Friday, June 02, 2006

This Week's News: 2 June, 2006

Foster Care

When Foster Teens Find a Home
Time – May 29, 2006
Over the past few years, the number of 12- to 18-year-olds adopted out of foster care has risen sharply, from 6,000 in 2000 to 10,000 in 2004. That’s thanks, in part, to financial incentives and intensive campaigns to persuade people to take in some of society’s children.

Treatment Money Cut, and Kids Pay; Drugs, alcohol
The Oregonian, OR – June 2, 2006
In the two years after Oregon cut its drug and alcohol treatment programs by 18 percent, the number of children entering foster care shot up by 25 percent. There’s a “direct correlation” in those two changes that is reflected in the state’s increasing rates of child abuse and neglect, says Jay Wurscher, alcohol and drug services administrator for the Oregon Department of Human Services.

National News Coverage Highlights Foster Care, Adoption Issues, Underscores Need for Reform; CCAI Dedicated to Raising Awareness
Yahoo! News – June 2, 2006
Today, there are more than 500,000 children in foster care in the United States. These children will remain in foster care for an average of three years and, while in care, will experience at least three placements. One in five children will languish in foster care for more than five years. And, each year, more than 19,000 children will age out of foster care without having found a safe, loving, permanent family.

Foster Care 'Graduates' a Priority
The Miami Herald, FL – June 2, 2006
The Children's Services Council of Broward expects to give a record $624,000 to two Fort Lauderdale social service agencies to pay for classes that will teach dozens of young clients -- many former foster kids -- basic life skills such as banking, job interviews and navigating South Florida's rental housing market.

TUNE IN:

Connected by 25 in Tampa Featured on ABC’s Nightline
Watch Thursday night’s ABC Nightline episode featuring Connected by 25 of Hillsborough County, Fla., and the struggle faced by young people who age out of foster care.


Education

Can’t Complete High School? Go Right to College
The New York Times, NY – May 30, 2006
It is a kind of Alice-in-Wonderland idea. If you do not finish high school, head straight for college. But many colleges — public and private, two-year and four-year — will accept students who have not graduated from high school or earned equivalency degrees.

Many Not Finishing High School, Going To College
CBS12.com, CA – May 30, 2006
Kids worried about not graduating from high-school can apparently still get into college. Not only are some kids dodging the diplomas, but soon, taxpayers may have to foot the bill for them! It’s a practice that’s not only possible, but popular!

Tuition for Students, a Better Future for Their City
The Washington Post, DC – May 29, 2006
…The program, called the Kalamazoo Promise, applies to tuition at any state university or community college. Students who attend all four years of high school in Kalamazoo public schools will get 65 percent of their tuition paid, and those who started the system in grammar or middle school will likewise get a prorated amount.

A Local Rebellion Over Who Gets a Diploma
The Christian Science Monitor – June 1, 2006
For students in Massachusetts, MCAS can be a four-letter word. It’s the state’s high school exit exam, and the rule is simple: If you don’t pass it, you don’t get a diploma. But the mayor of New Bedford is threatening to disobey that policy by granting diplomas to students June 15, even if they fail the standardized test. In so doing, he’s testing the state’s will to withhold district funds for breaking regulations. And he’s reviving a debate over education reform that’s simmering in other states, too.

Tomorrow’s High Schools Likely to Resemble Today’s Colleges
The Arizona Republic, AZ – June 1, 2006
American high schools are on the brink of changes that could make them nearly unrecognizable to students who just got their diplomas. Gone may be the large campuses teeming with kids and the classmates of similar age on similar schedules that have them all graduating together. Campuses could be converted into small, specialized schools, and students could have individual learning plans built around their declared high school major.

High School Graduation Expectations Changing
The Des Moines Register, IA – June 1, 2006
A growing number of high school students in Iowa need more than four years to graduate, say local and state education officials. The public may need to change its perception that all students can finish high school in four years, said Judy Jeffrey, director of the Iowa Department of Education.


GED: A Different Kind Of Graduation Story
Oregon Public Broadcasting, OR – June 1, 2006
The GED is widely thought of as the degree for high school dropouts. But in a shifting Northwest economy, more people are finding they need it.Correspondent Elizabeth Wynne Johnson went to a graduation ceremony in North Idaho for this story on the changing face of the GED.


Juvenile Justice

Troubled Kids Mired in Shelters, Jail Cells
Chicago Tribune, IL – May 31, 2006
Dozens of troubled youths are stuck in hospital rooms, jail cells and shelters as officials struggle to find them appropriate homes, reflecting an acute shortage detected as the state's child welfare system evolves. The child welfare system is the smallest it has been since the late 1980s, with roughly 17,000 children in state care, most in foster homes.

Report: More Help Needed for Girls in Juvenile Justice System
The News Journal, DE – May 31, 2006
Delaware needs more girls-only mentoring and treatment programs to address the unique issues troubled girls bring to the state’s juvenile-justice system, a group of advocates and officials recommended today. The Delaware Girls Initiative, which has been working with national experts since early last year, outlined the programs and services the state needs in a report released this afternoon in Dover.

County Looks at $1 Million Welfare Bill
Centre Daily Times, PA – June 2, 2006
Centre County may have to spend $1 million more of local taxpayer money to make up for a loss of federal money for county child welfare and juvenile justice programs, commissioners and Administrator Tim Boyde said Thursday.

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