This Week's News: Youth in Transition

Due to our holiday schedule, the newsfeed will resume on Monday, January 12, 2009

Education

Obama chooses Chicago schools chief Ed. Secretary
Associated Press – December 16, 2008
President-elect Barack Obama announced Arne Duncan, the head of the Chicago school system, as education secretary Tuesday and declared that failing to improve classroom instruction is "morally unacceptable for our children." "When it comes to school reform, Arne is the most hands-on of hands-on practitioners," Obama said, making the announcement at a school that he said has made remarkable progress under Duncan's leadership.

Lancaster school offers a second chance
The Evening Sun – December 20, 2008
With tears in her eyes, and a corsage from a proud aunt on her wrist, the 28-year-old woman received her high school diploma with 13 other graduates of Lancaster County Academy, an alternative school operated by 12 county school districts and Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13.

State report aims to lower dropout rates
The News Journal – December 19, 2008
Every at-risk student paired with a mentor. More high school students interning at Delaware businesses. State officials developing a tool to identify students at risk for dropping out based on attendance, behavior and academic performance. Those are some of the state's recommendations to lower Delaware's rising dropout rate.

Juvenile Justice

Why restorative justice programs are thriving in Mo.
Corrections News – December 21, 2008
Supporters of expanding restorative justice programs in Missouri say it's a great concept that makes victims feel more involved and helps youngsters turn their lives around. Advocates range from juvenile officers and law professors to prosecutors and police. A St. Louis teenager is among those they hope to help. The young man appeared recently before a Neighborhood Accountability Board, his third meeting before the panel that decides what he must do to make things right.

Group home considered for Atchison
Kansas City Star – December 19, 2008
The Kansas Juvenile Justice Authority hopes to convert the closed Atchison Juvenile Correctional Facility into a group home for youths. Authority Commissioner J. Russell Jennings said the state is working toward making the facility a 56-bed group home operated by a private company. About 420 youths are in group home placements, he said, and about 40 are generally on the waiting list. “This would get them out of detention centers quicker and into group homes,” Jennings said.

Foster Care

Helping hand for homeless youth in Oakland
Oakland Tribune – December 20, 2008
The Lend A Hand Foundation toy drive is special for Jeanette Lewis and her 12 children every year. It's a time when their hearts are touched by the warmth of others through holiday giving. The sixth annual event held Saturday in East Oakland provided gifts to 200 youths who reside in homeless shelters, foster care and to others needing support with toys, educational items, clothing and food.

New county program offers nursing visits
The Reporter – December 21, 2008
Visits by nurses are the cornerstone of a new program coming to Solano County that helps first-time moms, including current and former foster youth, to be successful parents. "With this program, first-time moms, including our former foster youth, will have a positive resource to guide them as they learn how to be good parents," said Linda Orrante, Child Welfare Services director. The U.S. Department of Health Services Administration on Children Youth and Families awarded grants to 17 organizations throughout the nation.

Treehouse, Big Brothers Big Sisters provide high-risk children with "options in life"
The Seattle Times – December 21, 2008
There are a half-dozen sanctuaries at Seattle Public Schools funded by the nonprofit organization Treehouse, which aims to give foster kids "a childhood and a future." It's a private place away from the classroom where he and other students from troubled families can eat snacks, play games and benefit from one-on-one tutoring. Both Treehouse and another agency that stresses the importance of mentoring children — Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound — benefit from The Seattle Times Fund For The Needy.