Tag Archives: Autism

Mar 13-20: CA&N Media Articles and Updates

CA&N Articles, , , ,

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

Study of ‘Meth Babies’ Finds Behavior Problems

March 19, Associated Press: The first study to look at methamphetamine’s potential lasting effects on children whose mothers used it in pregnancy finds these kids at higher risk for behavior problems than other children. The behavior differences anxiety, depression, moodiness weren’t huge, but lead researcher Linda LaGasse called them, ”very worrisome.” Link to Article

Deported, and Now Childless (from Wisconsin)

Mar 18, GazetteExtra.com: Last fall the Applied Research Center (ARC), a New York-based social justice public policy institute, detailed in a report that 5,100 U.S.-born children whose parents are caught up in illegal immigration detention are “highly likely” to be lost in the foster care system even though their parents want to care for them once they return to their native country. Link to Article

Mental Health Advocates Have Learned Life, and the Legislature, Isn’t Always Fair

Mar 15, MLive.com: Everybody talks a good game about “fairness” in the legislative process but for the mental health advocates, there’s been precious little of that in the last 20 years. Sen. Rebekah Warren (D-Ann Arbor) asserts, “I think we should not be picking winners and losers. I don’t want to look one Mom in the eye” and tell her she can’t have coverage for her mentally ill child while another Mom receives it for autism. “That concerns me a lot” — but not enough to delay the bill, which sailed through the state senate this week with only nine no votes. Link to Editorial

Bing Closing Graft-Filled Detroit Department of Human Services

March 14, Detroit Free Press: In a move designed to improve services for struggling Detroiters, Mayor Dave Bing is forfeiting more than $72 million in federal money intended to help poor people because a city department showed it can’t handle the funds effectively, his administration said Tuesday. Link to Article

Michigan Senate Approves Autism Coverage Proposals

Mar 14, Macomb Daily: Michigan took a key step Tuesday toward joining a growing number of states requiring insurance coverage for autism treatments. The state Senate passed measures by 29-9 and 28-10 votes. Democrats supported the measures while Republicans who hold the majority in the Senate were divided. The bills now advance to the Republican-led Michigan House. A previous attempt to mandate coverage for autism therapy in Michigan stalled in the Senate in 2010. But the latest measures to provide autism coverage are supported by Republican Gov. Rick Snyder and Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, who has an autistic daughter. Link to Article

No More iPods or Paid Parking Tickets; DHS Updates Rules on How to Help Foster Kids

Mar 13, MLive.com: Michigan has made several changes to its Foster Youth in Transition Program in light of an audit that found it spent thousands of dollars on iPods, prom dresses, senior trips and a traffic ticket. State representatives questioned DHS officials about the audit and changes made during a House committee hearing Tuesday afternoon. The department is required to submit a plan for addressing the audit issues next month. Rep. Bradford Jacobsen, R-Oxford, asked how the department would learn from its errors and carry it over to other DHS programs. The department is looking at expenditure tracking, internal controls and quality assurance in other programs as well as in foster youth assistance, said Steve Yager, DHS director of children’s services. Link to Article

Spanking Lives On in Rural Florida Schools

13, NPR: Spanking in school may seem like a relic of the past, but every day hundreds of Florida students — from preschoolers to high school seniors — are still being paddled by teachers and principals. Link to Article

Attorney Says: Michigan DHS Harasses Family of 10-Year-Old Cancer Patient

Mar 13, MLive.com: The state Department of Human Services is asking an appellate court panel to return a case to trial that could force the 10-year-old to undergo follow-up care that includes six weeks of radiation therapy and six months of chemotherapy for his diagnosis of juvenile Ewing sarcoma that the boy’s parents have refused. Michael Farris, a Washington, D.C., attorney representing the family said “This is an individual decision that should be left up to parents, not to doctors.” Link to Article

LINKS FROM CHILD INFORMATION GATEWAY WEB SITE

MiTEAM: Michigan’s Child Welfare Practice Model.
Michigan Dept. of Human Services. Bureau of Child Welfare. Foster Care Program. 2012. Link to MiTeam Document

Performance Audit of Youth Transitioning from Foster Care to Self-Sufficiency. Michigan Office of the Auditor General. 2012 Link to Full Auditors Report

Evaluation Resource Guide for Children’s Bureau Discretionary Grantees.
United States Children’s Bureau. James Bell Associates. 2011
http://www.jbassoc.com/reports/documents/evaluation%20resource%20guide%2010-24-2011.pdf

