Latest News

On April 4, 2017, a task force created in November 2016 by Austin, Texas Mayor Steve Adler delivered its recommendations for reducing institutional racism and ensuring equity in that city. The 70-page report from the Mayor’s Task Force on Institutional Racism and System Equities, co-chaired by Austin Independent School District Superintendent Paul Cruz and Huston-Tillotson […]

Research shows that childcare workers and preschool teachers with college degrees or certifications can improve outcomes for children, but many questions arise about whether those findings would hold true absent other factors like higher wages, classroom resources, and positive workplace conditions. Two recent articles – one in the New York Times and one in Inside […]

Disconnected youth are people between the ages of 16 and 24, who are neither in school or working. This group is 65% more likely to be poor, four times as likely to have a child, and three times as likely to have a disability in comparison to their counterparts who are in school or working. […]

On May 2, Harvard University acknowledged First Things First (FTF) as one of the Top 25 Innovations in American Government as part of a nation-wide awards competition that recognizes creative and solution-oriented governing. The Top 25 Innovations in American Government were selected by a team of policy experts, researchers, and practitioners at the Ash Center […]

According to a Measure of America report released on March 8, nearly 100,000 youth in Phoenix, AZ ages 16-24 were “disconnected” in 2010— neither enrolled in school nor employed in work. In less than a decade, however, the community has decreased its disconnected youth population more than any other metro area, by 26%, down to […]

Former Advocacy & Communication Solutions, LLC (ACS) client Wisconsin Alliance for Infant Mental Health (WI-AIMH) has found recent success with their communication and advocacy efforts. WI-AIMH Executive Director Lana Nenide recently appeared on a panel hosted by Milwaukee PBS and Milwaukee Area Technical College called What Matters Most: Your Child’s First Five Years, a program […]

As the number of maturing baby boomers continues to grow nationally, hundreds of advocates in New York state gathered in Albany on to request that lawmakers “Step up for Seniors” by making older residents a budget priority, according to a report from WBNG News on February 7th, 2017. “The growing population of older New Yorkers […]

Supporting children, youth and families is never a done deal – and plans that worked well 20 years ago don’t fare so well in today’s world. That’s what city leaders in Little Rock, Arkansas realized in 2015, when their system for supporting prevention, intervention and treatment programs for youth, created in 1994, wasn’t holding up so well in the […]

By 2030 – just 13 years from now –those age 60 and older in Cuyahoga County will grow from 21% to 31% of the population. In the wider region, that percentage will grow to 40%. For the first time ever, the percentage of older residents will be larger than the percentage of those under age […]

“Indiana manufacturers, which represent 30 percent of the state’s economy, may not be able to fill 60 percent of their open positions in the next decade,” said Brian Burton, president and CEO of the Indiana Manufactures Association, in a written statement to the state’s General Assembly. To help address the skills gap, high schools and […]