Education
Obama unveils $4 billion school improvement plan
Reuters, Washington, DC – July 24, 2009
President Barack Obama on Friday announced a competition for $4 billion in federal grants to improve academic achievement and reverse a decline in U.S. public schools. The United States has one of the worst high school dropout rates in the industrialized world, and its students often rank below those in other Western nations in reading and math. Obama has portrayed the drive to improve education as part of a broader push to promote economic growth in the face of a deep recession and the worst U.S. financial crisis in decades.
Circle de Luz helps nurture young Latinas
Davidson News, Davidson, NC – July 27, 2009
Rosie Molinary is on a mission. And she’s bringing 55 of her closest friends. (I know, because I am one of them.) They call themselves “M’ijas” (a contraction meaning “my girlfriends” and pronounced “mee-has”), and they are working to empower young Latinas to graduate from high school through mentoring, programming and a promise of a scholarship upon graduation from high school.
Oconee County mentoring program aims at reducing dropouts
Independent Mail, Oconee County, SC – July 24, 2009
Oconee County’s high school dropout rate is about 25 percent, which is better than the statewide average, but county school and civic leaders say they think they can lower it. One means of doing that, they say, is a new program that will pair troubled students in danger of becoming dropouts with adult mentors from business, law enforcement or other vocations.
Juvenile Justice
Pilot program for juvenile sex offenders a success
KPLC TV, Lake Charles, LA – July 23, 2009
Sex offenders, are not just adults... It's a problem among juveniles... In fact, it's such a problem that three years ago, Calcasieu Parish was chosen for a pilot program to treat juvenile sex offenders. And there are signs it's reducing the number of repeat offenders. Police, investigators, counselors and members of the justice system came together at the Lake Charles Civic Center for training on juvenile sex offenders. The pilot project to provide treatment for juveniles includes intensive counseling and monitoring.
Program aids abused kids
The Clarion-Ledger, Rankin County, MS, July 27, 2009
Rankin County Youth Court Judge Tom Broome sees it far too often - victims of abuse or neglect back in front of him, now accused as perpetrators. "What we see is a pipeline from dependency to delinquency to criminality," he said. "They go from being abused children to delinquents to criminals." That's why Rankin County officials are starting Project FABRIC (Fostering Achievement by Risk Intervention Collaboration) this fall, aimed at intervening early in the lives of these at-risk youth.
Foster Care
Foster children find friends in mentors
Honolulu Star Bulletin, Honolulu, HI – July 27, 2009
Jackie Gamboa was 12 when she entered foster care and did not leave until 2003, when she was 18. "My parents were from the Philippines. There were no child abuse laws in the Philippines, and what they did there they did here," the 23-year-old said. Gamboa manages Kapiolani Child Protection Center's Peer Mentoring Program. She plans to teach elementary school after earning a bachelor's degree in education from the University of Hawaii next year. The mentors, all current or former foster children, provide one-on-one assistance and support services under staff supervision to "mentees" — new foster kids from ages 6 to 12.
$4 million is set for foster care
Freep.com, Michigan – July 21, 2009
The state will help Michigan's troubled families stay together and better support its foster children as they move toward permanent homes -- if all works as expected with $4 million it sets aside under a U.S. District Court consent decree. The funds focus on three areas: $1.5 million to support foster youth who are aging out of the system without families, $1.5 million to help foster youth return to their own families or move to new families and $1 million for prevention services that may help families stay together, according to a letter by the court-appointed monitor released Monday.
Program places foster kids in private schools
Santa Monica Daily Press, Santa Monica, CA – July 21, 2009
The beginning of senior year might still be more than a month away but Tyree Johnson already has big plans laid out for college. Johnson is one of 150 foster children who have been placed in independent and charter schools through the Center for Educational Opportunity, a program under Santa Monica-based New Vision Foundation designed to put at-risk students on the track to higher education, helping them with not only the application process for the secondary schools, but also in securing financial aid.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
This Week's News: Youth in Transition
Education
School helps curb student dropout rate
The Times Herald, St. Clair County, MI – July 19, 2009
In the statewide fight to lower school dropout rates, success stories are relatively rare, but we've got one in St. Clair County. In 2002-03, the St. Clair County Regional Educational Service Agency opened its Academic Transitional Academy in the former Ruth Bacon Elementary School in Port Huron Township. Today, seven years later, the hard numbers show it is making a real difference in keeping kids in school.
