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Rockefeller Foundation: As World Leaders Gather at the UN, a New Research Action Policy Lab in the Global South Sets Out To Prove AI Can Create Opportunity
NEW YORK, Sept. 24 -- The Rockefeller Foundation posted the following news release:
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As World Leaders Gather at the UN, a New Research Action Policy Lab in the Global South Sets Out To Prove AI Can Create Opportunity
The Institute for Human Flourishing launches during UNGA high-level week, backed by The Rockefeller Foundation, Schmidt Philanthropies, and the Government of India.
News Summary
* The Institute for Human Flourishing (IHF) -- a new Research Action Policy Lab headquartered in India -- will work to ensure AI raises incomes, expands agency, and creates opportunity for vulnerable ... Show Full Article NEW YORK, Sept. 24 -- The Rockefeller Foundation posted the following news release: * * * As World Leaders Gather at the UN, a New Research Action Policy Lab in the Global South Sets Out To Prove AI Can Create Opportunity The Institute for Human Flourishing launches during UNGA high-level week, backed by The Rockefeller Foundation, Schmidt Philanthropies, and the Government of India. News Summary * The Institute for Human Flourishing (IHF) -- a new Research Action Policy Lab headquartered in India -- will work to ensure AI raises incomes, expands agency, and creates opportunity for vulnerablecommunities around the world. IHF will prove what works, turn evidence into replicable playbooks, and inform policy so pro-worker outcomes become the default.
* Founded by Ravi Venkatesan and led by CEO Urvashi Aneja, IHF is headquartered in India and makes its global debut before an international audience of philanthropists, policymakers, and employers gathered in New York for UNGA week. A high-level panel will explore the central question of our moment: how AI can expand opportunity rather than concentrate it.
* The Government of India's Expert Group on Human Flourishing has formally endorsed IHF's establishment.
-
NEW YORK | September 23, 2026 -- As global leaders convene in New York for the United Nations General Assembly and as AI continues to reshape labor markets around the world, the Institute for Human Flourishing (IHF) launched today with an urgent mandate: ensure AI raises incomes, expands agency, and creates opportunity for communities around the world, especially those vulnerable to AI-driven labor disruption. IHF, founded by global business leader and entrepreneur Ravi Venkatesan and led by CEO Urvashi Aneja, will test what helps workers navigate AI disruption and push what works into policy and practice.
"India has the chance to show the world a different model -- one in which AI becomes a tool for mass flourishing rather than mass displacement. But that will not happen by default," said Ravi Venkatesan, Founder, Institute for Human Flourishing. "It requires institutions that connect evidence, practice, and policy. That is why we have built IHF."
Institutional choices -- not the technology itself -- will shape AI's economic impacts. For India and the Global South, the risks differ from those rich countries face: entry-level Information Technology (IT) and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) roles -- the main pathway into the middle class in many countries -- are thinning, while export-led growth via cheap labor is weakening as automation caps wages. The larger risk is a missed opportunity: nearly 90% of India's workforce is informal, and AI could augment farmers, artisans, and micro-enterprises at scale, yet investment targets large firms instead. The binding constraint is diffusion, not capability -- reorganizing work, dislodging information gatekeepers, building institutions. Prosperity isn't automatic; IHF exists to help steer it.
IHF will also create:
1. A Livelihoods Lab that will run live, co-designed demonstrations of human-AI collaboration in real organizations with real workers, with every finding published as an open public good regardless of outcome.
2. An AI and Jobs Observatory that will track worker experiences and develop a foundational Index of Human Flourishing that measures outcomes beyond income -- capturing agency, dignity, capability, and economic security.
3. A Policy and Narrative program that will translate findings into evidence-based advocacy and connect a Global South advisory network [across shared priorities].
"The question is no longer whether AI will transform work in the Global South -- it already is. The question is whether that transformation raises incomes and expands agency for the majority, most of whom work in the informal economy," said Urvashi Aneja, CEO, Institute for Human Flourishing. "That outcome will be decided by institutional choices, and those choices need evidence. IHF exists to build that evidence in the field, with real workers and real enterprises, and to make sure it shapes both markets and policy."
The Government of India's Expert Group on Human Flourishing has formally endorsed IHF's establishment.
"India's approach to AI has been anchored in inclusion -- technology as a public good that expands opportunity for all," said S. Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India. "Building rigorous evidence on how AI can strengthen livelihoods, particularly in the informal economy, complements the Government's efforts under the IndiaAI Mission. We welcome the Institute for Human Flourishing's contribution to this agenda."
IHF's global launch event at The Rockefeller Foundation in New York featured a panel moderated by Andrew Sweet, Vice President of Innovation at The Rockefeller Foundation, with panelists Urvashi Aneja, Rohit Kansal, Secretary to the Government of India, Dept. of Rural Development, and Manu Chopra, Co-Founder and CEO of Karya.
* * *
About the Institute for Human Flourishing
The Institute for Human Flourishing (IHF) is a global action network dedicated to designing, demonstrating, and scaling pro-worker AI transitions in the Global South. Headquartered in India, IHF runs live demonstrations in real organizations, measures what is happening to workers, and translates evidence into policy across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Learn more at https://humanflourishing.in/.
* * *
About The Rockefeller Foundation
Investing $30 billion over the last 113 years to promote the well-being of humanity, The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy built on unlikely partnerships and innovative solutions that deliver measurable results for people in the United States and around the world. We leverage scientific breakthroughs, artificial intelligence, and new technologies to make big bets across energy, food, health, and finance, including with our public charity, RF Catalytic Capital (RFCC). For more information, sign up for our newsletter at www.rockefellerfoundation.org/subscribe and follow us on X @RockefellerFdn, Instagram @rockefellerfdn, and LinkedIn @the-rockefeller-foundation.
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Original text here: https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/news/research-action-policy-lab-global-south-ai-opportunity/
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As World Leaders Gather at the UN, a New Research Action Policy Lab in the Global South Sets Out To Prove AI Can Create Opportunity
The Institute for Human Flourishing launches during UNGA high-level week, backed by The Rockefeller Foundation, Schmidt Philanthropies, and the Government of India.
News Summary
* The Institute for Human Flourishing (IHF) -- a new Research Action Policy Lab headquartered in India -- will work to ensure AI raises incomes, expands agency, and creates opportunity for vulnerable ... Show Full Article NEW YORK, Sept. 24 -- The Rockefeller Foundation posted the following news release: * * * As World Leaders Gather at the UN, a New Research Action Policy Lab in the Global South Sets Out To Prove AI Can Create Opportunity The Institute for Human Flourishing launches during UNGA high-level week, backed by The Rockefeller Foundation, Schmidt Philanthropies, and the Government of India. News Summary * The Institute for Human Flourishing (IHF) -- a new Research Action Policy Lab headquartered in India -- will work to ensure AI raises incomes, expands agency, and creates opportunity for vulnerablecommunities around the world. IHF will prove what works, turn evidence into replicable playbooks, and inform policy so pro-worker outcomes become the default.
* Founded by Ravi Venkatesan and led by CEO Urvashi Aneja, IHF is headquartered in India and makes its global debut before an international audience of philanthropists, policymakers, and employers gathered in New York for UNGA week. A high-level panel will explore the central question of our moment: how AI can expand opportunity rather than concentrate it.
* The Government of India's Expert Group on Human Flourishing has formally endorsed IHF's establishment.
-
NEW YORK | September 23, 2026 -- As global leaders convene in New York for the United Nations General Assembly and as AI continues to reshape labor markets around the world, the Institute for Human Flourishing (IHF) launched today with an urgent mandate: ensure AI raises incomes, expands agency, and creates opportunity for communities around the world, especially those vulnerable to AI-driven labor disruption. IHF, founded by global business leader and entrepreneur Ravi Venkatesan and led by CEO Urvashi Aneja, will test what helps workers navigate AI disruption and push what works into policy and practice.
"India has the chance to show the world a different model -- one in which AI becomes a tool for mass flourishing rather than mass displacement. But that will not happen by default," said Ravi Venkatesan, Founder, Institute for Human Flourishing. "It requires institutions that connect evidence, practice, and policy. That is why we have built IHF."
Institutional choices -- not the technology itself -- will shape AI's economic impacts. For India and the Global South, the risks differ from those rich countries face: entry-level Information Technology (IT) and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) roles -- the main pathway into the middle class in many countries -- are thinning, while export-led growth via cheap labor is weakening as automation caps wages. The larger risk is a missed opportunity: nearly 90% of India's workforce is informal, and AI could augment farmers, artisans, and micro-enterprises at scale, yet investment targets large firms instead. The binding constraint is diffusion, not capability -- reorganizing work, dislodging information gatekeepers, building institutions. Prosperity isn't automatic; IHF exists to help steer it.
IHF will also create:
1. A Livelihoods Lab that will run live, co-designed demonstrations of human-AI collaboration in real organizations with real workers, with every finding published as an open public good regardless of outcome.
2. An AI and Jobs Observatory that will track worker experiences and develop a foundational Index of Human Flourishing that measures outcomes beyond income -- capturing agency, dignity, capability, and economic security.
