Child Welfare
Some states saw spikes in physical or sexual abuse of children from 2008 to 2009, but most defied the conventional wisdom that tough economic times would mean more child welfare cases.
Star-Ledger reporter Susan Livio covers New Jersey Department of Children and Families’ decision to cut in-home behavioral health services for about 3,000 children. The change will obviously save the state money, but Livio quotes some mental health experts who think it’s the right move, and that the program is relied on in a lot of unnecessary situations.
Education/Jobs
In the aftermath of the tragic Arizona shootings last weekend, USA Today’s Mary Beth Marklein reports experts are debating the appropriateness of colleges forming “threat assessment teams.”
The actual impact of the billion-dollar Child Nutrition bill signed into law President Obama last month is starting to take shape, as the USDA announced yesterday its proposal for revised school meal nutrition standards, as reported by Bloomberg Businessweek’s Steven Reinberg.
And another in a series of columns on youth issues by CBS Money Watch’s Dan Kadlec, this piece gives teens tips on finding summer employment.
Juvenile Justice
Karen de Sá of the Mercury News reports here on California Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to scuttle the state juvenile justice system, and here about the counties’ wary acceptance of potential new responsibilities, assuming they are properly funded to do the work.
In Chillicothe, Ohio, Goodwill’s foray into mentoring juveniles is exceeding expectations, reports the Chillicothe Gazette’s David Berman. Goodwill was one of the big winners in 2009 when the U.S. Department of Justice handed out juvenile mentoring grants from the Recovery Act.
Wyoming Tribune Eagle reporter Michelle Dynes covers the legislature’s debate on how to include juveniles in its sex offender registry. Dynes reports that an exception for certain juvenile sex offenders “won’t do much to keep teens off the registry.”
The Boston Herald’s Mark Perigard reviews the first episode of “Beyond Scared Straight,” which premiered last night on A&E. From Youth Today: The A&E program has rekindled the debate over scared straight programs.
