Philadelphia Safe and Sound website will make abundant data accessible to parents, policymakers and service providers. By combining the accessibility of the internet with the comprehensiveness of the data tools it has developed, Philadelphia Safe and Sound is creating a website lush with information. The website will expand the dissemination of information that encourages a rethinking and reshaping of policies, programs and allocations of resources for children; make the decision-making process of city agencies and private social service providers more efficient and data-driven; and increase awareness of the family support, youth development and after-school programs that are available to the children who need them. Click here for full article.

Philadelphia Beacons: Integrating school and community. Checked out your neighborhood school lately? No, not between the hours of 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. when school is in session, but between the hours of 3 and 8 p.m. Chances are, you'll find it quiet and dark, its only inhabitants the janitorial staff and a few teachers getting a head start on the following day's lesson plans. But not at Grover Washington Jr. Middle School in Northeast Philadelphia. There, the Beacon Center “is like a lighthouse with a beacon at the top looking at the entire neighborhood and saying, ‘Give me your kids who need to get involved in meaningful activities.’" Click here for full article.

Oakland middle schools showing a dramatic drop in number of suspensions. Seven Oakland middle schools have dramatically lowered their suspension rates, due in large measure to a multifaceted strategy they are implementing that, among other things, provides schools with constructive alternatives to suspensions, places mental health referral services within schools, and teaches conflict resolution skills to students. The strategy is implemented and funded via a collaboration of the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), individual schools, Alameda County and Safe Passages. Click here for full article.

Baltimore’s Reason to Believe: Private commitment and public support. Children wanting to participate in after-school activities, teens looking for jobs and young families in crisis are among the early beneficiaries of Baltimore’s Reason to Believe Enterprise. Established in May 2003, Reason to Believe is a mechanism to ensure that the conditions of children, youth, families and their healthy development become the city’s top priority. It includes more than 30 organizations that will raise $30 million over the next two years to leverage public funds to increase and sustain opportunities to improve conditions and outcomes for the city’s most vulnerable populations. Click here for full article.

Mayor’s Time using an innovative strategy to increase funding for kids who need help. With government budgets at all levels still extraordinarily strained and with an economy that is not yet exactly rejuvenated, Mayor’s Time is taking advantage of a Michigan state law that can effectively double private philanthropic investments in certain services for kids. Through this Youth Development Investment Strategy, private funds are “donated” to a local agency; the local agency then receives reimbursement from the state for its expenditures. The bottom line is significantly more funds for services to kids who need help. Click here for full article.

Mayor’s Time Fair helping to fill after-school programs in Detroit. More than 17,000 more youth are participating in after-school programs since the 2002 inception of Mayor’s Time, keeping it on its trajectory to enroll 50 percent of Detroit’s school-aged children in after-school programs. The upsurge is due in part to the success of the annual Mayor’s Time After School Fair and related efforts to make more Detroiters aware of the benefits of after-school programs and to increase participation in them. Click here for full article.

Josefina Alvarado-Mena is Safe Passages’ new executive director. Safe Passages selected Josefina Alvarado-Mena to be its new Executive Director after an extensive search. Prior to joining Safe Passages, Alvarado-Mena spent four years at the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), helping to expand after-school programs, violence prevention programs, case management and mental health programs throughout the entire district. She replaces Laura Pinkney, who spent five years with the organization, including the last three as Executive Director. Under her leadership, Safe Passages achieved several important goals set out by its board in 2000. Click here for full article.