SC: South Carolina, Under Lawsuit Settlement and Needing 1,500 Foster Homes, Could Become 20th State To Create Ombudsmans’ Office (Commentary)
Chronicle of Social Change – April 30, 2018
South Carolina is set to become the 20th state to establish an autonomous office to hold its child welfare agency accountable.
NH parents of child who died arrested on drug charges
Boston 25 News
Following the child’s death, police executed a search warrant at 473 Hevey St. and said they found 28.1 grams of heroin, 11.8 grams of cocaine, 15.3 …
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Day care provider enters guilty plea in baby death case
MLive.com
MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI – A day care provider has pleaded guilty to child neglect in a case involving the death of a toddler in her care at the hands of …
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It is upsetting that the only significant authoritative voice speaking to the horrific practice of criminalizing mental illness is Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek.
Stanek’s Star Tribune article today paints the ugly picture of mentally ill patients not charged with any crime, locked up in a tiny, isolated, empty cell for 23 hours a day for months at a time because there is no other place for them.
HCMC downtown is seeing 800 to 1000 emergency psych visits/month, MN hospitals are turning away mental health patients and a very large percentage of people in the juvenile and criminal justice system suffer from diagnosable mental health problems.
Iowa sees spike in confirmed child abuse cases
Seattle Times
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Officials say publicity around high-profile child abuse cases in Iowa has caused a surge in such reports. Confirmed child …
Iowa sees spike in confirmed child abuse cases – WRAL.com
City’s toughest neighborhoods also plagued with high instances of child abuse
WBAL Baltimore
Some of the city’s toughest communities, those plagued by crime and drugs, are also notorious for another adverse distinction: having a high number …
Dramatic rise in ADHD medication mishaps among kids, report finds
ABC News
Nationwide, more than 156,000 calls were placed to poison control centers for exposure to ADHD drugs among those 19 or younger between 2000 …
New study released on ADHD sheds light on rising calls of medication exposure: Experts stress … – WMBF
Gov’t, UNICEF, partners launch action plan vs violence against children
ABS-CBN News
The Philippine Plan of Action to End Violence Against Children (PPAEVAC) is a set of strategies and recommendations resulting from the National Baseline Study on Violence against Children in 2016. It is a product of consultations between the government, UNICEF and its partners, and details the roles …
The psychotropic medicating (Prozac, Ritalin and Zoloft type drugs) of very young children was deemed worthy of billions in civil fines for big pharmaceutical companies not long ago. Today, America is illegally drugging migrant children with psychotropics without parental consent. It is a crime.
Torture is what happens to a child separated from her mother at a U.S. boarder crossing. Torture results in trauma. Children in cages – toddlers in pens? Traumatizing children has a very real effect on a child’s developing brain, impacts mental health and can last forever. To think this government has a policy of drugging and torturing children should be a wake up call that this administration will stop at nothing to achieve a small political gain.
It’s wrong and we should all be ashamed.
Our mean spirited and child unfriendly politics is driving teachers into public office. This is a sample and it the most positive movement towards better treatment of children than we have seen in a long time. Blaming teachers for trouble schools is so wrong.
Looking for better schools, higher graduation rates and safer communities? Support schools and the people on the front lines.
What we do to our children, they will do to society (Pliny the Elder 2000 years ago)
Accused child killers plead not guilty in Seneca County Court
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
The mother and stepfather of a 3-year-old taken off of life support last week after being beaten until he was brain dead pleaded not guilty to murder …
Seneca Falls couple plead not guilty to beating 3-year-old boy to death – 13WHAM-TV
Couple accused of killing toddler pleads not guilty – Spectrum News
Ignite a Nation’s Rabbi Eric Walker and KARA’s Mike Tikkanen have a wide ranging In depth television interview about child trauma, child abuse and child protection and what we can do to heal and save at risk children
American states are struggling to find answers for ending adverse childhood experiences (ACES) and saving at risk children by reversing the explosive growth of child abuse and neglect. Today, many state ward children are the 4th and 5th generation of abused children raising their own families without parenting skills and with serious drug, alcohol and mental health issues
37% of children overall and 57% of Black children are reported to child protection services in America by the time they turn 18. (American Journal of Public Health 1.17)
12 million children a year are reported to child protection services each year and in many states, 1/3 of foster children are required to take psychotropic medicines
Please join me, as I talk about my book Invisible Children on Igniting a Nation, Inc. LIVE June 12 at 12 PM CT/1 PM ET. You can join the conversation and watch my interview LIVE. Join us here: https://ianbn.com/watch-live-now/ #InvisibleChildren #KidsAtRiskAction #FBLive #RevealingtheTruth IANBN.COM
Today, many state ward children are the 4th and 5th generation of abused children raising their own families without parenting skills and with serious drug, alcohol and mental health issues
