NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The 2004 KIDS COUNT Data Book, which evaluates state-by-state progress in child well-being, will be released nationally on Thursday, and Tennessee’s rankings will be discussed during a news conference that will feature members of the Tennessee Youth Advisory Council.
The news conference, sponsored by the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth, is scheduled for Thursday, June 3, at 10 a.m. at the Old Supreme Court Building at the Tennessee State Capitol.
While the 2004 KIDS COUNT report shows that eight out of 10 indicators of child well-being have improved nationally, nearly one in six young adults, ages 18 to 24, are unemployed, have no degree beyond high school and are not enrolled in school. Among these "disconnected" youth who are most at risk of failing to transition into successful adulthood are children aging out of the foster care system-those who reach age 18 while still in state custody.
Stacy and Sidney, two youth board members of the Tennessee Youth Advisory Council, will be on hand Thursday to discuss their experiences within the foster care system and the challenges they face as young adults. Cynthia Durant of U.S. Bank and a member of the council’s Community Partnership Board will also speak.
The KIDS COUNT report is a project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, which also supports the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative. Last year, the Vanderbilt Child and Family Policy Center received a $400,000 grant from the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative to create a national model program to help teens in state custody who are aging out of foster care.
For more information about the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative at the Vanderbilt Child and Family Policy Center, visit http://www.vanderbilt.edu/VIPPS/C&FPC/jimcaseyyouth/jimcaseyhome.htm.
Media contact: Kara Furlong, (615) 322-NEWS Kimberly Crane, (615) 322-1461
kara.c.furlong@vanderbilt.edu kim.crane@vanderbilt.edu