3. A Policy and Narrative program that will translate findings into evidence-based advocacy and connect a Global South advisory network [across shared priorities].
"The question is no longer whether AI will transform work in the Global South -- it already is. The question is whether that transformation raises incomes and expands agency for the majority, most of whom work in the informal economy," said Urvashi Aneja, CEO, Institute for Human Flourishing. "That outcome will be decided by institutional choices, and those choices need evidence. IHF exists to build that evidence in the field, with real workers and real enterprises, and to make sure it shapes both markets and policy."
The Government of India's Expert Group on Human Flourishing has formally endorsed IHF's establishment.
"India's approach to AI has been anchored in inclusion -- technology as a public good that expands opportunity for all," said S. Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India. "Building rigorous evidence on how AI can strengthen livelihoods, particularly in the informal economy, complements the Government's efforts under the IndiaAI Mission. We welcome the Institute for Human Flourishing's contribution to this agenda."
IHF's global launch event at The Rockefeller Foundation in New York featured a panel moderated by Andrew Sweet, Vice President of Innovation at The Rockefeller Foundation, with panelists Urvashi Aneja, Rohit Kansal, Secretary to the Government of India, Dept. of Rural Development, and Manu Chopra, Co-Founder and CEO of Karya.
* * *
About the Institute for Human Flourishing
The Institute for Human Flourishing (IHF) is a global action network dedicated to designing, demonstrating, and scaling pro-worker AI transitions in the Global South. Headquartered in India, IHF runs live demonstrations in real organizations, measures what is happening to workers, and translates evidence into policy across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Learn more at https://humanflourishing.in/.
* * *
About The Rockefeller Foundation
Investing $30 billion over the last 113 years to promote the well-being of humanity, The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy built on unlikely partnerships and innovative solutions that deliver measurable results for people in the United States and around the world. We leverage scientific breakthroughs, artificial intelligence, and new technologies to make big bets across energy, food, health, and finance, including with our public charity, RF Catalytic Capital (RFCC). For more information, sign up for our newsletter at www.rockefellerfoundation.org/subscribe and follow us on X @RockefellerFdn, Instagram @rockefellerfdn, and LinkedIn @the-rockefeller-foundation.
* * *
Original text here: https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/news/research-action-policy-lab-global-south-ai-opportunity/
Reason Foundation: States Must Publicly Track and Show How They Spend Meta's Settlement Money
LOS ANGELES, California, Sept. 24 -- The Reason Foundation issued the following news:
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States must publicly track and show how they spend Meta's settlement money
Meta has agreed to pay up to $18 billion to resolve a lawsuit alleging that Facebook and Instagram were designed in ways that harmed children and teenagers.
Richard Sill
Technology Policy Analyst
September 23, 2026
-
Meta agreed in August to pay up to $18 billion to resolve a multistate lawsuit brought by 52 attorneys general representing states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. The lawsuit alleged that Facebook ... Show Full Article LOS ANGELES, California, Sept. 24 -- The Reason Foundation issued the following news: * * * States must publicly track and show how they spend Meta's settlement money Meta has agreed to pay up to $18 billion to resolve a lawsuit alleging that Facebook and Instagram were designed in ways that harmed children and teenagers. Richard Sill Technology Policy Analyst September 23, 2026 - Meta agreed in August to pay up to $18 billion to resolve a multistate lawsuit brought by 52 attorneys general representing states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. The lawsuit alleged that Facebookand Instagram were designed in ways that harmed children and teenagers. Meta denied the allegations and did not admit wrongdoing or liability, but it agreed to make the payments and implement new teen protections on Facebook and Instagram, including default time limits, overnight access restrictions, and expanded parental controls.
While attorneys general are claiming the settlement as a victory, its practical value should be judged by whether states use the money to expand timely mental health and crisis care, help young people and families respond to online harm, and improve youth safety and well-being. Without dedicated accounts, public reporting, and grants tied to those results, the settlement could allow officials to point to the agreement as an accomplishment without showing that the money improved care, safety, or well-being for young people.
Past big government settlements have fallen short
Large government settlements like these often begin with a clear public purpose but become detached from those goals once the money enters state budgets. Meta will make guaranteed payments of roughly $12.7 billion to participating states over 10 years, while an additional $5.3 billion depends on whether TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube accept comparable terms. That extended payment schedule gives future governors and legislatures substantial discretion over how to spend the money. This discretion creates the same kinds of mismanagement seen after the tobacco, mortgage, and opioid settlements.
In 1998, the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement sent states hundreds of billions of dollars after they sued cigarette manufacturers to recover smoking-related healthcare costs. Although the agreement was widely associated with reducing youth smoking, it did not require that states spend proceeds on prevention, cessation, or treatment. This lack of restrictions allowed states to divert the money to debt service, general budget needs, and other priorities. In fiscal year 2026, states are projected to collect $21.7 billion from tobacco-settlement payments and tobacco taxes while dedicating just 3.4 percent of that revenue to tobacco-prevention programs.
The 2012 National Mortgage Settlement offers a similar warning. The settlement directed $2.5 billion to states for foreclosure prevention, legal assistance for homeowners facing foreclosure, and other efforts to address the foreclosure crisis. State attorneys general negotiated the agreement and received or directed the state payments. Because the settlement did not require states to use the money for housing-related aid, less than half of states' settlement money had been allocated to housing six months later, while substantial sums went straight to states' general revenue funds to close budget gaps and pay for unrelated state programs. Without legal safeguards, money from the Meta settlement could similarly shift from youth safety initiatives to becoming ordinary state revenue.
A second pitfall is spending that loosely connects to the harm but has little evidence of benefit. The 2021 and 2022 national opioid settlements generally direct most proceeds toward opioid remediation. Their remediation categories cover a broad range of uses, and public reporting has been inconsistent across states and localities. In Irvington, N.J., officials spent $632,000 in opioid settlement money on two "opioid awareness" concerts, but their promotional materials advertised performers instead of addiction, treatment, or recovery resources. In Louisiana, a panel of addiction and public-health reports found that about $5.4 million of sheriffs' reported settlement spending was inappropriate in areas such as homicide detective salaries and jail contraband searches. While both of these are law enforcement functions that may touch drug crime, neither directly addresses opioid addiction.
A 2025 survey found that only three states described a specific process for reporting suspected misuse of the funds. Without clear spending rules and consequences for recipients that cannot account for lost money, states cannot ensure settlement payments serve their intended purpose.
The settlement also separates the officials who secured the money from those who will decide how to spend it. Attorneys general can point to the proceeds recovery as an accomplishment, but governors and legislators, including officials who will take office years later, will determine how each installment is allocated, all while facing any number of budget pressures. Only about 70 percent of the settlement total is guaranteed, and states should avoid making long-term commitments that depend on money that may never arrive.
How states can avoid potential misallocation
States should keep Meta settlement proceeds out of general revenue and away from vague "remedial purposes." Each state should establish a legally restricted account focused on youth online safety and well-being that receives every payment made to the state and retains any interest it earns. The account should remain separate from an attorney general's operating budget and protected from transfer to a state's general fund. Its expenditures should also be subject to a general appropriation or other transparent process that prevents governors and legislators from repurposing it for ordinary annual budget needs. States already use comparable structures, such as New York's Opioid Settlement Fund, which holds litigation proceeds and limits appropriations to defined prevention, treatment, recovery, and harm-reduction purposes.
Settlement money could support youth behavioral health services, school counseling, crisis response, telehealth, and training for educators and care providers to recognize online exploitation, harassment, and coercion. For example, a rural Alaska school district uses telehealth to provide individual and group counseling, crisis assessments, classroom lessons, and staff training in communities with few mental healthcare providers. States could fund grants to counseling providers, victim-service organizations, schools, and family-support programs that help young people and families affected by online abuse. Those grants could pay for counseling, caseworkers who help families preserve evidence and file reports, and referrals to the national CyberTipline, state child-protection agencies, Internet Crimes Against Children task forces, or local law enforcement. Other grants could expand supervised in-person activities such as after-school programs, youth sports, and community service, particularly where cost or transportation limits access. These activities can strengthen connection and reduce isolation, but they should complement, not replace, clinical care and crisis support.
The account should add to, not replace, existing spending on youth mental health, school counseling, and child protection. Each year, the state could divide its settlement payment among statewide services, grants to local communities, and independent evaluation. A lead agency could invite schools, local governments, health providers, and nonprofits to apply for funding for specific projects, such as hiring school counselors, expanding access to telehealth, or helping families obtain support after online exploitation. Every award should identify the amount, purpose, population served, and results expected.
The effectiveness and impact of spending needs to be tracked. At the end of the year, organizations that receive Meta settlement money would report to the state how much they received, how they spent it, what services they offered, and what results they achieved. They would need to keep the money separate from their regular budget, either in its own account or through clear records.
Smaller organizations could provide bank statements, receipts, and a brief report. Larger school districts, hospital systems, or statewide contractors receiving a major award should undergo a more detailed independent review of spending and program records. If an organization is missing reports, the state could hold back future payments or require repayment if it cannot show where the money went or if it was spent on an unapproved purpose. These safeguards draw on accountability ideas proposed for opioid settlement money, including separate accounts, clear spending rules, public reporting, and penalties for misuse.
