Child Welfare
Los Angeles County will review old data and look to establish a single data collection entity to track the deaths of children known to the city’s Department of Children and Family Services. Meanwhile, two of the county’s supervisors wrote to the Los Angeles Times to quash the notion that a recent uptick in deaths of DCFS-involved youth has anything to do with the county’s desire to keep more youths with their families.
Kate Santich of the Orlando Sentinel reports that Family Services of Metro Orlando, a tenured lead entity in Florida’s privatized child welfare services structure, is questioning the Department of Children and Families’ decision to go with another provider in two large counties.
Juvenile Justice
Afro report Shernay Williams reports that despite continued outcry from the black community in Baltimore, the state is proceeding with plans to build a $104 million jail to house juveniles who are transferred into adult court and are awaiting trial. The state has discussed a facility with between 180 and 230. The juvenile population at the Baltimore city jail – where transferred youth are currently held, which has caused problems between the city and the U.S. Department of Justice – is usually about 100.
Holly Herman of the Reading Eagle reports on Pennsylvania Judge Arthur Grim’s trip to China to discuss juvenile justice. Grim, who is also the Pennsylvania Juvenile Judges Commission, was a key player in the unearthing of the Luzerne County juvenile justice scandal.
Education/Jobs
Morning Journal reporter Kelly Metz covers a tense meeting between youth program providers and Lorain County (Ohio) officials, which occurred after the providers were informed on Oct. 29 that they would have to shut down Workforce Investment Act-funded tutoring and mentoring programs by Oct. 31.
Scott Travis of the Sun-Sentinel reports that Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum will include three more schools in his probe of the recruitment, enrollment and financing practices of Florida’s for-profit colleges.
Vassar College op-ed writer Juan Thompson, a former after-school program volunteer, questions President Barack Obama’s proposal to shift 21st Century Community Learning Centers funds into efforts to expand the school day. Thompson echoes the sentiments of Afterschool Alliance Executive Director Jodi Grant, who wrote for the Washington Post on the subject a few weeks ago.
