HOME  /  NEWSDESK INDEX

Headlines and top stories relating to children, youth and families around the world. Click links for full story at original sites

March 2003

 31 MARCH

Canada: Changes in youth act empower police
Discretion has long been lauded as one of the biggest tools police have when dealing with youth who break the law. Tuesday, its use will no longer be the call of individual officers. It will be a must for everyone.
Under the new Youth Criminal Justice Act, which replaces the oft-berated Young Offenders Act, "extrajudicial measures"— including taking no further action, giving warnings and referring offenders to community programs or agencies—must be considered first in all youth cases dealing with less serious crimes.
"Having those options available really empowers police to come up with solutions when it's really not appropriate to put a youth through the court system," South Surrey RCMP Const. March Searle said. "It formalizes what's been done under discretion under the YOA. We're duty-bound to consider extrajudicial measures before putting it forward to a charge. Before...it wasn't as clear."
Police forwarding charges for less serious crimes will have to explain to Crown counsel and defend their decision.
YCJA was passed in Parliament Feb. 4, 2002. It is touted to build on the strengths of the YOA, and introduce reforms that address problems like overuse of incarceration, unfairness in sentencing and overuse of the courts for minor offences.
Story

Nairobi: Mayor appeals for aid for street children
Kenyans and other well wishers should come out and support the rehabilitation of the street children programme to make it a success. Nairobi Mayor Joe Aketch says the street children menace was a disgrace to the country and no effort will be spared to make it a success.
Saying that the progress made so far was encouraging, the mayor said Kenya Bus Service had donated to the council 4 buses for ferrying the children.
Aketch said the council had allocated Kshs 3 million to the programme which will assist the street children joining the national youth service.
The mayor was addressing street children who are under rehabilitation in various centres in the City at the Jevanjee Gardens.
 

UK: Young people 'more stressed than ever'
Stress levels in teenagers have reached record levels, an official study has found.
The survey, by the Medical Research Council (MRC), a government-funded research body, found that nearly one in four 15-year-olds – 24 per cent of those surveyed – are now thought to suffer from anxiety disorders, sleeplessness and forms of depression.
For middle-class girls, among whom the pressure to fit in and dress fashionably appears to be felt most acutely, the figure rises to 38 per cent.
Researchers interviewed 2,000 youngsters aged 15 in a repeat of a study performed 16 years ago. By analysing the two sets of results, the MRC found a steep rise in stress levels. When the study was carried out in 1987, it showed one in five girls suffering from stress.
Researchers are blaming the ever-increasing demands of teenage life – not least an inordinate number of exams and increasing peer pressure – for the disturbing results.
Story

New Zealand: Commissioner for Children may re-apply for job
Outspoken Commissioner for Children Roger McClay's five year contract has finished, but he may seek re-appointment. The commissioner's job was advertised in major newspapers around the country. But Mr McClay told NZPA today he was still deciding if he would re-apply for the job before the April 18 deadline.
The job had been advertised according to set guidelines, he said.
``Things are really buzzing at the office as per normal and I would like to be part of that, but I will look around and see what else is out there before making my decision.
``I have enjoyed the job and there is still a lot to do. But the Government may decide it's time for someone new to have a go.'
Mr McClay is known for his pull-no punches comments about families and people who abuse children.
Story

Scotland: Give Children Free Contraceptives
Contraceptives should be provided free in schools and children should be able to seek family planning advice without their parents being told, in order to stem the number of abortions, the Green Party said today.
Launching the party’s new policy on abortion, Green spokespeople called for more sex education in schools, saying it would reduce levels of underage sexual activity and teenage pregnancies.
Improved support should also be given to women on low incomes, so they were not driven to terminate pregnancies for financial reasons, they said. But the party ruled out support for any extension of restrictions on a woman’s right to choose abortion.
Green health spokesman Martyn Shrewsbury said: “Most politicians don’t want to tackle this because it is such a controversial issue. “That’s why the Green Party has passed a new resolution calling for better sex education and more accessible, free contraception.
“We need proper education about sexuality that emphasises that it is a gift that we should use to explore ourselves, and that emphasises our responsibility to ourselves and to each other.
Story

 28 MARCH

US: Human Services Workforce Nearing Crisis
The Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Brookings Institution's Center for Public Service today released research data showing that the human services workforce is nearing a state of crisis. Comprised of child welfare, juvenile justice, childcare, youth services, and employment and training workers, the human services workforce totals approximately 3 million workers-almost twice the size of the federal civilian workforce.
Recently published research by the Casey Foundation shows that the workload for the average child welfare worker is twice the number of cases recommended by Child Welfare League of America. Social service jobs at all levels consistently rank among the five worst paying professional jobs as tracked by the Department of Labor. Further, the average annual turnover rate is 40 percent for both child welfare staff in private agencies and child care workers in day care centers.
Story

Australia: Young dads: unseen side of teenage pregnancy
A new study into teenage pregnancy will take a different approach by examining the impact on the young father. While the life-altering effects of pregnancy on girls have been well documented, this investigation will be among the first to focus on the paternal aspects of teenage pregnancies. Carolyn Corkindale, a research officer in the Psychiatry Department at Flinders University, will steer the three-year study which will involve seeking the opinions of more than 600 males in Year 10 and 11.
A 1995 study showed many young males had idealistic and romantic views about fatherhood.
"These males held views like, `It's not going to change my life much', or `My relationship will get better once the baby is born'," Ms Corkindale said. "It is very important for young men to understand what the impact of getting a girl pregnant will have on their lives and those around them."
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show that 94.5 per cent of births to teenage parents in South Australia are ex-nuptial.
Story

New Zealand: Govt ignores report that criticises agencies
National says the Government writing off a report which finds its agencies failed to help at-risk children, will leave more children unable to get the help and support they need.
The report, by Celia Lashlie, commissioned by Special Education Services, finds that breakdowns between Government agencies left at-risk children and their families unable to get help. "The Ministry of Education writes it off as "limited in its scope" and the "perceptions of a small sample of people" because it simply doesn't want to accept the breakdowns between agencies it identifies," says National Social Services Spokesperson Katherine Rich.
"Celia Lashlie has worked with behaviourally challenged children over many years. That's why the Ministry hired her to write this report. Because it criticises them they slate her study. "The Ministry should be concerned about teachers' comments that neither it nor the Child Youth and Family Service (CYFS) went out of their way to help children in need, that at-risk children were refused entry to schools and that funding issues meant organisations hesitated from helping at-risk children.
Story

Scotland: Call for youth justice shake-up
A national system of police warnings for young offenders was called for yesterday by an all-party committee of MSPs. They also expressed alarm and dismay at a shortage of social workers for children’s services and said: "The seriousness of this situation cannot be overstated".
The warning came in a report by Holyrood’s audit committee, after studying a report on youth offending by Robert Black, the auditor general. Mr Black’s report warned of inconsistencies and delays in the system, with cases taking up to eight months to go through the criminal justice system and five months to go through the children’s hearing system.
In their report, MSPs called for urgent action to ensure that children in the youth justice system had the social work help to which they were entitled. Mr Black’s report estimated that at any one time, up to 400 children in Scotland did not have a social worker continually allocated to their case.
The MSPs’ report calls on the Executive to take urgent action and says: "The committee finds the number of unallocated or not continuously allocated cases in relation to children’s services very disturbing, and believes that the seriousness of this situation cannot be overstated".
Story

Kenya: Stiff penalties underway for child abusers
The Government will re-table the Criminal Law Amendment Bill 2000 in Parliament to ensure that penalties prescribed to protect children are implemented, Home Affairs Minister Moody Awori said Thursday.
Mr. Awori said the bill, which sought to harmonize penalties relating to sexual abuse, proposed that defilement of minors should attract a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and not 14 years, as was the case before. It also proposed that cases relating to sexual offences be held in camera to protect the identity and safeguard the privacy of the victims, he noted.
The Minister was speaking at Ufungamano House in Nairobi when he opened the 9th Annual General Assembly of Kenya Alliance for Advancement of children (KAACR). He said though last year’s milestone enactment of the Children’s Act provided the legal framework towards upholding children’s rights, full implementation would require that other Acts be amended in order to reflect the positive global developments.
Mr. Awori lamented over the escalating drug and substance abuse including drug trafficking among children, which he said was threatening the social fabric of the society and posed great challenges to the country’s educational programmes.
 

Australia: Calls to free child detainees
The South Australian government should pursue legal action against the federal government to free children in detention centres, a refugee advocacy group said today.
Justice for Refugees SA has written to SA Premier Mike Rann, urging him to take the legal action.
The move followed the release of a child protection review report yesterday which recommended the release of all detained children. The report found immigration detention had devastating effects on the wellbeing and development of children.
It also recommended the SA government seek legal advice about whether state legislation protecting children could apply to young people in Commonwealth detention centres.
Justice for Refugees SA spokesman John Wishart said today society had a responsibility to ensure the safety and development of child detainees.
Story

 27 MARCH

Canada: Report blames loss of social supports to poor families
There are more poor children in Ontario now than there were during the last economic boom in 1989, and they are deeper in poverty, says a new report by an organization that monitors child welfare.
In the boom year of 2000, the province was home to 390,000 children defined as poor, a 41 per cent increase over the decade, according to yesterday's report by Ontario Campaign 2000, part of a national coalition seeking to hold Parliament to its 1989 pledge to end child poverty by 2000. "The saddest part of all this is that the economy improved over that time and a lot of people became more prosperous, but the most vulnerable were left behind," said Pedro Barata, author of Child Poverty Persists, Time to Invest in Children and Families.
"One in four poor children live in a family with full-time, full-year earnings," Barata told a news conference at Queen's Park. "Their situation can be attributed to government policy that scrapped social supports for families with children. The economy just wasn't strong enough to fill the void."
Story

South Australia: Justice system `failing abused children'
The state's criminal justice system fails children while government child protection services are struggling to cope with demand, a new report says.
Commissioned by the State Government and written by Robyn Layton, QC, the report calls for more funding for child protection in South Australia and major reforms – including a register of pedophiles.
Family and Youth Services, within the Department of Human Services, is ill-equipped to cope with child abuse in SA as the number of reported cases in the past six years has jumped 60 per cent, the report says.
Ms Layton said yesterday FAYS funding allocation constituted just 6.3 per cent of the department's budget. "You can see a very small amount of money is spent on one of the most vital bodies that we have to assist in child protection," she said.
Meanwhile, just 17 per cent of reported child sexual abuse cases had led to prosecution in 2000-01. Ms Layton says welfare of children in SA is compromised by a system which fails to advocate for them.
Story

US: Additional protection urged for DYFS workers
Assemblyman Robert Smith, D-Gloucester, unveiled proposals Tuesday to better protect caseworkers charged with safeguarding the state's most vulnerable children.
Smith's legislation comes in response to the alleged assault of a caseworker in Deptford earlier this month. Tracy Hilliker, with the state Division of Youth and Family Services, was investigating a child abuse complaint when the incident occurred, according to authorities. Smith said he plans to introduce three pieces of legislation to increase worker safety.
"The governor and a lot of legislators have put forth a lot of reforms dealing with the most vulnerable children of our state. But I think what's been lost in the process . . . is the protection of DYFS workers," Smith said at a Tuesday news conference with Hilliker at his side.
Smith is offering five changes, including:

• Asking Chairwoman Mary Previte of the Family, Women and Children's Services Committee and the chairmen of the state Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee to invite assaulted caseworkers to testify before their committees.
• Enacting legislation mandating any caseworker responding to an initial intake call be accompanied by either police or a fellow intake worker.
• Enacting legislation requiring DYFS to provide more training to case workers, including optional self-defense classes.
• Enacting legislation requiring DYFS supervisors to inform police dispatch each time a worker responds to an emergency call in-home
• Requiring the state to provide all caseworkers with cell phones.

He expects to introduce his legislation on May 5. Hilliker said she thinks the proposed legislation, if in effect earlier this month, may have prevented her assault. She said she could have been safer "if there was someone else there to alert police sooner or another set of eyes to help pick up on high-risk factors."
Story

NSW: Healthy activities aim to reduce drug abuse
A partnership between Illawarra Health's Youth Activity program and the Allied Group of companies is working to reduce drug and alcohol abuse in young people by encouraging healthy activities.
The collaboration means people using the Youth Drug and Alcohol Service will be able to try a range of sporting activities, designed to expand their horizons and increase contact between counsellors and at-risk people.
A spokeswoman for the program, Kathryn Newbury, says these types of activities have been well received before and the sponsorship will make a real difference. "The kind of activities we do are sporting activities," she said.
"We've done trips to leisure centres before, done varied sports activities such as badminton, volleyball, indoor soccer...these type of activities expose young people to do positive and healthy activities which are alternative activities and can be a positive divergent from drug and alcohol use."

