August 23, 2024
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Over the past decade, a movement to bolster local response
to behavioral health crises in a manner like that of crime,
fire, and medical emergencies has risen as a top priority
for the nation. As a result, localities have made strides in
strengthening their crisis care continuums, consisting of
911 call centers, first responders, and crisis stabilization
units. Many localities have adopted varying approaches to
address the growing number of behavioral health crises,
including crisis intervention teams comprised of specially
trained law enforcement officers, co-responder programs
involving law enforcement and paired behavioral health
professionals, and mobile crisis response teams with
behavioral health, peer support, and emergency medical
services professionals. The Crime and Justice Institute,
with the support of Arnold Ventures, conducted a landscape
analysis of state and federal regulations from 2018 to 2023
to learn more about the factors that facilitate the
successful implementation of crisis response programs in
local communities. This report provides an overview of the
crisis response landscape, detailing the most utilized
crisis response models and the factors that have driven the
movement to bolster crisis response within the past five
years. Five response models are outlined within this report,
including (1) crisis intervention teams, (2) specialized law
enforcement training, (3) co-responder programs involving
law enforcement, (4) mobile crisis response teams without
law enforcement, and (5) 911 dispatch diversion. The
institute determined that federal and state legislative
intervention impacts localities’ implementation of crisis
response programs, such as funding, cross-agency
collaboration, and capacity building.
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Source: Crime and Justice Institute
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Historically, research has shown that youth removed from
their homes are more likely to be rearrested or arrested for
more severe offenses than similarly situated youth
supervised in their communities. However, more recent
research suggests that youth who are formally processed and
supervised are more likely to be rearrested in the future
than comparable youth who receive diversion from formal
prosecution. The study examines arrests for new offenses and
technical violations to assess whether technical violations
or diversion programs deter recidivism. The study found that
youth charged with their first offense who are diverted from
probation are not associated with an increase in offending
and are less likely to be rearrested in the future than
their matched peers assigned to probation.
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Source: Council of State Governments: The Justice Center
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Early childhood educators play essential roles in providing
stable and high-quality child care for young children and
supporting their development and growth. Historically, low
wages in the District of Columbia have led to challenges in
compensating and retaining qualified early childhood
educators and, in turn, building quality child care systems.
In 2022, the District of Columbia passed legislation in an
effort to generate revenue to increase compensation for
early educators working in licensed DC child care programs.
The Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund aims to
increase early educators’ pay to a minimum that is at par
with DC public school teachers with similar education
levels. In Fiscal Year 2022, the Pay Equity Fund provided
one-time supplemental payments to early educators in
licensed centers and home-based programs—$14,000 for
full-time lead teachers and $10,000 for assistant teachers
and associate caregivers. In Fiscal Year 2024 funds will be
distributed to child care facilities to allocate to early
childhood educators’ wages. This study surveyed eligible
early educators who received payments from the Pay Equity
Fund and directors who employed early childhood educators
and operated licensed childcare programs to identify these
individuals' experiences with implementing the fund and
receiving payments in the first years. The study found that
96% of survey respondents had received at least one payment
from the equity fund by the time of the survey
administration. In addition, early educators reported ease
in applying for and receiving payments from the Pay Equity
Fund. Lastly, many educators noted that the fund has made
early educators feel genuinely appreciated and acknowledged
for their essential role in the workforce.
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Source: Urban Institute
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What is the role of the nation’s community and technical
colleges in preparing for a workforce transition to the
green economy? To begin to answer this question, the
Community College Research Center hosted a symposium in
April 2024, that brought together community colleges,
workforce development organizations, funders, policymakers,
and others to discuss the opportunities and challenges of
starting, expanding, and sustaining green workforce training
programs. Findings from this group include that (1)
community colleges are uniquely positioned to address
challenges posed by climate change and to prepare students
for jobs in the green economy; (2) jobs in the green economy
already exist; (3) jobs in the green economy appeal to
people across the political spectrum; (4) green jobs have
the potential to advance racial and economic equity; and (5)
now is an optimal time for colleges to invest in workforce
training programs that prepare students for green jobs.
Several college leaders noted the importance of mobilizing
quickly when unexpected opportunities present themselves.
Colleges can prepare by spotlighting and succinctly
describing green jobs training programs on their websites,
documenting the number and characteristics of students that
they currently serve and have the potential to serve, and
reaching out to local employers who may offer internships or
other training opportunities to students and hire their
graduates.
