31 MARCH 2010

Newfoundland and Labrador : At-risk children and youth focus of budget
Children and youth are taking centre stage in the latest Newfoundland and Labrador budget, with the government announcing a $167 million investment in the Department of Child and Youth Services. Minister Joan Burke said the province has struggled to find-and keep-social workers to operate its child protection system. Burke said most of the department's budget will go towards beefing up the number of front-line staff. "There will be a fundamental difference in the way we provide services," Burke said. Twenty-seven new positions have been created, including social workers, supervisors and clerical staff, to deal with the shortage. Burke said the increased staff will eventually help relieve the heavy caseloads that have buried many of the province's social workers for years, although she admitted there are "no quick fixes." Hiring more staff is only part of the government's plan to revitalize the child protection system, which also includes $21.8 million to cover the cost of housing for at-risk children and youth.
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UK: Getting to grips with the street gangs
As violence in school is believed to be growing at an alarming rate due to gang culture, Iain Duncan Smith, chairman of the Centre for Social Justice, says wholesale social reform and a new multi-agency approach is required to tackle Britain's gang violence problem Media coverage of gang-related murders has, at times, even been suggestive of an epidemic of violence in our inner cities. While this is undoubtedly not the case, the past five to 10 years has seen a definite shift in the nature and scale of gang culture in Britain. However, despite the obvious rise in gang violence, and the very real devastation it causes in our most deprived communities, I have been increasingly concerned by the apparent lack of understanding of the issue among politicians and policy-makers. It was with this in mind that the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) decided to establish a working group to undertake an in-depth review of Britain's street gangs.
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California: State limits foster homes to 6 children
When 4 1/2-year-old Amariana Crenshaw died in her care in January 2008, the single foster mother had nine children, ages 4 to 19 living in her North Natomas home – plus an assortment of young adults and other kids drifting in and out. That scenario is about to change in California, where the state is planning to reduce the number of children foster parents can oversee, the result of a process started years ago. This week, the state Department of Social Services will begin imposing new limits on foster-care capacity that officials hope will improve quality of care – and potentially weed out profiteers. The revised limits initially will apply to state- or county-licensed foster family homes but eventually will extend to those providers, like Dossman, who are certified by private foster family agencies, according to Lizelda Lopez, the department's spokeswoman.
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Two new programs to help cut Philadelphia truancy
Every year, the Philadelphia School District, city courts, and the Department of Human Services spend $15 million on truancy-prevention programs. Historically, a lack of coordination among the three means that many students still slip through the cracks - leading not just to truants, but also to dropouts. There are about 95,000 children under DHS care in city schools and in out-of-school programs. "When you try to get two really large institutions to work together at a kid level, it's really difficult," said Lori Shorr, Mayor Nutter's chief education officer. To try to fix that, two new, privately funded initiatives will focus on supporting at-risk students in school. They will be announced today by the Department of Human Services. A new Education Support Center will track the educational progress of students in DHS's care, watching for early warning signs and helping smooth communications between the city agency and the district. The center will be funded by a $600,000, two-year grant from the William Penn Foundation. A citywide truancy-reduction plan will be developed through a two-year, $200,000 grant from the Stoneleigh Center, a Philadelphia-based foundation.
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UK: Knowledge of private fostering remains patchy — study
Awareness of private fostering is "patchy" among children's social workers according to government-commissioned research. A survey of 352 children's social workers found less than half (47%) felt they were well informed about private fostering, with a further 47% reporting they knew a little but were unclear about details. Workers in other areas such as health and education knew even less, with only 13% of education workers regarding themselves as well-informed on the topic. "Those involved in social care are the best informed; however the research revealed examples of social workers failing to recognise private fostering arrangements, and even providing misinformation to enquiriers," the report stated. Private fostering covers a wide-range of situations including unaccompanied immigrant children, children attending language schools or sent to the UK for educational purposes, trafficked children as well as children on the edge of care and adolescents "sofa-surfing" because of difficulties with parents.
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UK: Young people supervised by YOTs four times more likely to be Neet
Young people supervised by youth offending teams (YOTs) are four times more likely to be out of education, employment or training than those in the general population, figures have revealed. The statistics, placed in the House of Commons library, show that 32.9 per cent of 16- and 17-year-olds under YOT supervision in 2008/09 were classed as not in education, employment or training (Neet), compared with 8.3 per cent for the age group overall. Broken down for each YOT area in England, the figures reveal a huge variance in proportions of young people classed as Neet across the country. Areas with the lowest percentage of Neets under YOT supervision included Hillingdon, Sefton, St Helens, Sunderland, and Windsor and Maidenhead, with proportions ranging from 13.7 per cent to 14.5 per cent. Those with the greatest proportion included Bournemouth (58.9 per cent), Wakefield (51.9 per cent), and Brighton and Hove (48.6 per cent). Rob Allen, director at the International Centre for Prison Studies and former board member of the Youth Justice Board, said it is a widely held belief in the youth justice sector that getting young people involved with work, training or education can help steer them away from crime.
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Australia: Cheaper to send young indigenous offenders to elite schools than jail, says Chief Justice
Locking up young Aboriginal offenders in Perth is more expensive than putting them up at a plush hotel, Western Australia's Chief Justice Wayne Martin says. He told a Federal Parliamentary inquiry into the high numbers of indigenous youths fronting the criminal justice system that incarceration was costly and not working. At a hearing in Perth today, Justice Martin said a 2008 report showed that youths aged 10 to 17 constantly going through WA's justice system cost the state around $400,000 each. He said it cost about $500 a day to incarcerate a young indigenous person in Perth and they often had to be flown in from remote areas. "You could put them up in the Hyatt cheaper. It's just not working."
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Pennsylvania: 12-year-old boy to be tried trial as adult
A 12-year-old boy charged with killing his father's pregnant fiance is unlikely to be rehabilitated in the juvenile justice system by his 21st birthday, so he will stand trial as an adult, a Lawrence County judge ruled Monday. If convicted of first-degree murder, legal experts say, Jordan Brown would be the youngest person in the country to serve a life sentence in prison without parole. Police say Jordan fatally shot Kenzie Houk, 26, with a 20-gauge shotgun as she slept in their New Beaver farmhouse in February 2009. Her unborn son, who was nearly full term, also died. Jordan was 11 at the time. "There is no indication of any provocation by the victim that led to her killing," Judge Dominick Motto wrote in his ruling. "The offense was an execution-style killing of a defenseless pregnant young mother. A more horrific crime is difficult to imagine."
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29 MARCH 2010

Canada: Child and Youth Worker wins Governor General's Academic Medal
Shelly Nelson Bond, a graduate of the Child and Youth Worker program, is this year's recipient of the Governor General's Academic Medal for highest academic achievement at Sault College. Bond was recognized at the college's recent 37th annual Scholarship, Bursaries and Awards Night at the Great Northern Resort and Conference Centre. The college distributed about $2 million in scholarships, bursaries and awards throughout the academic year, according to a release, including $175,000 at the Scholarship, Bursaries and Awards event.
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Finland: More young kids curious about sex
The Mannerheim League for Child Welfare says children as young as eight are calling the organisation’s hotline to ask about sex. Tatjana Pajamäki-Alasara, who manages the child and youth hotline, says kids are calling to inquire about matters they shouldn’t be concerned about at such a young age. Today children also use more graphic language, says Pajamäki-Alasara. The annual report of the organisation finds that younger children are mainly interested in concrete information on intercourse, whereas older tweens call in for advice on when it's appropriate to start having sex. The league’s hotline received more than 48,000 calls last year. Sex was the most popular discussion topic after general chat.
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Ontario: CAS closing group homes
A lack of funding from Queen's Park has forced the London region's Children's Aid Society to close its remaining group homes - moves staff say will place in harm's way the most vulnerable of children and adolescents. "These kids will have no place to go but shelters. I'm really scared for these kids," said a staffer at one of the homes. The groups homes on Cheapside, Gunn and Argyle streets in London have been used for children whose special needs make it difficult to place them in foster care or a privately-operated group home, children battling addictions or mental health challenges or whose conduct puts others at risk. "These are children, who, for a variety of reasons, can't be in foster care," said Jane Fitzgerald, executive director of the Children's Aid Society of London and Middlesex. Fitzgerald agrees the group homes have benefits because child and youth workers deliver great programs and no child can be turned away because he or she has needs that are too intensive.
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Majority of Chinese people want two children
Around 78 percent of Chinese people want to have two children if the country's family planning policy permits while career-oriented people want children after 30 years of age, says a latest survey. The majority of respondents - 77.5 percent - of those polled said having two children would be 'perfect'. Most of the 6,183 respondents survey said they would like to have children before the age of 30, China Daily said. Only 18.3 percent said they wanted a single child. China's family planning policy introduced two decades ago restricts around 35.9 percent of the population, mostly in large and medium-sized cities, to the 'one-child rule'.
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Virginia: UMFS orientation for foster parents
Nearly 1,700 children and teenagers in Northern Virginia are in foster care and need caring families. The UMFS Northern Virginia Regional Center will offer an orientation for prospective foster parents on Wednesday, March 31, from 6 to 7 p.m. at 6335 Little River Turnpike in Alexandria. Participants will learn about training and support provided by UMFS to foster families, and may schedule an initial assessment to continue the process of becoming a foster parent. To register and for more details, please contact UMFS at 703-941-9008. UMFS, formerly known as United Methodist Family Services, has served children, youth and families throughout Virginia for 110 years.
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New York: New leader for residential service
Ken Lewter has been appointed to serve as the leader of Hillside Children's Center's Monroe residential services. Lewter, who lives in Victor, N.Y., will manage and administer staff, services, and facilities for the nonprofit youth and family services provider's residential campus on Monroe Avenue. Prior to his appointment, Lewter served in a similar capacity as the residential service leader on Hillside Children's Center's Varick campus in Seneca County. “While in leadership at Varick, Ken demonstrated a strong commitment to the quality of residential services through implementation of CARE, development of a well functioning management team, and consistent financial management. He has established strong relationships with OCFS (Office of Children and Family Services) and will bring these commitments to furthering quality for the Monroe Residential services,” said Karen Zandi, Hillside Children's Center executive director. Lewter holds a Masters of Social Work degree from Syracuse University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of North Carolina.
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Australia: Children at risk still lack help
The number of vulnerable children known to child protection authorities who do not have a case worker allocated to them has grown to 2300 - more than six months after the scale of the problem came to light. The Department of Human Services was yesterday forced to admit that the numbers had not improved since a damning Ombudsman report was released in November. The report said almost 2200 cases had not been allocated a case worker as of last June - more than 20 per cent of all cases. The figures were first revealed in the media last August. During a state parliamentary hearing yesterday, Pam White, the department's acting executive director of children, youth and families, said the number of unallocated cases had not changed since then. She said whenever there was publicity about child protection, there was a spike in notifications received by the department. Following the publicity from the Ombudsman's report, there was an increase of 8 to 12 per cent in reports. ''The unfortunate thing is that means there is more work at the front end,'' she told an upper house committee.
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Pennsylvania: Runaways a concern for cops
Frustrated by the growing amount of time Upper Dublin police officers are spending dealing with assaults and runaways at St. Mary's Villa, police Chief Terry Thompson is taking steps to nip those problems in the bud. St. Mary's Villa for Children and Families is a residential facility that provides services for abused and neglected children in the greater Philadelphia area. In 2007 there were 10 runaways from the Villa, a number that escalated to 49 in 2008 and to 54 in 2009, Thompson said. Assaults at the facility went from eight in 2007 to 15 in 2008 and 18 in 2009. In January and February of this year there were already eight assaults and 17 runaways, he said. A truancy program started several years ago at St. Mary's is at the crux of the runaway problem, Thompson said. Police are particularly concerned that adjudicated youths are being placed in the program by the Philadelphia Department of Human Services.
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Regina: Teens left unlocked detention centre
Two teenagers accused of robbery with violence in Manitoba simply walked out of the Regina youth detention centre where they were being held. The youths, whose names have not been released because of provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, were arrested March 15 by RCMP in Brandon.The two, a 14-year-old and a 17-year-old, face charges relating to the violent robbery of a convenience store and liquor vendor in the small town of Alexander, Man., about 20 kilometres west of Brandon. The Stahl's Food Mart was the target of robbers around noon on March 15. Police say four youths, including the two from Saskatchewan, ordered the clerk to the floor and proceeded to help themselves to as much liquor as they could carry, plus some money from the cash register. They took off in a stolen car, but police caught up with them later in the day at a nearby First Nation after receiving a tip.
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26 MARCH 2010

