This dashboard provides an overview of key performance measure data collected by multiple U.S Department of Justice discretionary programs that support services for survivors of human trafficking. Victim service providers collect data on the number of victims served, victim demographics, and services provided, and anti-trafficking task forces collect data on arrests, prosecutions, and investigations. Key findings include, in 2024, local providers rendered services to human trafficking victims 756,033 times, such as case management, individual advocacy, and transitional housing; 13,343 new individuals, including 393 in Florida, were served annually; and 8,906 victims served were involved in sex trafficking. In addition, in the same year, most victims involved in human trafficking were Black or African American females between the ages of 25-59; 889 new arrests for trafficking and/or related incidents, including 38 in Florida, were made; 937 individuals were charged with violating sex trafficking statute, and 846 were charged with committing a human trafficking-related crime. Lastly, 140 individuals were found or pleaded guilty, or accepted a plea of sex trafficking charges.

Homicide refers to the offenses of murder and nonnegligent manslaughter which are the willful (nonnegligent) killing of one human being by another. This report describes the number and rate of homicide victimizations reported by law enforcement agencies in the United States, including victim demographic characteristics, victim-offender relationships, the type of weapon(s) present, and the number of victims involved in the incident. Findings in this report are based on the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ and the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System Estimation Program and the FBI’s Supplementary Homicide Reports. In 2023, the rate of homicide victimization was 5.9 per 100,000 persons. This marks a decrease from the rate of 6.7 per 100,000 in 2022. In the same year, the male homicide victimization rate (9.3 per 100,000 persons) was 3.5 times greater than the homicide victimization rate for females (2.6 per 100,000), and homicide victimization rate for black persons (21.3 per 100,000 persons) was more than 6 times the rate for white persons (3.2 per 100,000). Lastly, in 2023, the largest percentage of homicide victimizations (39%) was committed by someone outside the family but known to the victim.

This article examines the emergence and development of juvenile specialty courts designed to serve commercially sexually exploited children (CSEC). Rooted in the juvenile court’s original rehabilitative mission, these specialized dockets aim to respond to the unique needs of exploited youth through a trauma-informed, non-adversarial, and multidisciplinary approach. This article describes the history of the juvenile court as the original specialty court and the subsequent evolution of problem-solving courts, such as drug courts, that influenced the CSEC court model. Drawing on empirical research, court observations, and a national survey conducted for this article, the article explores the origins, structures, and practices of existing CSEC courts, identifying common components and challenges. Researchers found that although CSEC courts are modeled after existing specialty courts such as drug courts, there is no standardized approach or set of guidelines to follow when establishing a CSEC court. In addition, researchers found that, in some communities, CSEC courts emerged as a component of a developing or existing specialty court for girls, while, in other communities, the impetus for a CSEC court arose from an already established commitment to specifically addressing the issue of CSEC. Researchers also found that, of the twenty-one courts identified as serving commercially sexually exploited children, most were located within youth justice courts; CSEC courts can operate pre- or post-adjudication; there are a wide variety of program components and procedures among CSEC courts, such as eligibility criteria that involve identification of youth as exploited or at risk of exploitation and assessment of youth’s individual risks and needs; and utilizing the juvenile court as a primary method for accessing services also contributes to racial disproportionality within the youth justice system. G.R.A.C.E. Court – Growth Renewed through Acceptance, Change and Empowerment, located in Miami-Dade, is a specialized court which has served children who have been identified as victims of commercial sexual exploitation and labor trafficking since 2015.

In today's increasingly diverse classrooms, multilingual learners (MLLs) are a rapidly growing subpopulation of K–12 public school students. MLLs bring linguistic and cultural assets to the classroom, but they also face academic challenges compared with their English-only peers. Teachers play an important role in helping all students, but especially MLLs, acquire such skills as reading, writing, speaking, and listening in the English language. However, research shows that teachers may feel underprepared and ill-equipped to address these needs without the proper resources and professional learning to teach MLLs. Drawing on national teacher and principal survey data from spring 2024, the authors examine teachers' perceptions about how prepared they feel to teach MLLs and the reasons underlying their perceptions. They investigate the extent to which educators prioritize supports for MLLs when selecting professional learning, instructional materials, and activities, as well as the teachers' perceptions of the adequacy of their curriculum materials for helping MLLs. This report illuminates ways that state and local leaders, as well as those who develop and review curricula, can support teachers serving MLLs. About one-half of teachers serving MLLs reported feeling not at all or only somewhat prepared to teach MLLs. Addressing the needs of MLLs ranked low among principals' priorities for selecting teachers' professional learning and instructional materials, even in schools with a moderate to large proportion of MLLs. Slightly less than one-third of teachers serving MLLs reported that their curriculum materials were adequate for helping MLLs master their state standards and language in English language arts, mathematics, and science. About 60% of teachers reported a moderate or major need for more or better curriculum materials that provide options for MLLs.

While Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) is often proposed as an economic stimulus, its market effects remain uncertain. Universal preschool is a concept referring to a publicly funded educational program that offers early childhood learning to all children, typically starting at age four. Its primary objective is to provide high-quality education to all children, irrespective of their income level. This review analyzes UPK programs implemented across nine states and cities from 1995 to 2020, leveraging their staggered adoption for identification. UPK increased Pre-K enrollment and led to a 1.2% rise in labor force participation, a 1.5% increase in employment, and a 1.6% growth in hours worked, resulting in higher aggregate earnings. Employment effects were strongest for mothers but extended to other groups, primarily women. Impacts varied, with the largest effects observed in areas with high public Pre-K enrollment. Notably, each dollar spent on UPK generated between 3 to over 20 dollars in aggregate earnings – enough that tax revenues might fully cover costs.

Time is an essential component in understanding geographic mobility. As the American Community Survey (ACS), an ongoing survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau that provides detailed data about population and housing characteristics annually, . 1-year data show, changes in geographic mobility are not uniform over time. Across most survey years in the ACS 1-year data, the Millennial Generation had the highest geographic mobility rates compared to all other birth cohorts. These higher rates persisted even with overall declines in geographic mobility from 2015 to 2022. The Silent Generation and Baby Boomers experienced low and relatively stable geographic mobility rates across the period. Between survey years 2021 and 2023, the first 3 years of ACS 1-year data available following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, only Generation Z saw increased geographic mobility. Disaggregating birth cohorts by age group shows that geographic mobility rates differed even within birth cohorts. College-age Millennials and Generation Z had higher geographic mobility rates than their respective total birth cohort estimates. Baby Boomers had lower geographic mobility for those 65 years and older than all Baby Boomers.

The U.S. Departments of Commerce, Defense (DOD), and Energy (DOE) coordinate the Manufacturing USA Program and sponsor its institutes. Institute members, such as manufacturers and universities, help fund the institutes and conduct advanced manufacturing research and development (R&D) and workforce training. Congress established the Manufacturing USA Program in 2014 to stimulate U.S. leadership in advanced manufacturing, mainly through a national network of public-private partnership institutes. Key changes to the program since Fiscal Year 2019 included establishing new institutes—expanding the network from 14 to 17, as of December 2024. Also, Commerce formed a task team with DOD and DOE to continue implementing the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) prior recommendations to develop networkwide performance metrics. Another task team has begun developing common policies on membership by entities from China or other countries of concern. Commerce led the update of the strategic plan for the Manufacturing USA Program released in October 2024. However, Commerce officials described challenges. Specifically, the planning cycle required in statute does not align with mandatory 4-year updates to the National Strategy for Advanced Manufacturing. Aligning the strategic planning timeframes could better ensure the Manufacturing USA Program plan reflects the priorities of the national strategy. The 17 institutes generally increased their overall funding, memberships, technical capabilities, and activity on R&D and workforce training projects. In general, the institutes diversified their funding sources away from sponsoring agency baseline funding by also obtaining other federal funding, such as federal awards for certain projects, and nonfederal funds, like membership dues. The six selected institutes and 22 members GAO interviewed described institutes' progress toward developing new technologies, building supply chain resilience, or other advanced manufacturing goals. However, they identified challenges, including long, uncertain timeframes for DOD and DOE to review some institutes' requests to fund new projects or membership applications. By not tracking review times, DOD and DOE could delay institutes' progress toward advanced manufacturing goals or discourage members' participation. Advanced manufacturing uses cutting-edge tools, methods, and materials to create high-value products, such as 3-D-printed aircraft parts.

