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By Adam Shamsi, communications intern
 

Four in 10 children grow up in a household exposed to the criminal justice system through a potential caregiver by the time they reached the age of 18, according to a new University of Michigan study.

What's Happening: Researchers used the census, IRS tax forms, and other administrative data to determine if children grew up in a household in which a parent or cohabitating adult faced at least one criminal charge, was convicted of a felony, or spent time in prison. The findings were especially stark when broken down by race, with 62% of Black children and 60% of American Indian children exposed to the criminal justice system, as opposed to 32% of white children.

Why it Matters: The study found a correlation between childhood exposure to the criminal justice system and multiple negative outcomes, including cognitive difficulty, being behind in school, teen parenthood, teen crime, and death by age 18, even after controlling for a range of factors including household income, place of birth, age, gender, and race.
 

“This study shows that the consequences of a criminal record and the barriers we have erected go beyond the individual. All the negative impacts of economic opportunity and other limitations radiate outwards into families and entire communities,” said Carson Whitelemons, Arnold Ventures criminal justice manager.

What's Next: “Often, society only thinks of the person but fails to consider the children. We should be asking what we can do to help the children and what tools can we give to the parents?” said Carmen Garcia, above, a formerly incarcerated mother and executive director at Root and Rebound, an organization working to restore power and resources to families harmed by mass incarceration.
 

By Rhiannon Meyers Collette, journalism manager

Amid growing heartburn about Medicare's long-term fiscal challenges, Medicare Advantage, a privately run alternative to traditional Medicare, is coming under scrutiny for its role in squeezing Medicare.

What's Happening: These managed care plans are contributing to rising spending, according to recent reports and testimony from government experts. However, there's sparse data to demonstrate the quality of care MA plans deliver to their beneficiaries. In a recent hearing hosted by House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, government witnesses raised concerns about inflated payments, inability to assess quality care, and reports that MA plans are blocking beneficiaries from getting needed care.

Why it Matters: As MA plans explode in popularity — the number of beneficiaries is growing exponentially every year — "it has never been more important for us to ensure that this program works for patients," Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-IN) said in a recent hearing. And given some of the problems that have come to light about MA plans, it's clear that there's an urgent need to hold plans accountable for the quality of care they deliver and the tactics they are using to drive excessive payments.

Putting it more bluntly — when Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) asked at a recent committee hearing whether it was time to "course correct on Medicare Advantage," she got a resounding "yes" from the government witnesses testifying.

What's Next: To right the ship and put Medicare on more sustainable fiscal footing, Congress should consider a balanced approach, including reducing overpayments and improving competition among MA plans.

Read the story >

Jami Hodge, executive director of Equal Justice USA, and Will Simpson, director of violence reduction initiatives, to discuss how Newark, New Jersey, is changing the story about how communities work with police to build public safety. A newly published report, “The Future of Public Safety: Exploring the Power and Possibility of Newark’s Reimagined Public Safety Ecosystem,” documents how Newark saw violent crime fall while moving away from overly aggressive policing and embracing trust between community members.

"We are on a journey to change how people are telling the story, how they're actually seeing the causes and the drivers of violence, and then the strategies and the solutions to get to healing," Simpson said.

Read the Q&A >

By Rhiannon Meyers Collette, journalism manager

$2,854

The amount someone with insurance pays out of pocket to give birth in the United States.

We all know health care is expensive, but a new analysis of birthing costs from the Kaiser Family Foundation puts the problem in stark relief. The study found that women who give birth in the U.S. incur, on average, $18,865 in health care costs for their pregnancy, childbirth, and post-partum care. (For comparison's sake, that's about as much as a small sedan.) Most of that tab gets picked up by their insurance plans; however, even for families fortunate enough to have health insurance, they are still on the hook for nearly $3,000 out of their own pockets. (The costs are even higher for those who have cesarean section births.)

Now consider that 45% of American households report they don't have $2,000 available for medical bills, and it becomes obvious that for many people in this country, adding a bundle of joy creates a substantial financial burden.

"These costs are more than many families can afford," the report states.

Having a baby, visiting the hospital, seeing a doctor — health care should not deal a devastating blow to people's pocketbooks; yet rapidly rising health care prices continue to strain family budgets, leaving us with less money in our wallets and deeper in debt. It's evident: We need a comprehensive solution to high health care prices.

Learn more about rising health care prices in this video: "Less Money in Our Wallets and Deeper in Debt" 



 

Criminal Justice

• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is collaborating with Meek Mill, Jay-Z, and AV Co-Founder Laura Arnold to reform the state’s probation system and shorten time on supervision, help direct people into the workforce, and allow for remote reporting, Axios reports. "The COVID pandemic taught us all we can be very, very productive on Zoom and remotely," said Arnold, a REFORM Alliance board member. "So why can we not extend that piece of knowledge to the probation and parole system?"
   
• Michigan’s largest district court and bail reform advocates agree to reforms to the cash bail system that both sides say will address racial inequality, reports the Associated Press.
   
• A shooting at an Ohio Wal-Mart shows how cash bail – no matter how high – fails to promote community safety, writes Alan B. Smith of The Buckeye Institute in a Columbus Dispatch op-ed.
   