Mother jailed for beating children
A 37-year-old Foxboro mother allegedly struck her two young children at home "numerous times" on St. Patrick's Day, the town's youth officer testified on Monday at a dangerousness hearing in Wrentham District Court. Leslie Fairbanks, of 135 Chestnut St., Apt. 13C, was arrested Thursday for beating her child, following an investigation by police who were notified by school officials of the suspected abuse, Foxboro Police Chief Edward O'Leary said. She pleaded innocent when she was arraigned Friday on two counts of assault and battery of a child and two counts of reckless endangerment of a child, and is now being held without bail until her next hearing on Wednesday, March 31. Police Detective Timothy O'Leary, who testified at Monday's hearing, said afterward that Fairbanks allegedly struck both her 4-year-old son and her 8-year-old-daughter at home on March 17. The girl, who attends the Igo Elementary School, had "more substantial facial injuries," Det. O'Leary said. He said the girl was sent to the school nurse Thursday and both children were treated at Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro that day and released.
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Alabama: New Montgomery group home for girls holds open house for local residents
An open house and ribbon cutting gave Montgomery residents a chance to see inside New Horizons Moderate Girls' Home. The home, which is for girls ages 12 to 18, provides treatment for emotional and behavioral problems through Group Homes for Children. The older home at the corner of Frederick Avenue and Court Street was transformed into a residential facility and opened in January, executive director Demetria Parnell said. Four girls currently are living in the home, said Amy Rode, a representative of Specialized Alternatives for Families and Youth. The home has the ability to house eight to 10 girls and contains a kitchen, a TV room and a reading room. The house also is handicap accessible. The girls are able to decorate and make it feel like home, said Laurie Harrington, physical compliance manager.
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Edmonton foster care CEO resigns after controversy
The CEO of the Edmonton foster-care region resigned Wednesday, according to Alberta Children's Services Minister Yvonne Fritz. Rick Semel had been criticized after a presentation his region gave parents last week. The presentation suggested foster parents who look after disabled children would receive less money than they currently get. Within minutes of the province's Opposition NDP releasing the presentation, Fritz reversed the plan and said she knew nothing about it. Fritz said Wednesday she did not request Semel's resignation but said she could not provide more information because of confidentiality.
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New Hampshire: Children’s home receives award
Nashua Children’s Home, founded in 1903, provides residential care to New Hampshire’s at-risk children and youth, special education to identified area students and transitional living services to young people that have “aged-out” of the child-protective or juvenile justice systems. This grant marks the 11th annual award from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation, yielding total gifts of $107,500 to support the Independent and Transitional Living programs. These program initiatives prepare adolescents for adult living and provide housing and continuing staff support and advocacy for 18-year-olds that must transition to adulthood absent any financial support from their families of origin. “Support for organizations addressing at-risk youth is critical,” said John F. Weeks, president, Bank of America New Hampshire. “Nashua Children’s Home is making a real difference in the community, and we are proud to call them partners.” “The ongoing support and advocacy of Bank of America,” said Executive Director David Villiotti, of Nashua Children’s Home, “permits Nashua Children’s Home to soften the transition to adulthood of young people that would otherwise be at substantial risk for homelessness. Their continuing generosity and goodwill has been vital to the success of our efforts in this regard.”
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Children's Bill of Rights created
It wasn't Philadelphia in 1787, but the framers of a local constitution foresee a strong impact from their own document. Several community members expressed their collective wishes for all of Merced County's children Tuesday at the Children's Summit, with the adoption of the Children's Bill of Rights. About 325 people stood and cheered inside St. Patrick's Parish on Yosemite Avenue as each one of the 10 rights was read aloud. Some of the rights granted to children: the right to knowledgeable and prepared parents, access to quality health care, a healthy environment, exceptional education and guidance. Brian Mimura, executive director of First Five of Merced County and the author of the bill, said the point of adopting the bill was that it's now a community-owned document. When Mimura began creating the document, he anticipated that the community would question how much it would cost to implement each right - or whether the rights could even be enacted.
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Pennsylvania: Abuse of LGBTQ children
A transgender teen girl and Lambda Legal Defense have filed a lawsuit against the city's Youth Study Center and Department of Human Services. The girl alleges that despite being diagnosed with gender identity disorder she was housed with males and subjected to constant verbal and physical abuse. In fact, according to the suit, one Youth Study Center supervisor told this petite girl that he would not call her by her feminine name until she had her genitals removed. Of course, the language he used was much more crude. Last spring, DHS held a meeting for young people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) and who find themselves in the foster-care system. About 100 people attended. Half were clients and half social-service providers. Several transgender teens spoke about being harassed at the Youth Study Center and in group homes. Phillip (not his real name), who recently turned 18 and is in college, spoke to me about seeing an effeminate boy being beaten up in a group home. The supervisors put the child in a room with the bullies to fight them. The boy ended up being beaten again. Philip also claims to have witnessed effeminate boys being sexually abused by other boys at residential treatment facilities.
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Virginia considers changing foster care system
Virginia agencies are stepping up two initiatives in response to findings that foster children who “age out” of the foster system — at 18 or 21, if they attend college — are falling through the cracks. In 2007, 62 percent of foster children left the system to live permanently with either a relative or adopted family. A study by the Pew Research Center that year found older youths who age out or are emancipated from the system spend nearly five years without a permanent home. Twenty five percent will be incarcerated within two years and 20 percent will become homeless. “The impact, just simply from not having a family is just tremendous,” said Ray Ratke, Virginia’s Special Advisor for Children’s Services, who oversees state agencies’ compliance with Children’s Services System Transformation, a subsequent initiative to improve care in 13 localities. “Let’s develop a plan to keep that family together.”
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Report decries Oklahoma DHS caseloads
It took the Oklahoma Department of Human Services two years to refer one foster child for a psychological or psychiatric evaluation even though the girl had a history of sexual abuse and had been cutting herself to "release the pain.” Another foster child was subjected to at least 81 placement changes and had 97 caseworkers and 88 supervisors during 10 years and 9 months of her time in DHS custody. These are just two of many findings contained in a supplemental report filed Wednesday in a 2008 Tulsa federal class-action lawsuit that is seeking to reform Oklahoma’s child welfare system. The report was prepared by Peg McCartt Hess, an independent child welfare consultant who was retained by a New York child advocacy organization called Children’s Rights to review the files of seven Oklahoma foster children.
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Australia: Punishment "may not fit all the time"
Punishment is not working so we need a radical overhaul of the justice system, Thinker in Residence Judge Peggy Fulton Hora believes. She says the state system should include a Unified Family Court to stop children ending up in protection, a mandate only to imprison dangerous offenders, and a limit on remand time. The retired California Superior Court judge is in talks with South Australian court officials and hopes a new Attorney General will be receptive to her ideas. She says we have to stop children being taken away to "wallow" in foster care or institutions, and instead put resources into fixing their family problems. This will require a Unified Family Court with a holistic approach to drugs and alcohol, abuse and neglect issues. She also argues we only should lock up those who pose a threat to the community.
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24 MARCH 2010

Newfoundland promises to invest in its children’s futures
Children are its top priority, says the government of Newfoundland and Labrador in a throne speech that vows action where it has been accused of neglect. The provincial legislature opened Monday with the 20-page blueprint of government promises and achievements read by Lt.-Gov. John Crosbie. It charts a progressive course for the Tory government of Premier Danny Williams, including an overhaul of the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, a new child-care and early-learning strategy, and a strengthened Human Rights Code. “There is no gift more precious than a child, and no duty more important than advancing the best interests of our children through the choices we make," Crosbie read. “In classrooms and homes across our province, a new attitude is taking hold, full of hope in the dream of a wonderful future for young people right here at home."
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New Zealand: Small group does most crime - police
About 20 anti-social youths are at the root of much weekend crime in Palmerston North, including the recent spate of stabbings, city police say. There has been a rise in juvenile crime in the city since Christmas, including three stabbings. Police are working with the city's safety advisory board to discuss ways to curb youth crime. Palmerston North police area commander Inspector Pat Handcock said the board acknowledged there was an issue with youth crime in the city. "It's with a relatively small number of our youths who are behaving anti-socially. There are no more than about 20 young people that are causing the trouble and of that 20, only around 12 are actually doing the offending, but we are watching these youths carefully," Mr Handcock said. The police set up Operation Juvie about six years ago to deal with children on the streets and to help keep them out of harm's way. Identifying youths who were not under proper care and who had trouble at home were ways to monitor and help avoid youth offending, Mr Handcock said. The operation is a partnership between the police, Child, Youth and Family and community patrols such as Maori wardens and Safe City. The board brings together staff from Palmerston North City Council, police, CYF, youth services and other interested groups, to share information and resources.
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Maryland: State changes will preserve services the children need
Maryland is at the forefront of a nationally recognized "system of care" innovation that ensures vulnerable children and families have access to services in their communities. The role of local management boards (LMBs) and changes that have been proposed need to be understood in this context. There has been much discussion about the value of LMBs, along with many comments and recommendations about proposed changes to the LMB operating structure as outlined in the fiscal 2011 budget, which includes more than $15 million in funding for community-based services and programs for children, youth and their families. There are 24 LMBs, one in each jurisdiction in Maryland. For the past 20 years, LMBs have coordinated changes in their communities that resulted in a better quality of life for children and their families. LMBs have:

• Led the way in returning and diverting children from out-of-state placements;

• Created interagency services for children at risk of out-of-home placements;

• Increased linkages between public and private agencies serving children and families; and

• Coordinated many community-level grants and initiatives.

