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October 2007

NEW ZEALAND

Charter of rights for children in care

A new Child, Youth and Family charter explaining the rights of children and young people in care will provide with them a level of comfort on what to expect when they are in care, said Ruth Dyson, Minister for Child, Youth and Family Services today.

“Foster families are like any other families with children,” Ruth Dyson said. “But we must remember that children in our care are among the most vulnerable people in New Zealand. “The charter is designed to help them understand what they can expect from life with their new families, and help make them feel safe and valued. It will also ensure they know who they can contact if they have concerns or need someone to talk to.

“The charter is available in two designs - an interactive version for children (over the age of five) that they can colour in and personalise and a ‘teenage’ version for young people. It was developed in consultation with a group of young people, who chose the designs and helped with the wording.

“The charter for children and young people in care aligns Child, Youth and Family with other NZ Government funded social services, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child,” said Ms Dyson.

Press Release: New Zealand Government
30 October 2007

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0710/S00553.htm

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NEW ZEALAND

Foster Care Awareness week

"This week is Foster Care Awareness week, a chance to say thank you to all our extraordinary caregivers who play a very special role in the lives of some of New Zealand's most vulnerable children and young people," said Head of Child, Youth and Family Ray Smith.

Around the country Child, Youth and Family and foster care associations are holding morning teas, lunches and family fun days for caregivers to thank them for the work that they do.

"Our caregivers are hugely influential in helping to shape a New Zealand where children and young people grow up in families that are free from abuse and neglect, free from violence and free from offending. They come from all walks of life, but what they have in common is a desire to help children and young people and an ability to provide them with love, support, understanding and encouragement.

"Foster Care Awareness week is also an opportunity to encourage more people to consider becoming caregivers. "There are a number of ways New Zealanders can choose to make a difference. They might give a night or a weekend of their time or perhaps be available for longer-term care. As a caregiver they could care for children and young people from their own family or whanau, or children and young people who are not able to live at home.

"I want to encourage all those interested in becoming caregivers to call 0800 FAMILY (0508 326459) or check out our website www.cyf.govt.nz," said Ray Smith.

Press Release: Foster Care Awareness week
Monday, 29 October 2007, 11:48 am

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0710/S00394.htm

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NEW ZEALAND

Fostercare works for tough kids

Some of the country’s most badly behaved children are being turned around using a fostercare programme run by Youth Horizons Trust. The announcement of over 50% positive outcomes since 2004 in the programme coincides with the start of Fostercare Awareness Week †28 October.

Fostercare parents at Youth Horizons Trust in Auckland and Wellington work closely with the families of children with severe behaviour problems and social workers by implementing a treatment plan to turn around the children’s bad behaviour with the aim of returning them to their community and school †within just a few months.

The intensive programme contracts caregivers to foster the children aged 10-17 in the fostercare parents’ own homes one-on-one for a set period of time †mostly less than a year. Rules are set and rewards given for good behaviour.

The Youth Horizons fostercare programme began in 2003 in Auckland, was extended to Wellington in 2005 and since 2004 over 20 children in Auckland with serious behaviour problems have completed the intensive programme and since returned to their community with a new set of behaviours.

Youth Horizons Trust, a non-government trust that has been running a series of programmes for youth offenders and children with mental health issues for 10 years, says their caregivers are well funded in exchange for their services but more are needed for the programme to continue to produce good results in reducing youth offending. The fostercare programme is supported by funding from various government agencies, particularly Child Youth and Family, and district health boards.

“Our caregivers love their jobs; they find it challenging but extremely rewarding,” Fostercare Coordinator Nicholas McCarrison says. “It’s work that can be done from home; people receive excellent training for the job, have 24-hour support from us and always can have time off when needed.

“Of course we shouldn’t kid ourselves that these kids are easy †they are extremely difficult but because of that it can be such a rewarding job. However if we are to continue producing such great results with these difficult children †many of whom will otherwise end up in prison †we need more fostercare parents. It’s simple; if we had more fostercare parents we could turn around more potential young offenders.” The programme works he says because it recognises the importance of family who become part of the team that work to turn the children’s bad behaviour around. “The children’s conduct is never so bad that they can’t ever go home.”

He tells of one boy who came from a town where he was known by everyone because of his antisocial behaviour. He had assaulted his parents, his teachers and social workers, ignored any request to do anything, had few friends and roamed the streets.

“We placed him into fostercare for seven months. In that time boundaries were put in place and routines set. We worked hard to get him back to school and with his family to get him back home. His behaviour settled, he built up respect for adults and learnt there were consequences for bad behaviour. He is now back in that town and in a mainstream school. The caregiver, who set strong boundaries and had excellent parenting skills, in a home where everyone had respect for others, was the key to turning him around.”

Good parenting and being able to manage stress are the main skills needed for fostercare parenting Nicholas McCarrison says. “Many parents have these skills and when they are supported by a strong team, are paid good contract fees, have sound training and are able to network with other fostercare parents it can be a great part of one’s life.”

Fostercare parents are employed by Youth Horizon Trust to care for children on both a full time and weekend basis. As well as fostering children with behavioural difficulties Youth Horizons provides respite care for parents needing a break from full-time caregiving and for families with children who have mental health problems.

Pat, who has been fostering difficult children in Auckland for many years says she loves working with young children, seeing their confidence boosted and the great differences when the child leaves her home. “We have a 12-year-old boy with us now who had been to 28 schools and he likes the structure we provide, knowing the boundaries and the praise he gets for keeping to the rules. When he first came to us he used to bang the door and had no self esteem but it didn’t take long at all before he was walking upright and gaining confidence.”

Pat says all the children she has fostered have been delightful and her husband Dave, who also works for Youth Horizon as a youth worker, says it’s just a matter of focusing on the children’s good points. “You have to work on finding those good points and build them up.” He enjoys taking their current foster child out fishing and shopping and seeing him grow in confidence.

