YO! Academy in Baltimore, MD released a report on its successes from 2006 through mid-year 2009. The findings include increased attendance rates and in increased participation rate in a variety of holistic services that include job readiness training and skills training as well as community service.

America's Promise Alliance commissioned Grad Nation, a new tool comprising the best evidence-based practices for keeping young people in school paired with suggestions for effectively preparing them for life after high school. It is a guidebook that provides a road map to help communities tackle the dropout crisis. It is designed to help communities develop tailored plans for keeping students on track to graduate from high school, prepared for college, work and life. Grad Nation includes ready-to-print tools and links to additional online resources, in addition to research-based guidance. It provides information and tools for developing and implementing a customized program that's right for individual communities.

Non-Regulatory Guidance from the U.S. Department of Education.  December 22, 2008

McKinsey's report, The Economic Impact of the Achievement Gap in America's Schools, examines the dimensions and economic impact of the education achievement gap. While much controversy exists on the
causes of the gap and on what the nation should do to address it, the full range of the achievement gap's character and consequences has been poorly understood. This report examines the dimensions of four distinct gaps in education: (1) between the United States and other nations, (2) between black and Latino students and white students, (3) between students of different income levels, and (4) between similar students schooled in different systems or regions.

The report finds that the underutilization of human potential as reflected in the achievement gap is extremely costly. Existing gaps impose the economic equivalent of a permanent national recessionâ??one substantially larger than the deep recession the country is currently experiencing. For individuals, avoidable shortfalls in academic achievement impose heavy and often tragic consequences via lower earnings, poor health, and higher rates of incarceration.

Authors: Amy Dworsky, Judy Havlicek

This comprehensive review of policies and programs designed to support youth transitioning out of foster care spans all 50 states and the District of Columbia. As part of the review, Chapin Hall administered a web-based survey of state independent living services coordinators to collect up-to-date information about their stateâ??s policies and programs. The survey questions cover a number of domains including: conditions under which foster youth can remain in care after turning 18; provision of independent living and transition services; opportunities for youth to reenter care; and use of state dollars to supplement federal funds from the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program. A number of online resources including state independent living program websites, the National Child Welfare Resource Center for Youth Developmentâ??s State-by-State Fact Pages, and the Transition from Foster Care to Adulthood Wiki were also reviewed. The study was commissioned by the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP).

The paper offers five intervention strategies, applicable to both child welfare and juvenile justice: (1) increasing transparency, (2) reengineering structure and procedures, (3) changing organizational culture, (4) mobilizing political leadership, and (5) partnering in developing community and family resources.