Botswana: Youth most affected by HIV/AIDS
The youth have been encouraged to accelerate their campaign of youth against HIV/AIDS to sensitise those who are still ignorant.
Addressing Francistown youth on March 22, Industrial Court judge Key Dingake said the youth were the most affected by the pandemic.
Dingake was the guest speaker during this year's Month of Youth Against AIDS, whose theme was "Support the promotion of adolescent sexual reproductive health the number one strategy to prevention of HIV/AIDS".
He said about 20 per cent of the youth were not using contraceptives, which put them more at risk of being infected by HIV, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and unplanned pregnancies.
Dingake regretted that even though President Festus Mogae launched the campaign against AIDS a long time ago, the youth were still dying at a high rate.
He said AIDS was a threat to development because it was killing the most active group, who were also the country's future leaders.
 

UK: Fined for truancy
Parents in Bath will be prosecuted if they fail to send their children to school. It is a last resort, but Bath and North East Somerset Council is not afraid to act tough when it comes to school attendance.
Yesterday a mother from Bath was fined £200 by magistrates for failing to send her son to school. The council told the court the 15-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had only been in class for two days in a six-month period.
An average of six truancy cases a year result in legal action in the Bath area, but only after all other routes have been explored to ensure the child does not miss out on an education.
The council said the figure was low because of the work the local education authority did to identify children with attendance difficulties and with families to resolve problems.
Truancy sweeps were carried out last month when children absent without permission were targeted.
The checks across Bath, part of a national drive to get children back to school, found 23 children absent without authorisation — ten of them were accompanied by an adult.
A total of 99 youngsters were stopped by police officers, and although the majority of the children did have authorisation to be out of school, parents were warned about unauthorised absences.
Story

South Africa: Govt Launches Maintenance Outreach Programme
Government yesterday launched its maintenance outreach programme in Cape Town.
The launch was the initial approach by the department of justice and constitutional development to improve the standard of service delivery in the area of maintenance and child support.
In his State of the Nation Address last month, President Thabo Mbeki stressed the importance of narrowing the gap between ambitious legislative measures and actual delivery on the ground.
This community outreach programme is therefore intended to inform people about government systems, wherever they are, and in whatever language they choose.
It includes educating people about their rights and responsibilities in respect of maintenance and child support, the appointment of the first 55 maintenance investigators to commence duty on 1 April and the modernization of systems for the collection and distribution of maintenance.
'I have always maintained that if we achieved a 50 percent improvement in accessing maintenance for children, our department could make one of the most significant contributions to the social and economic development of children in this country,' said justice deputy minister Cheryl Gillwald.
She added that the employment of 55 maintenance investigators combined with recent interventions by the National Prosecuting Authority would ensure parental accountability in this regard.
 

 26 MARCH

SA: Backlog hampers child justice bill
A serious infrastructural backlog could hamper the effective implementation of the Child Justice Bill, which wants to put children into residential facilities other than reformatories.
"There are only three reformatories operational in South Africa - two in the Western Cape and one in Mpumalanga," said Dr Sigamoneg Naicker, a director in the Department of Education.
Naicker was briefing members of the portfolio committee on education on the Child Justice Bill. He said KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, the two provinces which had the highest number of youths in prisons, did not have reformatories.
Schools of industry were "places of care for children with behavioural difficulties", while reformatories were places where sentenced youths were placed. He said there were 16 schools of industry countrywide, on top of the three reformatories.
The committee heard that there were currently about 1800 sentenced children in prison, 2300 awaiting trial, another 2000 in custody and about 400 in reformatories.
Story

Scotland: One in five young people carry a weapon
Glasgow City Council, Strathclyde Police and Glasgow Alliance commissioned MORI (Scotland) to carry out a poll of young people's attitudes to crime, vandalism, graffiti and personal safety.
The survey was the biggest of its kind carried out in Scotland and involved 1551 youngsters from 23 secondary and nine primary schools, who completed questionnaires in January and February. Initial findings show 20% of those questioned, mainly boys, said they carried a weapon with them when they go out.
Most claim it is for protection and the young people surveyed said their main fears were gangs (68%); drug users (60%) and walking through rough areas (57%).
A total of 61% said they were scared of being attacked in the street with 56% worrying about being mugged.
Story

US: Boy dies at home for troubled youth
A 9-year-old boy has died at a home for troubled youths and Berkeley County authorities are saying little about the investigation.
Coroner Glenn Rhoad would not release the youngster's name on Monday because relatives had not been notified. The child died Sunday at New Hope Treatment Center near Summerville, Rhoad said. Sheriff's Chief Deputy Butch Henery would not disclose the cause of death or any details about the case. The sheriff's and coroner's offices, the State Law Enforcement Division, the Department of Social Services and the prosecutor's office are all involved in the investigation, He said.
DSS spokesman Jerry Adams said he didn't have information about the case.
The boy apparently had been living at the center for about a month, prosecutor Blair Jennings said. Jennings refused to release details about the death, saying it could hinder the investigation. Story

Congo: Red Cross Reunites 45 Children With Their Families
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has reunited 45 children separated from their families by the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
An ICRC statement said one of its aircraft flew the unaccompanied children, aged between six and 17 years, between the eastern and western parts of the country. The aircraft flew 17 children from Goma in the eastern province of North Kivu to the capital, Kinshasa, on Thursday, and returned on Friday, bringing 28 other children home to Goma. The ICRC said some of the children had been separated from their families for years.
Since the beginning of 2003, the ICRC has reunited more than 240 Congolese children with their parents.
 

Northern Ireland: Event to focus on youth and police
A conference focusing for the first time on the relationship between young people and the police began in Belfast yesterday (Tuesday).
The pioneering two-day event, called 'Always Seen, Rarely Heard', is listening to the views of young people from across the province and addressing policing issues affecting them today, in the context of Human Rights.
Tim McGarry - 'Da' from the popular TV series, Give My Head Peace - is chairing the conference and along with Billy from the cast will perform a specially written scene from the show for delegates.
The conference aims to create an atmosphere in which young people can engage with police officers and speak openly about issues that affect their daily lives.
A specially developed interactive presentation will profile the thoughts and feelings from young people across Northern Ireland.
The conference also gives PSNI officers the opportunity to listen to young people and to talk about policing and the problems they face on a daily basis.
Guest speakers include a young victim of crime, a student police officer and a young person who has had contact with the justice system. Each speaker will give a brief overview of his or her experience of policing in Northern Ireland.
Story

US: CSC hires new head of youth detention
Correctional Services Corp. hired a juvenile justice expert Monday to run its youth detention subsidiary. Jesse Williams was named senior vice president of Youth Services International, the CSC unit that manages 19 facilities housing 2,800 juveniles.
Williams has more than 30 years of juvenile justice experience, most recently as chief juvenile probation officer of the city and county of San Francisco.
The company maintains a separate new business section to bring in new clients. This year it will lose the contracts to run three youth detention operations in Florida that generated more than $88 million in revenue over the past six years. CSC was outbid to renew its management of the 350-bed Polk Youth Development Center, the 50-bed Bartow Youth Training Center and the 100-bed Cypress Creek Academy.
The company recently became embroiled in a bribery scandal after a New York state lawmaker said she took bribes from CSC in exchange for helping it win contracts. The company paid a $300,000 fine for failing to disclose gifts to lawmakers.
Story

 25 MARCH

New Zealand: Youth offending punishment not working
Police say young criminals carrying out community work are doing chores for their families rather than work that will benefit the public. Family group conferences for youth offenders often recommend community work as punishment.
But in some cases the work has consisted of the youths cutting their grandparents' lawns, working in their parents' shop at weekends or helping around the house.
Senior Constable Greg Goessi, in charge of youth development, said there was a shortage of suitable places where young people could carry out community work. He wants non-profit community organisations that can do with help to come forward.
Story

Guam: "No bad youth, just bad choices"
"There are no bad youth, just bad choices," Department of Youth Affairs acting Director Chris Duenas told lawmakers during his confirmation hearing. Duenas said his main goal is to help Guam's youth recognize their strengths and enhance them. The summer youth employment program is a big part of that effort, and he predicted this summer's program will be the most successful ever.
Although his agency does not make money, its youth programs help save the government money in the long run and also help change people's lives.
When asked by youth committee Chairman and former DYA director Sen. Rory Respicio, D-Chalan Pago, whether he supports a 32-hour work week for employees, Duenas said he would prefer a 10-percent, across-the-board pay cut. "It would be somewhat less disruptive and more equitable across the board," Duenas said.
Story

Canada: New act spells immediate change in administration of youth justice
Among the immediate nation-wide changes to be ushered in with the new Youth Criminal Justice Act April 1 are the following: Before laying a criminal charge, police officers will have the statutory obligation to consider issuing cautions or warnings to young people caught breaking the law, and in some provinces, such as Alberta and British Columbia, police will also have a third option of referring them to community-based programs -- such as Barriere Youth Assistance Program, soon to be renamed Barriere Community Justice Forum.
A whole second level of what are called "extrajudicial sanctions" (which run the gamut from formal judicial reprimands to fines of less than $1,000 and even orders to provide unspecified "personal services" to the victim of the crime) will be considered by youth court judges before a jail sentence is contemplated. These sanctions can be used only if the young person can't be dealt with by the less serious warnings or referrals to community programs, and only if he or she accepts responsibility for the crime.
Judges must dismiss a criminal charge if they are satisfied that the young person has completely complied with the terms of any extrajudicial sanction, and may also dismiss the charge if they find the young person has partially complied with the earlier sanction or if the court finds that "prosecution would be unfair."
Story

New Zealand: Adults move to address youth drinking
Adults must take a close look at their own behaviour when it comes to alcohol and think before pointing the finger at young people says the Alcohol Advisory Council.
Supplying alcohol to people under 18 is still a major issue in many New Zealand communities and licensed premises are not the only problem here according to Sandra Kirby, Programme Manager at ALAC. There is a big concern around adults both supplying alcohol and modeling irresponsible drinking behaviour, thereby validating a binge drinking culture in the community.
Ms Kirby was commending the small West Coast town of Westport on their launch of the Youth Access to Alcohol programme that aims to address supply of alcohol to minors. Westport is one of 18 communities working with this ALAC-initiated programme developing and trialing a range of strategies to reduce the illegal and inappropriate supply of alcohol by adults to young people.
“We in ALAC have been very aware that much of the pressure to change young people’s drinking has blamed young people when the reality for many is that the adults in their family and their community have actively encouraged, condoned and supplied the alcohol that causes the problem. For Westport, or any community, to really reduce the levels of alcohol-related harm experienced by young people - adults need to look at and change their behaviour.”
Story

Russia: Curfew Proposed to Cut Crime
A group of governors, government officials and lawmakers are urging the state to introduce a night curfew for teenagers to cut down on a recent rise in crime rates among young people.
The group of 24 officials, including Vladimir Zhuravlyov, chairman of the Russian Union of Youth Organizations, said it would present a proposed federal youth policy to President Vladimir Putin at a State Council meeting in September.
"The problems and interests of young people are largely ignored because young people were unneeded by the state during the past decade," Zhuravlyov said.
The authors of the document said that the concept, if approved by the president, will speed up the passage of bills giving more rights to the young while keeping them off the streets, where they are at risk of getting into trouble.
The crime rate among Russians younger than 29 has doubled over the past decade, according to a copy of the Doctrine of State Youth Policy obtained by The Moscow Times.
There has also been a significant rise in extremist attitudes and racial intolerance in recent years, the document said.
Story

Uganda: Primary education for all children
President Yoweri Museveni launched the multi-media advocacy campaign for Universal Primary Education (UPE) with a declaration that the programme was now compulsory for all children.
The function at Kisimbiri Primary School, Wakiso, coincided with the official commissioning of the Presidential Initiative on the AIDS Strategy for Communication to the Youth (PIASCY).
Several speakers including education minister Khiddu Makubuya, the American Ambassador, Jimmy Kolker and Wakiso district vice-chairman Edward Tumusiime praised Museveni over UPE and his fight against the HIV/AIDS.
Museveni, who was represented by Deputy Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga, said UPE was meant for all children to complete primary education.
 

