Search

This brief is designed for various stakeholders that work with youth with multiple system experiences, specifically for Title I, Part D State coordinators, State Agency and local program staff, Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) State coordinators and liaisons, and Title I, Part A Foster Care State Education Agencies (SEAs) and Local Education Agency (LEA) points of contact. It provides an overview of the intersection between youth experiences of homelessness, child welfare, and juvenile justice involvement and the federal education programs that support them. The goal of this brief is to encourage collaboration across federal programs and provide key resources to support this intersecting population. [This document was produced by Longevity Consulting.]

Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ) is proud to be publishing the third Trenton Kids Count Data Book in over 20 years, a one-stop source for child well-being data on the state's capital city. Trenton Kids Count includes the latest statistics, along with data trends, in the following areas: demographics, family economic security, child health, child protection, child care, education, and teens. "Trenton Kids Count 2023" looks a bit different compared to previous data books. In particular, due to data quality concerns, the U.S. Census Bureau did not release American Community Survey (ACS) 2020 one-year estimates. For this reason, tables using ACS one-year estimates do jump from 2019 to 2021. [Funding for this report was provided by The Burke Foundation, the Princeton Area Community Foundation, and the Smith Family Foundation. For "Newark Kids Count 2022: A City Profile of Child Well-Being," see ED621268.]

Since 1997, Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ) has published the Newark Kids Count Data Book, a one-stop source for child well-being data on the state's largest city. Newark Kids Count includes the latest statistics, along with five-year trend data, in the following areas: demographics, family economic security, child health, child protection, child care, education, and teens.

Young people across California are leading the way forward socially, culturally, and politically. They are organizing for racial justice, learning and working and caring for family members during a pandemic, and voting in record numbers. The past two years with the COVID-19 pandemic has been hardest on kids, particularly children of color, in poverty, or in the child welfare system. The California Children's Report Card grades the State on its ability to support better outcomes for kids, from prenatal to age 26. Each grade is based on the State's progress (or lack thereof) on passing and implementing state-level policies and making investments in the supports and services needed for all kids to reach their full potential. The Pro-Kid Agenda provides recommendations to the state's leaders on how to improve outcomes for kids in each section. This year's California Children's Report Card highlights some good news: key areas of improvement in the State's ability to meet the needs of California's children with increased funding and policy advances. Yet, in far too many areas, state leaders are failing to do enough to support kids. This lack of policy progress, along with unacceptable racial gaps highlighted in the data and the state's mediocre national rankings, contribute to the mostly low grades in this report. The report card is organized into the following sections: (1) Health; (2) Education; (3) Family Supports; (4) Child Welfare; and (5) Adolescents & Transition Age Youth.

This report examines the importance and multidimensional nature of well-being, in general, and the well-being of Black, Native, Latinx, and Asian youth involved in systems of care, in particular. These young people must navigate three significant challenges: typical developmental issues and stressors associated with child and adolescent development; various difficulties associated with their experiences before and during their systems involvement; and experiences of racism and inequitable treatment in their daily living and in their involvement with different systems. For example, those who yield authority over Black, Native, Latinx, and Asian youth-- including educators, social workers, law enforcement, probation officers, prosecutors, and judges--may have explicit or implicit racial or ethnic biases that result in distorted perceptions and unjust treatment of these young people. Evidence underscores the need to strategically focus on fostering the well-being of youth served in systems of care--child welfare, courts, education, social services, juvenile justice, victim services, and health services systems--to increase the likelihood of more positive outcomes. A well-being frame is described that provides strategies to improve practice and policy that address the physical, social, emotional, intellectual, behavioral, and economic domains of well-being, as well as environmental and societal factors that contribute to youth's well-being. The well-being frame highlights the importance of employing diligent and consistent efforts at all levels of the social ecology--individual, interpersonal, community, and systemic--that will promote the equitable and just treatment of Black, Native, Latinx, and Asian youth across all systems of care. [This report is one in a series about improving outcomes for youth involved in systems of care. For three other reports in this series, see "Protective Factors for Youth Involved in Systems of Care" (ED617197); "Breaking the Stigma and Changing the Narrative: Strategies for Supporting Expectant and Parenting Youth Involved in Systems of Care" (ED617196); and "Shifting the Perceptions and Treatment of Black, Native, and Latinx Youth Involved in Systems of Care" (ED617199).]

