Under the federal First Step Act of 2018, the Bureau of Prisons was instructed to use a valid and reliable risk assessment instrument to assess all federal prisoners’ recidivism risk and place individuals in evidence-based programs and productive activities to reduce this risk. The Anger Management Program curriculum is one of the programs that is provided to inmates that has been noted as a program in need of research evaluating its short- and long-term effects. This evaluation found that while the effect of the program on infractions was small, results indicate that those who completed the program were less likely to receive disciplinary infractions both before and after participation. For example, participants who completed more than six hours of the program were more likely than those with fewer hours to have no pre- or post-program infractions. Program completion was associated with lower rates of rearrest and reincarceration when compared to groups who did not complete the program. Other factors associated with fewer infractions included race, age group, mental health status, security level, and certain types of sentence offenses. Additionally, those with a drug offense, sex offense, counterfeit/embezzlement, and/or fraud/bribery offense had fewer infractions than inmates who did not have those sentencing offenses, whereas inmates with sentence offenses for robbery, miscellaneous, and court/corrections had more infractions than inmates without those sentence offenses.

This study examines how sex offenders who engage in prison sexual misconduct compare to other sex offenders who do not offend in prison in terms of sexual, violent, and nonviolent rearrest rates upon their release. Differences in the connection between prison sexual misconduct and recidivism between two groups were also examined: offenders with a history of adult victims and offenders with a history of child victims. The findings reveal that for the sample as a whole, prison sexual misconduct is associated with overall recidivism, but it is not associated specifically with sexual, violent, or non-violent offending. For adult victims, prison sexual misconduct was significantly associated with sexual rearrest but not violent rearrest, while for child victims, prison sexual misconduct was significantly associated with violent rearrest but not sexual rearrest. The majority of sex offenders (67%) were rearrested within five years of release from custody, with the largest percentage (28.8%) of these for non-violent offenses. For all sex offenders and sex offender types, those who had any prison sexual misconduct were more likely to recidivate generally than those who did not. No significant differences emerged when examining non-violent offending across all sex offender types and prison sexual misconduct. Lastly, the proportion of those who had prison sexual misconduct and violent recidivism was significantly higher for all sex offenders, respectively.

In the past 25 years, the number of youth confined in facilities away from home due to juvenile or criminal legal system involvement has dropped by over 70% (about 31,900) in 2023. However, the U.S. confines youth at a rate that’s more than twice the global average. This report provides data on youth confinement in the U.S., including the facilities in which youth are held and the type of crimes committed by these confined youth. As of 2023, for which the most recent year data are available, researchers found that there are fewer youth in juvenile confinement facilities — especially large facilities that hold over 100 individuals. Most youth were held in detention centers and charged with person offenses or property charges. The vast majority of youth were male (85%), with Black youth making up 60% (male and female) of the confined youth population. Lastly, greater proportions of youth are held in more restrictive facilities and held for longer periods of time while awaiting hearings and disposition.

This data collection looks at public education in the U.S. based on five charts. The first chart shows that chronic absenteeism (defined as students missing 10% or more of school days) spiked in the COVID-19 pandemic. Absences have improved since the peak in the pandemic, but they are still above pre-pandemic norms. Urban districts were roughly five to six times more likely to report that 30% or more of students missed 10% or more school days than rural and suburban districts. The second chart shows that about half of middle and high school students reported losing interest during their math lessons about half or more of the time. The third chart shows that about 10% of public-school students in the United States are still developing English proficiency and are referred to as multilingual learners. The percentage is even higher in states like Texas or California. The fourth chart shows that female teachers have been consistently more likely to report frequent job-related stress than male teachers. But in 2025, the gap between men and women in teaching widened to 22 percentage points—a bigger gender difference than in other professions. The fifth chart shows a big jump in the use of standards-aligned instructional materials. In spring 2024, nearly half of all U.S. teachers reported regularly using a standards-aligned material, a proportion unthinkable a decade ago.

Reading has a wide range of benefits for literacy, employment, and health, as well as promoting cultural understanding. However, previous monitoring of reading in the U.S. has been inconsistent, with some studies demonstrating large declines over time, and others suggesting engagement has not changed. Researchers measure reading for pleasure and reading with children from 2003 to 2023, using a nationally representative sample from the American Time Use Survey (n = 236,270). Researchers found marked declines in the proportion of individuals reading for pleasure daily in the U.S., with decreases of 3% per year. There were disparities across population groups, with widening gaps for those of Black (vs. White) race, with lower education levels, and less annual income. Researchers also found that reading with children daily is less common but has not changed over time. Key findings demonstrate the need for more targeted strategies to increase opportunities for reading for pleasure.

Designed to guide state progress in five priority areas, the State Opportunity Index helps states assess how they are leveraging education after high school — including degrees, certificates, and other credentials — to strengthen workforce competitiveness. Baseline data in five focus areas - Clear Outcomes, Quality Coaching, Affordability, Work-Based Learning, and Employer Alignment - provide states with a research-driven framework for measuring and improving the policies and practices that connect education with opportunity. This study found that more than half of states are leading or advanced in some of the categories that are fundamental to strong education-to-employment data systems. Only a few states have enhanced their wage records to produce insights on the occupational outcomes of post-high school education programs. Fewer than half of states are leading or advanced in their ability to track outcomes from high school to employment or to provide open data files. Least common are the elements of enabling students to access their own data or having a unit dedicated to generating education-to-employment insights. Florida received an advanced rating for affordability in its state bachelor’s degree programs.