 24 MARCH

Scotland: Children More Successful with Dad Around
The vital role fathers play in the development of their children will be discussed at a conference. Evidence has shown having fathers present as children grow up can improve their health and educational achievements while also taking pressure off mothers. The week-long summit in Oxford is the first to specifically examine the role of fatherhood.
Leading experts from around the world will decide on policies to promote the role of fathers which will be presented to the United Nations next year.
Among those due to attend is Professor Charlie Lewis, from Lancaster University, who produced a study showing children with fathers involved in their upbringing are more successful in exams and less likely to get a criminal record.
Fathers Direct, the UK charity which organised the summit, says the health benefits for children of having a father present should also be recognised.
Story

US: Homeless Teens Often Miss Out on Healthcare
Homeless teens and young adults frequently skip medical treatment, but those who do seek help say they are often hassled by hospitals because they do not have a guardian's consent, according to a new study.
The biggest problem for all of the homeless teens in the study was that they did not understand the system, according to Dr. Josephine Ensign, who led the study.
"It's a complicated healthcare system for anybody, but especially if you're an adolescent and on your own," said Ensign, who presented her findings this week at a meeting of the Society for Adolescent Medicine in Seattle. In the study, she interviewed 30 youth, ages 13 to 24, who were living on the streets of Seattle.
Once kids turned 18, they felt as if they had "fallen through the cracks," because they were suddenly expected to pay for medical treatment or present proof of insurance, said Ensign. She says there are more free services in place for kids under the age of 18.
However, many of the younger kids said they were often hassled in emergency rooms for not having adult consent for medical care. Ensign said that a 16-year-old female ran out of a hospital with strep throat and a 104-degree temperature when staff threatened to call Child Protective Services.
Story

Tanzania: UN's Envoy to Convey Enormity of Food/Aids Crisis
At the end of January, the UN Secretary General's special envoy for Humanitarian Needs in Southern Africa, James Morris, completed a tour of four countries in the region and said the HIV/Aids pandemic was threatening the very future of nations. One president told him: "My country is on the verge of extinction."
There are 11 million orphans in Southern Africa, 780,000 of them in Zimbabwe. In Malawi, ten per cent of families are headed by a child.
Zambia lost 2,000 teachers last year to Aids and half the country's students have dropped out of school. Seven million agricultural workers have been lost in southern Africa since 1985; another 16m will be lost by 2020. Some 70-80 per cent of hospital admissions are people with HIV/Aids; 8,000 people die every 24 hours.
Morris, who is also executive director of the World Food Programme (WFP), had travelled through Zambia, Lesotho, Malawi and Zimbabwe with Kofi Annan's envoy for HIV/Aids in Africa, Stephen Lewis. The two men returned warning that an entirely new and bold approach was needed to address the intertwined crises of devastating illness and drought-afflicted agriculture.
 

Australia: Care 'crisis' for abused children
Some of Victoria's most neglected children are being returned to their abusive families by the Children's Court against the advice of welfare workers, a study has found.
The report, to be released next week, says foster care, the linchpin of Victoria's child welfare system, is unable to cope with the behavioural problems of many of the most severely abused children.
Welfare staff in Melbourne's southern region told the study's researchers they had experienced numerous cases in which Victoria's Children's Court had gone against their advice and returned children in foster care to birth families.
The children were later returned to foster care after suffering further serious abuse in their birth families. Staff knew of cases where the process had been repeated several times.
"There are . . . many instances where decisions by the court to return some children to their abusive and neglectful families have proved very destructive of the children," the report said.
Story

Canada: Youth justice
Those who have signed a petition calling for reform of the Young Offenders Act may be surprised to find that a new piece of legislation called the Youth Criminal Justice Act passed more than a year ago and takes effect April 1. They might also be surprised to hear from a federal Justice Department news release that one of the main problems with the youth justice system is that too many young people are going to jail.
"It's not well known that Canada sends more of its young people to jail than most Western countries. A 1997 study showed that for every 100,000 young people between the ages of 12 and 17, Canada had jailed more than 1,000 while the United States had put fewer than 800 behind bars."
Let's accept that public perception of a soft, woefully slow system is wrong and Ottawa's study is right: the youth justice system is generally too tough on young offenders who have the best chance of turning their lives around. The public tends to notice and remember the most serious crimes, such as the murder of a woman in her own home that shocked the community last year.
For the more common non-violent offences, the new act favours restitution to victims and community service, not jail and probation. This will sound familiar to those who have heard of the success of the local youth court diversion program, a volunteer-supported effort that matches the punishment closely to the crime.
Ottawa has the power to mandate this approach, but no particular obligation to fund it. Provinces scrape for the most minimal program funding, as federal ministers trumpet their courage and vision.
Story

Canada: Government Looks at Ticketing 'Pot' Users
The Canadian government said it was looking at issuing tickets to marijuana users as a way of avoiding saddling youth with criminal records. "Kids are ending up with a criminal conviction," Justice Minister Martin Cauchon said in a speech in Toronto. "This can have a devastating impact on their lives — from the types of jobs they can get, to traveling or going to university in other countries, particularly the United States."
Cauchon has long said he was looking at decriminalizing the use of marijuana and intended to go to the United States to explain his plans to U.S. officials, but postponed his plans because of the Iraq conflict.
President Bush said in a report in January that he was concerned Canada had become an increasing source of potent marijuana. And his drug czar, John Walters, has warned that Canadian laxity could lead to even tighter control being placed on the crucial cross-border of flow of people and goods.
Cauchon said he was troubled by the inconsistent application of criminal law to the possession of small amounts of marijuana.
Story

US: Small Study Shows Gay Teens OK Psychologically
A small study suggests that gay teens often view themselves as similar to their straight peers, and doctors should not automatically assume that such teens have experienced psychologically damaging distress, according to an Indiana physician.
Dr. Tom A. Eccles, a pediatrician at Indiana University School of Medicine, presented the findings this week at the annual meeting of the Society for Adolescent Medicine in Seattle, Washington.
While Eccles doesn't dispute that teens in a sexual minority do indeed have an increased risk for suicide and substance abuse, he told Reuters Health that he believes many gay male teens appear to undergo "much less angst" than thought.
"Increasingly, sexual minority youth seem to be much more open in the general community, much more so in the last 20 years and also they increasingly perceive themselves pretty much like everyone else," he said.
In the study, the team of researchers evaluated the social and psychological well being of 15 young men between the ages of 16 and 22, who lived in various midwestern towns and identified themselves as gay.
Only two of the 15 said their developmental experiences–such as relationships with family and friends, romantic relationships and school experiences-were markedly different from their non-gay peers.
Story

Kenya: 600,000 Minors Are Employed
More than 600,000 children in Kenya are employed as domestic workers, a survey by the International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (Ipec) has discovered.
The children are aged between 7-18 years and are exposed to long working hours, physical injuries and isolation.
Since 1992, Ipec has rescued 10,000 children from domestic labour and placed them in various schools and training centres. In addition, 2,000 of these child workers have been rescued and taken to schools and training centres by Sinaga Women and Child Labour Resource Centre an affiliate of Ipec.
The centre helps to fight against child labour which has long-term adverse consequences on children leading to stunted growth.
 

US: New assessment tool for Violence and Other Serious Behavior Problems
Eastern Shore Psychological Services (ESPS), a Salisbury, Maryland based innovative family services program announced the publication of the CARE (Child & Adolescent Risk Evaluation), a screening instrument designed to assess risk for violence in youth and adolescents. The CARE also assists workers to develop an appropriate intervention plan for the youth and his/her family.
The CARE was designed by Dr. Kathryn Seifert, a licensed clinical psychologist whose work is specialized in the assessment and treatment of violent youth. The CARE has been published by Research Press. Quickly and easily administered, this assessment tool has been found to be effective in predicting violent behaviors.
The test considers both Risk and Protective Factors with questions that are easily completed by any caregiver. Additionally, the form provides a Treatment Planning tool that aids care providers in making decisions.
In about 40 minutes, a teacher, mental health professional or trained caregiver can accurately determine the need for intervention for the youth.
Story

 21 MARCH

Canada: Bullying bylaw has few supporters in the City of Victoria
A long-serving city councillor doesn't think a municipal bylaw is the best way to police school-aged bullies. Edmonton city council passed such a bylaw last week and it is believed to be the first of its kind in Canada, in which a municipality makes bullying a bylaw offence.
Introducing a similar bylaw that bans the harassment of underage youth and slaps a fine on bullies is not at this time being considered by Victoria city council as a way to stop the taunting of youngsters, says Victoria Coun. Helen Hughes. Hughes said such a bylaw has not come up for discussion at Victoria City Hall. "I'm not really sure that fining somebody is the way to make them stop bullying," said Hughes. "Often the children don't have the money so it would be the parents who would end up paying and that's not going to teach the child anything."
But Hughes still said she is interested to see whether Edmonton's bylaw is effective in reducing youth harassment, and if so then perhaps the idea will catch on in other municipalities.
Story

Australia: Call for funding to tackle petrol sniffing
There are calls for more funding to tackle the problem of petrol sniffing in desert communities on the Western Australia and Northern Territory border. 
Henry Councillor is the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation's new chair. He says the Western Australian, Northern Territory and Federal governments urgently need to develop more programs to stop children from petrol sniffing. He says the communities need to have input into organising youth activities.
"Some of these programs are as simple as taking the kids away from those particular areas and environment and actually teaching them a bit more about hunting and gathering, maybe a bit more about their culture, but make them enjoy life as a child," he said.
 

Boys' riot cited as reason to shut center
Critics of Cheltenham Youth Facility, Maryland's oldest and largest juvenile detention center, have reiterated calls to close the center in the wake of an inmate uprising on Saturday. "This is going to be about a good a time as any to close Cheltenham," said Vincent Schiraldi, president of the Justice Policy Institute and member of the Maryland Juvenile Justice Coalition (MJJC). "They've got to make it happen."
Cheltenham, along with other elements of the state's juvenile-justice system, has weathered criticism and scrutiny at least since 1995, when a national advocate for youth offenders declared it one of the worst he had inspected. The center is supposed to house only boys between 14 and 18 years old.
In recent years, a 13-year-old boy was sexually assaulted by other inmates and a staff member impregnated a girl who had been housed temporarily at the all-boys facility. Staff members also have been accused of arranging fights between boys.
Story

 20 MARCH

New Zealand: Zero tolerance’ for child poverty
Associate Maori Affairs Minister Tariana Turia says ‘zero tolerance’ is the correct approach to eliminate child poverty. She was commenting on a report released yesterday by the Child Poverty Action Group at a function in the Beehive.
“The statistics of child poverty are shocking, and the future prospects look even worse, when you consider the lasting effects on the health, education and social development of our young people,” she said.
“Poverty is not a new issue for tangata whenua. Many of our whanau have lived in entrenched poverty for so long it has come to seem normal. This is totally unacceptable, and we must have ‘zero tolerance’ for child poverty. This government is determined to improve the social and economic position of children and low income families. Income-related rents, increased funding for primary health care and early childhood education and welfare reform have already improved life for thousands of families. But we must not rest until child poverty is eradicated.”
“We must recognise the potential in all our whanau, and focus on solutions. This approach is challenging, but critically important. Lack of action now will cost our whanau and our children dearly in the future,” said Mrs Turia.
Story

New Zealand: Concern over secret review of CYFS
Green MP Sue Bradford is deeply concerned that yet another review of Child Youth and Family Services is underway – this time in relative secrecy, and without the involvement of the community sector. She said that she had learned that a major "First Principle Baseline Review" was being conducted by the Government, looking closely at what the work of CYFS actually is and how its financial systems work.
"Heads of CYFS and the Ministry of Social Development are evidently involved, along with Treasury and MSD officials, looking at why CYFS continues to cost more and more to operate, while its outputs and outcomes fail to meet anyone's expectations. I have to ask where this review – conducted away from any glare of publicity, and without the involvement of the community sector – is actually going, and what it says about Social Services Minister Steve Maharey's faith in the Department," Ms Bradford said.
The Green Party's Social Services Spokesperson said she was also concerned that this year's financial review of CYFS had revealed that the same fundamental problems from the past remained unresolved. "CYFS is caught up in a distressing "Groundhog Day" scenario, where the same key problems keep cropping up over and over again. This is despite the excellent Brown report of two years ago and the extra funding poured in by Government," she said.
Story

