As of September 2024, 26 states have active court strategic plans covering a wide range of topics. Particularly, common themes address access to justice and diversity, technology and court modernization, and mental and behavioral health support through treatment courts and workplace resources. Courts are also addressing their needs for the expansion and implementation of problem-solving and mental health courts. For example, in California’s strategic plan they are focused on innovations in court programs and services and the expansion of problem-solving and treatment-oriented courts. Further, the New Mexico Supreme Court Commission on Mental Health and Competency’s 2024-2029 Strategic Plan prioritizes the goals of improving the outcomes of individuals facing behavioral health and cognitive challenges. Florida adopted a long-range strategic plan from 2022-2027, identifying five central issues regarding access to justice and modernizing court facilities. The plan’s vision statement states the Florida Justice System aims to be accessible, fair, effective, responsive, and accountable.

States are increasingly turning to assisted outpatient treatment (more accurately called preventive outpatient civil commitment) to ameliorate the mental health and homelessness crises. These laws authorize court-ordered community treatment for individuals with mental illnesses and a history of treatment non-compliance and aim to prevent psychiatric deterioration before causing dangerousness to self or others. Courts have subjected only one state's preventive outpatient commitment law to constitutional scrutiny and rigorous scholarly scrutiny of these laws has been minimal. This article examines the constitutionality of existing preventive outpatient commitment laws, including those in Florida. It identifies the individual and state interests implicated by preventive outpatient commitment and assesses available enforcement measures, revealing that most attempts to remove courts' inherent contempt power likely violate state law. It then analyzes involuntary treatment and civil commitment case law to construct a proper constitutional framework for scrutinizing preventive outpatient commitment laws.

Research suggests diversionary practices for first-time low-level offenses can substantially reduce subsequent criminal legal system involvement and minimize long-term collateral consequences. Diversion programs are one way for prosecutors to leverage their discretion to divert individuals charged with lower-level offenses to community-based services to address underlying behaviors and needs. This paper focuses on the implementation of one type of diversion program—Project Reset—in two jurisdictions: Jefferson County, Alabama, and Westchester County, New York. Project Reset is a pre-filing diversion model in which a prosecutor establishes an office-wide policy to divert people charged with certain offenses to participate in a brief community-based behavioral intervention rather than undergo traditional case processing. RTI International partnered with prosecutors’ offices in these two counties to evaluate their adoption of Reset. Using data from site visits, stakeholder interviews, and monthly program check-ins, this paper highlights the initial implementation of the program in these two jurisdictions, describes program challenges and successes, and provides recommendations for other jurisdictions interested in implementing the program in their communities. Although both sites faced challenges, our findings elucidate notable success in the initial implementation of the program, with promising results seen in stakeholder buy-in, program participation, and providing services to individuals while promoting accountability. Since initial implementation, Jefferson County has expanded their eligibility criteria twice (once to include more charge-eligible offenses, second to allow individuals with select past misdemeanors into the program). Both sites quickly expanded their programs countywide within the first year of implementation. Both sites reported high engagement and program completion among eligible participants: approximately 65% of eligible Jefferson County participants and 71% of Westchester County participants have had their case dismissed or declined to prosecute.

School leaders play a pivotal role in school and student success. Effective school principals boost student outcomes — from attendance to academic achievement — and may have a greater impact on these outcomes than previously understood. While quality principals matter a great deal for creating and sustaining quality schools, the staffing pipeline is facing significant challenges, including: (1) high turnover rates -- roughly 1 in 10 school principals left the profession between the 2020-21 and 2022-23 school years; (2) inequitable distribution of effective principals across schools -- schools with increased support needs tend to be staffed by less experienced and less effective school leaders; (3) shortage of experience -- on average, principals have less experience than in the past. By 2021, principals had fewer than seven years of experience on average, with over 40% of principals working in their current schools for three or fewer years; and (4) lack of racial diversity in the principal workforce -- while students in American schools are increasingly diverse, the racial diversity of principals has not kept pace — leaving a growing gap in representation. This gap is particularly concerning given evidence that racial diversity of principals improves outcomes for students of color. In the context of these challenges, and recognizing the critical influence of effective leadership on student success, many states have recently enacted policies to better recruit, support and retain principals and other school leaders. This report reviews trends in recent state legislation from 2022 to 2024 and highlights examples of both proposed and enacted laws. During this period, at least 44 states considered over 225 bills related to school leadership and 47 of those bills were enacted. Policy categories for these bills include principal certification and preparation, professional development for principals, evaluation of principals, and financial incentives and compensation for principals.