“Providing the children with a safe home with set rules and boundaries can make a huge difference,” Nicholas McCarrison says. “We try to provide a continuum of care for the children with an ongoing support programme for when they leave. For every child who comes through Youth Horizons we believe we can make some difference and that is our great reward.

“If you like a challenge, enjoy working with children, want to be supported and respected for your parenting skills and would like to make a difference †being a fostercare parent is a great job.”

Press Release: Youth Horizons Trust
25 October 2007

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0710/S00348.htm

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USA

New CASA* Report: Teen Cigarette Smoking Linked to Brain Damage, Alcohol and Illegal Drug Abuse, Mental Illness

The nicotine in tobacco products poses a significant danger of structural and chemical changes in developing brains that can make teens more vulnerable to alcohol and other drug addiction and to mental illness, according to Tobacco: The Smoking Gun, a new white paper released today by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University and commissioned by The Citizens' Commission to Protect the Truth, a group of all former U.S. Secretaries of Health, Education, and Welfare and of Health and Human Services, all former U.S. Surgeons General, and all former Directors of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Commission asked CASA to assemble the scientific evidence of the impact of nicotine on the adolescent brain, conduct original analyses of data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) on the relationship between teen smoking, alcohol and illegal drug abuse and addiction and mental health, and issue a report on its findings.

CASA's original analysis of data from the NSDUH finds that teens who smoke are nine times likelier to meet the medical criteria for past year alcohol abuse or dependence and 13 times likelier to meet the medical criteria for abuse and dependence on an illegal drug than teens who don't smoke.

"These findings sound an alarm for parents, teachers, pediatricians and others responsible for children's health that smoking by teens may well signal the fire of alcohol and other drug abuse and mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety disorders," said Joseph A. Califano, Jr., chairman and president of CASA and speaking on behalf of The Citizens' Commission as its chairman. "We have known for a long time that smoking causes deadly and crippling cancers and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Now we see the devastating effects that nicotine can have on the developing brains of our children and teens."

Smoking and Alcohol and Illegal Drug Use
Compared to 12- to 17-year-olds who don't smoke, those who do are more than five times likelier to drink and 13 times likelier to use marijuana than nonsmokers.

Compared to those who never smoked, those who began smoking at age 12 or younger are:

-- More than three times likelier to binge drink;
-- Nearly 15 times likelier to smoke marijuana; and
-- Nearly seven times likelier to use other illegal drugs such as heroin and cocaine.

Smoking and Mental Health Disorders
The CASA analysis also found that among teens ages 12 to 17, twice as many smokers as nonsmokers suffered from symptoms of depression in the past year. Teens who reported early initiation of smoking were more likely to experience serious feelings of hopelessness, depression and worthlessness in the past year. The report also notes that smoking at a young age is related to panic attacks, general anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder.

"We have long known that nicotine is extraordinarily addictive and that youth can become addicted extremely quickly," said Cheryl G. Healton, Dr.P.H., president and CEO of the American Legacy Foundation. "This new report underscores what we know about the developing brains of teens who are highly vulnerable to personal, social and media influences to begin smoking and why it is so vital to reach them with information about tobacco before they start to smoke. Because 80 percent of smokers begin before age 18, when their young brains and bodies are so susceptible to the effects of nicotine, it is imperative that we stop what for so many will result in lost years and lives to tobacco addiction, disease and death."

Based on the findings of the white paper, CASA and the Commission recommend:

-- Sharply restricting all tobacco advertising, marketing and promotion.
-- Stepping up evidence-based prevention and cessation efforts, including
counter-advertising programs.
-- Giving the FDA comprehensive authority to regulate tobacco.
-- Mandating evidence-based tobacco cessation in substance abuse
treatment and mental health care settings.
-- Enforcing laws restricting sale of tobacco to minors and enacting
indoor and outdoor clean air laws to limit children's exposure to second-
hand smoke.

"The public health case against tobacco for hiking the chances of damaging our children's developing brains in ways that can increase their risk of alcohol and other drug abuse and mental illness is clear," noted Califano, who started the national anti-smoking campaign in 1978. "The time has come to curb cigarette advertisements and promotions by the nicotine pushers and step up campaigns like the American Legacy Foundation's truth® effort to protect our nation's children."

* Source: The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.
For more information visit www.casacolumbia.org

Press release: Marketwire
23 October 2007

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ONTARIO

More Foster Families Needed in Ontario

During Foster Family Week, the Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies (OACAS) and its member agencies recognize families who give of their time and themselves by nurturing and
fostering vulnerable children and youth.

"Foster families provide a precious gift to children in care. They share their love, their home and their family with our most vulnerable children," said Jeanette Lewis, Executive Director of the OACAS. "Foster Family Week is a good time to recognize those caring families who open their homes and their
hearts to children who have suffered maltreatment and need a stable, loving home."

Last year, 58.5% of children in the care of Ontario's Children's Aid Societies were placed with a foster family while 16.1% were placed in group homes, 4.4% with adoptive families, 5.3% with kinship families and 15.8% were living on their own. With 7,700 foster families in Ontario, there are still
not enough homes available to provide temporary shelter to all the children coming into care who cannot remain with their families.

Since 2000, when neglect was added to the Child and Family Services Act, the number of foster families has increased only marginally (14%) while the number of children in need of protection increased 24%. More foster families who can provide safe, loving, secure homes to the vulnerable children who come into the care of Ontario's Children's Aid Societies are needed.

There is an urgent need for foster families for teenagers, as only 60% of all youth in care aged 13 to 15 years are in a foster family setting, and for younger children and sibling groups. There is also a pressing need for foster families from diverse backgrounds and ethno-cultural communities.

