STATE AND LOCAL NEWS ROUNDUP | "Pooled testing" could speed up results ... Minneapolis council votes to get rid of police PIO ... Los Angeles County sheriff slammed for sexist statement.
More jails and prisons are starting to offer medication-assisted treatment for inmates addicted to opioids. But it's available at just a very small fraction of correctional facilities across the country.
COMMENTARY | Nowhere is good information about operations more critical than in prisons and jails. But too often states simply lack the kind of data that holds officials accountable.
An investigation by McClatchy and ProPublica found unchecked violence and inhumane conditions in county jails, but the state’s oversight agency has no power to stop it. Experts say that needs to change.
COMMENTARY | The National District Attorneys Association, the largest group representing prosecutors, supports federal grant funding for prisoners to get college degrees.
One company has become the biggest provider of jail health care. Sheriffs are worried: “If you’re the only dance in town, you can pretty much call your own shots.”
STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Court OKs eminent domain for pipeline in Iowa … Nebraska governor vetoes Census commission … Denver mayor’s race decided in run-off.
COMMENTARY | In Washington state, thousands of young people are locked up annually for “status offenses” and find themselves homeless when leaving detention. A new law seeks to change that.
STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | A Connecticut legal battle over regulation of pregnancy centers ... A county in Illinois started a prescription medication pickup program … North and South Carolina teachers plan another strike.
The Texas Supreme Court found that disclosing where the state has obtained the drugs "would create a substantial threat of physical harm" to the companies.
STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Mississippi city to stop jailing people unable to pay fines … Michael Brown’s mother loses council race in Ferguson, Missouri … New Mexico bans coyote-killing contests.
STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Chicago elects a new mayor ... Keeping public comments alive at a Nebraska county board ... Disaster relief disagreements stall bill.
New research finds that automatic expungement of nonviolent criminal records could be a boon for eligible offenders, but few apply when the process is complicated.
COMMENTARY | The Urban Institute examines the progress of Denver's permanent supportive housing program, which is paid for through a social impact bond.