Child Welfare
Susan Hamilton, the head of Connecticut’s child welfare agency, has told staff that she will resign Jan. 4, when Gov. Jodi Rell’s term ends. Connecticut has been under a settlement agreement with nonprofit litigator Children’s Rights (CR) since 1991. The Department of Children and Families made progress on most outcomes connected to the settlement during Rell’s tenure as governor, but CR filed for contempt in 2008 because the agency was slow to address some basic problems, most notably the agency’s reliance on non-family group homes.
Nancy Bartley of the Seattle Times reports on the U.S. State Department’s decision over the summer to halt visas for children adopted from Nepal by American parents. The suspension of visas stems from concerns about child trafficking in that country, leaving many adoptive-parents-to-be in limbo. Twelve other countries have taken similar measures with Nepal.
Juvenile Justice
Mark Walsh of Education Week reports that the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case on law enforcement’s ability to interrogate a suspect on school grounds with issuing a Miranda warning.
Daphne Duret of the Palm Beach Post looks at a Florida Goodwill that has started an alternative –to-detention program. Dozens of other Goodwills are also working with juvenile offenders thanks to a major Recovery Act grant for mentoring from the Department of Justice.
Education
Megan Rozsa of the Morning Journal reports that Ohio’s Lorain County approved a 10-year tax on homeowners that is expected to, among other things, generate $11 million annually for the area community college.
Miscellaneous
Exit polls conducted by CBS News confirm what many expected: young voters did not show up like they did for the 2008 election. Voters between the ages of 18 and 29 accounted for 9 percent of all voters yesterday, according to CBS, down from 18 percent in 2008.
The California Wellness Foundation announced winners of its sabbatical program, which provides organizations with $35,000 to cover a sabbatical year for long-time leaders in need of a respite. A number of the winners are youth-serving organizations. Click here for biographies.
