Education
State schools chief unveils framework for dropout prevention plan
WAVE 3 Indianapolis – June 18, 2007
Indiana's school superintendent wants a comprehensive plan to cut the rate of drop-outs. Suellen Reed spoke at a high school summit in Indianapolis today. She told the hundreds of teachers, administrators and community leaders that a prevention plan could help schools, districts and communities keep kids in school. But she wants their help and says it will take a lot of work before a final version of the plan is ready.
Taking the middle road
The Daily Progress – June 21, 2007
City school officials plan to work with University of Virginia education professors to evaluate Charlottesville’s middle school arrangement. Some experts say that middle-schoolers’ needs are so different from other students’, it only makes sense to group them together in a more homogeneous environment. Other authorities say that youngsters are better off moving up through the classes at a school incorporating kindergarten through eighth grade. The K-8 model encourages parents to stay involved with the school system and their children’s education for a longer period. Some parents “drop out” when children make the transition to middle school. And parental support is a key element in student success, no matter what the age. Speaking of drop-outs, the rate of students dropping out of high school is rising in Charlottesville. It has gone from 2.6 to 4.3 in three years; the state average is 1.9.
Juvenile Justice
Juvenile-justice officials turn attention to girls in trouble with law
Orlando Sentinel – June 20, 2007
After years of neglect, Florida's juvenile-justice system is paying fresh attention to the problems of girls. An experimental program in Orange County is pairing more than 300 girls on probation with eight specially trained probation officers. It's a first step in a statewide movement that juvenile-justice advocates hope will improve the lives of girls who run afoul of the law. "Girls need someone they can talk to," one 17-year-old said while standing outside her home with her probation officer. "Some people get more attention from their probation officer than they do at home."
County weighs detention camp school reforms
Los Angeles Times – June 19, 2007
Angered by a recent report criticizing the quality of schooling for youths in juvenile halls and camps, Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe is calling for major changes to education in the system, such as creating arts-themed classroom programs in detention facilities. Recommendations last week by the Los Angeles County Children's Planning Council suggest revamping educational programs for incarcerated youths, having a single case manager handle all aspects of a teenager's rehabilitation and creating a separate county department devoted solely to juvenile justice.
Opinions split on adult trials for juveniles
South Jersey Courier-Post – June 18, 2007
Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean F. Dalton filed a waiver to have Jason Henry tried as an adult, saying the youth's actions were deliberate, intentional and resulted in two deaths. Family members, friends, teachers and classmates disagreed, however, and unsuccessfully launched a petition and letter-writing campaign to keep Henry in the juvenile court system. If convicted in juvenile court, the sentencing for a youthful offender is left to the discretion of a Family Court judge and the detention center responsible for rehabilitating its young inmates. In adult court, Henry faces two life sentences for murder and additional years if convicted of arson and aggravated assault. The issue of rehabilitation, and whether a youth convicted of serious crimes like murder, arson or rape, can rejoin society is a question often considered by the juvenile justice system. The adult court operates mostly on a sanctions-based system, meaning the court is responsible for doling out appropriate punishments to criminals rather than considering their ability to rejoin society.
Foster Care
Bachmann testifies on foster kids' behalf
St. Cloud Times – June 20, 2007
Freshman Rep. Michele Bachmann, a former foster care mother, told a congressional panel Tuesday about the need for more educational programs for the nation's 510,000 foster children. Bachmann, who has been a foster mom to 23 special needs youngsters, joined recording artist Jewel, a former homeless teen, in testifying about the needs of homeless youths. Bachmann suggested Congress create a federal program that would give foster parents the option of sending children to public or private schools. She said she was not allowed to send her foster children to private school. Many of her foster children suffered because they were not challenged at school nor expected to succeed, she said.
Foster care commission meets in Riverside
San Diego Union-Tribune – June 20, 2007
A state commission appointed to identify ways the courts and child welfare agencies can improve service to California's estimated 80,000 foster care children will meet Wednesday for the first in a series of two-day meetings. The California Blue Ribbon Commission on Foster Care is holding its sixth quarterly meeting in Riverside, with plans to confer with local judges, talk with members of the county's Department of Public Social Services and tour a women's prison, according to officials. The commission will look at whether expediting the process of reuniting youngsters in the foster care system with mothers who have spent time in prison might prevent the unraveling of family bonds.
