Friday, December 08, 2006

This Week's News: Youth in Transition

Education

Solving the Educational and Employment Crisis in America's Cities Through Youth Cultural Competence
Blacknews.com – December 7, 2006
"If youth are willing to throw away their lives and freedom over disrespect in the streets, what do we think they will do to their educational choices when they are so called 'disrespected by the system’?” That was the question posed by the Youth Development and Research Fund (YDRF) as they kicked off the 2006 National Youth Development Symposium in Chicago this week.

Struggling students reach new heights through Lee's Achievement Academy
Commercial Dispatch – December 7, 2006
Watching students repeatedly remain in the seventh and eighth grades as their peers move on to high school, many might have dubbed them hopeless. But Robert Keenum, principal of Lee Middle School, took on the challenge of moving those over-aged children out of middle school and on to the rest of their lives.

Drop-Outs Flock to Private High School
WNDU.com – December 7, 2006
There has been a lot of talk about the high school drop out problem in South Bend, but what is being done about it? This year, a new approach was tried as a private-not-for-profit group opened a faith based alternative school on South Michigan Street in August.

Educators opt to keep unruly kids in school
Miami Herald – December 4, 2006
Harold Barnwell rubbed his arm and gazed at the class, now transfixed on his discussion of owners' methods for controlling slaves. ''What if someone placed all the light-skinned people on one side of the room and dark-skinned people on the other?'' Barnwell asked the group. ``What would happen?''

Juvenile Justice

MacArthur awards $40 million for juvenile justice reform
Seattle Post Intelligence – December 4, 2006
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced Monday that it will award $40 million to four states, including Washington, to support juvenile justice reform.

Juvenile justice options examined at conference
Battleboro Reformer – December 7, 2006
Though no one can pinpoint precisely where it happens, at some point during a child's life, they become an adult. So when it comes to an adolescent who commits a crime, attention is usually paid to whether or not that person should be treated as an adult. For those in the legal community, that issue was looked at during a seminar in Montpelier last week.

New tack on teen justice: a push away from prisons
Christian Science Monitor – December 8, 2006
Cook County, home of the nation's first juvenile court, created in 1899, hasn't always had the best track record for dealing with young offenders. A 1995 Chicago Tribune editorial deplored the local juvenile detention center's filthy conditions, unqualified staff, and children who "languish there like warehoused animals."

Foster Care

Benefit held for foster children
Appalachian News Express – December 7, 2006
Some Pike County children won't spend Christmas with their families this year. They'll join hundreds of other Kentucky children who celebrate the holiday in foster care centers or homes.

Program Helps Teens Transition Out Of Foster Care
CBS11tv.com – December 5, 2006
Once they turn 18 or graduate from high school, foster teens are basically on their own. Lucas Smith found himself in that situation at 19-years-old. "You don't know where you're going to go," he said. "You don't know if your family will take you in."

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