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Auditing reimagined: Looking beyond the public dollar
Having dedicated most of my public service career to elevating the profession of performance auditing, I was gratified to see recently that it had progressed from a nice idea to a top priority for the current generation of local government auditors. This focus on “auditing for impact” is a healthy...
Could this state's health ‘hub’ model treating opioid addiction go nationwide?
This story was first posted on the Washington State Standard. Read the original here. Imagine if anyone with an opioid addiction could walk into a local treatment center and receive medication for their addiction, primary care, emotional counseling and many more health and social services — all for free without an appointment.
23M households will no longer receive monthly federal internet subsidy
The Affordable Connectivity Program officially ended Friday after funding for the federal subsidy ran out. Now, for the more than 23 million households receiving the $30-a-month discount, internet bills are about to go up. Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel warned on Thursday of increased bills in a letter to...
Post-pandemic, downtown recoveries continue to be uneven
You're reading Route Fifty's State and Local Roundup. To get the week’s news to use from around the country, you can subscribe here to get this update in your inbox every Saturday. In the meantime, be sure to read to the end as we've rounded up headlines from the week.
Can cash payments reduce childhood poverty?
It’s estimated child poverty costs the U.S. economy about $1 trillion annually in lost productivity and spending on crime, health care, child welfare and homelessness. And with the national child poverty rate sitting at 16.3% as of 2022, policymakers are weighing ways to improve economic outcomes for American children to ensure they can thrive in school, in society and the workforce as adults.
Universities try 3-year degrees to save students time, money
This story was first published on Stateline. Read the original here. With college costs rising and some students and families questioning the return on investment of a four-year degree, a few pioneering state universities are exploring programs that would grant certain bachelor’s degrees in three years. The programs, which...
A new tool aims to help communities spend their opioid settlement money wisely
“Something so boring it’s genuinely kind of hot,” joked the comedian John Oliver as he dove into the topic of opioid settlements earlier this month on his HBO show, “Last Week Tonight.” Oliver, in a departure from his usual format, was looking at the massive task before state and local governments to allocate and spend the billions of dollars coming their way.
Spike in pedestrian deaths hits nearly all metros
The Memphis area is the deadliest metro in the U.S. for pedestrians, but almost all major cities are getting more hazardous for people who are walking, a new study found. More than 80% of the largest 101 metro areas in the country have become more dangerous, according to Smart Growth America, a nonprofit group that promotes alternatives to driving. The worsening trend comes as safety advocates and the federal government have also raised the alarm about a surge in pedestrian deaths.
Challenge-based procurement ‘just makes sense’
Up until just a few years ago, New York City’s procurement and government contracting system was paper-based. The approval process took months as applications were shuffled from desk to desk, unless a business used personal connections to skip the line. Meanwhile, the requests themselves could be overly prescriptive and...
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