Keep the promise
San Francisco Chronicle – June 21, 2007
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the California Legislature took many well-deserved bows last year for focusing on the underfunded and dysfunctional foster-care system. In providing more money and instilling more accountability into the system, they raised the hopes of the 80,000 young people in the system. Now it's time for Sacramento to follow through on its promises. Schwarzenegger and Assemblywoman Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles, did their part by introducing legislation (AB845) that would fund the counties' plans for transitional housing for former foster youth up to age 24. The Assembly did its part, approving AB845, with $10.5 million to help these young people, on a 78-0 vote. Now, however, a bloc of Senate Republicans is threatening to reject AB845 on fiscal grounds. The bill is expected to come to a vote next week. Unless these Republicans get a jolt of conscience -- or even a dose of pragmatism -- the bill would not get the two-thirds vote required for passage.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Monday, June 18, 2007
This Week’s News: Youth in Transition
Education
Schools to open newcomer centers: Jefferson reaches out to Hispanic students
The Times-Picayune – June 12, 2007
With an ever-increasing number of Hispanic students entering Jefferson Parish public schools, the school system plans to launch in August a program to help the students adjust, while discouraging drop-outs. Without transition help, she said, Hispanic students have fared poorly on standardized tests, giving them little chance to advance to the next grade or graduate. Since Hurricane Katrina, the school system, which has the highest number of Hispanic students in the state, has seen a surge in its Spanish-speaking enrollment as families have settled in to take advantage of jobs in construction and in small businesses.
Pitt schools work to move kids ahead
The Daily Reflector – June 13, 2007
Pitt County Schools has developed an innovative way to fight dropouts before students even reach high school, officials contend. A fast track program that allows students who have been retained for one or two grades to work hard for a year and jump from the sixth grade to the eighth grade is likely to cut down on the number of students who quit in high school, said Superintendent Beverly Reep. Holding students back is a key factor in drop outs. Reep said. A student who has been held back twice has a more than 90 percent chance of ultimately dropping out of school, she said. The number of high school dropouts is at a five-year high in North Carolina, according to a report released earlier this year. Over 22,000 students dropped out last year.
March to protest exams: Easton to join teachers, NAACP against BESE
The Daily Advertiser – June 14, 2007
Leaders with the Lafayette chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, along with Lafayette school officials, will join the Louisiana chapter to march in Baton Rouge against standardized tests on June 30. Johnson said it is not the test that is a problem, but the fact that BESE is using it to decide whether students fail, which leads to low self-esteem, drop-outs and eventually crime. Lafayette Parish Association of Educators President Joycelyn Olivier said there should be accountability in education, "but it shouldn't just be one test." Olivier said community involvement is key in finding how best to assess students. For Lafayette Parish Superintendent James Easton, who said he plans to join the march, there are important - even vital - skills that are not measured by high-stakes testing.
Juvenile Justice
Should kids go to court in chains?
USA Today – June 16, 2007
Malyra Perez is 14, and yes, her mother says, she is troublesome. Malyra runs away and goes to school high, her mother tells the judge. She is in court on a charge of grand theft auto. But she shouldn't be in shackles, Myra Perez says. "I didn't like that, not at all. She's not a criminal." Such sentiments are being heard in courts across the nation, where there are increasingly vigorous debates over rules that require metal shackles to be used on youths who appear at juvenile court hearings. At issue is whether kids as young as 10 need to be shackled for court security, and whether putting chains on young defendants not only makes them look like criminals but also makes them more likely to think of themselves in that way.
Incarcerated kids may need another way out of trouble
Indianapolis Star – June 11, 2007
If the Indiana State Bar Association's pilot program to provide psychological screening for juveniles entering detention centers proves successful, the system is in trouble. But it's good trouble. There is little reason to believe that expert initial testing of all boys and girls brought to detention facilities won't turn up enough mental and emotional -- as opposed to criminal -- problems to warrant such a service in all 92 counties. And, given that the Indiana Juvenile Justice Task Force, the respected private advocacy group, has estimated that half the children in the system need some psychiatric care, a universal screening system will present large legal questions for judges and financial challenges to government.
