Latest news with #pilotprogram
RNZ News
5 hours ago
- RNZ News
Military style boot camps finish 12 month pilot
Only one of the teen boys who went through the government's controversial military-style boot camp trial hasn't reoffended. Despite this, the agency and minister in charge are trumpeting its success, as the 12-month pilot finishes. Critics though said the boys should have had better support growing up, and the reoffending rate proves boot camps are a failure. Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira reports. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
Medscape
2 days ago
- Health
- Medscape
Federal Government Funds Program for Hepatitis C Care, Cure
A new $100 million pilot program launched by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) offers state and community-based health care organizations the resources for prevention, testing, and treatment of hepatitis C among individuals with substance use disorder and serious mental illness, according to an HHS press release. The program, known as the Hepatitis C Elimination Initiative Pilot, will be administered by the Substance and Mental Health Administration. 'This program is designed to support communities severely affected by homelessness and to gain insights on effective ways to identify patients, complete treatment, cure infections, and reduce reinfection by hepatitis C,' according to the press release. The upfront investment in hepatitis C management is projected to not only save lives, but also to save community health care costs in the long-term, according to the press release. 'This is a vigorous pilot program that provides the first steps toward the large goal of eliminating hepatitis C in the United States population,' said William Schaffner, MD, professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, in an interview. Hepatitis C affects more than two million individuals in the US, and is often complicated by social and medical issues such as homelessness, substance abuse, and mental health issues, said Schaffner. Fortunately, hepatitis C can be treated with oral medications that cure the chronic viral infection, thereby ending ongoing liver injury and interrupting person-to-person transmission of the virus by sharing needles, he said. Given that the population most affected with hepatitis C also is often homeless, with possible mental health issues and sharing of needles for illicit drug use, challenges in reaching this population include assuring them that the care they receive though this and other programs is nonjudgemental and helpful, Schaffner told Medscape Medical News . The oral medications that now can cure the chronic hepatitis C viral infections must be taken over a period of weeks, and patients who lead socially disorganized lives often need assistance to assure that the medicine is taken as intended, so trained and sensitive personnel who are committed to helping this population are needed to make treatment programs succeed, he said. Looking ahead, 'the purpose of the pilot studies that will be funded by this program is to explore various approaches to determine which are more successful in bringing patients in to be evaluated and then to complete treatment,' Schaffner added. State and community-based organizations are among the entities eligible to apply for the program. Potential applicants can find information about the program and application materials on the SAMSHA website.
CTV News
2 days ago
- Automotive
- CTV News
Saskatoon is ending the free ride at city-operated EV charging station
One of the city-operated EV charging stations that was subsidized under a pilot program. City Hall will no longer cover the cost to charge up an electric vehicle at two of its leisure centres. On Tuesday, the city's environment, utilities and corporate services committee voted to end a pilot program and begin charging users $5.35 per hour at city-operated electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at Lakewood Civic Centre and Lawson Civic Centre. 'I don't think taxpayers should be subsidizing costs on people who choose to buy a Tesla,' Ward 4 councillor Troy Davies said. The two-year pilot was launched in May 2023 with no user fees to support community EV adoption. The pilot experienced 'consistent growth in usage and received positive user feedback,' according to a city report. Get the CTV News app for Saskatoon area breaking news alerts and top stories But administrators say non-EV users voiced concerns over fairness and publicly funding the chargers for roughly $21,400 per year with no return. The report said EV drivers are often seen as more financially stable and not in need of subsidized services. 'We've completed the pilot, and now I think it's time to take the training wheels off and let it grow,' Mayor Cynthia Block said in support of charging to charge. Exceeding recommendations from administration, councillors voted to recoup all costs associated with running the stations. Administration presented five options, which ranged from stopping the program, continuing with no user fee, implementing a user fee of $2 per hour, or continuing with a fee of $3 per hour. Administration recommended a $3 per hour fee, which would recover roughly 56 per cent of the costs. But councillors went with the fifth option presented — the $5.35 per hour, fully cost recovered option. 'I'd say an average SUV for charging at $5 an hour is $40,' Davies said. 'If I'm filling up an SUV with gas, it's probably 60 to 70.' If approved by city council, the city could implement the new fee in one to two months. A report on the progress is due back in one year. The city said the pilot program resulted in an estimated reduction of about 30 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Washington Post
3 days ago
- Business
- Washington Post
U.S. visa bonds would charge some foreign travelers $15,000 deposits
The State Department plans to start running a pilot program this month that would require some foreign travelers to pay up to $15,000 for a reimbursable visa bond that deters them from staying in the U.S. longer than they're allowed for business or tourism. Some details are outlined in a public notice that appeared Monday on the Federal Register, but many are still unclear, including which countries would be targeted by the program.
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Tourists could have to pay $15k deposit to holiday in US
Tourists and people visiting the US for business could have to pay up to $15,000 to enter the country under new proposals put forward by Donald Trump's government. The State Department announced it its launching a 12-month pilot programme under which people from countries deemed to have high overstay rates and deficient internal document security controls could be required to post bonds when applying for a visa. The price range of the bonds will vary between $5,000 (£3,700), $10,000 (£7,500) or $15,000 (£11,300). A preview of the bond notice, posted on the federal register website on Monday, said the pilot program would take effect within 15 days of its formal publication. The department said it would be necessary to ensure that the US government is not financially liable if a visitor does not comply with the terms of his or her visa. 'Aliens applying for visas as temporary visitors for business or pleasure and who are nationals of countries identified by the department as having high visa overstay rates, where screening and vetting information is deemed deficient, or offering citizenship by investment, if the alien obtained citizenship with no residency requirement, may be subject to the pilot program,' the notice said. The countries affected will be listed once the program takes effect, it said. The bond could be waived depending on an applicant's individual circumstances. The bond would not apply to citizens of countries enrolled in the Visa Waiver Program, which enables travel for business or tourism for up to 90 days. The majority of the 42 countries enrolled in the program are in Europe, with others in Asia, the Middle East and elsewhere. Visa bonds have been proposed in the past but have never been implemented. The State Department has traditionally discouraged the requirement because of the cumbersome process of posting and discharging a bond. The Trump administration is tightening requirements for visa applicants. Last week, the State Department announced that some visa renewal applicants would have to undergo an additional in-person interview, something that was not previously required. In addition, the department is proposing that applicants for the Visa Diversity Lottery program have valid passports from their country of citizenship.