Ireland: Unicef warns thousands will die in Iraq
Unicef Ireland has warned that hundreds of thousands of children are at risk of dying if the United States and Britain press ahead with their plans to launch a war on Iraq.
The children's charity currently has 160 volunteers in the region preparing for the humanitarian disaster which will inevitably follow the war.
Maura Quinn, the executive director of Unicef Ireland, said the Iraqi people live in dense housing conditions and could die in their thousands in any US-led bombing campaign.
Thousands more would be at risk of disease and infection in the aftermath of the initial attack, particularly those who have suffered most under 12 years of crippling UN sanctions that have killed at least half a million Iraqi children.
Story

Canada: Promise partners pledge additional funding to children and youth
Hundreds of partners attended the second Ontario's Promise Meeting to celebrate achievements of the past year and issued a renewed call to action to organizations across the province to become involved in programs that support children and youth.
Dr. David Foot, professor and renowned author of Boom, Bust and Echo delivered the keynote address and spoke about how changing demographics related to children and youth affect everything from education to philanthropy and volunteerism. "It is important that we provide the current substantial Baby Boom Echo generation of young people in Ontario with the skills and opportunities to succeed in an increasingly globally competitive world," he said.
The Ontario's Promise Annual Report was released at the event. The report details the commitment of Ontario's Promise's 450 partners.
"I'm proud to say that 100 per cent of our partners met or exceeded their commitments," said Harris. "That means hundreds of thousands of additional young people across the province had access to resources and opportunities that will enrich and enhance their lives.
In one innovative partnership, Home Depot partnered with All Our Kids Playpark to build a playground in Newmarket.
The impact of Ontario's Promise has prompted another province to start their own similar provincial initiative. Alberta's Promise will be launched this spring and representatives attended the Ontario's Promise meeting to learn more about the initiative. "Ontario's Promise believes that good ideas don't stop at borders, and we couldn't agree more.
Copies of the Ontario's Promise Annual Report can be viewed online at www.ontariospromise.com
Story

UK: Troubled teen escapes jail term
A teenager driven to street crime after his mother was killed has escaped a jail term despite calls from the Attorney General to put him behind bars. The 18-year-old, from Gerrards Cross, admitted three robberies and two burglaries, at Reading Crown Court in October but avoided prison as it was judged the death of his mother had led him to crime.
Lawyer for the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith QC, argued on Thursday at London's Court of Appeal that his sentence of 18 months community rehabilitation and 100 hours community service was "unduly lenient" in light of the local prevalence of "this type of offence" and other "aggravating factors".
The appeal was rejected by Lord Justice Rose after he agreed with the youth's lawyers that "exceptional circumstances" justified the original sentence.
The court heard the youth stole the wallets of two boys in Gerrards Cross in June last year, after threatening them with a three-inch blade. A month later he was part of a gang which terrorised a group of 15-year-old boys, demanding cash and using their mobiles.
But Mr Rose dismissed the application as he said there was a "wholly exceptional background to this rash of offences".
The youth's mother was killed in 1999 and his father lapsed into depression and alcoholism.
Judge Rose, sitting with Mr Justice Pitchers and Mr Justice Gross, concluded: "In these circumstances ... it is not surprising that the judge passed an exceptional sentence."
Story

 19 MARCH

US: Correct the 10-year-old mistake
The General Assembly shortly will be presented with the opportunity to correct a 10-year-old mistake that caused the state to abandon hundreds of children to its adult criminal system.
If passed, House Bill 520 will fix the way Maryland approaches troubled youths by once again giving juvenile court judges the authority to determine when a child should be tried as an adult.
Ten years ago, Maryland, like far too many states, passed what is commonly known as an "exclusionary statute," a law that requires that children charged with committing certain offenses be tried as adults. Exclusionary statutes purport to make our families and communities safer by subjecting serious youthful offenders to more severe and more permanent penalties.
But if good public policy is grounded in good research, Maryland's exclusionary statute is bad public policy. For when the law was passed, it was grounded in several false assumptions that have not borne out over the past decade.
Story

New Zealand: Teens being admitted to Nelson adult mental health unit
Teenagers as young as 14 are being admitted to Nelson's adult acute mental health unit, a situation a mental health commissioner says is "inappropriate and undesirable".
Figures from the Nelson-Marlborough District Health Board show there are five adolescent patients in the adult ward, and about 20 others have been admitted since January last year.
Mental Health Commission chairwoman Jan Dowland said adult psychiatric wards were not youth-friendly environments and the admission of young people was "never ideal".
Story

UK: Rap singer blamed the Government for youth violence
The Mercury Award winning artist, launching the Stop the Violence campaign which is to tour universities, singled out Kim Howells, the Culture Minister, for his comments on rap music after the shootings in Aston, Birmingham, on New Year’s Eve. After the deaths of Letitia Shakespeare and Charlene Ellis, Dr Howells said that “macho idiot rappers” had created a culture in which killing was fashionable. Ms Dynamite, 21, said that his comments showed that the Government was not interested in black youth culture.
“It shows no one is listening, no one is understanding, and that no one cares,” she said. She said that the use of negative stereotypes of black musicians distracted from the real causes. “It’s so obvious that the problem is poverty. Young people have to live in crazy circumstances. Someone who does not live in those circumstances cannot judge because they don’t know what it is like.” She said that she would be happy to work with the Government if it was interested in what she had to say.
Dr Howells said: “No Government has ever paid as much attention to the welfare of young people. We have succeeded like no Government in bringing down youth unemployment and giving people the opportunity of having the dignity of paid employment.”
Story

Scotland: City to pay tribute to its young heroes
Young "unsung heroes" are to be officially rewarded by the city for the first time under plans to stage a major contest to recognise good citizenship. Teenagers who have undertaken charity work, carried out environmental clean-ups and helped catch rogue traders are among those the city council hopes to recognise . Council leaders say they want to instigate the scheme because of growing concerns that the antics of teenage tearaways overshadow the achievements of city youngsters.
The idea of an awards scheme – expected to be launched within months – has been welcomed by city youth workers and Scotland’s national youth information agency, Young Scot.
City council leader Donald Anderson said: "I know for a fact that it’s a very small minority of young people that cause trouble in the city, but unfortunately it’s their activities that get all the attention. This is a way of redressing that . " City education leader Ewan Aitken added: "There are a great many young people who make fantastic contributions to their communities, but unfortunately they all get tarred with the brush of people who cause problems.
Story

Australia: Youth services help 30,000 per week
A survey by the Youth Action and Policy Association has found that youth service groups work with around 28,000 young people each week.
The survey lists 770 youth services, funded by 16 separate programs from 10 different state and federal departments.
Executive officer Kristy Delaney says while new funding is being provided for some initiatives, not enough money is being provided for core youth services.
"As costs are increasing for services, they're having to cut back the number of staff hours and the number of programs that they can actually offer young people because they just simply can't afford to continue offering the same programs for the same amount of money."
 

 18 MARCH

US: Horror stories stagger DCFS
A 3-year-old boy chained to a bed in a foster home where guns and drugs are found. Six kids, five of them adopted, kept locked in a basement. A 2-year-old foster child snatched by his birth mom at a fast-food restaurant during a visit that never should have taken place.
These well-publicized failures of the state's child welfare system since late January have drawn the attention of Gov. Blagojevich, who has said reforming the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is a priority. But lost amid the headlines is the agency's turnaround from a national embarrassment in the early 1990s to a national model for moving abused kids into adoption when they can't be reunited with their families.
At the same time, this year's individual stories could signal the second wave of issues with which DCFS must grapple, experts say. Those include kids in protective custody being traumatized by multiple moves among foster homes and/or institutions, poor supervision of foster homes by private agencies, a need for more mental-health services, and youths abusing each other, staff members or themselves in expensive, multibed institutions.
Story

US: Transitional housing for foster kids
Like most high school seniors, Susan Manzi is looking forward to graduating this spring. Until then, however, she's already gaining something as valuable as a college education — learning how to live independently on her own.
Since last September Manzi has been living on her own through Remi Vista's Transitional Housing Placement Program.
The transitional housing program, open to ages 16 to 20, is designed for young adults to transition out of foster care, the juvenile court system, Child Protective Services or County Social Services. Intended to help participants take on the responsibility of becoming independent, the program offers a safety net for children who have no other system of support.
"It's a very cool program," said Daphne Vaughn, Remi Vista's regional director of the transitional housing program. "It teaches kids how to be independent and lets them develop good social skills so that they can become integral members of the community."
Story

US: Child Welfare System Confusing Poverty with Neglect
Missouri's child welfare system confuses poverty with neglect, resulting in more children than necessary in foster care and making it difficult to focus on children in dangerous situations, according to a report released.
The solution, in part, is to do more to keep families together by helping them pay for housing and child care or providing other support services, said Richard Wexler, executive director of the Virginia-based National Coalition for Child Protection Reform, which released the report about Missouri.
"The more that workers are overwhelmed with children who don't need to be in foster care, the less time they have to find children in real danger. So they make even more mistakes, and their war against child abuse becomes a war against children," said Wexler, who testified Monday before the Commission on Children's Justice.
Story

 17 MARCH

New Zealand: Social workers head for Britain
Almost a third of the Government's social workers are being lured to Britain with promises of good pay and career prospects.
British recruiters are enticing about 30 per cent of Child Youth and Family Services (CYFS) social workers to fill vacancies in Britain, the Minister of Social Services, Steve Maharey, says.
He added that the CYFS has worked to keep social workers through improved training, increased management support of frontline staff and better pay.
A 26-year-old Auckland CYFS adoption social worker, who does not wish to be named, says she's leaving for London in two weeks for more money and short-term locum work to gain further experience.
"I wanted to have New Zealand experience in a government organisation before I left, because that experience is favourable overseas," she says.
"I have contacted three agencies that recruit social workers in the UK and there is a really high demand."
Story

Ireland: Father's poignant plea on dangers of solvent abuse
A man whose son died tragically as a result of solvent abuse today demanded that the Government do much more to combat the problem.
Adrian Eakin's plea coincides with a new hard-hitting television advertising campaign aimed at getting parents to talk to their children about solvent abuse — "before someone else does".
But Mr Eakin, whose 15-year-old son Andrew lost his life after experimenting with solvents for the first time 11 years ago, is adamant the time for more clear action is now. "I feel that the government approach to the use of hazardous substances and drug culture needs to be addressed. They should legislate for shops to take greater care to whom they supply solvents, but basically they don't care as long as they are making profit. And they should also look at using chemicals in these products which don't pose a risk or perhaps introduce chemicals which make them smell repugnant to put young people off."
He is chairman of the Ulster Independent Party in Coleraine and he feels not enough is being done to steer modern youth away from solvent abuse. "The abuse of solvents is seen as a stepping stone to harder drugs and it can lead to big problems within society." he said.
He added that he believes the authorities, as well as the community and educationalists have a major role to play in getting the message across to today's youth
Story

Canada: Funding pulled for BC safe house
The provincial government has pulled funding for the only safe house in Burnaby and New Westminster aimed at helping young people escape the sex trade.
Last Monday, the provincial government was heralded for funding a safe house used to help child prostitutes get off the streets. But by Wednesday, the Lower Mainland Purpose Society for Youth and Families that operates the facility had received word its contract would end April 30.
The reason: There are services in Vancouver for sexually-exploited youth, and therefore, similar programs are not needed in Burnaby and New Westminster, according to the Ministry of Children and Family Development.
"We are investing strategically in social programs that are evidence-based and produce results and make sure that they lead to real and positive change in the quality of lives of children," said Andrew Little, ministry communications manager. "And so what we have been doing is reviewing our contracts to make sure that we pay for programs that provide direct support to the people that we're mandated to serve."
Story

US: Educators blast plan to cut special-ed funds
The coalition of superintendents and special-education advocates last week took aim at provisions in Governor Mitt Romney's budget that the group says could saddle school districts with $20 million more in costs to educate Massachusetts' most severely disabled youth.
There are about 1,400 students with such physical or mental challenges that traditional public schools cannot educate them and, instead, send them to residential schools. In the past, the state paid half of the tuition at such schools and school systems picked up the other half.
Romney's 2004 budget proposal ends that arrangement, instead calling for the state to pay a much smaller share, based on each private school's tuition, which can run as high as $175,000.
State officials said the switch saves money, but education leaders said the change would shift $20 million in costs to financially strapped school systems.
''It is simply unfathomable to ask these children to help bail the state out of the current crisis,'' said James Major, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of Chapter 766 Approved Private Schools.
Story