The healthy development and well-being of Black, Native, and Latinx youth are threatened when authority figures, decision makers, and other adult gatekeepers involved in systems of care perpetuate negative racial and ethnic stereotypes and/or hold implicit biases. Often, the outcomes of these perceptions are punishment-based systems that are weighted against Black, Native, and Latinx youth, employ unnecessarily harsh treatment, and contribute to racial and ethnic disparities. The purpose of this report is to examine the nature and impact of distorted racial perceptions of Black, Native, and Latinx youth involved in systems of care; identify the ways in which these systems are failing them due to distorted racial perceptions; and propose strategies that will mitigate the influence of racism in these systems and promote individual and systems decision making and practice that is developmentally appropriate, nurturing, and equitable for all youth. [This report is one in a series about improving outcomes for youth involved in systems of care. For three other reports in this series, see "Protective Factors for Youth Involved in Systems of Care" (ED617197); "Breaking the Stigma and Changing the Narrative: Strategies for Supporting Expectant and Parenting Youth Involved in Systems of Care" (ED617196); and "Promoting the Well-Being of Black, Native, Latinx, and Asian Youth Involved in Systems of Care" (ED617198).]

This report examines the importance of intentionally and actively targeting protective factors, in addition to risk factors, in an effort to promote healthy development and well-being in youth involved in systems of care. Protective factors are conditions and characteristics of individuals, interpersonal relationships, communities, and the larger society that are associated with decreased chances of negative outcomes and increased chances of positive outcomes. Key research- and practice-informed protective factors in each domain of the social ecology are described and recommended actions to build protective factors are provided. Individual domain protective factors of focus are resilience, social and emotional competencies, and character strengths. Core relational domain protective factors are positive peer connectedness, peer norms, connectedness with parents and other significant adults, and spiritual connectedness. Protective factors included in the community domain are safe, stable, nurturing, and equitable environments; engagement in social institutions; and the availability, accessibility, and provision of concrete supports. The societal domain protective factors refer to systems-level policies, priorities, and procedures that create and sustain the context for healthy youth development and well-being and the developmentally appropriate and equitable treatment of all youth. Strengthening protective factors of youth involved in systems of care is essential because protective factors help to mitigate the effects of youths' stressful life events and other risk factors, maximize their potential, better navigate difficult circumstances, and put them on a trajectory that leads to positive and productive life outcomes. [This report is one in a series about improving outcomes for youth involved in systems of care. For three other reports in this series, see "Breaking the Stigma and Changing the Narrative: Strategies for Supporting Expectant and Parenting Youth Involved in Systems of Care" (ED617196); "Promoting the Well-Being of Black, Native, Latinx, and Asian Youth Involved in Systems of Care" (ED617198); and "Shifting the Perceptions and Treatment of Black, Native, and Latinx Youth Involved in Systems of Care" (ED617199).]

Expectant and parenting youth involved in systems of care represent a unique intersection of developmental needs as adolescents, emerging adults, parents, and young people who come into contact with child welfare, juvenile justice, and/or other human services systems. Addressing these parallel roles and respective developmental needs is necessary to improve the health, well-being, and life outcomes of both young parents and their children. But expectant and parenting youth experience numerous challenges navigating their transition to adulthood and parenthood, including negative perceptions, expectations, and judgments about them as young parents. This report will provide an overview and critique of research findings about expectant and parenting youth and the stigma associated with young parenthood. It will also discuss four strategies to break the stigmatization of expectant and parenting youth, and thereby increase the likelihood of improved outcomes for young parents and their children. The strategies are: reframing the causes and outcomes of adolescent pregnancy and parenting, amplifying young parents' voices and positive outcomes, supporting dual transitions to adulthood and parenthood, and building young parents' protective factors. [This report is one in a series about improving outcomes for youth involved in systems of care. For three other reports in this series, see "Protective Factors for Youth Involved in Systems of Care" (ED617197); "Promoting the Well-Being of Black, Native, Latinx, and Asian Youth Involved in Systems of Care" (ED617198); and "Shifting the Perceptions and Treatment of Black, Native, and Latinx Youth Involved in Systems of Care" (ED617199).]