States should maintain a searchable public record of every settlement payment, budget allocation, grant, recipient, contract, audit, progress report, and dollar left unspent. The public should be able to see, for example, whether a county received money for school-based counseling, how much it spent, how many young people obtained services, and whether an independent review found that the program delivered what it promised. They should also set aside some funding for independent reviews and short-term test programs. States can then expand, improve, or end programs based on whether they make it easier for young people to get care, respond to online harm, or stay safer online.
Meta's settlement has imposed new restrictions for teen users of Facebook and Instagram and will deliver billions of dollars to participating states. Whether the government's case against Meta converts into a meaningful win for young people will depend on whether lawmakers protect the settlement money, make its use visible to the public, and continue funding only programs that deliver measurable improvements in care, safety, and well-being. Otherwise, the settlement's most lasting achievement may be its initial headlines and the political windfall for various candidates' campaigns.
* * *
Richard Sill is a technology policy analyst at Reason Foundation.
* * *
Original text here: https://reason.org/commentary/states-must-publicly-track-and-show-how-they-spend-metas-settlement-money/
* * *
States must publicly track and show how they spend Meta's settlement money
Meta has agreed to pay up to $18 billion to resolve a lawsuit alleging that Facebook and Instagram were designed in ways that harmed children and teenagers.
Richard Sill
Technology Policy Analyst
September 23, 2026
-
Meta agreed in August to pay up to $18 billion to resolve a multistate lawsuit brought by 52 attorneys general representing states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. The lawsuit alleged that Facebook ... Show Full Article LOS ANGELES, California, Sept. 24 -- The Reason Foundation issued the following news: * * * States must publicly track and show how they spend Meta's settlement money Meta has agreed to pay up to $18 billion to resolve a lawsuit alleging that Facebook and Instagram were designed in ways that harmed children and teenagers. Richard Sill Technology Policy Analyst September 23, 2026 - Meta agreed in August to pay up to $18 billion to resolve a multistate lawsuit brought by 52 attorneys general representing states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. The lawsuit alleged that Facebookand Instagram were designed in ways that harmed children and teenagers. Meta denied the allegations and did not admit wrongdoing or liability, but it agreed to make the payments and implement new teen protections on Facebook and Instagram, including default time limits, overnight access restrictions, and expanded parental controls.
While attorneys general are claiming the settlement as a victory, its practical value should be judged by whether states use the money to expand timely mental health and crisis care, help young people and families respond to online harm, and improve youth safety and well-being. Without dedicated accounts, public reporting, and grants tied to those results, the settlement could allow officials to point to the agreement as an accomplishment without showing that the money improved care, safety, or well-being for young people.
Past big government settlements have fallen short
Large government settlements like these often begin with a clear public purpose but become detached from those goals once the money enters state budgets. Meta will make guaranteed payments of roughly $12.7 billion to participating states over 10 years, while an additional $5.3 billion depends on whether TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube accept comparable terms. That extended payment schedule gives future governors and legislatures substantial discretion over how to spend the money. This discretion creates the same kinds of mismanagement seen after the tobacco, mortgage, and opioid settlements.
In 1998, the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement sent states hundreds of billions of dollars after they sued cigarette manufacturers to recover smoking-related healthcare costs. Although the agreement was widely associated with reducing youth smoking, it did not require that states spend proceeds on prevention, cessation, or treatment. This lack of restrictions allowed states to divert the money to debt service, general budget needs, and other priorities. In fiscal year 2026, states are projected to collect $21.7 billion from tobacco-settlement payments and tobacco taxes while dedicating just 3.4 percent of that revenue to tobacco-prevention programs.
The 2012 National Mortgage Settlement offers a similar warning. The settlement directed $2.5 billion to states for foreclosure prevention, legal assistance for homeowners facing foreclosure, and other efforts to address the foreclosure crisis. State attorneys general negotiated the agreement and received or directed the state payments. Because the settlement did not require states to use the money for housing-related aid, less than half of states' settlement money had been allocated to housing six months later, while substantial sums went straight to states' general revenue funds to close budget gaps and pay for unrelated state programs. Without legal safeguards, money from the Meta settlement could similarly shift from youth safety initiatives to becoming ordinary state revenue.
A second pitfall is spending that loosely connects to the harm but has little evidence of benefit. The 2021 and 2022 national opioid settlements generally direct most proceeds toward opioid remediation. Their remediation categories cover a broad range of uses, and public reporting has been inconsistent across states and localities. In Irvington, N.J., officials spent $632,000 in opioid settlement money on two "opioid awareness" concerts, but their promotional materials advertised performers instead of addiction, treatment, or recovery resources. In Louisiana, a panel of addiction and public-health reports found that about $5.4 million of sheriffs' reported settlement spending was inappropriate in areas such as homicide detective salaries and jail contraband searches. While both of these are law enforcement functions that may touch drug crime, neither directly addresses opioid addiction.
A 2025 survey found that only three states described a specific process for reporting suspected misuse of the funds. Without clear spending rules and consequences for recipients that cannot account for lost money, states cannot ensure settlement payments serve their intended purpose.
The settlement also separates the officials who secured the money from those who will decide how to spend it. Attorneys general can point to the proceeds recovery as an accomplishment, but governors and legislators, including officials who will take office years later, will determine how each installment is allocated, all while facing any number of budget pressures. Only about 70 percent of the settlement total is guaranteed, and states should avoid making long-term commitments that depend on money that may never arrive.
How states can avoid potential misallocation
States should keep Meta settlement proceeds out of general revenue and away from vague "remedial purposes." Each state should establish a legally restricted account focused on youth online safety and well-being that receives every payment made to the state and retains any interest it earns. The account should remain separate from an attorney general's operating budget and protected from transfer to a state's general fund. Its expenditures should also be subject to a general appropriation or other transparent process that prevents governors and legislators from repurposing it for ordinary annual budget needs. States already use comparable structures, such as New York's Opioid Settlement Fund, which holds litigation proceeds and limits appropriations to defined prevention, treatment, recovery, and harm-reduction purposes.
Settlement money could support youth behavioral health services, school counseling, crisis response, telehealth, and training for educators and care providers to recognize online exploitation, harassment, and coercion. For example, a rural Alaska school district uses telehealth to provide individual and group counseling, crisis assessments, classroom lessons, and staff training in communities with few mental healthcare providers. States could fund grants to counseling providers, victim-service organizations, schools, and family-support programs that help young people and families affected by online abuse. Those grants could pay for counseling, caseworkers who help families preserve evidence and file reports, and referrals to the national CyberTipline, state child-protection agencies, Internet Crimes Against Children task forces, or local law enforcement. Other grants could expand supervised in-person activities such as after-school programs, youth sports, and community service, particularly where cost or transportation limits access. These activities can strengthen connection and reduce isolation, but they should complement, not replace, clinical care and crisis support.
The account should add to, not replace, existing spending on youth mental health, school counseling, and child protection. Each year, the state could divide its settlement payment among statewide services, grants to local communities, and independent evaluation. A lead agency could invite schools, local governments, health providers, and nonprofits to apply for funding for specific projects, such as hiring school counselors, expanding access to telehealth, or helping families obtain support after online exploitation. Every award should identify the amount, purpose, population served, and results expected.
The effectiveness and impact of spending needs to be tracked. At the end of the year, organizations that receive Meta settlement money would report to the state how much they received, how they spent it, what services they offered, and what results they achieved. They would need to keep the money separate from their regular budget, either in its own account or through clear records.
Smaller organizations could provide bank statements, receipts, and a brief report. Larger school districts, hospital systems, or statewide contractors receiving a major award should undergo a more detailed independent review of spending and program records. If an organization is missing reports, the state could hold back future payments or require repayment if it cannot show where the money went or if it was spent on an unapproved purpose. These safeguards draw on accountability ideas proposed for opioid settlement money, including separate accounts, clear spending rules, public reporting, and penalties for misuse.
States should maintain a searchable public record of every settlement payment, budget allocation, grant, recipient, contract, audit, progress report, and dollar left unspent. The public should be able to see, for example, whether a county received money for school-based counseling, how much it spent, how many young people obtained services, and whether an independent review found that the program delivered what it promised. They should also set aside some funding for independent reviews and short-term test programs. States can then expand, improve, or end programs based on whether they make it easier for young people to get care, respond to online harm, or stay safer online.
Meta's settlement has imposed new restrictions for teen users of Facebook and Instagram and will deliver billions of dollars to participating states. Whether the government's case against Meta converts into a meaningful win for young people will depend on whether lawmakers protect the settlement money, make its use visible to the public, and continue funding only programs that deliver measurable improvements in care, safety, and well-being. Otherwise, the settlement's most lasting achievement may be its initial headlines and the political windfall for various candidates' campaigns.
* * *
Richard Sill is a technology policy analyst at Reason Foundation.
