2011 Legislative Initiatives

Comparison Of Academic Achievement In Virginia And In Leading Industrialized Nations

In a two-year study, the Commission on Youth is examining the issues of how Virginia school children compare academically to students in other countries. During Year 1, Commission staff will compile a “snapshot” of Virginia’s educational attributes/statistics compared to other states and compile country-by-country “snapshot” of other countries’ educational systems’ attributes and best-practices. Year 2 study activities include review of data gathered during the first year, convening a Workgroup of stakeholders to assist in process, and identifying international/national best practices which can be adopted in Virginia.

Study Plan

School Enrollment Practices For Virginia’s Kinship Caregivers

In Virginia, the majority of kinship care arrangements are informal, which refers to a living arrangement in which a child’s care is provided by relatives in the absence of the parent due to a serious family hardship. (The term refers to lack of child welfare agency involvement, not the lack of permanency.)  In 2011, the Commission on Youth will convene an advisory group of representatives from impacted agencies and stakeholder organizations to study ways to clarify the school enrollment process for informal kinship caregivers. The advisory group will formulate recommendations to be presented to the Commission on Youth prior to the 2012 General Assembly Session.

Study Plan
Advisory Group
Virginia Department for the Aging December 2011 Proposed Plan for a Virginia Kinship Navigator 

Update and Dissemination of the Collection of Evidence-based Practices for Children and Adolescents with Mental Health Treatment Needs

SJR 358 (2003) directed the Commission on Youth to update biennially its publication, the Collection of Evidence-based Practices for Children and Adolescents with Mental Health Treatment Needs (House Document 9, 2003). The 4th Edition was published in late 2010 and is available on the Commission’s website.  The Commission will conduct its next biennial update during 2011 and update the section on Intellectual Disabilities. The update will also include newly-published and/or revised resources in the field of child and adolescent behavioral health.

Since 2003, the Collection has identified effective treatment modalities and practices for children, including juvenile offenders, with mental health treatment needs. Moreover, utilization of evidence-based practices in the field of children's mental health may offer the Commonwealth cost savings.
Study Plan
 

Approved by the Commission on Youth on April 5, 2011