Tuesday, October 28, 2008

This Week's News: Youth in Transition

Education

Private schools get state funds to target dropouts
My San Antonio News – October 27, 2008
When bipartisan lawmakers passed a bill last legislative season to address the number of Texas high school dropouts, one of the programs, a $6 million investment in a pilot plan aimed at bringing students under 25 back to school to earn diplomas, stirred controversy statewide.

Key to stemming high-school dropouts: parents
The Christian Science Monitor – October 27, 2008
If America is going to stem the dropout crisis, low-performing schools will have to do a better job of reaching out to parents. That's the conclusion of a new report that found that, among parents with students in low-performing high schools, fewer than half said the schools did a fairly good job communicating about their child's academic progress.

A project to help high school dropouts opens in its new space
The Berkshire Eagle – October 25, 2008
Yesterday more than 30 representatives from the education, business, human service and other, community-based sectors gathered to herald the official opening of the Reconnect Center for teens and young adults. The Reconnect Center, part of the state Pathway-21 Network to advocate for at-risk youths, has three main objectives: to encourage youths not to drop out of school; to assist youths and young adults (ages 16 to 24) who have dropped out of school; and to help youths and young adults find a career pathway.

Juvenile Justice

Children need foundation of care to grow
CommercialAppeal.com – October 23, 2008
If society is to prosper, all children must have the opportunity to grow intellectually, socially and emotionally. The optimum development of our children is the foundation for community and economic development, as capable children become the foundation for a prosperous and sustainable society. Studies show the deeper youths go into the juvenile justice system, the harder it is to escape its tentacles.

Important national center for girls opens in Jacksonville
The Florida Times-Union – October 17, 2008
This week in Jacksonville, we celebrated a major step toward creating a better future for girls and young women in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. On Thursday, the National Council on Crime and Delinquency launched the Center for Girls and Young Women, a landmark venture to improve outcomes for girls - not just in Jacksonville or Florida, but nationwide.

Foster Care

Foster youths express fears, hopes for better lives
Ventura County Star – October 26, 2008
Voices rarely heard in discussions about the county's foster care system came from a uniquely qualified source Saturday: the youths who live in it. More than 30 of them gathered for a conference at Oxnard College to talk about ways to make life better for the hundreds of abused and neglected children removed from their parents' care.

Foster Youth and Adoptees Can Graduate College Debt-Free with NC Reach, a Statewide Scholarship Program
The Wall Street Journal – October 23, 2008
A successful new education initiative in North Carolina is enabling young adults emerging from foster care to graduate from college and enter the workforce without taking on years of student loan payments. NC Reach, launched earlier this year by the North Carolina Division of Social Services (DSS) and the Orphan Foundation of America (OFA), is a state-funded scholarship program that enables eligible foster youth and adoptees to graduate from college debt-free, and provides comprehensive support services while they are in school.

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