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Source: Columbia University, Community College Research
Center
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The commercial real estate sector experienced significant
demand disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Understanding the trends impacting this sector is of broad
general interest, as headlines and Congressional hearings
have warned us. Commercial real estate distress can
destabilize local government fiscal models, the banking
sector, or even the entire economy. Across product types,
commercial real estate has struggled to keep pace with
demand trends that are evolving faster than buildings can be
built or renovated. However, it’s not all fragility and bad
news—demand remains stronger than ever for vibrant
communities that create opportunity, bring amenities into
proximity, and build wealth. The authors argue that it’s not
a simple question of whether America has too much or too
little offices, retail, or rental apartments. Rather, there
is a three-way mismatch between available space, locations
with demand, and entrepreneurs with resources, including
site control, community support, and access to capital.
Government, finance, and the real estate industry all have a
role to play in fixing this alignment. Retail in particular
is a surprising bright spot, with big opportunities for
delivering positive economic and social returns. Facts
include that 1) retail was the most stable commercial real
estate category through the pandemic (relative to office
space and industrial space); 2) while headlines have focused
on office valuation declines, multifamily losses are
comparable in scale; 3) retail rental properties generate
stable and competitive returns amid macroeconomic headwinds;
4) the national vacancy rate for retail is at a five-year
low point; 5) retail vacancy varies widely at the hyperlocal
level; and 6) there is room for growth in investing in Black
entrepreneurship in retail.
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Source: Brookings Institute
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In 2022, 155 million emergency department visits occurred in
the United States. During that year, about 5% of children
had two or more emergency department visits in the past 12
months, and about 20% of adults had visited the emergency
department in the past 12 months. This report presents
characteristics of emergency department visits by age group,
sex, race and ethnicity, payment source, and mention of
COVID-19, using data from the 2022 National Hospital
Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. Key findings include that
the overall emergency department visit rate was 47 visits
per 100 people in 2022. Emergency department visit rates
were highest for infants younger than age 1 year (99 visits
per 100 infants) and adults ages 75 and older (76 per 100
people). The emergency department visit rate for Black or
African American non-Hispanic people (91) was the highest
among the selected racial and ethnic groups. The emergency
department visit rate for patients with private insurance
was lowest compared with all other primary expected sources
of payment that were considered; the rate for patients with
Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program, or other
state-based programs was highest. In 2022, a COVID-19
diagnosis was confirmed for 4.8% of all emergency department
patient visits.
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Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Substance use and mental health issues have significant
impacts on individuals, families, communities, and
societies. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health,
conducted annually by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration, provides nationally
representative data on the use of tobacco, alcohol, and
other substances, including illicit drugs; substance use
disorders; receipt of substance use treatment; mental health
issues; and receipt of mental health treatment among the
civilian, noninstitutionalized population aged 12 or older
in the United States. The National Survey on Drug Use and
Health employs a probability sample designed to represent
the nation as a whole and for each of the 50 states and the
District of Columbia. A full sample was available from all
four quarters in 2023. Key findings include 23% (or 64.4
million) of survey respondents 12 years of age or older
reported using tobacco products or vaping nicotine 30 days
prior to the survey, 46% (61.4 million) of survey
respondents 12 years of age or older reported binge drinking
30 days prior to the survey, and 18% (4.5 million) of survey
respondents reported having a major depressive episode in
the past 12 months.
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Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration
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The U.S. Social Security Administration serves over 70
million beneficiaries and delivers vital services to
millions more yearly, such as payments for retirement and
supplemental security income programs. Significant declines
in the administration’s inflation-adjusted budget, combined
with complex administrative burdens and the need to update
information technology systems, have led to long wait times
for basic services and large backlogs of disability
insurance claims. Because of current trends, people waiting
for the Social Security Administration to make a disability
determination are experiencing significant economic and
health hardships, including more bankruptcies, evictions,
foreclosures, and more significant health risks from delayed
access to health insurance and a stable monthly income. In
addition, such long wait times have been shown to reduce the
number of new applications. This report explores the causes
of the administration’s service challenges, examines their
impacts on people utilizing these services, and highlights
ways to improve their performance. The report finds that
factors affecting the administration’s performance include
funding for administrative expenses, ongoing
COVID-19-related impacts on operations, and changes in the
volume of initial disability claims; recommendations include
redesigning the disability determination process and
investing in new information technology.
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Source: Urban Institute
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