Throughout these 20 years, the Governor's Office for Children and the Children's Cabinet have worked collaboratively with the LMBs to ensure all Maryland's children and families have access to quality programs and services in their communities, tailored to the communities' needs. The Children's Cabinet Interagency Fund supports Maryland's at-risk youth and families through the funding of community-based intervention and prevention services.
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Vermont: Residents protest proposed facility
Residents of the North Sherburne neighborhood are up in arms about a proposal by a new nonprofit to put a small rehabilitation facility for troubled youth in an old school dorm. A petition with 58 signatures has been filed, aimed to stop Hope and Community Inc., from using the former Killington Mountain School dorm at 274 Stage Road as a community-based adolescent treatment center, and dozens of residents flooded a March 10 town planning commission meeting with concerns. "The people of North Sherburne do not want this type of facility," said Ed Fowler on Thursday, the former owner of the property who has lived directly across the road from it for the last 29 years. "I'll have a $700,000 or $800,000 property across the street from a rehab facility," he said. "That would affect my property value … I think it will affect property values all around town." Newly incorporated nonprofit Hope and Community Inc. is proposing to house and treat eight patients between the ages of 14 and 22 who have drug and substance abuse issues in the 10-bedroom dorm, over a minimum period of six months to start. According to Town Planner Dick Horner, the community doesn't have a say in the matter if the owners of the facility maintain eight or fewer patients because state law says no town permits are needed and the town has to treat it as if someone was purchasing a single-family home.
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Arkansas: Review shows foster system improving
State officials say a review of the Arkansas foster-care system, begun a year and a half ago at Gov. Mike Beebe's request, has shown some improvements accomplished but others that still need to be made. "We've got a long way to go, but we're making moves in the right direction," said Cecile Blucker, director of the Division of Children and Family Services in the state Department of Human Services. "When you're transforming a system, you have to look at what's going on all over. DHS is now analyzing data from its 10 regional offices to determine the problems each office faces and what needs to be done. The agency began a top-to-bottom review in September 2008 at Beebe's request after the deaths of four foster children and the placement of several more in an abusive home.
Since then, the agency has hired 102 new workers to help overworked employees, and 96 of the new hires are still on board. The agency also has closed hundreds of child-abuse and neglect cases, helping reduce the caseload per worker statewide from 35.9 cases to 31.9 cases. The review also showed a need for improved training, which caseworkers, investigators and supervisors are now receiving.
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22 MARCH 2010

Nova Scotia archdiocese orders police checks for staff
The Catholic Archdiocese of Halifax and the Diocese of Yarmouth will now require any staff member who comes into contact with children, youth or vulnerable adults to submit to police record checks. Anthony Mancini, the archbishop of Halifax, drafted the 36-page document called the "Responsible Ministry and Safe Environment Protocol." The protocol will apply to the two regions of Nova Scotia that are in Mancini's purview. The new rules governing staff will also mean any one-on-one meetings can only take place in rooms and locations that are open to public view. Marilyn Sweet, a spokeswoman for the archdiocese, said the protocol was developed after Raymond Lahey, the former bishop of Antigonish, was charged with possession of child pornography last fall. "That set off a real storm of outrage right across society and the church — and properly so," Sweet said. "When a person who is in such a position of authority is charged with such things, people are affronted and they need to express what that is to them." Lahey's trial has been set for April 26, 2011. Lahey, 69, was charged in September with possessing and importing child pornography, 10 days after he was detained at Ottawa airport upon arriving on a flight from Britain.
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Wales: Apologies over the loss of three young lives
Police and council officials have apologised for the failures in the care of three children who died aged 16. The details of the circumstances leading to the deaths of Carly Townsend, from Llanelli, Kyle Bates, from Hafod, and a Swansea school pupil Chloe Nicole Davies were revealed yesterday. All three were just 16 when they died. The deaths of Carly and Kyle were both drug- related, while Chloe committed suicide. Because all three children were known to the authorities and had been in contact with care agencies, their deaths triggered a serious case review. While the full reports have not been made public, yesterday afternoon the Swansea Safeguarding Children Board released the executive summaries — triggering apologies from Swansea Council and the police. The summaries highlight failures to deal with the needs of the three children. They found that agencies involved had failed to properly communicate with one other.
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Antipsychotic Use in Youth
Antipsychotic prescribing to children and adolescents has become a focus of debate. This is because antipsychotics are increasingly being used in youth for nonpsychotic disorders and off-label indications; there is disagreement about the validity of certain childhood diagnoses, namely bipolar disorder; data point to a possible lack of psychosocial interventions in lieu of or in addition to antipsychotic treatment for disruptive and aggressive spectrum disorders; and there are concerns about antipsychotic-related adverse effects that seem to be more severe and have long-term health implications when they occur during development. However, concurrent with the mounting concern about antipsychotic prescribing in youth is an increase in the available controlled efficacy database for antipsychotics for schizophrenia, bipolar mania, and autistic disorder in this group. These mostly recently completed studies have been the basis for the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the 4 most prescribed atypical antipsychotics in youth. As of March 2010, aripiprazole, olanzapine, quetiapine, and risperidone have FDA-approved pediatric indications for bipolar mania (age 10-17 years; olanzapine, 13-17 years) and for schizophrenia (age 13-17 years). In addition, aripiprazole and risperidone are also indicated for irritability and aggression associated with autistic disorder (age 6-17 years), and controlled trial data exist for disruptive behavior disorders (mostly with risperidone) and tic disorders.
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Too many kids in 100 Alberta foster homes
About 100 foster homes in Alberta have too many children, the province's minister of Children and Youth Services says. Yvonne Fritz made the admission Wednesday evening when asked by another MLA at a government committee meeting about foster parents taking care of too many children. "We currently have about a hundred homes out of our 2,500 foster homes that have a couple of children that are over capacity in those homes," Fritz said. On Thursday, Fritz said she has asked for the situation to be reviewed. "I've asked that those homes be re-evaluated," she said. "I would expect it would take, I would think, eight to 12 weeks."
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Teen in care put at risk: judge
A case currently before Newfoundland and Labrador's Unified Family Court questions how officials handled the troubles of a teenager. A girl, 15, came to potentially serious harm while in the care of Child, Youth and Family Services, which administers the government's child protection program, court documents show. "That is an horrific experience for any young person," said St. John's lawyer David Day, commenting on the case of a teenager referred to in court documents simply as K. K., who comes from a troubled home and cuts herself, was removed from her home by social workers, who placed her in an apartment under supervision. Court documents say K. still managed to slip out of that apartment, and ended up in a sexual relationship with a 39-year-old man. The girl's mother took the case to court, arguing that the agency — which had planned to move the girl to Saskatchewan — never gave the girl a proper chance.
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Summit opens dialogue with teens
At age 16, Brandon Clark found himself getting out of a local group home, going into foster care and battling with self-esteem issues. His mother was struggling with mental illness, and even today he says he doesn't really communicate with her. He made some bad decisions that got him in trouble with the law. In June, Clark, who is now 19, was released from Manatee Adolescent Center, and he realized he needed to make a real change. he laid out his whole story Saturday during the second Teen Summit, held at the Lawrence-Gregory Community Center on Dade St. "Everyone has a story they can tell that anyone can benefit from," he said. "My hope is that the teens here today will know that no matter what happens in life, you can always make it. For me, I'm on my own now and I need to do better. Now it's all about getting my school straight and doing better for me." In an effort to revisit the needs and issues of youth, several members of the community shared their stories of struggle and triumph during the summit, which was titled, "Food for Thought: A Recipe for Saving Young Lives." "We need to know what's going on with these kids," said Greg Grady, community-center supervisor. "I think dialogue is a catalyst for understanding, healing and growing in a positive direction. They are living in more complex and devious times."
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Australia: NT child services unable to keep staff
A CHILD in foster care in the Northern Territory can be seen by up to 35 different caseworkers in three years, in what an academic has told an inquiry amounts to a "treadmill of staff". Jerry Sweeting, a researcher and lecturer in social work at Charles Darwin University, said childcare workers in Australia routinely managed twice the recommended number of cases at any given time. "Research shows the standard caseload is 18. I don't know anyone here to have less than double that," he said yesterday, after giving evidence at a new inquiry into NT child protection services. Mr Sweeting, formerly of Britain and with 15 years' experience in child protection, told the inquiry that staff retention and recruitment were "perennial problems", with children forced to endure a "treadmill of staff". "In a matter of three years a child might have 35 child protection workers, some of whom they have never met. "The general message that gives to a child is not good," he said in Darwin yesterday.
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Arkansas: Review Shows Foster System Improving
State officials say a review of the Arkansas foster-care system, begun a year and a half ago at Gov. Mike Beebe's request, has shown some improvements accomplished but others that still need to be made. Cecile Blucker, director of the Division of Children and Family Services in the state Department of Human Services, said her agency has a long way to go, but has made moves in the right direction. DHS spokeswoman Julie Munsell said agency officials knew they wouldnt be able to fix all the problems within a year or two of the review. She said they expect the process of fixing those problems to take several years.
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19 MARCH 2010

