Monday, July 29, 2013

This Week's News: Youth in Transition

Education

Dropout numbers decline, according to state report
MyrtleBeachOnline.com, Myrtle Beach, SC – July 24, 2013
The percentage of students dropping out of Horry County Schools has fallen, mirroring a similar trend across the state, according to a report from the S.C. Department of Education.

Trenton superintendent prepares for district reconfiguration, new initiatives
The Times of Trenton, Trenton, NJ – July 29, 2013
Superintendent Francisco Duran is preparing to begin his second year overseeing the district’s 12,000 students with a major reconfiguration of the schools and raft of new initiatives, including new supports for struggling middle schoolers, high school academies aimed at lowering the dropout rate, bilingual elementary classrooms and new efforts to reach out to parents.

Dropout Indicators Found for 1st Graders
Education Week, Maryland – July 29, 2013
As tracking data on students grow ever more extensive, some Maryland educators are finding that the early-warning signs of a student at risk of dropping out may become visible at the very start of their school careers.

Juvenile Justice

Alternative detention program could come to Allen County
Wane.com, Fort Wayne, IN – July 25, 2013
An Allen County judge wants to bring a program to town that reduce the number of teenagers in jail and reduce crime in the community.  On Wednesday afternoon, Allen County Superior Court Judge Dan Heath signed a letter of intent for Allen County to join the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI).

Grant going to juvenile justice reporting center
ForsythNews.com, Forsyth County, GA – July 25, 2013
Forsyth County has accepted a grant from the Georgia Governor’s Office for Children and Families for about $80,000.  The funding will go toward a day and evening reporting center for youths in the juvenile justice system.  The grant assists with a requirement of juvenile justice reform to provide alternatives to detention centers.

Foster Care

Summit County attempts to smooth transition for foster kids aging out of the system
Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio – July 26, 2013
To try to improve the oftentimes bumpy transition, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Big Brothers Big Sisters and eight counties, including Summit, have launched a pilot program called “Connecting the Dots from Foster Care to Employment and Independent Living.”

The Program Helping Texas Foster Care Youth Go to College - For Free
News 90.5, Texas – July 25, 2013
Heading to college is confusing under the best of circumstances. But for many young people aging out of foster care, the challenges can be almost impossible to overcome.  Some schools in Texas host programs each year aimed at trying to help foster kids make the transition.  At Austin Community College in Round Rock yesterday, a group of about 10 prospective students toured the campus.  Each had been through the foster care system in Texas.

Teen Pregnancy

Plain talk for parents with pregnant teens
Las Cruses Sun-News, Las Cruses, NM – July 22, 2013
A unique program pairing adolescents and parents to discuss honest and accurate information about teen pregnancy and sexual health has swept the Southwest and is changing the meaning behind the phrase, "it takes a village to raise a child."

Latina Leaders: Empowering young Latinas with L.O.V.E. mentoring
NBC Latino – July 29, 2013
Claudia Espinosa used to daydream of becoming an FBI agent when she was a teen in her native Cali, Colombia. At 20, she came to the U.S., by herself, to study forensic psychology at John Jay College in New York City in pursuit of that dream. However, 14 years and a few other degrees later, she finds herself on a new path — empowering other young Latinas.

Monday, July 22, 2013

This Week's News: Youth in Transition

Education

Liberation High School founder, principal April Leong helps would-be dropouts
New York Daily News, Brooklyn, NY – July 16, 2013
April Leong is living proof that a young, single mom growing up in Brownsville in Brooklyn, N.Y., doesn’t have to drop out of high school.  The founding principal of Liberation Diploma Plus High school, an alternative school in Coney Island, which enrolls overage and undercredited students at risk of dropping out, uses her own life story to motivate students — making her a candidate for a Hometown Heroes in Education award.

National Guard program gives Forest Grove, Hillsboro High dropouts a second shot at education
The Oregonian, Oregon – July 16, 2013
Through the Oregon Youth Challenge Program, funded by the United States Department of Defense and administered by the Oregon National Guard, high school dropouts were given a second chance at educational success. OYCP graduated 133 cadets on June 19 from the residential phase of the program, five of them from Cornelius and Forest Grove.

School board increases dropout age to 18
The Winchester Sun, Clark County, KY - July 19, 2013
The Clark County Board of Education voted to raise the compulsory dropout age from 16 to 18 at its regular meeting earlier this week.  The decision brings the district in line with more than 100 other districts in Kentucky. The school districts are voting to increase the dropout age as part of a statewide implementation of Senate Bill 97.

Juvenile Justice

New law classifies 17-year-old offenders as juveniles
The News-Gazette, Illinois – July 22, 2013
A bill signed by Gov. Pat Quinn earlier this month will keep 17-year-olds who commit serious crimes in the juvenile court system.

Youth Promise Act/Lelia Gowland/Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana
ABC WGNO, Oklahoma – July 22, 2013
Anne Cutler talks to Lelia Gowland about the YPA bill introduced by Senator Mary Landrieu & U.S. Senator James Inhofe from Oklahoma designed to help prevent juvenile delinquency and criminal street gang activity through prison reduction, opportunities, mentoring, intervention, support and education.