$3 Million Aimed at Helping Potential High School Dropouts
ABC News 4, Columbia, SC – July 17, 2009
More than $3 million in grants to support programs aimed at helping potential high school dropouts has been announced by the South Carolina Department of Education’s Office of Regional Services. The awards include innovation grants ranging from $25,000 to nearly $250,000 for programs that help at-risk students graduate from high school, plus supplemental grants of $6,000 each to sustain existing efforts at 60 schools across the state. Schools have an opportunity to apply for the grants each spring.
Schools implementing plan to lower dropouts
The Advocate, Morganza, LA – July 19, 2009
Nearly one in five Louisiana public school students will never put on a cap and gown, walk across a stage and receive a high school diploma, state Department of Education records show. That trend has stayed steady over the past several years, the records show. Advance Baton Rouge, a nonprofit now running five schools in the Baton Rouge area, is trying to change that with its Dropout Prevention Program starting in the fall at Pointe Coupee Central High School.
Juvenile Justice
Budget Cuts Eroding Progress in Juvenile Justice
The New York Times, Columbia, SC – July 10, 2009
Her first night inside the razor wire at the state juvenile prison came as a 14-year-old in the mid-1970s, when she was locked up for running away from home. Her next experience came the following decade, when she began work as a correctional officer. As Velvet McGowan tells it, care was a word not then in the lexicon of the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice. Teenagers were warehoused like problematic inventory, with as many as 80 crammed into spaces built for 40.
Beyond the Fence
The New York Times, South Carolina – July 10, 2009
South Carolina's juvenile detention system once had some of the worst conditions in the nation. And now, because of the stagnant economy, the system's successful reforms are in danger of eroding.
Foster Care
Saving Grace: Giving Hope to Women Aging Out of Foster Care
KFSM Channel 5, Rogers, AR – July 19, 2009
About one-third of foster kids aging out of the system will live their adult lives at or below the poverty level. It's one of many staggering statistics. But one local couple is trying to change those numbers by building a place of hope and transtition. A place where young women coming out of foster care can have a fair chance at beating the odds. It's still a work in progress, but in just a couple of months, the old convent at 1229 West Poplar in Rogers will once again become a place of hope and restoration. It will be called "Saving Grace", A transition home for women aging out of foster care. A place that's a dream come true for the center's Executive Director Becky Schaffer.
BCFS enables teens to embark on ‘road to independence’
The Baptist Standard, San Antonio, TX – July 17, 2009
More than 125 San Antonio teenagers took their first steps toward a college degree and brighter future by participating in “The Road to Independence”—a self-sufficiency conference and job fair sponsored by Baptist Child & Family Services. For 10 years, the BCFS transitional living program has sponsored the conference for young adults aging out of the foster care system, answering questions about how to build and maintain relationships, find housing and employment, apply to college and receive financial aid, and manage money.
School helps curb student dropout rate
The Times Herald, St. Clair County, MI – July 19, 2009
In the statewide fight to lower school dropout rates, success stories are relatively rare, but we've got one in St. Clair County. In 2002-03, the St. Clair County Regional Educational Service Agency opened its Academic Transitional Academy in the former Ruth Bacon Elementary School in Port Huron Township. Today, seven years later, the hard numbers show it is making a real difference in keeping kids in school.
$3 Million Aimed at Helping Potential High School Dropouts
ABC News 4, Columbia, SC – July 17, 2009
More than $3 million in grants to support programs aimed at helping potential high school dropouts has been announced by the South Carolina Department of Education’s Office of Regional Services. The awards include innovation grants ranging from $25,000 to nearly $250,000 for programs that help at-risk students graduate from high school, plus supplemental grants of $6,000 each to sustain existing efforts at 60 schools across the state. Schools have an opportunity to apply for the grants each spring.
