Social integration is theorized to enhance psychological well-being and reduce stress among incarcerated women. However, little empirical research has examined the association between prison social integration and women’s stress during incarceration. This study expands on previous research by (a) examining the relationship between different types of prison network ties among incarcerated women and self-reported stress and (b) exploring whether women’s perceptions of social integration mediate the association between prison network ties and stress. Researchers find limited evidence that perceptions of social integration mediate the relationship between prison network ties and stress, suggesting that prison network ties are associated with stress reduction independent of an individual’s perception of integration. For example, most women report experiencing some level of stress during incarceration. However, prison network ties were not associated with incarcerated women’s reports of stress. In contrast, perceptions of social integration are negatively associated with stress.

Many new surveys have been developed to assess the prevalence of online sexual abuse. To determine when online sexual solicitation of a minor is considered sexual abuse and make recommendations for prevalence surveys, this article reviewed 25 online sexual abuse survey reports and examined episodes and narratives from the U.S. National Technology Facilitated Abuse (TFA) survey, which asked about online solicitation and other online sexual offenses. Among the surveys reviewed, 9 of 25 elicited and counted online sexual solicitation from adults only; however, the remainder counted other youth solicitors as well as adults. Eight of 25 asked about only unwanted solicitations, but the rest had no such qualification, possibly including solicitations with positive or neutral reactions. Analysis of the TFA survey showed that in over half of solicitation episodes, the recipients did not actually know the age or identity of the solicitor.

The transition from high school into postsecondary education and a career has become particularly challenging given today’s complex, fast-moving, and highly technological economy. To combat this problem, one approach widely adopted in the United States is the career academy model, which combines a college-preparatory and career and technical curriculum with a career theme and is often structured as a small learning community within a larger high school. This randomized controlled trial of career academies, starting in the mid-1990s, found sustained earnings gains for academy participants in the eight years after expected high school completion. It explores California Partnership Academies (CPAs), which are partially state-funded career academies within high schools across California. The study will follow participants for the eight years after expected high school graduation and look at the impacts on students’ high school, postsecondary education, and employment and earnings outcomes. Students assigned to CPAs reported more personalized attention from teachers, more collaboration with their classmates, and feeling more prepared for future college and career plans. Ninety-three percent of students in the study (both those in the CPA group and those in the non-CPA group) graduated high school on time. Being offered a spot in a CPA did not impact a student’s likelihood of graduating. The CPA model did have positive impacts on readiness for a California university for young women (by 12 percentage points) as well as for those students who were identified as both economically disadvantaged and struggling academically (by 13 percentage points).

In 1999, most (93%) of students enrolled in kindergarten through grade 12 came from English-speaking families and 6% from Spanish-speaking families. The percentage of students from Spanish-speaking families was higher (8%) in 2019. Meanwhile, students from English-speaking families fell to 89%. Between 1999 and 2019, the percentages of students from English-speaking families whose parents reported participating in school-related activities were higher than those for students from Spanish-speaking families for many activities asked about in the survey. For example, in 1999, some 79% of K–12 students from English-speaking families had parents who reported attending a general school meeting, compared with 69% of students from Spanish-speaking families. Looking at school or class events like plays, dances, sports events, or science fairs, 67% of students from English-speaking families had parents who reported attending them in 1999, compared with 40% of students from Spanish-speaking families. Comparing 1999 and 2019, percentages of participation in school or class events increased for both groups to 81% and 62%, respectively. However, a gap between the groups remained. The exception to this pattern of sustained gaps between students from English- and Spanish-speaking families is for reports of a parent attending a regularly scheduled parent-teacher conference. The percentages of students from Spanish-speaking and English-speaking families whose parents reported attendance were not measurably different in 1999 or 2003. A higher percentage of parents of students from Spanish-speaking families than students from English-speaking families reported participation in 2007. After that point, the trend shifted to the pattern observed for the other parental involvement activities discussed. Specifically, a higher percentage of students from English-speaking families had parents who reported participating in parent-teacher conferences than students from Spanish-speaking families.

As of February 2024, there were about 8 million open positions in the labor market at the same time as there were 6.5 million unemployed Americans. One reason is that employers report difficulty finding people with the skills they need—and several federal laws passed in the last few years create even more demand for skilled workers. Among other things, employers are looking for people with strong quantitative and analytic skills, creativity and proficiency in solving complex problems, and good interpersonal communication. Federal, state, and local policymakers view career and technical education (CTE) as a strategy both for meeting these needs in the labor market and for reducing gaps between students from lower- and higher-income backgrounds. In 2022, 36 states enacted over 120 policies related to CTE, including notable investments in California, Ohio, and Texas. There is evidence that when students from lower-income backgrounds or from underrepresented racial or ethnic groups participate in CTE, they may benefit from it even more than more affluent, more widely represented students. There is also evidence that students with disabilities who take CTE courses and programs are more likely to graduate on time and to earn industry-recognized credentials than their peers. For many decades, young men have been falling behind young women academically. Since 1980, female students have graduated high school at higher rates than male students and have enrolled in college at higher rates—as more and more jobs have come to require college degrees. But some CTE programs have been a bright spot in helping young men succeed, as multiple studies of high school programs have found positive effects among male students in particular.

