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The Abstract
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> By Torie Ludwin, Arnold Ventures
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This week, Thomas Hanna, our communications manager for the criminal justice portfolio, looks at the accuracy and ripple effects of the media's portrayal of crime.
The gridiron isn't the only place you'll see rough-and-tumble fights this Thanksgiving. Big family gatherings are always an opportunity for politically divided friends and relatives to butt heads over turkey and stuffing. And as the media has become more divided, the fights have been getting worse.
No doubt, then, that crime and criminal justice reform promise to be among the hot table topics. Even though violent crime is receding from its elevated pandemic levels and is far below historical highs, there is a perception among many Americans that crime is out of control.
While many communities still suffer from unacceptable levels of violence and criminality, this misconception of an unprecedented nationwide crime wave is being cynically fanned by sensationalistic media outlets and others. Unfortunately, hyperbolic, misleading, or even straight-up false stories on the nightly news contribute to stoking social divisions and stalling needed, evidence-based criminal justice reform.
There are signs, however, that some in the media are taking a clearer-eyed approach to criminal justice reporting — one that is more responsible and evidence-based. In Illinois, for instance, early coverage of the implementation of the Pretrial Fairness Act (PFA) — which replaced wealth-based detention with risk-based detention in the state — has been encouraging. In stark contrast to some of the fearmongering and misleading coverage before the PFA was enacted, and around bail reform more generally in recent years, many reporters in Illinois have stepped up with nuanced and accurate coverage.
The stories we see on television or read about in newspapers have profound effects on justice-involved people, community safety, social cohesion, and economic prosperity. (As you may know, we support a free and fair press.) Reporters who do the hard work of following best practices — such as holding system stakeholders accountable in real-time, reporting with empathy, providing context, and relying on evidence rather than anecdotes — raise the bar for public discourse. This includes the conversations happening around the Thanksgiving dinner table.
Read our story>
Related: Misleading Media Coverage Can Derail Data-Driven Criminal Justice Reforms
Related: Journalists: Look Beyond Law Enforcement, Lead with Empathy
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A Caucus of Young Lawmakers
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(Legislators at the Future Caucus Summit; photo by Future Caucus)
By Thomas Hanna, communications manager
Despite a difficult political environment, many young lawmakers at the state level remain eager to advance innovative, evidence-based policies to reduce inequities in the criminal justice system and improve community safety.
What's Happening: Future Caucus, formerly known as the Millennial Action Project, is mobilizing young legislators on both the national and state levels to encourage bipartisanship, share ideas, and learn about legislative issues. At a Future Caucus summit meeting earlier this summer, many legislators showed interest or had been involved in criminal justice reform issues, including sentencing reform, recidivism reduction, and justice reinvestment.
Why It Matters: One in five legislators in the U.S. are part of the Gen Z or millennial generations. However, the cohort is responsible for one out of every three bipartisan bills passed last year. This suggests that young lawmakers are often interested in reaching beyond partisan differences to pass meaningful policies.
What’s Next: Future Caucus is starting a boot camp to teach lawmakers holistic approaches to legislation and offer practical advice on issues such as wellness and burnout. It will also establish a database of stories on lawmakers’ successes and provide playbooks for tackling issues. One of the biggest new programs is the Future Caucus Innovation Lab, which will connect members to a policy repository, experts, live briefings, and fellow legislators working on similar issues.
Read our story>
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$1,500
How much site-neutral billing could save a breast cancer patient in out-of-pocket health care costs.
A new report by the American Cancer Society calculated the effects of expanding site-neutral billing under Medicare for outpatient facilities, finding that services provided in hospital outpatient departments were reimbursed at a rate three times higher than those provided in a physician office setting — and some even six times higher. This means not only more Medicare spending, but also higher out-of-pocket costs for patients. Site-neutral billing would ensure that the same service means the same price.
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Criminal Justice
- In an op-ed for the Detroit Metro Times, Cozine A. Welch, Jr. — a poet, community researcher, educator, non-profit director, and formerly incarcerated person — makes the case that Michigan should adopt the Second Look Sentencing Act. This legislation would enable courts to review and re-evaluate sentences with an eye towards releasing people who are no longer a risk to their community.
- News From the States has published an article discussing how jurisdictions across the country continue to reconsider their reliance on monetary bail to make pretrial detention and release decisions.
- The Prison and Jail Innovation Lab at the University of Texas has released a new, comprehensive resource on prison and jail oversight. The National Resource Center for Correctional Oversight (NRCCO) provides research insights, data, maps, profiles of oversight bodies, news updates, legislative developments, and more.
Health Care
Higher Education
- A New York Times story on student debt forgiveness mentions how Veterans Education Success, an AV grantee, educates veterans about their rights as student borrowers and helps them navigate the federal debt forgiveness process. (free link)
- Young people aren’t the only ones burdened by student loans. New America published the latest entry in its series on how policymakers can help seniors trapped in student loan debt.
- The University of Southern California has announced that it is largely ending its partnership with 2U, an online program manager (OPM), Inside Higher Ed reports.
Infrastructure
- What causes maddening bottlenecks in government? Blame the “kludgeocracy,” writes Jennifer Pahlka, author of Recoding America, in a Washington Post op-ed. (free link)
- In Maryland, Montgomery County is transforming what public housing looks like and how the government manages it, the New York Times reports. (free link)
- While other cities struggle to keep up with housing demand, Frisco, Texas, is bragging about its pro-growth policies, according to a Dallas Morning News op-ed.
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A Criminal Justice Fellowship
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The Criminal Justice team at Arnold Ventures is supporting a new Social Science Research Council fellowship program. This program will provide generous and unrestricted support to postdoctoral fellows working to innovate and evaluate more effective and equitable criminal justice policy solutions. The application deadline is January 15, 2024.
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The Higher Education and Evidence-Based Policy teams have created a request for proposals for rigorous impact evaluations of programs and practices (“interventions”) to promote college success in the United States.
The Criminal Justice and Evidence-Based Policy teams at Arnold Ventures are teaming up to learn more about what works in criminal justice reform in an ongoing request for proposals for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that will test programs and practices. There is no deadline for submissions.
The Evidence-Based Policy team invites grant applications to conduct randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of social programs in any area of U.S. policy. Details are here.
View our RFPs here>
The Abstract will take a break next week and return to your inboxes Friday, December 1. We're grateful for all our readers (and forwarders!) of the Abstract as well as for the work we get to do at Arnold Ventures to maximize opportunity and minimize injustice through evidence-based policy change.
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Have an evidence-based week,
– Torie
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Torie Ludwin leads strategic branding efforts across digital, print, and multimedia, including this delightful newsletter. |
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