Collaboration is a fundamental element of creating and sustaining lasting change in the civil protection order system. By working in concert with one another, professionals in the system provide victims with a response that is unified, cohesive, reliable, and interactive. When professionals work in concert toward shared goals, the system is more accountable, and communities can support and assist victims. Because of this, collaboration is a key guiding value within the Civil Protection Orders: A Guide for Improving Practice, a resource funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women, and created by a committee of multidisciplinary experts dedicated to system improvement and change. The guide provides guiding values and practice strategies for various stakeholders, including advocates, civil attorneys, courts and the judiciary, law enforcement, and prosecutors interested in improving their civil protection order system. The guide also establishes four universal collaboration strategies, including identifying and institutionalizing opportunities for cross-system dialogue and collaboration, designing and implementing cross-training programs on effective protection order systems, and working beyond the civil protection order process. This publication highlights four communities and their collaborative efforts, looking at how courts and judicial officers can use their leadership to bring stakeholders and the larger community to the table to better improve their civil protection order systems. In addition, it highlights the application of the universal strategies of collaboration used in the communities.

Nearly 2 million individuals are incarcerated in jails or prisons in the United States. However, approximately 3.7 million individuals are on supervised probation or parole, representing 1 in 69 adults in 2021. Probation is often intended as an alternative to incarceration, but probation supervision can often lead to incarceration when an individual is unable to comply with strict and extensive supervision conditions. Approximately 280,000 individuals are incarcerated for violations of supervision standards, including technical violations and new offenses. Twenty percent of individuals in the total U.S. jail population are incarcerated for probation violations. In addition, there are substantial racial and ethnic disparities among those under probation supervision. A 2020 study found that Black people were 2.6 times more likely to be on probation compared to White people. Pima County, Arizona designed and implemented several probation-focused programs and revised probation policies and practices to reduce over-incarceration, disparities in jail populations, and the number of probation violations. These included the creation of the Clear My Warrant Program, which was unanimously approved by the judges of the criminal bench in April 2022. This program is a no-court, no-jail program that allows people who have absconded from probation to reengage without being arrested and incarcerated. Through the program, people can have their original probation sentences (from before they absconded) reinstated without jail time or court hearings when they reengage with probation.: This case study describes Pima County’s implementation experiences and lessons that other jurisdictions implementing probation reform may find informative, including using data-driven approaches and research to increase effectiveness, delivering individualized support for people on probation, and rebuilding trust with individuals directly impacted by the criminal legal system.

This report describes the outcomes of first-time beginning students who entered postsecondary education for the first time during the 2019–20 academic year. Outcomes include students' postsecondary enrollment patterns, persistence and attainment, social and academic experiences and activities, and employment history. Among 2019–20 first-time postsecondary students, 7% had completed an associate’s degree, 5% had completed a certificate, and 1% had completed a bachelor’s degree at any institution within 3 years. Another 65% had not earned a credential as of June 2022 but were enrolled at an institution during the 2021–22 academic year (48% at a 4-year institution and 17% at a less-than-4-year institution), while an additional 23% had not earned a credential and were not enrolled at any institution during the 2021–22 academic year. Among those who had attained a credential at any institution within 3 years of entering postsecondary education and were enrolled in any postsecondary institution during the 2020–21 academic year, 72% reported that some or all their classes were delivered entirely online because of the COVID-19 pandemic in the 2020–21 academic year. Thirty-one percent reported receiving grades lower than expected because of the COVID-19 pandemic in the 2020–21 academic year. Among those who had not attained a credential at any institution and were enrolled in a postsecondary institution during the 2020–21 academic year, 80% indicated that some or all of their classes were delivered entirely online because of the COVID-19 pandemic in the 2020–21 academic year. An additional 41% indicated receiving grades lower than expected because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the U.S. economy continues to undergo rapid change that makes occupational pathways even more critical, finding ways to engage and energize male students—many of whom are floundering in traditional settings—is becoming ever more crucial. Career and technical education (CTE) offers an avenue for young men who have fallen behind academically and economically and who may as a result suffer at many points along their life courses. Male participation in the labor force has been in decline since the 1970s, most of all for men without college degrees. This trend coincides with the switch from a production-oriented to a service-based economy, which has erased many jobs that men have traditionally performed. (The manufacturing sector alone lost 7.7 million jobs between 1980 and 2017.) Male academic performance is also in decline. Boys lag behind girls by about a grade level in literacy and are more likely to be chronically absent from school. Men are less likely than women to be in the top 10% of their high school classes, and in 2021, only 36% of male high school graduates enrolled in a four-year college, compared with 51% of female graduates. CTE is proving to be an attractive and effective alternative for male students. Several studies show that male students enrolled in CTE fare better academically than other male students, with higher secondary school attendance rates, tenth-grade test scores, and graduation rates and more frequent matriculation at two-year institutions. In addition, some evidence suggests that men who participate in CTE go on to earn substantially more than men without that exposure—a finding reflecting, in part, their pursuit of high-earning fields like advanced manufacturing and information technology.

Over a 30-year period, inflation-adjusted tuition and fees have risen by 50% at public two-year colleges, 78% at private four-year, and 109% at public four-year colleges. More than half of states have implemented tuition-free college policies aimed at reducing attendance costs and incentivizing enrollment. Tuition-free college programs are an increasingly popular avenue for policymakers to address significant college affordability challenges. This paper reviews the academic literature on the design features and impacts of tuition-free policies and analyzes an initiative Virginia implemented, which provides tuition-free community college to students enrolled in eligible associate degree, certificate, and noncredit occupational training programs in five high-demand fields. Key findings show that institutions and students responded to the tuition-free messaging and eligibility criteria. Researchers also found that student enrollment in eligible institutional programs and eligible institutional program offerings increased by roughly 30% within the first two years of program implementation.