More than half of the businesses in the United States had a sole owner, consistently outnumbering multi-owner businesses each year from 2017 to 2021, according to this analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Business Survey, which explores how reported business ownership varies by sex, race and ethnicity over time. During the five-year period between 2017 and 2021, the share of businesses with a single owner was remarkably stable, averaging 59.2%. By comparison, businesses with two to four owners made up an average 36.3% of all respondent firms. The share of businesses owned by five to 10 owners and those with 11 or more owners was significantly smaller and showed little variation. The portion with five to 10 owners consistently remained under 2% on average, while businesses with 11 or more owners accounted for about 1% of firms during this period. Between 2018 and 2021, women-owned businesses were consistently more likely than male-owned to have one owner. (The difference in 2017 was not statistically significant.) On average, 73.0% of women-owned businesses were solely owned, compared to 70.2% of male-owned businesses. This resulted in a persistent gap of 2.8 percentage points in sole ownership between men and women. Among minority-owned businesses (defined as a business owned by a person or persons of any race or ethnicity other than non-Hispanic White), on average 75.8% of those owned by women and 73.1% of those owned by men had one owner — an average difference of 2.7 percentage points. Similarly, non-Hispanic White women-owned businesses were more likely than male-owned ones to have a single owner. From 2018 to 2021, an average of 72.5% of non-Hispanic White women-owned businesses and 70.0% of non-Hispanic White male-owned businesses were sole ownerships, yielding an average difference of 2.5 percentage points.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) law enforcement agencies reported using over 20 types of detection, observation, and monitoring technologies in Fiscal Year 2023. This includes technologies the agencies owned or leased, as well as technologies the agencies accessed through third parties such as commercial vendors and other law enforcement agencies. Technologies such as automated license plate readers and drones can support federal law enforcement activities. However, using these technologies in public spaces—where a warrant is not necessarily required prior to use—has led to concerns about how law enforcement protects civil rights, civil liberties, and privacy. The report examines 1) the use of these technologies in public spaces without a warrant by selected DHS law enforcement agencies and 2) the extent to which the agencies have policies to assess the use of technologies for bias and protect privacy. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that DHS is developing policies and procedures to address bias risk from technologies that use AI but do not have policies or procedures to assess bias risks from using all detection, observation, and monitoring technology. The GAO recommends DHS develop policies and procedures to assess the risks of bias and ensure certain federal agencies implement privacy protections through technology policies.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) is responsible for distributing $3.1 billion in loan debt assistance appropriated under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) to distressed borrowers with qualifying farm loans. Federal farm loan programs serve as a safety net for agricultural producers. The programs provide an important source of credit when farmers and ranchers are otherwise unable to secure a commercial loan. Disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic and climate-related weather events put agricultural producers at risk of falling behind on loan payments and potentially losing their farms and ranches. This report describes the status of FSA’s distribution of loan debt assistance to qualifying borrowers under IRA Section 22006 from October 2022 through April 2024. As of April 2024, the GAO found that FSA distributed approximately $2.3 billion to borrowers who were delinquent on their FSA or other qualifying loan. According to FSA officials, about 44% of FSA delinquent loans received assistance. In addition, approximately half of the borrowers (52%) received $25,000 or less. About half of all assistance distributed went to borrowers in the Plains and South regions—areas where delinquent farm loan amounts were highest. In October 2024, FSA officials reported using $250 million of the remaining funds to assist about 4,600 borrowers.

Child Welfare Outcomes, an annual report to Congress published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, provides information on state performance in seven categories of outcomes that are widely accepted performance objectives for child welfare practice. There was a 1.4% decline in children reentering foster care within 12 months of a prior foster care episode between 2018 and 2022. Most, 88.4%, children exiting foster care were discharged to a permanent home in 2022. There was a 25% decline in young children placed in group homes or institutions from 2018 to 2022.

Chronic pain and pain that often restricts life or work activities, referred to in this report as high-impact chronic pain, are the most common reasons adults seek medical care, and are associated with decreased quality of life, opioid misuse, increased anxiety and depression, and unmet mental health needs. In 2019, 20.4% of adults had chronic pain, and 7.4% of adults had high-impact chronic pain. This report uses data from the 2023 National Health Interview Survey to provide updated percentages of adults who experienced chronic pain and high-impact chronic pain in the past 3 months by selected demographic characteristics and urbanization level. Key findings from the report include that in 2023, 24.3% of adults had chronic pain, and 8.5% of adults had high-impact chronic pain in the past 3 months. Chronic pain and high-impact chronic pain both increased with age. American Indian and Alaska Native non-Hispanic adults were significantly more likely to have chronic pain (30.7%) compared with Asian non-Hispanic (11.8%) and Hispanic (17.1%) adults. The percentage of adults with chronic pain and high-impact chronic pain in the past 3 months increased with decreasing urbanization level, from 20.5% in large central metropolitan areas to 31.4% in non-metropolitan areas. Women were more likely to have chronic pain (25.4%) and high-impact chronic pain (9.6%) than men (23.2% and 7.3%, respectively).

The Healthy People initiative provides science-based, 10-year public health objectives and targets for the U.S. population. As in the previous four initiatives, Healthy People 2030 established overarching goals and objectives (with targets) at the start of the decade and will be monitoring progress toward the attainment of targets and elimination of health disparities among population subgroups over the course of the decade. This report outlines Healthy People 2030 measurement practices for both progress toward target attainment and elimination of disparities and compares the 2030 measurement practices with those that were in place in 2020, highlighting strengths and limitations. Some health objectives and findings in the report include 1) reduce stroke deaths (getting worse, increased from 37.1 per 100,000 people in 2018 to 39.5 per 100,000 people in 2022); 2) increase the proportion of adults with diabetes who have an annual eye exam (little change, from 64.8 per 100,000 in 2019 to 64.6 per 100,000 in 2022); 3) reduce emergency room visits related to non-medical use of prescription opioids (exceeded target of 3.5 visits per 100,000 people or less from 3.9 visits per 100,000 people in 2017 to 2.9 visits per 100,000 in 2021).