The Austin-Round Rock MSA has the fastest growing pre-senior population in the country, according to a new Brookings report.  The Uneven Aging and "Younging" of America finds that the number of people between the ages of 55 and 64 increased at a rate of 110% over the past decade.  The five county metro area also had the second fastest growing population aged 65 and over. 

A study following almost 1 million Texas public school students for more than six years, found that more than half had been  suspended or expelled, according to a report by the Council of State Governments Justice Center in partnership with the Public Policy Research Institute of Texas A&M University. The report, "Breaking School Rules" found that of the nearly 1 million public secondary school students studied, about 15 percent were suspended or expelled 11 times or more; nearly half of these students with 11 or more disciplinary actions were involved in the juvenile justice system.

Only three percent of the disciplinary actions were for conduct for state law mandated suspensions and expulsions; the rest were made at the discretion of school officials primarily in response to violations of local schools' conduct codes. African-American students and those with particular educational disabilities were disproportionately disciplined for discretionary actions. Schools that had similar characteristics, including the racial composition and economic status of the student body, varied greatly in how frequently they suspended or expelled students.

The Budget Control Act, signed into law on August 2nd to raise the federal debt ceiling included nearly one trillion dollars in cuts and is designed to fast-track another $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction.  The Community Action Partnership and the Coalition on Human Needs are co-sponsoring a free webinar on Thursday, August 18th at noon.  Debbie Weinstein, the Coalition on Human Needs' executive director, will help explain the bill and its potential impact.  The moderator will be Ellen Teller of the Food Research and Action Center. Sign up for the webinar.

Community Resources 101 is a free training for volunteers and front line staff on how to use 2-1-1 to refer people to the help they need.  Classes are held the last Friday of every month from 2-4 p.m. at the United Way, 2000 E. MLK Boulevard.  Call 2-1-1 the day of the training to confirm that the training is taking place.