* * *
Original text here: https://reason.org/commentary/states-must-publicly-track-and-show-how-they-spend-metas-settlement-money/
Reason Foundation: Flight Cancellations and Delays Show Dire State of US Air Traffic Control
LOS ANGELES, California, Sept. 24 -- The Reason Foundation issued the following news:
* * *
Flight cancellations and delays show dire state of US air traffic control
Simple failures caused over 1,000 flight cancellations, 6,000 delays, and negatively impacted tens of thousands of passengers.
Marc Scribner
Senior Transportation Policy Analyst
September 23, 2026
-
On Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA's) Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility suffered a failure in an aging telecommunications circuit. Apparently unbeknownst to the agency, a backup fiberoptic ... Show Full Article LOS ANGELES, California, Sept. 24 -- The Reason Foundation issued the following news: * * * Flight cancellations and delays show dire state of US air traffic control Simple failures caused over 1,000 flight cancellations, 6,000 delays, and negatively impacted tens of thousands of passengers. Marc Scribner Senior Transportation Policy Analyst September 23, 2026 - On Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA's) Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility suffered a failure in an aging telecommunications circuit. Apparently unbeknownst to the agency, a backup fiberopticline running in a railroad right-of-way had already been accidentally cut by a New Jersey Transit contractor. This loss of communications led the FAA to initiate ground stops at Philadelphia and New York area airports, causing over 1,000 flight cancellations, 6,000 delays, and negatively impacting tens of thousands of passengers.
This costly episode underscores the dire state of America's air traffic control system.
The aging copper circuit that failed at Philadelphia TRACON had been slated for replacement under the Trump administration's air traffic control modernization program. Congress has already allocated $12.5 billion to that effort, with telecommunications upgrades as a core focus. But the following day, at the Aero Club in Washington, D.C., Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy spoke of the need for tens of billions of dollars in additional air traffic control investment needs. Congress has so far demurred.
While Secretary Duffy is correct that additional investment in air traffic control modernization is badly needed, pouring more money into the same agencies and channels is unlikely to deliver better results. As we at Reason Foundation have long argued, the core problem is institutional design and management of the air traffic control system.
The FAA is responsible for both running air traffic control and regulating it. This dual role, where the same authority handles safety oversight and service provision, started in the United States many years ago and was copied in other countries. Decisions about investing in air traffic control depend on the priorities of lawmakers and federal transportation officials, who sometimes have different goals.
But by the 1980s, efforts to modernize air traffic control were running into problems around the world. In 1987, New Zealand became the first country in the world to separate air traffic control from its aviation safety regulator. It established a new government corporation that collected cost-based aviation user fees and made air traffic control investment decisions autonomously, all under arm's-length safety oversight.
This model allows air navigation service providers to self-finance improvements and technological upgrades, and do so all at once by issuing revenue bonds backed by predictable user fee collections. Their capital investment programs are not subject to the budgeting or political whims of legislators and government bureaucrats.
Today, by Reason Foundation's count, 96 countries, including most industrialized countries and a growing number of developing countries, have air traffic control provided by an air traffic control utility funded by user fees. Most of these are state-owned corporations, but a few are partially privatized or structured as nongovernmental user cooperatives, such as Nav Canada.
Countries that have transitioned to an air traffic control utility model have been able to adopt new technologies faster, such as fully replacing paper flight progress strips with digital alternatives, adopting space-based surveillance over oceanic and remote areas, and using remote/digital control towers that give controllers better visibility at lower cost. These technologies are mainstream or becoming so around the world, but FAA has yet to complete deployments of any of them--and in many cases, has yet to begin the upgrades that are years or decades behind.
To be sure, adopting the air traffic utility model is not a panacea for solving all potential problems. Good management and proper regulatory oversight remain important. But as longtime air traffic control executive John Kefaliotis put it in a recent Reason Foundation report, reforming governance enables the "transition from a tax-funded air traffic control system chronically short of adequate revenue and long-term financing to a sustainable, adaptable non-profit commercial structure capable of continuous modernization."
In the U.S., the current plan is to upgrade facilities and equipment just once, with no strategy for future updates that will soon be necessary. Government watchdogs are already questioning whether the FAA's upgrades will work, so the costly, yet limited and temporary benefits may never materialize.
Ultimately, in a state of "continuous modernization" is where we want the U.S. air navigation service provider to be, where air traffic control equipment is replaced on a regular schedule before it is completely obsolete, dilapidated and in need of a congressional bailout that may not arrive. Doubling down on the current FAA model, which is already expensive and decades behind on modernization projects, will not achieve that.
* * *
Marc Scribner is a senior transportation policy analyst at Reason Foundation.
* * *
Original text here: https://reason.org/commentary/flight-cancellations-and-delays-show-dire-state-of-us-air-traffic-control/
* * *
Flight cancellations and delays show dire state of US air traffic control
Simple failures caused over 1,000 flight cancellations, 6,000 delays, and negatively impacted tens of thousands of passengers.
Marc Scribner
Senior Transportation Policy Analyst
September 23, 2026
-
On Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA's) Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility suffered a failure in an aging telecommunications circuit. Apparently unbeknownst to the agency, a backup fiberoptic ... Show Full Article LOS ANGELES, California, Sept. 24 -- The Reason Foundation issued the following news: * * * Flight cancellations and delays show dire state of US air traffic control Simple failures caused over 1,000 flight cancellations, 6,000 delays, and negatively impacted tens of thousands of passengers. Marc Scribner Senior Transportation Policy Analyst September 23, 2026 - On Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA's) Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility suffered a failure in an aging telecommunications circuit. Apparently unbeknownst to the agency, a backup fiberopticline running in a railroad right-of-way had already been accidentally cut by a New Jersey Transit contractor. This loss of communications led the FAA to initiate ground stops at Philadelphia and New York area airports, causing over 1,000 flight cancellations, 6,000 delays, and negatively impacting tens of thousands of passengers.
This costly episode underscores the dire state of America's air traffic control system.
The aging copper circuit that failed at Philadelphia TRACON had been slated for replacement under the Trump administration's air traffic control modernization program. Congress has already allocated $12.5 billion to that effort, with telecommunications upgrades as a core focus. But the following day, at the Aero Club in Washington, D.C., Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy spoke of the need for tens of billions of dollars in additional air traffic control investment needs. Congress has so far demurred.
While Secretary Duffy is correct that additional investment in air traffic control modernization is badly needed, pouring more money into the same agencies and channels is unlikely to deliver better results. As we at Reason Foundation have long argued, the core problem is institutional design and management of the air traffic control system.
The FAA is responsible for both running air traffic control and regulating it. This dual role, where the same authority handles safety oversight and service provision, started in the United States many years ago and was copied in other countries. Decisions about investing in air traffic control depend on the priorities of lawmakers and federal transportation officials, who sometimes have different goals.
But by the 1980s, efforts to modernize air traffic control were running into problems around the world. In 1987, New Zealand became the first country in the world to separate air traffic control from its aviation safety regulator. It established a new government corporation that collected cost-based aviation user fees and made air traffic control investment decisions autonomously, all under arm's-length safety oversight.
This model allows air navigation service providers to self-finance improvements and technological upgrades, and do so all at once by issuing revenue bonds backed by predictable user fee collections. Their capital investment programs are not subject to the budgeting or political whims of legislators and government bureaucrats.
Today, by Reason Foundation's count, 96 countries, including most industrialized countries and a growing number of developing countries, have air traffic control provided by an air traffic control utility funded by user fees. Most of these are state-owned corporations, but a few are partially privatized or structured as nongovernmental user cooperatives, such as Nav Canada.
Countries that have transitioned to an air traffic control utility model have been able to adopt new technologies faster, such as fully replacing paper flight progress strips with digital alternatives, adopting space-based surveillance over oceanic and remote areas, and using remote/digital control towers that give controllers better visibility at lower cost. These technologies are mainstream or becoming so around the world, but FAA has yet to complete deployments of any of them--and in many cases, has yet to begin the upgrades that are years or decades behind.
To be sure, adopting the air traffic utility model is not a panacea for solving all potential problems. Good management and proper regulatory oversight remain important. But as longtime air traffic control executive John Kefaliotis put it in a recent Reason Foundation report, reforming governance enables the "transition from a tax-funded air traffic control system chronically short of adequate revenue and long-term financing to a sustainable, adaptable non-profit commercial structure capable of continuous modernization."
In the U.S., the current plan is to upgrade facilities and equipment just once, with no strategy for future updates that will soon be necessary. Government watchdogs are already questioning whether the FAA's upgrades will work, so the costly, yet limited and temporary benefits may never materialize.
Ultimately, in a state of "continuous modernization" is where we want the U.S. air navigation service provider to be, where air traffic control equipment is replaced on a regular schedule before it is completely obsolete, dilapidated and in need of a congressional bailout that may not arrive. Doubling down on the current FAA model, which is already expensive and decades behind on modernization projects, will not achieve that.
* * *
Marc Scribner is a senior transportation policy analyst at Reason Foundation.
