Child Welfare
Florida’s licensed child care centers say they are losing after-school customers to businesses that offer sports classes and other activities after school but don’t have to meet the same state guidelines, reports Erin Kourkounis of the Pensacola News Journal.
Maia Szalavitz of Time’s “Healthland” blog reports on the chronological intersection of three things: large settlements paid by pharmaceutical companies accused of pushing antipsychotics to children, a huge percentage of foster children on the drugs, and a sharp rise in overall diagnoses for bipolar disorder in adolescents.
Bryan Samuels, commissioner of the Administration for Children, Youth and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will attend a forum to urge child welfare agencies to include and recruit gay foster and adoptive parents, reports the San Diego Gay and Lesbian News.
Placement officials in Alabama say a shortage of foster homes across the state means children must wait in temporary situations for the care they desperately need, reports Laura Camper of the Anniston Star.
The Battle Creek Enquirer’s editorial board lauds Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s (R) approval of a bill to extend the upper age limit of foster care to 20.
The Justice Department’s Defending Childhood Task Force began work today with a public meeting in Baltimore, reports Childs Walker of the Baltimore Sun.
Education/Jobs
Las Cruces Sun-News newsman Walter Rubel agrees with Newt Gingrich: high schools should keep one janitor and let youth have the other cleaning jobs on campus.
Art Hovey of the Lincoln Journal Star reports that Nebraska farmers are worried that proposed changes to child labor laws could threatening a popular summer job for teens in the state: detassling corn.
Three prominent Latino Republicans in Florida, all of whom support the DREAM Act, have endorsed Mitt Romney for president, reports Marc Caputo, a blogger for the Miami Herald. Romney has said publicly that he does not support the DREAM Act.
Juvenile Justice
Dean Meminger of NY1.com reports on a symbolic vote by the New York City Council saying that sending 16- and 17-year-olds to criminal court for minor offenses is unacceptable.
