This Week's News: Youth in Transition

Education

California improves high school graduation, dropout rates
ABC7, Los Angeles, CA – June 28, 2012
More high school students graduated and fewer dropped out in California over the last year, the state Department of Education said Wednesday.  California's graduation rate was at 76.3 percent, up 1.5 percent from 2010. The dropout rate was 14.4 percent, down by 2.2 percent from 2010.

Dropout recovery charter school idea to return to Rockford
Rockford Register Star, Rockford, IL – June 27, 2012
Organizers behind a green career-focused charter school for high school dropout recovery will pitch their plan again to the Rockford School Board next month.


Juvenile Justice

High court ruling on juvenile life sentences offers thousands of inmates a chance at freedom
The Washington Post, Detroit, MI – June 26, 2012
The Supreme Court ruling that banned states from imposing mandatory life sentences on juveniles offers an unexpected chance at freedom to more than 2,000 inmates who had almost no hope they would ever get out.  In more than two dozen states, lawyers can now ask for new sentences.

Juvenile justice: Courts turn focus to rehabilitation
Coshocton Tribune, Coshocton, OH – July 1, 2012
It might seem like a simple process: commit a crime, go to court, go to jail.  But what if the offender is just a kid?  For juvenile courts, they're continually striking a balance between punishing offenders and trying help them through counseling and mentoring programs, said Doug Schonauer, Coshocton County Probate and Juvenile Court administrator.

Iowa report says number of juvenile arrests falls
San Francisco Chronicle, Des Moines, IA – June 27, 2012
The number of minors getting arrested in Iowa has dropped, and officials credit a new philosophy of keeping juveniles out of the justice system as long as possible and programs such as family therapy, according to a state report.

Foster Care

Nixon sign bills to help foster care children and parents
 Liberty Tribune, Webster Groves, MO – June 25, 2012
Gov. Jay Nixon has signed three bills to support foster care parents and children, and to help support agencies that provide residential care and treatment for Missouri youth.

Kids to Love: Tennessee Governor Signs Law Extending Foster Care Age
WHNT19, Tennessee – June 25, 2012
Turning 18, moving out and heading to college is hard with a support system.  Imagine doing it alone.   That’s what nearly 20,000 children nationwide in foster care face each year.  But now a new law signed by Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam will help to change the fate of many kids in care in Tennessee.

Teen Pregnancy

Rate of pregnant Latina teens reaches record low
KSBY.com – June 27, 2012
Latinas have had the highest teen pregnancy rates compared to other groups for decades, but now rates are down more than 30-percent.  "I think what's really critical is the fact that the CDC has attributed this to the access to birth control. I think that really emphasizes the importance of education and prevention," said Nora Vargas, Vice President of Community Engagement at Planned Parenthood.

Abortions and teen pregnancies drop to historic low
KTAR – June 26, 2012
Teen pregnancy rates in the U.S. are at a historic low among all racial and ethnic groups, dropping 40 percent during the period studied, according to a new report released by the National Center for Health Statistic (NCHS).  "The impressive declines in teen pregnancy have been both wide and deep," Sarah Brown, director of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, said in a press release.