Fairfield County’s 100,000 young people ages 16 to 24 face youth unemployment rates between 13.6% and 49.5%, one of the nation’s most expensive housing markets, and a shortage of living-wage entry jobs. When large numbers of young adults remain dependent on family or relocate for jobs, their futures are shortchanged and their communities decline. WhenRead More

A recent article by Ronald Brownstein in the The Atlantic Magazine points out that many of the states with the fastest-growing youth populations are also the ones producing the weakest outcomes for kids. Based on results of the 2015 Kids Count Data Book and recent analysis of youth-population trends by Bill Frey at the BrookingsRead More

The Annie E. Casey Foundation KIDS COUNT Data Book is an annual publication that assesses child well-being nationally and across the 50 states, as well as in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Using an index of 16 indicators, the report ranks states on overall child well-being and in economic well-being, education, health andRead More

More than a dozen leading, U.S.-based companies recently announced the formation of the 100,000 Opportunities Initiative, which has the goal of being the nation’s largest employer-led coalition committed to creating pathways to meaningful employment for America’s young people. The coalition has the collective goal of engaging at least 100,000 Opportunity Youth – 16-24 year oldsRead More

The Communities for Just Schools Fund (CJSF) is a new national donor collaborative that supports constituency-led organizing efforts to create positive and supportive school climates, which affirm and foster the success of all students.  Building upon the groundbreaking initiatives of the Just and Fair Schools Fund, the Communities for Just Schools Fund is relaunching thatRead More

Just and Fair Schools Fund (JFSF) grantee partners, Youth Justice Coalition and Community Organizing for Family Issues, were among the Dignity in Schools Campaign (DSC) members from over 20 organizations representing 11 states that convened in Washington, DC to share stories of school pushout with legislators and give recommendations for how the reauthorization of the Elementary and SecondaryRead More

On July 1st the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative became a unit of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. As part of this transition, the Foundation welcomed Sandra Gasca-Gonzalez as director of the Jim Casey Initiative. With these developments, the Foundation and the Jim Casey Initiative celebrate the next chapter in the nation’s efforts to ensureRead More

The Hyams Foundation trustees recently approved a new strategic direction for the Foundation, and we are very pleased to share an overview of it with you. This new framework builds directly on our grantees’ experiences and accomplishments as well as on Hyams’s own core capacities and role within the local funding community. It also reflectsRead More

by the Annie E. Casey Foundation May 19, 2015 This KIDS COUNT policy report highlights state data that point to the urgent need to ensure, through sound policies and proven practices, that everything possible is being done to find loving, nurturing and supported families to children in foster care. The report also highlights the promisingRead More

SEE UPDATE: Groundbreaking Bill to Address “School-to-Prison Pipeline” Passes Illinois Legislature The Just and Fair Schools Fund shared that Voices for Youth in Chicago Education (VOYCE) student leaders are charging forward in their campaign to pass SB 100, which would create a new Illinois statewide standard for the use of out-of-school suspensions and expulsions, prohibit useRead More