San Diego

California is the only state where the three strikes laws apply to 16- or 17-year-olds who commit crimes, impacting them for years.

More than 130 children have been brought back to California and counties now have more than $100 million to develop in-state, locally based programs.

  In the eastern suburbs of Sacramento County, Kamika Hebbert keeps a watchful eye for signs of how an unstable environment affects young minds. There’s the restlessness that comes with worry about biological parents and siblings.

Ricardo Rodriguez is a 26-year-old San Diego resident and former foster youth who balances a job in tech with volunteer work and entrepreneurial pursuits. Thanks to his relentless drive and support from key sources, his life has turned out far different from previous expectations.

At the uncommon intersection of philanthropy, real estate and community, a pair of nonprofits joined forces over the weekend to put on a unique fundraiser benefiting transition-aged foster youth and homeless families in San Diego County.

Voices for Children, which provides court appointed special advocates (CASAs) to foster children in San Diego and Riverside Counties, has named John Valencia as its new president and CEO. Valencia, who previously served as the vice chancellor of workforce and organizational development at Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District in at El Cajon, California, will start at Voices for Children on Feb.

The National Council on Crime and Delinquency announced three projects to study the feasibility of pay-for-success (PFS) projects in Connecticut, California and Wisconsin. PFS projects shift the burden of social investment off the government and onto private investors.

A report outlining the prevalence of the commercial sexual exploitation of children specifically in the foster system and the need for child-serving systems to identify exploited and at-risk youth. To read the full report, please click HERE.

By: Orville Thomas “It makes all the difference if they want to share. It’s easier if they’re not inclined to share. They say FERPA and it ends the conversation.”- Dr. Bernard James of Pepperdine University describing school districts and their interaction with FERPA, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.