Hot Topics

The "Hot Topics" Bulletin Board section of the TNOYS website is devoted to current issues of concern to members.  When a new issue is introduced, you will find a new title and short summary on this page, along with a link to the full story on another website or webpage.  Members are encouraged to submit "hot topics" stories for inclusion on the bulletin board! 

Number of homeless students soaring

Public schools are used to dealing with children in poverty, but this school year, San Antonio school districts are seeing more children than ever from families that have gone from struggling to put food on the table to keeping a roof over their heads.  (Source: San Antonio Express News)

Backlog, processing errors bedevil food stamp program

Tens of thousands of Texas families are waiting as long as several months for food stamps as a surge in applications lands on an already strained system.  And when state workers do process the applications, they often do it wrong.  One out of every six food stamp applications is incorrectly processed by state workers, according to state data.  In some cases, that means eligible families are being denied benefits.  (Source: Austin American Statesman)

A long wait to get past crime

Kids as young as age 10 can be registered as sex offenders, a label lasting a decade.  This article questions the registration of juvenile sex offenders and includes analysis from TNOYS' very own Executive Director, Theresa Tod.  (Source: Houston Chronicle)

Mentally ill offenders strain juvenile system

As cash-starved states slash mental health programs in communities and schools, they are increasingly relying on the juvenile corrections system to handle a generation of young offenders with psychiatric disorders.  About two-thirds of the nation's juvenile inmates - who numbered 92,854 in 2006, down from 107,000 in 1999 - have at least one mental illness, according to surveys of youth prisons, and are more in need of therapy than punishment.  (Source: The New York Times)

New report finds more than 32% of youth are obese or overweight in Texas

Texas has the 14th highest rate of adult obesity in the nation, at 27.9 percent and the 20th highest of overweight youths (ages 10-17) at 32.2 percent, according to a new report by Trust for America's Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). 

LBJ School releases first-ever comprehensive policy study on trying and sentencing children as adults

Under flawed criminal justice policy that is inconsistent with evidence-based research, trying and sentencing young children as adults occurs with alarming frequency and devastating results, according to a first-ever policy research report on the subject released today by the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin.  The report, “From Time Out to Hard Time: Young Children in the Adult Criminal Justice System,” provides a comprehensive look at how the nation treats pre-adolescent children (primarily those age 12 and under) who commit serious crimes.

Texas is gaining first "one-stop shop" to assist youth offenders

Budget cuts eroding progress in juvenile justice

Across the country, depleted coffers have prompted state and local officials to pare programs intended as alternatives to the mere incarceration of juvenile lawbreakers.  (Source: The New York Times)

The economic crisis is "even worse for young workers"

NYT columnist Bob Herbert says "the ones who are being hit the hardest and will have the most difficult time recovering are America's young workers.  Nearly 2.2 million young people, ages 16 though 29, have already lost their jobs in this recession" and "this follows an already steep decline in employment opportunities for young workers over the past several years."  (Source: The New York Times)

Should states support foster kids until age 21?

Newsweek reports on the challenges facing kids aging out of foster care; the Fostering Connections Act that passed at the end of last year; and the new National Youth in Transition Database, which will be implemented nationwide in 2010.  (Source: Newsweek)

Opportunities to expand services and housing to homeless youth

The National Alliance to End Homelessness and the National Network for Youth have made available a first edition guide to outline resources and ideas for communities interested in new federal funding. 

Survey finds many Boston kids placing blame on Rihanna

A survey conducted by the Boston Public Health Commission found that almost half of Boston teens think singer Rihanna is to blame for the alleged assault she received from hip-hop star Chris Brown. (Source: Boston Herald)

President Obama Announces White House Council on Women and Girls

On March 11, 2009 President Obama signed an Executive Order creating the White House Council on Women and Girls.  The mission of the Council will be to provide a coordinated federal response to the challenges confronted by women and girls and to ensure that all Cabinet and Cabinet-level agencies consider how their policies and programs impact women and families. 

Texas ranks 50th in child homelessness

According to a report released earlier this week by the National Center on Family Homelessness, Texas ranks 50^th in the nation in child homelessness.  This rank is a composite of the number of children currently homeless in the state, an assessment of how children are faring in various domains (i.e. food security, health, education), the risk of children becoming homeless, and the state planning and policy efforts. 

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