* * *
Original text here: https://reason.org/commentary/flight-cancellations-and-delays-show-dire-state-of-us-air-traffic-control/
Health Foundation Responds to New Mayfield Report - KBW: A National Growth Opportunity
LONDON, England, Sept. 24 -- The Health Foundation issued the following news release:
* * *
Health Foundation responds to new Mayfield report - KBW: A National Growth Opportunity
23 September 2026
-
Responding to a new report by Charlie Mayfield's Keep Britain Working team, KBW: A National Growth Opportunity, Claire Campbell, Senior Fellow at the Health Foundation, said:
'Good health should be seen as a national economic asset and central to improving economic growth.
'The scale of the opportunity is significant - our analysis shows returning working-age health to levels of a decade ago ... Show Full Article LONDON, England, Sept. 24 -- The Health Foundation issued the following news release: * * * Health Foundation responds to new Mayfield report - KBW: A National Growth Opportunity 23 September 2026 - Responding to a new report by Charlie Mayfield's Keep Britain Working team, KBW: A National Growth Opportunity, Claire Campbell, Senior Fellow at the Health Foundation, said: 'Good health should be seen as a national economic asset and central to improving economic growth. 'The scale of the opportunity is significant - our analysis shows returning working-age health to levels of a decade agocould provide a pound sterling57bn boost to the economy and pound sterling72bn boost to the public finances.
'Employers have a crucial role in acting earlier when health starts to affect their employees' ability to work, but government must create a wider system to support this approach.
'This includes expanding workplace health provision to help people stay in or return to work, while improving financial support for people trying to get back into employment, including through higher statutory sick pay.'
* * *
Original text here: https://www.health.org.uk/media-office/press-releases/health-foundation-responds-to-new-mayfield-report-kbw-a-national-growth-opportunity
* * *
Health Foundation responds to new Mayfield report - KBW: A National Growth Opportunity
23 September 2026
-
Responding to a new report by Charlie Mayfield's Keep Britain Working team, KBW: A National Growth Opportunity, Claire Campbell, Senior Fellow at the Health Foundation, said:
'Good health should be seen as a national economic asset and central to improving economic growth.
'The scale of the opportunity is significant - our analysis shows returning working-age health to levels of a decade ago ... Show Full Article LONDON, England, Sept. 24 -- The Health Foundation issued the following news release: * * * Health Foundation responds to new Mayfield report - KBW: A National Growth Opportunity 23 September 2026 - Responding to a new report by Charlie Mayfield's Keep Britain Working team, KBW: A National Growth Opportunity, Claire Campbell, Senior Fellow at the Health Foundation, said: 'Good health should be seen as a national economic asset and central to improving economic growth. 'The scale of the opportunity is significant - our analysis shows returning working-age health to levels of a decade agocould provide a pound sterling57bn boost to the economy and pound sterling72bn boost to the public finances.
'Employers have a crucial role in acting earlier when health starts to affect their employees' ability to work, but government must create a wider system to support this approach.
'This includes expanding workplace health provision to help people stay in or return to work, while improving financial support for people trying to get back into employment, including through higher statutory sick pay.'
* * *
Original text here: https://www.health.org.uk/media-office/press-releases/health-foundation-responds-to-new-mayfield-report-kbw-a-national-growth-opportunity
FFRF's Advocacy Removes Cross From Calif. Fourth-Grade Classroom
MADISON, Wisconsin, Sept. 24 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release:
* * *
September 23, 2026
FFRF's advocacy removes cross from Calif. fourth-grade classroom
-
The Lodi Unified School District in California has removed a Christian cross displayed by a teacher in her fourth-grade classroom following objections by the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
A parent who informed the state/church watchdog about the cross personally observed it during a July 29 back-to-school event at Erma B. Reese Elementary School. According to the parent, the 12 by 16 inch tall ... Show Full Article MADISON, Wisconsin, Sept. 24 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release: * * * September 23, 2026 FFRF's advocacy removes cross from Calif. fourth-grade classroom - The Lodi Unified School District in California has removed a Christian cross displayed by a teacher in her fourth-grade classroom following objections by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. A parent who informed the state/church watchdog about the cross personally observed it during a July 29 back-to-school event at Erma B. Reese Elementary School. According to the parent, the 12 by 16 inch tallcross was displayed on a wall where the teacher's fourth-grade students couldn't avoid it.
For the parent, the concern was not abstract.
"Any child in that classroom who does not follow a Christian-based religion has to look at that cross and know their teacher's religion is different than their own," the parent told FFRF. The parent expressed dismay over the fact that a child "may feel that [the teacher] disapproves of them or does not accept them or their own religious beliefs." The parent was particularly concerned that their own child could be treated differently if the teacher learned that the child was not Christian.
To protect the First Amendment rights of conscience of these young and impressionable students, FFRF immediately contacted the district to ensure the removal of the religious symbol.
"By prominently displaying a cross on her classroom wall where students will inevitably see it, [the teacher], and thus the district, signals clear favoritism toward religion over nonreligion and Christianity over all other faiths," FFRF Staff Attorney Sammi Lawrence wrote to Superintendent Neil Young.
Religion is a divisive force in public schools, and the classroom cross, an unmistakably sectarian message, clearly crossed a constitutional line. The display also needlessly marginalized fourth-graders, such as the child of FFRF's parent complainant, who is among the 43 percent of Generation Z members who are religiously unaffiliated.
FFRF is pleased to report that corrective action promptly followed FFRF's letter. A representative of the district confirmed via email, "The issue brought to our attention has been addressed, and the cross is no longer displayed."
"This is one of the more shocking violations of the separation between religion and government that we have encountered in a public school classroom," says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. "A fourth-grade classroom is not a Sunday school, or a venue for an overzealous teacher to espouse their personal religious views. We are glad that Lodi Unified took this egregious violation seriously."
* * *
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with 41,000 members and several chapters nationwide, including more than 5,100 members and two local chapters in California. FFRF's purposes are to protect the constitutional principle of separation between church and state, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.
* * *
Original text here: https://ffrf.org/news/releases/ffrfs-advocacy-removes-cross-from-calif-fourth-grade-classroom/
[Category: Religion]
* * *
September 23, 2026
FFRF's advocacy removes cross from Calif. fourth-grade classroom
-
The Lodi Unified School District in California has removed a Christian cross displayed by a teacher in her fourth-grade classroom following objections by the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
A parent who informed the state/church watchdog about the cross personally observed it during a July 29 back-to-school event at Erma B. Reese Elementary School. According to the parent, the 12 by 16 inch tall ... Show Full Article MADISON, Wisconsin, Sept. 24 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release: * * * September 23, 2026 FFRF's advocacy removes cross from Calif. fourth-grade classroom - The Lodi Unified School District in California has removed a Christian cross displayed by a teacher in her fourth-grade classroom following objections by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. A parent who informed the state/church watchdog about the cross personally observed it during a July 29 back-to-school event at Erma B. Reese Elementary School. According to the parent, the 12 by 16 inch tallcross was displayed on a wall where the teacher's fourth-grade students couldn't avoid it.
For the parent, the concern was not abstract.
"Any child in that classroom who does not follow a Christian-based religion has to look at that cross and know their teacher's religion is different than their own," the parent told FFRF. The parent expressed dismay over the fact that a child "may feel that [the teacher] disapproves of them or does not accept them or their own religious beliefs." The parent was particularly concerned that their own child could be treated differently if the teacher learned that the child was not Christian.
To protect the First Amendment rights of conscience of these young and impressionable students, FFRF immediately contacted the district to ensure the removal of the religious symbol.
"By prominently displaying a cross on her classroom wall where students will inevitably see it, [the teacher], and thus the district, signals clear favoritism toward religion over nonreligion and Christianity over all other faiths," FFRF Staff Attorney Sammi Lawrence wrote to Superintendent Neil Young.
Religion is a divisive force in public schools, and the classroom cross, an unmistakably sectarian message, clearly crossed a constitutional line. The display also needlessly marginalized fourth-graders, such as the child of FFRF's parent complainant, who is among the 43 percent of Generation Z members who are religiously unaffiliated.
FFRF is pleased to report that corrective action promptly followed FFRF's letter. A representative of the district confirmed via email, "The issue brought to our attention has been addressed, and the cross is no longer displayed."
"This is one of the more shocking violations of the separation between religion and government that we have encountered in a public school classroom," says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. "A fourth-grade classroom is not a Sunday school, or a venue for an overzealous teacher to espouse their personal religious views. We are glad that Lodi Unified took this egregious violation seriously."
* * *
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with 41,000 members and several chapters nationwide, including more than 5,100 members and two local chapters in California. FFRF's purposes are to protect the constitutional principle of separation between church and state, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.
* * *
Original text here: https://ffrf.org/news/releases/ffrfs-advocacy-removes-cross-from-calif-fourth-grade-classroom/
[Category: Religion]
AIDS Foundation of Chicago: 'Avanzando Juntos' Conference to Address Rising HIV Rates in the Latine Community
CHICAGO, Illinois, Sept. 24 -- The AIDS Foundation of Chicago issued the following news:
* * *
'Avanzando Juntos' conference to address rising HIV rates in the Latine community
Andrew Davis, Communications Consultant
September 23, 2026
-
On Thursday, Oct. 1, Avanzando Juntos (Moving Forward Together): Confronting Rising HIV in Illinois Latine Communities will take place at Malcolm X College.
