by Tom Rose Last week we discussed the reemerging proposed legislative change from a CHINS program in Wyoming to a FINS program. In brief, CHINS is the acronym for Child in Need of Supervision which is basically a child whom Wyoming Department of Family Services (DFS) believes to be uncontrollable by the child's parents. CHINS legislation requires ...

In four weeks, the Supreme Court will rule on King v. Burwell. A ruling in favor of the plaintiffs invalidates federal insurance subsidies for the 36 states without a state exchange and frees them from the individual and employer mandate. States that built their own exchanges bound their residents to Obamacare's mandates, penalties, and restriction...

Sergeant Joe Friday, in James Webb's classic radio and TV show Dragnet, often cautioned witnesses when he interviewed them, "Just the facts." Some modern journalists and editors could use that admonition. When you see a headline, "Wyoming Makes It A Crime To Collect Evidence Of Pollution On Public Lands", you have to wonder. Where did they get that...

by Tom Rose In 1974 the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) was passed mainly for the purpose of deinstitutionalizing juvenile status offenders. Most states initiated the act over the next few decades. Wyoming did not. Last week wasn't the first time I've run into stories advocating for harsher treatment for juvenile off...

by Charles Katebi When progressives make the case for Medicaid Expansion, without fail they remind their listeners that the federal government has pledged to cover 90 percent of the cost of expansion. But a report from the Foundation for Government Accountability sheds light on just how empty the federal government's promises really are. On multipl...

by Sven Larson What can state pension reform advocates learn from Masutatsu Oyama? A great deal. Mr. Oyama - or Sosai Oyama as he should properly be referred to - was the founder of kyokushin karate, one of the toughest striking styles of martial arts ever invented. To prove just how tough his style was, Sosai Oyama fought full-grown bulls using no...

by Tom Rose As citizens we all want our communities to be safe from violent crime no matter who is committing it. At the same time, we shouldn’t sentence our juvenile offenders of minor non-violent crime to a lifetime of institutionalization. As we go forward in reform efforts let us not forget that Wyoming’s overall violent crime arrests for eithe...

by Charles Katebi Throughout the debate to expand Medicaid during the 2015 Legislative Session, opponents repeatedly claimed that the federal government couldn't be trusted to keep its promise to cover 90 percent of Medicaid Expansion's costs. So it should come as no surprise that the Obama Administration has now broached the idea of reneging on it...

by Tom Rose I have been researching Wyoming juvenile justice issues for several years now, and I am still sometimes surprised at what I find. When I began this research, I will admit that I was predisposed to simply believe that our law enforcement community should just stop arresting so many juveniles. After many interviews with law enforcement of...

by Tom Rose As I mentioned in a previous blog, I believe that Wyoming should decriminalize status offenses. According to the most recent data available through both the FBI and the OJJDP, Wyoming ranks second-to-highest in the nation for both juvenile arrests and juvenile incarcerations. Wyoming is also the only state that has not decriminalized st...