Amid campus protests nationwide, DC’s response stands out
The capital city’s police department cleared an encampment at a local university following pressure from House Republicans to be more forceful. But the District’s reluctance to take action sooner underlies lessons officials learned decades ago about the perils of aggressive enforcement.
Digital Government
Florida’s school safety dashboard helps parents and teachers address root causes of misbehavior
COMMENTARY | School leaders can use the dashboard to identify areas of concern in their own school—such as an increasing pattern of fights—and then develop evidence-based solutions and training to address the issues.
Digital Government
The surging demand for data is guzzling Virginia’s water
The commonwealth is home to the data center capital of the world. Can it handle AI's thirst?
Management
Easing the housing squeeze on low-income renters
The State and Local Innovation project will work with policymakers to draft bill language and leverage data and best practices to keep the lowest income renters in stable housing.
Sponsor Content
State and local agencies evaluate their AI future
The recent surge of interest and investment in AI tools has presented fascinating new opportunities in the government landscape.
Infrastructure
FCC poised to require calls to the 988 suicide hotline be geolocated
Routing calls based on location versus a person’s area code is already standard for calls coming into 911. Elected officials and mental health advocates want 988 calls to be geolocated as well. A new FCC proposal would do that.
Management
Montana could be a model as more GOP states weigh Medicaid work requirements
The state has a program that can help Medicaid enrollees get job training, career guidance.
Management
‘Extremely dangerous’: Governors criticize ‘federalization’ of National Guard
Governors from 53 U.S. states and territories object to the Defense Department's plan to move all Air National Guardsman with space-related missions from state to federal control, placing them under the umbrella of the U.S. Air Force, specifically the Space Force.
Management
How local governments can respond to the housing crisis
A new book by Charles Marohn and Daniel Herriges of Strong Towns encourages local officials to promote small-scale developments, even if it means using city financial tools to get them off the ground.
Management
The possibility of parole: A powerful incentive that makes us all safer
COMMENTARY | Researchers have found that offenders incarcerated under truth-in-sentencing laws racked up more disciplinary infractions and engaged in fewer rehabilitation programs. And after release, they were much more likely to reoffend.
Infrastructure
With only three weeks to go, lawmakers weigh ways to save federal internet subsidy
Congress is exploring several options to fund it. All face long odds of success despite widespread and bipartisan support for the Affordable Connectivity Program.
Finance
Neediest areas are being shortchanged on government funds
COMMENTARY | A recent study of the Community Development Block Grant program showed that neighborhoods with the largest share of low- to moderate-income families were less likely to receive CDBG funds than communities that were closer to the 51% threshold.
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Emerging Tech
HUD warns on AI-fueled housing discrimination
The Department of Housing and Urban Development confirmed characteristics like race and income are protected from AI algorithmic discrimination.
Sponsor Content
Transforming Experience Every Day
Citizens want more from their constituent experiences (CX), and state and local officials also want to deliver better CX.
Management
Data for dementia: State’s brain health registry helps prep for an aging population
The Virginia Memory Project will catalog dementia cases and caregiving needs to inform policy and programming for aging adults.
Management
As a critical deadline approaches, the Biden administration issues a flurry of regulations
The new rules cover subjects as varied as marijuana policy, vehicle pollution, civil rights for transgender students, and drinking water safety.
Digital Government
Don’t pull the plug on internet access for 23M families
COMMENTARY | No family should be forced to choose between one essential and another. And they don’t have to, as long as Congress acts to renew the Affordable Connectivity Program.
Management
As cities ban them from public spaces, homeless people scatter in search of refuge
Attorneys say bans could become more common nationwide if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns lower-court rulings in Oregon and Idaho that protect homeless people from being ticketed, charged or arrested for sleeping on public property.
Digital Government
States get streamlined access to Treasury’s Do Not Pay system for unemployment
The move comes as federal agencies work with states to combat the rise in jobless aid fraud following the pandemic.
Management
Illinois' child welfare agency goes on a hiring spree
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services has reduced hiring times for frontline workers from nine months to just a few weeks. Agency leaders hope a bigger staff will help improve the lives of kids it serves.
Finance
State, local govs crack down on menthol cigarettes by pumping prices up
Setting minimum retail prices and increasing taxes can help officials address public health concerns surrounding menthol cigarettes.
Finance