On a biennial basis, the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission is tasked with preparing for the governor a criminal justice system trends report. Available resources, the size and complexity of the criminal justice system and the availability of relevant data influence the scope of the issues addressed in the report. In support of data-driven decision making, this report uses publicly available data to describe the activity of Arizona’s criminal justice system from law enforcement agencies description of the offenses reported to their agencies to the population of the Arizona Department of Corrections.

The Arizona Department of Education is pleased to provide you with this state report card as a part of our compliance with the federal No Child Left Behind law. We are working hard to raise academic standards for Arizona students. We are also holding our schools accountable for how well students perform academically. We are restoring classroom discipline, which is an essential component for achieving academic excellence. We also have an extensive state program to help schools whose test scores show a need for improvement. We are working hard to make sure Arizona students and schools are performing to their absolute potential.

Arizona’s Annual Report on activities carried out under the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Grant program for each fiscal year ending September 30. In Arizona, federal Residential Substance Abuse Treatment funds are used to help the state and local governments improve residential substance abuse treatment programs within the state and local correctional and detention facilities. Residential treatment provides care 24 hours per day, in correctional settings, using the therapeutic community and cognitive-behavioral therapy models.

House Bill 2554 appropriated $3 million from the state general fund in fiscal year 2007 to the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission for distribution to each county board of supervisors for “…increased methamphetamine interdiction efforts including investigation, training, prosecution, abuse treatment, or education programs.” By statute, each county that receives funds was required to submit quarterly reports to ACJC regarding the use and effectiveness of its award. The forms requested information on the type of program(s) developed, a description of the performance measures used to document the effectiveness of these funds, and the activity of each funded program. These reports provides a brief summary of activity of the two-year Methamphetamine Interdiction Fund project. They provide a summary of the reports submitted by each county.

Annual report on the Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Formula Grant Program activities. Many valuable and productive drug, gang and violent crime prevention activities are funded and conducted throughout Arizona by local towns, cities, counties and the State, operating as coordinated, partnership efforts with projects supported by Formula Drug Grant program funds. These Annual Reports provide summary information on projects receiving funds from the Formula Grant Program for the period beginning July 1 and ending June 30.

In view of the increased prevalence of overweight and obesity in American youths, the Arizona Department of Education’s Health and Nutrition Services has taken the initiative to evaluate the nutritional content of competitive foods and beverages sold on school campuses in Arizona. This study also intends to evaluate the financial implications to schools when replacing foods and beverages found to be less nutritious with healthier choices.

The Team Nutrition Grant Project began in 2003 with the goal to guide and assist schools to create and maintain a coordinated, comprehensive school health program. Such a program integrates a school’s child nutrition programs, with the classroom, the community, and entire school environment. A coordinated, comprehensive school health program (CSHP) can be implemented to create a healthy school environment through a “model” nutrition policy. Using the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service Team Nutrition’s Changing the Scene, A Guide to Local Action, the project proposed to implement the model at a state level by forming a state level coalition of key decision makers within the school environment.