This brief presents findings on the percentage of victimizations reported to police by type of crime and location of residence for the aggregate period of 2020 through 2023. Between 2020–2023 about 38% of violent victimizations in urban areas were reported to police, which was lower than the percentages in suburban (43%) and rural (51%) areas. The percentage of rape and sexual assault victimizations in rural areas that were reported to police (52%) was almost four times higher than the share reported to police in urban areas (13%), and almost two times higher than the share reported in suburban areas (29%). Reporting to police for simple assault victimizations was higher in suburban (39%) and rural areas (46%) than urban areas (32%). For robbery, the percentage of victimizations reported to police was lower in suburban areas (49%) than urban areas (63%). The percentage of robbery victimizations reported to police was not statistically different between urban and rural areas.

This report provides a national-level perspective on the threats posed by deadly illicit drugs and the violent transnational criminal organizations responsible for producing the drugs. This annual assessment provides valuable strategic drug-related intelligence to communities, health professionals, educators, and law enforcement agencies to help inform their response to this crisis. In the 12-month period ending in October 2024, 84,076 Americans died from a drug overdose, according to the most recent available provisional statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fentanyl and other synthetic drugs, including methamphetamine, are the primary drivers of fatal drug overdose deaths nationwide, while other illicit drugs, such as cocaine, heroin, and diverted prescription opioids, still contribute meaningfully to the drug threat landscape in the United States. However, overdose and poisoning deaths involving fentanyl and other synthetic opioids caused more deaths than all other categories of drugs. This deadly drug, often pressed into pills resembling legitimate medications and presented as authentic to customers or mixed into other drugs, creates a heightened risk of fatal overdose for unsuspecting or otherwise opioid-naïve users. Criminal groups use U.S. interstates for the distribution and delivery of these illicit drugs. Specifically, approximately 2,300 kilograms of fentanyl were seized on the ten most heavily traveled U.S. interstates in 2024.

Community responder programs, which employ health professionals and staff trained in crisis response as first responders, have emerged as an effective mechanism for reducing client distress, providing timely support, and lessening the burden on police and hospitals across the U.S. Community responder programs offer an additional option for first response. Composed of multidisciplinary professionals trained to address behavioral health and quality-of-life concerns, community responder programs provide a person-centered response to 911 and other emergency calls for service. Integrating community responder programs into first response systems ensures that all calls for service can receive the most appropriate response. As the expansion of community responder programs continues, it is increasingly important to ensure that training and workforce development opportunities are available so that community responder professionals have the tools they need to succeed long term. State leaders can use the following strategies to support what’s working locally and help strengthen the workforce. First, they can create a career pathway to standardize and establish credibility in the community responder profession. Second, they can implement policies to attract professionals. Finally, policy leaders can reduce hiring and retention barriers.

A growing number of states have adopted policies that encourage or require the use of child assessments to measure what young children know and can do before they reach third grade. Today, most quality improvement systems for evaluating early childhood education programs recognize child assessments alongside other programmatic features such as curricular resources and training for teachers as important indicators of program quality. As children move up to kindergarten, many states and districts require Kindergarten Entry Assessments (KEAs) to measure children’s readiness for kindergarten curricula and to help educators understand children’s needs. Having a clear understanding of children’s progress can inform strategic decision-making in classrooms, programs, and systems. This issue focus highlights four questions intended to guide state policymakers in developing a coherent and effective approach to early childhood assessment. These questions are grounded in recent conversations, hosted by the Council of Chief State School Officers, in which early learning decision-makers, research leaders, and assessment developers discussed how states might build child assessment policies aligned with state needs and the latest research on assessments for young children. This piece is a starting point to help state leaders set priorities as they evaluate child assessment tools to use in their states. The four questions for state leaders are (1) how will your state use child assessment data? (2) what skills do assessments need to cover? (3) what kinds of support will educators need for data collection? and (4) how will assessment data be integrated and analyzed with other data sources?