How Illinois spending on juvenile justice compares to other states
Illinois spends an average of $233 per day to incarcerate a single youth. That’s more than $85,000 per year per child. That number is one thing. Turns out – comparing it in an apples to apples way is quite another. We’ve hesitated to measure this number against other states because each state has its own system for dealing with kids in trouble with the law. And the differences between states’ systems can be pretty significant. Lisa Jacobs, director of Illinois’ Models for Change Initiative, says that Ohio’s system of juvenile justice comes closest to Illinois’. Both states had slightly more than 1,400 kids in their prisons in 2009. And in both states counties are responsible for short-term detention while the state is responsible for longer-term incarceration. But Ohio spends $334 per youth per day – $100 a day more than Illinois – to incarcerate its youth. One major difference between the two states is that Ohio’s Department of Youth Services settled a class action lawsuit in 2008. As part of the settlement, Ohio hired more guards at its six prisons. They’ve also closed two youth prisons in the past two years and will close a third next month. Amy Swanson, director of Voices for Ohio’s Children, says that it’s a “transformative time” in the state. She said that Ohio’s governor, Ted Strickland, met his wife while they were working in juvenile facilities, and that he’s been very supportive of the changes taking place in Ohio.
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UK: High Court reverses ban on Catholic Care’s anti-gay adoption policy
A Roman Catholic child-adoption society has won a landmark High Court battle that could allow it and other Catholic agencies to discriminate legally against gay couples. Catholic Care, which serves the dioceses of Leeds, Middlesbrough, and Hallam, South Yorkshire, launched the legal action in an attempt to continue its work finding homes for children. Catholic Care, which provided adoption services only to married couples in keeping with current Catholic doctrine, was seeking an exemption from the Sexual Orientation Regulations. The 2007 regulations made it unlawful to discriminate on the ground of sexual orientation in the provision of goods or services to the public. The Government previously rejected appeals for an exemption for Catholic agencies but ministers gave them a 20-month transition period, which ended last year. Other Catholic agencies have already given up adoption or cut their ties with the Church.
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Regina: New director for Rescue Mission named
The new executive director of the Souls Harbour Rescue Mission wants to assure Regina residents that the mission will continue to provide those in need with the help they require. On Wednesday, it was announced that Joe Miller, director of business development, will take on a new role as the mission's executive director. "I'm very excited," said Miller. "I think I have some big shoes to fill." Miller said the mission will focus on prevention. He said there have already been some exciting changes at the mission like the opening of Little Souls Daycare in February. The centre provides subsidized daycare for up to 60 children. In a couple of months the mission is to open a youth centre located at 1475 Athol St. "We're going to continue to do what Souls Harbour does best," said Miller. "We will be there to give people the food, the shelter, the clothing and go through the whole continuum of care that we provide."
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Arizona: Panel OKs adoption preference for marrieds
Rejecting arguments that it will discourage singles from even applying, a Senate panel voted Wednesday to give preference to married couples in adoption. HB 2148 would not preclude singles from adopting, and the legislation spells out situations in which a court could conclude a single parent could be considered preferable. But it says everything else being equal, a judge should decide that placing a child with a married couple is a better choice. Sen. Linda Gray, R-Glendale, said evidence supports that preference. She cited a study that said children raised in an "intact married family" are half as likely to suffer depression, drug or alcohol abuse, delinquency and school failure as those raised by singles. And Gray said it's not as though this bill, if it became law, would deny any single person a child. She said more than 2,200 youngsters are waiting for adoption.
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UK: Study on outcomes in care settings
Bryn Melyn Care and the University of Wolverhampton are taking on a three-year project to develop a system for measuring outcomes for looked-after children. The initiative is part of the government-backed Knowledge Transfer Partnerships programme to improve the productivity of businesses. Academics will analyse raw data on looked-after children from across more than 30 Bryn Melyn residential care settings. The data will be used to develop an outcomes measurement model that reflects how a complex range of services impact on the lives of young people in care. Kevin Gallagher, chief executive of Bryn Melyn, said he hoped the tool would be rolled out nationally once the project was complete. "There has been an ongoing debate in children's services about how to measure outcomes," he said. "This is about developing a tool for the whole sector to use. There will be a number of benefits for looked-after children."
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Western Australia: Location of juveniles' property upsets residents
Wanneroo residents are angry about a lack of consultation over the state government's decision to buy two properties, valued at more than a million dollars each, to house troubled youth. The Department for Child Protection recently purchased properties in Wanneroo and Mariginiup to provide round the clock care for youth aged between 12 and 17. One of the homes has a pool and a spa. Wanneroo Liberal MP Paul Miles says the residents are worried the juveniles could start fires in the bushfire prone area and are upset they were not consulted prior to the properties being purchased. "They're very angry purely because they feel that they purchased their own homes in these areas that are excluded from urban areas. They purposely have chosen that lifestyle, I guess, to get out of the rat race and they're sort of thinking the rat race is following them."
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UK: Children's Secretary wants Serious Case Review executive summaries to be more transparent
Children's Secretary Ed Balls has today confirmed that Local Safeguarding Children Boards will in future be required to produce clear and comprehensive executive summaries of Serious Case Reviews and set out in their annual reports what actions have been taken following SCRs. These requirements, made explicit in a template setting out a recommended format for SCR executive summaries, will build on the action which Government has already taken to further strengthen SCRs. The revised Working Together guidance also builds on responses from experts in child protection such as the NSPCC and Barnado's. Ministers are also announcing today that funding to support social work improvement in adult and children's services for 2010 -11 will be more than £200m.
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Ireland: New Bill dealing with children in care criticised
A new Bill dealing with children in care, at present before the Oireachtas, has been criticised by a number of child welfare organisations for giving excessive powers to the HSE and for not allowing the child to be heard. In a joint commentary on the Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2009, Barnardos, the Irish Association of Young People in Care and the Irish Foster Care Association, say: “The powers given to the HSE under the Bill appear to the group to be too far-reaching” in relation to children for whom a special care order is made. Special care orders are made where children need to be held in special units for their own protection and welfare. The Bill sets out the conditions for making such orders and provides for a replacement for the Children’s Acts Advisory Board. It also contains a number of amendments to the Child Care Act 1991 with regard to guardians ad litem , who represent the child in certain legal proceedings, which are also criticised by the child welfare groups.
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17 MARCH 2010

Brock prof named 3M Fellow
A Brock University professor has earned one of the most prestigious national teaching awards. Zopito Marini, a developmental and educational psychologist in the child and youth studies department, is a recipient of a 2010 3M National Teaching Fellowship, bestowed by 3M Canada and the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. "Professor Marini is both an outstanding teacher and an exceptional mentor to our students," said Murray Knuttila, the university's provost and academic vice-president. "He is a valued senior member of our faculty, a passionate teacher and a recognized and respected educational leader in our community." Marini, the ninth Brock professor to be named a 3M National Teaching Fellow, is the founding chair of the university's popular department of child and youth studies.
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Australia: Depressed children not being diagnosed
Up to 75 per cent of children and adolescents suffering depression and other clinically identifiable mood disorders remain undetected in the community. And many of those detected receive no treatment, according to a new set of draft guidelines on treating depression. The draft, prepared by depression initiative beyondblue for consideration by the National Health and Medical Research Council, says young people may not seek help because they believe their symptoms are a normal part of growing up, or they fear the stigma of mental health problems. And many parents simply don't know depression can begin at such an early age. The new draft clinical practice guidelines cover all aspects of depression in adolescents and young adults, after previous NHMRC guidelines were withdrawn in 2004 in the wake of emerging research. Adolescence and young adulthood are the peak times for the onset of depressive and other mental health disorders," the draft guidelines note.
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Pennsylvania: Camelot questioned over allegations of force
The Escambia County School Board is expected to approve a contract with an alternative school company that has faced allegations of using excessive force against students. Superintendent Malcolm Thomas is recommending the district enter into a $1.8 million contract with the nonprofit Camelot Schools of Pennsylvania to run a school for expelled middle school students from A.V. Clubbs and special-needs high school students from E-SEAL. Camelot CEO John Harcourt said Monday that the allegations, raised in an article by the Times Picayune newspaper of New Orleans, were false and the use of force against students went against the school's philosophy. "It goes against our entire mission statement," Harcourt said. "We try to avoid the possibility of restraining a child through de-escalation techniques."
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Rhode Island; State committee names finalists for child advocate position
The decision to pass over Jametta Alston, Rhode Island’s current child advocate, for another term has prompted allegations that Gov. Donald Carcieri ’65 is placing politics before the welfare of the state’s children. A committee appointed to vet candidates for the position voted unanimously at the end of last month to recommend a list of four finalists, which did not include Alston, after Carcieri announced in January his desire to replace her with a new appointee. Carcieri’s announcement came after Alston clashed with his administration over a 2007 lawsuit in which she sued the state for alleged widespread abuse and neglect of children in its custody. The suit contended that insubstantial funding and mismanagement of the state’s child welfare system have allowed children to be placed in abusive foster homes. According to its Web site “The mission of the Office of the Child Advocate (in Rhode Island) is to protect the legal rights of children in State care and to promote policies and practices which ensure that children are safe; that children have permanent and stable families; and that children in out of home placements have their physical, mental, medical, educational, emotional and behavioral needs met.”
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Child abuse widespread in Kuwait
If a child in Kuwait was attacked by one or both of his or her parents, could he or she call the police? Would the young victim be entitled to request police protection and help, and how much of either would they be given? What is the usual police method employed in handling such family conflicts? Is sending the juvenile victim back home with his/her abuser home a mistake? If the answer to this last question is yes, then what should we do to stop such terrible things from happening?! Despite the fact that child abuse in Kuwaiti society is a very serious issue urgently requiring attention and action, the matter was neglected for many long years. The spotlight is now firmly back on the issue after a number of activists and MPs introduced a bill to protect children's rights and safeguard them from abuse. It is quite surprising that despite Kuwait's wealth and its many highly educated citizens, the issue of children's rights has been and still seems to be vacillating between expressing the wish to act and doing so!
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Pensnsylvania: Study: Parents can calm suicidal thoughts in teens
Most teen hospitalizations today are based on suicide attempts, according to a Children's Hospital of Philadelphia study. Pennsylvania has the highest U.S. admissions rate for teen girls into psychiatric hospitals for suicide attempts. Family involvement appears more successful than traditional treatments in reducing suicidal thinking in teens, according to a groundbreaking study by Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The study placing parents in the therapist's role is the first that shows statistically significant reductions in depression and thoughts about suicide, researchers said. Suicide is the third leading cause of death in American teens accounting for 1,371 deaths of youth between the ages of 12 and 18 years in 2005, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Every year nearly 1 million adolescents attempt suicide, according to national statistics.
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Missouri juvenile justice reform
The state of Missouri has created a juvenile justice system that has proved so successful over the last 30 years it's known as the "Missouri Miracle." A number of practices combine to make Missouri's system unique: It's primarily made up of small facilities, generally designed for between ten and 30 youths, located at sites throughout the state that keep young people close to their own homes. These facilities don't look like jails with traditional cells; there are only eight isolation rooms in the entire state, which are seldom used and only for emergency situations. They feature a highly trained and educated staff working in teams with small groups of youths. Youths are treated with respect and dignity, and instead of more traditional correctional approaches, the system uses a rehabilitative and therapeutic model that works towards teaching the young people to make positive, lasting changes in their behavior. The result has been some of the best outcomes in the nation: fewer than 8 percent of the youths in the Missouri system return again after their release, and fewer than 8 percent go on to adult prison. One-third of the youths return to their communities with a high school diploma or GED, and another 50 percent successfully return to school.
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Russia looks to modernise social care provision for children
Provision for disabled children and those with learning disabilities in Russia is thought by many experts to be 50-60 years behind that of the West. But stability under Putin's government has seen a concerted attempt to modernise care standards, writes Howard Amos. Sasha Pilipenka is a tall boy with ears that stick out. He loves history and can talk at some length about the emperors of Rome, the battles of the Second World War or, his favourite topic, Ancient Greece. Sasha turns eighteen this November and, like most of the children with whom he has grown up at the Belskoye Ustye Psycho-Neurological Orphanage in western Russia, he will go on to live in an "adult institution", one of hundreds of such establishments caring for those in Russian society unable to live independently - the institutionalised, those with mental illness and the very elderly. Sasha is among the most articulate of the 63 children between the ages of seven and seventeen at the state-run Belskoye Ustye orphanage. All the children have diagnoses of mental or physical disability (to varying degrees of severity) and most have been in institutional care since infancy. Until 2008 when the federal government reclassified these children as no longer 'unteachable', they had received only the very rudiments of an education. Most remain illiterate.
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Florida: Proposed legislation could force foster kids to the streets
Lawmakers are scheduled to vote on proposed legislation tomorrow that would cut foster-care funding nearly in half, leaving many of Florida's teens to fend for themselves. Child advocates are pushing for the legislation to be dropped. Also on the chopping block is an amount of grace period funding that helps 18-year-olds transition from foster care into adulthood. If the funding is cut, there is a chance teens could be out on the streets. "If you think about it, these kids have no family, no support system in place. If you cut their monthly living by 50% how are they going to survive? These kids are still - many of them still in high school," said Gia Tutalo-Mote, an avid child advocate. Statistics show that on any given day, more than 200,000 children are in foster care in Florida because of abuse, neglect or abandonment.
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15 MARCH 2010