Addressing the Needs of Multi-System Youth: Strengthening the Connection between Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice.
Center for Juvenile Justice Reform. Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps. 2012
http://cjjr.georgetown.edu/pdfs/msy/AddressingtheNeedsofMultiSystemYouth.pdf

Creating Trauma-Informed Systems (including, What is a Trauma-Informed Child- and Family-Service System?). National Child Traumatic Stress Network. 2012
http://nctsn.org/resources/topics/creating-trauma-informed-systems

Bringing Families Together: Models of Hope and Recovery [Video].
Center for Children and Family Futures. United States. SAMHSA 2012
http://www.ncsacw.samhsa.gov/improving/improving-video.aspx

Culture and Trauma (Special Issue of Impact Newsletter).
National Child Traumatic Stress Network. 2012
http://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/assets/pdfs/newsletters/impact_spring_2012.pdf

SafeCare [Home Visiting for Child Well-Being].
California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare. 2012
http://www.cebc4cw.org/program/safecare-home-visiting-for-child-well-being/detailed

Doing What I Teach and Teaching What I Do: Using the Principles of Effective Parenting to Become an Effective Educator about Parenting.
Harrist, Amanda W. Oklahoma State University. 2012 Family Science Review 17 (1) http://familyscienceassociation.org/archived%20journal%20articles/FSR_17_1_2012/Harrist%20Final.pdf

How Targeted Are Federal Expenditures on Children? A Kids’ Share Analysis of Expenditures by Income in 2009. Urban Institute. Brookings Institution. 2012 How Federal spending on children in low income families compares with Federal spending on middle and upper income children.
http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/reports/2012/03_kids_share/03_kids_share.pdf

MICHIGAN APPELLATE COURT CASES

Michigan Court of Appeals (Unpublished)
Case Name: In re Sasak
Holding, inter alia, that defense counsel’s decision not to request a polygraph exam before trial did not fall below an objective standard of reasonableness and that the trial court appropriately exercised its discretion by allowing the prosecutor to ask the victim leading questions, the court affirmed the respondent-juvenile’s adjudication for CSC I and II. Full Text Opinion

Michigan Court of Appeals (Unpublished)
Case Name: In re Galehouse
The court noted that while the rules of evidence do not apply at the dispositional phase of a child protective proceeding, they “do apply at the adjudicative phase, where the court decides whether to assume jurisdiction over the child.” The court concluded that the trial court committed legal error and abused its discretion in ruling that testimony attributing statements to one of the children at issue was admissible. The court held that the child was not a party to the case – she was “the subject” of the case. Further, “even if the child who is the subject of a child protective proceeding might be deemed a party for purposes of MRE 801(d)(2),” that left the issue of whether the statements attributed to the child “qualified as admissions against her.” At trial, the child’s interests were advanced by a GAL, who encouraged the jury to find that the home was an unfit place for the child to live at the time the petition was filed and that there was “‘a substantial risk of harm to . . . her mental well-being . . . .'” The court concluded that since the GAL aligned with the petitioner-DHS at trial, only the child’s testimony favoring respondents’ position could be considered admissions against her position at trial. None of the statements attributed to the child that were at issue on appeal could be considered to favor respondents’ position. Thus, the court held that “the abundance of information damaging to respondents, which the CPS worker provided by way of statements attributed to” the child, “was all the product of inadmissible hearsay.” Reversed and remanded. Full Text Opinion

Feb 29-Mar 6: CA&N Media Articles and Updates

CA&N Articles, , , , , ,

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

The Mentalist’s Tim Kang Launches Film Project to Promote Child Abuse Awareness

March 5, Talkmoviesworld.com: A new film project launched in January by actor Tim Kang is being praised by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) for the awareness it will bring to the issues of abducted and sexually abused children. Link to Article

Connecticut to Change Response to Child Abuse

Mar 5, AP: The Connecticut Department of Children and Families is changing the way it investigates reports of child neglect and abuse by creating separate responses for low and high-risk incidents. Beginning Monday, DCF will perform a family assessment in response to all reports that are deemed low and medium risks. The assessment will help families reach out for community resources. Low-risk cases include things like families improperly clothing children in the winter, whereas high-risk incidents include reports of physical and sexual abuse. The department will continue to respond to high-risk incidents with an investigation. Currently, all reports of abuse are investigated by DCF, regardless of the risk level. The change comes under a department initiative, not through state legislation. Link to full story.