Schools implementing plan to lower dropouts
The Advocate, Morganza, LA – July 19, 2009
Nearly one in five Louisiana public school students will never put on a cap and gown, walk across a stage and receive a high school diploma, state Department of Education records show. That trend has stayed steady over the past several years, the records show. Advance Baton Rouge, a nonprofit now running five schools in the Baton Rouge area, is trying to change that with its Dropout Prevention Program starting in the fall at Pointe Coupee Central High School.
Juvenile Justice
Budget Cuts Eroding Progress in Juvenile Justice
The New York Times, Columbia, SC – July 10, 2009
Her first night inside the razor wire at the state juvenile prison came as a 14-year-old in the mid-1970s, when she was locked up for running away from home. Her next experience came the following decade, when she began work as a correctional officer. As Velvet McGowan tells it, care was a word not then in the lexicon of the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice. Teenagers were warehoused like problematic inventory, with as many as 80 crammed into spaces built for 40.
Beyond the Fence
The New York Times, South Carolina – July 10, 2009
South Carolina's juvenile detention system once had some of the worst conditions in the nation. And now, because of the stagnant economy, the system's successful reforms are in danger of eroding.
Foster Care
Saving Grace: Giving Hope to Women Aging Out of Foster Care
KFSM Channel 5, Rogers, AR – July 19, 2009
About one-third of foster kids aging out of the system will live their adult lives at or below the poverty level. It's one of many staggering statistics. But one local couple is trying to change those numbers by building a place of hope and transtition. A place where young women coming out of foster care can have a fair chance at beating the odds. It's still a work in progress, but in just a couple of months, the old convent at 1229 West Poplar in Rogers will once again become a place of hope and restoration. It will be called "Saving Grace", A transition home for women aging out of foster care. A place that's a dream come true for the center's Executive Director Becky Schaffer.
BCFS enables teens to embark on ‘road to independence’
The Baptist Standard, San Antonio, TX – July 17, 2009
More than 125 San Antonio teenagers took their first steps toward a college degree and brighter future by participating in “The Road to Independence”—a self-sufficiency conference and job fair sponsored by Baptist Child & Family Services. For 10 years, the BCFS transitional living program has sponsored the conference for young adults aging out of the foster care system, answering questions about how to build and maintain relationships, find housing and employment, apply to college and receive financial aid, and manage money.
Monday, July 13, 2009
This Week's News: Youth in Transition
Education
Mentor program takes aim at dropout rate
Montgomery Advertiser, Montgomery, AL – July 13, 2009
Montgomery Public Schools and Partners in Education are launching a pilot mentoring program for the upcoming school year in five Montgomery schools in hopes of improving the school system's dropout rate. The pilot program will be offered at Bellingrath Junior High, Goodwyn Junior High, McIntyre Middle, McKee Junior High and Southlawn Middle schools twice a week, said Donna Cash, mentoring program director for PIE.
Schools Work To Keep Dropouts In
NWA Online, Bentonville, AR – July 11, 2009
Dropping out of high school costs the students future income and society the taxes from that income, but efforts to keep kids in school show limited results. Jack Loyd, assistant principal at Bentonville High School, and other educators say the country is in the midst of a dropout crisis. Gary Ritter, director of the Office of Education Policy at the University of Arkansas, says the dropout rate hasn't changed much in 30 years, remaining constant at 25 percent to 30 percent, with one in four students dropping out before graduation.
High school dropouts in Riviera might soon have an opportunity be paid to learn trades, fix homes
Palm Beach Post, Riviera Beach, FL – July 11, 2009
Take high school dropouts or young adults working in dead-end jobs and teach them building trades while they get paid to repair blighted homes and continue their education. That's the model for YouthBuild, a national nonprofit founded in 1990 that is gaining a foothold in Riviera Beach. Riviera Beach Maritime Academy President George Carter hopes to win approval from YouthBuild USA to start a Riviera Beach chapter by December. Carter's goal is to have the chapter up and running with about 20 participants in time to repair a home for Christmas.
