April 2022

By Simon Romero, Photo: Cengiz Yar/The New York Times, The New York Times, March 31, 2022 As universities across the United States face steep enrollment declines , New Mexico’s government is embarking on a pioneering experiment to fight that trend: tuition-free higher education for all state residents. After President Biden’s plan for universal free community college failed to gain traction in Congress, New Mexico, one of the nation’s poorest states, has emerged with perhaps the most...

From Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Photo: Unsplash, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, March 30, 2022 Purpose The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is committed to building a Culture of Health where everyone in America has a fair and just opportunity to live the healthiest life possible. But the current reality is that there are large, persistent, and increasing gaps in opportunities for health and well-being across neighborhoods and communities. To achieve health equity, RWJF works to...

By Emefa Addo Agawu, Photo: Tony Luong/The Washington Post/FTWP, The Washington Post, March 31, 2022 W hen I first crossed paths with Anileah Buswell, she was living with her infant daughter in Nashua, N.H., and trying to stay off meth. And for the first time in many years, she was succeeding. Buswell, 21, was enrolled in a program with a radically simple premise: Get paid to abstain from drugs. The approach, known as “ contingency management ,” or CM, has racked up a slew of successes. It...

By Aaricka Washington, Photo: Solutions Journalism Exchange, The 74, March 24, 2022 Kyla Payne distinctly remembers being on edge any time she entered Dorsey High School in Los Angeles. The 16-year-old felt uncomfortable being monitored by campus police officers who seemed to be intent on finding crimes and rule violations that weren’t there, Payne said. “I know for me and my friends, it was difficult trying to live just as a high school student and live freely and be creative when you have...