Policy Research Associates

We read with interest the article by Bobelyak and colleagues and the accompanying Editorial.However, we have serious concerns about the article's methodology and conclusions.The authors reported REMS-BMD measurements at the proximal femur in patients before and after hip arthroplasty and, based on minimal changes in BMD and variations observed with different anthropometric inputs, concluded that REMS-BMD is essentially derived from age, sex, and BMI rather than from ultrasound spectral data.This conclusion is not supported by the evidence provided, which highlight instead technical errors and misinterpretations of REMS operating principles, as detailed below.

To inform policies and practices that reflect the values and expectations of the communities that judges serve, we fielded a national survey of public perceptions regarding judicial roles and factors that could be considered in decision making. We had four questions: (1) What is public opinion on the importance of various judicial roles and considerations? (2) Can distinct groups of respondents be identified on the basis of their views? (3) Do the groups differ in terms of their sociodemographic characteristics and beliefs? (4) If so, can they be distinguished by their characteristics and beliefs? We surveyed 4,861 jury-eligible adults through Qualtrics Online Panels. About half identified as men, and about two thirds as White; the mean age was 45 years. Respondents rated the importance of judicial responsibilities and considerations using 10 items adapted from a survey of trial court judges. We employed latent profile analysis to identify subgroups on the basis of their ratings and conducted univariate and multivariable analyses to examine differences across sociodemographic characteristics. A four-group model was the best-fitting and most interpretable solution. The largest profile (47.4%) demonstrated the highest ratings, suggesting that they valued due process, legal standards, expert knowledge, public safety, helping the accused, and community input. The second largest profile (39.5%) also valued legal standards, expert knowledge, and public safety but not public interests and community input. The next group (7.8%) generally rated all items as neither important nor unimportant, suggesting an ambivalence, lack of opinion, or limited interest in the issues. The smallest group (5.4%) rated all items as unimportant. Findings highlight areas of consensus and divergence and reveal distinct opinion profiles that can inform policy and practice. They also support the use of sophisticated measurement and analytic approaches that go beyond descriptive examinations of a single item or index to assess public opinion. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

In this commentary, we discuss common barriers districts face in implementing and using talent analytics (personnel data systems) to build a more effective, diverse pool of school leaders. Our discussion draws upon insights from a large national sample of school districts implementing principal pipelines. We find that district leaders and administrators expressed a need for up-to-date, informative data systems to realize their principal workforce goals but that these aspirations were hampered by the limitations of time, funding, expertise, and their own misgivings. We share possibilities for the improved use of talent analytics to increase transparency and equity in districts’ principal and educator workforce development.

To advance theory and research on youth sociopolitical development, we must better understand how young activists become passionate, knowledgeable, and active in a cause. We explored sociopolitical synergy—high interest, knowledge, and involvement in a social or political issue—among U.S. adolescent activists (N = 677). Overall, 26.3% of young activists had synergy on racial justice activism, and 17.1% had synergy on gender justice activism, with little overlap between groups. Youth of color and genderqueer youth were more likely to have racial justice synergy, and LGBQA youth were more likely to have gender justice synergy. Sociopolitical synergy was related to sense of belonging to an activist community and to some benefits of activism (e.g. flourishing, self-expression, and purpose), although young racial justice activists with synergy also experienced costs (e.g. conflict, harassment). Findings highlight potential developmental and societal benefits to young activists’ sociopolitical synergy on varying social justice causes.

ABSTRACT Access to sexual health education is critical for the wellbeing of youth in out-of-home care. HEART (Health Education and Relationship Training) is an online, evidence-based sexual health program that may benefit this group of youth, but reaching youth in the child welfare system remains challenging. This study aimed to identify barriers and facilitators to implementing HEART within the child welfare system. We used a convergent parallel mixed methods design and applied the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to guide data collection and analysis. We collected 1) qualitative data through semi-structured interviews with foster caregivers and child welfare professionals (n = 14) in one state in the United States; and 2) data through an online survey among youth in care (n = 72) across several states. Participants identified barriers and facilitators at four CFIR domains. Barriers included the religious and conservative beliefs of foster families and staff; the sensitive nature of discussing sex among youth who have experienced trauma; youth pushback to authority; and a lack of structure for offering youth sexual health education. Results provide a foundation for developing implementation strategies to implement HEART within the child welfare system.

Abstract Analysis of in‐depth interviews with eight district court judges in North Carolina revealed over 40 practices that judges can adopt to become more trauma‐informed in their work. These practices map onto SAMHSA's framework for a trauma‐informed approach, demonstrating that abstract principles can translate into concrete actions in the courtroom setting. Analysis revealed an additional core principle of trauma‐informed judicial practice—Rehabilitation and Healing—and several areas where judges can deepen their commitment to trauma‐informed care—engagement with peer support programming; greater attention to cultural, historical, and gender issues; and application of trauma‐informed practice in adult criminal court.

Abstract This preliminary investigation explored associations between Black adolescents' experiences with parental racial socialization (racial pride and racial barrier messages), dimensions of racial identity (centrality and private regard), and critical reflection regarding the need for school change of racial inequity. One hundred fifty‐one (78 girls; 73 boys) high school students from the southeastern United States were sampled for this self‐report cross‐sectional investigation. Findings revealed significant, positive total effects of racial pride and racial barrier socialization on critical reflection. Furthermore, a significant specific indirect relationship between racial pride socialization and critical reflection through centrality (small to medium effect), but not private regard. Unexpectedly, no significant indirect associations of perceived racial barrier socialization on critical reflection through racial identity dimensions were found. Implications for our findings are discussed for school‐based practitioners and policymakers.

Abstract Research summaryWe conducted a systematic review and meta‐analysis of studies that examined whether providing people with a postcard, phone call, or text message reminder of their court date reduces their likelihood of failing to appear in court. We included 12 studies (N = 79,255) that compared court appearance rates between groups of people who received a reminder to groups who did not receive a reminder. Results showed that reminders significantly reduce the odds of failure to appear in court. Further, charge type moderated reminder effectiveness; court reminders had a slightly larger effect in studies that did not include people with felony charges. However, the difference in effect size as a function of charge type was small and reminders significantly reduced the odds of failure to appear in both studies that did and did not include people with felony charges. In contrast, there was no evidence that retaining people who could not be contacted in a reminder treatment group (versus excluding them from the study or intentionally assigning them to the nonreminded control group) moderated reminder effectiveness. Finally, a narrative synthesis of studies revealed that studies using more rigorous designs generally produced smaller effects compared to studies with less rigorous designs and that effects did not differ systematically as a function of reminder formats (e.g., postcard, phone call) or frequencies (e.g., one reminder or multiple).Policy implicationsCourt date reminders effectively reduce failures to appear across studies, so they are an inexpensive tool for jurisdictions seeking to implement pretrial reform efforts. However, reminders offer only a modest reduction in failures to appear because they only address failures to appear that result from missing or forgetting information. Thus, reminders are not a panacea to court nonappearance. Jurisdictions should consider other programs and interventions as well. Courts could address low‐barrier nonappearances with reminders and then efficiently focus more involved resources to help more people get to court.