This publication includes tables with data on public elementary and secondary education revenues and expenditures at the local education agency (LEA) or school district level for Fiscal Year 2022-23. The finance data includes the current expenditure totals and current expenditure per pupil amounts by state as well as for the 100 largest LEAs and median revenues per pupil and median current expenditures per pupil by geographic region and locale. In addition, it reports the current expenditure totals and current expenditure per pupil amounts by activity (e.g., instruction, support services) and specific expenditure (e.g., salaries and wages, employee benefits), by state and for the two largest LEAs in each state. Nationally, in Fiscal Year 2022-23, $328.2 billion, or 33.4%, of total revenues for public elementary and secondary school districts were derived from local property taxes and parent government contributions. In the same fiscal year, current expenditures per pupil in the 100 largest public school districts by enrollment ranged from a low of $7,980 in state-sponsored charter schools in Nevada, to a high of $33,387 in the New York City School District, New York. The national median of total revenues per pupil across all LEAs was $18,715 in Fiscal Year 2022-23, which represents an increase of 1.8% from Fiscal Year 2021-22, after adjusting for inflation. Nationally, in the absence of any geographic cost adjustment, in Fiscal Year 2022-23, median current expenditures per pupil were $16,181 for LEAs with schools in cities, $17,476 for LEAs with schools in the suburbs, $14,085 for LEAs with schools in towns, and $15,554 for LEAs with schools in rural areas. Special education programs received $13.2 billion, or 10.4%, of federal education funding, which is a decrease of 3.8% from the previous fiscal year after adjusting for inflation. Lastly, total capital outlay expenditures for public elementary and secondary school districts were $99.1 billion. Of all capital outlay expenditures, construction accounted for $77.0 billion, or 77.7%; land and existing structures accounted for $5.4 billion, or 5.4%; total equipment accounted for $16.7 billion, or 16.9%; and instructional equipment accounted for $3.5 billion, or 3.6%.

The oversight and governance of early care and early education is critical to supporting the development of young children and their families. However, because state agencies involved in this support are often siloed, this often results in less-than-optimal coordination, alignment and ultimately, delivery of services, especially in an equitable and targeted manner. This report provides an overview of all states' governance models along with information about the role of early childhood advisory councils. It offers data on states’ early care and education governance systems, with a focus on the agencies that oversee these programs, the level of alignment of these programs, and the advisory entities for early care and education in the state. Researchers found that early care and education systems comprise several programs and services. Across the country, these various programs and services are housed in a collection of agencies, including the following departments: education, children and families, health/public health, human/social services, economic/workforce, developmental/rehabilitation, welfare, and myriad nonprofit organizations and postsecondary entities. In addition, the governance structures of states’ early care and education systems vary significantly. States generally fall into one of three categories: 1) created (the state has created an agency to oversee several early care and education components). Eleven states fall into this category; 2) consolidated (the state has consolidated several agencies or programs into one entity). Fourteen states, including Florida, plus the District of Columbia, fall into this category; 3) Coordinated (the state has various agencies that provide programs and services that require coordination).

The total number of U.S. non-employer establishments increased every year from 1997 to 2023 except during the financial crisis in 2008, according to the newly released statistics. Most non-employers are self-employed individuals who operate their own business, which may be (but isn’t necessarily) their primary income source. The U.S. Census Bureau data show annual growth of non-employer establishments (those with no paid employees) almost always outpaced that of employer businesses (those with at least one paid employee). Non-employers also represented a larger share of all U.S. businesses each year from 1997 to 2023. From 2012 to 2023, the total number of non-employers grew an average 2.7% annually, while employers averaged only 1.1% growth year-over-year. During this same timeframe, non-employers’ share of all U.S. businesses grew by 3%, shrinking employers’ share from 24.6% to 21.6%. While no U.S. state experienced a decrease in overall non-employer establishments between 2021 and 2022, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and the District of Columbia did see decreases in the number of these establishments from 2022 to 2023 (2.7%, 1.0%, 0.3%, 0.2%, respectively). Declining population may have played a role in Louisiana’s loss of 11,708 non-employer businesses. The state lost 5,616 people during the same period according to Census Bureau population estimates — the only state to experience a dip in both population and non-employer establishments. The geographically diverse trio of Delaware, Florida, and Wyoming saw the largest percentage gain in non-employer establishments between 2022 and 2023 (5.1%, 5.0% and 4.8%, respectively).

