Child Welfare
A gang of vigilante computer hackers linked to the Anonymous group is taking down websites that portray child abuse and exploited children, reports Christopher Williams of London’s The Telegraph.
Education/Jobs
Russell Rumberger, vice provost for education partnerships at the University of California, presents in an Education Week op-ed five components that will have to be present in any strategy to address the dropout crisis in the United States.
Juvenile Justice
In Polk County, Iowa, reports the Associated Press, justice leaders have seen the number of juveniles prosecuted for serious offenses skyrocket this year, and some of them believe the county is headed for more if it doesn’t put some money into prevention and less restrictive punishment options.
From the Pratt Tribune in Kansas: a community services agency that provides adoption and family preservation in part of the state is offering a free, 10-week course to help people decide whether to be foster parents, and then prepares them to do so.
The head of Virginia’s chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People asked the city council for an audit of the Richmond Juvenile Detention Center, reports Joe Macenka of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Because of low staffing, morale problems and inmate violence, the center is a “hot mess,” said King Salim Khalfani on the steps of Richmond City Hall.