"Fostering brings caring and compassionate people and the kids who need them together," said Cecile Brookes, President of the Foster Parents Society of Ontario. "Fostering is a rewarding experience, a chance to make a difference one child at a time. We need more extraordinary people to consider becoming foster parents, to be a safe harbour to children and youth in need."

Ontario's Children's Aid Societies work very hard to help children remain with their families. Last year, more than 44,000 Ontario families received child welfare services and parenting supports from a Children's Aid Society to cope with stress, poverty, addiction or mental health problems. When children cannot remain at home because of serious concerns about their safety and protection, they come into the care of a child welfare agency that makes every effort to give a family and a home to every child in need of protection. Last year, Ontario's Children's Aid Societies provided substitute care for 29,000 children.

Foster parents work closely with Children's Aid Societies to provide temporary care to children for a few days, a week, several months or possibly years. They also prepare children for reunification with their biological family, adoption or long-term foster care. Children's Aid Societies support foster families through assessment, training and education, ongoing assistance as well as financial supports for the child's care, food and clothing.

If you are considering fostering, please contact your local Children's Aid Society for more information or visit www.oacas.org

OACAS is a membership organization representing Children's Aid Societies in Ontario. Since 1912, the OACAS has provided services in the areas of advocacy, government relations, communications, youth in care, information management, education and training, accreditation and member outreach. OACAS is the voice of child welfare in Ontario.

Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies
Press release: CNW Group
21 October 2007

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/October2007/21/c6320.html

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Covenant House's NINELINE Commemorates 20 Years
Helping 3,785,930 Troubled Children and Teens

For 20 years, NINELINE has been helping children who have nowhere else to turn. Annually, over 500,000 troubled children and teens across the US, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands and Guam call Covenant House''s NINELINE (1-800-999-9999) seeking help with problems including abuse, suicide, drugs & alcohol, running away, family issues, basic needs and relationships. Over 50,000 are crisis calls.
According to Covenant House International President Sister Tricia Cruise, S.C., "When kids call NINELINE, we are often their only lifeline and their last chance for help. In the past 20 years, we helped 3,785,930 callers providing them with crisis intervention, counseling support, information or referring them to shelters and local agencies." Covenant House is the largest privately funded agency in the Americas providing services to homeless kids.

"When kids call us with their heartbreaking problems, we try to give them as much care and love as is possible in a telephone call," says Patricia Connors, a trained social worker who started NINELINE on September 29, 1987.

"Some kids would open up right away. Sometimes it would take many calls before they would feel safe enough to tell us their problems. Once they did, we''d keep them on the line and get them immediate help by conferencing in agencies in their local communities," explains Connors. The basic principles and goals of NINELINE continue today, to provide callers with immediate care, help and support by highly trained counselors.

Connors, now senior vice president of Human Resources, says building up the database of local organizations was challenging, but the best way NINELINE could help callers. Today Covenant House has over 30,000 local service agencies in its database.

"Another challenge was giving kids a number they could remember, so we got 1-800-999-9999," recalls Connors. She had an internal contest to name the hotline. The choice became evident when three staff members independently suggested NINELINE.

According to current director Gil Ortiz, NINELINE has expanded helping children, teens, parents and caregivers via www.nineline.org. The Web site enables anyone needing help to email questions to NINELINE crisis counselors, post questions via the NINELINE forum, search NINELINE''s database of 30,000 local service agencies, and download information on topics critical to today''s youth.

NINELINE is multilingual, responding in English, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Polish and all languages with the assistance of interpreters. NINELINE also has a TTY line (800-999-9915) for the hearing impaired. There are approximately 36 staff members who work in shifts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

"We also answer calls on Life Line, a suicide hotline, as well as hotlines for gang violence, domestic violence and victims of human trafficking," adds Ortiz, who secured national certification for NINELINE by the American Association of Suicidology, a national association of hotlines and crisis centers, and a contract with the Federal Department of Health and Human Services to operate a national hotline for victims of human trafficking.

"NINELINE offers the most comprehensive services to callers," explains Ortiz. "We specialize in crisis intervention and connecting callers with agencies in their communities, but our staff can offer counseling on the phone as well. It''s very rewarding work changing the lives of children for the better."

Covenant House will commemorate the 20th Anniversary of NINELINE on October 23 at 2 p.m. at its 5 Penn Plaza location in New York City. Sr. Tricia will present certificates of recognition to NINELINE counselors. Tours of the NINELINE call center will be conducted. Media are invited.

Press Release: PRNewswire
18 October 2007
Source: Covenant House International

http://usstock.jrj.com.cn/news/2007-10-19/000002804220.html

 

Youth Violence Evaluation Tool Could Have Prevented School Shootings

What can be done to prevent youth violence tragedies such as the two school shootings that took place last week in Memphis and Cleveland? This week, child violence prevention expert Kathryn Seifert, Ph.D. is releasing the newest version of the CARE-2: Child and Adolescent Risk Evaluation (Acanthus Publishing, 2007), the only proven scientific tool of its kind that can identify dangerous youth as young as 4 years old and the intervention services they need to prevent future violence. The CARE-2 is an assessment that could have prevented the Cleveland high school shooting if it had been administered by the teenager’s school authorities or doctor.

"Acts of violence by students are roughly 80 percent preventable," says Dr. Seifert, a psychotherapist who specializes in family violence and trauma and runs her own psychological practice, Eastern Shore Psychological Services. "If every child that committed any kind of serious behavioral misconduct was screened for the types of risk factors and level of services needed, and if these services were put into place, youth violence by students, including school shootings, could be drastically reduced."

Dr. Seifert, who has over 30 years of experience in mental health, believes early detection of violent tendencies in children and teens is the best way to prevent tragedies like the Cleveland and Memphis school shootings from happening. That is why she has collected data from over 1,000 psychological evaluations to create the CARE-2.

