Montana agencies, volunteers work to reintegrate citizens after incarceration, By David Erickson, October 30, 2017, The Missoulian: “Montana’s prison population has grown faster than the national average, and last year 15,000 people in the state were either behind bars or under criminal justice supervision. The state spent $182 million on corrections in fiscal year 2014, and jails and prisons suffer from overcrowding while taxpayers foot the bill…”
Month: October 2017
Kids Count “Race for Results” Report
- Children of immigrants experience more poverty, academic failure, report finds, By Michael Alison Chandler, October 24, 2017, Washington Post: “Children of immigrants, who make up 28 percent of all children in Maryland and nearly a quarter of those in Virginia and the District, are more likely to live in chronic poverty and less likely to perform at grade level in school, according to a report being released Tuesday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The report highlights disparities in opportunities for children of immigrants. It also highlights the harder-to-measure impacts of persistent stress on children affected by government policies that result in the profiling, deportation and detention of immigrants…”
- New report finds racial disparities persist for Louisiana kids, By Wilborn P. Nobles III, October 24, 2017, New Orleans Times-Picayune: “Louisiana is among the toughest places in America for children to grow up, especially if you are black, poor or a child of immigrants, according to a study released Tuesday (Oct. 24). One bright spot? Louisiana has a relatively high rate of kids enrolled in an early children education when compared with other states…”
- Study: Michigan last in well-being of black children, By Karen Bouffard, October 24, 2017, Detroit News: “African-American children in Michigan fare worse on key indicators of well-being than in any other state in the nation, according to a national study released Tuesday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation…”
- Report: Oregon schools fall short for children of color, immigrant children, By Natalie Pate, October 25, 2017, Statesman Journal: “Oregon’s children of color and children living in immigrant families are struggling to find the resources and opportunities they need to thrive, according to a report released Tuesday. These children are more likely to live in low-income households, less likely to have access to proper health services and are graduating at lower rates than their white counterparts living in U.S.-born families…”
Relatives Caring for Foster Children
- Grandparents raising grandkids grapple with retirement and college costs at the same time, By Danielle Douglas-Gabriel, October 22, 2017, Washington Post: “Each month, 72-year-old Sandra Bursch withdraws $4,200 from her retirement savings to cover her bills. A chunk of it goes toward paying college bills — for her grandson Gage. She anticipates doing the same for Gage’s younger brother, Mason, when he graduates from high school in another year. Every stitch of their clothing, all of their meals and day-to-day expenses have been her responsibility since 2003, when drug use by her daughter and son-in-law prompted the police to remove the children from their home…”
- ‘It’s like a tsunami’: Opioid epidemic pushes kids into foster care, By Sandra Tan, October 22, 2017, Buffalo News: “The opioid epidemic is not just killing hundreds of local residents – it’s leaving hundreds of Erie County children without a home or at risk of being removed from one. They are orphaned children and they are the children of drug-addicted parents no longer able to care for them. Erie County Family Court Judge Lisa Bloch Rodwin has presided at thousands of child abuse and neglect cases since 2011. She can’t recall any cases related to opioid drug abuse four years ago, and only a handful three years ago…”