UK: Calls to raise age of criminal responsibility rejected
Calls to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12 have been rejected by the government. England's children's commissioner Maggie Atkinson had told the Times that most criminals under 12 did not fully understand their actions. But the Ministry of Justice said those over 10 knew the difference "between bad behaviour and serious wrongdoing". Dr Atkinson said James Bulger's killers should have been helped to change their lives and not tried in an adult court. She also said civilised society should recognise that children who commit offences needed to be treated differently from adult criminals. She later issued a statement in which she said she wished to put into context her views on "such terrible atrocities" as James Bulger's killers and two young brothers who tortured other children in Edlington. Dr Atkinson said in the statement that such children were "a danger to themselves and to others" and that they should be contained in secure settings.
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Malta: Too many children born out of wedlock
Over 28 per cent of children were born out of wedlock in 2008 - 1,048 out of 3,721 births (March 10). Just 12 years earlier, the figure was below six per cent. This is a remarkable increase that should make us ask what is happening in our islands. The single mothers I know are doing an excellent job and raising their children in the best way possible in the, sometimes very challenging, circumstances. However, one may wish to ask what percentage of these births are the result of a considered, conscious, planned, mutually-agreed decision between a young woman and a young man who care and are responsible for their decision and what percentage of these births are the result of use, abuse, exploitation, peer pressure, bullying, force, drink, drugs? My guess, though I did not carry out any survey, is that a very high percentage are the result of unwanted, unexpected pregnancies, possibly taking place in the modern youth "underworld". This issue is certainly an area worth investigating, studying and discussing both on Xarabank and at University level.
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Wales: Social Services child deaths probe
A Welsh council already under “special measures” due to failings in children’s social services has investigated the deaths of three more children in its care. Swansea council is to make public three separate serious case review reports into the deaths of the children over the past three years. Two died due to involvement with drugs and in the case of all three children the council was either looking after them or had dealings with them. It is understood the reports will highlight some serious procedural issues. Last year, Swansea council’s children’s services department became the first authority in Wales to be placed under special measures – known officially as “serious concerns protocol” – by the Assembly Government.
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UK: Judge's anger as law forces him to free torture yobs
A top judge has attacked the justice system for tying his hands with “ridiculously short sentences” after a gang of four youths beat and tortured a teenage boy with learning ­difficulties. The 17-year-old – who was in social services care – was lured to a flat where he was kicked and punched, had boiling water poured over him, his arm burned with hair straighteners and his testicles stamped on. One yob even did a flying kick at the victim’s head when he tried to escape, a court heard. Judge Kerry Macgill told Leeds Crown Court any right-thinking member of society would say the defendants – two male youths and their girlfriends, all 17 or 18, should be sent to prison for a long time. But he said this was impossible because of restrictions imposed by Parliament. “I am left with ridiculously short sentences at my disposal,” he said. “We are beset with these statutory guidelines which ensure as far as possible that young people do not end up in custody.
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Alaska can do more for foster kids
For $715,000 a year, Alaska lawmakers can help the state's foster children stay in their schools, get housing help when they leave care, have a better shot at job training and college, get mentoring help, and more guidance from the state's Independent Living Program. The alternative? Do nothing and continue to live with these numbers, found by the Alaskan Foster Care Alumni Study of 2005: 77 percent of those leaving foster care are on public assistance at some time or live with someone who is; 30 percent are imprisoned; 38 percent are homeless at some time after leaving care, 30 percent within the first year. With about 2,000 Alaska children in foster care, those percentages are chilling. And they're a lot more expensive than $715,000 a year. Fortunately, the House Finance Committee has decided unanimously that doing nothing is a sorry alternative, and approved amendments to the state operating budget that would provide $200,000 for a competitive grant to set up a statewide volunteer mentoring program for foster youth and those coming out of foster care. Rep. Les Gara, a former foster child and a longtime advocate for better care, likened this program to a Big Brothers, Big Sisters for older kids.
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Shropshire: Advice for parents on children and the internet
Worried parents will for the first time be given guidance on how to clamp down on what their children are accessing on the internet during special advice sessions being run by Shropshire Council. The internet safety session for adults and children will take place in Albrighton on Monday. It aims to help parents monitor sites and content accessed by children or youngsters in their care. It is the first in a series of sessions planned by Shropshire Council and Shropshire Youth Association. The advice forum is targeted at anyone supervising youngsters with access to the internet and aims to prevent abuse and limit access to violence or pornography. Adults will also be given help on how to monitor children using social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Bebo, following widely-publicised cases of adults posing as teenagers to groom other youngsters.
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Ireland: Probe into foster care abuse
The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) is investigating 19 allegations made against foster carers in Dublin North West and North Central, including some of a sexual nature. Four of the investigations are under way in Dublin North West and 15 in Dublin North Central, according to documents released to the Irish Examiner by HIQA under Freedom of Information legislation. The allegations came to light during a review of fostering services in seven local health areas, three in Dublin and four in Cork. HIQA expects to publish a report of its findings in the next two months. A spokesperson for the HSE said 15 of the investigations were complete. In a statement, the HSE said it had acknowledged that HIQA identified "anomalies" in relation to childcare practice in Dublin North West and North Central and an implementation plan had been put in place to address the issues. "As the full report of this HIQA inspection is still awaited by the HSE, we cannot comment further on this matter at this time," the HSE said.
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12 MARCH 2010

Canada: Kids at risk as CAS lays off
Program cuts, brought on by a $1.1-million deficit at Children's Aid Society of Algoma, could see more local children removed from their homes, say both the society and the union representing its workers. On April 12, CAS Algoma will lay off six workers and one supervisor who make up an in-home program that helps at-risk children in "open child protection families." "It just doesn't make sense," said Melissa Guild, group vice-president of Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 1880, which represents workers at CAS Algoma She said removing supports from families that are at risk will only put more children into care. "These families will go into crisis and you'll have more children coming into the care of the society and being placed in institutional care," said Guild. CAS Algoma was short $2.5 million, but last month, the province gave another $1.4 million, cutting its ongoing budget deficit down to $1.1 million. It wasn't enough to stave off cuts, and the local CAS has had to come up with a deficit reduction strategy for the coming fiscal year that includes the winding down of another program, said Jim Baraniuk, CAS Algoma executive director.
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Georgia: House passes legislation to ease transitions for children in foster care
The Georgia House of Representatives on Wednesday passed House Bill 1085 by a vote of 150 to 3. This legislation, introduced by State Representative Katie Dempsey (R- Rome), is aimed at easing the transition for children entering and leaving foster care. “As an advocate for Georgia’s youth, I cannot help but be concerned for Georgia’s children in foster care,” said Dempsey. “Entering foster care can be a difficult time for children, and HB 1085 is intended to ease their transition by ensuring those children continue to have a relationship with their siblings and teachers, the individuals who often have the most positive influence on their lives.” First, HB 1085 requires that siblings that are taken into foster care be placed together unless such placement is contrary to their best interest. In the event that siblings cannot be placed together, reasonable visitation between siblings must be assured. Second, HB 1085 provides educational stability for children in foster care by requiring an attempt to keep children in their currently enrolled school when placing them in a foster care. If a child cannot remain at his or her current school, then the Division of Family and Children Services must assure their immediate enrollment in a new school with all of the child’s educational records provided to the new school in a timely manner.
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Michigan: Child welfare reform meets recession; recession wins
A report released this week about efforts to overhaul Michigan’s child welfare system shows how the recession gets in the way of reform. The overhaul is being carried out under a court-monitored consent decree which, in typical fashion, requires the state to spend more money. But what happens when that court order clashes with legislative and executive branch decisions to slash spending in order to deal with a statewide budget crisis, as many states are doing? The budget cuts win. “Michigan’s ongoing budget constraints statewide continue to threaten the reforms at every level,” said a statement by Children’s Rights, the New York-based advocacy organization that filed the lawsuit that led to the decree. Even though fulfilling the decree requires “additional investment,” the report says, an executive order issued by Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm (D) last spring forced the Department of Human Services (DHS) to furlough staff and reduce its spending from the general fund by $92.4 million. The department cut 197 child welfare staff positions that had been requested to implement the agreement, the report says, and reduced services identified by the court agreement as “critical.” The DHS made up for some of the cuts by moving around staffers and funds, and said the declining numbers of youth under supervision reduced staffers’ caseloads, but the report says that left other decree requirements unfulfilled.
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New Jersey: Homeless count in Morris County nearly doubles
The number of homeless persons in Morris County nearly doubled in a year, the Morris freeholder board was told Wednesday. Mary Jo Buchanan, county director of human services, said that a Jan. 29 survey shows there are 653 homeless persons i the county, up 303 from last year, when 350 were counted. The count is conducted by volunteers and staffers from Morris social service agencies under the direction of the Mental Health Association of Morris County, she said. People living in temporary shetlers, motels paid for by variouis agencies and those living on the street, for example. "Some staffers were surprised by the number," Buchanan said, "but I thought that with the bad economy we might see a large increase." The increase in the number of homeless persons mirrors the increased use of soup kitchens and food pantries that have been noted as the county's unemployment rate doubled in the 13 months from June 2008 to July 2009. The rate went from 3.6 percent to 7.2 percent where it remains.
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Ohio: Caged kids reach $1.2M settlement with county
The 11 children whose adoptive parents forced them to sleep in cages, have reached a monetary settlement. Attorneys for the children reached a $1.2 million agreement with Huron County. It's the first step in a long legal process to get justice for the children who endured years of abuse. Michael and Sharen Gravelle are each serving two year prison sentences for child abuse. In 2005, their eleven adopted and foster children, many with special needs, were removed from their home near Norwalk after a social worker discovered many of the children were forced to sleep in these cages. "The type of abuse that they endured isn't the type of abuse that goes away overnight, this is the type of thing that you carry with you for the rest of your life, and these scars are deep and long-lasting," said Jack Landskroner, an attorney with Landskroner - Grieco - Madden, LLC, the firm representing the children. The children were placed with the Gravelles beginning in 1998. Their attorneys reached the settlement with Huron County before a lawsuit was filed. "At some point, they did the right thing, they were there and they did what needed to be done to protect these children...our issue was, did they do it soon enough?" said Landskroner.
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Michigan: "State foster care reforms not good enough"
A court-appointed monitor says Michigan has not made enough progress in fixing the state's foster care system, saying the state's not fully complying with an out-of-court agreement to improve services for children who are removed from their homes for abuse or neglect. Caseloads are still too high, and the state does not adequately prepare its wards for adulthood. Michigan is being monitored by the court as part of a settlement with the national advocacy organization Children's Rights. The group sued the state, saying Michigan allows too many children to languish in foster care without access to the services they need. The Children's Rights settlement called for a top-to-bottom overhaul of the system, though some have criticized it for pulling resources away from programs that might prevent more kids from entering foster care in the first place. The chair of the House human services budget subcommittee says he's concerned about the new findings of the court monitor, and he intends to call child welfare officials before his committee next week. "Wherever there are financial issues, we'll look to see if we can put some more funds there," says state Representative Dudley Spade. "If it's policy issues, issues with statute, I'll work with my colleagues to see if there are logical changes we should be making to the law to better allow our implementation of the settlement."
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New Zealand: Youth target in knife-crime review
The Government is considering a proposal to limit the sale of knives to young people amid concerns over the number of knife crimes. The option is suggested in a Ministry of Justice review of knife possession, released yesterday, which looks at ways to address knife violence. The review was ordered after Daryl Graydon, 26, was stabbed to death on an Auckland street by a man with a kitchen knife. In sentencing the attacker, who has name suppression, to life imprisonment, Justice Raynor Asher suggested a parliamentary review of knife possession laws. Unreasonable possession of a knife in public can lead to a $2000 fine or a three-month sentence. A more serious offence under the Crimes Act - possession of offensive weapons - carries a sentence of up to two years, and requires a mandatory sentence if the person has committed the same offence in the previous two years.
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Chicago: Juvenile Justice, Children and Family Services departments merging
Acknowledging that teenagers in correctional facilities suffer from trauma and mental health issues and that the state has fallen short in helping them, Illinois officials announced Wednesday that the Department of Juvenile Justice will be folded into the Department of Children and Family Services. For more than three decades, the Illinois Department of Corrections had been responsible both for the state's adult convicts and for juveniles serving time. In 2006, Illinois created a new Department of Juvenile Justice. Kurt Friedenauer, the juvenile agency's director, acknowledged earlier this year that staffing and funding troubles contributed to a decline in the quality of education at the prisons, putting the roughly 1,100 youths in custody at a disadvantage once they are released. Toni Irving, a deputy chief of staff in Gov. Pat Quinn's office, said Wednesday that the merger of the agencies is expected to save money, bring new expertise in winning federal grants and help build a much-needed program to support young inmates once they are released from state correctional facilities.
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10 MARCH 2010