Beginning in 2011, Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ) started publishing the Paterson Kids Count Data Book, a one-stop source for child well-being data on the state's third largest city. Paterson Kids Count includes the latest statistics, along with five-year trend data, in the following areas: demographics, family economic security, child health, child protection, child care, education and teens. [For "Paterson Kids Count 2015: A City Profile of Child Well-Being," see ED621566.]

For 25 years, Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ) has published the Newark Kids Count Data Book, a one-stop source for child well-being data on the state's largest city. Newark Kids Count includes the latest statistics, along with five-year trend data, in the following areas: demographics, family economic security, child health, child protection, child care, education and teens. [For "Newark Kids Count 2020: A City Profile of Child Well-Being," see ED616481.]

This pilot study builds on national literature by describing the characteristics of Colorado youth who were formerly in foster care and later accessed homeless services as young adults. State-focused data are important as youth experiencing homelessness typically stay in their state of origin. It was not possible in this study to estimate the total percentage of youth who experienced foster care and later accessed homelessness services due to the limited number of signed Release of Information forms needed to access services through Metro Denver Homelessness Initiative. However, informed by this study, Continuums of Care across the state have already begun to update their privacy notices and a next phase of research will examine this more fully. The study identified three groups, each with a collection of attributes that characterize the former foster youth experiencing homelessness, including: youth with differing levels of Division of Youth Services involvement, specific challenges (behavior, substance use, family-based, poverty) and emancipation or reunification with family. Findings also show that female and Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) youth formerly in foster care accessed homeless services at disproportionately high rates. The descriptive characteristics groupings and identification of disproportionate representation among these youth by race, gender or child welfare history can be cross-walked with existing policies and practices to identify policy and services gaps and opportunities to prevent and lessen the duration of homelessness for youth formerly in foster care across Colorado.

"The 2021 Pro-Kid Policy Agenda for California" is the comprehensive state-level roadmap to ensure that all children have the necessary supports to reach their full potential. California has an obligation to end systemic injustices that create barriers to kids of color, as well as kids living in poverty and undocumented kids, from growing up healthy and ready for college, career, and civic life. This work has only become more urgent as the COVID-19 pandemic is having a disproportionate impact on the lives of California's kids, especially Black and brown children, and other children of color. Children and youth are increasingly experiencing stress, social isolation, disconnectedness and serious mental health issues. And the learning loss and lack of preventive health care because of the pandemic threatens this entire generation of children. Policymakers are urged to use the "Pro-Kid Agenda" as a guide to take long overdue action now to ensure California's systems for children are equitable, well-funded, high-quality, and accountable to kids' success. "The Agenda" was compiled by Children Now, California's whole-child organization focused on the range of issues critical to improving children's well-being, including early learning and development, K-12 and higher education, children's health, family and economic supports and foster care. The organization plays a lead role in more than 90 coalitions across the state and coordinates The Children's Movement of California, a network of more than 4,100 diverse organizations statewide, including direct service, business, civil rights, youth, parent, faith-based, and community groups. "The Agenda" reflects the top priorities of each of those coalitions and members. [For "2019-20 Pro-Kid Policy Agenda for California," see ED593288.]

The document are the appendixes for the full report, "Using Data from Schools and Child Welfare Agencies to Predict Near-Term Academic Risks." The study team collected and linked five academic years of student-level administrative data from Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS), Propel Schools, and the Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS). The sample included the full population of students enrolled in each local education agency in 2015/16 or 2016/17, and each entity provided any data available on those students for 2012/13-2016/17. The descriptive analyses used data from the two most recent years--considered the "outcome years" for which academic problems are predicted-- and the predictive analyses included data from the full five-year period. [For the full report, see ED606230; for the study snapshot, see ED6062323.]