In the first randomized study of rent reporting—the inclusion of housing rental payments in credit data—we show that this practice can help people get a credit score for the first time or improve their score. It is exceedingly difficult to get by in the US economy without participating in the credit system. People with higher credit scores are typically offered a range of credit products with competitive interest rates, and accessing debt and making payments on time helps further boost their credit scores. Yet many people have fewer or less favorable forms of credit available to them and thus find themselves unable to build their credit records. In recent years, the major credit-scoring companies have begun adjusting scoring algorithms to factor in reported rental payments. Preliminary research suggests that rent reporting can tangibly improve people’s credit scores. In this report, we present the results of the first randomized controlled trial that tests the impact of opt-in, positive-only rent reporting on credit visibility and credit scores. Positive rent reporting is the process of reporting a tenant’s on-time rent payments to at least one of the three major consumer credit bureaus for inclusion in their consumer credit report. This can be compared to full-file reporting in which landlords share all payment history with credit bureaus, including negative information, such as missed payments. People who have low credit scores or do not have a credit score are unable to access many types of financial products, are charged higher interest rates, and may have fewer options when searching for housing. These limitations and additional costs can add up to thousands of dollars annually, making it harder for people to improve their financial situations. We find that positive-only rent reporting leads to large, statistically significant increases in the likelihood of having a credit score (using VantageScore, which scores more people and responds more quickly to new accounts than FICO). That is, people who sign up for rent reporting are more likely to have enough information in their credit report for the bureaus to produce a credit score. Positive-only rent reporting also increases the likelihood of having at least a near-prime score (a VantageScore of at least 601) by an estimated 12 percentage points. This is a large increase given that most people in the study had credit scores at the beginning of the study period. The share of the treatment group without credit scores was cut in half, from 16% to 8%. We estimate that rent reporting increased the share of people with near-prime scores or better by 25 percentage points among those whose rents were reported.

The risk of infant mortality and long-term morbidity is lower for early-term births (births delivered at 37 and 38 weeks) than for infants delivered at shorter gestational ages but is higher than for those delivered later in pregnancy. Births delivered at 37 weeks are twice as likely as those born at 38 weeks and three times as likely as those born at 39 and 40 weeks to die in the first month of life. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends delivery at 39 weeks or later, but also notes that there are several complications for which early-term delivery is warranted. This report presents changes in early-term births from 2014 to 2023 overall and by maternal age, and the percentage of early-term births for which labor was induced. Among all births, the percentage of infants delivered preterm increased 13% from 2014 to 2023, from 7.74% to 8.71%. The percentage of early-term births rose 22% from 2014 to 2023, from 24.31% to 29.64%, with increases of 47% for births at 37 weeks (from 8.17% to 12.05%) and 9% for births at 38 weeks (from 16.13% to 17.58%). In contrast with increases in births delivered at less than 39 weeks from 2014 to 2023, full-term births declined 7% (from 60.76% to 56.68%). Late and post-term births declined by almost one-third, from 7.20% to 4.97%. The percentage of early-term births for which labor was induced increased 77% from 2014 to 2023, from 17.7% to 31.3%. The percentage of births induced at 37 weeks rose 81%, from 20.7% to 37.4%, and the percentage at 38 weeks rose by 68%, from 16.1% to 27.0%.

Each year, roughly 48 million people in the United States get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die of foodborne diseases. To protect against foodborne illnesses, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspects food facilities to ensure compliance with regulations and the safety of the nation’s food supply. This report evaluates the FDA’s compliance with conducting timely inspections of domestic food facilities. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (OIG), found gaps in the FDA’s efforts to inspect domestic food facilities, particularly in meeting required timeframes. For example, the U.S OIG found that the FDA is conducting fewer inspections of food facilities compared to the number prior to the pandemic. In addition, the FDA did not inspect many facilities within the required timeframes and is not inspecting enough facilities to meet the timeframes in the future. The U.S. OIG also found that the FDA attempted to inspect thousands of facilities that were not in operation, which created an inefficient use of resources, uncovered significant violations in 1% to 2% of facilities inspected each year, and did not conduct timely follow-up inspections. The U.S OIG provided several recommendations to address issues identified in the report, including increasing the number of facilities inspected each year and ensure that all facilities are inspected within the required timeframes; improving methods for identifying facilities that are not in operation to make better use of resources; assessing reasons for the decrease in number of facilities inspected by FDA with significant violations and take action as appropriate; and conducting timely follow-up inspections of facilities with significant violations.