Some recent media articles and resources relating to child abuse and neglect. If you have items that you think would be helpful to include in this occasional post, please forward them to me at the email in my signature block.

These stories were chosen because of their perceived relevance to the child welfare community.  MiPSAC is not responsible for the views expressed in any of these articles, nor does it take a position for or against the positions expressed in the articles.  They are presented merely to provide a sampling of what the media is saying about child welfare.

Charlie Enright, JD, MSW
4907 Foster Rd.
Midland, MI  48642
(989) 600-9696
[email protected]
Secretary,
Michigan Professional Society on Abuse of Children, MiPSAC
This and previous posts can be found at: http://www.mipsac.org/category/can-articles

RECENT MEDIA ARTICLES

No More Head Start Cash for City of Detroit

Mar 9, Detroit Free Press: Following complaints that the Detroit Human Services Department fostered an environment of nepotism, reckless spending and corruption to the detriment of the early childhood education program Head Start, the federal government plans to stop sending $50 million a year to the city to fund the program, the Free Press learned Thursday. Mayor Dave Bing’s office supports the idea and agreed to drop the city’s handling of the program. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will seek applicants from other governments and nonprofits to take over administering the Head Start money, which is used to help children of lower-income families prepare for school. Link to Article

Gov. Rick Snyder Aims to Stop Truancy; Cut Welfare If Children Skip School

Mar 8, MLive.com: The governor proposed a program to stop truancy in public schools, calling on the Michigan DHS to put more social workers in public elementary schools in Flint, Detroit, Pontiac and Saginaw. “I also call on DHS to require regular school attendance as a condition for eligibility for temporary cash assistance,” Snyder said. Link to Article

Task Force to Examine Child Misconduct at University

Mar 7, Michigan Daily: In the wake of the recent incident involving alleged child pornography at the University of Michigan Health System and the widely publicized incidents at Penn State University, the University is in the planning phases of assembling a task force to prevent inappropriate conduct with children at the University in the future. Link to Article

Adopted Children More Likely to Abuse Drugs if Biological Parent Did

March 6, CBS News: Adopted children are twice as likely to use drugs if their biological parents used them, according a study of more than 18000 adopted children in Sweden. But don’t discount a child’s environment in the nature vs. nurture debate just yet. The same study showed that adopted children who lived with families with problems, such as divorce, death or criminal activity, also had a high risk of drug abuse. Link to Main Article   Cf: Link to Related Article

State House Votes in Favor of Medical Amnesty Policy

Mar 6, Michigan Daily: A bill supporting medical amnesty, a policy that would prevent individuals under the age of 21 from receiving Minor in Possession of Alcohol citations for seeking medical attention for themselves or others while intoxicated was overwhelmingly passed in the Michigan House of Representatives yesterday in a vote of 105-4. The bill will which now heads to the state Senate, was sponsored by State Rep. Anthony Forlini (R–Harrison Township). He said the bill is crucial in potentially saving the lives of underage drinkers in perilous situations. Link to Article

Same issue, different media outlet

Underage Drinkers Would Receive Amnesty Under Legislation that Passed the State House

Mar 6, mlive.com: Minors who call authorities to get help for a friend suffering from alcohol poisoning wouldn’t have to worry about being cited for underage drinking under legislation passed by the state house today. The aim of the legislation, passed by a vote of 104-5, is to encourage minors to notify emergency medical personnel when they think a friend of theirs is dangerously ill because of binge drinking. Link to Article

RESOURCES WITH TIME LIMITED VALUE

Click on a seminar title to view this SCAO List, and then follow directions.

SCAO-CWS 8th Annual Conference: Pathways To Permanency: Engaging Older Youth To Achieve Positive Outcomes
April 11-12, 2012

Impacting Development: Considerations for Child Welfare Professionals About the Developmental Consequences of Abuse and Neglect
Wednesday, May 9 at 9:00 AM EDT

Testifying in Court for Nonlawyers
Thursday, May 24 at 9:00 AM EDT

Child Welfare Advanced Appellate Training
Thursday, Jun 21 at 9:00 AM EDT

Guidelines for Achieving Permanency in Child Protection Proceedings:The “Yellow Book” Training
Thursday, Jul 26 at 9:00 AM EDT

The ICWA “Qualified Expert Witness” Testimony to Protect the Best Interests of the Indian Child
Wednesday, Aug 8 at 9:00 AM EDT

Telling a Story: Trial Skills for the Child Welfare Lawyer
Thursday, Aug 16 at 9:00 AM EDT

RESOURCES WITH ONGOING VALUE

After the Injury: PTSD in Kids; Helping Parents Help Their Kids Recover

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Web Page: Information for Healthcare Professionals: The information on this site is intended primarily for parents of injured children, but we hope that it will be informative and useful for health care providers as well. We encourage you to explore the information provided on the website about common reactions post injury and what parents and other family members can do to help. As a healthcare provider there are things that you can do to help injured children and their parents. You can be aware of traumatic stress reactions and risk factors, and provide anticipatory guidance that may help to reduce persistent traumatic stress reactions. Link to Professional’s Page  Includes a link to parent’s page.

LINKS FROM CHILD INFORMATION GATEWAY WEB SITE

Child Welfare, Race, and Disparity: New Findings, New Opportunities [Webcast].
Child and Family Policy Forum. Wulczyn, Fred. Fenner, Eric. Mattingly, John. Snowden, Lonnie. Stagner, Matthew. Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago 2012 Link to Webcast

In Their Own Voices: Trauma Survivors’ Experiences in Overcoming Childhood Trauma.
Morrow, Jennifer Ann. Clayman, Sharon. McDonagh, Bonnie. The University of Tennessee. SAGE Open2012  Link to Full Free Article  Link to Article as pdf

Interventions Addressing Child Exposure to Trauma: Part 1: Child Maltreatment and Family Violence. Ford, Julian D. 2012 Link to Article  Link to Article as pdf

Child Maltreatment 2010: Key Findings and Additional Analyses [Webinar].
Nolan, Catherine. Samuels, Bryan. United States. Children’s Bureau. 2012
Link to .wmv file

Updated Trends in Child Maltreatment.
Finkelhor, David. Jones, Lisa. Shattuck, Anne. University of New Hampshire.
Crimes Against Children Research Center. 2011 Link to Article

Knowing the Best of What’s Out There: Understanding and Identifying Evidence-Based Practices in Child Welfare [Webinar]. Walsh, Cambria Rose. Zimmet, Blake. The California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare. 2011 Link to .wmv file

Preventing and Mitigating the Effects of Childhood Violence and Trauma: An Interview With Carl C. Bell, MD. Health Care Innovations Exchange Team 2012
Link to Article

Focusing on Well-Being: Developing a Protective Factors Framework for Youth in Care [Webinar]. Browne, Charlyn Harper. Notkin, Susan.
National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections. 2012
Link to Audio of Webinar

Coordination of Child Death Review and Citizens Review Panels: Maximizing the Opportunities to Improve Systems and Prevent Fatal Abuse and Neglect [Webinar].
Covington, Teri; National Center for the Review and Prevention of Child Death. 2012
Link to Listen Only Webinar