Despite coupled households making up a decreasing share of U.S. households in recent decades, they still made up the majority: approximately 215 million people were living in coupled households in 2020, roughly 67% of the household population of 323 million. Coupled households are those in which the householder has a spouse or cohabiting partner living with them. Each type of coupled households — married or cohabiting — may contain either an opposite-sex or same-sex couple. The 2020 Census Supplemental Demographic and Housing Characteristics File shows that about 99% of people in coupled households (212 million) lived in opposite-sex couple households, while the remaining 1% lived in same-sex couple households. Roughly 88% of those in coupled households lived in married-couple households (189 million). The majority (187 million or about 99%) were in opposite-sex married-couple households, and about 2 million were in same-sex married-couple households. About 8% of the household population (26 million) lived in cohabiting-couple households in 2020. Most (about 25 million or 95%) lived in opposite-sex cohabiting-couple households, and about 1 million were in same-sex households. There were about 189 million persons living in married couple households in 2020. States which had the highest number of persons living in these households were California (22.8 million), Texas (17.2 million), and Florida (11.9 million), while the states with the fewest number of persons in married couple households were Vermont (0.4 million), Wyoming (0.4 million), and the District of Columbia (0.2 million).

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are a large group of chemicals developed in the 1940s that can persist in the environment and cause adverse health effects. These chemicals are used in a wide range of products, such as carpets and some nonstick cookware. Studies show that most people in the U.S. have been exposed to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, likely from contaminated water, food, or air. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established maximum contaminant levels applicable to six types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in drinking water. For perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonate —two of the most common per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances— the agency set maximum contaminant levels at 4 parts per trillion. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) surveyed public water systems in six selected states that had perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonate at or above maximum levels. The GAO found that most public water systems (77%) did not fully implement a per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances treatment method. The GAO also found that among the systems that implemented a treatment, granular activated carbon was most often used. In addition, the GAO found that public water systems face challenges as they implement per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances treatment methods. For example, in the six selected states, an estimated 86% of large systems found it challenging to communicate effectively with customers about per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances' health risks. The GAO provides several recommendations, including (1) establishing a time frame for issuing additional resources to help systems communicate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances health risks to customers and (2) creating a straightforward resource relevant to systems’ disposal of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances-contaminated waste.

Roads, highways, rails and bridges in the nation’s rural areas face significant challenges: they lack adequate capacity, they fail to provide needed levels of connectivity to many communities, and they cannot adequately support growing freight travel in many corridors. Rural roads and bridges have significant deficiencies and deterioration, they lack many desirable safety features, and rural non-Interstate roads experience fatal traffic crashes at a rate far higher than all other roads and highways. The rate of traffic fatalities on Florida’s non-Interstate, rural roads in 2022 was nearly double the fatality rate on all other roads in the state – 2.61 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles of travel vs. 1.40 – and is the fifth highest in the nation. There were 728 fatalities on Florida’s non-Interstate, rural roads in 2022. Rural roads are more likely to have narrow lanes, limited shoulders, sharp curves, exposed hazards, pavement drop-offs, steep slopes and limited clear zones along roadsides. Four percent of Florida’s rural roads are rated in poor condition and 12% are in mediocre condition. Six percent of Florida’s rural bridges are rated in poor/structurally deficient condition. Bridges rated poor/structurally deficient have significant deterioration to the major components of the bridge and are often posted for lower weight or closed to traffic, restricting or redirecting large vehicles, including agricultural equipment, commercial trucks, school buses and emergency services vehicles. America’s rural transportation system provides the first and last link in the supply chain from farm to market, connects manufacturers to their customers, supports the tourism industry, and enables the production of energy, food and fiber. Rural Americans are more reliant on the quality of their transportation system than their urban counterparts, with vehicle travel in rural communities averaging approximately 50% higher than in urban communities.

Obesity is a chronic condition that increases the risk of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers. Obesity and severe obesity prevalence increased from 1999–2000 through 2017–18. This report provides prevalence estimates of adult obesity and severe obesity during August 2021–August 2023 by age and sex, as well as obesity prevalence by education level. Trends in the prevalence of adult obesity and severe obesity over the previous 10 years are also shown. During August 2021–August 2023, the prevalence of obesity in adults was 40.3%, with no significant differences between men and women. Obesity prevalence was higher in adults ages 40–59 than in ages 20–39 and 60 and older. The prevalence of obesity was lower in adults with a bachelor’s degree or more than in adults with less education. The prevalence of severe obesity in adults was 9.4% and was higher in women than men for each age group. From 2013–2014 through August 2021–August 2023, the age-adjusted prevalence of obesity did not change significantly, while severe obesity prevalence increased from 7.7% to 9.7%.

Early recognition and effective treatment of early serious mental illness can be life-changing, helping people with early serious mental illness to avoid disability and fully participate in life. Treatment early serious mental illness is often delayed. In the case of psychotic disorders like schizophrenia, for example, it can take over a year from the time symptoms appear to when the young person receives appropriate care. Early detection of serious mental illness and the provision of effective treatment can improve outcomes for individuals and promote long-term mental health recovery. This brochure emphasizes the crucial role of early detection and intervention in serious mental illnesses, emphasizing the need for prompt attention at the first onset of symptoms. In addition, the brochure also highlights the importance of youth and family engagement in early intervention services and supports. Key findings include identifying youth and young adults in locations where they are typically found like schools, doctor offices, and the justice system.