Manufacturers may downsize an item as an alternative to increasing its total price to address increases in the cost of production inputs, increase profit, or for other reasons. When this occurs, the total price may increase, stay the same, or decrease, but the unit price—price per unit of volume, weight, or count—rises. Similarly, manufacturers may upsize an item—that is, increase its package size and quantity without a commensurate price increase—as an alternative to lowering the total price. In 2021 and 2022, the U.S. experienced its highest inflation rate since 2011. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) was tasked with reviewing issues related to product downsizing. This report examines (1) trends in product downsizing, (2) factors affecting consumer response to product size changes, and (3) advantages and disadvantages of policy options for addressing concerns related to product downsizing. The GAO’s analysis of 2019–2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data found that downsizing accounted for less than 1/10 of a percentage point of the 34.5% increase in overall consumer prices during this period. This is because downsized products were a small share of all products tracked in inflation measures. However, in the top five product categories experiencing downsizing, the contribution of size changes to inflation ranged from 1.6 percentage points for cereal to 3.0 percentage points for household paper products (e.g., paper towels). The GAO’s analysis of 2021–2023 consumer purchase data for thousands of items across seven product categories found that, while fewer than 5% of items in each category were downsized, these items made up a larger share of total dollar sales. For example, in the cereal category, 1.1% of items, representing 8.6% of sales, were downsized. Research suggests that consumers tend to be less responsive to downsizing than to equivalent price increases and that downsizing has limited effects on purchase behavior. This limited responsiveness could stem from a lack of awareness of subtle packaging changes, infrequent purchases, or strong consumer preferences for certain products and brands. Several policy options that aim to increase transparency around downsizing present implementation challenges. Requiring manufacturers or retailers to disclose downsized items may face difficulties, such as defining downsizing and identifying noncompliance. A federal unit price labeling policy could help consumers compare prices using consistent unit price displays, even when downsizing goes unnoticed. However, enforcement of such a policy may rely on U.S. states and would need to consider states’ potential roles and resources.

This study evaluates how well states structure tax systems and provides a road map for improvement. The State Tax Competitiveness Index scores states across five subindices, each representing a major component of state tax codes: corporate taxes, individual income taxes, sales and excise taxes, property and wealth taxes, and unemployment insurance taxes. Rather than weighting each subindex equally, its weight is determined according to the variance across states in each category, which has the effect of assigning more weight to areas where states have more opportunities in which to compete. Researchers found that the absence of a major tax is a common factor among many of the top 10 states. Property taxes and unemployment insurance taxes are levied in every state, but there are several states that do without one or more of the major taxes: the corporate income tax, the individual income tax, or the sales tax. For example, South Dakota and Wyoming have no corporate or individual income tax; Alaska has no individual income or state-level sales tax; Florida and Texas have no individual income tax; and New Hampshire and Montana have no sales tax, with New Hampshire also only imposing a narrow tax on interest and dividend income. Most states levy standard corporate income taxes on profits (gross receipts minus expenses). Some states, however, impose taxes on the gross receipts of businesses with few or no deductions for expenses. The seven states without an individual income tax or non-unemployment insurance payroll tax are the highest-scoring states on the income tax component: Alaska, Florida, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. Lastly, sales tax makes up 22.8% of each state’s index score. States like Wisconsin, Wyoming, Maine, Idaho, Virginia, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, and Florida all do well, with well-structured sales taxes and modest excise tax rates.

