CFK Articles, Youth at Risk

Hampton, Virginia, a 400-year old city once dubbed “Crabtown” for its abundant seafood, has an exciting new natural resource: youth as change agents. In April 2007, 40 community leaders from coast to coast gathered there for an “Innovations Site Visit” to learn more about the city’s award-winning, holistic model for youth civic engagement.
Students' struggles with college mental health services are leading to some important changes, as WireTap's Annie Robinson reports.
How a student YouTube posting brought top-level attention to a growing initiative that connects under-represented young people to college campuses—Jamaal Abdul-Alim of Youth Today reports.
Concerned that young people were increasingly disconnected from the real (read: natural) world, actress and teacher Barbara Sarbin turned a county farm into a hands-on Earth School. Here’s a look at how she did it.
To make positive change for kids, you need to know where things stand, what’s working and what needs to be improved. The annual KIDS COUNT Data Book offers both data and context for 10 indicators of child well-being—and drills down to a state and local level. This year’s essay offers a “roadmap for reform” in juvenile justice. CFK summer intern Maria Allen attended the June 2008 launch event in DC and has this overview.
If you work with teens with disabilities, you’ll want to know about the Social Security Administration’s Ticket to Work (TTW) program. Its Youth Transition portion offers funds for organizations that help students receiving Social Security disability benefits find employment. Is it right for you? Melody Goodspeed, Youth Transition Specialist for TTW answers some common questions about the funding.
October 2007—Our partner Child Advocacy 360 brings you "Readers' Choice Stories," in which readers vote with their eyes, clicks and emails on the best of Who's Doing What That Works.

Located just a few blocks away from the U.S. Capitol, the Earth Conservation Corps is far removed from the world of legislators, lobbyists and policymakers. ECC provides a striking example of a program that engages young people in protecting the environment while learning valuable lessons about life in the process. CFK intern Kate Carta profiled the organization.

There's good news on the rates of rape and sexual assault in the U.S.—a big decline in the rates of these crimes since the 1970s. Still, parents and other adults who care about children have a responsibility to educate kids about the dangers—and many of us feel inadequate to the task. Tamekia Reece took a look at some of the more effective programs in use to raise awareness appropriately and in ways that kids can understand.

By many measures, girls are on a roll. In terms of academic achievement, college attendance and completion, and the opportunities that are open to them, girls are poised for success. But some experts see worrying signs that girls are also facing new pressures—and responding with violent behavior usually associated with boys. Andrea Grazzini Walstrom takes a look at the issue.

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