Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • These Elite Contact Tracers Show the World How to Beat Covid-19

    After a coronavirus flareup that killed nearly 300, South Korean public health authorities used rigorous contact tracing investigations to prevent a second wave of illnesses. As of July 2020, the country’s new cases had plateaued for two months at less than 10% of their February levels, and only 8% of new cases came from unknown origins, a much lower rate than most other countries. The country’s Immediate Response Team’s work has allowed the nation to avoid disruptive shutdowns by aggressively targeting dangerous hot spots before they spread.

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  • Wisconsin's April primary was a mess. Here are five changes officials hope will make the next election smoother.

    Wisconsin officials learned important lessons from the problematic primary election. Moving forward, an informational mailer is being sent to educate voters about absentee voting and an absentee ballot request form will be automatically sent to 2.7 million registered voters. Ballots will be tracked using an intelligent barcode and more ballots will be ready to be sent out ahead of time to meet increased demand. Voters will need to provide contact information on their ballots so that clerks can contact them in case of any errors and more polling places will open to reduce long lines and wait times.

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  • A national forewarning: Wisconsin's high absentee volume and ballot errors

    Wisconsin officials are using lessons from the failures of the April 2020 primary, where many mail-in ballots were rejected based on technicalities such as missing a witness signature or address, to make changes in the general election. Since the law doesn’t require officials to notify voters so they can fix the mistakes, they adapted a computer system to process absentee ballot applications so clerks have more time to focus on other voting related issues and they will use barcodes to track ballots. But issues such as missing signatures or addresses will still lead to rejected ballots without recourse.

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  • The Temporary Battle Against COVID-19 Taught This N.C. Native Community How to Combat a Longstanding Epidemic

    The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians reacted to COVID-19 with aggressive measures that yielded fewer illnesses than in neighboring counties, and no deaths, all without outside help. But one of their preventive measures – roadblocks severely limiting access to the Qualla Boundary, the band's territory – led to a surge in overdose deaths from fentanyl-laced heroin, because drug dealers responded with fewer shipments of more potent drugs. Overdoses eventually subsided with the roadblock lifted. The unintended consequence taught lessons about self-governance and unseen risks from within, not just from outside.

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  • They Agreed to Meet Their Mother's Killer. Then Tragedy Struck Again.

    Jacksonville’s prosecutor began a unique experiment in using restorative justice dialogue in murder cases, seeking to help survivors learn the full truth of a crime in ways a traditional trial would not provide. In return for an honest dialogue with the people they harmed, defendants could win more lenient sentences. But in one case the tactic failed in a way that added to the survivors’ pain and ended the program altogether. Restorative dialogue has been shown to help victims, mainly when used after a conviction or for less serious crimes.

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  • Reducing harm in Santa Cruz County law enforcement

    The city of Santa Cruz is considering adopting a crisis-intervention strategy used in Eugene, Oregon, after two fatal police shootings of people suffering a mental health crises prompted questions about how an alternative to police-only responses would work. To follow the model pioneered by Eugene's CAHOOTS agency, where unarmed professionals respond first, Santa Cruz authorities would have many safety, budget, training, and other logistical concerns to address. But Santa Cruz seems primed to try the CAHOOTS approach, which rarely requires police involvement when 911 calls are screened properly.

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  • How Taiwan beat the coronavirus

    Since the outbreak of Covid-19, Taiwan – a country of nearly 24 million people – has reported less than 500 cases and only seven deaths, largely due to the rapid implementation of a public health emergency response plan. By successfully using a combination of quarantine measures, social pressure, technology, and consistent communication, the country was able to begin reopening in May.

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  • How to Get Contact Tracing Right

    During the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, early efforts at contact tracing by different states in the U.S. proved successful when they relied on people instead of applications or software, which showed high rates of failure since people didn't seem to want to participate or download the applications. New York state relied on human contact tracers, specifically those who lived in the neighborhoods they track. "The city’s initiative has shown early success: As of June 16, it had reached 94% of all new positive cases."

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  • Why Haven't Sexual-Assault Statistics Improved?

    Colleges and universities, required to educate students and staff about sexual assault prevention, use thousands of courses and programs, hardly any of which have been shown to be effective. Campus sexual assaults have continued to rise while the education industry flourishes. While there is no single gold-standard program, one with the best evidence of effectiveness is Flip the Script, or Enhanced Assess Acknowledge Act. It is based on teaching women to overcome mental barriers to recognizing risk posed by acquaintances. High costs and time commitments have kept enrollment low, despite proof it works.

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  • Could This City Hold the Key to the Future of Policing in America?

    Although driven by financial desperation and a desire to break a union, Camden, New Jersey’s decision to dismantle its police department and form a new one focused more on limiting its use of force has paid off in better community relations and arguably a role in reducing the city’s violence. Its approach is in high demand by other cities facing the same problems Camden confronted. At the same time, the reconstituted police force is faulted by critics for relying on intrusive surveillance and making racially disparate arrests for minor offenses.

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