Safety is a crucial factor families consider when searching for childcare. Childcare facilities take many steps to create healthy and safe environments, and licensing systems help monitor and support that effort. This brief examines licensing inspection data from the District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent of Education to better understand the prevalence and types of required safety corrections across childcare settings. States use licensing systems as the primary mechanisms to ensure childcare programs meet basic requirements for a healthy and safe environment. Inspection results can illuminate areas where facilities could benefit from additional supports in creating healthy and safe environments. Though most of Washington, D.C.’s nearly 500 facilities demonstrated at least one required safety correction, a smaller share did so in 2022, whereas nearly all facilities in 2019 received at least one required safety correction. The share of facilities receiving required safety corrections related to recordkeeping decreased from 2019 to 2022. All facilities saw this improvement, regardless of facility characteristics the research team examined. The share receiving required safety corrections related to child supervision and staff−child ratios increased from 2019 to 2022. This trend was apparent among larger childcare facilities in D.C., such as child development centers and expanded homes.

The construction industry in the United States has experienced a notable surge in activity, driven by infrastructure development and delayed housing construction. This growth in construction activity has further stressed an already insufficient construction workforce. Apprenticeships are increasingly viewed as a critical strategy for mitigating construction labor shortages and fostering long-term industry growth. Expanding construction apprenticeship opportunities has the potential to not only address workforce needs but also strengthen a debt-free pathway to the middle class. In this paper, the authors analyze data on registered apprenticeship programs, current and anticipated demand for skilled labor in the construction industry, and other pathways into construction occupations. Although registered apprenticeship enrollment has doubled over the past decade, anticipated labor demand is more than double what current workforce development pathways are likely to provide. Alarmingly, one-third of construction apprenticeship programs (2,257 programs) had just one active apprentice in 2023, indicating limited capacity. Increasing capacity to host more apprentices is important, but it is likely to be insufficient: Forty percent of construction apprentices do not complete their apprenticeship programs. If the United States focuses on apprenticeships as the main strategy to meet labor demand without addressing capacity and noncompletion, the country will fail to meet the growing construction workforce demand.

This study attempt to understand the transformation needed to ensure the U.S. electric transmission system continues to reliably serve the nation’s electricity customers as the power sector evolves and transitions to cleaner resources. Over the past 5 years (2019–2023), nearly 200 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity has been added, about 80% of which is from clean electricity sources (wind, solar, storage, and nuclear). Continued interest in clean energy development is expected with more than 1,480 GW of solar and wind and 1,030 GW of storage seeking interconnection to the grid throughout the United States as of 2024. Under current policies the lowest-cost U.S. electricity system portfolios that meet future demand growth and reliability requirements include substantial transmission expansion. The total transmission system of the contiguous United States expands to 2.1 to 2.6 times the size the 2020 system by 2050 and interregional transmission grows 1.9 to 3.5 times. Accelerating transmission deployment beyond historical rates reduces power system CO2 emissions by 10 to 11 billion metric tons (43% to 48%) through 2050.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Census Bureau released data which showed that the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) increased half a percentage point to 12.9% from 2022 to 2023. The SPM extends the official poverty measure by taking into account government benefits, such as the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), and necessary expenses, such as taxes which are not part of the official measure. The SPM has been released annually by the Census Bureau since 2011. This data tool shows that Social Security kept 27.6 million people out of poverty and had the largest anti-poverty impact. Medical expenses moved 7.4 million people into poverty and were the most impactful necessary expense included in the SPM. From 2021 to 2023, the SPM poverty rate increased from 7.8% to 12.9%. The increase largely reflects substantial public investments in 2021 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that were no longer in effect by 2023. For instance, pandemic-related unemployment insurance expansions kept 496,500 Black individuals out of poverty in 2021. By 2023, after those expansions had expired, unemployment insurance only moved 67,200 Black individuals out of poverty. There were also differences over time unrelated to pandemic assistance. In 2021, necessary medical expenses increased the percentage of people in poverty by 1.4 percentage points, resulting in an additional 4.7 million people in poverty. By 2023, these expenses led to an additional 7.4 million people in poverty, increasing the SPM rate by 2.2 percentage points.

