This Wee's News: Youth in Transition

Education

College program assists high school dropouts
Richmond Confidential, California – May 9, 2012
Contra Costa College has received a $325,000 grant from the Gateway to College National Network to implement a small learning community model for high school dropouts. Designed for young adults between the of ages 16 and 21 who have dropped out of high school or are behind in credits and unlikely to graduate, the program will enable students to complete their high school diploma requirements while also earning college credit toward an associate degree or certificate.

Mall-based schools offer second chance for at-risk students
The Herald Bulletin, Indianapolis, IN – May 13, 2012
Jayne Carter spends her mornings at a shopping mall earning her high school degree.  It may sound like a teenager’s dream, but for Carter, 18, and her classmates, it’s a second chance.

Graduate or Go to Prison: Choice Bus
NBC5 DFW, Texas – May 10, 2012
Several local middle schools will host The Choice Bus sponsored by State Farm this week in a nationwide campaign to reduce high school dropouts.  The Choice Bus is one of three buses operated by the Mattie C. Stewart Foundation.

Juvenile Justice

Youth Recovery Court starts in Winnebago County
NBC3 Winnebago County, IL – May 11, 2012
Experts know when some people commit crimes, the behavior can be out of those people's control. Maybe substance abuse or mental illness are a problem.

Youth court steers first offenders to the right path
The Livingston County News, Livingston County, NY – May 10, 2012
A broken window, a stolen T-shirt or a fake ID has landed many teenagers in Livingston County family court where a probation officers must decide the best path toward more lawful behavior.  Today, court officers have a useful tool at their disposal called Youth Court, a program that coordinator Steve Todisco says allows cases to be “diverted” to a courtroom of a young offender’s closest peers.

Foster Care

Ohio to aid young adults who age out of foster care
WKSU 98.7, Ohio – May 11, 2012
Attorney General Mike Dewine wants more court advocacy, temporary housing, and treatment for post traumatic stress disorder for 18-to-24-year olds who spent much of their childhood in foster care.

State grants will help homeless, former foster youth
The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio – May 12, 2012
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine is backing three pilot projects that aim to help the state’s most underserved homeless population: young people age 18 to 24.  DeWine said yesterday that his office will provide as much as $875,000 for three programs, or as much as $275,000 in each two-year grant.

Teen Pregnancy

Graduation is first example high school senior wants to set for her daughter
Las Vegas Sun, Nevada – May 13, 2012
Evaleen Diaz plods up three flights of stairs at Western High School as rushing students course around her. At the top, the 18-year-old lets out a huge sigh. It is still early in the morning, but Diaz is spent. She’s pregnant.  The news came as a surprise to her in December, when she was preparing for her last chance to pass the Nevada High School Proficiency Exam, a necessary step in earning her diploma.

City, local school districts try to fight teen pregnancy issue
San Antonio Express-News, Texas – May 9, 2012
Like Texas and the rest of the nation, Bexar County has seen a significant drop in the number of teen births since the mid-1990s.  Still, last year, almost 3,000 Bexar County teens 19 and younger had babies. And the rate of teen births in Bexar County in 2010 was almost 50 percent higher than the national average.