Juvenile Justice
Illinois Budget a Really Bad Harbinger for 2010
Youth Today, Illinois – June 18, 2009
For all of the political chicanery associated with Illinois, its services to youth involved with the child welfare system are regarded by many to be the gold standard among the 50 states. And with the help of some serious foundation investments in reform, its juvenile justice system has made notable strides. So it does not bode well for youth workers across the country that, faced with a large budget gap for next year, the state general assembly signed off on a budget that does nothing short of decimate the programs that have helped Illinois stand out.
Locking up juveniles isn't the only option
Star Tribune, Casper, WY – July 6, 2009
It's not making headlines yet, but most Wyoming counties are taking action behind the scenes aimed at improving the juvenile justice system. Fifteen of the state's 23 counties, plus the two tribes on the Wind River Indian Reservation, have notified the Department of Family Services of their intention to seek grants to form juvenile services boards. The applications for the grants, which range from $50,000 to $286,000, aren't due until the end of the year.
Experiment yields drop in juvenile detention
Start Tribune, Minneapolis, MN – July 7, 2009
An experiment designed to divert teens -- especially teens of color -- from the juvenile justice system has produced a dramatic decline in detention use, with Ramsey County reporting a 57 percent drop since 2005 and Hennepin and Dakota counties reporting 33 percent. The Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative is based on research showing that most young offenders don't need to be jailed to get them to show up in court or keep the streets safe, organizers said.
Foster Care
$1M in federal funds will aid Isle teens leaving foster care
Honolulu Advertiser, Honolulu, HI – July 10, 2009
The state Department of Human Services has received more than $1 million in housing funds from the federal government to help young people just out of foster care. The money, from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, will be used for foster children turning 18 without a permanent family who find themselves in tenuous living arrangements or substandard and overcrowded living conditions.
Ruth's Chris offering youths skills
San Antonio Express-News, San Antonio, TX – July 11, 2009
Sometimes, all someone needs is a chance. This month, three young adults who are transitioning out of foster care are getting a break from two people at a local Ruth's Chris Steak House who know their struggles. Tonnika Lassiter, Tony Cerritos and Joshua Jordan, who live at Turning Point, Roy Maas' Youth Alternatives transitional living program, are getting 10 days of intense culinary training. The training, which ends July 18, includes interviewing, food preparation, baking, broiling, front desk operations, service etiquette and myriad other tasks — including tasting — at the restaurant known for its sizzling steaks.
Young people transitioning out of foster care learn to be financially literate
The Providence Journal, Providence, RI – July 13, 2009
Yolanda Washburn drives a 1997 Chrysler Concord. It’s not the spiffiest ride in the lot at the Community College of Rhode Island, which she attends, but it’s better than the alternative. Washburn, 18, a former foster child, knew she needed a car and purchased her ride in January using money she saved up in a program called ASPIRE, a savings and financial planning vehicle offered by the Rhode Island Foster Parents Association.
Mentor program takes aim at dropout rate
Montgomery Advertiser, Montgomery, AL – July 13, 2009
Montgomery Public Schools and Partners in Education are launching a pilot mentoring program for the upcoming school year in five Montgomery schools in hopes of improving the school system's dropout rate. The pilot program will be offered at Bellingrath Junior High, Goodwyn Junior High, McIntyre Middle, McKee Junior High and Southlawn Middle schools twice a week, said Donna Cash, mentoring program director for PIE.
Schools Work To Keep Dropouts In
NWA Online, Bentonville, AR – July 11, 2009
Dropping out of high school costs the students future income and society the taxes from that income, but efforts to keep kids in school show limited results. Jack Loyd, assistant principal at Bentonville High School, and other educators say the country is in the midst of a dropout crisis. Gary Ritter, director of the Office of Education Policy at the University of Arkansas, says the dropout rate hasn't changed much in 30 years, remaining constant at 25 percent to 30 percent, with one in four students dropping out before graduation.
