Child Welfare
Gov. Rick Snyder (R-Mich.) signed into law yesterday a four-year limit on cash welfare benefits, meaning that thousands of families will face an end to financial assistance on Oct. 1, reports the Associated Press.
Speaking with Kristen Cates and Kimball Bennion of the Great Falls Tribune, a former Montanan who now works in Colorado’s child welfare system said that a series of high-profile deaths to children will force the state to face a crossroads on how to operate its child welfare system.
Education/Jobs
The easiest way to get Americans into jobs is to steer them toward the ones that are already available in markets where a lack of training exists, argues Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, in an op-ed run by the Baltimore Sun.
Some local evidence to support Solis’ larger point from Chris Garofolo of the Brattleboro Reformer: A report from one Vermont county found that employers there had plans to hire new workers but are having difficulty finding qualified applicants.
Johnathon Matthews and Michael Tenbusch offer a column on turning around dropout factories in Governing, which describes efforts to keep students engaged through smaller schools and mentoring.
As education reformers seek cost-cutting ideas that will help students, the editorial board of The Atlantic offers one proposal: turn the for-profit college into the “IBM” of the education world.
Juvenile Justice
Robert Gammon of the East Bay Express reports on the notion of implementing a youth curfew in Oakland. Proponents don’t think it will solve anything alone but want it as a tool for law enforcement; opponents believe it will make no difference and strain the relationship between youth and police in the city.