A coalition of organizations--including Project VIDA, CALOR, the Illinois Department of Public Health, the Puerto Rican Cultural Center (PRCC) and AIDS Foundation Chicago, among others--has organized ... Show Full Article CHICAGO, Illinois, Sept. 24 -- The AIDS Foundation of Chicago issued the following news: * * * 'Avanzando Juntos' conference to address rising HIV rates in the Latine community Andrew Davis, Communications Consultant September 23, 2026 - On Thursday, Oct. 1, Avanzando Juntos (Moving Forward Together): Confronting Rising HIV in Illinois Latine Communities will take place at Malcolm X College. A coalition of organizations--including Project VIDA, CALOR, the Illinois Department of Public Health, the Puerto Rican Cultural Center (PRCC) and AIDS Foundation Chicago, among others--has organizedthe all-day event, which will feature guest speakers exploring various topics from treatment to PrEP through presentations and discussions. Healthcare and community HIV prevention professionals who directly work with the Latine patient population, as well as those who want to learn more, are invited.
Puerto Rican Cultural Center Director of Public Health Initiatives Ricardo Jimenez said it was very important for the organization to be part of Avanzando Juntos. "We've been doing public health work for an extremely long time," Jimenez said. "If we look at the Latine community, the first ones that dealt with HIV straight on was the Puerto Rican Cultural Center. And they opened VIDA/SIDA in 1988, when nobody would ever even touch it at all.
"That started the legacy of us working in the Latine community because people in the Latine and Black community were dying," he added. "There were other circumstances in our community. We did not know that one of the modes of transmission was intravenous drug use. Also, Latinos and Blacks also [tended not to use] condoms, either."
Factors driving the increased HIV diagnoses
Windy City Times reported that Chicago recorded 504 new HIV diagnoses in 2025--representing a 38% drop from 818 new HIV cases in 2024, according to an Aug. 20 data brief from the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH).
Latine Chicagoans accounted for 171 new diagnoses in 2025, down from 408 in 2024. Latine residents accounted for half of all new HIV diagnoses in 2024, compared with 34% in 2025. Together, Black and Latine residents accounted for about 81% of new HIV diagnoses last year.
Several factors have contributed to increased diagnoses among Chicago's Latine communities, according to AIDS Foundation Chicago Senior Vice President of Community Partnerships and Special Projects Dr. Cynthia Tucker. They include:
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): "Can you imagine being scared to come out of your house?" Tucker asked, "It's kind of like COVID times ten. People weren't going anywhere because they were scared they were going to be picked up and detained. And with that, they weren't getting health care. People were not testing for HIV because they just simply were not accessing services, and others were not getting PrEP."
Jimenez agreed with Tucker, saying, "ICE wanted to make its presence known, even going to gay bars. It's a symbol of repression."
Stigma: Tucker said, "There is a lot of stigma, not only within the Latino community. [Some people] insist on being macho--being able to do things on their own without any help."
Jimenez added, "What did [President] Trump do? Use religion to get Latines and Blacks to support him because you have a lot of machismo and all that. So we definitely need to break from stigma. We need to normalize [having HIV/AIDS as well as testing] and more Latinos will come out that they're living with HIV."
Mpox: There is a connection between mpox and HIV in the sense that the former can affect people living with the latter more seriously. "[Mpox] actually affected the Latine community here, although most people didn't hear about it," Tucker said.
Immigration: To be clear, there is no data to support that immigration in 2024 caused increased HIV diagnoses in Chicago. Tucker said, "Some new arrivals were likely living with HIV, and they impacted others. But also, there were people living in police stations and hotels; they didn't have the best access to healthcare." Experiencing homelessness and lacking access to health care are factors that make people more likely to receive an HIV diagnosis.
On this subject, Jimenez also said that part of the problem was that the United States refused to share medication with other countries, such as Colombia. He added that people living with HIV who were diagnosed in another country are counted as a new diagnosis by health departments when they engage with care in the U.S.
Some immigrants may also struggle with coming out as LGBTQ+ in another country. "There's the whole thing of immigration coming here, identifying and being part of the community," Jimenez said. "How do you then respond to your gayness versus when you're in your own country? Now you have a little bit more freedom to do what you want."
Religion: "The Latine community is heavily Catholic," Tucker said. Traditional Catholicism could be seen as a barrier to the dissemination of accurate information or engagement with HIV care because of certain social views.
Misinformation and lack of information: According to Jimenez, "We're not getting the information out, okay? For example, we need to understand that U=U is beneficial for everybody. I think we need to make this a very major campaign. You have to do outreach and fund them because you're going to have to get people out in the community."
Next steps
Avanzando Juntos will discuss problems and solutions--but Tucker said the event will just be a starting point.
"While we want to educate providers, that's not enough," Tucker said. "Let's say 150 people attend; that's just a drop in the bucket. One of the things we plan on doing is creating an executive summary. We want to make sure that we can share the context and information to everyone.
"We know what we need to do, but we need to have the policy and the funding in place so that we can do it--and we need to have the workforce that is trained to do it. Also, we need to have people who are willing to go out into the community."
Last words
Tucker emphasized that "We're going to talk about mental health and stigma, of course, HIV prevention, PrEP, PEP, U=U. There are a lot of issues. We're going to be talking about all of these barriers that we discussed, but there will also be high-level overviews from Epidata straight from the health departments, so everybody is on the same page."
With the conference, Tucker and Jimenez (among many others) hope to reverse the rise in HIV infections--and point Chicago's Latine community toward a brighter future where there are no new HIV cases, and people living with HIV can thrive.
* * *
Original text here: https://www.aidschicago.org/avanzando-juntos-conference-to-address-rising-hiv-rates-in-the-latine-community/
* * *
'Avanzando Juntos' conference to address rising HIV rates in the Latine community
Andrew Davis, Communications Consultant
September 23, 2026
-
On Thursday, Oct. 1, Avanzando Juntos (Moving Forward Together): Confronting Rising HIV in Illinois Latine Communities will take place at Malcolm X College.
A coalition of organizations--including Project VIDA, CALOR, the Illinois Department of Public Health, the Puerto Rican Cultural Center (PRCC) and AIDS Foundation Chicago, among others--has organized ... Show Full Article CHICAGO, Illinois, Sept. 24 -- The AIDS Foundation of Chicago issued the following news: * * * 'Avanzando Juntos' conference to address rising HIV rates in the Latine community Andrew Davis, Communications Consultant September 23, 2026 - On Thursday, Oct. 1, Avanzando Juntos (Moving Forward Together): Confronting Rising HIV in Illinois Latine Communities will take place at Malcolm X College. A coalition of organizations--including Project VIDA, CALOR, the Illinois Department of Public Health, the Puerto Rican Cultural Center (PRCC) and AIDS Foundation Chicago, among others--has organizedthe all-day event, which will feature guest speakers exploring various topics from treatment to PrEP through presentations and discussions. Healthcare and community HIV prevention professionals who directly work with the Latine patient population, as well as those who want to learn more, are invited.
Puerto Rican Cultural Center Director of Public Health Initiatives Ricardo Jimenez said it was very important for the organization to be part of Avanzando Juntos. "We've been doing public health work for an extremely long time," Jimenez said. "If we look at the Latine community, the first ones that dealt with HIV straight on was the Puerto Rican Cultural Center. And they opened VIDA/SIDA in 1988, when nobody would ever even touch it at all.
"That started the legacy of us working in the Latine community because people in the Latine and Black community were dying," he added. "There were other circumstances in our community. We did not know that one of the modes of transmission was intravenous drug use. Also, Latinos and Blacks also [tended not to use] condoms, either."
Factors driving the increased HIV diagnoses
Windy City Times reported that Chicago recorded 504 new HIV diagnoses in 2025--representing a 38% drop from 818 new HIV cases in 2024, according to an Aug. 20 data brief from the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH).
Latine Chicagoans accounted for 171 new diagnoses in 2025, down from 408 in 2024. Latine residents accounted for half of all new HIV diagnoses in 2024, compared with 34% in 2025. Together, Black and Latine residents accounted for about 81% of new HIV diagnoses last year.
Several factors have contributed to increased diagnoses among Chicago's Latine communities, according to AIDS Foundation Chicago Senior Vice President of Community Partnerships and Special Projects Dr. Cynthia Tucker. They include:
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): "Can you imagine being scared to come out of your house?" Tucker asked, "It's kind of like COVID times ten. People weren't going anywhere because they were scared they were going to be picked up and detained. And with that, they weren't getting health care. People were not testing for HIV because they just simply were not accessing services, and others were not getting PrEP."
Jimenez agreed with Tucker, saying, "ICE wanted to make its presence known, even going to gay bars. It's a symbol of repression."
Stigma: Tucker said, "There is a lot of stigma, not only within the Latino community. [Some people] insist on being macho--being able to do things on their own without any help."
Jimenez added, "What did [President] Trump do? Use religion to get Latines and Blacks to support him because you have a lot of machismo and all that. So we definitely need to break from stigma. We need to normalize [having HIV/AIDS as well as testing] and more Latinos will come out that they're living with HIV."
