Monday, April 02, 2012

This Week's News: Youth in Transition

Education

Reaching individual students key to lowering dropout rate
Lincoln Journal Star, Lincoln, NE – March 29, 2012
TJ McDowell spends a part of each week in three of Lincoln's public high schools tracking down a number of young men he's come to know.

Western’s turnaround progressing, high-ranking official finds in visit to school
Las Vegas Sun, Las Vegas, NV – March 29, 2012
The government’s second-in-command for education came to town this week to nose around. The federal government has sent $8.7 million in federal money to help Clark County improve its poorest-performing schools, and Tony Miller wanted to see if it was doing any good.

Officials: Prevention better than changing dropout age
The Capital, Maryland – April 1, 2012
Principal Nelson Horine has another name for evening high schools he leads around Anne Arundel County: “Safety nets.”  And in his job, he said, there are too many stories to count of students who might have otherwise fallen all the way to the hard ground.

Juvenile Justice

Seeking a Softer Justice System, Closer to Home, for New York’s Juvenile Offenders
The New York Times, Brooklyn, NY – March 26, 2012
The teenage boys living in a Brooklyn row house board a van every morning to go to school. When they return, they cook their own meals, do their own laundry, play video games and discuss life. They receive visits from their families each week and sometimes take field trips to the movies or to a bowling alley.

Supreme Court reviews life sentences for juvenile murderers
Sun Sentinel, Florida – April 1, 2012
The U.S. Supreme Court recently took up the issue of whether it is cruel and unusual punishment to sentence a convicted killer to life in prison without parole if the crime was committed when the defendant was under 18. A decision is expected within the next few months.

Foster Care

Court orders aid resumed to former foster child despite some bad grades
The Miami Herald, Florida – March 26, 2012
In a ruling that could have significant implications for former foster children throughout Florida, a Miami appeals court last week said that a young adult who “aged out” of foster care need not have pulled good grades and attended faithfully all year in order to qualify for state-funded financial aid that is contingent upon successful academic achievement. Redeeming herself after a short educational setback may have been enough.

Jimmy Wayne Aids in Passing of New Tennessee Bill for Foster Children
Taste of Country, Tennessee – March 26, 2012
Chances are that no matter what happens to Jimmy Wayne in the coming weeks, he will remain with a smile on his face and in the grandest of moods. Earlier this month, Wayne was sitting front and center in a Tennessee board room when the news was revealed that a new bill he was fighting for — one which supports foster children — had passed congress.

Rise Up employment program puts focus on young adults transitioning out of foster care
Corpus Christi Caller, Texas – March 31, 2012
Even the Coastal Bend's gradually declining unemployment rate doesn't spell success for everyone.  Some groups may be affected more than others, and the state and federal government target some of those priority populations with more focused employment resources.

Teen Pregnancy

United Way uses pregnant mannequins to fight teen pregnancy
620 WTMJ, Milwaukee, WI – March 29, 2012
An edgy campaign has kicked off to curb teen pregnancy, an issue that's prevalent in the Milwaukee area.  The plan includes pregnant mannequins, targeted at teenagers preparing for prom.

Fewer teens in Solano County getting pregnant
The Reporter, California – March 29, 2012
California's and Solano County's teen birth rates dropped to record lows in 2010, with the county numbers well below the state average, state Department of Public Health officials said.

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