Policy Updates
What’s The Future of Behavioral Health?
Last week, a New Mexico radio talk show highlighted that the biggest provider of mental health was the county jails. We know that is a sign of systemic dysfunction. The question is how to correct it. In Philadelphia, they are starting to tackle this issue with a meeting to discuss What’s the Future of BehavioralRead More
Child Well-being: A Framework for Policy and Practice
Last year the Foster Care Work Group introduced the well-being framework to the work of the Youth Transition Funders Group. It’s an inclusive framework that stretches from mental health to housing to employment.Chapin Hall is holding a forum that will be live webcast on February 18th at 9 am CST on how Child Well-being canRead More
A Smart Dropout Recovery Bill
Andrew Moore, National League of Cities, just forwarded the outline of a federal Dropout Recovery Bill. Representative Jared Polis’ office has spearheaded the drafting of the bill and has drawn on ideas from leaders in the effort to re-engage young people in school and work. This is a smart bill that leverages states and districtsRead More
Combating Domestic Youth Sex Trafficking
We all know that when young people don’t have the skills to get a job, (or nowadays can’t even find one if they could be employable) they are going to resort to illegal and shadow economies where there are no labor laws and a lot more risks. However, it is horrifying if that source ofRead More
Caught in the Middle: Children of Incarcerated Parents and the Intersection of Harsh Sentencing and Child Welfare Policies
By Kathleen Creamer This article was originally published by the Stoneleigh Foundation on February 5, 2013. The Stoneleigh Foundation targets young people in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems and works to improve the life outcomes of vulnerable and underserved children and youth. When a mother goes to jail, the impact on her family can be devastating. Most moms are theRead More
Legislating Common Sense
The California Youth Connection e-letter included an update on two new pieces of legislation that have been introduced to the California State Assembly. They are interesting pieces of legislation because they are absolutely common sense and based on best practices, yet they require legislation to compel the state to implement them. One legislation sets theRead More
Uninterrupted Scholars
Update: This bill was passed by Congress on January 1, 2013 but was not enacted before the end of its Congressional session. Let’s see what we can make happen in 2014. On December 17th, the Uninterrupted Scholars Act, sponsored by Sen. Mary Landrieu [D-LA], passed the senate. According to GovTrack,”the House Majority Leader indicated on DecRead More