Mpox: There is a connection between mpox and HIV in the sense that the former can affect people living with the latter more seriously. "[Mpox] actually affected the Latine community here, although most people didn't hear about it," Tucker said.
Immigration: To be clear, there is no data to support that immigration in 2024 caused increased HIV diagnoses in Chicago. Tucker said, "Some new arrivals were likely living with HIV, and they impacted others. But also, there were people living in police stations and hotels; they didn't have the best access to healthcare." Experiencing homelessness and lacking access to health care are factors that make people more likely to receive an HIV diagnosis.
On this subject, Jimenez also said that part of the problem was that the United States refused to share medication with other countries, such as Colombia. He added that people living with HIV who were diagnosed in another country are counted as a new diagnosis by health departments when they engage with care in the U.S.
Some immigrants may also struggle with coming out as LGBTQ+ in another country. "There's the whole thing of immigration coming here, identifying and being part of the community," Jimenez said. "How do you then respond to your gayness versus when you're in your own country? Now you have a little bit more freedom to do what you want."
Religion: "The Latine community is heavily Catholic," Tucker said. Traditional Catholicism could be seen as a barrier to the dissemination of accurate information or engagement with HIV care because of certain social views.
Misinformation and lack of information: According to Jimenez, "We're not getting the information out, okay? For example, we need to understand that U=U is beneficial for everybody. I think we need to make this a very major campaign. You have to do outreach and fund them because you're going to have to get people out in the community."
Next steps
Avanzando Juntos will discuss problems and solutions--but Tucker said the event will just be a starting point.
"While we want to educate providers, that's not enough," Tucker said. "Let's say 150 people attend; that's just a drop in the bucket. One of the things we plan on doing is creating an executive summary. We want to make sure that we can share the context and information to everyone.
"We know what we need to do, but we need to have the policy and the funding in place so that we can do it--and we need to have the workforce that is trained to do it. Also, we need to have people who are willing to go out into the community."
Last words
Tucker emphasized that "We're going to talk about mental health and stigma, of course, HIV prevention, PrEP, PEP, U=U. There are a lot of issues. We're going to be talking about all of these barriers that we discussed, but there will also be high-level overviews from Epidata straight from the health departments, so everybody is on the same page."
With the conference, Tucker and Jimenez (among many others) hope to reverse the rise in HIV infections--and point Chicago's Latine community toward a brighter future where there are no new HIV cases, and people living with HIV can thrive.
* * *
Original text here: https://www.aidschicago.org/avanzando-juntos-conference-to-address-rising-hiv-rates-in-the-latine-community/
2026 Ballot Guide from the Denver Foundation
DENVER, Colorado, Sept. 24 -- The Denver Foundation issued the following news:
* * *
2026 Ballot Guide from The Denver Foundation
September 22, 2026
-
Tuesday, Nov. 3, voters will make decisions on state and local issues. This ballot will tie the previous state record of 14 statewide measures. We want to help you get the information you need to make an informed vote.
Below is our ballot guide and links to additional ballot guides from other organizations that we either fund or have a track record of publishing nonpartisan, educational ballot information.
We review ballot issues and take ... Show Full Article DENVER, Colorado, Sept. 24 -- The Denver Foundation issued the following news: * * * 2026 Ballot Guide from The Denver Foundation September 22, 2026 - Tuesday, Nov. 3, voters will make decisions on state and local issues. This ballot will tie the previous state record of 14 statewide measures. We want to help you get the information you need to make an informed vote. Below is our ballot guide and links to additional ballot guides from other organizations that we either fund or have a track record of publishing nonpartisan, educational ballot information. We review ballot issues and takepositions on those that align with our mission, vision, and values, our strategic framework, and our 2026 policy principles. We know there are many issues that our board, staff, and community care deeply about. Our strategic framework and policy principles help guide when to take a position and when not to. We also need to assess our capacity to conduct research and outreach to fully understand the impact on our stakeholders, and that sometimes leads us to not take a position at all. And through our Civic Fabric Fund, we support additional voter education efforts on all state-level and many local-level ballot measures.
* * *
Statewide
Oppose
Amendment 81- Law Enforcement Reporting Requirements to Federal Authorities
We oppose Amendment 81 because we believe in protecting Coloradans from being racially profiled or targeted by federal authorities. We are also opposing this because we believe in protecting due process rights by making sure no Coloradan is reported to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) before a court has found them guilty of a crime and before they have a chance to prove their citizenship.
About: An amendment to the Colorado constitution, requiring certified peace officers employed by a law enforcement agency, correctional officers, and district attorney offices to notify the federal Department of Homeland Security within 72 hours of charging someone with a crime if the person is not believed to be lawfully in the U.S and is either charged with a violent crime or has a prior felony conviction.
Policy framework alignment: Critical and timely issues. We have backed legislation for the past three years that supports the immigrant community, including state responses to federal actions that diminished protections for immigrants.
Learn more (https://no81.org/).
* * *
Oppose
Amendment 83: Constitutional Right to Purchase and Sell Natural Gas
We oppose Amendment 82 because it would harm the health and safety of Coloradans and could make it harder for state and local governments to enforce or enact safety and environmental rules that keep our water clean and homes safe. Its passage could also lead to increased costs for consumers.
ABOUT: Adds a new section to the Colorado Constitution that would grant consumers the right to purchase natural gas for cooking or heating in homes or businesses, and for distributors and utilities to sell natural gas to consumers.
Policy framework alignment: Environment and Climate
Learn more (https://no82.org/).
* * *
Support
Proposition 137 - Designate Sporting Goods Sales Tax Revenue for Conservation
We support 137 because it will provide funding, without raising taxes, for wildfire mitigation, outdoor equity programs, and workforce development. We also support this because it will help our state and local governments have the resources needed to adapt to the increasing changes to our climate.
ABOUT: Designates approximately $175 million annually of state sales tax revenue collected from sporting goods and equipment sales as wildfire and conservation revenue.
Policy framework alignment: Environment and Climate, Economic Opportunity
Learn more (https://yesonprop137.com/).
* * *
Support
Proposition NN: State Public K-12 Education Funding
We support NN because, throughout our history, we've always supported increasing funding for K-12 education. Proposition NN will further increase equitable school funding by allowing the state to invest the revenue it already collects in public education. Funding can be used to increase teachers' salaries, technical training opportunities, and smaller class sizes, without raising taxes or asking Coloradans to pay a dollar more.
ABOUT: Allows the state to retain revenue to support a 2% increase in state education funding over the next decade. This funding would support teacher pay and retention, smaller class sizes, career and technical courses, and school services, among other things.
Policy framework alignment: Youth Well-Being
Learn more (https://www.yesforcoloradokids.com/).
* * *
Local: Aurora
Support
Aurora: Ballot Issue 3A: Dedicated Sales Tax for Community Facilities
We support this because it will fund the renovation and construction of recreation centers and libraries across Aurora. These vital community resources will help people access resources to help them with school, jobs, and recreational activities.
ABOUT: Designates $104,975,000 through a 0.129% citywide sales and use tax for 30 years to renovate and construct parks, recreation facilities, and libraries.
Policy framework alignment: Economic Opportunity
Learn more (https://www.buildupaurora.com/).
* * *
Support
Aurora: Ballot Issue 3C: Dedicated Sales Tax for Transportation Infrastructure and Facilities
We support this because this bond invests critically needed dollars into infrastructure and connectivity, ensuring our communities have safe, reliable roads and sidewalks. The selected projects protect pedestrians, build new multimodal transit options, and promote community resilience.
ABOUT: Designates $107,475,000 through a 0.129% citywide sales and use tax for 30 years to replace a bridge, construct traffic calming infrastructure, and improve roads, sidewalks, and crosswalks.
Policy framework alignment: Environment and Climate
Learn more (https://www.buildupaurora.com/).
* * *
Ballot guides and trackers
There are numerous ballot measures, making it challenging to locate the necessary information to make informed decisions. We hope the resources help you ensure that your registration is active and your vote is informed.
Ballot Guides (as of 9/22)
* Colorado Public Radio (coming soon)
* Colorado Budget Tradeoffs
* Count me in Colorado
* League of Women Voters of Colorado
* League of Women Voters of Denver
* American Civil Liberties Union
* The Bell Policy Center
* The Denver Post Colorado voter guide (coming soon)
* Denverite Voter Guide (coming soon)
* The Sentinel Aurora Voter Guide (coming soon)
* The Women's Foundation of Colorado - The Womanifesto (coming soon)
* Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce
* Soul 2 Soul Sisters (coming soon)
* Progress Now Colorado Education Fund (coming soon)
General Resources
* Colorado Blue Book (coming soon)
* Adams County Election Resources (https://www.adamscountycoelections.gov/2025-coordinated-election/)
* Arapahoe County Election Resources (https://www.arapahoeco.gov/your_county/arapahoevotes/election_resources/index.php)
* Aurora Ballot Guide (https://www.auroragov.org/city_hall/elections/voter_resources)
* Denver Ballot Guide (https://denvergov.org/Government/Agencies-Departments-Offices/Agencies-Departments-Offices-Directory/Denver-Clerk-and-Recorder/Elections-Division/Upcoming-Elections)
* Colorado Health Foundation Local ballot measures tracker (https://coloradohealth.org/local-ballot-measure-tracker)
* Common Cause Election Protection resources (https://www.commoncause.org/work/election-protection/)
* Check your voter registration (https://www.sos.state.co.us/voter/pages/pub/olvr/findVoterReg.xhtml)
Supporting voter engagement
Another way we support voter education and engagement on ballot measures is by funding nonprofit organizations to educate and activate voters during the municipal and statewide elections. Learn more about this year's grantees and their work this election here (https://denverfoundation.org/2026/08/the-denver-foundation-awards-209600-to-14-organizations-working-on-voter-engagement/).