Foster Care

Free Academy Helps Veterans, Former Foster Kids
Keloland.com, Gary, SD – July 18, 2013
Returning veterans and teens "aging out" of the South Dakota foster system are among the largest homeless populations in the state.  But a group of private companies work together to help give them an education, a job and a place to call home in Gary, South Dakota.

Grant to keep YouthBuild going
The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, PA – July 16, 2013
YouthBuild Johnstown will continue to help young people rebuild their lives.  Goodwill Industries of the Conemaugh Valley Inc., which operates the program, received a three-year grant for $864,000 from the U.S. Labor Department to continue and expand its efforts.

Teen Pregnancy

California Teen Birth Rates Drop 60 Percent Thanks To Sex Education
Huffington Post – July 19, 2013
California’s teen birth rate has dropped nearly 60 percent as a result of expanded sex education programs, according to a report released by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) on Wednesday.  The report –- which was based on data collected until 2011 -- revealed that the California teen birth rate reached a 20-year low that year. While in 1991, there were 70.9 births for every 1,000 teens aged 15-19, in 2011 this number decreased to 28 births per 1,000 teens.

Teens learn pregnancy prevention and other valuable lessons
NBC 40, New Jersey – July 16, 2013
With wide smiles on their faces, kids in Bridgeton may not look like they are receiving a lesson in teen pregnancy prevention.  But after a five million dollar federal grant and use of the Carrera Model, the Partnership for Healthy Teens Program through Inspira Health Network is takinga broad approach to a specific issue.

Monday, July 15, 2013

This Week's News: Youth in Transition

Education

All Kentucky schools must increase dropout age to 18 by 2017
Lexington Herald Leader, Frankfort, KY – July 10, 2013
Kentucky will abandon a generations-old policy that allows minors as young as 16 to drop out of school, a move being heralded by Gov. Steve Beshear as an important step for a state that has strived to improve its economy and educational standing.

Cut Alabama dropout rate and save $69 million in Medicaid spending, report says
AL.com, Birmingham, AL – July 12, 2013
Alabama would save $69 million per year in Medicaid spending by cutting the state's number of high school dropouts in half, according to a report released this week by the advocacy group Alliance for Excellent Education.

Beyond Wyoming's rates: More to graduation than just a percentage
Star-Tribune, Wyoming – July 14, 2013
Many educators across the state say the method of calculating graduation rates doesn't tell the whole story.  One part the official 78.9 percent Wyoming graduation rate for 2012 leaves out is the students who graduate later than their senior classes.

Juvenile Justice

Task Force Wants To Reduce Racial Disparities in Juvenile Justice
Fox 27, Charlottesville, NC – July 9, 2013
African American youth in Charlottesville and Albemarle County are one and a half times more likely to be placed in juvenile detention compared to Caucasian youth.  Community residents and a Charlottesville task force discussed how to change that, and similar statistics, Tuesday night, at the first of a series of meetings on racial disparity in the juvenile justice system.

Juvenile law change forbids minors from being held in adult prison
The Times-Tribune, Pennsylvania – July 8, 2013
Juvenile justice advocates are applauding a rule change recently enacted by the state Supreme Court that precludes authorities from holding juveniles in adult prisons pending their appearance in juvenile court.

Foster Care

CASA launches new program to help kids connect
Porterville Recorder, Visalia, CA – July 10, 2013
Children in the foster care system due to abuse or neglect can lose contact with extended family, friends and neighbors. They feel isolated and lost when their world, as they know it, seems to disappear.  Court Appointed Special Advocates of Tulare County is launching a new program to train volunteers to help children remain connected with their history, in partnership with Tulare County Child Welfare Services and funded through a planning grant from First 5 Tulare County.

Teen Pregnancy

Logan students talk teen pregnancy with lawmakers
Herald-Dispatch, Washington, D.C. – July 12, 2013
Two seniors at Logan High School recently meet with the West Virginia congressional delegation to discuss the issue of teen pregnancy.  Ciara Campbell and Jimetta Early met with Sens. Jay Rockefeller and Joe Manchin, both D-W.Va., as well as Rep. Nick Rahall, all D-W.Va., during the Human Rights Summit hosted by the American Friends Service Committee.

Program aimed at reducing teen pregnancies and STDs gets funds
Pacific Daily News – July 12, 2013
Federal funding for the Department of Education's new Personal Responsibility Education Program, or PREP, will total $1.2 million at the end of three years.  The goal of the program is to teach students and teachers strategies to decrease the risk of sexually transmitted diseases and teen pregnancy.

Tuesday, July 09, 2013

This Week's News: Youth in Transition

Education

Summer camp at UNLV looks to prevent school dropouts
ABC 13, Las Vegas, NV – July 8, 2013
It's a week-long summer camp that can make a lifelong difference.  80 teenagers from around the Valley have been invited to attend CampUs Las Vegas at UNLV, which focuses on the transition from middle school to high school and dropout prevention.

JCPS raises dropout age to 18; entire state could follow suit
WDRB, Louisville, KY – July 8, 2013
In two years, you'll have to be 18 years old and an adult to drop out of high school, legally, in Louisville.  The rule could reach statewide, too.  School boards across the state are rushing to raise the dropout age from 16 to 18, to keep students in school.