Foster Care
Police officers urged to adopt foster children
Washington Times – June 16, 2007
Metropolitan police officers at the 3rd District station received something extra with their crime alerts and duty assignments during their 7:30 a.m. roll call yesterday -- an appeal to adopt a foster child. "If you want to help us heal a child, consider becoming a foster parent," said Kamilah Bunn, a resource development specialist for the District's Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA). "If not, take a flier and tell a friend." While local agencies traditionally have looked to faith-based, business and community groups to find parents to adopt foster children, the District has begun urging police officers to take in older children. Bunn said that many officers are former foster youth and can relate to the children and teach them discipline.
Partnership helps foster children
Hattiesburg American – June 11, 2007
As Mississippi confronts the daunting task of reforming and improving its services for foster children, a unique partnership in Forrest County is already yielding results and could serve as a model for the rest of the state. The Forrest County arm of the state Department of Human Services' Division of Family and Children's Services (DFCS) contracted with the University of Southern Mississippi's School of Social Work last year to provide expertise and guidance to a troubled agency. "This is the only partnership like this we know of in the nation," said Lori Woodruff, director of child welfare programs at the Southern Miss School of Social Work who has helped lead the DFCS partnership. With university personnel helping supervise and train agency personnel, supporting case work and promoting strong hires, School of Social Work faculty said the number of children under agency custody has dropped from 243 last year to about 170 now.
Open foster care records sought
Cincinnati Enquirer – June 14, 2007
An attorney for The Enquirer joined other press advocates Wednesday in arguing for more public access to foster care records - not increased privacy, as proposed in the Ohio House. "Anyone who lives in southwestern Ohio will remember for years to come . . . the story of 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel," said John C. Greiner, a Cincinnati attorney representing The Enquirer. "The public came to know Marcus' foster parents only when it was too late to raise concerns about their fitness," Greiner testified. "And what the public learned made all of us question why that boy was placed in that house. It is important to remember that Marcus Fiesel died not because the public knew too much about his situation, but because the public knew too little." Others - including a deputy sheriff from Logan County, child service officials from Cuyahoga and Lucas counties, and a foster parent - argued that children and their foster parents might be endangered by publicizing their names.
Schools to open newcomer centers: Jefferson reaches out to Hispanic students
The Times-Picayune – June 12, 2007
With an ever-increasing number of Hispanic students entering Jefferson Parish public schools, the school system plans to launch in August a program to help the students adjust, while discouraging drop-outs. Without transition help, she said, Hispanic students have fared poorly on standardized tests, giving them little chance to advance to the next grade or graduate. Since Hurricane Katrina, the school system, which has the highest number of Hispanic students in the state, has seen a surge in its Spanish-speaking enrollment as families have settled in to take advantage of jobs in construction and in small businesses.
Pitt schools work to move kids ahead
The Daily Reflector – June 13, 2007
Pitt County Schools has developed an innovative way to fight dropouts before students even reach high school, officials contend. A fast track program that allows students who have been retained for one or two grades to work hard for a year and jump from the sixth grade to the eighth grade is likely to cut down on the number of students who quit in high school, said Superintendent Beverly Reep. Holding students back is a key factor in drop outs. Reep said. A student who has been held back twice has a more than 90 percent chance of ultimately dropping out of school, she said. The number of high school dropouts is at a five-year high in North Carolina, according to a report released earlier this year. Over 22,000 students dropped out last year.
March to protest exams: Easton to join teachers, NAACP against BESE
The Daily Advertiser – June 14, 2007
Leaders with the Lafayette chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, along with Lafayette school officials, will join the Louisiana chapter to march in Baton Rouge against standardized tests on June 30. Johnson said it is not the test that is a problem, but the fact that BESE is using it to decide whether students fail, which leads to low self-esteem, drop-outs and eventually crime. Lafayette Parish Association of Educators President Joycelyn Olivier said there should be accountability in education, "but it shouldn't just be one test." Olivier said community involvement is key in finding how best to assess students. For Lafayette Parish Superintendent James Easton, who said he plans to join the march, there are important - even vital - skills that are not measured by high-stakes testing.
Juvenile Justice
Should kids go to court in chains?