The CARE-2 builds off its predecessor the CARE by refining the list used to identify dangerous behavior in children from ages 6 to 19 years old. The evaluation tool takes into consideration a multitude of risk factors, which include a youth’s history of violence, severity of behavioral problems, substance abuse, impulsivity/ADHD, and mental illness. Based on a scoring system of these in-depth risk factors, professionals can assess the best treatments and services to administer.

Dr. Seifert’s CARE-2 is an applicable extension of her book, How Children Become Violent: Keeping Your Kids out of Gangs, Terrorist Organizations, and Cults (Acanthus Publishing, 2006). A winner of the Independent Book Publishers Award, it is written for parents and therapists and explains her theory of Disrupted Attachment Patterns (DAP), the inability to form empathy for others because early attachment to caregivers was thwarted or dysfunctional. DAP forms in childhood, and, if not assessed or treated, can be expressed in the willingness to hurt others in the future.

Dr. Seifert believes that if therapists, nurses, and school authority figures start screening AND treating youth with violent tendencies now, countless school shootings will be thwarted in the future.

Press release: NewsReleaseWire
16 October 2007

http://www.expertclick.com/NewsReleaseWire/default.cfm?Action=ReleaseDetail&ID=18345

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CANADA

Throne Speech slams the door on National Child Care Program

It is news to Canadian families that Stephen Harper's government has delivered on child care, say child care advocates responding to tonight's Throne Speech. "Any parent knows that a $100 monthly voucher doesn't create child care and without child care there is no choice," says Morna Ballantyne of the advocacy group Code Blue for Child Care. "Harper's claim is particularly misleading given that the Tories have not delivered a single one of the 125,000 child care spaces they promised."

The Throne Speech signals the Tories' intention to strip Government of the legislative and financial leavers to protect and expand social programs. "Redirected to child care the proposed 1% cut to the GST would provide every child in Canada between 3 and 6 with a full time child care space," said
Ballantyne.

"Harper's plan to legislate limits to the federal spending power demonstrates his continued hostility to social programs; a hostility he championed as head of the National Citizen's Coalition and demonstrated when in his first act as Prime Minister he cancelled the child care plan negotiated
with the provinces," said Ballantyne. "The federal spending power is the Constitutional mechanism that gave us Medicare. It is the only tool the Government of Canada has to launch a pan-Canadian child care program."

The Tories are misusing Quebecers' desire to control their own social institutions to cover their actions, says Jody Dallaire, Chairperson of the Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada. "But Parliament has all the practical tools it requires to both protect and expand social programs while
respecting Quebec's distinct status."

Bill 303, The Early Learning and Child Care Act, scheduled before Parliament this session does just that. It places conditions on provinces and territories that receive federal funding for child care but it also explicitly recognizes Quebec's right to set its own standards. "Quebec's needs can be addressed without imposing on all Canadians a measure that makes sense only for Quebec," says Dallaire.

Ottawa last used its spending power for child care in 2005 when the then Liberal government signed bi-lateral agreements with the provinces on condition they report regularly and direct the money to regulated child care services. "Ottawa's ability to set conditions on the funding it makes available for social programs ensures that Canadians from coast to coast to coast enjoy the same fundamental social rights," said Dallaire.

Source: Code Blue for Child Care

Press release: CNW
16 October 2007

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/October2007/16/c4875.html

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NEW ZEALAND

Sensible Sentencing Trust reveals hidden agenda

The Sensible Sentencing Trust has revealed publicly for the first time today that it sees the reinstatement of the death penalty in New Zealand as a viable option for combating crime.

The group's spokesperson Garth McVicar stated on radio this morning that although the Trust does not support the introduction of the death penalty today, they see it as an option for the future.

Green Party Justice Spokesperson Nandor Tanczos says: "We need to take this seriously, as Mr McVicar also revealed that the reinstatement of this lethal punishment is something that is regularly debated at Sensible Sentencing Trust meetings. "This reinforces the claim that they have a hidden agenda, although it is no longer quite so hidden".

"Reintroducing the death penalty will not help to reduce crime in New Zealand. We know what we need to do; early intervention, address parenting issues, housing transience, mental illness, keeping young people in education instead of booting them out of school because of a tongue piercing or a haircut. We also need to address the entrenched poverty and inequality in New Zealand society.

"Of course prisons are part of the package in terms of containment, but we can do a lot better than we are doing now.

"The death penalty does not work. It is not a deterrent, as well demonstrated in the USA. It kills innocent people as well, as would likely have happened to Arthur Allen Thomas if we had it here, and it debases society. It serves only to satisfy a desire among some for revenge and I doubt it is supported by the majority of victims. We should be putting our efforts into preventing people from turning to crime and into rehabilitating those that do, not killing them."

Press Release: Green Party
12 October 2007

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0710/S00243.htm

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Worrying trend in mental health treatment highlighted in new book

What's wrong with being shy, and just when and how did bashfulness and other ordinary human behaviors in children and adults become psychiatric disorders treatable with powerful, potentially dangerous drugs, asks a Northwestern University scholar in a new book that already is creating waves in the mental health community.

In "Shyness: How Normal Behavior Became a Sickness" (Yale University Press, October 2007), Northwestern's Christopher Lane chronicles the "highly unscientific and often arbitrary way" in which widespread revisions were made to "The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (DSM), a publication known as the bible of psychiatry that is consulted daily by insurance companies, courts, prisons and schools as well as by physicians and mental health workers.

"The number of mental disorders the general population might exhibit leaped from 180 in 1968 to more than 350 in 1994," notes Lane, Northwestern's Herman and Beulah Pearce Miller Research Professor. In a book that calls into doubt the facade of objective research behind psychiatry's revolution, Lane questions the rationale for the changes, and whether all of them were necessary and suitably precise.