Since 1990, the total value of the multifamily housing stock has grown more than tenfold, from less than $600 million to more than $6 billion today, as both the number and value of multifamily housing units have steadily increased. Although a broad range of macroeconomic and demographic factors have contributed to this growth, the primary catalyst has been the establishment of well-functioning multifamily capital markets, defined by large liquid debt and equity markets and a largely unconstrained private rental market. Today, at this moment of intense housing shortages and affordability challenges, multifamily housing stands out among commercial real estate in terms of capital flows and performance while disproportionately contributing to the nation’s supply of newly constructed housing. This brief identifies and examines key moments in the evolution of multifamily debt and equity flows from the late 1980s through today and their impact on capitalization rates, property values, housing supply, rental rates, and rent growth. The brief concludes with a discussion of policy implications to identify market areas in need of additional investment and to inform regional and global markets elsewhere.

In 2022, 288,436 deaths among U.S. adults age 65 and older were attributed to dementia as the underlying cause of death. These deaths include vascular dementia, unspecified dementia, Alzheimer disease, and other degenerative diseases of nervous system (including Lewy body dementia). Compared with earlier years, dementia mortality increased in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. This report updates a previous publication, presenting age-adjusted death rates by sex, race and Hispanic origin, and place of death for adults age 65 and older with dementia as the underlying cause of death during 2018–2022. Between 2018 and 2019, age-adjusted death rates for dementia were stable. Between 2019 and 2020, the rate increased by 10.2%, from 520.1 deaths per 100,000 standard population to 572.9. Between 2019 and 2020, death rates increased for men by 7.1% (from 440.5 to 471.6) and for women by 11.8% (567.7 to 634.5). Between 2020 and 2022, dementia death rates overall declined to 548.9 but remained higher than the 2018 and 2019 rates. Dementia death rates for women declined each year from 2020 (634.5) to 2022 (599.6). For men, death rates declined from 2020 (471.6) to 2021 (465.3) but were stable from 2021 to 2022 (464.6). Dementia death rates were higher for women than men throughout the period.

This report presents provisional 2023 data on infant mortality rates using the U.S. linked birth/infant death files. Infant mortality rates are shown by infant age at death, maternal race and Hispanic origin, maternal age, gestational age, sex of the newborn, maternal state of residence, and the 10 leading causes of infant death. In 2023, the U.S. provisional infant mortality rate was 5.61 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, unchanged from the rate in 2022. From 2022 to 2023, changes in the neonatal mortality rate (from 3.59 to 3.65) and the post-neonatal mortality rate (from 2.02 to 1.96) were not statistically significant. Changes in infant mortality rates were not significant by most of the characteristics examined: maternal race and Hispanic origin, maternal age, gestational age, sex, or the 10 leading causes of infant death. By state, infant mortality rates increased in Nevada and Washington and declined in New Mexico and West Virginia. From 2022 to 2023, changes in the infant mortality rate by the 10 leading causes of infant death were not significant: congenital malformations (112.0 infant deaths per 100,000 live births in 2023 compared with 109.2 in 2022); disorders related to short gestation and low birthweight (81.4 compared with 78.6); sudden infant death syndrome (40.0 compared with 41.7); unintentional injuries (35.9 compared with 36.8); maternal complications (31.9 compared with 33.1); and complications of placenta, cord and membranes (15.6 compared with 17.3); respiratory distress of the newborn (12.6 compared with 12.5); diseases of the circulatory system (9.9 compared with 9.8); and neonatal hemorrhage (9.5 compared with 9.2).

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease and metabolic disorder resulting in elevated blood glucose levels. It is categorized as type 1 or type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes, and other specific types due to other causes. Uncontrolled blood glucose levels over a long period of time can affect multiple organ systems, including the nervous system, kidneys, eyes, heart, and blood vessels. Diabetes is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. This report presents the prevalence of diagnosed, undiagnosed, and total diabetes (excluding gestational diabetes) in U.S. adults during August 2021–August 2023. During August 2021–August 2023, the prevalence of total diabetes was 15.8%, diagnosed diabetes was 11.3%, and undiagnosed diabetes was 4.5% in U.S. adults. Total and diagnosed diabetes prevalence was higher in men (18.0% and 12.9%, respectively) than in women (13.7% and 9.7%, respectively). Total, diagnosed, and undiagnosed diabetes prevalence increased with age. Total, diagnosed, and undiagnosed diabetes prevalence increased with increasing weight status. Total and diagnosed diabetes prevalence decreased with increasing educational attainment. Continued monitoring of both diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes will provide essential information about the prevalence of diabetes in adults in the United States.