This Week's News: Youth in Transition

Education

Texas’s Dropout Rate Shows Positive Signs
The New York Times, Texas – July 22, 2012
When it comes to the number of students who graduate from its public high schools, Texas is not accustomed to being called a success.  Yet even as the latest round of school finance litigation goes to trial this fall, it appears there is reason for optimism about the number of students leaving high school with a diploma.

Transition Academy lets struggling students get a start on high school
Statesman Journal, North Salem, OR – July 22, 2012
Students launched straws, fired squirt guns and shot cotton balls as far as 93 feet across a North Salem High School field in a mock Olympics.  It might not look like education, but the freshmen are learning how to work together, gather data and interact with their future teachers.

Magic Johnson Bridgescape Academies to help high school dropouts
Fox 19, Cincinnati, OH – July 18, 2012
Ten alternative schools that have been helping high school dropouts and at risk students in Ohio complete their education, earn their diplomas, and be prepared to either enter college or receive the necessary credentials to get a job upon graduation – will now be known as Magic Johnson Bridgescape Academies.

Juvenile Justice

Study Re-Starts on Juvenile Justice Overhaul for Georgia
Juvenile Justice Information Exchange, Georgia – July 17, 2012
After more than five years of drafting, a comprehensive juvenile justice reform bill is expected to appear in the Georgia General Assembly in January, which would give children in the court system access to updated intervention and rehabilitation.

Juvenile hall camp alternatives catch on
San Francisco Chronicle, La Honda, CA – July 22, 2012
Redwood trees line the road to Log Cabin Ranch, a 640-acre property in the woods of La Honda that's home to snakes, deer, turkeys, hawks and up to 24 of San Francisco's most troubled youths.

Foster Care

Foster kids learn money savvy, thanks to Mechanics
San Francisco Business Times, California – July 20, 2012
More than 60,000 children in California are in foster care. A majority of them are between the ages of 13 to 18, making it likely that they will eventually age out of the system without ever finding a permanent home. Many of them lack the financial skills necessary to get by on their own — and that’s where Mechanics Bank comes in.

Access to foster care to grow for older youth in Bradford County
The Daily Review, Towanda, PA – July 21, 2012
Faced with increased homelessness and joblessness among young people, the Pennsylvania Legislature is expected to pass legislation this fall that would give more children the option of remaining in foster care after they have turned 18, according to officials from Bradford County Human Services Department.

Teen Pregnancy

Girls Can! teams with Teen Health Now, sessions kick off next month
Richmond County Daily Journal, North Carolina – July 19, 2012
Girls Can!, a program that started in April 2011, has been enjoying growing numbers since the program’s inception.  It was originally started with the hope of reaching around 50 adolescent girls, and introducing them to self-esteem and relationship building tools.