Safe Haven: School Provides Needed Stability for Homeless Teens and Street Wisdom: Young Outreach Worker Hits the Ground to Aid Hub’s Homeless Kids
Boston Herald
Almost 80 percent of homeless youth in Massachusetts attend school, according to a study by the Massachusetts Citizens for Children. The Herald profiles teens struggling to study on the streets, and the organizations out there to help them. Sept. 15. www.bostonherald.com; go to archives and search for headlines. Registration required.
Suburban High School Bars Homeless Youth; Suburbs Facing Legal Controversy
Chicago Tribune
Despite federal laws that force schools to enroll self-described homeless youth, a number of Chicago advocates for children say suburban schools are turning away students who are unable to provide proof that they do not live in another school district.
Some superintendents say that without seeing an eviction notice or letter from a shelter, they wouldn’t be able to determine who is lying just to get into a better school. Sept. 9. http://www.chicago%20tribune.com; go to archives and search for headline. Registration required.
Children Who Didn’t Have to Die
The Charlotte Observer
The Observer examined the nearly 120 cases in the past five years where North Carolina children died from suspected abuse or neglect. The findings point a finger at the communication breakdowns and bureaucracy that prevented social workers from discovering fatal situations in time. Aug. 8-12. http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/special_packages/children.
Workload Stresses Child Protectors; State Seeks to Ease Burden, Denies Safety Risk
The News Journal
After high caseloads and worker turnover were linked to the deaths of two children in the Delaware system, state legislators moved to limit caseloads. But the relief has been tempered by increased administrative requirements under federal and state laws, which some observers say are causing worker burnout. Aug. 14. www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2003/08/14workloadstresse.html.
Abused, But Sent Home to Die: Agencies Put Violent Parents’ Claims to Children Ahead of the Youngsters’ Safety
The (Baltimore) Sun
Baltimore’s health commissioner estimates that each year about 12 youths die after being returned to the biological parents from whom they were once removed. State family and child services officials say their policy is to permanently take a child only if his or her safety is at risk, but local advocates say that policy has failed too often. Sept. 7. www.sunspot.net; go to archives and search for headline. Registration required.