The United States has a storied legacy of business successes, from tycoons and titans of industry to Main Street “mom and pop” shops. The top reasons cited by business owners, according to the 2023 U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Business Survey: to make more money and be their own boss. Surveyed in 2022, many respondents were first-time owners, had purchased or launched their business since the turn of the 21st century and the majority used financing to meet their operating expenses. Wanting to be their own boss (62.3%) and have greater income (62.1%) were respondents’ two most chosen “very important” reasons for owning their business in 2022, the latest year for which stats are available (with no statistically significant difference between them). Compared to survey data from 2021, only one reason was statistically different: “couldn’t find a job”. More respondents cited that reason in 2022 (7.4%) than in 2021 (7.0%). More than half of employer businesses (57.2%) were acquired after 1999, according to the 2023 survey, which references data from 2022. Over one third (35.2%) of employer businesses were acquired between 2010 and 2019, and one fifth (20.7%) between 2000 and 2009. Only 1.3% of businesses were acquired in 2022.

This report uses a microsimulation model to estimate the effects of a package of policies developed by the Community Advocates Public Policy Institute to encourage work and to reduce poverty. A microsimulation model is a tool that allows researchers to hypothetically impose the proposed policies and capture the secondary impacts of the proposed changes on benefit programs, taxes, and tax credits. Researchers reviewed a package that made seven policies: creating a transitional jobs program for unemployed and underemployed people, increasing the federal minimum wage, expanding the earned income tax credit, expanding the child tax credit, creating a child care purchasing accounts program to cover child care costs, increasing Supplemental Security Income benefits and removing other program restrictions, and increasing Social Security benefits. Researchers found that the overall poverty rate for the country would fall from 11.4% to 3.1%, the poverty rate for children would fall from 11% to 2.3%, the number of people employed would increase by over six million, and government spending would increase by around $810 billion as a result of these policies.

The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) was a federal program that offered eligible households a discount on their monthly internet bill and a one-time discount off the purchase of a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet. Launched in December 2021 to the tune of $14.2 billion, the funding Congress initially made available for the ACP ran out and the program no longer served the 23 million households enrolled in 2024. A recent American Association of Retired Persons study showed, low-income recipients, now left to pay for their internet services without assistance from the federal program, shuffled payments, negotiated discounts, haggled, and stretched their limited financial resources to remain connected. This study highlighted how former ACP recipients reacted to the loss of help with a utility that has become commonplace in nearly every societal activity. Participants described internet access as critical for everything from health and caregiving tasks to education, money-making and savings, and maintaining social ties. Faced with having to cover the full financial cost of having internet access, people fought to pay for it. Some tried doing without, with two participants initially canceling their service, but soon realized it wasn’t sustainable, and they reconnected. Overall, older adults saw the internet as a place where they should be cautious, but were not afraid, and access to the internet was more than a convenience; it was a necessity.

In recent years, child welfare agencies have increasingly looked first toward kin when courts have deemed removal necessary. This growing reliance on relatives and close family friends reflects an evolving understanding of the importance of kin in child welfare systems. This paper shares the 2022 survey results on state kinship care policies to help advance the field’s understanding of what states are doing to find, inform, and partner with kin when a child enters foster care. Researchers found that enthusiasm for developing policies that promote and support kinship care has accelerated since 2007, fueled in part by new federal funding and regulations. Findings from the 2022 survey show robust implementation of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 — with most states (37) allowing the waiver of certain licensing standards for kin, 12 states requiring relatives be notified more quickly than the federal requirement of 30 days after the removal of a child and most states requiring family team meetings at some point in a case. Although there has been a positive change since 2007, service disparities related to kinship diversion arrangements and unlicensed versus licensed caregivers remain. Lastly, about half of states report that its child welfare agencies are required to work with a kinship caregiving advisory board or committee with representation from individuals with personal experience in kinship caregiving. Only nine states report compensating kinship caregivers who serve on advisory boards or committees for their time.

The U.S. health insurance system is composed of a variety of insurance and care coverage types with different eligibility requirements, coverage rules, and costs. U.S. residents may be eligible for more than one form of insurance coverage or ways to access free or low-cost care. This paper discusses the prevalence of insurance coverage (e.g., Medicare and private health insurance) among veterans enrolled in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the situations in which potential overpayments for care and coverage may arise and concludes with suggested directions for future research and policy options. Generally, the interaction between the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and insurance coverage varies depending on the type of insurance. The department is a health care system that provides services directly to enrolled veterans and, in some cases, pays for care received in the community, and does not interact with other payers like insurers often do. Duplicative payments become a substantial and potentially very costly concern for Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D plans. For both, the government pays a monthly subsidy to the plans, providing coverage to enrollees even when the enrollee does not use the benefit. Options include having the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs access additional enrollment and claims data from all payers to create detailed combined datasets to track the utilization of and payment for coverage and services under different multiple-coverage scenarios and estimating the costs to payers and patients associated with multiple sources of coverage and analyze the potential impacts of different coverage and payment scenarios.

High body mass index (BMI) has been associated with increased postoperative complications, including mortality in the general population, leading many perioperative clinicians to recommend preoperative lifestyle modifications aimed at achieving normal body weight. However, aging introduces physiological changes associated with frailty, such as altered body composition, fat redistribution, and stature reduction due to height loss, all of which may modify the association between BMI and surgical outcomes in older adults. This study aims to determine if a higher BMI in older adults who are undergoing major elective surgery is associated with rates of all-cause mortality. The study found that the prevalence of frailty was 24.2%, and the overall 30-day all-cause mortality rate was 11.0%. In this observational cohort study of older adults undergoing major elective surgery, being overweight was associated with lower odds of 30-day all-cause mortality. These findings suggest that traditional weight loss recommendations based on achieving a normal BMI may need to be reevaluated for this population.