Apr 10-16: CA&N Media Articles and Resources 

Some recent media articles and resources relating to child abuse and neglect. If you have items that you think would be helpful to include in this occasional post, please forward them to me at the email in my signature block.
These stories were chosen because of their perceived relevance to the child welfare community.  MiPSAC is not responsible for the views expressed in any of these articles, nor does it take a position for or against the positions expressed in the articles.  They are presented merely to provide a sampling of what the media is saying about child welfare.

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

RECENT MEDIA ARTICLES

‘Sextortion’ Suspect in Indiana Faces Michigan Child Porn Charge

 Apr 17, PetoskeyNews.com: A man charged in Indiana with coercing two teenage boys into making sexually explicit online videos, and who boasted to FBI agents that he had done this more than 100 times, now faces federal charges in Michigan stemming from the same offence. The U.S. attorney’s office in Detroit on Friday filed charges of production of child pornography and enticement against Richard Finkbiner, 39, who could face from 15 years to life in prison if convicted. Link to Article

US: A Mission to End Child Abuse (Video)

April 16, CNN: Brooke Baldwin talks to Michael Petit about efforts being made to create a national strategy for preventing child abuse in America. Link to YouTube Video

Undocumented Immigrants Losing Fight to Keep Children Who Are U.S. Citizens

 Apr 15, AnnArbor.com: The intersection of federal immigration enforcement and the child welfare system is where some ugly battles take place. “These situations are awful legal and human conundrums,” said Donald Shelton, chief judge of the Washtenaw County Circuit Court. Shelton has been on the bench when tough decisions had to be made about children who are U.S. citizens and whose undocumented parents were detained or deported by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for being in the country illegally. In Michigan, when parents are detained because of their immigration status, they can be petitioned by the state for abandoning their children. “From an abandonment point of view, it’s a practical issue,” Shelton said. “Abandon doesn’t mean you voluntarily don’t care for them. It means that you can’t or won’t. They’re not present to take care of the children, and so someone has to take care of the children.” Link to Article

Push to Privatize Michigan DHS Services

 April 10, WILX.com: When it comes to child welfare, Sen. Bruce Caswell, R-Hillsdale, thinks Kent County should privatize everything but child protective services, much like Wayne county. “Since we allowed Wayne county to be treated as a unique entity, why can’t we look at doing that as much as possible in the rest of the state, allowing communities to go in the direction they’re most comfortable with,” Caswell said. Link to Article     But Note Next Article

Nebraska Returns to More Traditional Child Welfare System

 Apr 15, WSLS.com: Three years after Nebraska turned its child welfare cases over to nonprofit agencies, top state officials admit that the privatization effort has wasted millions of dollars and failed to significantly reduce the number of children taken from their homes. The Nebraska Legislature passed child welfare measures this year as lawmakers acknowledge the privatization efforts has been a debacle that failed because of a lack of funding, no clear goals, and little oversight that allowed costs to soar for reasons that still aren’t fully known.  Link to WSLS Article  Also: Link to Journalstar Article  Also: Link to KHAS TV Article

MCESA Works to Keep Homeless Children in School

 Apr 13, Midland Daily News: What happens to a child’s schooling when homelessness disrupts a family? It’s complete upheaval — loss of home and belongings, abrupt goodbye to friends, separation from family, unannounced exit from school. Thanks, however, to an act originally passed by Congress and signed by President Ronald Reagan in 1987 and since amended and reauthorized, one island of refuge in the stormy sea of homelessness remains. The child doesn’t have to change schools. According to Michelle Bahr, director of special education for the Midland County Educational Service Agency (MCESA) with responsibility to implement the Act, the first alert that homelessness has occurred often comes when school bus drivers report a child as a no-show at the bus stop. Efforts then begin to locate the child. Once the child is located — in a shelter, with relatives or friends, in foster care, sleeping in a car — the parent is assured that the child can stay in the same school. Link to Article

US: Parents Wrongly Accused of Child Abuse Struggle to Get Kids Back

 Apr 13, The Daily Beast: Most people hear about the failure of child-protective services only when they don’t act fast enough and children die. But the opposite problem—when children are removed from their homes in error—rarely makes the news, even though it happens startlingly often. In 2010, nearly 40 percent of children who had been removed from their homes—more than 85,000 children that year—were later returned with no finding of abuse or neglect, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Link to Article

