Friday, March 21, 2008

Ending "Cradle-to-Prison" pipeline

Our schools too often are places that contribute to the "Cradle-to-Prison Pipeline." This intiative below sets higher expectations for our children and youth:

The Youth PROMISE Act focuses on putting an end to what experts at the Children’s Defense Fund have termed the “Cradle to Prison Pipeline.” Unfortunately, too many of our nation’s children – and particularly minority children – are born under circumstances that, without sufficient intervention, place them on a trajectory to prison. Yet, credible research and studies show that we can intervene and place these youth on a "cradle to college" trajectory.


A vital piece of the "cradle to college pipeline" is education. The Youth PROMISE Act would ensure that education entities are provided with the assistance they need to redirect youth at risk of adverse criminal justice involvement. These grants would also allow communities to fund a variety of education-based programs, including Early Head Start, Head Start, after school programs, mentoring programs, conflict resolution skills training, sports, arts, life skills, employment and recreation programs, summer jobs, summer recreation programs, alternative school resources for youth who have dropped out of school or demonstrate chronic truancy, and education programs for pregnant teens and teen parents.

More information on the Youth PROMISE Act is available at: http://www.house.gov/scott/hotissues_youthpromiseact.shtml.

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