37% of children overall and 57% of Black children are reported to child protection services in America by the time they turn 18. (American Journal of Public Health 1.17)
12 million children a year are reported to child protection services each year and in many states, 1/3 of foster children are required to take psychotropic medicines
American states are struggling to find answers for ending adverse childhood experiences (ACES) and saving at risk children by reversing the explosive growth of child abuse and neglect. Today, many state ward children are the 4th and 5th generation of abused children raising their own families without parenting skills and with serious drug, alcohol and mental health issues
37% of children overall and 57% of Black children are reported to child protection services in America by the time they turn 18. (American Journal of Public Health 1.17)
12 million children a year are reported to child protection services each year and in many states, 1/3 of foster children are required to take psychotropic medicines
Mike Tikkanen’s interview with Ben Ball at North Carolina’s Coastal Daybreak WTKF radio – a powerful discussion of child abuse, trauma and child protection in our nation today;
Today, many state ward children are the 4th and 5th generation of abused children raising their own families without parenting skills and with serious drug, alcohol and mental health issues
37% of children overall and 57% of Black children are reported to child protection services in America by the time they turn 18. (American Journal of Public Health 1.17)
12 million children a year are reported to child protection services each year and in many states, 1/3 of foster children are required to take psychotropic medicines
If you live with, work with or know at risk children, you know how your community values children. Not much. Since 2004, America had remained 3rd from the bottom on spending for children among the developed nations.
Not long ago, America ranked at the top of quality of life indices and our children had good schools, healthcare and a good chance of becoming productive citizens leading happy lives. American children don’t get healthcare, quality daycare or education and critical prenatal care is very rare.
America’s at risk youth become dysfunctional juveniles, felons and preteen moms living in poverty, jail and prison on their way to becoming the long term problem their parents were to the community.
If you live in Arizona, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, or New Mexico (states treating children the worst) you have known for many years how badly your state treats children and why your schools don’t work, public health and public safety are endangered and communities of poverty outnumber communities of hope and happiness. Share this with your friends and networks (especially your friends in Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas & New Mexico)
Track Critical Child Protection/Child Abuse Issues & News In Your State Here (free)
Track Critical Child Protection/Child Abuse Internationall Issues & News Here (free)
Get KARA’s Weekly EBrief Updates (free) every Friday Morning
American states are struggling to find answers for ending adverse childhood experiences (ACES) and saving at risk children by reversing the explosive growth of child abuse and neglect. Today, many state ward children are the 4th and 5th generation of abused children raising their own families without parenting skills and with serious drug, alcohol and mental health issues
37% of children overall and 57% of Black children are reported to child protection services in America by the time they turn 18. (American Journal of Public Health 1.17)
12 million children a year are reported to child protection services each year and in many states, 1/3 of foster children are required to take psychotropic medicines
KARA’s reporting is only sampling of what should be reported – the great majority of child trauma & abuse is never known.
American states are struggling to find answers for ending adverse childhood experiences (ACES) and saving at risk children by reversing the explosive growth of child abuse and neglect. Today, many state ward children are the 4th and 5th generation of abused children raising their own families without parenting skills and with serious drug, alcohol and mental health issues
37% of children overall and 57% of Black children are reported to child protection services in America by the time they turn 18. (American Journal of Public Health 1.17)
12 million children a year are reported to child protection services each year and in many states, 1/3 of foster children are required to take psychotropic medicines
These articles, stories & statistics reflect current news about abused and neglected through the first half of May 2018. They represent only those stories terrible enough to be reported by the media. All Adults Are the Protectors of All Children
American states are struggling to find answers for ending adverse childhood experiences and saving at risk children by reversing the explosive growth of child abuse and neglect. Today, many state ward children are the 4th and 5th generation of abused children raising their own families without parenting skills and with serious drug, alcohol and mental health issues
37% of children overall and 57% of Black children are reported to child protection services in America by the time they turn 18. (American Journal of Public Health 1.17)
12 million children a year are reported to child protection services each year and in many states, 1/3 of foster children are required to take psychotropic medicines
KARA (Kids At Risk Action) tracks current news about at risk children bringing transparency and attention to our youngest and most vulnerable citizens. KARA’s reporting is only sampling of what should be reported – the great majority of child trauma & abuse is never known.