USA Today – June 16, 2007
Malyra Perez is 14, and yes, her mother says, she is troublesome. Malyra runs away and goes to school high, her mother tells the judge. She is in court on a charge of grand theft auto. But she shouldn't be in shackles, Myra Perez says. "I didn't like that, not at all. She's not a criminal." Such sentiments are being heard in courts across the nation, where there are increasingly vigorous debates over rules that require metal shackles to be used on youths who appear at juvenile court hearings. At issue is whether kids as young as 10 need to be shackled for court security, and whether putting chains on young defendants not only makes them look like criminals but also makes them more likely to think of themselves in that way.
Incarcerated kids may need another way out of trouble
Indianapolis Star – June 11, 2007
If the Indiana State Bar Association's pilot program to provide psychological screening for juveniles entering detention centers proves successful, the system is in trouble. But it's good trouble. There is little reason to believe that expert initial testing of all boys and girls brought to detention facilities won't turn up enough mental and emotional -- as opposed to criminal -- problems to warrant such a service in all 92 counties. And, given that the Indiana Juvenile Justice Task Force, the respected private advocacy group, has estimated that half the children in the system need some psychiatric care, a universal screening system will present large legal questions for judges and financial challenges to government.
Foster Care
Police officers urged to adopt foster children
Washington Times – June 16, 2007
Metropolitan police officers at the 3rd District station received something extra with their crime alerts and duty assignments during their 7:30 a.m. roll call yesterday -- an appeal to adopt a foster child. "If you want to help us heal a child, consider becoming a foster parent," said Kamilah Bunn, a resource development specialist for the District's Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA). "If not, take a flier and tell a friend." While local agencies traditionally have looked to faith-based, business and community groups to find parents to adopt foster children, the District has begun urging police officers to take in older children. Bunn said that many officers are former foster youth and can relate to the children and teach them discipline.
Partnership helps foster children
Hattiesburg American – June 11, 2007
As Mississippi confronts the daunting task of reforming and improving its services for foster children, a unique partnership in Forrest County is already yielding results and could serve as a model for the rest of the state. The Forrest County arm of the state Department of Human Services' Division of Family and Children's Services (DFCS) contracted with the University of Southern Mississippi's School of Social Work last year to provide expertise and guidance to a troubled agency. "This is the only partnership like this we know of in the nation," said Lori Woodruff, director of child welfare programs at the Southern Miss School of Social Work who has helped lead the DFCS partnership. With university personnel helping supervise and train agency personnel, supporting case work and promoting strong hires, School of Social Work faculty said the number of children under agency custody has dropped from 243 last year to about 170 now.
Open foster care records sought
Cincinnati Enquirer – June 14, 2007
An attorney for The Enquirer joined other press advocates Wednesday in arguing for more public access to foster care records - not increased privacy, as proposed in the Ohio House. "Anyone who lives in southwestern Ohio will remember for years to come . . . the story of 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel," said John C. Greiner, a Cincinnati attorney representing The Enquirer. "The public came to know Marcus' foster parents only when it was too late to raise concerns about their fitness," Greiner testified. "And what the public learned made all of us question why that boy was placed in that house. It is important to remember that Marcus Fiesel died not because the public knew too much about his situation, but because the public knew too little." Others - including a deputy sheriff from Logan County, child service officials from Cuyahoga and Lucas counties, and a foster parent - argued that children and their foster parents might be endangered by publicizing their names.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
This Week’s News: Youth in Transition
Education
Raise the dropout age?
Charlotte Observer – June 5, 2007
Question: N.C. law now allows students to drop out of school once they reach 16. But state legislators are considering legislation to raise the dropout age to 18. Lawmakers and educators say it sends the wrong message to allow students to drop out before they finish 12th grade. Opponents say raising the dropout age only creates more problems, with more disruptive students who don't want to be in school. What do you think? Should students be allowed to drop out of school at age 16? Should the state raise the dropout age?
