Time Magazine recently published an article called Bad Crowd: Why Juvenile Detention Makes Teens Worse which takes note of a recent longitudinal study of 779 Montreal youth that adds to previous findings indicating thatinteraction between juvenile offenders often increases the odds of future offenses. The study, Iatrogenic Effect of...
One of the emerging controversies in the juvenile justice world is whether juvenile offenders, perhaps as young as 13, should be sentenced to life without parole in adult court. As noted in a previous posting - May 13 - the Supreme Court is set to take on two such cases, challenging the appropriateness of essentially sentencing such...
A Wisconsin Department of Revenue report released on Friday shows that total property values in Wisconsin fell about 0.5 percent between January 1, 2008 and January 1, 2009. According to the department’s historical data, the $2.5 billion reduction is only the second decrease in total property values statewide in the last 50 years.The...
On Wednesday, the WI Department of Children and Families (DCF) announced the release of a new strategic plan for improving recruitment and retention of foster parents in Milwaukee County. DCF enlisted the aid of the Utah Foster Care Foundation in preparing the plan. DCF undertook the project as part of a public-private partnership with...
Why is there such an unusual consensus about the effectiveness of high-quality early learning programs from leaders in business, economics, law enforcement, and government? The answer has a lot to do with scientific evidence about brain development and the effectiveness of early childhood intervention efforts.
What if for every dollar you invested, you could be guaranteed a return of between $17 and $221 dollars? Even in financially strapped times, you’d come up with the cash, right?Well, a new cost-benefit analysis by the Economic Policy Institute estimates that by eliminating lead exposure to young children, we could save a bundle through...
WCCF has put together a summary of key federal early learning initiatives being deliberated in the Congress. With President Obama’s strong interest in early learning, the proposals on the table offer excellent opportunities for Wisconsin if they pass. The proposals include: the Early Learning Challenge Fund Home Visiting proposal Head...
The Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas-Austin recently released a policy report, From Time Out to Hard Time, which examines the processing and consequences of youth in the adult criminal justice system. The report discusses current polices regarding treatment of youth offenders; the benefits of the...
The Annie E. Casey Foundation has released its 2009 Kids Count Data Book, which gives a state-by-state overview of child well-being. This year's edition focuses on the importance of collecting and using good data to drive advocacy efforts. As usual, Wisconsin looks pretty good compared to other states, ranking 10th overall. However,...
The federal minimum wage increases today to $7.25 per hour. The increase is expected to boost the wages of about 4.5 million workers nationally, providing an additional $1.6 billion annually in increased wages. In Wisconsin, the increase will boost the wages of an estimated 196,000 workers. Nationally, about one-fourth of the people...
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