This report provides information for administrators, researchers, and student support staff in local education agencies who are interested in identifying students who are likely to have near-term academic problems such as absenteeism, suspensions, poor grades, and low performance on state tests. The report describes an approach for developing a predictive model and assesses how well the model identifies at-risk students using data from two local education agencies in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: a large local education agency and a smaller charter school network. It also examines which types of predictors--in-school variables (performance, behavior, and consequences) and out-of-school variables (human services involvement and public benefit receipt)--are individually related to each type of near-term academic problem to better understand why the model might flag students as at risk and how best to support these students. The study finds that predictive models using machine learning algorithms identify at-risk students with moderate to high accuracy. In-school variables drawing on school data are the strongest predictors across all outcomes, and predictive performance is not reduced much when out-of-school variables drawing on human services data are excluded and only school data are used. However, some out-of-school events and services--including child welfare involvement, emergency homeless services, and juvenile justice system involvement--are individually related to near-term academic problems. The models are more accurate for the large local education agency than for the smaller charter school network. The models are better at predicting low grade point average, course failure, and scores below the basic level on state tests in grades 3-8 than at predicting chronic absenteeism, suspensions, and scores below the basic level on high school end-of-course standardized tests. The findings suggest that many local education agencies could apply machine learning algorithms to existing school data to identify students who are at risk of near-term academic problems that are known to be precursors to school dropout. [For the appendixes, see ED606232; for the study snapshot, see ED606233.]

The 2020 Pro-Kid Policy Agenda for California is the comprehensive roadmap at the state level to ensure that all children have the necessary supports to reach their full potential. California has an obligation to tear down the structural barriers to all kids, especially kids of color, from growing up healthy, safe, and ready for college, career, and civic life. The Agenda was compiled by Children Now, the only research, policy development, and advocacy organization covering the full-range of key children's issues, from prenatal through age 26, including children's health, education, child welfare, and family supports, and for adolescents and transition age youth. Children Now coordinates The Children's Movement of California®--a member-based constituency supporting kids that now includes more than 3,570 business, parent, labor, civil rights, faith, and community organizations. The organization also leads, co-leads or participates in more than 90 statewide and local coalitions around the state. The Agenda reflects the top priorities of each of those various coalitions and their members.

California has long been on the cutting edge of social and political change. This trendsetting continues today on issues from addressing climate change to supporting immigrant communities to ensuring equal rights for all. But, when reviewing the grades of this year's California Children's Report Card, it is difficult not to ask the question: why is California failing to be a leader when it comes to kids? The "California Children's Report Card" grades the state on its ability to support better outcomes for kids, from prenatal to age 26. Each grade is based on the state's progress (or lack thereof) on passing and implementing state-level policies and making investments in the supports and services needed for all kids to reach their full potential. The Pro-Kid Agenda provides recommendations to the state's leaders on how to improve outcomes for kids in each section. Today's kids face too many barriers to accessing the quality supports and services they need to reach their full potential. California must take swift action to break down these barriers, first and foremost for children of color, and then by addressing the intersectional impacts of poverty, immigration status, gender, sexual orientation, and foster care system involvement. The report card is organized into the following sections: (1) Health; (2) Education; (3) Family Supports; (4) Child Welfare; and (5) Adolescents & Transition Age Youth.

The Learn and Earn to Achieve Potential (LEAP)™ initiative, a nationwide project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, aims to improve education and employment outcomes for young people ages 15 to 25 who have been involved in the child welfare and justice systems or who are experiencing homelessness. Young people eligible for LEAP are likely to be disconnected from school and work, and face added challenges that stem directly from their systems involvement or homelessness, including disrupted schooling, housing instability, limited family support, and trauma. LEAP seeks to reduce the inequalities in life chances and outcomes that affect this population, with the goal of helping these young people reach their full potential by connecting them to postsecondary and career pathways. LEAP operationalizes two education- and employment-focused program models to help young people at different stages along their educational and employment pathways. One program, Jobs for America's Graduates, or JAG, targets young people who have not completed high school. JAG's goal is to help these individuals obtain a high school credential and to equip them with the work and life skills they need to land quality jobs or acquire a postsecondary education. The second, JFF's Back on Track program, aims to help young people transition to postsecondary education and persist through their crucial first year of college or advanced training. Ten grantees in eight states are implementing LEAP, each in multiple locations. This report presents implementation, outcomes, and cost research findings from MDRC's evaluation of the grantees' LEAP programs, which focused on the early years of the initiative. Four appendices are included in the report. [Numerous organizations sponsored this work and the full list can be seen in the document.]

