Child Welfare
Community-based organizations and advocates are pressuring Arizona’s child welfare director to involve them in the effort to clear a massive backlog of cases, reports Mary Reinhart of the Arizona Republic.
Two Nebraska lawmakers believe that clearer benchmarks will go a long way toward improving efforts to privatize the child welfare system.
Education/Jobs
Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post details an ongoing contractual problem with the D.C. summer jobs program that may involve some political favoritism.
In Houston, reports Jennifer Radcliffe of the Houston Chronicle, a 700-volunteer effort to recruit high school dropouts that will commit to getting back to class yielded commitments from 63 students.
Interesting move by a for-profit college based in California, reports Brian Stewart of Campus Progress: it is paying employers to hire its graduates.
Juvenile Justice
Allison Manning of the Columbus Dispatch reported last week on new competency standards for juveniles, which state officials believe will establish brighter lines on deciding if juveniles are capable of standing trial.
Law enforcement and prosecutors in South Florida feel handcuffed in efforts to protect the public from “hard-core juveniles,” reports Scott Wyman of the Sun Sentinel.
Oklahoma has objected to the Justice Department’s effort to expand federal jurisdiction over the state’s juvenile justice facilities, reports the Houston Chronicle.