High school dropouts in Riviera might soon have an opportunity be paid to learn trades, fix homes
Palm Beach Post, Riviera Beach, FL – July 11, 2009
Take high school dropouts or young adults working in dead-end jobs and teach them building trades while they get paid to repair blighted homes and continue their education. That's the model for YouthBuild, a national nonprofit founded in 1990 that is gaining a foothold in Riviera Beach. Riviera Beach Maritime Academy President George Carter hopes to win approval from YouthBuild USA to start a Riviera Beach chapter by December. Carter's goal is to have the chapter up and running with about 20 participants in time to repair a home for Christmas.
Juvenile Justice
Illinois Budget a Really Bad Harbinger for 2010
Youth Today, Illinois – June 18, 2009
For all of the political chicanery associated with Illinois, its services to youth involved with the child welfare system are regarded by many to be the gold standard among the 50 states. And with the help of some serious foundation investments in reform, its juvenile justice system has made notable strides. So it does not bode well for youth workers across the country that, faced with a large budget gap for next year, the state general assembly signed off on a budget that does nothing short of decimate the programs that have helped Illinois stand out.
Locking up juveniles isn't the only option
Star Tribune, Casper, WY – July 6, 2009
It's not making headlines yet, but most Wyoming counties are taking action behind the scenes aimed at improving the juvenile justice system. Fifteen of the state's 23 counties, plus the two tribes on the Wind River Indian Reservation, have notified the Department of Family Services of their intention to seek grants to form juvenile services boards. The applications for the grants, which range from $50,000 to $286,000, aren't due until the end of the year.
Experiment yields drop in juvenile detention
Start Tribune, Minneapolis, MN – July 7, 2009
An experiment designed to divert teens -- especially teens of color -- from the juvenile justice system has produced a dramatic decline in detention use, with Ramsey County reporting a 57 percent drop since 2005 and Hennepin and Dakota counties reporting 33 percent. The Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative is based on research showing that most young offenders don't need to be jailed to get them to show up in court or keep the streets safe, organizers said.
Foster Care
$1M in federal funds will aid Isle teens leaving foster care
Honolulu Advertiser, Honolulu, HI – July 10, 2009
The state Department of Human Services has received more than $1 million in housing funds from the federal government to help young people just out of foster care. The money, from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, will be used for foster children turning 18 without a permanent family who find themselves in tenuous living arrangements or substandard and overcrowded living conditions.
Ruth's Chris offering youths skills
San Antonio Express-News, San Antonio, TX – July 11, 2009
Sometimes, all someone needs is a chance. This month, three young adults who are transitioning out of foster care are getting a break from two people at a local Ruth's Chris Steak House who know their struggles. Tonnika Lassiter, Tony Cerritos and Joshua Jordan, who live at Turning Point, Roy Maas' Youth Alternatives transitional living program, are getting 10 days of intense culinary training. The training, which ends July 18, includes interviewing, food preparation, baking, broiling, front desk operations, service etiquette and myriad other tasks — including tasting — at the restaurant known for its sizzling steaks.
Young people transitioning out of foster care learn to be financially literate
The Providence Journal, Providence, RI – July 13, 2009
Yolanda Washburn drives a 1997 Chrysler Concord. It’s not the spiffiest ride in the lot at the Community College of Rhode Island, which she attends, but it’s better than the alternative. Washburn, 18, a former foster child, knew she needed a car and purchased her ride in January using money she saved up in a program called ASPIRE, a savings and financial planning vehicle offered by the Rhode Island Foster Parents Association.
Monday, July 06, 2009
This Week's News: Youth in Transition
Education
Jindal signs alternate diploma bills
The Times-Picayune, Baton Rouge, LA – July 2, 2009
Gov. Bobby Jindal signed two bills Thursday that aim to reduce Louisiana's school dropout rate by lowering educational standards and creating a new "career track" high school diploma. Jindal said the new career-path curriculum will help reduce the number of Louisiana children who drop out before finishing high school -- an estimated 13,500 per year, or 16,000 if middle school children are included.