Detroit Department of Human Services Faces Decertification, Loss of Poverty Funds

March 2, Huffington Post: The Michigan Department of Human Services is going forward with a plan to remove control of funds for low-income residents from the city’s Department of Human Services — whether or not City Council approves the idea. Michigan DHS Director Maura Corrigan spoke at a City Council meeting Friday afternoon to request that Council voluntarily allow the state agency to transfer control of Detroit’s Community Service Block Grants and weatherization money to a new entity. Allegations of mismanagement of funds at DDHS has provoked an ongoing criminal investigation. Maura Corrigan, head of Michigan DHS cited the scandal as the reason Michigan DHS is trying to de-designate Detroit DHS as operator for the funds. Link to Article

Report Finds Child Abuse Costs Victims $200,000 Over A Lifetime,

Mar 2, Huffington Post: In a newly released report the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the average cost to someone who experiences maltreatment as a child — defined as physical abuse, psychological abuse, sexual abuse or neglect — is $210,012 over the course of a lifetime. According to the report, the figure represents the combined costs of child welfare, special education, criminal justice expenses, medical care and lost productivity as an adult. Link to Article

Michigan Court of Appeals Rules Braman, Springer Families Can’t Sue DHS

Mar 2, WOOD TV: The families of Nicholas Braman and Calista Springer cannot sue the state of Michigan for failing to properly investigate abuse complaints before each child was killed, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled Friday. Link to Article

State Educators Ask To Waive No Child Left Behind Rules In Exchange For Reforms

Mar 2, mlive.com: State educators say they’ve formally asked the U.S. Education Department to waive the rule that calls for having 100 percent of students deemed “proficient.” Schools would have to accept new reforms in exchange for the waiver, and state Superintendent Mike Flanagan said that includes a new report card to hold schools accountable for student performance – including the achievement gaps between various student groups. The 100 percent requirement was part of the No Child Left Behind Act, which called on states to face sanctions unless all students meet the standards. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan last summer said he would offer states waivers in exchange for reforms – a move made out of frustration because Congress has not amended the landmark, bipartisan education law. Link to Article

3rd Bill Added to Autism Proposal: Measure Ties Coverage To Creation Of State Fund

Mar 2, Detroit News: Two bills that would require insurers to cover autism treatment in Michigan are now tied to a third (SB 981) that would create a State fund to reimburse insurers for such treatment. Link to Detroit News Article

In a related article:

But Some Say Other Disorders Are Being Left Out

Mar 1, mlive.com: Opponents said they don’t think it is fair to cover just autism while leaving other mental disorders potentially without assistance, with one saying it’s like a cancer coverage bill that covers leukemia but not breast cancer. The bills — SB 414, 415 and 981 –would require insurers to provide coverage of autism diagnosis and treatment, while directing the state Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Department to create an autism coverage incentive program through which insurance carriers and third-party administrators could seek reimbursement for paid claims. Link to mlive Article

L.A. Softens Its Hard Line to Get Kids to Class on Time

Mar 1, NPR: Los Angeles is easing its stance on truancy. For the past decade, a tough city ordinance slapped huge fines on students for even one instance of skipping school or being late, but the Los Angeles City Council is changing that law to focus on helping students get to class because it turns out those harsh fines were backfiring. Link to Article

Mexico Case Reveals Vast Human Trafficking Scheme

Feb 28, Insightcrime.org: The case of a Mexican organization which allegedly paid mothers to put their children up for adoption has highlighted the fine line between adoption and child trafficking, and suggests that the practice is widespread in the country. A child trafficking ring uncovered by Mexican police in mid-January in Guadalajara, Jalisco has operated since the 1980’s, and provided hundreds of children to adoptive families in other countries. American Connections: The Guadalajara-based newspaper Reforma/MURAL reported that an American adoption agency in Colorado was also involved with Mexican-Irish adoptions currently being investigated. Without naming the agency, attorney Carlos Montoya said that it had branches in both Tijuana and Guadalajara. The only American business approved by the Mexican government to work adoptions from the state of Jalisco is the California-based Across the World Adoptions. Lesley Sigel, executive director of Across the World, says that they’ve never completed an adoption for a child from Jalisco. The US Department of State statistics show that just twenty-two Mexican children were adopted by Americans in 2011, a decline of 50 percent from 2010. Link to Insightcrime Article

New Study Suggests Ecstasy Use During Pregnancy May Harm Fetus

Feb 28, U.S. News & World Report: A new study suggests that taking the hallucinogen ecstasy during pregnancy may harm the health of the fetus and lead to poorer motor control in infants. Link to Article