High School Students Challenged to Beat Failure and Frustration in ‘Break the Cycle’ Confabs
BlackAmericaWeb.com – June 6, 2007
They are no-holds-barred conferences designed to jolt youth of color out of low self-esteem and scholastic failure and into confidence and action to achieve life-enhancing successes. The latest of these nationally recognized Break The Cycle conferences, held Friday at Los Angeles' Crenshaw High School, stimulated wild applause from the 300 students who listened intently as a team of six former "failures" challenged them to believe they can penetrate all barriers to success. Hosted by the National Black Business Council and its affiliate, the Institute of the National Black Business Council, the Crenshaw High conference was co-sponsored by the SEIU-United Long Term Care Workers Union, Cathay, Comerica, Union of California, Wells Fargo, First Republic and Washington Mutual Banks, Computer Consulting Operations Specialists, Verizon Foundation, WIPO Business Solutions, All Stars Helping Kids and Flip Creative. The conferences also receive financial assistance from the mothers of former Los Angeles Laker All Star Magic Johnson and Miami Heat superstar Dwayne Wade.
Juvenile Justice
Lawmakers begin juvenile justice discussion
Caspar Star Tribune – June 8, 2007
A legislative committee on Thursday opened what likely will be a year and a half of discussion about reforming Wyoming's haphazard juvenile justice system. Attorney General Pat Crank urged the Joint Judiciary Interim Committee to change the system and implement new programs - like more funding for juvenile probation - without imposing a one-size-fits-all juvenile justice system on the state's local courts and communities.
Mental tests planned for youth offenders
Indianapolis Star – June 7, 2007
As many as half of the boys and girls in Indiana’s juvenile detention centers have mental illnesses, and some will be diverted into counseling and other programs under a pilot project in six counties beginning in January. The Indiana State Bar Association announced Thursday that six of the state’s 22 local juvenile detention centers — those in Bartholomew, Clark, Johnson, Lake, Marion and Porter counties — will begin screening youths entering their facilities under a pilot program that’s being embraced by judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, doctors and public policy makers.
State Senate Passes Protections for At-Risk Incarcerated Youth
Yubanet.com – June 5, 2007
The California Senate on Monday approved basic safeguards to protect youth residing in juvenile justice facilities from abuse and mistreatment. SB 518, the Juvenile Justice Safety and Protection Act, creates a Youth Bill of Rights to protect all young people from harassment and discrimination, including youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). Authored by Sen. Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, and sponsored by Equality California, the measure passed the Senate with a 22-12 vote.
Foster Care
Foster youths forge a proud path to success
Los Angeles Times – June 8, 2007
One hundred fifty foster youths stepped proudly onto the stage of the Walt Disney Concert Hall on Wednesday evening to be recognized for their academic achievement in a ceremony that marked not only their graduation from high school but their transition to new, independent lives. The students, who will attend colleges, universities and vocational schools across the nation, received more than $675,000 in scholarships as well as stipends to purchase business attire for interviews. At Celebration '07, which was sponsored by Los Angeles County and several nonprofits and was attended by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other dignitaries, much was made of the adversity faced by the foster youths.
Foster Care System Gives Parents a Bigger Role
Gotham Gazette – June 2007
Many parents whose children have been placed in foster care feel robbed, cheated, and railroaded – putting parents and child welfare workers in a difficult, often adversarial relationship. Often, parents have been shut out of this discussion. But now, New York City’s child welfare system is relying more and more on parent advocates to help foster care agencies work more effectively with parents. For their part, the agencies have begun to recognize that children benefit when the system works with birth parents – especially since the goal for most kids in foster care is to return them home to their families.
Leno foster child supportive assistance bill passed unanimously by California Assembly
San Francisco Chronicle – June 5, 2007
The California Assembly today unanimously approved a financial and supportive assistance bill authored by Assemblyman Mark Leno for foster youth. Without final passage into law, California foster youth will be left to their own devices at age 18. “For the well over 70% of foster youth in California who dream of getting a higher education, we might as well be posting signs on our universities and colleges that read ‘Keep Out,’” said Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco). “While the assistance and support in this measure could never replace the guidance and direction that most young people get from parents throughout their lives, it will give our foster youth the ability to achieve their hopes, dreams and aspirations and open up doors that only a college degree can unlock.”
Raise the dropout age?
Charlotte Observer – June 5, 2007
Question: N.C. law now allows students to drop out of school once they reach 16. But state legislators are considering legislation to raise the dropout age to 18. Lawmakers and educators say it sends the wrong message to allow students to drop out before they finish 12th grade. Opponents say raising the dropout age only creates more problems, with more disruptive students who don't want to be in school. What do you think? Should students be allowed to drop out of school at age 16? Should the state raise the dropout age?
