Imagine as a child, living in a home where every day there is forced sex or beatings by adults. Mom is a teen or preteen parent with a violent boyfriend, mental health issues and no parenting skills.
This is America’s generational child abuse problem.
Mom, and mom’s mom also came from abusive homes. It’s their normal.
DetailsMinnesota’s former Supreme Court Chief Justice has stated that 90% of the youth in the Juvenile Justice system have passed through Child Protective Services and that “The difference between that poor child and a felon is about eight years”.
Marion Wright Edelman calls this the pipeline to prison & from this volunteer CASA guardian ad Litems perspective it is absolutely true. No other industrialized nation treats its children and juveniles so harshly.
The simple truths below now define our communities and our nation – share them with your legislators (really – if you don’t share this with them they may never know).
Charging juveniles as adults
Privatized Detention Centers (why judges sometimes go to jail)
Ten Cents An Hour
Never Vote Again (stay away)
King Pin Laws
Women In Prison (shackled while giving birth?)
The Face of 12 Year Olds In Jail
Prozac, Children, Juveniles & the Criminal Justice System
DetailsOn November 16th I gave two presentations at the 24th Upper Midwest Conference on Adolescents & Children In Need in Arden Hills MN;
“WALKING THE TALK FOR CHILDREN” &
“WHY SOME CHILDREN DON’T LEARN IN SCHOOL”.
DetailsMinnesota’s abused and neglected children need our voices. Share this with your networks;
Recently some legislators and child protection agencies began theorizing that an underlying cause of caseload increases is screening families into the system not because of maltreatment, but as a way to get them scarce social services.
Statistically, this seems unlikely.
According to the Department of Human Services, last year counties screened in 45% of 84,000 maltreatment reports. Since the screen-in rate for states nationally is 60%, this suggests that nearly 12,000 Minnesota children are still being inappropriately denied child protection help.
DetailsKARA’s Founding Board member and best friend David Strand has passed away after a long illness.
He brought a wealth of experience, passion and commitment to the cause of America’s abused and neglected children.
David came to know a great deal about how children are treated in other advanced nations because he helped to craft public policies on children’s issues while living and working in Northern Europe.
DetailsInstitutions define us (they keep us safe, educated and healthy)Why anyone with a stake in a safe, functioning community would withhold support or throw rocks at people doing this work is incomprehensible.
Turning our schools, highways, corrections and care of the young, sick and elderly into the hands of greed driven Pharma Bro Martin Shkreli and Trump University folks is not helping build healthy communities. It’s to be expected that institutional outcomes (public health, public safety, public education – don’t forget bridges) are suffering. Performance of any complex institution or endeavor demands support & critical thinking.
A safe, livable community requires support for the worker bees laboring in schools and other social institutions for those institutions to perform well. It’s for your own good.
DetailsSociety has an obligation to abused and neglected children. Caring for them is our collective responsibility.
So why does the Administration’s current budget proposal end federal funding of the Victims of Child Abuse Act?
The ratio of expenses to overhead for CASA is among the best in the nonprofit world. A single dollar invested in CASA programs yields $23.40 in savings in the foster care and child welfare system.
So why would anyone allow the $12 million in funding CASA receives through the Victims of Child Abuse Act to just disappear?
Children had no better friend than CASA guardian ad-Litem, Big Brother, Metro sports, PTO, School board member, and Montessorian Denny Schapiro. Energetic, committed, and of the highest integrity, he spent his life seeing to it that his community identified and addressed the important issues surrounding our youngest citizens.
We will miss you dear friend.
DetailsYesterday, KARA’s best friend and founding board member Joe McCarthy passed away after a long illness.
We will miss him terribly. Joe had a big heart and remarkable mind. He was sharp as a tack with an interest in everything and a stunning memory.
20+ years ago, Joe encouraged and then guided me through the writing of the INVISIBLE CHILDREN book and founding of our nonprofit Kids At Risk Action.
Our small board spent many hours sorting through issues and ideas for making life better for abused and neglected children. We worked together to create our first board meetings and involve more people in the endeavor we are so passionately engaged in today.
DetailsNot talking to others about our personal lives and problems can make a person feel alone and helpless. As a society, we don’t like mental health conversations, as individuals we often avoid “too personal” comments. This is a stain on our community. We are complex beings that need others to help us cope during the hard times.
I have written about the suicidal behavior of the children in my child protection cases over the years & just when I think I understand this thing, it becomes evident that I don’t.
Ron is my fourth suicide this year, of which two of them were much loved friends. I will miss you Ron.
Be kind to the people around you. It is impossible to know what they are living through.
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