Volume 2 of "Promoting Education and Transition Success for Neglected and Delinquent Youth: An Evaluation of the Title I, Part D Program" consists of three appendices to the main report: (1) Data Collection Technical Appendix (State and Local Agency Surveys, Case Studies, Disclosure Review); (2) Data Collection Instruments (Part D Coordinator Surveys, Case Study Interview Protocols); and (3) Cross-Tabulations by Coordinator Type. [For the study's "Results in Brief" see ED594692. For Volume 1 (main report), see ED594694.]

To address the education needs of these children and youth, the Title I, Part D Neglected or Delinquent Program authorizes two programs 1 that provide grants to states to enable them to award subgrants to state agencies (SAs) (Subpart 1) and local education agencies (LEAs) (i.e., school districts) (Subpart 2) that operate or allocate funds to justice and child welfare facilities to improve education services and to give system-involved youth the opportunity to meet the same challenging state academic standards as their non-involved peers. In the 2015-16 school year, the Part D programs provided nearly $162 million to serve more than 340,000 children and youth in over 2,600 state and locally operated facilities and programs (U.S. Department of Education 2017). To gain a better understanding of how state and local agencies and facilities use Part D funds for and in support of education and transition services and supports for youth who are neglected or delinquent, this study included both nationally representative surveys and in-depth case studies. Surveys were completed by Part D program coordinators at the state, district, and local facility levels. The study also included case study site visits in five states receiving state and local Part D funds, including interviews with agency and facility administrators, principals, and instructional and support staff. Select highlights from this study include: (1) State educational agency (SEA) coordinators most frequently reported focusing on creating and reviewing Part D funding applications, supporting federal data collection, and conducting program compliance monitoring; they less frequently focused on providing training and technical assistance to subgrantees or involvement in academic instruction in facilities; (2) In addition to core and supplemental academic programming, nearly all Part D-funded state facilities and roughly half of local facilities offered career and technical education (CTE); (3) Less than 25 percent of all students had an existing transition plan from a previous facility or placement and entered a state or local facility with an existing transition plan; more than half had a transition plan developed while in placement; and (4) Roughly half of state and local facilities could not track any students after exit. Those that could track students most often tracked high school equivalency credentials earned and high school graduation rates. [For "Results in Brief," see ED594692. For Volume 2 (appendices), see ED594695.]

The 2019-20 Pro-Kid Policy Agenda for California is the comprehensive roadmap at the state level to ensure that all children have the necessary supports to reach their full potential. California has an obligation to end systemic injustices that create barriers to kids of color, as well as kids living in poverty and undocumented kids, from growing up healthy and ready for college, career, and civic life. Policymakers are urged to use the Pro-Kid Agenda as a guide to ensure California's systems for children are equitable, well-funded, high-quality, and accountable to kids' success. The Agenda was compiled by Children Now, the only research, policy development, and advocacy organization covering the full-range of key children's issues, from prenatal through age 26, including early childhood development, K-12, higher education, children's health, foster care, and youth justice. Children Now coordinates The Children's Movement of California--a member-based constituency supporting kids that now includes more than 3,000 business, parent, labor, civil rights, faith, and community organizations. The organization also leads, co-leads or participates in more than 80 coalitions around the state. The Agenda reflects the top priorities of each of those coalitions and their members.