American states are struggling to find answers for ending adverse childhood experiences and saving at risk children by reversing the explosive growth of child abuse and neglect. Today, many state ward children are the 4th and 5th generation of abused children raising their own families without parenting skills and with serious drug, alcohol and mental health issues
37% of children overall and 57% of Black children are reported to child protection services in America by the time they turn 18. (American Journal of Public Health 1.17)
12 million children a year are reported to child protection services each year and in many states, 1/3 of foster children are required to take psychotropic medicines
Today’s article at Safe Passages for children makes a very serious point.
I advocated for a boy (call him Andy) over many years who was suicidal on multiple occasions. He spoke about his own violence against cops. The hatred Andy had towards police as figures of authority are common to abused children. Andy was suicidal and could have caused his own death by his actions.
When I met Andy, he was 7 years old, covered in bruises, had been left alone in the home tied to a bed for days at a time (from 4 to 7 years of age) without food or water. He was on multiple psychotropic medications for his profound mental health issues.
Several children in my CASA guardian ad Litem caseload had multiple run ins with police -some very serious. It is dangerous to the officer and the child when there is no coordination between Child Protection & Law Enforcement. All Adults are the Protectors of All Children
CASA Minnesota is hosting a Trivia Night and Silent Auction on Thursday May 31, 2018 at Lake Calhoun Event Center. Gather a group of friends or co-workers for a team or come and join a team to compete in a fun night of trivia.
Doors open at 5:30PM and trivia will start at 6:30PM. Come early to network and bid on some great silent auction items!
A table of up to eight people is $250 and individual tickets are $35 if purchased in advance and $40 if purchased at the door. Note: There is an additional Eventbrite fee for ticket purchases.
Included in the ticket price is a taco bar and a drink ticket. All proceeds will go to support CASA Minnesota and CASA Cares.
CASA Minnesota hopes to see you there!
After all these years of Prozac and drugging of children with mental health issues and so little access to mental health services, it’s refreshing to see students and their petition for improving these services in the schools.
Thank you students at Mounds View and Hopkins high schools for speaking out and your effort to create a more compassionate and safe atmosphere for troubled youth.
When child suicides make the news (today’s Star Tribune article), there is a gaping hole where failed suicide attempts and other self harming behaviors of children should be accounted for and reckoned with.
State Ward children so often have dangerous lifestyles – self harming and even life threatening behaviors that we don’t speak of and no one knows but a few people involved in these tragedies.
When foster child Kendrea Johnson hung herself the County Corornor stated that six year old children just did not have the mental capacity to execute a suicide successfully (he called her death an accident – she left a note).
The Star Tribune’s chart showing 5-14 year old children as a tiny part of child suicides would be dwarfed by including their attempted suicides, cutting and other self harming behaviors.
All Adults Are The Protectors of All Children
Jehovah’s Witnesses accused of silencing victims of child abuse
The Guardian
Former and current members, including 41 alleged victims of child sexual abuse, described a culture of cover-ups and lies, with senior members of the organisation, known as elders, discouraging victims from coming forward for fear of bringing “reproach on Jehovah” and being exiled from the …
Why are Iowa lawmakers dragging their feet over strengthening child sex-abuse laws? – DesMoinesRegister.com
Removed from churches, some priests accused of sexual abuse live near schools – Buffalo News
Trial set for stepfather charged with sexual abuse – Odessa American
Safe Passage deserves big kudos for this survey of declared candidates for MN Governor. Until recently, not many legislators understood the depth and scope of the problems facing at risk children in our state (or any state).
It is only by asking lawmakers to express their knowledge and views about child abuse and child protection that we can vote in people that understand the traumas these kids suffer from, heal them and l interrupt the epidemic of trauma and abuse in our community that is wrecking our schools, public health and safety.
Read candidate responses here and share this link with your friends and contacts.
Thank you Safe Passage For Children MN
HI: Girl who was severely beaten after state returned her to mom gets $450K payout (Includes video)
Hawaii News Now – March 02, 2018
Twelve years ago, Shari Rodrigues suffered permanent brain and internal injuries after she was beaten by her biological mother’s boyfriend. The state initially took the girl, who was 2 at the time, away from her mother. The girl was then returned.
