Last month the early childhood world got a healthy dose of good news. Analysis of data from North Carolina's famous Abecedarian Project, directed by Nobel laureate James Heckman, showed a surprising result. Children who participated in the program from birth to age 5 were in significantly better physical health 30 years later than their...
Research on juvenile crime continues to reveal the immense capacity of juveniles to rebuild their lives and move forward as productive members of society. The results of a comprehensive study of youth who have committed sex offenses in Illinois showed that these youth are highly responsive to treatment and unlikely to recidivate. The...
Imagine being locked in a small, minimally furnished room with little or no natural light. There is limited human interaction, sometimes not even a book or school work to pass the time. In some places, this can last for hours, days, or weeks, even in Wisconsin. Local detention centers often use isolation as some version of a “time...
In the last four years Wisconsin has made great strides to build and expand an evidence-based home visiting system. Recent action in Washington bodes well for continuing sustainable funding as Congress extended the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program into 2015. Breakthrough in 2011 Support in Washington is good...
Last week the House voted 219-205 to approve the budget resolution for fiscal year 2015 drafted by Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan, who chairs the House Budget Committee. The bad news is that the House has once again gone on record in support of a budget plan that would make dramatic cuts in programs that promote and protect the...
Last month President Obama announced his Early Care and Education proposals for the Fiscal Year 2015 Budget. It is exciting to see ECE as a priority and the increases in funding are all significant. Unfortunately, these can only be viewed as goals right now. In the end the dollar amounts may be much less. In addition to calling upon...
This week (April 6-12) is National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, a week to highlight the impact that crime has on victims and our community and to advocate for more resources to help serve those affected by crime. The National Juvenile Justice Network has just released A House Divided No More: Common Cause for Juvenile Justice Advocates,...
It’s not news that research has consistently shown that brain development is an on-going process that continues through adolescence and into the early 20s. The structures of the brain responsible for reasoning and cognitive functioning are often not fully developed until several years after reaching legal status as an adult. Given what...
The Discipline Disparities: Research-to-Practice Collaboration recently released a series of briefing papers covering policies, interventions, and research aimed at reducing disparities in school discipline. The collaboration consists of 26 researchers, advocates, policy, analysts and educators working towards reducing discipline...
Urban Institute Says 5.4 Million Adults Gained Insurance between September 2013 and March 2014 A New York Times editorial Thursday morning assesses the success of the ACA. It focuses on the number of sign-ups for private coverage through the Marketplace, which recently surged past 7 million. However, the editorial also cites the...
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