This Week's News: Youth in Transition

Education

High school graduation rates on the rise in Utah
Daily Herald, Lake City, UT – January 5, 2013
Utah's high school graduation rates went up again in 2012 — the fourth straight year they've increased.  Figures from the Utah State Office of Education show that 78 percent of high school students graduated in 2012. The state's graduation rates have risen steadily since they came in at 69 percent in 2008.

District hopes online program will net diplomas
Recordnet.com, Stockton, CA – January 5, 2013
Some high school students must earn money for their families. Some must tend to children of their own. Some must care for their parents or for siblings. And some simply don't function well in traditional school settings.

Program helps high school dropouts get on track for diplomas
The Advocate, Lafayette, LA – January 2, 2013
While most students in Acadiana are enjoying a holiday hiatus from the classroom, nearly a dozen high school dropouts in St. Martin Parish are working through the break as part of a program that helps them earn their diplomas.

Juvenile Justice

Garden City to host juvenile justice meeting
High Plains Journal, Kansas – January 7, 2013
The Kansas Juvenile Justice Authority is currently undertaking a statewide assessment on the extent to which minority youth are overrepresented in the juvenile justice system. A series of public meetings will be held across the state so that members of the public can have the opportunity to listen to the preliminary results and provide community feedback on these issues.

Foster Care

Congress Passes Key Foster Care Education Bill
The Huffington Post – January 2, 2013
The year 2013 started with both houses of Congress passing a bill focused on improving the educational outcomes of foster youth.  The Uninterrupted Scholars Act (USA), submitted by the bi-partisan co-chairs of both the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth and the Senate Foster Youth Caucus, was approved in the Senate by unanimous consent on Dec. 17th, and made it through the House on January 1st.

Examining America’s “Foster Care Crisis”
Youth Today – January 3, 2013
Neil Donovan, executive director for the National Coalition for the Homeless, sees a distinct relationship between foster care youth and homelessness.  “There are some who say that the likelihood that someone will become homeless if they had been a part of the foster care system could be as many as 11 times greater than the average child,” he said.

Teen Pregnancy

Childcare for High School Moms
KLFY, Lafayette, LA – January 3, 2013
Lafayette Parish School System is proposing a program that would provide child care assistance and education to teen mothers.  As part of Superintendent Dr. Pat Cooper's turnaround plan, the Teen Parenthood Program would allow expecting and teen parents the opportunity to receive education, on-site child care assistance and lifestyle skills to prepare them for parenthood. After establishing the same type of program in other areas, Cooper said he is a believer in this kind of plan.