Current Kids At Risk News | INVISIBLE CHILDREN

Dec42016

Minnesota At Risk Children’s News November 2016

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Reporting and News - MN SpecificBy Mike Tikkanen December 4, 2016

Recommendations Announced For Improving Child Services
CBS Local
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Hennepin County leaders are making new recommendations to help protect children in Minnesota. A child protection …
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Hennepin County discussing $26 million child protection plan that would add nearly 250 new staffers
Minneapolis Star Tribune
No longer would children need to endure maltreatment before they get social services in Minnesota’s most populous county. … Hennepin County has had 15,400 child protection reports so far this year, but county leaders expect to …
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Hennepin County shifts child protection mission with new model
Minneapolis Star Tribune
No longer will a child need to endure maltreatment before they get social services in Minnesota’s most populous county, an unprecedented step in the …
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Nov242016

Minnesota At Risk Children’s News October 2016

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Reporting and News - MN SpecificBy Mike Tikkanen November 24, 2016

Teen Arrested In Mpls. Shooting That Killed Man, Baby
CBS Local
Teen Arrested In Mpls. Shooting That Killed Man, Baby … Minnesota History Center Highlights Football Past, Present And FutureThe Minnesota …
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Lakeville parents charged with child neglect
Minnesota Public Radio News
A couple that was reported missing from Lakeville last week has been charged with neglecting their two young children during the five days they spent …
Charges: Minnesota parents lived in car 5 days, didn’t bathe or feed 2 boys – Duluth News Tribune
Full Coverage
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Oct242016

Minnesota Child Protection Stories September 2016

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Reporting and News - MN SpecificBy Mike Tikkanen October 24, 2016

Protesters call for boycott of Varsity Theater, Loring Pasta Bar
Minnesota Daily
The protest was meant to educate the campus community of sexual abuse … The lawsuits were filed under the Child Victims Act, which extended the … any of it,” said first-year University of Minnesota neuroscience student Mary Ellen …
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Mother and boyfriend charged in MN toddler’s death
KFGO
ANOKA, Minn. (AP) – Authorities have filed charges against the mother of a Blaine toddler who died and her boyfriend. Anoka County Attorney Tony …
Couple charged in child death – Valley News Live
Two adults charged in connection with toddler’s death – White Bear Press
Full Coverage
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Charges filed in murder of Blaine, Minnesota toddler
KMSP-TV
A man wanted in the murder of a toddler and kidnapping of a 5-year-old girl in Blaine, Minnesota was arrested Wednesday morning by the Missouri …
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Around the state: Mother, boyfriend charged in toddler’s death
Post-Bulletin
MINNEAPOLIS — A trial in Minnesota district court will test whether suburban … The toddler died at the scene from injuries that authorities say were …
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Oct32016

Child vs Family 2 (thank you safe passage for children of MN)

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Reporting and News - MN SpecificBy admin October 3, 2016

This article from Safe Passage for Children bears repeating;

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) research shows that abuse disrupts children’s brain development in ways that often aren’t reversible. This is a reason for county child protection agencies to remove children from abusive situations. But there are also benefits to keeping children at home.

Historically counties favored keeping families intact, sometimes despite serious ongoing abuse. Today they are giving child safety more weight. But we still basically have a bad either/or choice: remove children or leave them at risk.

We need services that keep children in stable settings while preserving relationships with parents and fostering safe reunions. Concepts that have surfaced include supportive community residences where parents and children live together, and foster care with a parent mentoring component.

Experimenting with ideas like these could resolve this child vs family dilemma. Join this Safe Passage Discussion on Facebook

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Sep102016

Minnesota Child Protection News August 2016

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Reporting and News - MN SpecificBy Mike Tikkanen September 10, 2016

KARA gathers news about abused Minnesota’s abused children every month and works to provide a snapshot of Child Protection and how our state values its children. If you are an aspiring writer/reporter, KARA needs you to help gather and report on these stories. Contact mike@invisiblechildren.org with REPORTING in the subject line. All Adults Are…

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Sep22016

Children Feeling Betrayed (thank you Safe Passage for Children & PBS)

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Reporting and News - MN SpecificBy Mike Tikkanen September 2, 2016

Children who are badly abused sometimes seek help from teachers, extended family, or social workers. When they get none they feel profoundly betrayed by adults. This can have lifelong consequences for the children and society, as this PBS story illustrates.