US: More Than 2.5 Million Grandparents Take On Role of Parent

 Apr 12, USA Today: The number of grandparents who provide primary care for their grandchildren is growing. Nationwide, more than 2.5 million grandparents are taking on the responsibility of raising grandchildren in what the AARP calls “grandfamilies.” Link to Article

US: Breaking Down Barriers So Foster Kids Can Find a Family

 Apr 12, CNN: In 18 states and the District of Columbia, same-sex couples can jointly petition to adopt a child. But in the other states, such as Arizona, the law either restricts joint adoption or is unclear. (Includes Video) Link to Article

Police Examine Baby’s Death; Croswell Area Infant Died After Sustaining Head Injuries

 Apr 12, TheTimesHerald.com: A four-month-old Croswell area baby has died from severe head injuries, said Det. Sgt. Jeff Hook at the Michigan State Police Caro Post. The baby boy died April 9th. He had been on life support since he arrived April 2 at Detroit Medical Center Children’s Hospital. The baby was taken by ambulance to Port Huron Hospital for severe head trauma before being flown by helicopter to the Detroit hospital. Child abuse is suspected to have played a role in the incident, which is considered a homicide case, Hook said. Police previously said the child sustained severe injuries consistent with being shaken. Sanilac County Prosecuting Attorney James V. Young said the baby’s father was watching the child at the time of the incident. Michigan State Police are investigating his role in the baby’s death and following up with other witnesses. Link to Article

US: Founders of Childhelp Dedicated Their Lives To Fighting For Children

April 11, Huffington Post: In that way, Yvonne Fedderson and Sara O’Meara broke new ground. The two stars of long-running sitcom, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, were sent on a government-sponsored goodwill tour to visit troops in Japan in 1959. What they saw changed their lives, and the lives of thousands of children. In Tokyo, they stumbled upon 11 children forced to live on the street. The shivering children had been shunned by society because they were born of American fathers. Link to Article

Sexual Abuse May Put Boys at Risk for Unsafe Sex

 Apr 10 Medline Plus: Male teens who were sexually abused are more likely to have unsafe sex, a new study finds. University of British Columbia researchers analyzed data from more than 40,000 American and Canadian male high school students who were surveyed between 1986 and 2011. Compared to those with no history of sexual abuse, young males who were sexually abused were five times more likely to cause teen pregnancy, three times more likely to have multiple sexual partners and two times more likely to have unprotected sex, according to the study published online and in the June print issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health. Link to Medline Plus Article

PA: Sister Joan Scary Testifies About Order to Keep Quiet

 Apr 10, Philadelphia Inquirer: Sister Joan Scary said she got one clear instruction when the Rev. Edward M. DePaoli arrived at St. Gabriel Catholic Church in September 1995: Don’t ask questions. Link to Inquirer Article  Also: Link to Washington Post Article

US: Abuse Scandal Continues to Take Toll on US Catholic Church

Apr 10, AP: Roman Catholic dioceses and religious orders said they received 594 credible claims of clergy sex abuse last year, with all but a few of the allegations involving wrongdoing that occurred decades ago, according to a study released Tuesday by American bishops.
Link to Article on Google   Also: Link to Reuters US Article

RESOURCES WITH TIME LIMITED VALUE

News Briefs: Free Workshops This Month Teach Adults to Prevent Child Abuse

 Apr. 16, LivingstonDaily.com: The Livingston County Child Abuse Prevention Council will host two free Stewards of Children sexual-abuse-prevention workshops in April to recognize National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Created by Darkness to Light, a national nonprofit organization, this evidence-based program teaches adults seven critical steps for preventing, recognizing and reacting responsibly to child sexual abuse. Community members may choose to attend workshops at LACASA on Thursday April 19 from 6 to 9 p.m. or April 28 from 9 a.m. until noon. Reservations are required due to space limitations. Link to Article