High School Students Challenged to Beat Failure and Frustration in ‘Break the Cycle’ Confabs
BlackAmericaWeb.com – June 6, 2007
They are no-holds-barred conferences designed to jolt youth of color out of low self-esteem and scholastic failure and into confidence and action to achieve life-enhancing successes. The latest of these nationally recognized Break The Cycle conferences, held Friday at Los Angeles' Crenshaw High School, stimulated wild applause from the 300 students who listened intently as a team of six former "failures" challenged them to believe they can penetrate all barriers to success. Hosted by the National Black Business Council and its affiliate, the Institute of the National Black Business Council, the Crenshaw High conference was co-sponsored by the SEIU-United Long Term Care Workers Union, Cathay, Comerica, Union of California, Wells Fargo, First Republic and Washington Mutual Banks, Computer Consulting Operations Specialists, Verizon Foundation, WIPO Business Solutions, All Stars Helping Kids and Flip Creative. The conferences also receive financial assistance from the mothers of former Los Angeles Laker All Star Magic Johnson and Miami Heat superstar Dwayne Wade.
Juvenile Justice
Lawmakers begin juvenile justice discussion
Caspar Star Tribune – June 8, 2007
A legislative committee on Thursday opened what likely will be a year and a half of discussion about reforming Wyoming's haphazard juvenile justice system. Attorney General Pat Crank urged the Joint Judiciary Interim Committee to change the system and implement new programs - like more funding for juvenile probation - without imposing a one-size-fits-all juvenile justice system on the state's local courts and communities.
Mental tests planned for youth offenders
Indianapolis Star – June 7, 2007
As many as half of the boys and girls in Indiana’s juvenile detention centers have mental illnesses, and some will be diverted into counseling and other programs under a pilot project in six counties beginning in January. The Indiana State Bar Association announced Thursday that six of the state’s 22 local juvenile detention centers — those in Bartholomew, Clark, Johnson, Lake, Marion and Porter counties — will begin screening youths entering their facilities under a pilot program that’s being embraced by judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, doctors and public policy makers.
State Senate Passes Protections for At-Risk Incarcerated Youth
Yubanet.com – June 5, 2007
The California Senate on Monday approved basic safeguards to protect youth residing in juvenile justice facilities from abuse and mistreatment. SB 518, the Juvenile Justice Safety and Protection Act, creates a Youth Bill of Rights to protect all young people from harassment and discrimination, including youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). Authored by Sen. Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, and sponsored by Equality California, the measure passed the Senate with a 22-12 vote.
Foster Care
Foster youths forge a proud path to success
Los Angeles Times – June 8, 2007
One hundred fifty foster youths stepped proudly onto the stage of the Walt Disney Concert Hall on Wednesday evening to be recognized for their academic achievement in a ceremony that marked not only their graduation from high school but their transition to new, independent lives. The students, who will attend colleges, universities and vocational schools across the nation, received more than $675,000 in scholarships as well as stipends to purchase business attire for interviews. At Celebration '07, which was sponsored by Los Angeles County and several nonprofits and was attended by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other dignitaries, much was made of the adversity faced by the foster youths.
Foster Care System Gives Parents a Bigger Role
Gotham Gazette – June 2007
Many parents whose children have been placed in foster care feel robbed, cheated, and railroaded – putting parents and child welfare workers in a difficult, often adversarial relationship. Often, parents have been shut out of this discussion. But now, New York City’s child welfare system is relying more and more on parent advocates to help foster care agencies work more effectively with parents. For their part, the agencies have begun to recognize that children benefit when the system works with birth parents – especially since the goal for most kids in foster care is to return them home to their families.
Leno foster child supportive assistance bill passed unanimously by California Assembly
San Francisco Chronicle – June 5, 2007
The California Assembly today unanimously approved a financial and supportive assistance bill authored by Assemblyman Mark Leno for foster youth. Without final passage into law, California foster youth will be left to their own devices at age 18. “For the well over 70% of foster youth in California who dream of getting a higher education, we might as well be posting signs on our universities and colleges that read ‘Keep Out,’” said Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco). “While the assistance and support in this measure could never replace the guidance and direction that most young people get from parents throughout their lives, it will give our foster youth the ability to achieve their hopes, dreams and aspirations and open up doors that only a college degree can unlock.”