Canada: Troubled children at heart of storm
Plans for a massive transfer of social workers out of direct government control are provoking shivers of uncertainty in the public service.
But Minister for Children and Families Gordon Hogg believes giving communities responsibility for child protection will help children at risk lead better lives.
The stakes are high as 2,800 social workers — most of them child protection workers — and another 300 support and administration staff move from the ministry to newly created regional authorities.
The province will be divided into five aboriginal and five non-aboriginal authorities, which closely follow the boundaries of health authorities. Another group will take over province-wide responsibility for community living for developmentally disabled children and adults.
Story

New Zealand: Report shows shortfall in mental health services
A report into spending on mental health by six district health boards (DHBs) showed significant shortfalls in the delivery of services, Health Minister Annette King said today.
The report was ordered after concerns were raised in August last year that DHBs might be spending money ring-fenced for mental health on other health services.
Six DHBs were audited and Ms King said today the report showed the money for mental health had been ring-fenced.
However, not all contracted services had been delivered and the most significant shortfall was in the area of child and youth mental health services.
Ms King said child and youth mental health had been a priority area for funding "but the project has shown a significant gap between funding and delivery".
Story

 14 MARCH

UK: Spot fines to fight yob culture
Private security guards in shopping centres and council officers are among those to be given the power to issue fixed penalty fines of up to £100 under legislation to curb antisocial behaviour announced yesterday.
The battery of new powers for the police and local authorities to deal with antisocial neighbours, graffiti, truanting children and to curb the growth of "yob culture" are to be enforced by local "community justice" mini-courts.
They will be used to enforce the kind of "instant justice" that will give environmental health officers the power to give neighbours who make excessive noise at night a 10-minute warning before they face a £100 fine and the threat of confiscation of their stereo or television if they do not pay.
The measures are contained in the government white paper, Respect and Responsibility — taking a stand against antisocial behaviour, published yesterday by the home secretary, David Blunkett, and are to be enshrined in legislation to be introduced next month.
Story

Angola: Street children hope peace will bring a brighter future
"Life on the streets is dangerous. You have to be fast. The faster you are the better," says streetchild Fernando Pedro. Although he has just turned 18, the young man looks half his age. A demonstrative talker, his story is peppered with anecdotes of life on the streets of Angola's capital.
"My father was killed in the war in Huambo in 1993. My mother and I took a bus to Luanda. When we got here we stayed with my uncle. He had many children of his own. Then my mother fell ill and she died. Soon after that my uncle began to treat me differently to his other children. I couldn't take it anymore and so I left. And now I am here and I cannot get back to Huambo," Fernando said.
A 2001 survey estimated that there are some 5,000 children who eke out an existence on the streets of Luanda. Beneath plastic sheeting or anything else that can provide cover, they sleep on sidewalks. Or they sleep on the balmy beach. Most wash cars or guard parked cars. Others survive by begging and doing odd jobs.
 

Scotland: New clean-up orders for young neds
Young hooligans face being ordered to perform "community service" under plans to crack down on the Capital’s "ned culture".
Youngsters who repeatedly break the law would be sent to repair vandalised property, scrub graffiti off walls or work on environmental projects under the get-tough initiative. City leaders have drawn up plans for the crackdown amid frustration that "one-boy crimewaves" have been getting off with just a "stern talking to".
The scheme would involve persistent troublemakers from primary school age up to 15 being ordered to work in the community as part of their punishment. It would be targeted at those repeatedly caught committing offences such as theft, violence and vandalism.
City council leader Donald Anderson said : "We’ve got to tackle the ned culture in Edinburgh, which has been getting a lot worse in recent years. It’s a small but significant minority that are responsible, but we’re determined to take action against them."
Story

US: Juvenile justice system fails youths
A study released criticizes Ohio's juvenile justice system for not making sure that youths are represented by lawyers in court. The American Bar Association's Juvenile Justice Center says up to half of all poor juveniles accused of crimes in Ohio go to court without lawyers, and those with lawyers often get a poor defense.
The result is too many youths with behavioral or mental problems getting detention or probation instead of treatment, the study said. The findings held true in big, small, urban, suburban and rural counties.
"Despite the best intentions of many, the juvenile indigent defense system in Ohio is broken and sorely in need of repair," said Patricia Puritz, justice center director.
The center conducted the study with the assistance of the Juvenile Justice Coalition Inc. and the Children's Law Center Inc.
The study is based on interviews and surveys of juvenile-court judges, magistrates, defense lawyers and hundreds of juveniles in custody.
The biggest problem, the study said, is that youths waive their right to lawyers without understanding the consequences. Lawyers interviewed in the study said some juveniles think nothing bad will happen to them, or don't want to appear confrontational in court.
Nearly a third of the lawyers suspected the courts intimidated youths into rejecting assigned counsel.
Story

Australia: Heads of Government recognise sport is key for youth and the future
Australia will provide over $6million over three years for the landmark initiative, Australia for the Future which will give talented young people the opportunity to make a positive contribution to tackling poverty in developing Commonwealth countries.
The initiative is in response to the announcement of The Coolum Declaration The Commonwealth In The 21st Century: Continuity and Renewal which among other initiatives recognises " The Commonwealth's Future lies in the hands of its youth, we have agreed to create a pan Commonwealth "Youth for the Future" initiative composed of four related components for technology and skills transfer, and for fostering youth enterprise. We seek to engage youth, young professionals and youth volunteers more closely, harnessing their skills and enthusiasm to make a major practical contribution to the work of the commonwealth."
Australian Youth for the Future is a significant pan-commonwealth initiative developed by Australia in the lead up to CHOGM. It is modelled on the Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development Scheme, which annually places over 240 skilled young Australians in professional positions in developing countries.
Included within Australian Youth for the future will be the foundation of Good Sports, a particularly innovative element of Australian Youth for the Future.
Story

Canada: Youth say their voices go unheard
Some Regina youth don't feel connected to the community because their voices aren't being heard, according to a report funded by Health Canada.
"Many children and youth do not see Regina as being a place that provides support to them —- we heard an overwhelming voice of hopelessness, of helplessness, of lack of opportunity, of lack of respect, of no one wanting to listen to what is said," said Bob Berthiaume, research director of A Focus on Regina's Children and Youth: A Summary Report.
Regina is one of six Prairie sites where the Centre of Excellence for Children and Youth was established in 2000 as part of a federal government initiative to examine social and economic changes that affect children's health and well-being. Over 120 individuals, including 40 non-aboriginal and aboriginal youths, elders, seniors, parents, community workers and professionals were asked for their perspective on the community's support of children and youth.
Story

Ethopia: Teenagers driven to drug and alcohol abuse
Teenagers in Ethiopia are being driven to drug and alcohol abuse because of a lack of opportunities in the country, the ministry of labour and social affairs has said.
Dr Bulti Gutema, who heads the children, youth and family welfare department at the ministry, said many young people had little or no opportunities in life.
He was speaking at a UNICEF-sponsored Ethiopian Teenagers' Forum in the capital Addis Ababa last week which focused on the plight of street children.
An estimated 60,000 children live on the streets of the capital alone – many of them forced to do so because their parents have died from HIV/AIDS.
“The problems of Ethiopian youth are many, complex and inter-related,” Dr Bulti told delegates. “Because of their limited access to training and educational opportunities and the acute shortage of recreation and sport centres, they fall victims to drug and alcohol abuse, delinquency and criminal activities."
“Employment opportunities for this age group are hard to come by," he noted. "Although the youth face many and diverse problems, they are the pillar for a country's economic development.”
Abdelmajid Tibouti from UNICEF said the current drought was making it even harder for children.
"Mothers and children are particularly vulnerable in such circumstances,” he said. “Family bonds can disintegrate and children may end up living on the streets.”
 

US: Partnership Survey Shows Encouraging Signs on Attitudes
A survey released last week by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America found that the number of teens using Ecstasy is finally leveling off, though a majority of adolescents still don't see great risk in trying the drug. In its 2002 Partnership Attitude Tracking Survey (PATS), the Partnership found that trial use of Ecstasy by teens held steady in 2002 after increasing 71 percent between 1999 and 2001.
According to the PATS, one out of every nine teens in America (11 percent, or 2.6 million teens) has tried Ecstasy at least once in their lives. In the 2001 PATS, 12 percent of teens had tried Ecstasy.
The Partnership indicated that three out of four teens - 76 percent or 17.9 million - now agree there's great risk in using Ecstasy regularly, up from 72 percent in 2001. Approximately 45 percent of teens say they see great risk in trying Ecstasy once or twice, up from 42 percent in 2001.
The 15th annual PATS survey is based on data from 7,084 adolescents in grades 7 through 12, collected from April through June 2002.
According to the survey, five percent of adolescents have used Ecstasy in the past month, unchanged when compared to 2001. The Partnership also found that 35 percent of teens who have attended "raves" (1.6 million out of 4.5 million) have tried Ecstasy; just 5 percent of all other teens have tried the drug.
Story

 13 MARCH

Bangkok: No kids in Internet cafes after 6 pm
Thai police said they will bar young students from Internet cafes in the evening, in hope they'll spend more quality time with their families. The measure also aims to keep kids from being exposed to pornography and vice.
Students 16 and under must leave the cafes by 6 pm, while those 18 and under have to be out by 8 pm, said police Col. Suras Udomrat, superintendent of the Police Bureau's Welfare Division. "It's time we set up discipline for them," Suras said. "Do you really think that your children will grow up to be quality persons by playing games all day and all night?"
A surge in the number of Internet cafes in Thailand has made it easier for young people to go online without parental supervision. Many fathers and mothers leave their children to the cafes "because they think the kids will be with adults there, won't be bored and can buy food there if hungry," Suras said. "This is dangerous because you're sending your child into another world unknown to you," he said, referring to popular online role-playing games that sometimes feature sex and violence.
Police will brief Internet shop owners on the new policy and patrol areas where youths play online games during the two-month school break, which begins in April.
Story

US: Big Brothers Big Sisters in search of mentors
With a new leader at the helm, the agency is working to match more children with more mentors. It's also working to better prepare volunteers to assist youths in schools, in the community and one-on-one.
The agency also plans to play up the advantages of mentoring. "It not only benefits the child," said Stephanie Cooper-Lewter, president and CEO of the agency. "It benefits the volunteer."
Cooper-Lewter, named president and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Columbia late last year, said the role of the agency is vital with funding to schools and programs at risk.
"With cuts in funding, our children are going to be impacted," she said. "Here is an opportunity to help."
The agency is holding a reception to introduce the public to Cooper-Lewter, the board of directors and to share its goals.
Goals include:

• Increase the number of one-to-one and school-based mentoring.
• Increase services, such as training, to volunteers.
• Promote mentoring choices.

Big Brothers Big Sisters, which has been part of the Columbia area since 1966, serves children in Richland, Lexington, Newberry and Fairfield counties.
Story

US: Bush Would Cut $650 Million in Juvenile-Justice, After-School Grants
President Bush's FY2004 budget proposal would eliminate a $250 million block grant for juvenile-justice programs and $400 million for after-school programs for at-risk children.
Bush touted a $150-million mentoring initiative in his State of the Union address, but failed to mention the cuts to other programs aimed at troubled youth. Eliminating the Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grant program would kill programs like Portland, Ore.'s New Avenues for Youth, which diverts youth drug offenders to assessment and treatment rather than prison. And the cuts to after-school funding would eliminate programs serving 500,000 youth.
A White House spokesperson said the programs are being eliminated because an Office of Management and Budget review found that they were either ineffective or that their effectiveness could not be measured.
Story

US: Childhood and maternal depression linked
Mothers who experience depression increase the likelihood of their children also becoming depressed, according to US psychologists.
Risk of depression in children twofold if mother has major depression. A team from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Emory University, Atlanta, says that the risk of depression in children is twofold when the mother has an episode of major depression lasting one to two months or is mildly depressed for at least one year.
In their study, Drs Constance Hammen and Patricia Brennan selected 816 women and their 15-year-old children from a community in Australia. The researchers then assessed levels of youth depression as a function of relative severity, chronicity and timing of maternal depression.
They found that 20 per cent of children whose mothers experienced depression before the child was 10 years old developed major depression or dysthymic disorder by age 15, compared with 10 per cent of children whose mothers had never had depression.
Children who experienced maternal depression were also at increased risk of developing other psychological problems, in particular anxiety disorders.
The findings, published in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry, suggest that a combination of genes and psychological and social factors may be involved.
“Whether the effects are owing to genetic factors or to psychosocial variables that endure even when the mother is no longer depressed cannot be determined in this study and require further investigation,” the researchers write.
Story

