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.
ParentingTeensOnline is a free monthly e-magazine for parents of teens ages 12-19. It offers practical, expert-guided advice and support on teen health, media and technology, drugs/alcohol, education, volunteering, sports, social issues, babysitting, sexuality ... and more. Parents can learn what's happening before they need to know it's happening. The site has a variety of interactive features, including as Ask An Expert (advisory board members respond to parent questions) and polls.
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.
Workforce programs targeting youth (often after-school programs or vocational alternatives to education) can help the more than 5 million young people who are out of work and school get job skills, preparation for college and vocational training, and other critical supports. This report, originally published by the Finance Project in April and now online, looks at challenges for youth workforce programs, and offers best practices and ideas for innovation. It also highlights four funding strategies.
Youth serving time in adult prisons are more likely to receive harsher sentences and little or no rehabilitation services, be exposed to violence and victimization, and, ultimately, more likely to face future arrests than similar offenders in the juvenile system, according to research. "Adult time" is on the rise for young offenders. This National Council on Crime and Delinquency report finds that more than 7,000 children are currently in adult jails; in the early 1990s, that number was 2,000. In most cases (85 percent), youth are sent to adult court by the prosecutor or legislature, and not by judicial authority. The report also looks at the various ages at which children are tried as adults, either automatically by their charges, or by the discretion of the courts.
CFK Reports From: Not Just Talk: Incorporating Youth Voice into Juvenile Justice Reform and Practice Event: Conference Call Organized By: Connect for Kids When: 3:00 pm EDT, June 21, 2006
Should systems that deal with and serve young people actively engage them in developing youth policies and programs?
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