By labeling shyness and other human traits as mental conditions with a biological cause, the doors were opened wide to a pharmaceutical industry ready to provide a pill for every alleged chemical imbalance or biological problem, the author says.

Lane, who meticulously and systematically researched the archives of the American Psychiatric Association, uses social anxiety disorder (first dubbed social phobia) as the lens through which to analyze American psychiatry's extraordinary shift in the last 30 years from a psychoanalytic orientation relying on talk therapy to its current emphasis on neuroscience and drugs.

He draws on previously neglected letters and memos written by the framers of the new disorders to argue that DSM revisions to social phobia or social anxiety disorder placed the diagnostic bar too low, turning social anxiety into a mental illness common enough to be considered, according to recent studies, third only to alcoholism and major depression.

The DSM continues to stipulate that social anxiety disorder (SAD) must be "impairing" for a diagnosis to occur. The problem, Lane argues, is that DSM-defined symptoms of impairment in 1980 included fear of eating alone in restaurants, concern about hand trembling while writing checks, fear of public speaking and avoidance of public restrooms.

By 1987 the DSM had removed the key phrase "a compelling desire to avoid," requiring instead only "marked distress," and signs of that could include concern about saying the wrong thing. "Impairment became something largely in the eye of the beholder, and anticipated embarrassment was enough to meet the diagnostic threshold," says Lane. "That's a ridiculous way to assess a serious mental disorder, with implications for the way we also view childhood traits and development," Lane adds. "But that didn't stop SAD from becoming what Psychology Today dubbed 'the disorder of the 1990s.'"

In addition to providing extensive documentation from the American Psychiatric Association archives, Lane includes previously confidential material from the drug companies themselves that present a worrisome history of the antidepressant Paxil.

That drug came onto the marketplace in 1996 despite the fact that its makers earlier had considered shelving it because of poor performance and early signs of side effects in clinical trials. Using a memo circulated among drug company executives, Lane presents evidence that a lot of information about the drug's poor track record was withheld from the public.

When Paxil became the first drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of social anxiety disorder in 1999, however, its makers launched a $92 million awareness campaign on the theme "Imagine Being Allergic to People." This and other advertising campaigns helped change the way Americans think about anxiety and its treatment.

"Every marketer's dream is to find an unidentified or unknown market and develop it. That's what we were able to do with social anxiety disorder," a product director for the drug told Advertising Age magazine. In 2001, with 25 million new prescriptions written for Paxil, the drug's U.S. sales alone increased by 18 percent from the year before.

Although psychiatrists insist that the line between ordinary shyness and social anxiety disorder (SAD) is sharply defined, Lane points to psychiatric literature that repeatedly confuses them, putting patients at risk of over-diagnosis and unnecessary, sometimes harmful treatment.

A professor of English in Northwestern's Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, Lane previously directed a psychoanalytic studies program in Emory University's psychiatry department. Long interested in psychology, he presents evidence of a burgeoning backlash to psychiatry's current trends in the form of analyses of novels including "The Corrections" by Jonathan Franzen and "The Diagnosis" by Alan Lightman, as well as the film "Garden State" by Zach Braff.

Lane was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship to study psychopharmacology and ethics, and audited medical courses.

He invited psychiatrists and pharmacologists to review his book, particularly a chapter on rebound syndrome. That term refers to a boomerang effect experienced by some patients on discontinuing Paxil that is more intense and dangerous than the turmoil that caused them to take the drug in the first place.

In examining the American Psychiatric Association archives, Lane -- who argues that psychiatry is using drugs with poor track records to treat growing numbers of normal human emotions -- even came across a proposal to establish "chronic complaint disorder," in which people moan about the weather, taxes or the previous night's racetrack results.

"It might be funny," he says, save for the fact that the DSM's next edition, due to be completed in 2012, is likely to establish new categories for apathy, compulsive buying, Internet addiction, binge-eating and compulsive sexual behavior. Don't look for road rage, however. It's already in the DSM, under intermittent explosive disorder.

Source: Wendy Leopold
Northwestern University
Based on original press release
11 October 2007

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/85285.php

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UK

Chairs of independent review of restraint in juvenile custody announced

The Youth Justice Minister, David Hanson, and the Children's Minister, Beverley Hughes, have appointed Andrew Williamson and Peter Smallridge as co-chairs of the independent review of restraint in juvenile secure settings. The review, which was announced by David Hanson in July, will encompass policy and practice on the use of restraint across a range of juvenile secure settings, including Secure Training Centres (STC), Secure Children's Homes (SCH) and Young Offender Institutions (YOIs).

It will examine the operational efficacy, safety, (including medical safety), and ethical validity of restraint methods, in juvenile secure settings, including Physical Control in Care (PCC)-the system of restraint used only in secure training Centres-and the circumstances in which they may be used. The
system of training provided to staff using restraint in juvenile secure settings will also be scrutinised, including how such training is monitored, reviewed and accredited.

Andrew Williamson has been Director of Social Services for Devon and is currently Chair of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly NHS Trust. He has recently conducted an independent review of child protection arrangements in Jersey and has worked for the Department for International Development,
establishing standards and inspection processes for children's services in Eastern Europe. He is a former Secretary of the Association of Directors of Social Services.

Peter Smallridge has been Director of Social Services for Warwickshire and Kent, and is currently chair of Kent and Medway NHS Trust. He has also recently been working as Interim Director of Social Services in the Isle of Man. He has worked previously with Andrew Williamson in roles in the UK and in Eastern Europe. He has served as President of the Association of Directors of Social Services.

They both also have considerable experience of participating in and chairing reviews in the NHS and in Social Services.