You, too, can support this work by giving to the Civic Fabric Fund (https://denver.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=3047&_gl=1*1vughp0*_gcl_au*MjgyMDk4NzU2LjE3ODgzMzc4NTg.*_ga*MTM4NjI0NTM0LjE3ODgzMzc4NTg.*_ga_TPPV6DMFD1*czE3OTAyMjU4MzckbzMkZzEkdDE3OTAyMjU4NDIkajU1JGwwJGgw).
* * *
Original text here: https://denverfoundation.org/2026/09/2026-ballot-guide/
* * *
2026 Ballot Guide from The Denver Foundation
September 22, 2026
-
Tuesday, Nov. 3, voters will make decisions on state and local issues. This ballot will tie the previous state record of 14 statewide measures. We want to help you get the information you need to make an informed vote.
Below is our ballot guide and links to additional ballot guides from other organizations that we either fund or have a track record of publishing nonpartisan, educational ballot information.
We review ballot issues and take ... Show Full Article DENVER, Colorado, Sept. 24 -- The Denver Foundation issued the following news: * * * 2026 Ballot Guide from The Denver Foundation September 22, 2026 - Tuesday, Nov. 3, voters will make decisions on state and local issues. This ballot will tie the previous state record of 14 statewide measures. We want to help you get the information you need to make an informed vote. Below is our ballot guide and links to additional ballot guides from other organizations that we either fund or have a track record of publishing nonpartisan, educational ballot information. We review ballot issues and takepositions on those that align with our mission, vision, and values, our strategic framework, and our 2026 policy principles. We know there are many issues that our board, staff, and community care deeply about. Our strategic framework and policy principles help guide when to take a position and when not to. We also need to assess our capacity to conduct research and outreach to fully understand the impact on our stakeholders, and that sometimes leads us to not take a position at all. And through our Civic Fabric Fund, we support additional voter education efforts on all state-level and many local-level ballot measures.
* * *
Statewide
Oppose
Amendment 81- Law Enforcement Reporting Requirements to Federal Authorities
We oppose Amendment 81 because we believe in protecting Coloradans from being racially profiled or targeted by federal authorities. We are also opposing this because we believe in protecting due process rights by making sure no Coloradan is reported to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) before a court has found them guilty of a crime and before they have a chance to prove their citizenship.
About: An amendment to the Colorado constitution, requiring certified peace officers employed by a law enforcement agency, correctional officers, and district attorney offices to notify the federal Department of Homeland Security within 72 hours of charging someone with a crime if the person is not believed to be lawfully in the U.S and is either charged with a violent crime or has a prior felony conviction.
Policy framework alignment: Critical and timely issues. We have backed legislation for the past three years that supports the immigrant community, including state responses to federal actions that diminished protections for immigrants.
Learn more (https://no81.org/).
* * *
Oppose
Amendment 83: Constitutional Right to Purchase and Sell Natural Gas
We oppose Amendment 82 because it would harm the health and safety of Coloradans and could make it harder for state and local governments to enforce or enact safety and environmental rules that keep our water clean and homes safe. Its passage could also lead to increased costs for consumers.
ABOUT: Adds a new section to the Colorado Constitution that would grant consumers the right to purchase natural gas for cooking or heating in homes or businesses, and for distributors and utilities to sell natural gas to consumers.
Policy framework alignment: Environment and Climate
Learn more (https://no82.org/).
* * *
Support
Proposition 137 - Designate Sporting Goods Sales Tax Revenue for Conservation
We support 137 because it will provide funding, without raising taxes, for wildfire mitigation, outdoor equity programs, and workforce development. We also support this because it will help our state and local governments have the resources needed to adapt to the increasing changes to our climate.
ABOUT: Designates approximately $175 million annually of state sales tax revenue collected from sporting goods and equipment sales as wildfire and conservation revenue.
Policy framework alignment: Environment and Climate, Economic Opportunity
Learn more (https://yesonprop137.com/).
* * *
Support
Proposition NN: State Public K-12 Education Funding
We support NN because, throughout our history, we've always supported increasing funding for K-12 education. Proposition NN will further increase equitable school funding by allowing the state to invest the revenue it already collects in public education. Funding can be used to increase teachers' salaries, technical training opportunities, and smaller class sizes, without raising taxes or asking Coloradans to pay a dollar more.
ABOUT: Allows the state to retain revenue to support a 2% increase in state education funding over the next decade. This funding would support teacher pay and retention, smaller class sizes, career and technical courses, and school services, among other things.
Policy framework alignment: Youth Well-Being
Learn more (https://www.yesforcoloradokids.com/).
* * *
Local: Aurora
Support
Aurora: Ballot Issue 3A: Dedicated Sales Tax for Community Facilities
We support this because it will fund the renovation and construction of recreation centers and libraries across Aurora. These vital community resources will help people access resources to help them with school, jobs, and recreational activities.
ABOUT: Designates $104,975,000 through a 0.129% citywide sales and use tax for 30 years to renovate and construct parks, recreation facilities, and libraries.
Policy framework alignment: Economic Opportunity
Learn more (https://www.buildupaurora.com/).
* * *
Support
Aurora: Ballot Issue 3C: Dedicated Sales Tax for Transportation Infrastructure and Facilities
We support this because this bond invests critically needed dollars into infrastructure and connectivity, ensuring our communities have safe, reliable roads and sidewalks. The selected projects protect pedestrians, build new multimodal transit options, and promote community resilience.
ABOUT: Designates $107,475,000 through a 0.129% citywide sales and use tax for 30 years to replace a bridge, construct traffic calming infrastructure, and improve roads, sidewalks, and crosswalks.
Policy framework alignment: Environment and Climate
Learn more (https://www.buildupaurora.com/).
* * *
Ballot guides and trackers
There are numerous ballot measures, making it challenging to locate the necessary information to make informed decisions. We hope the resources help you ensure that your registration is active and your vote is informed.
Ballot Guides (as of 9/22)
* Colorado Public Radio (coming soon)
* Colorado Budget Tradeoffs
* Count me in Colorado
* League of Women Voters of Colorado
* League of Women Voters of Denver
* American Civil Liberties Union
* The Bell Policy Center
* The Denver Post Colorado voter guide (coming soon)
* Denverite Voter Guide (coming soon)
* The Sentinel Aurora Voter Guide (coming soon)
* The Women's Foundation of Colorado - The Womanifesto (coming soon)
* Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce
* Soul 2 Soul Sisters (coming soon)
* Progress Now Colorado Education Fund (coming soon)
General Resources
* Colorado Blue Book (coming soon)
* Adams County Election Resources (https://www.adamscountycoelections.gov/2025-coordinated-election/)
* Arapahoe County Election Resources (https://www.arapahoeco.gov/your_county/arapahoevotes/election_resources/index.php)
* Aurora Ballot Guide (https://www.auroragov.org/city_hall/elections/voter_resources)
* Denver Ballot Guide (https://denvergov.org/Government/Agencies-Departments-Offices/Agencies-Departments-Offices-Directory/Denver-Clerk-and-Recorder/Elections-Division/Upcoming-Elections)
* Colorado Health Foundation Local ballot measures tracker (https://coloradohealth.org/local-ballot-measure-tracker)
* Common Cause Election Protection resources (https://www.commoncause.org/work/election-protection/)
* Check your voter registration (https://www.sos.state.co.us/voter/pages/pub/olvr/findVoterReg.xhtml)
Supporting voter engagement
Another way we support voter education and engagement on ballot measures is by funding nonprofit organizations to educate and activate voters during the municipal and statewide elections. Learn more about this year's grantees and their work this election here (https://denverfoundation.org/2026/08/the-denver-foundation-awards-209600-to-14-organizations-working-on-voter-engagement/).
You, too, can support this work by giving to the Civic Fabric Fund (https://denver.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=3047&_gl=1*1vughp0*_gcl_au*MjgyMDk4NzU2LjE3ODgzMzc4NTg.*_ga*MTM4NjI0NTM0LjE3ODgzMzc4NTg.*_ga_TPPV6DMFD1*czE3OTAyMjU4MzckbzMkZzEkdDE3OTAyMjU4NDIkajU1JGwwJGgw).
* * *
Original text here: https://denverfoundation.org/2026/09/2026-ballot-guide/