Missouri: New executive director named for Isabel's House
Francine Pratt is the new executive director of Isabel's House, an emergency shelter for children. The board of directors announced Pratt's selection Sunday evening during the Oscar Night® America event - Isabel's House's largest annual fundraiser. "Oscar Night America is always exciting, but it was especially eventful this year as we proudly welcomed Francine to our team," said Board President Stephanie Montgomery. Pratt comes to Isabel's House from the Family Support Division of the state of Missouri where she served as a designated principal assistant, overseeing statewide projects, human resources, constituent affairs and quality assurance/quality control, and served as spokeswoman. She previously served 27 years in public service in California. Motivating and helping young people of all ethnic and economic levels has been her passion throughout her career, said Montgomery. Pratt is an active community member and serves as an adviser for a youth mentoring group in Springfield. She also mentors through the Springfield Public Schools.
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Alberta: Questions around rules that govern foster care
Questions have been raised over legislation around the rules governing foster care. The New Democrats say the government is being too secretive over details of the most recent death, involving an infant from Morinville. Rachel Notley has written a letter to Children and Youth Services Minister Yvonne Fritz. She contends legislation doesn't prevent disclosure of several questions. "How many kids were in the foster home? Because that's been relevant to previous fatalities and injuries. We're looking at whether the foster home was foster home or a kinship care home - because that's been relevant to previous injuries. We're looking at how long the foster home was acting as a foster home, because that's been relevant to previous fatalities and injuries." They're also looking for details of a case review, that's been a year in the making. Fritz says she's getting legal clearance. "And I will be meeting with my legal representatives to look at the information that's being requested by the opposition, and I can assure you that people have a right to know information that can be shared with the public. And I will do that." Fritz says the latest review of the system will be published in May
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UK: Lib Dems propose making youth services statutory
The Liberal Democrats are the first political party to consider putting youth services on a statutory footing. In a motion being put forward by the party's spokesperson for youth and equality Lynne Featherstone at this weekend's spring conference, members will be asked to consider the paper Free to be Young, which sets out key pledges for young people. If passed, the paper will become Lib Dem party policy. Featherstone said that while she expects some resistance to the plan to make youth services a statutory responsibility for local authorities, she believes it must be considered. "For the Lib Dems it is almost a contradiction in terms to suggest putting something on a statutory footing," she said. "But youth services have just been decimated over the years so we have to draw a ring around them." The paper, drawn up by the party's youth policy working group, also includes plans for a cross-departmental committee to ensure a joined up approach to youth issues in government. Linda Jack, chair of the working group, said: "When you look at the local level you have children's trusts and a drive towards integrated working. But this doesn't extend to government."
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Australia: Fostering hope for our children
Foster carer Elizabeth Anderson’s greatest reward from 30 years of caring for children is seeing them return to their families. Ms Anderson has five children in her care and has looked after 72 children and young people over the three decades. ``I think it is the fact they may come into care for a little while but seeing them go back to their family or extended family is what you are there for,’’ the Pine Rivers resident said. Ms Anderson said it was important to treat the children as individuals who needed love. ``I think it’s treating them like normal children and as individuals and you just have to think they started as children first and they’ve gone through trauma second,’’ she said. More than 7000 Queensland children are in foster care. The vital work of Queensland’s 4000 foster carers is being recognised this week during activities to celebrate Foster and Kinship Carer Week.
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Ireland: All children in care to have social worker - Andrews
At least one child in care in the Dublin North region was unaware they were fostered due to a lack of monitoring by Health Service Executive (HSE) social workers, Minister of State for Children Barry Andrews has revealed. Mr Andrews said yesterday the case was one of a range of serious deficiencies identified by a recent inquiry into foster care in Dublin undertaken by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa). The inquiry identified a failure by HSE social workers to assess some foster families and to visit some children placed with foster families. There was an example where an individual didn’t know they were in foster care, he added. “There is clearly a lack of a system in place or a management system available to ensure that there was a capacity to look back and audit this,” said Mr Andrews, who admitted that social workers were struggling with case loads. He said the positive thing about the revelations regarding the HSE’s failure to comply with mandatory rules to assess and monitor foster carers was that this had been identified by HSE audits and ongoing investigations by Hiqa. In an interview with The Irish Times yesterday, Mr Andrews said the changes he was making to the childcare protection system should enable it to become “one of the best in the world”. He said the Government was committed to ensuring all 5,700 children in care had a social worker by providing €15 million to recruit an extra 270 social workers this year.
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Judge to get report on Michigan foster care
A court-appointed monitor has written his second report on how Michigan is performing since it settled a lawsuit over children in foster care. Kevin Ryan is delivering the report Tuesday to a federal judge in Detroit. In 2008, Michigan's Department of Human Services settled a lawsuit by pledging to hire more people and trim the number of cases per worker. Human Services Director Ismael Ahmed gives his staff good marks and says "significant progress" is being made. He says about 3,000 foster children were adopted last year, a 6 percent increase over 2008.
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UK: Childcare helps identify vulnerable children's needs
High-quality childcare helps identify the needs of vulnerable children early on, according to a new report. Ofsted inspectors visited 25 childminders, nurseries and day care centres in England previously judged good or outstanding for the study. They examined how they worked with children with disabilities, speech problems and serious illnesses. The report found regular observation and "close collaboration with families" contributed to high-quality care. Ofsted chief inspector Christine Gilbert said: "The best childcare makes a big difference for children in need. "They have a brighter future when their needs are identified at an early age and information from parents and others such as those in health, education and social care services is drawn together to ensure support is delivered in the best possible way." She said the best childcarers were giving children a "vital step-up in life".
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UK: Government may review plan to open family courts to media
Plans to open family courts to the media could be reviewed by the government in the light of a report soon to be published by the new Children's Commissioner for England. Speaking exclusively to CYP Now, Maggie Atkinson, former director of children's services in Gateshead, explained that children and young people were concerned about being identified under the more transparent set-up. "We talked to some of the children and young people who were subject to those proceedings and got very strong feedback that they are very nervous indeed about even anonymised access by the media," she said. "We fed back to government and the signals are that there is some thinking going on about the potential to make it more safeguarded or to rethink it altogether." She added that children from small communities had voiced particular concerns. "If you are a child in a village where there are only 25 children and four of them are in your family, and you are the only four in front of a judge in care proceedings, your village will know who you are, however anonymous," she said.
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8 MARCH 2010

Tennessee: Symposium to examine gang activity
MTSU’s Forensic Institute for Research and Education and the Tennessee Gang Investigator’s Association will hold a 2010 Youth Gang-Organized Crime symposium Thursday through Saturday at MTSU. The symposium will examine contemporary gang issues. People interested in registering should contact www.mtsu.edu/fire/ or call 494-7896. Cost is $11 per day for a box lunch. Abbott and law enforcement officers throughout Rutherford County will attend the seminars. Abbott and Sgt. Cary Gensemer, who monitors gang activity in Murfreesboro, estimated about 22 gangs with about 400 to 500 members in Murfreesboro but not all are active. They include the Vice Lords, Asian Pride Gangs, Asian Crips, Bloods, MS-13, Gangsta Disciples, Latin Kings and Bloods.
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Tasmania: Big brother for foster children
Tasmania's Commissioner for Children is testing a new program to provide more support for children living in foster care. Trained volunteers will be matched with children aged 8 to 12, to offer them a stable relationship. The Commissioner Paul Mason says children in state care need consistency. "One of the major problems with foster care and state care throughout history, and throughout the world, is the problem of instability," Mr Mason said. "Kids in outside home care move around a lot, move around too much, and [are] more likely they are to fall between the cracks in education, health, youth justice, criminal behaviour and in drug and alcohol behaviour." The trial program will operate in southern Tasmania for a year.
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Utah, a neglectful parent? Again?
If the Utah Legislature fails to replace $27 million in lost Medicaid funds, we will see at least 400 dangerous and/or vulnerable children put out on the streets throughout Utah. The federal government is dramatically cutting back Medicaid help to abused and troubled children in almost all states. When a child is severely abused or neglected, the state Division of Child and Family Services is the agency that takes legal custody of the child. The Division of Juvenile Justice Services takes custody of delinquent children. DCFS or JJS caseworkers take over the parenting role for that child and decide where the child will live and what help he or she will receive. Right now, about 1,360 children in the DCFS or JJS systems who are mentally ill, violent, bizarre or aggressive are successfully placed in community-based placements such as treatment foster homes, group homes and residential treatment facilities. Community-based treatment is much cheaper and more successful than institutional care. The $27 million of cut Medicaid funds is more than one-third the total cost to support all of the community-based treatment in Utah. In the early 1990s, Utah's Legislature failed to fund the DCFS system adequately. A child died and others were abused and neglected. The state was sued in a class-action lawsuit known as the David C. case. In that case, the state's child welfare system was put under the supervision of a federal court.
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Woman keeps ties to childhood at Maryland orphanage
Nearly eight decades after Cora Barnes arrived at the Baltimore orphanage she knew throughout her youth, she returns each week to the buildings between Maryland Avenue and Howard Street where she learned algebra and Latin hymns. At 90, Barnes still has a strong affection for the school and home that helped her through what could have been a difficult period. And for 17 years she has been a volunteer at what is now the Franciscan Center, sorting women's clothing and working for the poor and homeless. Barnes and 60 girls were orphans or children in the care of the Franciscan Sisters, an order who housed, fed and educated African-American children brought to them to be raised or left at their doorstep. In racially segregated Baltimore, there were black Roman Catholic parishes, schools and orphanages. Recruited to work in Baltimore, the London-founded order whose members worked with the poor chose to run an orphanage for children who were shunned by the city's other Roman Catholic religious communities.
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Ireland: We now have road map to right wrongs of past
The details of the tragic life and death of Tracey Fay have been written about at length and debated on the floor of the Dail in the past week. The girl was failed by the State and unfortunately was not unique in this respect. The chaotic and dysfunctional circumstances and family lives that resulted in many of these children being taken into care cannot be underestimated. Despite the commitment of individual social workers and care staff, the child protection system did not respond to the needs of these children. It is important to note that these children are teenagers, and cannot be detained indefinitely, nor forced to co-operate with services. Any parent with adolescent teenagers will attest to the difficulty in keeping an eye on them at all times. That is not to excuse the failings, but contextualise the risk associated with a child who has an array of complex needs.
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Oregon outranks most states in number of children in foster care
Last year the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) received a report of child abuse and neglect every eight minutes, totaling 67,885 suspected cases with 11,090 children — half of whom were younger than 6 years old — confirmed as victims of mistreatment. These statistics and other findings are documented in the 2009 Child Welfare Data Book, which was released this week to provide timely information about youth who enter the state’s child protection system.
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Report highlights poverty among Texas children
According to a report released recently by the Austin-based Center for Public Policy Priorities, nearly one in four children in Texas live in poverty. The percentage of impoverished children in Hale County is even greater. The report, called Texas Kids Count, provides poverty rates and other data to highlight the well-being of Texas children. Twenty-three percent of Texas children live in poverty, higher than the national child poverty rate of 18 percent. Nearly 1.5 million Texas children live in families making less than the federal poverty level (e.g., less than $17,600 for a family of three in 2008). In Hale County, 2,500 children, or 24.1 percent, live below the poverty level. About 3,598 children, or 32.6 percent, were enrolled in Medicaid, which is greater than the national average of 27 percent. For a decade, Texas has had the highest rate of uninsured children in the nation, with 20 percent of Texas children uninsured — nearly twice the national average.
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UK: Children in care up six per cent since Baby P – and set to rise further
The increase has prompted concerns that social workers are wrongly taking children into care to reduce the risk of being implicated in a similar scandal. A survey of more than 100 councils across England, two-thirds of the total responsible for social services, found an average six per cent rise in the number of children in foster care or children's' homes in the six months between April and September 2009 compared to the same period in 2008. Based on the official March 2009 total of 60,900 in care, this would mean an extra 3,654 by the end of last September, bringing the total to 64,554. The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) said the rise was "significant" and warned the figure was likely to rise further as more cases were processed through the courts. It comes as the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) yesterday called for a change in the law to enable social workers to see children without their parents being present.
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Alberta: Foster care system under siege
She was 21 months old when she died this week in an Edmonton hospital. RCMP are investigating her death as a homicide. While the medical examiner has not released a cause of death, family members were told the child's death was consistent with brain injuries caused by "shaken baby syndrome." We know the little girl's identity. But she was a foster child - which means Alberta's Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act forbids me to give her the dignity of a name. Family members say the girl was placed in a foster home in late January. Her biological father, we're told, wasn't a part of her life. Her young single mother, according to relatives, has a history of mental health problems. The toddler goes to her grave now nameless and faceless, the latest invisible aboriginal child to die while in the care and protection of Alberta Children and Youth Services. Twenty children died of "traumatic injury" while in provincial care between 2004-05 and 2008-09. Some were murdered. Others died in accidents or killed themselves. Of those 20 dead children, 14 were Indian or Metis. Last year, in fact, every child in care who died an unnatural death was aboriginal.
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5 MARCH 2010

