Thriving PA released a new Infant and Toddler Early Intervention fact sheet, aimed at educating policymakers about the program as part of our advocacy for the 2025-26 budget cycle. The fact sheet notes services and benefits provided by EI and highlights state-specific data. In the 2022-23 school year, 48,199 children were served by the program in Pennsylvania.

Thriving PA supports, at minimum, the Administration’s proposed increase of $16.2 million for the Infant/Toddler Early Intervention program as part of a final FY 2025-26 budget package. The proposed increase would provide $10 million for a long-overdue rate increase for providers and serve an additional 3,000 children and their families. This increase is a first step in addressing the workforce shortage of Early Intervention providers. Additional support beyond the $16.2 million is recommended, as we estimate $49 million in new funding is needed this year to address increased costs to the program and the projected children served.

County Health Rankings & Roadmaps out of the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute has published the 2025 data. The data includes factors such as health care, education, and environmental impact. Users can check out how Pennsylvania compares to other states, but also how individual counties in Pennsylvania compare.

Click here to access the data.

The U.S. has recorded more than 300 cases of measles in just the first three months of this year according to data published Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the most infections recorded in a single year since 2019. More than 90 percent of those cases are linked to a growing outbreak that began in western Texas and has now spread to New Mexico. Source: The Hill

Attorney General Dave Sunday announced the release of an annual report that ranks Pennsylvania’s Medicaid Fraud Control Section number one nationally in number of fraud charges filed against individuals and third overall in convictions taking action against those who abuse Pennsylvania’s Medicaid program. During the 2024 federal fiscal year, the section recovered more than $11.3 million in misused Medicaid funding, most through criminal prosecutions. During that same year, the section filed fraud charges against 113 people, filed neglect, abuse, and endangerment charges against 6 people, and secured convictions in 74 cases, which were filed last year or in previous years. The unit recovered $3.46 for every $1.00 spent in 2024.

The U.S. Census Bureau released estimates of the July 1, 2024 population at the county level. This release includes both total population as well as components of change: births, deaths, and migration.

Key Findings from the Report:

• Twenty-eight counties increased from 2020 to 2024. The fastest-growing counties included Pike (+3.5%), Cumberland (+6.2%), and Chester (+4.9%).
• Thirty-nine counties decreased from 2020 to 2024. Counties that experienced the largest percentage decreases included Greene (-5.5%), Forest (-5.4%), and Cameron (-4.4%).

For more information on county population change in Pennsylvania, read this month’s brief.

You’ve probably seen our map designating the economic status for each of the 423 counties in the Appalachian Region. But did you know that we’ve made many more maps for you to use?

Appalachia is a complex place. Our maps seek to make information about its make-up and opportunities readily available to Appalachians.

🏛️ The map of Appalachian counties lays out local boundaries of all counties served by ARC.
🎓 Our post-secondary schools map highlights 592 institutions of learning across the region.
📊 The local development districts map provides more information about the 74 entities that facilitate multi-county economic development.
🗳️ Our congressional map can help you determine who represents your community in Congress.

See these interactive maps by clicking below!

• Appalachian Counties Served by ARC
• Postsecondary Schools in Appalachia
• Local Development Districts in Appalachia
• Congressional Districts in Appalachia

 

 

A new report from the Economic Research Service (ERS) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that most (87 percent) of the recent population growth in places with wildfire risk has been among persons age 60 and older. Already, the proportion of older people living in places with more wildfire risk is higher than in the population at large. In rural areas with the greatest wildfire risk, 35 percent of people living in those areas are age 60 and older.  The report examines population aging and wildfire risk for States, counties, and fire management areas.

A study recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) explores health care spending and utilization in the United States from 2010-2019. The investigators founds that spending for oral disease was $93 million, which was higher than spending for heart disease.

Click here for the oral health summary of the article.
Click here to read the full article.