PHOENIX (AZFamily) — It’s a first of its kind study to better understand an often overlooked group of people: women behind bars.

“No other jail system in the country is doing this,” said Dominique Roe-Sepowitz, director of Arizona State University’s Office of Sex Trafficking Intervention Research. “Many of them have offenses that are related to other people’s interference. So whether they were forced to commit that crime with someone else, they were under someone else’s control.”

Roe-Sepowitz spearheaded the effort that explores the pipeline between victimization and incarceration for Arizona women. What she uncovered was even worse than she expected.

“The scope of trauma, the sheer amount of violent experiences was a surprise to me,” she said.

Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Brandon Smith teamed up with Roe-Sepowitz for this project.

Since 2018, they’ve worked together to identify and support sex trafficking victims inside county jails.

“A lot of them could be they were more of a victim than a suspect in a crime,” said Smith.

In May 2025, the pair decided to dig deeper with a survey to learn more about the life history of all female inmates.

“We didn’t want to re-traumatize them. We were very careful about asking appropriate questions in the right way,” said Smith.

More than 400 women in the Estrella Jail completed the questionnaire which represents 49% of the female population.

The results show most are mothers, locked up for drug offenses.

77% reported a mental health diagnosis, more than 78% have been homeless, just over 50% have been sex trafficked, and 80% said they were victims of domestic violence.

With that knowledge, there is hope that jail programs can help break the cycle.

“We’re able to tailor programming to that in order to hopefully keep them out of jail, become more productive members of society, be with their children,” said Smith.

About 14% of participants were there for their first arrest.

New trauma-informed programs and training will soon be implemented.

“We’re looking at what can we do for that 14% that are here for the first time to hopefully make sure it’s their last time,” said Smith.

“How to build hope for the future, how to stabilize their life, how to continue the relationships they have in healthier ways,” said Roe-Sepowitz.

More research is on the way. ASU just wrapped up a similar survey in the Perryville prison and plans to conduct it again at Estrella Jail this year to collect additional data.

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled a record-high $350 billion state budget Friday that makes “historic” investments in areas like education — but kicks the can on paying down federal debt, foisting costs onto struggling employers.

Newsom’s budget incorporates a $43 billion windfall tied to the stock market that he touted in his State of the State speech Thursday, bringing his office’s estimated deficit down to $3 billion — the state’s fourth deficit in a row. The budget plows billions into maintaining education, health care, and other programs but ignores a $20 billion federal loan for Covid unemployment payments — a situation one legislator called “alarming.”

Ignoring the loan means small businesses are on the hook for the state’s debt, said state Sen. Roger Niello of Fair Oaks.

“We already have the highest unemployment in the nation and we’re putting this additional burden on our employers. It makes absolutely no sense,” Niello said.

The budget includes $662.2 million in mandatory interest payments, but there is no money going towards the principal.

Since July, the total balance has ballooned to $21.3 billion, and private employers in California pick up the tab under federal rules. Employers pay an $42 extra per employee this year and growing, per KCRA

Every state expect California has paid off the Covid-era loans.

“That is an alarming thing because [Newsom is] basically saying that businesses and employment are not a priority to him and that’s troubling,” Niello added.

At 5.5%, California’s unemployment rate was the highest in the country as of November.

Newsom’s $350 billion budget proposal is about $30 billion higher than this year’s budget, thanks largely to federal healthcare cuts that forced costs onto the state and mandatory set-asides in areas like education.

At a budget briefing Friday, Newsom’s finance director Joe Stephenshaw highlighted record spending on education— amounting to a record $27,418 per K-12 student, $5.3 billion for the University of California system, $15.4 billion to community colleges, and $1 billion to needy schools — along with $500 million towards local homelessness prevention, $195 million in new public safety spending, $3 billion for the state’s rainy day fund and $4 billion for school reserve funds.

The budget includes some cuts to climate-related spending and housing and homelessness, per Calmatters. And it does not include any direct funding for Prop. 36, the anti-crime measure supported by nearly 70% of voters in 2024 — a move Republicans blasted.

But even with Newsom’s unexpected windfall, analysts expect deficits to grow to as high as $35 billion in the coming years as expenditures outpace even optimistic revenue projections.

Newsom and the state Legislative Analyst create separate budget projections, and the governor’s has historically been far rosier on the revenue side. The legislative analyst projected a $18 billion deficit in the coming fiscal year, while the governor calculated $3 billion.

Under Newsom, the state’s general fund spending has increased by 77% partly owing to new programs spun up when the state was flush with cash, according to Republican legislators.

Newsom’s $350 billion budget — the last before he leaves office next year — does little to confront ballooning expenses, dumping the problem on the future governor and Legislature, according to Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones.

“This is more of the same from a lame-duck governor content on leaving the rest of us to pick up the financial pieces when he leaves office,” Jones said in a statement.  

Democrats in the legislature were more measured in their responses.

“During these times of uncertainty, we must craft a responsible budget that prioritizes the safety and fiscal stability of California families,” said State Senate Leader Monique Limón in a statement.

Newsom and legislators will refine the budget in the coming months towards a final proposal in May.

One major unknown is how California will handle a loss of about $1.4 billion in funding due toTrump administration changes to low-income health care and food programs.

Last year, Newsom was force to scale back a controversial plan to provide Medicaid coverage for illegal immigrants after costs spiked, forcing California was forced to borrow $3.4 billion, Politico reported.

Newsom’s budget didn’t fully explain what would happen to immigrant health care under federal cuts, and Stephenshaw struggled to answer detailed questions from reporters — saying Newsom’s office was still awaiting guidance from the feds.

“As we work through the May revision, this is something we’ll be well aware of and we’ll make those decision at that time,” he said.

Four years after the fire, recovery is still incomplete for some Marshall Fire victims. A Colorado man is joining wildfire survivors from across the country to push lawmakers to make changes and provide support for survivors still rebuilding.

Recently, a historic $640 million settlement was reached with Xcel Energy, but the Coloradans who lost everything in the Marshall Fire might not be receiving all the money that they’re owed. Some settlements could be taxed, while others were paid in full.

“I was the fourth responding fire engine to the Marshall Fire. By the end of the night, I was triaging homes in the neighborhood that I grew up in,” said former firefighter Benjamin Carter. “I’ve seen how much the community’s hurting, and I just wanted to do whatever I could to help.”

Carter is now fighting for those who lost their homes, including his mother. He’s working with an organization called After the Fire, joining up with wildfire survivors in Oregon, Hawaii and California. This week, Carter flew to Washington, D.C., to speak with lawmakers about how they can help survivors rebuild.

In 2024, lawmakers passed the Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act, which exempted wildfire survivors from taxes on related settlements, among other tax relief. But the bill expired last week, shortly after Xcel agreed to settle over the Marshall Fire.

“If the people don’t have to pay taxes on the damages, then it helps them rebuild,” Carter explained. “Some of the smaller attorneys still haven’t received payment, so all those people will be subject to those taxes; all the attorney fees, and what the actual settlements end up being. And, of what they’re actually getting at the end of the day, that’s been a huge challenge.”

Congress has already proposed extension options. But Carter hopes that by sharing their stories, legislators will act before survivors lose anything else.

“With a lot going on in Washington and everything, the representatives don’t always know about all the issues. And so, we want to educate them on this issue and hopefully gain their support,” Carter said.