• The Dallas Morning News editorial board praises Mayor Eric Johnson’s request that the city manager and city attorney prioritize an evidence-based “blight remediation” program to help reduce violent crime at a time of tight budgets and difficult hiring, citing a 2016 study that found similar cleanup efforts reduced gun violence in Philadelphia.
  
  Related: Cities all across the country are beginning to embrace evidence-informed interventions that work along with policing to reduce violence.
   
• A judge ruled Arizona's prison health care system unconstitutional and also condemned the state for "almost round-the-clock confinement in their cells" of a subset of people incarcerated there, reports AZ Central.
   
• The Appeal examines San Diego's broken criminal justice system through the lens of one man arrested 160 times in 28 years.
   
• Restitution imposed by juvenile courts can trap young people in a cycle of debt and derail lives, according to a new report from Juvenile Law Center. The New York Times profiles some of those impacted. (free link)
  
  Related: Debt Free Justice is committed to ending fines and fees for all youth in the justice system. Follow them on Twitter for updates and Instagram for real stories of people impacted. 
   

• The latest installment of the Kaiser Health News Diagnosis: Debt series has dropped, exploring the cruel financial toxicity following a cancer diagnosis in America. The story follows a 44-year-old foster mother who, despite having health insurance, racked up $30,000 in medical debt after she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
  
  Related: A new study finds that one in three Americans on Medicare who don't qualify for financial subsidies forgo filling their cancer drug prescriptions because of cost.
   
• One in five Americans reports still receiving a surprise medical bill, despite the federal ban that went into effect Jan. 1, reports Healthcare Dive.
  
  Related: The No Surprises Act is a law worth defending.
   
• In Health Affairs Forefront, Ann Hwang and Laura Keohane analyze the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission’s (MACPAC) recommendations for what states’ strategies for integrating Medicaid and Medicare coverage for dually eligible beneficiaries should include.
  
  Related: Integrating Medicare and Medicaid for the dual-eligible population can make it easier for individuals to navigate a complex system.
   
• Forefront also highlights this week that dual-eligible individuals are three times more likely to have a mental health diagnosis than Medicare-only beneficiaries, making integration of Medicare and Medicaid an essential need. Congress can take action through the AIM Act, and states must develop integrated programs that provide holistic physical, behavioral, and long term care.
   
• The FDA is weighing its first-ever application for over-the-counter sale of contraceptive pills, a move that could broaden access for millions of people, reports Politico.

Higher Education

• Americans are increasingly losing confidence in the value of higher education, according to new study that shows families are also concerned about affordability and access, reports Inside Higher Ed.
   
• New rules proposed by the Department of Education would create steps to hold colleges accountable for repaying federal student loans for borrowers who attended predatory institutions, reports Inside Higher Ed.
   
• “I do, honestly, feel like I was misled.” The Wall Street Journal reports on the trend of universities handing over control of online programs and recruitment to for-profit companies, leaving students confused. (free link)
  
  Related: AV sat down with Kevin Kinser, department head of education policy studies, and John Cheslock, professor of education policy studies, both at Penn State College of Education, to talk about the gray area where online program management (OPMS) companies operate, and how they intersect with policy.

Journalism

• AV grantee the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has unveiled its latest investigation — an expansive examination of Uber's "chaotic, bare-knuckled global expansion." Like other ICIJ investigations, The Uber Files is a doozy, involving 124,000 records and 180 journalists from 29 countries.
   

 Democracy

• In Gerrymander, USA, visit the 13th Congressional District in Texas, which stretches from diverse downtown Denton seven hours northwest to the conservative panhandle town of Texline. Such a gerrymander is now the norm — but not good for democracy. “The solution: proportional multimember districts. When districts are larger and contain three or even five members, they can more accurately capture the true shape of the electorate and let everyone’s voice be heard. And if the candidates are chosen through ranked-choice voting, then Republicans, Democrats and even third parties can win representation in Congress in rough proportion to their vote share.” (free link)
   
• Can ranked-choice voting save American democracy, CNN asks? Expert Richard Pildes, a constitutional law professor at New York University's School of Law, weighs in.

Policing reforms come under the microscope in a new podcast collaboration between The Marshall Project and NPR. The four-part series Embedded premiered on Thursday and examines the effectiveness of reforms in the Yonkers, New York, Police Department, which has a long and dark history of misconduct. Reporters spent a year watching the reform process play out at the Yonkers department and documenting a new generation of leaders working to fix the kind of systemic failures not only plaguing the Yonkers PD, but police departments everywhere.

• The Webb telescope delivered on its promise to give us an unprecedented peek into the cosmos. The images are mind-blowing. An astronomer explains what we're seeing and why it is so important.
   
• Check out images from around the world of this week's supermoon, the biggest and brightest of the year.
   
• Curators discover a secret Van Gogh self-portrait in another painting.
   
• The death of the local bookstore has been greatly exaggerated, according to The New York Times. This new generation of bookstores is hyper-local and more diverse. (free link)
   
• Metallica is the latest act to see a "Stranger Things" resurgence, with its 1986 song “Master of Puppets” hitting the charts for the first time. (Kate Bush is still sitting in the top 5.)

• Looking for ways to entertain the kids this summer? This smart website has some ideas.