This Week's News: Youth in Transition

Education

PJSA goes door-to-door for dropouts
KGBT4.com – September 14, 2008
One parent wants to tell students who have dropped out of school across the Rio Grande Valley, "Yes, you can." When moral support comes along, it helps us and that motivates them the students," Cuevas told Action 4 News. "That someone cares about them and they still have time to do something."

New school in Tokyo offers free education for high school dropouts, Net cafe refugees
The Mainichi Daily News – September 14, 2008
A cram school operator has opened a special tuition-free school in downtown Tokyo to help so-called "Net cafe refugees", high school dropouts and others who are too poor to graduate from secondary education.Keisetsu Gijuku in the Sendagaya district of Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, was founded by Shotaro Namekata, 48, and others. School officials say they will offer free education for students wanting to pass the certificate of proficiency for high school graduates.

D-11 program coaxes dropouts back to school
The Gazette – September 13, 2008
For every 100 students who start high school in Colorado Springs School District 11, more than 30 don't graduate with their class. A couple of months ago, it looked as if A.J. Duran would be among them, a dropout from the class of 2009. Now, he's enrolled in Palmer Night School, and he thinks he can make up his credit deficiencies through some special programs. His mind, he says, is "set on graduating with my class in the spring."

Education association seeks community input on how to keep kids in school
The Saginaw News – September 19, 2008
The Michigan Education Association is sponsoring a public hearing Monday to talk about high school dropout solutions for Saginaw County. This is the ninth of 10 such hearings planned by the group to stir community reaction to help keep kids in school.

Juvenile Justice

Juvenile center acts to control population
CourierPostOnline.com – September 15, 2008
Camden County's Youth Detention Center was notorious for overcrowding, riots, assaults and rapes, he said, and the boy would have been held without treatment for 93 days. The county could help solve the problem, DiCamillo said, by using GPS-based electronic monitoring bracelets -- something it didn't have. In the past few months, though, the technology has been paired with the county's implementation of a national program designed to reform juvenile justice systems. And officials say it is helping.

Missouri leads the nation in juvenile justice reform
St. Louis Post-Dispatch – September 14, 2008
Hope for the once-fallen teen sparkles in an emerald green class ring under the fluorescent lights of the Hogan Street Regional Youth Center. "It's a blessing," says Terrell, 17, fingering the ring he earned for passing his GED exam with 1,000 points to spare. He was awarded the ring at a cap-and-gown ceremony last month in the facility's gym, where he was cheered on by 29 other teens also serving sentences for serious and sometimes violent crimes.

Juvenile program 'a place of last resort,' not rehabilitation
Star Tribune – September 10, 2008
Hennepin County is spending too much on residential treatment programs for juvenile offenders and could save money and get better results by leaving more young offenders with their families and placing them in daytime rehabilitation programs. That's the finding of a study group made up of judges and corrections officials who recommend overhauling programs at the Hennepin County Home School.

Hope of Redemption, Rehabilitation
Mount Vernon Gazette – September 17, 2008
Rody Phillips, 14 years old when he fatally stabbed a Mount Vernon 7-Eleven clerk in December 2004, turns 18 next week. Last Friday, Sept. 12, Judge Marcus D. Williams presided over Phillips’ first status conference in Fairfax County Circuit Court since Williams sentenced the teenager to the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice in September 2006. Ultimately, Williams could release Phillips when he is deemed rehabilitated. Or Williams could send Phillips to prison for the 25 years Williams suspended from Phillips’ sentence for first-degree murder and attempted robbery.

Foster Care

Expanded programs benefit kids in foster care
Times-Standard – September 14, 2008
At any given time, about 250 children are in foster care in Humboldt County. And being in foster care usually means a child has experienced a stressful or traumatic family situation. That's why the Department of Health and Human Services is expanding its programs to make sure every child in the system gets the care he or she needs earlier. Ten more mental health case managers and three clinicians are being hired to work with Child Welfare Services social workers and public health nurses. They will create holistic plans that will address each child's health and mental health needs.

New Library Outreach Program Promotes Literacy To Foster Children
The Jackson Times – September 13, 2008
Homebound and Volunteer Services of the Ocean County Library has launched Sparks' B.F.F. Reading Club, a new county-wide outreach program. B.F.F. stands for Best Friends Forever. This program will encourage children and teens to visit the library and take advantage of the many services and materials Ocean County Library has to offer. Sparks, the library mascot, plans to visit the reading club participants at future state-sponsored Ocean County foster family events.

Job fair helps at-risk youth explore possibilities
Broomfield Enterprise – September 21, 2008
More than 47 youth, who are involved in the Adams County Social Services system, participated in a Chafee Program Education and Career Training Fair on Aug. 13 at Front Range Community College in Westminster. The fair was hosted by the Best Practice Court Youth Involvement Committee of the Court of the 17th Judicial District and Adams County Social Services Department. Participating youth had the opportunity to visit with representatives from universities, state and community colleges, vocational training programs, apprenticeships and financial aid.visit the reading club participants at future state-sponsored Ocean County foster family events.