Canada: Food for Thought helps local kids prepare for class
The link between nutrition and academic achievement and behaviour has been long demonstrated. Northumberland Food for Thought, a joint government/community program, puts healthy food choices on the desks of kids who might otherwise not have a good breakfast. "Kids can pick and choose (what they want) and it's open to everyone," said Susan Greenwood, the program's community development coordinator. "There's absolutely no stigma. If a child is hungry, there are good food choices." At Ganaraska Trail Public School, in Port Hope, small plastic bins are filled with small bags of cereal, cheese and other healthy snacks, and distributed to each classroom, where students can take what they like.
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Deadly game appeals to New Zealand children
Education authorities are warning of a deadly choking game that has reached New Zealand. The fad, which has plagued America and Britain for years, has now made its way to Hawke's Bay playgrounds, Hawke's Bay Today reported on Wednesday. The game involves young people hyperventilating to create a mild rush when oxygen is returned to the brain. Sometimes children have their chests squeezed until they faint. The choking has reportedly caused hundreds of deaths overseas. Hawke's Bay Public Health Unit paediatrician and clinical director of maternal, child and youth service, Russell Wills, was concerned enough to send an advisory to local schools, asking principals to warn students of the dangers.
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UK: Rise in Haringey teenage pregnancy rates curbed by a quarter
Spiralling numbers of unwanted teenage pregnancies in Haringey have fallen by a quarter. New figures show that pregnancy rates in young girls decreased by 25.8 per cent in 2007/08. A Care Quality Commission report published in 2009 cited teenage pregnancies as one of NHS Haringey's key failings. The previous year, 248 girls aged betwen 15 and 17 fell pregnant, prompting the borough to be named and shamed as having the fourth-highest rate of teenage pregnancy in London and one of the highest across the UK. But that figure dropped dramatically to 184 by the end of 2008, meaning in every 1,000 girls, 52 now fall pregnant.
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UK: Youth Justice Board says: new child unit does not reverse policy on split prisons
The Youth Justice Board (YJB) has rejected claims that plans to build a new 360-bed child prison at a young offender institution in Leicester constitute a reversal of its policy to reduce numbers of children held on split sites. In a recent letter to the YJB, Frances Crook, director of the Howard League for Penal Reform, urged the board to reconsider building the new prison on the existing site of Glen Parva YOI at a time of financial pressure and falling youth custody rates. Crook wrote: "Past experience tells us that it will be difficult to prevent the cross-deployment of staff, including governors, with the consequence that staff who have no specialist training in dealing with children will be working in the establishment." Crook highlighted the YJB's Strategy for the Secure Estate for Children and Young People for 2005-6 to 2007-8 which set out the YJB's intentions to "improve regimes...and, in particular, reduce the numbers held on split sites".
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UK: Grants withdrawn from Coventry YMCA after damning report
A £1.6 MILLION grant to keep teenagers away from gun and gang crime has been axed after a damning investigation into Coventry and Warwickshire YMCA. Government grants – totalling nearly £4 million – to provide services for thousands of youngsters are being withdrawn from the Christian charity after a city council investigation into its youth activities. The investigation uncovered financial mismanagement including wrong and duplicate claims being made for taxpayers’ money, and government funds being inappropriately used. Arrangements for safeguarding young people were also found to be inadequate. The revelations – kept secret until a letter was leaked to the Telegraph – jeopardise the future of youth centres in deprived areas, and support for “at risk” children and young people across Coventry and Warwickshire, where the YMCA is one of the biggest service providers.
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LA: Supervisor works to improve foster care
To improve successful outcomes for young people in foster care, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion by Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich to support Assembly Bill 2131 (D-Bass). This legislation would reverse cuts to the State's counties by Governor Schwarzenegger to balance the State budget and restore $17 million dollars in state foster care funding to Los Angeles County. Also, another motion to help foster children access the skills and tools necessary for successful transition into adulthood was approved unanimously by the Board of Supervisors. "Young people aging out of the system are vulnerable without the ability to find housing, earn a living and receive the education required to be successful, productive and self-sufficient adults," said Supervisor Antonovich. Since 2003, the Department of Children and Family Services' focus on safety, permanency, and a reduced reliance on out-of-home care has resulted in improved child safety; an 18% reduction in caseloads; a 32% improvement in timelines to permanency; and a 36% reduction in children living in out-of-home care. However, between 1,200 and 1,500 youth emancipate at age 18 annually following years in out-of-home care without safe reunification or permanency.
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Utah: Budget cuts could lead to early release of youth offenders
While lawmakers fear budget cuts may force the early release of adult prisoners, youth offenders may be back on the street before their sentences are up, too. The Utah State Legislature has proposed slashing the Division of Juvenile Justice Services budget by more than $7 million, which would result in the loss of scores of beds, the laying off of nearly 100 employees and the shuttering of youth receiving centers - places that allow law enforcement officers to drop off youth who have committed minor crimes, such as vandalism or shoplifting, or who are ungovernable. The Legislature's main budgeting committee faces a Friday deadline to create its budget. Last year, the programs were spared when lawmakers had a mixture of federal and state money to plug holes in the budget, but that money is unavailable this year. "Obviously we'll make it work, but it is just not serving the public in a way that any of us would want," said Dan Maldonado, director of the Division of Juvenile Justice Services. "If we had to take all of these cuts, we would take them, but it's going to come at the cost of some reduction in public safety." The cuts would force the closure of the 34-bed Weber Valley Detention Center, and an additional 135 beds would evaporate due to federal and state cuts to children's mental health funding. Fewer children would be housed at proctor homes or mental health facilities and instead be housed at the detention facilities, where there simply isn't room, Maldonado said.
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UK: Foster carers squeezed by low fees, Fostering Network study shows
More than one-third of foster carers have considered giving up fostering because the fees do not provide a living wage, according to a report published today. Three-quarters of foster carers surveyed for Love Fostering - Need Pay, commissioned by the Fostering Network, earned less than £229.20 a week - which at the time was the minimum wage for a 40-hour week - including half who received no fee at all. Two-thirds (65%) of foster carers described their fees as an "insufficient reward for the job" while 36% said the low pay had forced them to consider giving up fostering. Report author Madeleine Tearse said: "It's unacceptable that so many foster carers are required to work for free or such low pay. "Fostering has changed over the years, and foster carers are now expected to carry out skilled and demanding work to a professional standard, which should be recognised with professional rates of pay."
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3 MARCH 2010