Personal care aides (aides) are a key part of the long-term care infrastructure and provide hands-on care and support with essential activities of daily living to older and disabled Americans. This report presents the number of aides employed in adult day services centers and residential care communities, the hours they spend with their service users, and their training and benefits. Data are from the provider components of the 2022 National Post-acute and Long-term Care Study, conducted biennially by the National Center for Health Statistics. Of the 15,600 nursing (RN, LPN or LVN, and aide) full-time equivalents (FTEs) employed in adult day services centers and 452,000 employed in residential care communities, the majority were aides (63.2% and 76.0%, respectively). Both settings often employed at least one aide (56.2% and 75.6%). The average total of all nursing staffing hours per participant or resident per day was 1 hour and 34 minutes for adult day services centers and 4 hours and 25 minutes for residential care communities. A lower percentage of adult day services centers than residential care communities offered training in dementia care (50.8% and 72.3%) and end-of-life issues (19.7% and 58.4%).

Substance use and mental health conditions 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 (SAMHSA), 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 conditions; and receipt of mental health treatment among the civilian, noninstitutionalized population aged 12 or older in the United States. Researchers found that among people aged 12 or older, 58.3% used tobacco, vaped nicotine, alcohol, or an illicit drug in the past month in 2024. In 2024, 48.4 million individuals aged 12 or older had a substance abuse disorder in the past year, including 27.9 million people who had an alcohol use disorder and 28.2 million people who had a drug use disorder. Of the 48.4 million individuals with a substance abuse disorder, most (55.8%) had a mild disorder, and about 1 in 5 (21.3%) had a severe disorder. While 18.8% of adolescents aged 12 to 17 had moderate or severe symptoms of general anxiety disorder, 7.4% of adults aged 18 or older had moderate or severe symptoms of general anxiety disorder in 2024. An estimated 33.2% of adolescents with a major depressive episode in the past year received mental health treatment via telehealth. However, about 40% of adolescents with a major depressive episode did not receive mental health treatment in the past year, including those who did not receive outpatient mental health treatment through a school health or counseling center. In addition, 64.4 % adults with a major depressive disorder in the past year received any of the following types of mental health treatment: inpatient or outpatient mental health treatment; prescription medication to help with mental health; treatment via telehealth; or treatment in a prison, jail, or juvenile detention center. Lastly, in 2024, 8.2% of young adults aged 18 to 25 (or 2.8 million people) and 12.8% of adults aged 26 or older (or 28.9 million people) perceived that they had ever had a problem with their use of drugs or alcohol. Of these individuals, about two-thirds of young adults (67.5%) and three-fourths of adults aged 26 or older (75%) considered themselves to be in recovery or to have recovered.

Child health sets the foundation for the overall health and prosperity of the nation. Healthy children are more likely to become healthy adults who lead meaningful and productive lives. Recent scientific and policy statements have raised concerns that child health in the US may be declining. This report aims to determine how U.S. children’s health has been changing from 2007 to 2023 using multiple data collection methods and a comprehensive set of health indicators. Researchers found that from 2011 to 2023, the prevalence of a chronic condition rose from 39.9% to 45.7% among individuals aged 3 to 17, compared to 25.8% to 31.0% within the general population. In addition, a child in the U.S. in 2023 was 15% to 20% more likely to have a chronic condition compared with a child in 2011. Annual prevalence rates of 15 chronic conditions, such as anxiety, autism, and speech or language disorder, for 3- to 17-year-old individuals increased from 25.8% to 31.0%. In addition, childhood obesity rates for 2- to 19-year-old individuals significantly increased from 17.0% to 20.9% from 2007-2008 to 2021-2023. Lastly, the early onset of menstruation (before 12 years of age) rose from 9.1% in 2007-2008 to 14.8% in 2021-2023, while trouble sleeping for 16- to 17-year-old individuals increased from 7.0% in 2007-2008 to 12.6% in 2017-2020.