Graduation rate boosted
Branson Tri-Lake News, Missouri – July 5, 2013
Missouri saw a 9.5 percent increase in graduation rates over the last decade, a trend that was also seen locally, with one district recording 98.9 percent last year.  According to area superintendents, one contributing factor is alternative school programs.

Juvenile Justice

Change forbids holding minors in adult prison
Citizens Voice – July 8, 2013
Juvenile justice advocates are applauding a rule change recently enacted by the state Supreme Court that precludes authorities from holding juveniles in adult prisons pending their appearance in juvenile court.

Texas Passes 50 Justice Bills, Covering Death Row to Juvenile Hall
KUT News, Texas – July 5, 2013
The 2013 regular session ended with  50 new criminal and juvenile justice bills passed and signed into law.  House Bill 1479 addressed truancy and other "disruption of class" offenses. House Bill 1952 individualizes the needs of special education students in order to prevent undeserved punishment.  According to the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, nearly 100,000 children are placed in the Texas juvenile justice system every year.

Foster Care

Lone Star College, a leader in foster care youth education, hosts Texas Reach Conference Your
Houston News, Texas – July 2, 2013
Lone Star College-University Park recently hosted the fourth annual Texas Reach Conference in early June to empower Texans to champion post-secondary success for foster youth and alumni.  The two-day conference entitled, “From Foster Care to College” attracted more than 200 registrants from colleges and agencies throughout the nation, in addition to foster care alumni (former foster youth) and foster parents.
   
Program aims to keep kids safe in homes and out of foster care
Michigan Radio, Michigan – July 3, 2013
More than 400,000 children are currently in foster care in the U.S. Once a child has entered the system, they remain there on average for nearly two years, according to a federal report. Our State of Opportunity team looked into a unique program that’s working to prevent kids in Michigan from even entering foster care in the first place.

Teen Pregnancy

Catching Up: Cumberland teen program working well
Press of Atlantic City, Cumberland, NJ – July 4, 2013
In October 2010 officials at South Jersey Healthcare - now called Inspira Health Network - unveiled a comprehensive plan to help Cumberland County's teen pregnancy problems.  The county has long led the state in teen pregnancy, with the rate reported at 16 percent at the time the program was announced.  But local officials unveiled a plan to work with current sixth-graders and their families on a nearly daily basis and make sure they have everything they needed to stay in school, and for their families to have proper counseling and support for their children.

Monday, July 01, 2013

This Week's News: Youth in Transition

Education

Schools for Dropouts: A Promising New Education Trend
TakePart.com, Chicago, IL – June 28, 2013
In the past year, the Chicago school district has experienced severe budget cuts that led to school closures and, in turn, protests.  That’s not stopping the district, however, from creating new opportunities for hundreds of high school dropouts.

Camden high school dropouts make good on second chance
South Jersey Times, Camden, NJ – June 28, 2013
Nearly 50 city high school dropouts celebrated second chances Thursday, as they finally received their diplomas thanks to a program sparked two years ago to help Camden youths further their education.

Mass graduation celebrates young Black men
ABC 7, Chicago, IL – June 29, 2013
There was a special show of support and congratulations Saturday for young men in Chicago's African American community.  They are all high school graduates getting ready for college.

Juvenile Justice

Trial Run for Revised Juvenile Justice System
The New York Times, Travis County, TX – June 27, 2013
In Travis County, juvenile justice officials have decided that they can do a better job than the state in dealing with the most troubled local offenders, considering Texas’ history of scandal and violence in youth lockups.

Examiners to take broader look at W.Va. juvenile justice system
The Charleston Gazette, Charleston, WV – June 28, 2013
A commission studying West Virginia's juvenile justice system says it will broaden its focus to look at all out-of-home placements for troubled kids, not just detention centers.

Foster Care

Ebby House in Lakewood to help young women transition out of foster care
The Dallas Morning News, Dallas, TX – June 26, 2013 A Dallas nonprofit announced a new component of its services Wednesday: a home for young women transitioning out of foster care, to be named after real estate icon Ebby Halliday.

New bill will allow Florida children to stay in foster care until 21
WFTV, Orlando, FL – June 24, 2013
Gov. Rick Scott was in Orlando Monday to sign a bill that will help teenagers who age out of foster care.  The Independent Living Bill will allow state foster children to remain in the system until they're 21 years old.

Teen Pregnancy

Teen pregnancy rates see ‘monumental’ drop
Observer, Florida – June 27, 2013
Teen pregnancy rates are declining in Central Florida, and educators at Planned Parenthood of Greater Orlando said their programs are one reason for the decrease.  The downward trend is a nationwide one, and since 2006 teen birth rates in Osceola, Seminole and Brevard counties are down.

Lock-in to educate girls on pregnancy prevention
 My Journal Courier, Morgan County, FL – June 25, 2013
For the 20 teenage girls taking part in a unique overnight camp this weekend, the experience of parenthood will last just 12 hours.  Organizers hope the message it brings will last a lot longer.