 A significant network of unionized teachers interested in applying new union structures and models to creating high-quality schools, part of the Teacher Union Reform Network (TURN), is also active within RIFTHP.There have been some media reports that this network has had an influence on RIFTHP, and that the state federation is more willing to embrace some union and school reform efforts.In 2006, RIFTHP and the NEA affiliate in Rhode Island issued a joint report which focused on poverty and its many negative effects on children (such a malnutrition, unstable or violent home situations, lack of access to books and educational items like crayons or paper, and little access to high-quality early childhood programs) as key issues in the school reform effort.