US: Police investigating teen's death at center for troubled youths
Authorities are investigating the death of a teenage girl who was restrained by staff members at a facility that treats behavioral and other problems in Colorado Springs.
Orlena Parker, 15, of Arizona passed out and stopped breathing about 7:45 p.m. Monday at the Devereux Cleo Wallace Center in Colorado Springs.
"The initial information is that the female had been fighting with employees and had to be restrained by several employees," police Lt. Skip Arms said.
The girl, described as 5-feet-8 and about 270 pounds, reportedly charged a staff member at the center, Arms said.
"Because of her aggressive actions, six women and one male had to restrain her," he said.
The girl actively resisted for a short time, Arms said. When she stopped, staff members noticed she wasn't breathing, he said.
Story

 12 MARCH

Scotland: Record number of children's hearings
The number of young people in Scotland referred to the children's hearing system is at the highest level since records began more than 30 years ago.
Almost 40,000 youngsters were referred to or dealt with by the Scottish Children's Panel system in 2001-02.
New figures show that the number of first time youth offenders reported has increased by 20% compared to two years ago.
The latest statistics are revealed in the annual report from the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration (SCRA).
It says they show the immense challenges faced in tackling offending and child protection.
Story

US: State continued to send children to center despite violations
The state continued to send foster children to a Parker County treatment center despite numerous violations that amassed by the time the state forced its closing late last year.
Investigators determined that teenage residents of the Parker County Residential Treatment Center, a privately run institution for foster children with severe emotional problems, were beaten, choked, improperly restrained and deprived of food.
The place often was found to be filthy and in dangerous disrepair, yet, while one branch of the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services continually found the Weatherford center in violation of licensing standards, another branch kept pouring more children into the facility.
The official explanation: The part of the agency in charge of child placement wasn't talking to the part that performed inspections.
Story

Thailand: Far-reaching bill due to get nod this week
The House of Representatives is expected to pass the Child Protection Bill this week, said to be the most comprehensive legislation drafted for child rights protection.
The bill focusses on protection of child welfare through the cooperation and support of their families. Its backers will put the bill forward for Senate approval once it has received the backing of the House.
The bill, which went through drafting and discussions for more than three years and was proposed by the National Youth Bureau, is a new tool to facilitate the work of non-governmental organisations and government officials in rescuing abused children and ensuring their well-being.
Sanphasit Koompraphant, director of the Centre for the Protection of Children's Rights, said the law would strengthen cooperation at all levels, from families, schools, social workers and communities to local administration organisations.
Story

Canada: Edmonton passes landmark anti-bullying bylaw targeting teens
Edmonton became the first Canadian city to make bullying illegal and fine tormentors a minimum of $250. Supporters say they hope the new bylaw will make young people think twice before threatening and intimidating anyone. "It won't deter everybody, but hopefully it will have an effect on some students," said Coun. Jane Batty, chair of the community services board that put forth the issue. "Bullying just can't be accepted in this day and age and we need to put a stop to it in any way that we can," Batty said.
Several Canadian teens have either died or committed suicide due to bullying by their peers.
Emmet Fralick, 14, of Halifax, shot himself at home in April 2002. He left a suicide note saying he was distraught after being tormented by students.
Reena Virk, 14, of Victoria, died after being beaten by teenagers in November 1997.
Edmonton police, backed by both separate and public school boards, approached civic politicians to add harassment to the list of offences already covered by the city's public places bylaw.
"Up to 70 per cent of the complaints in our schools are bullying-related," said Const. Dan Williams, a school resource officer at St. Joseph Catholic High School, who proposed the idea.
Police are unable to deal with assaults, gang violence and harassment until it escalates into a criminal matter. Williams said he hopes the new bylaw will enable them to quash bullying before it goes too far.
Story

 11 MARCH

Canada: Seminar teaches children consequences of bullying
A woman whose 15-year-old son killed himself after being bullied held an anti-bullying seminar this weekend in Surrey, B.C. The public forum was held on the third anniversary of the death of Hamed Nastoh, who jumped off a bridge after being bullied in school for years.
In his suicide note, Hamed spoke of the pain that drove him to suicide and asked his family to try to stop the bullying faced by other children. His mother, Nasima Nastoh, now teaches children about the consequences of bullying.
"They don't know what they are doing is wrong," Nasima said. "If they are not aware, they need information, they need sensitivity, they need the education. We have to educate kids that bullying is wrong."
In the seminar, Nastima teaches that bullying is dangerous, mentally and physically.
Joel Libin, 19, suffered brain injury when he was beaten by three young men. He now counsels bullying victims.
"It is important to find the strength inside you, and the strength inside your will, to pass through and continue on with your life," he said.
Libin said many teenagers consider bullying an inevitable part of growing up, but it's a behaviour that's learned at home, in the schoolyard and in the classroom. It's important that parents and teachers know that children can be taught not to bully.
Story

UK: More children live with lone parents
Almost 40% of households with children in Manchester are lone parent households, according to a new survey. The GMB union said about 18,700 homes in the city had just one parent - the second highest percentage in the UK after Glasgow.
In the North West as a whole there are 215,610 lone parent households - just over a quarter of all homes with children. The figure represents an increase of 78.4% on the position in 1991. The report, which follows the 2001 census, said that the figure for Liverpool was 38.7% - compared to 39.8% in Manchester. In Lancashire the highest percentage was in Blackpool where the figure was 32.3%.
Paul Kenny, from the GMB, said: "These figures demonstrate the absolute necessity of employers adopting family-friendly policies to enable these lone parents to participate fully in the workforce. "After-school clubs and other supports for childcare are also essential. It would also be of great help if childcare expenses were made tax deductible for both employers and parents."
Story

Zambia: The Rot in the Non-Governmental Arena
Available statistical data reveals that over 70 per cent of the Zambian citizenry is presently wallowing below the poverty datum line. The high poverty levels have brought about difficulties in the care of children and the under privileged in society. Consequently the concept of the extended family system is equally failing to cope with the increasing number of children and the vulnerable.
To compound the situation, the HIV/AIDS pandemic continues to undo efforts aimed at addressing the needs of children and the vulnerable in society. As a result, the nation has continued to lose skilled human resource and many resources are being spent in addressing the problem of HIV/AIDS. The ever increasing death rate among parents and guardians because of HIV/AIDS and other related diseases has led to an upswing in the number of orphans and the vulnerable people. With so many bread winners dying , many young children and families are left without parental care and guidance.
Given this scenario non-governmental organisations (NGOs) of every shade and shape said to have been formed to supplement Government efforts address the plight of the children and the vulnerable have sprouted all over Zambia.
However, the proliferation of institutional care-givers has not been without skirmishes, many an orphanage, transit home or drop-in-centre have been accused of using the predicament of the vulnerable to enrich themselves.
The reality on the ground remains explicitly clear that no orphanage or drop-in-centre can afford to look after those under its care without external assistance, therefore the ill motives of some individuals and civic bodies aimed at enriching themselves by using the plight of the under privileged must be checked.
 

Scotland: Huge rise in number of cases referred to Children's Panel
The number of young people in Scotland referred to the Children's Panel has risen to the highest level since records began 30 years ago. A report shows a massive rise in the number of child welfare cases caused by neglect, domestic violence and parental drug abuse. The annual report of the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration (SCRA) highlights a sharp increase in the number of young girls committing crimes and in the number of first-time offenders. It also reveals an alarming 35% increase in the number of children referred because of abuse of drugs or alcohol.
The report paints a grim picture, with a total of 36,820 youngsters referred last year - 10% more than the previous year.
In addition to increased juvenile crime, there has been an even steeper jump in cases involving child welfare issues, which is putting immense pressure on social workers and the country's unique children's hearing system.
Over the past decade, there has been a 247% rise in referrals for lack of parental care, reflecting the impact of drug abuse, alcoholism and domestic violence on families and their children.
There are also concerns over the length of time taken to deal with neglect cases — currently an average of 168 days.
The situation is exacerbated by the chronic national shortage of qualified social work staff. In Glasgow, the number of vacancies has risen by 26 to 66 in the past year, representing more than a third of the total children and family fieldwork posts in the city.
Story

Australia: The boys who are lost in cyber space
About 10 per cent of boys are spending more than 50 hours in front of a TV, computer or computer game each week, research shows.
The University of South Australia's survey of 1045 children shows that 10 per cent of boys with "problem viewing" habits spend more than 9.5 hours a day in front of a screen on weekends and 6.5 hours on school days.
Dr Tim Olds, a senior lecturer in physical education, exercise and sport studies at UniSA, described the findings as "a real worry".
Health experts were also concerned, noting habits formed during this age bracket were often carried on through later life.
The survey of children aged nine to 15 years in Australia and New Zealand in the past two years also found the peak viewing time was 8.15pm, when more than half the children were in front of a screen.
Dr Olds said 10 per cent of boys were spending almost all their available hours each day in front of a screen.
"If you're sleeping maybe 10 hours a day on average, and watching on a non-school day nine to 10 hours of television, that doesn't leave much time to eat, drink or have a shower," he said.
Story

Australia: Plan to tackle youth crime
Young offenders leaving jail will be linked with a mentor in the community under a radical anti-crime scheme to be introduced by the Victorian Government.
The program, the first of its kind in Australia, will recruit office workers, business leaders, tradespeople and others to act as mentors to inmates aged between 12 and 20 who are about to leave juvenile detention centres.
The volunteer mentors will help young offenders find jobs or reconnect with schools and other educational services. The scheme is aimed at preventing young people from reoffending, and reducing high jobless rates among juvenile offenders.
Community Services Minister Sherryl Garbutt said studies had shown that young offenders responded better to people who voluntarily chose to help them rather than to someone paid to do so. "We want to break this generational cycle of crime and disadvantage that some young Victorians experience," she said. Ms Garbutt said results from a different Commonwealth-sponsored scheme with young offenders in Shepparton who were not in jail revealed that the presence of a mentor increased their participation rates in education and jobs.
The number of non-custodial offenders involved in education rose from 3 per cent to 42 per cent after the mentor scheme was introduced and the number with jobs increased from 26 per cent to 42 per cent.
Story

 10 MARCH

CWLA: Rise in NY abuse cases
The nation's largest child advocacy group released a study last week showing that the number of confirmed child abuse and neglect cases in New York State increased by 16 percent from 1999 to 2000.
Nationally, the study said, the child welfare system is overwhelmed with a record number of abuse claims, while caseworker salaries are lagging and the turnover rate high. The group believes those factors will have a deep impact on the system's effectiveness for needy families.
In 2000, 1,236 children died from abuse nationwide, including 72 in New York, according to numbers provided last week by the Washington, D.C.-based Child Welfare League of America. The figures are the most recent available, compiled by the group from both federal and state sources.
"There is a crisis in how our nation is responding to children who are abused, neglected, exposed to violence, drugs and alcohol,” said Shay Bilchik, the president of the organization.
Story

Australia: More fathers winning child custody cases
Fathers are increasingly being awarded custody of their children in Family Court cases, new figures released by the court show.
Despite persistent criticism that the court is anti-male, almost 20 per cent of child-residence decisions are being settled in the father's favour - twice the rate of earlier decades.
Court figures show that as recently as the mid-1990s, only 15 per cent of residence applications were decided in favour of the father. University of Sydney law professor and family law specialist Patrick Parkinson said the latest figures showed a cultural shift.
"Go back another 10 years, to the 1980s, and 90 per cent of all orders were in favour of mothers," Professor Parkinson said.
"You have here a shift of the order of 10 per cent (of orders) over 20 years. That's big.
Story

New Zealand: Coroner warns on cannabis suicide
Coroner Garry Evans has stepped into the cannabis debate, warning the Government to be cautious over decriminalisation. He warns that the drug is too often associated with youth and evidence is mounting that it is causing psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia, psychosis and depression.
"Young people who take their lives are commonly users, often very heavy users of cannabis," he said.
Mr Evans said cannabis was viewed by a section of society as a "harmless provider of recreational pleasure". "That is not the experience of police officers and coroners. Nor is it the experience of good parents such as Mr and Mrs Sinclair who have seen and have had to cope with the consequences of the baleful effects of such drug on young people.
Mr Evans said he supported comments made recently by High Court Justice Gendall, who said the court often saw the "tragic outcome" of teenagers who had been introduced into the drug scene at an early age. "Such outcomes lead not only to other criminal offending but to youth suicide ..."
Story

US: New Covenant House capacity
The new Crisis Center replaces a 12-bed facility, which opened on the same site in April 2000. Covenant House Michigan Executive Director Sam Joseph said the 12-bed center quickly began to surpass its capacity due to an increasing population of homeless and at-risk kids coming to Covenant House from around the metro Detroit area and beyond.
"On an average night an additional 10 to 15 homeless youth slept on makeshift beds on the floor," he said. "The advent of our new 45-bed Crisis Center which is open 24 hours, 7 days a week, will increase our ability to reach and serve Detroit's homeless youth."
The Crisis Center provides shelter, food and clothing for homeless young men and women ages 18 to 22. "These homeless young people are able to call the Crisis Center home for up to three months as we meet their immediate needs," said Covenant House Michigan outreach worker, Carlos Pagan. "As we gain their trust, we can address deeper issues and help them achieve other goals like completing their GED or finding a job."
Covenant House Michigan was established in 1997. It is one of 22 Covenant House sites around the globe, with the original site founded in New York in 1969. Covenant House Michigan is a privately funded organization that helps homeless, runaway and at-risk youth get off the streets and into sustainable adult lives.
 

