Tag: program

Maricopa County Attorney’s Office Launches Veterans’ Diversion Program

The Center Square
Woman in Army uniform

The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office is launching a new pre-trial diversion program for military veterans. 

The Veterans’ Diversion Program, which begins on April 4, 2022, aims to provide evidence-based services and treatment to some veterans before a conviction.

The County Attorney’s Office notes that some veterans have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and cannot access treatment. The office notes that this can result in domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse, mental health disorders, and suicide. 

The Veterans’ Diversion Program will try to identify and treat those issues, according to a press release issued on Wednesday this week. A veteran who completes the program can have their charges dismissed.

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Taxpayer-Funded Critical Race Theory Training Program Draws Criticism

The Center Square
Young girl in pink long sleeve writing

Critics are questioning a taxpayer-funded program that trains students in critical race theory.

The backlash comes after The Center Square uncovered federal grant documents from the Department of Education that showed the federal government has awarded millions of dollars to a program that trains future educators in critical race theory.

Experts said the program disproves claims that critical race theory is not being pushed at K-12 schools.

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Commentary: The Uncomfortable Truths About the Food Stamp Program

Admin
Volunteers sorting through food stamps

A recent administrative action has permanently increased benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by 25 percent. Unfortunately, this historic boost fails to address the structural problems that plague this nearly 60-year-old program.

The official Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) webpage proudly proclaims that, “SNAP provides nutrition benefits to supplement the food budget of needy families so they can purchase healthy food…”

To that admirable end, the program formerly known as food stamps distributed $79 billion to 40 million people last year. Yet this desire to provide wholesome food to needy families conflicts with clear evidence that wholesome food is not what they think they need. Whether they play by the rules or not, people receiving SNAP benefits currently spend between 70-100 percent of that benefit on things other than healthy food.

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High Court Hears Arguments on Tennessee’s School-Choice Program

The Center Square
ORNL Traveling Science Fair at the TN 4th Annual Tennessee STEM Innovation Summit and STEMx Event, Nashville, TN

Tennessee’s highest court heard arguments on a disputed school choice program.

Tennessee’s Education Savings Accounts (ESA) pilot program, approved by the state Legislature in 2019, would provide state-funded scholarships of about $7,100 to low-income students in Nashville and Memphis – home to the state’s two lowest-performing school districts. Students would be able to use the funds to attend nonpublic schools of their choice.

A district court ruled the program unconstitutional when the two counties sued the state to stop the program. The state Court of Appeals upheld that ruling, and the state Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.

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