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

Journalists Allowed Into Los Angeles’ Dependency Courts

Feb 17, NPR, On The Media (audio only): Link to Program Segment

Los Angeles County Juvenile Court Allows the Press to Observe Proceedings.

Feb 12, Los Angeles Times: Judge Michael Nash, who presides over the Los Angeles County Juvenile Court, has long argued that public access to the court’s proceedings would improve its accountability and the accountability of those who appear before it. Last week, he set out to prove it. A reporter from The Times was allowed to observe some hearings Tuesday, and was able to report the judge’s dissatisfaction with the performance of a social worker in one case. There were furious objections to the presence of these observers, a reminder that the idea of openness is profoundly unsettling in a courthouse accustomed to doing its work in private. But privacy has bred arrogance and resistance to notions that otherwise suit society well: that the public has a right to observe its institutions at work, and that public servants should not be allowed to hide behind secrecy to disguise inefficiency, incompetence or worse. Link to Article

Sex-Changing Treatment for Kids: It’s on the Rise

February 20, Detroit News: A small but growing number of teens and even younger children who believe they were born the wrong sex are getting support from parents and from doctors who give them sex-changing treatments, according to reports in the medical journal Pediatrics. Link to Article

Scouts to Turn Over Files: Records Detail Accusations of Sex Abuse by Scout Leaders

February 20, Detroit News: A judge overseeing a lawsuit brought by the family of a California boy molested by his troop leader in 2007 has ordered the Boy Scouts of America to hand over confidential files detailing allegations of sexual abuse by Scout leaders around the nation. The Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge said last month that the Irving, Texas-based organization must turn over the last 20 years’ worth of records by Friday, with victims’ names removed, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday. The files will not be made public. Known as “ineligible volunteer files,” the documents have been maintained since the 1920s and are intended to keep suspected molesters and others accused of misconduct out of Scouting. Link to Article

Berrien County Parenting Program in the Works

Feb 19, Herald Palladium: The Berrien County Department of Health recently hired Julie Etter to coordinate its new Positive Parenting Program, or Triple P. Triple P is designed to offer parents and other caregivers instruction in the practical steps to create a safe and loving environment – talking instead of yelling, time-outs instead of spanking. Berrien is one of only two counties in the nation to be awarded a three-year, $330,000 grant from the federal Centers for Disease Control to establish a Triple P project. Triple P was started in Australia 30 years ago and is now used in 23 countries and 27 states. Decades of research have attested to its effectiveness in increasing confidence in parents and reducing stress, depression and anger related to child rearing, Etter said. Although an exact timeline hasn’t yet been established, Etter estimated that Triple P will be available to parents mid-way through the year. Link to Article

Foster Youth Can Attend Career Exploration Day

Feb 18, Ypsilanti Courier: Over 250 youth from Wayne, Washtenaw and Oakland counties are expected to attend the 2012 Career Exploration Day on March 24th. This event will be held from 1 to 3:30 p.m. at the Western Campus of Wayne County Community College, 9555 Haggerty Road in Belleville. A special focus of the event will be on serving youth in the foster care system. At the event, career and college representatives will engage the youth in discussions about their educational and career goals. Link to Article

Latest Drug Shortage Threatens Children With Leukemia

Feb 16, NPR: What to do when U.S. doctors: caring for patients with life-threatening diseases when the supply of critical drugs threatens to disappear. The latest crisis concerns the old standby cancer drug methotrexate. For six decades, it’s made the difference between rapid death and lifelong cure for thousands of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and a type of bone cancer called osteogenic sarcoma. Link to Article

In The Margins: Funding For Youth Program in Gov. Snyder’s Proposed Budget Could Help Low-Income Communities

Feb 15, Saginaw News: Gov. Rick Snyder has proposed to set aside money for youth in the four most violent cities in Michigan, dedicating $5 million for summer programs with an emphasis in Saginaw, Detroit, Flint and Pontiac. The investment is part of a $48.2-billion budget proposal announced by Snyder Thursday that also addresses dental services for kids, autism treatment and diagnosis and funding for adopted and foster children. Link to Article

Number of Special Ed Students in Berrien County Continues to Decline.

Feb 15, Herald Palladium: For the seventh year in a row, Berrien Regional Education Service Agency has seen a decrease in the number of students who need special education services throughout the county. Superintendent Kevin Ivers said the agency emphasis on early intervention appears to be paying off, if the latest numbers are any indication. We believe that early childhood education is a factor – getting kids identified earlier, and getting them support earlier, will help them be successful when they enter kindergarten.

The district offers numerous programs to help parents and children who need special education services, including: Early On Michigan, Parents as Teachers, and Project Find. Link to Article

Restoring Kids, and a Community

Feb 15, Michigan Today: A program built around the concept that kids can and want to reduce violence and improve their neighborhoods led to lower crime rates, better upkeep on homes and more students who said they learned to resolve conflicts without violence. The afterschool and summer program, called Youth Empowerment Solutions for Peaceful Communities (YES), is a University of Michigan School of Public Health case study that included seventh and eighth grade students at select schools in Flint, Mich. Link to Article

Governor Snyder Presented His Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Proposal to the Legislature.

Feb 10, Michigan’s Children has taken a quick look at how the proposal will impact children and youth in Michigan. Link to Michigan Children’s Summary