LEGAL ACTION CENTER

Need-to-Know News: Feb. 10, 2012

February 10, 2012

The leading story in the Feb. 13 edition of Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly features comments from the Coalition for Whole Health on the Essential Health Benefits Bulletin issued by the Department of Health and Human Services in December. Follow this link to read the comments from the Coalition, which LAC co-chairs.

State

According to Health Department figures released this week, there was a a 41% drop in deaths among black New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS between 2001 and 2010.
Mayor Bloomberg has released his 2012-2013 budget plan for New York City, closing a $2 billion gap without calling for teacher layoffs.
The 7th Annual John Jay College/Guggenheim Symposium on Crime in America, hosted by the Center on Media, Crime and Justice, happened this week in New York City. Read full details on the Crime Report's live blogging from the event.

National

A report by the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice finds that California county governments now have the capacity to absorb youths currently housed in the state's youth prisons, supporting Gov. Jerry Brown's efforts to close them.
Across the nation, more political conservatives are questioning current U.S. drug policy in the face of evidence that treatment and rehabilitation are more effective.
Florida Governor Rick Scott's cost-cutting decision to close seven state prisons and four work camps marks a shift from the expansion of incarceration facilities that began two decades ago.
A New Jersey Senate committee unanimously approved a bill this week to expand job opportunities for individuals with criminal records.

A New York Times columnist highlighted the work of our partners at the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), citing a study showing that its jobs program for individuals newly released from prison is a key force in fighting recidivism.
The New York Association on HIV Over 50 is holding its next general meeting Feb. 14 at GMHC in Manhattan. The meeting begins at at 9:30 a.m. in Room 6046.
Faces & Voices of Recovery is hosting a Community Listening Forum on Addiction Recovery, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C and other Chronic Health Conditions Feb. 25 in New York City. Follow this link to read more and register.
A Soros Justice Fellow's documentary film examining the United States' failed "war on drugs" recently won the top documentary prize at the Sundance Film Festival.