David Hanson and Beverley Hughes said: "We are delighted that Mr Williamson and Mr Smallridge have agreed to chair this important review. Their individual and combined experience in social,
children's and mental health services makes them well qualified to undertake this inquiry. They have a background of working effectively together. Their findings will play a vital part in ensuring that the Government fulfils its duty of care towards young people in custody, and we look forward to
reading their report."

It is expected that the review will report to Ministers within six months of the appointment of the Chair.

Source: Ministry of Justice

PRNewswire-GNN London
9 October 2007

http://media.netpr.pl/notatka_86254.html

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AUSTRALIA

Foster children to get better access to activities

The Brumby Government will change practices around foster care to give children in foster care better access to everyday activities, Minister for Community Services Lisa Neville said.

Ms Neville announced the clarifications at the opening of the 2007 National Foster Care Conference at the Telstra Dome in Melbourne today.

"We trust foster carers with the everyday care of children. They have undergone training and assessment, a police check and a Working With Children Check. We should trust them to make the right decision on a child staying overnight with friends whose parents they trust", Ms Neville said.

"This new policy is all about adopting a commonsense practice. Under previous arrangements, parents who wanted to invite a child in foster care for an overnight stay were required to undergo a police check. The check was not a legal requirement and has in fact proved to be a big barrier for kids in foster care wanting to enjoy everyday activities with their friends like slumber parties and sleepovers. In reality, many kids in foster care ended up missing out on everyday experiences that other children are able to take for granted".

"I firmly believe that if a person is trusted with the daily care of a child in foster care, that person should also be trusted to make the right decision about any overnight visits. Foster carers are best placed to make these decisions in the interests of a child's safety and development".

The new approach is similar to that taken by other jurisdictions like the UK and New Zealand. In line with this new policy, Ms Neville also announced that the Government would move to allow foster carers to give permission for children in their care to take part in school excursions or similar outings without Departmental approval.

"The aim of these changes will be to make sure children in care get the chance to do the sorts of normal, everyday things all children enjoy. We want to make sure our policies don't get in the way of this", she said. "Being able to give permission for a child to go on a school excursion or participate in other activities is an important part of providing care".

The theme of this year's conference is 'Fostering Change' and Ms Neville told more than 360 delegates that the implementation of the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 this year reflected a changing understanding of the needs of all children and families facing difficulties. The Brumby Government has given $1.4 million in funding for ongoing training for carers, as well as introducing a common assessment and training program for all new foster carers.

Ms Neville also used the conference to launch a new edition of the Home-based care handbook. The handbook provides useful information to carers and has been updated to include the reforms from the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005.

Media-Newswire
8 October 2007

http://media-newswire.com/release_1055679.html

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NORTHERN IRELAND

Statistics of former care leavers in Northern Ireland

The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety today published a statistical bulletin summarising information on young people leaving care.

The bulletin provides a summary of the second collection of information on young people formerly in the care of Northern Ireland Health and Social Services Trusts who reached their 19th birthday during the year ending 31 March 2006. The information was obtained from Health and Social Services Community Trusts in 2005/06. The survey was carried out by the Department in order to determine whether these young people are still in touch with social services around their 19th birthday. The aim was also to determine whether their economic activity and living circumstances are such that they are able to participate fully in society.

The bulletin provides information on the economic activity, accommodation, contact with social services, age, gender, and other characteristics of 180 young people who had been in the care of Heath and Social Services Trusts at 1st April 2003 and who reached their 19th birthday during the year ending 31 March 2006.

Some of the key findings included:

Length of time in care and final placement type appeared to affect economic activity after leaving care, with higher rates of participation amongst those who had spent longer periods in care, and for those who had been in foster care in their last placement.

Young males and females differed in the types of accommodation in which they were most likely to be living; almost one third (32%) of young males were living with parents, relatives or friends, compared with 10% of young females. In contrast, 48% of females were living in independent accommodation, which is much higher than the equivalent figure for males (29%).

Source: Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety
10 October 2007

http://www.careandhealth.com/Pages/Story.aspx?EntityID=4f6352e2-24e1-4bd1-83c5-645081c56154

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Children's experts warn: Don't ignore kids on National Depression Screening Day, October 11

National Crisis Group offers 10 tips on spotting depression in children

Between 17 and 20 million Americans are affected by depression each year, but even as thousands of sites across the nation are gearing up to screen people and educate them about the condition on National Depression Screening Day (October 11), experts are warning America not to forget a largely overlooked part of our population: children.

In the face of the highly publicized pressures kids face today and a doubling of the suicide rate among 10- to 14-year-olds in just 10 years, children's experts are warning that it is time to take depression in children seriously. The CDC recently reported that data for the most recent year available indicate the overall youth suicide rate jumped 8% in one year -- and a staggering 76% among young women.

"Many people don't expect that children, especially very young ones - five, six, or seven years old -- can be depressed," says Dr. Herbert. Mandell, medical director of the 125-year-old national children's crisis charity KidsPeace and the KidsPeace Children's Hospital in Orefield, Pennsylvania. "In addition, people rarely spot depression in children because kids often don't show all the same, more familiar signs and symptoms we see in adolescents and adults."

To help parents, teachers, and others, KidsPeace has put together ten tips on some of the more commonly seen signs of depression in children. These tips, which are also available at http://www.kidspeace.org include:

1. DEPRESSED CHILDREN DON'T ALWAYS "LOOK" DEPRESSED
One of the problems with identifying depression in young children is that they don't always show depression in the way older people do. Instead of looking visibly "sad" and "depressed," as adolescents and adults often do, young children sometimes show little sign outwardly, but will instead manifest it behaviorally. Any new pattern of angry outbursts, disciplinary problems in school, and aggressive or negative behavior, including looking or acting bored, especially if kids don't have a past history of such behaviors, calls for closer attention.

