additional loan applications annually.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common mental disorders of childhood. It is characterized by a pattern of inattention, impulsivity, or hyperactivity that leads to functional impairment experienced in multiple settings. Symptoms of ADHD occur during childhood, and many children continue to have symptoms and impairment through adolescence and into adulthood. This report describes the percentage of children and adolescents ages 5–17 years who had ever been diagnosed with ADHD from the 2020–2022 National Health Interview Survey. Key findings include that during 2020–2022, the prevalence of ever diagnosed ADHD was 11.3% in children ages 5–17 years, with boys (14.5%) having a higher prevalence than girls (8.0%). Children ages 5–11 years were less likely than children ages 12–17 years to have ADHD. White non-Hispanic children ages 5–17 years were more likely to have ADHD (13.4%) than Black non-Hispanic (10.8%) and Hispanic (8.9%) children. The prevalence of ADHD decreased as the level of family income increased. Children with public (14.4%) or private (9.7%) health insurance were more likely to have ADHD than children without insurance (6.3%).

Peer recovery support services (PRSS) are social support services delivered by people who have lived experience with substance use disorders and mental health conditions. There is a growing understanding of and evidence base supporting the benefits of PRSS. Individuals who receive these services are more likely to stay engaged in the recovery process and are less likely to experience recurrence. Historically, PRSS were financed through federal grant programs, but in recent years, Medicaid has become a significant payer. This report explores and summarizes the financing, utilization, and regulatory structures of providing PRSS for substance use disorders within federal grant programs and state Medicaid programs. Regarding federal grant programs, findings showed that although grants defined the role of peers, grantees had flexibility to propose activities and services provided by PRSS. This flexibility created variation in the role of and payment rates for PRSS. Regarding state Medicaid plans, analyses found that PRSS are available in nearly every state, and most state Medicaid plans reimburse peer support in 15-minute service intervals. Thirty states do not allow peers to supervise other peers and instead require clinically trained professionals to provide supervision. In addition, of the Medicaid plans with specific guidance on the types of staff eligible to supervise. Based on analyses and input from an expert panel of behavioral health peer services experts, the report identifies challenges and opportunities to finance and strengthen the PRSS workforce. One of the challenges to increasing the availability and workforce for PRSS is Medicaid fee-for-service financing; the panel reported difficulty of fitting PRS practice into individual 15-minute increments, requirements regarding who supervises peer staff, and low Medicaid reimbursement rates. Other challenges to growing the PRSS workforce include inconsistent financing, low compensation, and lack of clear guidance on the role and support of peers. Potential solutions include unified federal government guidance on financing PRSS, infrastructure support, use of innovative payment models, and increased salaries for peer workers.

While nearly all Americans become eligible for the Medicare health insurance program when they turn 65, many people delay signing up for various reasons. These delays are an important issue, because missing key deadlines can lead to late-enrollment penalties, specifically for people who wait too long to enroll in Medicare Part B (physician and other outpatient services) or Part D (outpatient prescription drug coverage). People who incur late-enrollment penalties pay them along with their monthly premiums—and usually must pay the penalty for the rest of their lives. This report found that almost 800,000 people paid late enrollment penalties for Medicare Part B in 2021, on average paying 27% more for Part B than they would have without the penalty. About 2.5 million people paid late enrollment penalties for Medicare Part D in 2022. With the continued phasing in of the increase in the Social Security full retirement age to 67, more people are likely to wait until after age 65 to start getting Social Security benefits and therefore will not be automatically enrolled in Medicare when they reach 65. Instead, they will need to actively take steps to enroll in Medicare and face the risk of incurring late-enrollment penalties if they miss certain deadlines. A variety of policy approaches could help people avoid these penalties and reduce the financial burden of penalties on people who do incur them, while maintaining the penalties’ purpose of encouraging prompt enrollment in the program. Such policy approaches include improving information to help those newly eligible for Medicare avoid penalties and limiting the lifetime cost of penalties for those who do incur them.