Lack of progress for improving the lives of kids is unacceptable. All children need stability and a path to opportunity. This is true for nearly half of California's children who live in low-income families, where caregivers struggle to afford the quality support and services they need for their kids. This is also true for the approximately three-fourths of kids of color and just under half of kids growing up in immigrant families who face significant structural barriers to their stability and often highly stressful experiences that disrupt their healthy development. As the "2018 California Children's Report Card" shows, the vast majority of the state's children face extraordinary challenges to reaching their full potential. Yet, the success of California's economy and civil society ultimately depends on policies that tear down these barriers and give all kids access to the quality support they need to succeed--from quality, affordable child care to a rigorous education to health coverage to safety. Public policy change is the fastest and most efficient way to scale innovative, high-impact programs, and secure the needed resources and reforms. The report card is organized into the following sections: (1) Education; (2) Health; and (3) Child Welfare.

For more than 25 years, Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ) has produced the New Jersey KIDS COUNT Data Book, an annual statewide profile of child well-being. With KIDS COUNT represented in each state and several U.S. territories, ACNJ is part of a comprehensive effort to not only track how well kids are faring across New Jersey, but also on a national level. Funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, KIDS COUNT informs policymakers and the public of the progress made and work needed to ensure the health, welfare and safety of all children. This year's data book features a new layout with explanations of specific indicators, as well as updates on how certain information is collected and measured. Each year ACNJ tries to incorporate new indicators of child well-being based on suggestions from its network or new data sources that become available. ACNJ obtains data primarily from state departments and agencies, but much of the demographic information is obtained through the U.S. Census, American Community Survey (ACS). While the census counts basic information every ten years, the ACS provides a richer data set every year which includes age, disability status, housing condition, ancestry, education level, race/ethnicity and marital and family status.

The third edition of the National Technical Assistance Center for the Education of Neglected or Delinquent Children and Youth's (NDTAC's) "Transition Toolkit" provides updated information on existing policies, practices, strategies, and resources for transition that build on field experience and research. The "Toolkit" offers practical information that enables State and local administrators, teachers, and service providers to provide high-quality transition services for youth moving into, through, and out of education programs within the juvenile justice (JJ) system. Section I of this document provides an introduction to and overview of the Transition Toolkit. Section II of this document briefly addresses the topic of transition across five areas: (1) The transition process for youth in the JJ system; (2) The complexity of the JJ system; (3) Characteristics of the population; (4) Relevant transition literature and policies; and (5) Strategies for successful transitions. Sections III-VI each addresses a distinct stage of transition: (1) Entry into the JJ system; (2) Residence; (3) Exit from Secure Care; and (4) Aftercare. Each section provides strategies to improve the transition process at one of the four stages. Strategies specific to facilities, youth, families, and communities/systems are highlighted and examples are provided. Each section also includes pertinent resources, such as sample forms, protocols, and tools used at different stages of the transition process. Appendix A contains a self-study and planning document to guide program improvement at each stage of the transition process. Appendix B includes legal considerations related to transition. Appendix C provides additional information about transition-related requirements in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that are introduced in Section II. Appendix D summarizes Federal funding resources available to support transition programs. Appendix E features highlights of four transition-related programs around the country.

This annual snapshot of child well-being is intended to inform policymakers and the public of the progress of and challenges to ensuring the health, welfare, and safety of all children. Following an introduction, this report contains seven sections: (1) The State of Children and Families, including data on births and family structure; (2) The State of Family Economics, including data on median family income, housing, and food security; (3) The State of Early Care and Education, including data on PK-12 enrollment, homeless students, and high school graduation rates and SATs; (4) The State of Child Health, including data on uninsured children, infant and child deaths, and child behavioral health; (5) The State of Child Protection, including data on abused and neglected children, safety in foster care, and adoptions; (6) The State of Teens and Young Adults, including data on youth in poverty, births to teens, and juvenile justice; and (7) The State of Immigrant Families, including data on foreign-born children and language among children in immigrant families. [For the 2015 report, see ED585532.]

