This Week's News: 23 April 2006

Juvenile Justice

Black caucus vows to reform juvenile justice
Tallahassee Democrat, FL - April 20, 2006
... Legislators said today they support the protesters camped out at the governor's office and vowed to do everything they can to reform the juvenile justice system ...

Teen Court lets youths learn from peers
The Courier-Journal, IN - April 20, 2006
... Everyone else -- including bailiff, jurors and lawyers -- are ages 12 to 17. The program has become more important to juvenile justice in recent months. ...

Emily Metzgar: Proven system needs support in reaching more
The Shreveport Times, LA - April 18, 2006
At a time when news reports have raised questions about the administration of area youth service programs, Volunteers for Youth Justice can point to its Seal of Excellence certification from the Louisiana Association of Nonprofit Organizations. VYJ was among the first group of nonprofits statewide to earn such certification and it remains one of only three local nonprofits to have it.

California Juvenile Justice System in Crisis
Yahoo! News (Press Release) - April 19, 2006
... This new effort to reform California's troubled juvenile justice system follows on the heels of the successful landmark litigation against the California Youth ...

Florida Department of Education Awards Juvenile Justice Education
Business Wire (Press Release), CA - April 19, 2006
... selected its BASI(TM) (Basic Achievement Skills Inventory) series of assessments as the common assessment for the state's juvenile justice education programs. ...


Education

Help for drop-outs — Mercer’s Second Chance program ...
Bluefield Daily Telegraph, WV - April 19, 2006
... National research shows drop-outs earn an average $9,200 a year less than high school graduates and have a far greater likelihood of winding up on welfare, in ...

City dropouts target of grant
Chicago Tribune, IL - April 18, 2006
With many high school dropouts saying they left school because they felt unchallenged in the classroom, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on Monday gave $21 million to the Chicago Public Schools system to establish a more rigorous curriculum in city high schools.

High school graduation gap more than racial
Baltimore Sun, MD - April 19, 2006
White females had the highest graduation rate nationwide for the school year that ended in 2003, at 79 percent, according to the study. White males had the second highest rate of graduation at 74 percent, followed by Asian females at 73 percent and Asian males at 70 percent. Overall for 2003, the graduation rate was 72 percent for girls and 65 percent for boys.

Researchers disagree on rates
The Plain Dealer, OH - April 20, 2006
Everyone agrees there are too many high school dropouts. What they can't agree on is how many dropouts there are.

Zero-Tolerance Policy for Schools Blasted in Report as Overreaching
The Miami Herald, FL - April 20, 2006
A poorly defined and overused zero-tolerance policy, meant to deter violent crime in Florida public schools, has resulted in thousands of students being funneled into the juvenile detention system for minor offenses, according to a study released Thursday. The report, issued by the Advancement Project, an NAACP-affiliated group, says teachers are often turning over the task of disciplining students to school police, and “setting students on a schoolhouse-to-jailhouse track.”

Boys Are No Match for Girls in Completing High School
The New York Times, NY - April 19, 2006
Nationwide, about 72 percent of the girls in the high school class of 2003 — but only 65 percent of the boys — earned diplomas, a gender gap that is far more pronounced among minorities, according to a report being released today by the Manhattan Institute.


Foster Care

A call to action on foster children
San Francisco Chronicle, CA - April 20, 2006
"Every day, when I would come home from school, I would check to see if my bags were packed," one former foster youth poignantly recalled. ...

SAN FRANCISCO
San Francisco Chronicle, CA - Apr 17, 2006
... abusing drugs and alcohol himself and doing stints in homeless shelters, Romero, 23, became one of the fewer than 10 percent of foster youth in California who ...