The Gambia: Dilemma of Aids Orphans
In the Gambia, the socio-economic consequences of the HIV/AIDS epidemic are felt in a growing number of households. Increasing mortality rates among adults are threatening economic and social well-being. Women and children are bearing the heavy burden of nursing the sick and managing households with over-stretched resources.
Observations show that when a husband dies of AIDS in a family, the mother is also often living with HIV/AIDS and dies shortly thereafter, leaving children as orphans.
Death of a father deprives children of male authority, a status symbol in many communities. But the subsequent death of a mother further deprives the children of crucial emotional and mental security as well.
 

BC: Children's ministry to be run by local boards
Decisions about how, when, and where services for children and families will be provided will soon be decided by a collection of board members . much like B.C.'s health regions and school districts.
The Ministry for Children and Family Development (MCFD) is creating 11 boards throughout the province to make community-based decisions about foster care, early childhood development, adoption, youth mental health, and other services that fall under MCFD authority.
Bill 65, the Community Services Interim Authority Act . which passed in the B.C. legislature on Oct. 29, 2002 . allows for the creation of five regional child and family service authorities, five aboriginal authorities, and one Community Living Society, which will oversee services for adults with developmental disabilities.
Interim regional planning committees made up of government-appointed members will be holding a series of public forums this week. The committees will act as the inaugural boards for the first year, and then an application process for new members will go out to the public. By spring of 2004, most ministry programs and services will be delivered by the new authorities, which will hold regular public meetings.
Story

 7 MARCH

US: State closes youth shelter calling it unfit for habitation
Calling it unfit for habitation, the state shut down a youth shelter and relocated the seven boys who had been living there.
The Department of Children, Youth and Families closed the house, on Washington Avenue, following a complaint from the office of state child advocate Laureen D’Ambra.
D’Ambra’s staff inspected the house Friday and told the state fire marshal’s office  that they found exposed wiring and other electrical problems, holes in the walls, broken windows and an obstructed back door.
Both DCYF and the nonprofit agency that operates the shelter for the state, Communities for People Inc., acknowledged the house was a mess, but denied it was unsafe.
The damage was caused by the teenagers who were living there, they said. “They had taken in some very difficult kids” who set about “destroying the place,” Thomas Dwyer, DCYF’s associate director for child welfare services, told The Providence Journal.

Northern Ireland: youth debate centres on EU
The scheme will promote closer ties in Europe. Northern Ireland teenagers will debate the future of Europe at an event in Belfast. The empty halls of Parliament Buildings will be filled with school pupils and youth group members from across the province. The event is being hosted by assembly member Danny Kennedy, chair of the assembly's education committee.
Panelists include Democratic Unionist leader Ian Paisley and Ulster Unionist Jim Nicholson – both members of the European Parliament (MEPs). They will be joined by the SDLP's Alban Maginness, Edwin Poots of the DUP and Sam Porter, a Sinn Fein policy adviser.
The European Parliament places a high priority on including young people in the debate on the Future of Europe and on European citizenship
The debate will be chaired by Ed McVeigh, head of the European Commission representation in Northern Ireland. It will focus on enlargement of the European Union, how it should reform and what it means to be a young European citizen.
Participants will also discuss how to change the EU to accommodate new member states.
The event is one in a series of regional debates across the UK, as part of the Institute for Citizenship's educational project, Speak Out! on European citizenship.
It gives young people across Europe the opportunity to share their opinions with each other on the Speak Out! website and is supported by a teacher guide, which can be downloaded from the site.
Story

Sierra Leone: Children Enjoy 'Remarkable' Progress Since End of War
The United Nations envoy for war-affected children today said there had been a "remarkable transformation" in Sierra Leone's efforts to deal with challenges facing the nation's youngster in the aftermath of years of conflict.
"The most striking impression of my visit to Sierra Leone is the remarkable transformation which has taken place in the country, in barely the space of a year and a half since the ending of conflict," the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Olara Otunnu, told the press at UN Headquarters in New York.
He said the change was evident in the peace and security enjoyed throughout the country, the displaced persons returning to their homes, free and fair elections and the resurgence of commerce in various parts of the country among other things.
 

New Zealand: Police imposing curfews on Hamilton youths
Police are enforcing youth curfews in response to recent reports of young gangs roaming inner city streets.
Hamilton City area controller Inspector Paul Carpenter said people should not be alarmed, but acknowledged there were problems with youth offending.
Two men were admitted to hospital after being attacked by gangs of youths in separate incidents at the weekend.
"We have 60 young people on curfew at the moment just wandering around mixing with other undesirables," Mr Carpenter said.
Hamilton's youth aid officers had altered their shifts to work nights and curfew checks would be rigorously enforced, he said. Any breaches would be dealt with by the courts.
Story

US: Too many Md. youths receiving adult justice
As Maryland's policy-makers grapple with the best way to reform the state's juvenile justice system, a bipartisan consensus is emerging that fewer young people should be incarcerated with adults.
In his State of the State address, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. said, "We need to stop routinely condemning so many young offenders to the adult criminal justice system through incarceration and neglect." A week later, Del. Salima S. Marriott of Baltimore introduced legislation in the General Assembly to help make the governor's words a reality. The bill was to be heard before the House Judiciary Committee.
Each year, more than 1,000 youths are sent to Maryland's adult jails. Data and experience show that youths incarcerated with adults are more likely to be sexually assaulted, more likely to commit suicide and more likely to be arrested when they return to the community than youths kept in the more rehabilitative juvenile justice system.
In research conducted by Columbia University, youths in adult prisons reported that they were five times more likely to be sexually assaulted, twice as likely to be attacked with a weapon and 50 percent more likely to be beaten by staff than youths incarcerated with other juveniles.
Story

Nairobi: Lawyers Want New Look for Juvenile Courts
Lawyers want the Judiciary to redesign children's courts countrywide. And they want Parliament to allocate enough funds for compulsory primary education, health care, free legal representation, protection from forced labour, sexual exploitation and harmful cultural practices as guaranteed in the Children's Act.
A report published yesterday proposes that the design at the Nairobi Children's Court, which has been fitted with special facilities, be replicated in other parts of the country to protect young suspects.
The courts are normally presided over by magistrates and with the exception of Nairobi, proceedings take place in normal courtrooms.
The Nairobi court, which was designed with the collaboration of a non-governmental organisation and the Judiciary, has warm colours and paintings of animals and people.
The court also has brightly coloured small benches for children and during hearings, the room is cleared of people and sessions conducted around a conference table. This is a departure from the normal court rooms where the judge or magistrate sits at an elevated position.
In cases of child to child sexual assault, the suspect is obscured from the complainant's view by a witness protection box. The special box enables the offender to follow and witness proceedings without the complainant facing him or her across the courtroom.
 

 6 MARCH

US: U.N. To Host Two-Day "Youth At Risk" Conference
Some 500 high school students from eight countries will gather in the General Assembly Hall at U.N. headquarters for the 27th annual U.N. International School conference, organizers said yesterday.
The topic of this year's conference, "Youth at Risk: The Future in Our Hands," will focus on problems children face growing up in different regions of the world. In developed countries, the conference agenda will highlight issues related to problems of child abuse, youth violence and media influence. Youth issues in the developing world to be discussed include child prostitution, slave labor, health care and education.
Child soldiers from developing world conflict zones will also be a topic, said Martina Mustroph, a 16-year-old member of Children of War, a nongovernmental organization that has for the past three years worked to provide relief to Sierra Leone.
"I believe that if we have learned anything during the last three years, it is that we may not be able to save the world one bake sale at a time, but we can indeed make a difference — even if on a relatively small scale. We hope to provide the students there with a detailed account of what we have been doing as a group" Mustroph wrote.
Story

New Zealand: Nurse shortage leaves youth mental health beds unfilled
Beds at a new $2 million youth mental health unit are going unused because Capital and Coast District Health Board cannot recruit enough psychiatric nurses.
A board spokeswoman said that since the 13-bed Regional Rangatahi Service opened last July it had taken only up to eight teenagers because it was still seeking five more nurses.
No one had been turned away from the unit, she said, and the board hoped to recruit more nurses soon.
The unit is designed to care for 12- to 18-year-olds from throughout central New Zealand. They previously had to share facilities with adults, or were left in the care of their families.
Story

US: Panel recommends cutting caseloads for DYFS staff
A panel reviewing the New Jersey's troubled child protection system has recommended that caseloads for workers be drastically reduced.
The Staffing and Outcomes Review Panel said that the Division of Youth and Family Services should at the least adopt a caseload standard recommended by the Child Welfare League of America, a national advocacy group. The league says caseworkers should supervise no more than 17 children who live at home, or 15 in foster care or 12 who are awaiting adoption. New Jersey caseworkers oversee an average of 33 cases, but the numbers are often much higher.
"Our responsibility is to say this is what children in New Jersey need if we are really going to protect them," Angela Estes, the panel's co-chairwoman, told The Star-Ledger of Newark.
The panel began examining DYFS last year, before the case of a 7-year-old Newark boy found dead in a basement spurred a restructuring of the division.
Faheem Williams body was found Jan. 5 in a storage bin in the basement of a Newark apartment. His twin, Raheem, and another brother were found nearly starved a day earlier. Authorities said the boys' mother left them in the care of her cousin, who has been charged with child endangerment.
Panel members said they realize reducing caseloads would cost a lot of money. Already, Gov. James E. McGreevey has proposed $20 million in his budget for restructuring DYFS, and Human Services Commissioner Gwendolyn Harris has outlined a reform plan.
"The money is there," said Kevin Ryan, McGreevey's deputy chief of operations who sits on the panel. "My concern is what would you change in the commissioner's reform plan to accommodate the CWLA standard?"
Story

Gambia: Journalists Urged to Conceal Child-Victims' Identity
Mr Salifu Jassey, Unicef child protection officer, has urged journalists to "balance both aspects of an issue" in their reportage of issues pertaining to children. He said perpetrators of child abuse should be exposed while the interests of child victims given priority. He also advised that the identity of such child victims be concealed.
Mr Jassey, who was speaking at a two-day Child Protection Alliance (CPA) media workshop at Manjai Lodge on February 26, said in order to protect children, the media needs training on child rights issues and journalists also need to adopt a code of conduct to guide their work in "this very sensitive and difficult area." He listed four closely allied ethical dilemmas that surround the professional conduct of journalists, their investigative activities and the reporting of their stories. According to him, these are: confidentiality of sources; undercover journalism and use of subterfuge to obtain information; cooperating with and making information available to law enforcement agencies and identification of individuals.
 