California is home to more than 9 million children. With 12 percent of the nation's children, the well-being of California kids has a big impact on the well-being of children nationally. Unfortunately, California recently ranked 38th out of 50 states in children's well-being. Research has shown a strong connection between children's socioeconomic status and overall well-being. California ranks 49th on measures of kids' economic well-being, surpassing only Mississippi. While it is a prosperous state, around 1 in 4 California children lives in poverty. California is also one of the most diverse states in the US. The state's children are racially, ethnically, linguistically and culturally diverse. Today, 1 in every 2 children are Latino, and 22 percent of students are English learners (EL) from at least 60 different language groups. Nearly half the state's children (4.4 million) live in immigrant families, and the majority of those (91%) are U.S. citizens. Yet research consistently finds large disparities in kids' well-being based on racial, ethnic and language background. In a state as diverse as California, the future civic and economic well-being hinges on closing those gaps, and ensuring every child is healthy, well-educated and safe. This year's Report Card presents statistics that bear out what is known about inequality and the widening opportunity gap kids face. Presented are disparities in school suspensions and expulsions for African American students, who are three times more likely to experience those disciplinary measures than white students. Readers will find strong evidence that inequities can be addressed with smart policies, like investing in quality child care and preschool and reforms like the Local Control Funding Formula, which helps ensure that English language learners, kids in foster care and the more than three million low-income students in the state will have more resources directed to them. The report card is organized into the following sections: (1) Education; (2) Health; and (3) Child Welfare. [This report was written with the support of Justin Hui, Karen Huynh, Alanna Peebles, and Koji Takahashi.]

In partnership with the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform (CJJR), the National Evaluation and Technical Assistance Center for the Education of Children and Youth Who Are Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk (NDTAC) has developed a series of practice guides that provide concrete strategies for adopting the principles and practices discussed in the monograph, "Addressing the Unmet Educational Needs of Children and Youth in the Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare Systems" (Leone & Weinberg, 2012). The monograph examines a number of topics relevant to the education and experiences of youth in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, and "crossover youth" who find themselves at some point in their lives involved with both systems. This NDTAC practice guide primarily examines the principle that change requires within-agency and cross-agency leadership and includes secondarily the principle of outcomes that matter are measured as data collection and analysis of key indicators are so critical to effective leaders and their reform efforts. This principle, pertaining to effective leadership, recognizes that leaders must be communicators who clearly share their vision within the entire agency as well as with cross-agency stakeholders and establish and build strong relationships within and across agencies and establish accountability standards for programs, themselves, and others in the organization. This practice guide first provides practices and strategies that are suitable for implementation across five categories of educational settings in which youth may be placed (Community-Based Traditional and Alternative Schools, Day Treatment Centers, Group Homes, Residential Treatment Centers, and Detention and Correctional Facilities). The remainder of the guide discusses several practices and related strategies for effective leadership in juvenile justice, child welfare, and other child-serving agencies during times of change. An appendix contains information relating to Resource Interviews with Recognized Leaders.

The 2015-16 Pro-Kid Policy Agenda for California is the only comprehensive roadmap at the state level for policymakers, stakeholders, and others who want all children--especially children of color and children from low-income families--to have the opportunity to reach their full potential. A plethora of research shows that investments in quality programs for kids more than pay for themselves in terms of increased earnings and revenues and a stronger overall economy, and decreases healthcare, corrections, and other public costs later on. Given the far-reaching impact of ensuring that all kids have the supports they need, the Pro-Kid Agenda is a critical component of the other major agendas facing the state, including the anti-poverty, pro-economic growth, social justice, governmental efficiency, equity, pro-safety, and pro-family support agendas. Yet unlike many of these other agendas, the Pro-Kid Agenda is one that can be readily embraced by policymakers across the political spectrum, a range of diverse stakeholders and the general public. Prioritizing kids should be a unifying goal. Who, for example, thinks it makes sense that, while California is a relatively high tax state (ranking 11th in per capita state and local tax revenues), it ranks in the bottom half of states in per-capita expenditures on education and children's health? The "Agenda" can unite Democrats and Republicans, business and labor, liberals and conservatives, urban and rural and people of all ethnicities, incomes and ages. Provided here is the 2015-16 Pro-Kid advocacy agenda for California at a glance.