This Week's News: Youth in Transition

Education

Magic Johnson's new venture: helping LA high school dropouts
ABC7, Los Angeles, CA – September 12, 2011
Magic Johnson is teaming up with EdisonLearning to help improve high school dropout rates of African-American and Latino students in Los Angeles County.

Blacks in Berkeley Are Beating National High School Graduation Rate
The Atlanta Post, Berkeley, CA – September 16, 2011
California educators have found that African-American students are graduating from high school in the city of Berkeley at a much higher rate than the national average.

Dropouts Face a Future with More Jobs But Less Options, Study Finds
Youth Today – September 16, 2011
The number of jobs available to dropouts and high school graduates will go up this decade, but there also will be far more jobs for which they are not eligible, according to a study on the future of jobs in the Midwest states.

Juvenile Justice

Three Strategies for Changing Juvenile Justice
Juvenile Justice Information Exchange – September 12, 2011
A recent report from the National Juvenile Justice Network (NJJN), titled, “Bringing Youth Home: A National Movement to Increase Public Safety, Rehabilitate Youth and Save Money,” documented the extraordinary number of states and jurisdictions (at least 24) that are closing or downsizing their youth correctional facilities, due to budget cuts, legislation, lawsuits, and pressure from reformers. (Download the report for tips on ways to downsize wisely.)  This is a good thing, because it means taxpayers can save money or avoid the high cost of incarceration, and reallocate those monies to community-based programs that are more effective at helping young people turn their lives around.

Program to help Hawaii youth in justice system
Houston Chronicle, Honolulu, HI – September 14, 2011
A new program has been launched to help youth in the juvenile justice system.  Nonprofit Hale Kipa, which works with at-risk youth and their families, said Tuesday it's the first program of its kind in Hawaii.

Foster Care

Separated in Foster Care, Siblings Reunite in Camp
The New York Times, Kattskill Bay, NY – September 16, 2011
The crisp morning swims in Lake George were quite a change of pace for Shakeema, an 8-year-old from Far Rockaway, Queens. But so was spending five days straight with her sisters, Kendra, 10, and Marquia, 7, who live in the Bronx.

Aiding Young People in Foster Care
The Wall Street Journal, New York, NY – September 19, 2011
To Chris Del Gatto, the mark of a good charity is its efficiency.  The 41-year-old chairman and chief executive of Circa, a reseller of high-end jewelry, has contributed $50,000 to New Yorkers for Children to support its annual fall gala. The gala, to be held Tuesday night at Cipriani 42, is among the glitziest events of the black-tie season. New Yorkers for Children works closely with the New York City Administration for Children's Services to support the roughly 15,000 young people in foster care by providing college scholarships, networking opportunities, tutoring programs and job training.

Teen Pregnancy

Agencies plan edgy campaign for youth sexual education
Reporter Herald, Larimer County, CO – September 15, 2011
Are you "doing IT?"  The IT is not what you think.  The "doing IT? Think Ahead. Plan Now." campaign is an effort to get sexual health information out to Larimer County teens and young adults by raising the question of "doing what?  It's kind of edgy. It's out there," said Kim Sharpe, coordinator of the Healthier Communities Coalition of Larimer County in Fort Collins.  Since April 2009, nearly 30 agencies who serve teens in Larimer County have been meeting to cooperatively address the issue of teen pregnancy. Their goal is to educate youths about the importance of reproductive life planning.

D.C. schools prepare for nation’s first sex-education standardized testing
The Washington Post, Washington, D.C. – September 14, 2011
D.C. public and public charter schools, which annually test student progress in reading and math, will also measure what they know about human sexuality, contraception and drug use starting this spring.  The 50-question exam will be the nation’s first statewide standardized test on health and sex education, according to the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, which developed the assessment for grades 5, 8 and 10.