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/37636849/girl-who-was-severely-beaten-after-state-returned-her-to-mom-gets-450k-payout
Tuesday morning baby death is Milwaukee’s 13th of the year
WISN Milwaukee
Tuesday morning’s death of a five-month-old girl is the 13th baby death so far this year, a medical examiner’s office spokesperson said. Emergency crews called to a residence near North 45th Street and West Glendale Avenue around 3:45 a.m. confirmed the death, which was later said to have been …
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AL: & AZ: Lawsuit was catalyst for cutting caseloads in Alabama (Commentary)
Arizona Daily Star – March 08, 2018
Across the state, average caseloads were 65. Within six months, James was the only one of five people hired with him who hadn’t quit. But Alabama’s child welfare system was on the cusp of wholesale reform that took place county by county after a sweeping 1988 lawsuit filed by advocates on behalf of a foster child known as R.C.
http://tucson.com/news/lawsuit-was-catalyst-for-cutting-caseloads-in-alabama/article_c3a733aa-224b-11e8-b859-477daa1e1099.html
It hurts me to know that I live in a state that pays the least of almost all states in training social workers and continues to underfund the federally mandated guardian ad litem program so severely that over six hundred children do not have a Court Appointed Special Advocate even today. A Court Appointed GAL is the only voice abused children have in court once they have been removed from their homes.
The list of underfunded programs for the most vulnerable citizens in our community is long and been growing (we have the money*).
Without the Star Tribune’s continued reporting on child abuse issues, trauma and abuse would still be non-issues as they were when 3-year-old Dennis Jergens was tortured to death in White Bear Lake in the 1960’s. His mother Lois Jergens went on to adopt four other children by moving out of the state.
Scale of child abuse survey ‘needed every 10 years’
BBC News
Thousands of children should be surveyed to build a true picture of sexual exploitation, experts have said. The government says it does not know how many girls have been groomed in the wake of questions about sexual exploitation in Telford. But the Centre of Expertise for Child Sexual Abuse is …
CA: Social Workers Concerned With Increase in Babies Exposed to Meth
Santa Barbara Independent – March 15, 2018
An increasing number of infants exposed to methamphetamine have raised concern among Santa Barbara social workers. In the last three months, about 30 babies were in need of a court-appointed special advocate, better known as a CASA. Most had been exposed to meth.
https://www.independent.com/news/2018/mar/15/social-workers-concerned-increase-babies-exposed-m/
CA: County official seeks to expand support for foster youth
Justin’s mother abandoned him years ago to the custody of her own mother. Grandmother could not manage the boy & gave custody to a couple that were grossly unfit to care for children. They killed him.
In grandmother’s defense, there is nothing easy about being 65 years old and trying to care for an out of control child traumatized child. An adopting grandmother once told me tepidly, “when that child is 18, I will be 88 – I sure hope I can make it”.
Bobbie Christine Bishop and Henry Wynhoff beat the six year old repeatedly, duct taped him to a wall & let his infections kill him (from my reading of the article). One visit from a social worker would have discovered the boys awful circumstances and impending death.
Woman Arrested In Death Of 11-Month-Old Girl
CBS Boston / WBZ
QUINCY (CBS) – A 27-year-old Quincy woman is facing charges in the death of a baby. Prosecutors say Shu Feng Hsu assaulted 11-month-old Chloe Chen in February. Police say that she either shook her niece or struck her in the head. The baby died two days later at Boston Medical Center.
DA: Quincy woman to be charged in death of baby girl – Boston Herald
Woman accused of assaulting baby who later died – WCVB Boston
Quincy: Arrest & Arraignment in February Baby Death Investigation – 95.9 WATD-FM (blog)
Full Coverage
CA: LA County Board looks to shut down pipeline from foster care to juvenile hall
City News Service – March 20, 2018
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to reevaluate the treatment of youngsters in the county’s care, aiming to keep foster children out of juvenile halls and camps.
http://theavtimes.com/2018/03/20/la-county-board-looks-to-shut-down-pipeline-from-foster-care-to-juvenile-hall/
On Wednesday I was part of a team invited to address judges, lawyers, professors and other officials from developing nations about child abuse, child trauma and specifically, the CASA guardian ad litem program that was of most of interest to them on their visit to Minneapolis. I have great hope that these smart, committed professionals succeeded on their extensive U.S. journey learning about the many moving parts of justice, child rights, courts, domestic violence, child protection systems, child advocacy, foster care/adoption and children’s mental health.
It was an honor to speak with these people and uplifting to know that the CASA guardian ad Litem program is identified all over the world as a powerful voice for children and that any nation can create this program to save vulnerable children.
It hurt me to see no mention of Minnesota’s hundreds of volunteer CASA guardians ad litem in Susan Miles’ Child Protection article in Friday’s Star Tribune.
I’m all for paying people for hard work and especially those working with troubled children and families.
Volunteer guardians come from the heart of the community, they do their work solely of concern for abused children & take fewer cases than paid guardians.
Fewer cases means they can be more involved with the child and family. Paid guardians need to handle 25 sometime 30 cases – most volunteer CASA guardians only take a few.
