Child Welfare
Case worker Kelly Mares left theater to work in child welfare, reports Colleen Long of the Associated Press. But after two colleagues were indicted for criminally negligent homicide this month, she wonders whether she will remain in the profession.
New figures on fatalities among system-involved children in Los Angeles show a drop from 69 deaths in 2006 to 41 in 2010, reports Christina Villacorte of the Contra Costa Times. Child welfare officials say the numbers prove that the city’s efforts to reduce the number of children removed from their homes has not lead to higher numbers of children dying.
An editorial in a Florida news site called Highlands Today slams the legislators who are promoting a drastic cut in funding for the mental health programs overseen by the Department of Children and Families.
Mary Ann Ford of Pantagraph.com reports on a county sheriff who discovered the state’s child abuse registry and is strongly considering adding it to his background check process for hiring police officers.
Education/Jobs
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley included money to fund 941 summers jobs for youth in the City of Baltimore, reports Ryan Sharrow of Baltimore Business Journal.
California is using state university students to subsidize community college students, and it’s not fair, said a letter to the editor in Vacaville, Calif.’s The Reporter.
Juvenile Justice
A gentlemen’s agreement struck at the beginning of this Congressional session may mean that the White House could bring in an administrator for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention without having to put the person through the confirmation process, reports David Baumann of Main Justice. The agreement would cover 200 executive nominations, including the OJJDP and five other positions at the Justice Department.
Orlando Sentinel reporter Jeff Kunerth covers the first year of resentencing hearings in Florida following Graham v Florida, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that deemed unconstitutional the sentencing of juveniles to life without parole for convictions other than homicides. The Sentinel also posted this breakdown of the juvenile LWOP population in Florida.