Sunday, June 03, 2007
This Week’s News: Youth in Transition
Education
U.S. Data Show Rapid Minority Growth in School Rolls
New York Times – June 1, 2007
Driven mainly by an extraordinary influx of Hispanics, the nation’s population of minority students has surged to 42 percent of public school enrollment, up from 22 percent three decades ago, according to an annual report issued yesterday by the government. The report, a statistical survey of the nation’s educational system, portrays sweeping ethnic shifts that have transformed the schools. The changes, with important implications for educators and policy makers, have been most striking in the West, where, the survey says, Hispanic, black and Asian students together have outnumbered whites since 2003.
The first rule of school: Be there
South Bend Tribune – May 29, 2007
The South Bend schools should have an attendance policy aimed at making sure kids have enough in-school learning time. Last month, the Indianapolis Star published a four-part editorial series on truancy in the Indianapolis Public Schools. The conclusions, based on data from the state departments of Education and Correction, were pertinent to the entire state and especially to South Bend: Truancy is a predictor of dropping out. And, most of the 26,300 juveniles and adults in the Indiana prison system were high school drop-outs. It's clear that truancy sets kids up for failure.
Dropping out often leads to prison time
Augusta Chronicle – May 28, 2007
High school dropouts have a greater likelihood to end up incarcerated. Georgia's prison population is nearly 50,000 inmates. Three quarters are high school dropouts, according to the Georgia Bureau of Prison's statistics. The percentage nationally for inmates in state prisons is also at 75 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. "There is a direct correlation," said Richmond County State Court Judge David D. Watkins. "I've told people ... it's almost a profile. It's one of the main components - dropping out." Conversely, Judge Watkins, whose criminal caseload is made up of misdemeanor and traffic offenses, said it's rare to see high school graduates in court two or three times.
Juvenile Justice
Juvenile Justice advocates praise Newsom Administration Bill of Rights for Incarcerated Young Mothers
San Francisco Sentinel – May 29, 2007
Juvenile justice advocates are lauding San Francisco for its pioneering Bill of Rights for incarcerated young mothers. The 10-point declaration implemented by the Newsom administration and believed to be the first of its kind, will guide policy in the city’s juvenile halls, said Marlene Sanchez, executive director of The Center for Young Women’s Development. The San Francisco-based nonprofit organization has been working for about two years with the city’s juvenile probation department on the project. The declaration went into effect in January, and Sanchez says the next step is training those who work in the juvenile justice system.
Program Flagged Immigrant Youths
Tampa Tribune – May 30, 2007
In the past year, Florida's Department of Juvenile Justice has used state funds for a program to tag 361 possibly undocumented immigrants in its system. "These are kids, and from a human rights perspective we have a social responsibility for them," said Tampa lawyer Mayra Calo, whose practice specializes in deportation, asylum and human rights. "For the state senator to say, 'They're here illegally, let's just get rid of them and deport them,' that's just passing the buck and pushing the problem along."
Foster Care
Census to track foster youth
San Francisco Chronicle – May 29, 2007
The U.S. Census Bureau has decided after all to keep track of foster youth. Its initial decision to exclude the "foster child" category from the 2010 Census -- in order to keep its form to a single page -- touched off vigorous objections from advocacy groups and a Missouri Democrat who chairs the House Information, Policy, Census and National Archives subcommittee. As we argued on April 22, the elimination of the foster child category was more than a symbolic slap at young people who are our collective responsibility. Next up should be passage of legislation (Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Olympia Snow, R-Maine, in the Senate; Danny Davis, D-Ill., in the House) to allow government payments (for both monthly support and services such as drug treatment or mental-health counseling) to follow the child into a relative's home. It's good that the federal government is going to keep track of children. It also needs to do more to improve the living conditions it has agreed to measure.
Foster care suffers from budget freeze
Los Angeles Times – May 27, 2007
Re "Is gov.'s budget picking on the helpless or using them as bargaining chips?" column, May 17: The governor's proposed budget would freeze payments for the care of the state's most vulnerable and abused children for the sixth year in a row, resulting in a 20% cumulative cut in support since 2001. When the state fails to provide adequate financial support, good families and youth counselors turn away from foster care giving and high-quality group homes close their doors.