Juvenile Justice
County introduces program to deter juvenile crime
Sentinel, Middlesex County, NJ – July 2, 2009
Anew county initiative called the "Clean Slate" program will give youngsters suspected of minor crimes a second chance to stay out of trouble, while easing the number of cases going to Family Court. According to a press release from the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, when youngsters commit crimes such as carrying fake identification cards or damaging someone's property, they face the possibility of getting arrested and convicted as juvenile delinquents. However, some youths will be spared the ordeal of being arrested, charged and then tried by a Family Court judge under a new comprehensive program aimed at deterring first-time juvenile offenders from committing more serious crimes.
Study could ease concerns over hiring ex-offenders
USA Today, July 1, 2009
A study funded by the Justice Department concludes that over time accused robbers, burglars and batterers pose no greater risk to employers than job candidates in the general population. In a review of 88,000 arrestees in New York state, Carnegie Mellon University investigators found, for example, that after about 7 1/2 years the "hazard rate" for an 18-year-old first-time arrestee for robbery declined to the same rate as an 18-year-old in the general population. For 18-year-olds arrested for aggravated assault, it took about four years to reduce the risk.
Foster Care
Program helps foster dreams
The Atlanta Journal – Constitution, Atlanta, GA – July 5, 2009
For years, Tarkiyah Melton dreamed of owning a home, a place she could be proud of, a place where her two children could attend good schools. But for years the dream seemed out of reach. Not only had Melton spent more than half her life in foster care; she was yet to find the kind of career that would fund those dreams. Thanks to the Metropolitan Atlanta Youth Opportunities Initiative, a program of the Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta and other partners, Melton’s dreams are being realized.
Jindal signs alternate diploma bills
The Times-Picayune, Baton Rouge, LA – July 2, 2009
Gov. Bobby Jindal signed two bills Thursday that aim to reduce Louisiana's school dropout rate by lowering educational standards and creating a new "career track" high school diploma. Jindal said the new career-path curriculum will help reduce the number of Louisiana children who drop out before finishing high school -- an estimated 13,500 per year, or 16,000 if middle school children are included.
Juvenile Justice
County introduces program to deter juvenile crime
Sentinel, Middlesex County, NJ – July 2, 2009
Anew county initiative called the "Clean Slate" program will give youngsters suspected of minor crimes a second chance to stay out of trouble, while easing the number of cases going to Family Court. According to a press release from the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, when youngsters commit crimes such as carrying fake identification cards or damaging someone's property, they face the possibility of getting arrested and convicted as juvenile delinquents. However, some youths will be spared the ordeal of being arrested, charged and then tried by a Family Court judge under a new comprehensive program aimed at deterring first-time juvenile offenders from committing more serious crimes.
Study could ease concerns over hiring ex-offenders
USA Today, July 1, 2009
A study funded by the Justice Department concludes that over time accused robbers, burglars and batterers pose no greater risk to employers than job candidates in the general population. In a review of 88,000 arrestees in New York state, Carnegie Mellon University investigators found, for example, that after about 7 1/2 years the "hazard rate" for an 18-year-old first-time arrestee for robbery declined to the same rate as an 18-year-old in the general population. For 18-year-olds arrested for aggravated assault, it took about four years to reduce the risk.
Foster Care
Program helps foster dreams
The Atlanta Journal – Constitution, Atlanta, GA – July 5, 2009
For years, Tarkiyah Melton dreamed of owning a home, a place she could be proud of, a place where her two children could attend good schools. But for years the dream seemed out of reach. Not only had Melton spent more than half her life in foster care; she was yet to find the kind of career that would fund those dreams. Thanks to the Metropolitan Atlanta Youth Opportunities Initiative, a program of the Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta and other partners, Melton’s dreams are being realized.
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