Today’s dominant political view is that children are nearly always better off with their families. This creates systemic pressures to leave children where they are even when abuse is extreme.

Decisions should be based on each child’s best interests. Children shouldn’t be vehicles for the politics of ideology, culture or race. They don’t care about these things. They just want the pain to end.

Children don’t participate in policy-making. Their interests can only be factored into child protection practices by adults who comprehend their anguish and speak out for them.

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Aug142016

Important Child Protection News From Safe Passage For Children – Outside Review Needed

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Reporting and News - MN SpecificBy Mike Tikkanen August 14, 2016

Representatives of counties and the Department of Human Services recently presented the Minnesota legislature with a revised plan for implementing the Governor’s Child Protection Task Force recommendations. It proposed $500,000 for an already agreed-upon outside review of screening practices (Recommendation #25).

This price tag could discourage legislators from funding the project. But the actual cost would probably be under $100,000 – more like $25K.

The review would address issues that are blocking progress on other recommendations, including whether to continue interviewing children in front of their alleged abusers. It would also provide a framework for developing a fact-finding protocol, which workers would be trained in to determine the most appropriate child protection response.

We encourage the Department to include this review in their 2017 budget using the most accurate number possible.

Join the Discussion on Facebook

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Aug102016

MN Child Protection News July 2016

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Reporting and News - MN SpecificBy Mike Tikkanen August 10, 2016

Hundreds of Minnesota teens confined, abused for no … – Star Tribune

www.startribune.com/confined…teenager…minnesota…/389387061/

Star Tribune

4 days ago – Confined without charges, a teenager’s ordeal reveals strains within … Hundreds of Minnesota teens with mental health problems are winding …

Moms emerge as force for change at Minn. state mental … – Star Tribune

www.startribune.com/mothers…as-a…minnesota…mental…/388084502/

Star Tribune

Jul 24, 2016 – Mothers emerge as a force for change at Minnesota state mental hospital … to advocate for their sons who are psychiatric patients at the hospital Tuesday, July …. Delta cancels hundredsmore flights in wake of Monday outage · Lynx head off … A black teenager encounters racism in the Twin Cities suburbs.

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Aug72016

Minnesota’s Back Story; Treating Children’s Mental Health

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Reporting and News - MN SpecificBy Mike Tikkanen August 7, 2016

Today’s Star Tribune article (thank you Chris Serres) exposing the violence done to Minnesota’s youngest citizens while in state care reminded me of my own experiences growing up.

In my middle class 1977 neighborhood, the family next door’s 15 year old grandson became psychotic and behaved dangerously.

Mom and dad tried to find him mental health help to no avail.

The only option that provided treatment for their son was the Juvenile Justice system. The boy’s entrance into the system required he be charged with a crime. Their son killed himself a few years later.

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Jun252016

Minnesota At Risk Children’s News June 2016

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Reporting and News - MN SpecificBy Mike Tikkanen June 25, 2016

Child Victims Act expires, but effects remain to be seen

Duluth News Tribune

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court reported that 125 abuse claims were filed … It’s been a little more than a week since the Minnesota Child Victims Act …

Sacred Heart sued in clergy sexual abuse case dating back to 1960s

Grand Forks Herald

Sacred Heart in East Grand Forks is joining a growing list of Minnesota Catholic entities sued for clergy accused of sexual abusing children.

A Minnesota school pulls bait-and-switch while pretending to protect transgender students

Daily Kos

On the surface, Nova Classical Academy in St. Paul, Minnesota, has … the Minnesota Family Council and the Minnesota Child Protection League to …

Man, 82, to pay four female family members $150K sexual abuse settlement

Grand Forks Herald

The lawsuit was possible because of the Minnesota Child Victim Act, a 2013 law that temporarily waived the statute of limitations in child sex abuse …

Charges: ND Woman Leaves 2 Kids In Home Without Plumbing

CBS Local

Forty-nine-year-old Antoinette Liggett recently pleaded guilty to a felony child neglect charge. Her sentence includes about four months at a re-entry …

Spike in abuse reports overwhelms Hennepin County child protection system

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