Despite all of the spending reductions, fund transfers, and other techniques used to balance the budget in the preceding few years, Arizona’s general fund faces a massive deficit. This issue of Policy Points poses an important question: Are you content with the historically low expenditures being made from the general fund and satisfied that the current low level of public services will be permanent?

St. Luke's Health Initiatives and the Flinn Foundation strive to make Arizona a better place to live for all of its residents. Despite our state's assets, Arizona has many issues to address, with health and poverty among the most important. Our organizations have been pleased to sponsor the state capacity research that provided the background and impetus for "More Promises to Keep: Sustaining Arizona's Capacity for Welfare and Health Reform." St. Luke's Health Initiatives and the Flinn Foundation view the information and analysis provided in this report as a good way to stimulate discussion of health and welfare policy options and community actions. Research and dialogue are essential steps in the process of constructive change, as is communication with the public. We urge readers to consider the ideas presented in this paper and to continue to work together to improve the health and welfare of all Arizonans.

In the fall of 1995, the City of Phoenix Police Department convened a special group of people known to be deeply involved with the social and personal aspects of domestic violence. This group, which came to be called the Phoenix Police Department's Joint Task Force on Domestic Violence, consisted of police and criminal justice personnel, social service and health care providers, and a number of interested community members. Task Force members soon began earnest discussions on how best to reduce the incidence of domestic violence-a crime that is, sadly, the number one call for police service in the City of Phoenix.