2. SLEEP CHANGES
In adults, this may be trouble sleeping. In children and younger teens, there may be an overabundance of sleep, withdrawing and sleeping after school, or refusing to get out of bed. In older
adolescents, you're more likely to see patterns of trouble falling asleep and early morning awakening.

3. APPETITE CHANGES
Significant weight loss or gain (as much as 25 pounds) one way or the other in a few months. Although it can vary, it is typical of older teens to lose weight, while younger children and young teens may gain significantly.

4. IRREGULARITY OF BOWEL MOVEMENTS
Withholding or accidents in children normally old enough to control their bowel movements.

5. SCHOOL PROBLEMS
Sudden negative changes in youngsters' interest or performance, including a drop in grades, disciplinary problems, lack of completing homework, etc.

6. EXTENDED NEGATIVE REACTION TO CRISES
A reaction more severe and longer than would normally be expected following a death, divorce, a move to a new school, etc. Typically, children can adapt to these stressors within several weeks to, in the case of a death, up to a year.

7. LOSS OF INTEREST IN OLD PLEASURES
The child loses interest and pleasure in activities that were previously a source of enjoyment.

8. CHANGE OF FRIENDS AND SOCIAL BEHAVIOR
The child gives up old friends and there may be a shift in the type of friends with whom the child spends time to a group perceived as less desirable by parents.

9. EXPRESSING A SENSE OF HOPELESSNESS
Listen well to children when they express a sense of hopelessness. Take seriously young children and teens if they verbalize that they have no hope for the future. Expressing feelings of hopelessness may precede a suicide attempt.

10. PHYSICAL COMPLAINTS
Children may complain of stomach aches or headaches. These complaints may be accompanied by a withdrawal from typical activities, social life, and a refusal to go to school. These complaints are cause for concern and should be explored.

Older children and adolescents tend to be more similar to adults when depressed, with symptoms that are more familiar to the general public:

Withdrawal, fatigue, irritability, loss of concentration, greater interest in morbid themes, and loss of interest in good hygiene, along with signs listed above.

"It is not unusual for adolescents to go through periods of being sad or down," says KidsPeace President & CEO C.T. O'Donnell II. "In fact, it is pretty normal. However, it is important to realize that depression is serious, and some of these symptoms you may think are depression may be
signs of other issues, including medical problems."

How to Take Action
When symptoms persist for more than a couple of weeks, or if there is more than one, it is time to take action. Check the signs of childhood depression at http://www.kidspeace.org, talk to your family doctor and get help. Be sure to touch base with your child's school to share information, as
well. Best of all, to make sure you are protecting your children, talk to your kids on an ongoing basis so that you know what is normal for your kids and what is not. If you suspect a problem, you can find a National Depression Screening Day center near you by going to the website http://www.mentalhealthscreening.org

Press release: PRNewswire
1 October 2007

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/10-01-2007/0004673300&EDATE=

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UNICEF cooperates with Iranian clergy on plan against child abuse

The United Nations Children's Fund office in Tehran will cooperate with the Iranian clergy on an action plan against child abuse, UNICEF said in a press release on Sunday. UNICEF worked with some of Iran's most eminent Shiite religious leaders to produce a booklet that comprises their views on the treatment of children by adults and violence-free discipline, the press release said.

UNICEF's representative in Iran, Christian Salazar, further encouraged the Iranian government as well 300 governmental and non-governmental organizations to develop and implement the action plan against child abuse as soon as possible.

Besides the the five-year global UNICEF campaign "A World Fit for Children," Iran celebrated this year's Children's Day under the additional theme of "A World Free of Violence."

UNICEF and Iran have agreed on a 5-year project which focuses on prevention of child abuse, including initiatives such as child hotlines, law development and codes of conduct for caretakers. It also foresees training of government staff in early detection and awareness-raising of child abuse.

Press release: DPA
7 October 2007

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/120107.html

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Michigan researchers embark on landmark study of children

With the help of $18 million in federal support, researchers in Michigan will begin a landmark study on how the environment affects the health and development of children.

Their work, beginning next year, is part of the largest effort by the National Institutes of Health, announced today, that aims to monitor more than 100,000 children nationally from birth to age 21. The $18 million, five-year grant to the Michigan Alliance for the National Children's Study will fund the study of 5,000 Michigan children and their parents.

"No child health study of this size and scope has ever been conducted," Nigel Paneth, a Michigan State University professor of epidemiology, pediatrics and human development, said in a statement. "It should provide more useful information about the effects of the environment on child health than any study ever undertaken".

MSU will head up the research alliance, collaborating with the University of Michigan, Wayne State University, Children's Hospital of Michigan, Henry Ford Health System, Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH), and Wayne County and city of Detroit health departments.

Starting next year, local researchers will begin screening 12,000 Wayne County households to identify participants for the study. Researchers will assess infants and children, both in the hospital and during home visits when the children are six months, 1 year and 2 years old. Eventually, the researchers hope to follow study participants through age 21.

"Environmental influences are broadly defined," Paneth said. "Not only are we looking into environmental toxins, but also looking at infections, nutrition, growth and the child's family and social environment. By studying children through several phases of growth and development, including their development before birth, we will be better able to understand the role of these factors on health and disease."

In all, 105 counties in the United States were selected for the National Children's Study. While the research starts with Wayne in Michigan, it's expected to eventually expand to monitoring children in Macomb, Genesee, Grand Traverse and Lenawee counties.

The researchers plan to enroll participants from all major racial, ethnic and socio-economic groups in proportion to their presence in each county.

"Ultimately, the study promises to improve our understanding of a wide range of issues affecting children and their families, from infant mortality and premature birth to obesity, autism, asthma, behavior problems and many other developmental outcomes," said Daniel Keating, director of the U-M Center for Human Growth and Development, and lead investigator of the $4.4 million U-M portion of the Michigan study.

