Child Abuse & the Developing Brain (thank you Sonya Sasser)

If you knew that being raped at five years old destroys normal brain development and not just a child’s brain & life but the adult he or she becomes, would you make a greater effort to end child rape in your community?

If you knew that half of the children in your community’s child protection system had been raped would you be more likely to support affordable daycare, crisis nurseries and other child safety net programs?

Successful suicides by very young children are rare, but what is not rare is their self loathing, self harm and attempts at suicide. When seven year old Gabriel Myer hung himself in Florida he left a note that could have been written by an adult about how he hated being forced to take Prozac.

Details

Fixing MN’s Broken Mental Health Systems (thank you Sue Abderholden)

Decades of policy makers not understanding or ignoring mental health issues and failing to see the explosive growth of veterans returning with life destroying PTSD, the huge increase of children in child protection resulting from less help for young families suffering from generational child abuse & trauma is coming down hard on schools, law enforcement and health providers. All our institutions and communities are paying the price.

Sue Abderholden (Sunday Star Tribune) is far too kind to legislators and administrators who make the policies impacting young families and other people needing help in our communities.

Lawmakers saving small dollars by not supporting basic services (crisis nurseries, daycare or mental health services) are costing taxpayers decades of state ward status, crime and preteen pregnancies for people that could have been helped, could have become self-sufficient tax paying community members.

Details

Child Burns, Torture and Trauma for June 2018

Community summit to address childhood trauma
WCTV
(WCTV) — According to Child Protective Services nearly 700,000 children were victims of abuse or neglect in 2016. Experts say those traumatic experiences can leave a lasting impact. The Tallahassee community is now looking to help raise awareness about childhood trauma. It’s one of the many child …
Flag as irrelevant

Stemming the tide of childhood trauma
Anchorage Daily News
As one of the doctors who led the first adverse childhood experiences study says, “What is predictable is preventable.” We can prevent children from experiencing ACEs and we can support the children and adults who have experienced them so that their trauma does not have to lead to negative …
Flag as irrelevant

Details

Reported Child Sex Abuse for June 2018

2 Nodaway County men charged with child molestation, sexual abuse
Maryville Daily Forum
NODAWAY COUNTY, Mo. — Two Nodaway County men were charged on May 18 with several counts of felony child molestation and sexual abuse in …
Flag as irrelevant

Creep accused of sexually abusing 5-year-old girl may have more victims, cops ask public to help …
New York Daily News
Investigators fear he may have molested other children. They released a photo of him Wednesday and asked the public’s help finding additional …
Flag as irrelevant

Details

Child Abuse & Child Protection for June 2018

Fairfield father charged with lewd acts in addition to child abuse involving his 10 children
KTVU San Francisco
FAIRFIELD, Calif. (BCN) – The Solano County District Attorney’s Office today charged a Fairfield father of 10 children with four counts of committing a …
Father of abused Fairfield children now charged with lewd acts – KGO-TV
More Charges Added Against Father In Fairfield Child Abuse Case – CBS Sacramento
Jailed Fairfield couple face new charges of child molestation – TheReporter.Com
Full Coverage
Flag as irrelevant

Details

Speaker’s Bio

Long time CASA volunteer guardian ad Litem, Fonder of Kids at Risk Action (KARA)Founding board member of CASA MN & Friends of Children (now CASA Cares), author (1000 articles Star Tribune & the book INVISIBLE CHILDREN, national speaker (including United Nations & Women Prison Warden’s conference), CASA volunteer Hennepin County guardian ad-Litem, founding board member of CASAMN, CASA CARES), and Kids At Risk Action.

Mike advocates for abused and neglected children making the rest of us see the profound impact the crisis of childhood trauma is having on our schools, public health, public safety and neighborhoods.

Poor public perception & misguided policies, lack of institutional transparency, awareness and accountability are compounding serious failures in our child protection systems that directly impact each and every one of us in many ways.

By generating conversation around the issue and exposing facts that have for too long been left unspoken, Tikkanen brings attention to ACES, (adverse childhood experiences) and solutions that reverse trends of generational child abuse to make our communities safer and happier places.

Details

Child & Infant Death June 2018

4 people arraigned in child’s death investigation, charged with gross abuse of a corpse in Defiance …
WTOL.com
A body of a new born infant left un-cared for 17 months in Defiance County has resulted in four people from the same family being charged.
Flag as irrelevant

Mother, boyfriend face Felony Murder charges in child’s death
KWCH
Wichita Police say the death of two-year-old Anthony Bunn was due to abuse. His mother and her boyfriend are in jail, each facing Felony Murder and …
Flag as irrelevant

Details

Domestic Violence & Violence Against Children for June 2018

Des Moines man pleads guilty to beating baby boy, causing skull fractures, brain bleed
DesMoinesRegister.com
An 18-year-old Des Moines man pleaded guilty Friday to charges he beat his child, sending the baby boy to the hospital with two skull fractures and a …
Flag as irrelevant

Why domestic abuse and anti-gay violence qualify as persecution in asylum law
The Conversation US
Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently upended decades of U.S. legal precedent by asserting that women fleeing domestic violence will not generally …

Details