UK: Standing Committee on Youth Justice hopes report will form basis of policy for the next government
Campaigners are lobbying for an urgent shake-up of the youth secure estate to allow for smaller units that can better deal with the needs of young offenders. The idea is one of a number of measures put forward in a report by the Standing Committee on Youth Justice on the impact of custody for children and how the situation should be improved. Sally Ireland, chair of the committee, said it is hoped the document, which is published just weeks before the expected general election on 6 May, will shape the policy of whichever party forms the next government. The call for smaller units comes on the back of comments by Anne Owers, chief inspector of prisons, last week that such a set-up can have beneficial results. Ireland said: "Essentially the prison service is looking for economies of scale because of the pressure on the system. "There have been reductions in numbers of young people held in custody but it is still in the same ball park."
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Canada: Mac prof honoured for promoting social justice
Dr. Sally Palmer's work as professor of social work at McMaster University has never been just a job. It's been part of her life, part of her passion and part of a platform that she has used to help others. It's that commitment that earned Palmer the Distinguished Service Award for Ontario for 2010 from the Canadian Association of Social Workers. This is the highest honour bestowed upon a social worker by the provincial and national professional association and was awarded to Palmer for her outstanding contribution to the profession and her dedication to the promotion of social justice. "I'm really grateful to be recognized and to the local chapter for going to the trouble to put together a nomination," said Palmer, who taught at McMaster University for 18 years.
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UK: 'Be your own boss' offer gets cool reception from social work leaders
Conservative proposals to allow public sector workers to "become their own boss" by forming co-operatives have received a mixed response from social workers. While the unions have warned the policy could lead to privatisation through the back door, legal experts and sector leaders say the model raises fundamental questions about accountability and financial responsibility when applied to social care. Shadow chancellor George Osborne last month said any public sector team delivering a function that could be paid according to a simple results-based contract drawn up with central government could form a co-operative. The Conservatives used as an example the Right to Request scheme, which allows NHS staff to apply to primary care trusts for permission to set up independent enterprises. However, they admitted they are still "consulting" on how a similar model could be transferred to local government.
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USA: Prison moms want more leeway in parental rights cases
The Senate seems poised to pass legislation this month that supporters say would help keep intact families separated by the criminal justice and child welfare systems. Lawmakers, Office of Children and Family Services Commissioner Gladys Carrion and imprisoned women's rights advocates rallied outside the Senate Chamber Feb. 23 to support the Adoption and Safe Families Act Expanded Discretion Bill (S.2233-a/A.5462-a). "I really am happy to be able to say to you that this legislation will definitely be passing in our house this session," said Sen. Velmanette Montgomery, chair of the Children and Families Committee and the bill's sponsor in the chamber. "It will give families the fighting chance that they deserve to work towards rebuilding, to work towards keeping connections," said Tamar Kraft-Stolar, director of the Women in Prison Project for the Correctional Association of New York, which coordinated the Feb. 23 news conference. The Correctional Association has made passing this legislation one of its top priorities in its policy agenda for this year.
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Oregon: Bill expands health coverage for former foster youth
New legislation will extend medical coverage to former foster youth, who are no longer in the foster care system. Under the bill, individuals will have medical coverage until they are 21-years-old. This new legislation will allow former foster youth, who are 18 to stay covered under the Oregon Health Plan until they're 21. That coverage used to terminate after they turned 18. Many young adults can remain on their parents' medical insurance until they are in their early twenties. However, foster children don't have that luxury. This group has a number of challenges once they leave the foster system, including lack of health insurance. "A lot of foster youth when they're in foster care, we don't have to worry about health care because it's already provided for us. Then once we get out of foster care, we're slammed with this big priority that we have to go get health care coverage, and we can't afford it," said Oregon Foster Youth Connection President Jamie Hinsz.
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UK: Call to keep young offenders out of adult courts
Action for Children Scotland is calling for new laws to ensure the majority of young offenders are kept out of the adult court system. Currently 16- and 17-year-olds can appear before an adult court rather than Scotland's children's hearing system, which has a greater focus on welfare. But an Action for Children panel of youth justice experts says that with the exception of those charged with serious crimes, most young offenders in this age bracket should still be treated as children. Action for Children Scotland wants to see its proposal added to the Scottish Government's Children's Hearings Bill, which was published late last month. Panel chair and former Bishop of Edinburgh Richard Holloway said: "We believe there is an unanswerable case for extending the use of the hearings to all those under 18. Use of adult courts for immature and usually poorly supported and poorly educated young people has serious consequences for them." Other recommendations made by the panel include more money for youth crime prevention schemes and new powers for children's hearings to directly commission services to support children and young people.
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Mississippi: Fed suit seeks state paddling ban
A 16-year-old Tate County student not only wants his school to stop corporal punishment - he wants the whole state to do so. William Cody Childress, a student at Independence High School, filed a federal lawsuit earlier this month, alleging that a paddling he received in September of last year violated his civil rights. According to court records, Childress was in a class taught by a substitute teacher last fall when, about 10 minutes before the final bell would ring, he was sent to the office of Principal Corey Blaylock for looking at photos on a digital camera brought to school by a female student. The female student, according to the lawsuit, was not punished for violating school policy by bringing the camera to class. Once there, the lawsuit says, Childress was instructed by Blaylock to sign a paper and then he was paddled. The lawsuit alleges that Blaylock used "excessive force" in administering the punishment. The lawsuit further states that when Childress returned home, his stepmother took him to North Oak Regional Medical Center in Senatobia for an examination of his injuries. She also called the Tate County Sheriff's Department, which dispatched a deputy who took a photograph. Mrs. Childress was also advised that she could file charges against Blaylock in Tate County Justice Court, which, according to the lawsuit, she has done. According to the lawsuit, the photographs were reviewed by Tate County Schools Superintendent Gary Walker, Sheriff Brad Lance, and Youth Court Officer Judy Black, who found no evidence of wrongdoing. The lawsuit names Blaylock, Walker, and the Tate County School District as defendants.
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1 MARCH 2010

BC: New International Child, Youth, Familiy journal launched
The International Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies (IJCYFS), a peer reviewed, open access, interdisciplinary, cross-national journal that is committed to scholarly excellence in the field of research about and services for children, youth, families and their communities, has been launched in British Columbia. The Editors are to be Sibylle Artz and Jennifer White. They write: "Our vision is to create a high-quality publication that will be relevant, challenging, thought-provoking and inclusive of a diverse range of voices and perspectives, including graduate students, academic researchers and scholars, policy makers and child, youth and family serving practitioners. We welcome original research, theoretical contributions, reviews of the literature, critical commentaries, case studies, book reviews, and works-inprogress." To see the first issue, go to http://journals.uvic.ca/index.php/ijcyfs/index
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Pennsylvania: Fewer children in foster care
The number of children in foster care and those interested in becoming foster families has gone down in the past two years, according to officials at Children and Youth Services in Somerset County. The agency is responsible for 66 children in the county. Although CYS is given legal custody of the children, not all of them live within the county. Depending on their needs the children could be placed in homes in surrounding counties or group facilities. “We’ve noticed that the total placement numbers for a lot of counties has gone down,” said Chuck Crimone, the agency’s director. “The number of kids in placement has always fluctuated. For us, traditionally we stay in the upper 70s or 80s, but we’ve seen a reduction in placements and it’s one of those things that goes in cycles.” While having less children in foster care is what officials like to see, they do not like to see less families expressing interest in becoming a foster provider. “The number of referrals in becoming a foster parent is also down,” said Laurie Deist, a caseworker for Children and Youth Services. “Usually we have 50 to 55 inquiries in the county. This past fiscal year we have only had 15 inquiries.”
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UK: Takeaway ban near schools to help fight child obesity
Councils across England are banning new takeaways from opening within 400 yards of any school, youth club or park, in an attempt to tackle the growing toll of obesity, strokes and heart disease. Waltham Forest in east London was the first to begin turning down applications from people who want to set up takeaways near schools or young people's facilities and now at least 15 other local authorities either have, or plan to, follow the example. "There are 255 fast-food outlets in the borough, which is far too many already; that's one for every 357 families," said Terry Wheeler, a Labour councillor and Waltham Forest's cabinet member for enterprise and investment. "The mess associated with them ends up in nearby streets; bones from chicken takeaways get dropped and attract rats; they spoil the look of shopping parades and there's a strong association between fast-food places and young people eating unhealthily when they are ravenous, both at lunchtime and after school."
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Canada: Teen inmates assaulting them, officers say
More than 20 officers have been assaulted and 10 others are off the job on stress leave due to violent clashes with teens at a Brampton youth centre whose inmates include at least six convicted of first-degree murder. Youth services officers at the Roy McMurtry Youth Centre on McLaughlin Rd. say they’re breaking up at least one fight daily by some of the toughest teens in the province at the centre that has only been open eight months. Besides the six murderers the inmates include more than a dozen rapists and arsonists, centre workers said, adding that at one time youths charged with slaying Jane Creba were held there. The workers, who can’t be identified because they could be fired, said in the last week three officers have been assaulted, including a female who was punched in the face by an inmate. She suffered a black eye and required medical care, workers said. Also assaulted last week was a deputy superintendent who was smacked several times by inmates. He suffered minor injuries. Sources said since it opened the facility has issued more than 225 “blue code” alerts of non-violent crimes and 10 “green codes”, the highest jail warning for violent crimes.
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Louisiana: Detention-center director makes pitch for new facility
Life behind the walls of Terrebonne’s Juvenile Detention Center and plans for a modernized facility were the topic of a presentation at the Houma-Terrebonne Rotary Club meeting last Thursday. Terrebonne Parish Juvenile Detention Center Director Jason Hutchinson took club members on a virtual tour of the center that took in 1,018 of Terrebonne’s young offenders last year. “That’s 1 percent of our juveniles, but you’re talking about a difficult 1 percent,” Hutchinson said. Hutchinson described the difficulty of working with kids from troubled homes in a community where mental-health care is not widely available. The center is currently working out a deal with St. Charles Parish for access to juvenile counselors. The center houses and teaches children of different ages and education levels under one roof, Hutchinson said. The children get a full curriculum like you’d see in other schools, with the addition of a health class that teaches nutrition and sex education — a necessity when some teenagers arrive pregnant or with sexually transmitted diseases, Hutchinson said. Youth offenders also attend life-skills classes featuring anger-management and conflict-resolution techniques.
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Australia: Call for state care to last beyond 18
The state government is being urged to give vulnerable young people who leave state care at 18 the option of staying in the system until they are 21, because many end up homeless or in juvenile justice. Associate Professor Philip Mendes, from Monash University's department of social work, says some people go ''from state care to state detention'', and do not get adequate support from the state when they are 18 and no longer under child protection. If a young person on a child protection order was also in juvenile justice, the order should not end once they turned 18, as it now does, Professor Mendes said. ''Clearly, if they're in the youth justice system that's a very strong sign that their life is not going as it should be and they require ongoing support,'' he said. ''The UK government has said it will not make any young person leave care until they're ready, at least until they are 21. All the international data shows the later that young people leave care the better the outcome, because they get that ongoing support so they can continue their education.''
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Saskatchewan: "Unacceptable to further delay helping children"
It seems to be a horrific system frozen in time. For decades successive Saskatchewan governments have jawed, appointed study commissions, read advocate reports and been caught by conflicting recommendations about what to do to help the thousands of tiny citizens caught in the child welfare system. One can only hope that this time the panel being chaired by former MLA and current Saskatoon councillor Bob Pringle will deliver the magic bullet. But it is hard to hold hope, considering what has become of the numerous other reports and dozens of recommendations submitted to governments over the years. It is not surprising that many caught in the system, from troubled families to would-be adoptive parents to social workers to aboriginal groups to ministers of all political stripes, feel trapped by inertia. What is surprising, however, is that almost a quarter century after former provincial ombudsman David Tickell released a damming report indicating Saskatchewan's child welfare system was in crisis, provincial officials, child advocacy groups and foster families continue to complain of the crisis, inaction and endangered children.
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Indiana: Working for fairness in foster-care system
Despite no greater likelihood of abuse or neglect by their parents, African-American children in Marion County are over-represented in the foster-care population. This over-representation or disproportionality has been reviewed nationally and statewide. It is a complex situation that may begin with poverty and must result in a search for fundamental fairness for children in need. Indiana began its work on the issue when the legislature created a Commission on Disproportionality in 2008 to study its impact on foster care and other areas affecting children's well-being. Child Advocates, the CASA (court-appointed special advocate) agency that represents all foster children in Marion County, has informally tracked foster children's demographic information for several years. Child Advocates' goal is for all children to have safe and permanent homes, and our mission is to represent foster children's best interests. When our data revealed that African-American children in Indianapolis are over-represented by nearly two times their percentage in the population, our agency began a concerted effort to bring the issue of disproportionality to the forefront.
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