RESOURCES WITH ONGOING VALUE

Death from Accidental Injuries Among Kids Drops 30%: CDC

 Apr 16, Medline Plus: Biggest decrease seen in car crashes; suffocations among infants, poisoning rates went up. Accidental deaths among children and adolescents have dropped 30 percent since 2000 but still remain the number-one killer of children and teens, according to new statistics released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday. In the U.S., death rates from unintentional injuries in children up to age 14 were among the worst of all high-income countries. Leading the list of fatal unintentional injuries were motor vehicle crashes, although suffocation, drowning, poisoning, fires and burns and falls also contributed to fatalities. Link to Medline Article

Facts for Families: Child Sexual Abuse

 March 2011, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP): Short pdf family handouts.  Child Sexual Abuse Also available in Spanish

Teens Sexual Health

 Web page for teens. Learn the facts about sexual health with articles about puberty, menstruation, infections, and just about everything else you wanted to know, for guys and girls. Dozens of articles for teens recommended by AACAP, see above.
Your Changing Body
For Girls
For Guys
STDs & Other Infections
Birth Control
Link to Teens Sexual Health Web Page

When Adoptees Become Suicidal, Do Genes Come Into Play?

 Mar 16, Psychiatric News: An adoption study shows that genetics is not all powerful and that the mental health of an adoptive parent affects the child. Biology is not destiny, concludes a study of suicide-attempt hospitalizations among adoptees in Sweden. Link to Article

LINKS FROM CHILD INFORMATION GATEWAY WEB SITE

Adoption and the Care of Children: Islam and the Best Interests of the Child [Brochure].

American Society for Muslim Advancement. Spence-Chapin. 2012 Link to Brochure
Adoption and the Care of Orphan Children: Islam and the Best Interests of the Child. The Digest American Society for Muslim Advancement. Muslim Women’s Shura Council. 2011
Link to Article

Psychotropic Medication and Foster Care Children: A Prescription for State Oversight

Mello, Michelle L. 2012 Southern California Law Review Link to Article

Child Maltreatment Research, Policy, and Practice for the Next Decade: Highlights From an Institute of Medicine/National Research Council Workshop

Stroud, Clare. Petersen, Anne C. Institute of Medicine. 2012 Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine
Link to html Article Link to pdf Article

Women and Children With HIV/AIDS

National AIA Resource Center Fact Sheet. National Abandoned Infants Assistance Resource Center. 2012 Link to Fact Sheet

The U.S. Infant Mortality Rate: International Comparisons, Underlying Factors, and Federal Programs

Heisler, Elayne J. Congressional Research Service. 2012 Link to Article

Relative Caregiving: What You Need to Know.

2011 Available from: Michigan Department of Human Services http://www.michigan.gov/dhs/
Link to pdf Copy Abstract: Intended for kinship caregivers in Michigan, this guide provides basic information about the Michigan child welfare system and resources that are available to help relative caregivers. The guide addresses: reasons for the involvement of Children’s Protective Services, the foster care system, the benefits of relative care, assistance and financial resources that available to help relative caregivers, requirements for becoming a licensed relative foster parent, the licensing process, financial assistance that is available during the licensing process, Family Independence Program payments, applying for food assistance, medical care for the child, expectations of kinship caregivers, the role of foster care workers, permanent living arrangement options of a child, the difference between adoption and guardianship, financial assistance for the child if the child is adopted or the caregiver become the legal guardian, and the court process. A flow chart is included that explains a child’s journey through the child welfare system. A list of support organizations is included.

Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008: H.R. 6893/P.L 110-351. 2011

Available from: National Conference of State Legislatures http://www.ncsl.org
Document available online at: http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=22222
Relevant Michigan Statute: Link to Michigan 2011 Public Act 230
Abstract: On Oct. 7, 2008, H.R. 6893, the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act, was signed by the president and became Public Law No: 110-351. The law is designed to connect and support relative caregivers, improve the lives of children in foster care, support tribal foster care and adoptions, and improve incentives for adoption. H.R. 6893 provides states options for subsidized guardianship payments for relatives, incentives for adoption, adoption assistance, kinship navigator programs, new family connection grants, and federal support for young people up to age 21. In the 2009 and 2010 legislative sessions combined, 33 states and the District of Columbia enacted 66 different bills related to the provisions of the Fostering Connections Act. In the 2011 legislative session, state activity around the act continues. This is a summary of state legislation that has been introduced in 2011.