 5 MARCH

Canada: Don't 'give up' on drug fight
Whether Liberals decriminalize cannabis or not, it harms lives, says bureaucrat named to global drug panel. Canada must continue to discourage the use of cannabis and other illegal drugs to ensure a healthy society, a senior federal official says in spite of recent government rumblings about softening penalties for marijuana possession.
While drug consumption will never be eliminated, governments cannot abandon efforts to control the cultivation, movement and sale of narcotics, says the Solicitor General Department's Paul Kennedy, who is helping lead hemispheric actions on the issue. "I don't view this as something that you give up on."
Mr. Kennedy, a senior assistant deputy minister, was recently elected vice-chairman of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission, an agency of the Organization of American States that helps co-ordinate the anti-drug efforts of the 34 member countries, including Canada.
He will be at the head of the table when OAS representatives gather this fall in Canada — the city has not yet been chosen — for an annual meeting.
Story

US: Exposure to Violence Linked to Teen Drug Use
Among 14 to 17-year-olds living in three countries, those who experience more violence in their communities are also more likely to smoke, drink alcohol and do drugs, researchers said
The results are based on a survey of 3,380 teens living in urban regions in Belgium, Russia and the US.
Given that violence was linked to substance use among teens in three parts of globe, Dr. Robert Vermeiren of Middelheimhospital in Antwerp, Belgium and his colleagues suggest this trend may be a "worldwide urban phenomenon."
This is an important trend to investigate, the authors note in the journal Pediatrics; reports have suggested that almost all inner-city youth living in the US have been exposed to violence.
During the study, Vermeiren and his team asked teens if they had ever experienced or been directly threatened with violence or if they had ever witnessed threats or acts of violence between others. Incidents included being mugged or beaten up, attacked with a knife or gun, chased or wounded.
Teens were also asked if they smoked cigarettes, drank alcohol or did drugs and, if so, how often.
Despite their youth, the teens had already witnessed a significant amount of violence, the authors note. For instance, 54% of the US adolescents had witnessed more than two violent events, while 29% and 18% had themselves been victims of moderate and severe violence, respectively.
In Belgium and Russia, approximately 38% of inner-city teens said they had witnessed one or two violent events in their lives, and slightly less than 30% reported they had been victims of moderate violence.
Teens in Belgium, for example, who had been victims of severe violence were almost twice as likely as those who had not been abused to smoke cigarettes, and around three times as likely to smoke marijuana or do hard drugs, including LSD, cocaine and heroin.
Similar trends were noted among teens living in Russia and the US, the authors note.
"Prevention and treatment initiatives that target substance use and dependence should focus on the role of community violence as part of their intervention," the authors recommend.
Story

Bangkok: Ministry wants fewer youths sent to prison
The Justice Ministry is urging a new direction be taken in treating offenders, particularly young ones, in line with the criminal justice reform process. A key part of the new system is making greater efforts to prevent youth offenders from entering the juvenile justice process.
This approach is miles removed from the old concept, which viewed youth offenders as ``incorrigible'' people who had to be put in the justice process, said Vicha Mahakun, chief of Supreme Court Judges and a juvenile justice expert.
``Now with the reform of the justice system, such attitudes need to be changed,'' he told a seminar held by the ministry's Probation Department and the Research Fund Office.
A key instrument for change is the new child protection law, expected to be passed this year.
The treatment of youth offenders had to be individualised in line with their competency and behavioral problems.
Child offenders fell into three categories – those most prone to commit serious crimes, those posing medium risk and those considered a small risk.
The first group included children from broken homes who lacked education and might have been often abused by their parents. They required strict control to `melt' their aggressive behaviour.
``These children are deeply wounded, and activities like sports or camping will not help unless we give them an understanding and loving community to convince them first that there's somebody who cares for them,'' said Mr Vicha. He warned that keeping young offenders in detention centres had never proven effective as it stunted their development.
The most important factor was to change officials' attitudes that these children were beyond help, and needed development like ordinary children.
Kittipong Kittayarak, director-general of the Probation Department, said the new direction in treatment of offenders is aimed at reducing the number of court cases and easing prison overcrowding.
To better handle the problem, non-custodial alternatives such as fines, compromises, rehabilitation programmes for drug offenders, home confinement and court-ordered social work should be imposed.
Story

 4 MARCH

US: Proposal would open child abuse hearings
Proponents of a bill to open court hearings on child abuse say public scrutiny of the process could help the children and bring reform to the Nevada agency overseeing child welfare.
AB132 would require that all court hearings on child abuse and neglect cases be open to the public unless the judge declares it closed in the best interest of the child.
Judge Gerald Hardcastle, who presides over family court in Clark County, told the Assembly Judiciary Committee on Monday that the public has a fundamental right to know what happens in court.
Hardcastle added that greater public scrutiny of the child welfare system and its administration would fundamentally improve the way the state serves children in need.
"I have wished a thousand times the community could see what I see and listen to what I listen to," Hardcastle said.
Story

US: Juveniles Unfit To Stand Trial As Adults?
Every U.S. state allows children under 16 to be tried as adults, but new research indicates many cannot understand their situations well enough to aid their defense.
The private MacArthur Foundation study released Monday said many children under 16 had as much difficulty grasping the complex legal proceedings as adults who had been ruled incompetent to go to court.
The study, by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Adolescent Development and Juvenile Justice, looked at more than 1,400 people between the ages of 11 and 24 in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, northern and eastern Virginia and northern Florida.
Subjects were given intelligence tests and asked to respond to several hypothetical legal situations, such as whether to confess to a police officer. The results found that one-third of those 11 to 13 and one-fifth of those 14 or 15 could not understand the proceedings or help lawyers defend them.
The study recommends that states reconsider the minimum age for juveniles to be tried as adults or to develop a system for evaluating young defendants' competence.
Story

Canada: New shelter helps homeless Aboriginal youth
Homeless youth in Toronto now have a place to call home. Native Men's Residence of Toronto (Na-Me-Res) has received more than $1.4 million in funding to purchase, renovate and operate Tumivut, a 52-bed Aboriginal youth shelter at 26 Vaughan Road.
This funding is provided through a partnership between the Government of Canada's National Homelessness Initiative (NHI), the Province of Ontario, the City of Toronto and Miziwe Biik. "Homelessness is a complex issue, and it is encouraging to see Na-Me-Res and all three levels of government working together at Tumivut to address the needs of the Native youth," said Brenda Elliott, Ontario's Minister of Community, Family and Children's Services.
 "With the opening of Tumivut, Na-Me-Res has undertaken a new homeless initiative to address vulnerable youth," said Toronto Councillor Joe Mihevc. "As a city, we must continue addressing homelessness by forging like partnerships with other levels of government."
Story

Ghana: Move to Curb Rise in Streetism
In recent times, there has been a remarkable increase in the number of street children in almost all the major towns and cities in the country which has a become a greater concern to all.
In an effort to address this phenomenon of streetism which has gradually become another menace in our society, proposals to the tune of about ¢900million has so far been approved for this project in the Kumasi metropolis alone, out of which ¢200million is ready for disbursement.
The Government of Ghana through the Community base Poverty Reduction Programme (CPRP) has contracted a loan from the World Bank under the Learning and Innovative Loan Scheme to service three projects of which the street children project is among.
Mr. Maxwell Kofi Jumah, Metropolitan Chief Executive of KMA, revealed this during the signing of Grant Agreement between the Ministry of Manpower Development and Employment (MMDE)/Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) and Service Providers in Kumasi.
He noted that 11 NGOs and CBOs have so far been selected as service providers in Kumasi to implement the street children project.
 

US: Tribal officials plan changes to juvenile justice
In an effort to curb juvenile delinquency, gang activity and drug use on Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation, members of the Chippewa Cree tribal court system and tribal juvenile care providers will gather Wednesday in Havre. The tribal council and the FBI have also been asked to attend.
The day-long meeting at the Duck Inn will focus on a variety of proposed changes to the tribe's juvenile justice system, including making the curfew earlier during the school year, appointing juvenile probation officers, altering domestic violence ordinances to allow corporal punishment by parents, and adding new laws against stalking, terrorism and vandalism.
"Our goal, and it's ambitious, is to eradicate drug use" at Rocky Boy, Chief Judge Gilbert Belgarde said last week.
Tribal programs director Patrick Chief Stick Jr., one of the planners of the meeting, said every ordinance should be made stricter and enforced to the maximum. "We're to the point where we have to have a really strong disciplinary system," Chief Stick said.
Story

Australia: Regulations fail to protect children
The Australian Broadcasting Authority was more concerned with promoting internet use than protecting children from the dangers of online porn, according to a study.
Researchers say the Federal Government's online regulatory structures, introduced in 1999, are "manifestly failing" the nation's youth. An increasing number of teenagers, according to the study by the Australia Institute, are stumbling on "hardcore" sex sites while casually roaming the internet.
But the chairman of the ABA, Professor David Flint, strongly defended the existing controls, saying there are "no simple answers" when it comes to the internet. "No system will be perfect. No system will provide 100 per cent protection," he said.
Controls introduced by the Federal Government include a complaints hotline for the public to report offensive online material. So far, about 1750 items have been referred to the ABA for investigation. But the Australia Institute confirms that the internet is entrenched as a frontier for accessing pornography. Eighty-four per cent of boys surveyed and 60 per cent of girls aged 16 to 17 said they had been accidentally exposed to sex sites.
Story

 3 MARCH

US: House passes bill to curb teen smoking
Teens who buy and possess tobacco products could face tougher penalties under a bill passed by the House.
Under the Youth Access to Tobacco Prevention Act of 2003, minors who purchase or possess tobacco products could be fined or sentenced to community service. Currently, state law penalizes only businesses who sell tobacco products to minors. The bill's sponsor, state Rep. Scott Talley, R-Moore, hopes the bill will deter young people from using tobacco products.
"South Carolina needs to take a proactive approach to fighting health care problems and costs," Talley said. "Health care costs continue to rise in our state, and statistics show that as young people begin to use tobacco products at an earlier age, the health consequences and costs that come with those decisions are passed on to the taxpayers across South Carolina."
Story

UK: Youth trouble may be over
Bosses at a supermarket in one of the region's most exclusive suburbs are hopeful that serious problems caused by young troublemakers have finally been resolved.
A threat to "name and shame" the offenders and increased police patrols appear to have forced parents in upmarket Darras Hall, Northumberland, to bring their unruly youngsters to heel.
The Journal revealed two months ago how managers at the Quality Fare convenience store in The Broadway had collected a petition of more than 1,000 names calling for CCTV cameras, better lighting and extra night-time police patrols to make the area safer.
The company warned that rowdy youths who were threatening and intimidating staff and customers at the store would have their photographs taken and put on public display unless they curbed their bad behaviour.
Yesterday store manager Kevin Wilson, who organised the 1,080-name petition, said he was now hopeful that the problems were over.
"The reprisals and intimidation we were suffering have gone and I believe our name and shame threat, the petition and extra patrols by the police have had the right result."
He added: "Police have been doing more work in the area and we have had officers on horseback and more patrols and visits."
Quality Fare bosses decided to act after some members of staff had become frightened to come to work after dark because of the growing problems of intimidation and abuse by young people aged from 10 to over 18. There were also incidents of vandalism.
Story

US: Ribbon cut for kids' center
The Cayuga Home for Children had its ribbon-cutting Friday for a new training center in Rochester.
It is expected to attract therapists from other counties and states for special training to help youths at risk of institutionalized placement. The Functional Family Therapy Training Site, at 109 S. Union St., is the second such center in the nation, according to Edward Myers Hayes, chief executive officer of the Cayuga Home. The home, which is based in Auburn, Cayuga County, offers foster care and preventive services.
About 36 therapists a year are expected to be trained at the center. Functional family therapy deals with the entire family rather than just the youth at risk of institutionalized placement.
“It’s a highly structured program,” said Dan Ross, child and family services manager for the county.
Story

Australia: Net porn traps unsuspecting
It is not just those who go looking for it. An increasing number of teenagers aged 16 to 17 are stumbling on "hardcore" sex sites while casually roaming the internet.
A new Australian study confirms the internet is a new frontier for accessing pornography, some of it of a violent and extreme kind. Eighty-four per cent of boys and more than half the girls surveyed said they had been accidentally exposed to online sex sites.
Meanwhile, nearly two in five teenage boys said they had deliberately sought out internet sex sites.
The research, commissioned by the Australia Institute, questioned 100 boys and 100 girls aged 16 to 17 in Melbourne and Sydney.
Alarmingly for parents, there appear to be virtually no age-related barriers that can be put in place to prevent young people from accessing the wide range sexual acts that air on the net. The study suggests teenagers can be "drawn or coerced" into viewing material they have no desire to see on the internet through devices such as "pop-ups", spam emails and even manipulation of search engines.
Story

Scotland: Ex-Policeman Criticises Justice System
A former policeman who quit his job in disillusionment today told Liberal Democrats of flaws he encountered in Scotland’s youth justice system.
Mike Crockart, 36, who quit after eight years as a police constable, told how a small group of youngsters in an affluent Edinburgh suburb were able to vandalise their primary school with impunity.
He told how he and other officers kept the names and dates of birth of persistent child offenders in the back of their police notebooks – so they would know when they became 16 and could be dealt with effectively.
Mr Crockart gave his account in a speech in the law and order debate at the Scottish Liberal Democrats’ spring conference in Aberdeen.
Justice minister and party leader Jim Wallace listened in the audience as speakers praised his track record in the job and criticised Labour.
The conference later backed a resolution which placed emphasis on improving youth justice, crime prevention, and alternatives to custody.
Story

____________