U.S. Data Show Rapid Minority Growth in School Rolls
New York Times – June 1, 2007
Driven mainly by an extraordinary influx of Hispanics, the nation’s population of minority students has surged to 42 percent of public school enrollment, up from 22 percent three decades ago, according to an annual report issued yesterday by the government. The report, a statistical survey of the nation’s educational system, portrays sweeping ethnic shifts that have transformed the schools. The changes, with important implications for educators and policy makers, have been most striking in the West, where, the survey says, Hispanic, black and Asian students together have outnumbered whites since 2003.
The first rule of school: Be there
South Bend Tribune – May 29, 2007
The South Bend schools should have an attendance policy aimed at making sure kids have enough in-school learning time. Last month, the Indianapolis Star published a four-part editorial series on truancy in the Indianapolis Public Schools. The conclusions, based on data from the state departments of Education and Correction, were pertinent to the entire state and especially to South Bend: Truancy is a predictor of dropping out. And, most of the 26,300 juveniles and adults in the Indiana prison system were high school drop-outs. It's clear that truancy sets kids up for failure.
Dropping out often leads to prison time
Augusta Chronicle – May 28, 2007
High school dropouts have a greater likelihood to end up incarcerated. Georgia's prison population is nearly 50,000 inmates. Three quarters are high school dropouts, according to the Georgia Bureau of Prison's statistics. The percentage nationally for inmates in state prisons is also at 75 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. "There is a direct correlation," said Richmond County State Court Judge David D. Watkins. "I've told people ... it's almost a profile. It's one of the main components - dropping out." Conversely, Judge Watkins, whose criminal caseload is made up of misdemeanor and traffic offenses, said it's rare to see high school graduates in court two or three times.
Juvenile Justice
Juvenile Justice advocates praise Newsom Administration Bill of Rights for Incarcerated Young Mothers
San Francisco Sentinel – May 29, 2007
Juvenile justice advocates are lauding San Francisco for its pioneering Bill of Rights for incarcerated young mothers. The 10-point declaration implemented by the Newsom administration and believed to be the first of its kind, will guide policy in the city’s juvenile halls, said Marlene Sanchez, executive director of The Center for Young Women’s Development. The San Francisco-based nonprofit organization has been working for about two years with the city’s juvenile probation department on the project. The declaration went into effect in January, and Sanchez says the next step is training those who work in the juvenile justice system.
Program Flagged Immigrant Youths
Tampa Tribune – May 30, 2007
In the past year, Florida's Department of Juvenile Justice has used state funds for a program to tag 361 possibly undocumented immigrants in its system. "These are kids, and from a human rights perspective we have a social responsibility for them," said Tampa lawyer Mayra Calo, whose practice specializes in deportation, asylum and human rights. "For the state senator to say, 'They're here illegally, let's just get rid of them and deport them,' that's just passing the buck and pushing the problem along."
Foster Care
Census to track foster youth
San Francisco Chronicle – May 29, 2007
The U.S. Census Bureau has decided after all to keep track of foster youth. Its initial decision to exclude the "foster child" category from the 2010 Census -- in order to keep its form to a single page -- touched off vigorous objections from advocacy groups and a Missouri Democrat who chairs the House Information, Policy, Census and National Archives subcommittee. As we argued on April 22, the elimination of the foster child category was more than a symbolic slap at young people who are our collective responsibility. Next up should be passage of legislation (Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Olympia Snow, R-Maine, in the Senate; Danny Davis, D-Ill., in the House) to allow government payments (for both monthly support and services such as drug treatment or mental-health counseling) to follow the child into a relative's home. It's good that the federal government is going to keep track of children. It also needs to do more to improve the living conditions it has agreed to measure.
Foster care suffers from budget freeze
Los Angeles Times – May 27, 2007
Re "Is gov.'s budget picking on the helpless or using them as bargaining chips?" column, May 17: The governor's proposed budget would freeze payments for the care of the state's most vulnerable and abused children for the sixth year in a row, resulting in a 20% cumulative cut in support since 2001. When the state fails to provide adequate financial support, good families and youth counselors turn away from foster care giving and high-quality group homes close their doors.
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