State Ward children have commented many times to me that I was different because I was the only person from the County not being paid to be with them. This meant something to them.
This short powerful article from Safe Passage for Children of MN identifies the how and why two girls could be beaten with bats, starved, raped and chained over 12-15 years in the same house and over 50 police calls to the home never resulted in an investigation. The neighbors knew, the police knew, the county knew – but nothing was done.
It’s how Eric Dean the 4 year old was tortured to death while 14 reports of abuse by mandated reporters were ignored. The single visit to the home by child protection workers did not interview the child. If they had, they would have seen the bite marks on his face and head, broken arm and other scars.
We need state wide guidelines to maltreatment reports, statewide coordination of child protection activities and standards for child protection with a focus on keeping children safe.
Opinion | Home visits a key to trauma-informed care for kids
The Commercial Appeal
As evidence of the impact of childhood trauma continues to permeate child-serving institutions, teachers, social workers, pediatricians and caregivers are changing the way they interact with children who have been subjected to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Of the many techniques and …
AZ: Fixing Our Foster Care Crisis
Arizona Daily Star – March 27, 2018
After peaking with nearly 19,000 children in foster care in 2016, Arizona set out to keep more families together and pull fewer kids from their homes. Some changes are taking hold, and the number of kids in out-of-home care is trending downward.
http://tucson.com/fixing-arizona-s-foster-care-crisis/article_10fe027e-31f5-11e8-b4b8-ef0126c7b046.html
Perris Couple Accused of Torturing Children Return to Court
NBC Southern California
David Allen Turpin, 56, and Louise Ann Turpin, 49, are charged with 12 counts each of torture and false imprisonment, as well as nine counts of child abuse and seven counts of cruelty to a dependent adult. David Turpin is additionally charged with one count of lewd acts on a child under 14 years old, …
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KARA (Kids At Risk Action) tracks current news about at risk children bringing transparency and attention to our youngest and most vulnerable citizens. KARA’s reporting is only sampling of what should be reported – the great majority of child trauma & abuse is never known.
American states are struggling to find answers for ending adverse childhood experiences and saving at risk children by reversing the explosive growth of child abuse and neglect. Today, many state ward children are the 4th and 5th generation of abused children raising their own families without parenting skills and with serious drug, alcohol and mental health issues.
37% of children overall and 57% of Black children are reported to child protection services in America by the time they turn 18.
(American Journal of Public Health 1.17)
12 million children a year are reported to child protection services each year and in many states, 1/3 of foster children are required to take psychotropic medicines
37% of children overall and 57% of Black children are reported to child protection services in America by the time they turn 18.
(American Journal of Public Health 1.17)
12 million children a year are reported to child protection services each year and in many states, 1/3 of foster children are required to take psychotropic medicines
The fear and aloneness in the eyes of the child sitting next to me in court as the judge decides where she will live after being taken away from the only home she has ever known is palpable.
Here, in a roomful of adults she has never seen before about to determine what will become of her family, where she will live and what school she will go to are too monstrous for words.
How would you as a six year old respond? Remember, coping skills for these events don’t exist is six year olds.
It’s always been terror and trauma for these kids. Torture, trauma and abuse in the home. Terror and trauma of the unknown as the institution takes over every aspect of her life.
KARA (Kids At Risk Action) tracks current news about at risk children bringing transparency and attention to our youngest and most vulnerable citizens. KARA’s reporting is only sampling of what should be reported – the great majority of child trauma & abuse is never known.
American states are struggling to find answers for ending adverse childhood experiences and saving at risk children by reversing the explosive growth of child abuse and neglect. Today, many state ward children are the 4th and 5th generation of abused children raising their own families without parenting skills and with serious drug, alcohol and mental health issues.
37% of children overall and 57% of Black children are reported to child protection services in America by the time they turn 18.
(American Journal of Public Health 1.17)
12 million children a year are reported to child protection services each year and in many states, 1/3 of foster children are required to take psychotropic medicines
37% of children overall and 57% of Black children are reported to child protection services in America by the time they turn 18.
(American Journal of Public Health 1.17)
12 million children a year are reported to child protection services each year and in many states, 1/3 of foster children are required to take psychotropic medicines
Compilation of information and writing on this page is the hard work of KARA volunteers David Vang, Mike Toronto, Jamar Weston, Adolf Nchanj, Josh Jedlicka and Blaz Zlate, Callie Benscoter, (student volunteers at Century College) Katie Frake, Boston College, Julie O,
KARA’s INVISIBLE CHILDREN Campus Exhibit
All Adults Are The Protectors of All Children
