By researching emerging topics and developing 50-state comparisons, Pew identifies innovative approaches states are using to help solve complex challenges. Pew also conducts extensive research and analysis to understand how states can better serve the public, and we work with states to develop data-driven, pragmatic solutions to issues such as dental health, the growing costs of incarceration, the need for cost-effective public pensions, protecting coastal habitats, and reducing flood risk.
A framework to improve probation and parole
Since 1980, the nation’s community supervision population has ballooned by almost 240 percent. As of 2016, 1 in 55 U.S. adults (nearly 4.5 million people) are on probation or parole, more than twice the number incarcerated in state and federal prisons and local jails.
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Nearly everyone involved with the civil legal system—judges, attorneys, and litigants—agrees it must be made more fair and efficient. However, no consensus exists regarding what local and state policymakers can or should do to accomplish that goal. ...
Read MorePew works with states to advance data-driven, fiscally sound policies and practices in the criminal and juvenile justice systems that protect public safety, ensure accountability, and control corrections costs....
Read MoreMore than 56 million Americans live in areas with dentist shortages, and only about one-third of U.S. dentists offer care for the millions of children and adults who rely on Medicaid and other public insurance. Pew works to increase the number of...
Read MorePew, in collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, encourages state, local, and national level organizations to include health considerations in policy decisions across multiple sectors, such as housing, transportation, and education....
Read MoreMore than 2 million people with mental health conditions—including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and severe depression—are jailed each year, often for misdemeanor crimes. Three-quarters of these individuals have co-occurring substance use...
Read MoreBroadband connects communities to an increasingly digital world. It has transformed industries, changed the way we access goods and services, and become an indispensable part of modern life. Yet despite more than two decades of public and private...
Read MoreThe fiscal challenges facing all levels of government are focusing attention on the federal-state relationship and leading to discussions about how costs should be allocated among local, state, and the federal governments. Pew provides policymakers...
Read MoreThe Results First Initiative works with states to implement an innovative evidence-based policymaking approach that helps them invest in policies and programs that are proved to work. ...
Read MoreThe United States has over 3.5 million miles of shoreline, and coastal counties are home to more than 123 million people. These areas, often heavily populated and highly developed, are at risk from floods and hurricanes. Pew’s initiative focuses on...
Read MorePew provides research on the fiscal challenges states and cities face because of their pension and retiree health promises. The project offers technical assistance to states and municipalities and works to ensure public-sector retirement systems are...
Read MorePew’s retirement savings project studies the challenges and opportunities for increasing retirement savings. The initiative, which fosters policy discussion on how best to ensure that everyone can save a sufficient amount for retirement, examines...
Read MoreState governments face unpredictable revenue as well as rising health care, education, and infrastructure costs. Pew examines key trends in state finances and provides data, analysis, and guidance to help states navigate their fiscal challenges and...
Read MoreFrom mangroves and salt marshes to underwater coral reefs and seagrass meadows, nearshore habitats host abundant marine life and support the economic vitality of coastal communities across the United States....
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