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According to the National
Center for Data Statistics, California has one of the highest high school dropout rates in the country, and these numbers
are the highest in school districts with lower income levels. On a county level, the Inland Empire remains
one of the highest hit areas, and nationally, the highest rates among ethnic groups are 4.3% Native American, 4% Hispanic
and 5.5% Black and Non-Hispanic, with Hispanics dropping out at over 50%. Among those statistics are those
children in the foster care system, who according to the U.S. Department of Education, have twice the dropout rate of their
peers and are less likely to graduate from high school. Most important is nationally 25% of those kids in foster care are
between the ages 15-18 years of age with 46% of those kids living in non-relative foster care homes (please see the statistics
section of this website for more detailed statistics).
In addition,
the homeless rate in California is rising due to the tight housing market, and 22% of children of homeless families will end
up in the foster care system, and almost 25% of them have witnessed abuse in their families. Homeless children
are at particularly high risk for being placed in foster care; 12% of homeless children are placed in foster care compared
to just over 1% of other children. The National Center on Family Homelessness has identified placement in foster care as one
of only two childhood risk factors that predicts family homelessness during adulthood. Statistically, 44% of homeless mothers
lived outside of their homes at some point during their childhood; 20% of these women were placed in foster care and 70% of
homeless mothers placed in foster care as children have had at least one of their own children in foster care.
IRS 501(c)(3) Determination Letter - Click Here
2009 Financials - Click Here
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Smooth Transition,
Inc. is a non-profit organization whose goal is to reach at risk teens early and before they drop out of high school or leave
the foster care system. Our work has expanded to include all at-risk populations including displaced adults and
others within the community as a means to help break the cycle of unemployment and poverty We work with them personally,
academically and vocationally, providing hope and guidance in their life decisions and teaching them the life skills they
will need to enter the world, make positive change and meet their life goals. Our team of professionals and educators work
with them and provide them with educational and vocational tools, support and continued mentorship and setting them on their
path to personal success.
Smooth Transition Inc. is working alongside Riverside Unified School
District, Lincoln High, Riverside Public Libraries, Redondo Beach Public Libraries, Palm Springs Unified School District,
Youth Opportunity Centers and local youth organizations to provide services to at-risk and vulnerable populations on
a broad scale and improve the community at large (see below)!
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