This Week's News: Youth in Transition

Education

Bloomberg to Use Own Funds in Plan to Aid Minority Youth
The New York Times, New York, NY – August 3, 2011
The administration of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, in a blunt acknowledgment that thousands of young black and Latino men are cut off from New York’s civic, educational and economic life, plans to spend nearly $130 million on far-reaching measures to improve their circumstances.

Kindergartners already planning for high school graduation
WLOX 13, St. Martin, MS – August 3, 2011
The school bell rang and buses rolled throughout Jackson County Wednesday morning.  Schools in St. Martin, Vancleave and East Central welcomed back thousands of students.  Kindergartners at St. Martin North Elementary spent part of their first day learning how to walk quietly along the hallway. They also sang songs, listened to stories and made new friends. They seemed to be adjusting well to their new environment.

Graduation rates increase in Cleveland County: More minority students get diplomas
The Star, Shelby, NC – August 5, 2011
The  number of minority students earning diplomas from Cleveland County Schools continues to increase.  Nearly 70 percent of black students and 75 percent of Hispanic students entering ninth grade in Cleveland County graduated in four years or less, according to 2010-11 graduation data released Thursday from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

Juvenile Justice

New limits on charging 17-year-olds as adults
NECN.com, Biloxi, MS - August 7, 2011
An amended law that took effect in July prevents law enforcement officials from charging 17-year-olds as adults in most nonviolent felony cases.  Youth Court and law enforcement officials are keeping a close eye on the law to see how it's going to affect the already overburdened Youth Court system.

Youth Aid Program Gives First-time Juveniles Second Chance
Upper Southampton Patch – Upper Southampton, PA  - August 3, 2011
The Upper Southampton Youth Aid Panel offers local juveniles an alternative to the criminal justice system.  First-time juvenile offenders can be referred to the panel as a means to avoid immediately going through the system.

Foster Care

Crossroads provides housing for young adults aging out of foster care
Sun Sentinel, FL – August 2, 2011
The Parent-Child Center's Crossroads Independent Living program hosted its first "Open House" on July 15. More than 50 people from the community attended the event and received a personal tour of the program, including county commissioners and visitors from the Department of Juvenile Justice, foster care programs and disability services.

Utahn hopes to help youth who are homeless, in foster care
The Salt Lake Tribune, Utah – August 1, 2011
Sam Bracken says growing up in his family was like belonging to a whacked-out version of the Brady Bunch that was starring in an episode of the reality TV show "Cops."  And that’s putting it kindly.  "You can’t always determine where you start in this world," he said, "but we can determine how we end."  That message is at the center of Bracken’s campaign to help youth who are homeless or aging out of foster care through his Orange Duffel Bag Foundation — named after the fluorescent bag that held his belongings when Bracken was forced from home.

Youth Villages to Expand Transitional Living Program with $42 million grant
Youth Today – August 4, 2011
A major multi-state provider of child welfare services will receive perhaps one of the largest grants ever made to a social service agency to expand its transitional living program for youth aging out of foster care.  Youth Villages, a Memphis, Tenn.-based nonprofit that operates residential and community youth programs in 12 states, will receive a $42 million challenge grant from The Day Foundation. YV will start receiving the grant money soon, but it is also required to match the $42 million with commitments from other revenue streams.

Teen Pregnancy

Teen pregnancy prevention program offered
Parkersburg News and Sentinel, Parkersburg, OH – August 4, 2011
A new program for sixth-graders will offer support and information to help students develop goals and self-esteem to help them make positive choices for their lives.  The Children's Home Society was chosen as one of nine of 75 applicants from across the country to receive the grant funding.

UC Merced students look at how culture affects health

Merced Sun-Star, Fresno County, CA – August 4, 2011
Marisol Chavez was used to seeing pregnant Latina teens in her classrooms when she was attending high school in Cantua Creek, a small Fresno County town.  Latina teens continue to have higher pregnancy rates compared to teen girls from other ethnicities, the soon-to-be senior at UC Merced said.