In addition to the project's scope, depth and projected length, the alliance of Michigan researchers from a wide variety of institutions and specialties is unique. "This study is a platform for a completely novel form of research," Keating said. "It combines survey research with biological, environmental and developmental assessments to help clarify how a broad range of factors including genetics, environmental conditions, biology, chemistry, social relations and geography among them interact with each other to influence children's health."

Marisa Schultz
4 October 2007

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071004/UPDATE/710040465/1409/METRO

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Nations urged to help child soldiers

France and the UN children's agency urged more countries on Monday to sign an international set of principles outlawing the use of child soldiers and helping restore them to civilian life.

Governments of 59 countries originally signed the "Paris Commitments" in February, pledging to do more to prevent children from being recruited as soldiers. Another seven committed themselves at Monday's meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

French Secretary of State for Human Rights, Rama Yade, called Monday's meeting to rally support for the principles, drawn up with the United Nations children's agency UNICEF, which estimates that more than 250,000 children were recruited or used by armed forces in 2006. Every country says that they support the commitments and the principles of Paris," Yade told reporters after the meeting. "The problem is some accept to sign and the others don't."

She cited the United States as an example of a country that backs the core principles but has not signed because it opposes a clause dealing with the International Criminal Court. "There's not two camps, on the one side against, on the other side for. It's more complicated," Yade said.

Among the countries that signed the document, which carries moral rather than judicial weight, are a number of African states with high numbers of child soldiers, including Angola, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Chad.

Ivory Coast's foreign minister, Youssouf Bakayoko, said the growing divide between rich and poor countries created the conditions for children to be "easy prey" for armed groups. "Poverty and misery are breeding grounds for the use of child soldiers," Bakayoko told the meeting. "Developed countries that have not yet done so must increase the volume of official development aid," he said.

UN/Reuters
2 October 2007

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/story.html?id=49cd47b4-6419-48ee-bf7f-1fdfca707444

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FOSTER CARE

The big picture: Reward the professionals

Expectations of foster carers have changed dramatically over the past 30 years. In the past, foster carers were regarded as volunteers who opened up their homes and families to a vulnerable child and were generally given an allowance to cover the costs of caring for an extra child.

While foster carers still provide a home for a child or young person to be supported and loved, they now need to be able to handle a range of tasks. These include ensuring children have contact with their families, attending court hearings and meetings and keeping detailed records. Foster carers are also expected to be skilled in child development and need to have an understanding of the impact of abuse.

So, today, foster carers provide much more than an experience of family life. They are regarded as being at the centre of a team of professionals, including social workers and teachers, whose task it is to make a difference to the lives of children in care.

But there is often a significant gap between the expectations placed on foster carers and the recognition they get from their colleagues. While they are expected to go about their role in a professional way, the reality is that they are often still regarded as volunteers. They play a vital role in the lives of many children but are often not paid to do so. Increasing responsibilities are placed on them but their status has not changed.

At our annual conference this week, the Fostering Network will be calling for foster carers to be regarded as equal partners in the child care workforce as their role changes and more demands are made of them. Moving towards a professional foster care service means foster carers getting the recognition they deserve. It involves, among other changes, the registration of foster carers, access to extra support and training, legal representation, if and when required, and pay that is comparable with others in the child care workforce.

Today there are more children than ever living with foster carers and far fewer children being placed in children's homes. Foster carers are motivated by a desire to help a child or young person make the most of their life. Being properly paid and regarded as an equal by social care and teaching colleagues will encourage more people to become foster carers and empower those who are to transform the lives of the children they care for.

Robert Tapsfield is chief executive of the Fostering Network whose annual conference, "For Love and Money, towards a professional fostering service", will be held on 28 and 29 September in London.

28 September 2007

http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2007/09/27/105924/the-big-picture-reward-the-professionals.html

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CANADA

Children Must Be a Priority in Canada: UNICEF Canada Says

UNICEF Canada Calls for National Children's Commissioner to Protect Children's Rights

Despite the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 18 years ago, children in Canada continue to live in poverty and their voices remain largely unheard, Nigel Fisher, President & CEO of UNICEF Canada, said today at a forum on children's rights.

"UNICEF Canada is committed to improving the welfare of all children, in Canada and around the world," said Fisher. "As it stands, Canada's 9.6 million children and young people - that's a quarter of our population - have no say and no mandated representation in our federal government. They deserve better. That is why UNICEF Canada is calling for a national Children's Commissioner in Canada."

Currently, there are no mechanisms in place to ensure the needs and rights of children are considered a priority by government when making decisions on budgets, policies and services.

"Too many children are falling through gaps and living below international standards. A Children's Commissioner would help ensure that children's needs and interests are considered in federal law, policy and programmes," Fisher said.

Canada is one of the few industrialized countries without a Children's Commissioner. Already, more than 60 independent institutions promoting children's rights have been established in other countries. A Commissioner in Canada would work to raise awareness about children's rights and improve health, education and protection of children. The Commissioner would also work with provincial child and youth advocates to encourage all levels of government to advance children's rights.

Fisher made the call for a Children's Commissioner today at a forum that included Members of Parliament, children's advocates and organizations, and young people. The forum, organized by members of the Canadian Coalition on the Rights of Children including UNICEF Canada, World Vision, Justice for Children and Youth, Students Commission and Defence for Children International and others, took place at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Law. The purpose of the forum was to advance specific recommendations on how the Government of Canada should respond to the Senate report, Children: The Silenced Citizens.

UNICEF Canada has launched a petition on its web site calling for a Children's Commissioner in Canada. To sign the petition, go to www.unicef.ca/18at18

30 September 2007

http://newsblaze.com/story/20070928182207tsop.nb/newsblaze/TOPSTORY/Top-Stories.html

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