The poor as stakeholders
http://www.newsandtribune.com/opinion/local_story_169133911.html?keyword=topstory
The Indiana Commission on Dispro****tionality in Youth Services held a
forum at Indiana University Southeast Wednesday evening. Those
interested in dispro****tional minority representation in the areas of
juvenile justice, mental health, child welfare and education were
invited to participate.
Dispro****tionality is the difference between a group’s representation in
the overall population compared to their representation within a given
group. Minorities are generally overrepresented in the areas listed
above. The commission, created by the General Assembly, is also taking
on concerns of disparities in how services are delivered.
This was the stated purpose for the meeting. There were unfortunate
aspects of the event. There was little attendance or contribution by the
general public, and only a fraction of the comments were entirely
relevant to the stated purpose.
The handful of relevant comments were provided mostly by Clark County
NAACP’s Gary Leavell who spoke to concerns about Clark County youth of
color being profiled by police and being more harshly punished by the
juvenile courts and schools. A woman involved with providing foster care
also testified she had seen children of different races treated
differently within that system with the white children experiencing
better outcomes.
Of the 33 individuals appointed to the commission, only four attended,
two arriving late. The makeup of the commission is somewhat disturbing
as there is only one slot for a youth who has had contact with these
systems and no spot for parents specifically. The single most
distressing fact of the process is the overrepresentation of
organizations, as opposed to individuals, in the makeup of the
commission and forum participants.
Much of the focus was actually on the delivering of services to families
in general. The elephant in the living room which was clearly being
addressed by the mostly white group wasn’t racism and wasn’t
explicitly
stated: poverty.
It’s true there is an overrepresentation of minorities is these systems.
However, there is also a dispro****tionate representation of minorities
among the poor, and poverty is the more likely culprit in poor outcomes
in these systems. With few exceptions, most of the issues addressed
apply to the poor as a multi-racial group.
I discussed this seeming omission of poverty issues with commission
member James Garrett who represents the Indiana Committee on the Social
Status of Black Males. Garrett agreed poverty was the unspoken cause of
the problems under discussion, and gave a surprising answer about the
focus on race and ethnicity. Garrett lamented it is currently considered
elitist to discuss the poor as a group or discuss class as an issue.
That may well be the case, but I suspect that is hardly the entire
explanation. A piece by Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts published
last week bears the headline, “Who speaks for the poor?”
In the context of the still-allowable jokes about “white trash” Pitts
points out there is nothing equivalent to the NAACP for poor white
folks. Further, though the issues affecting the poor of various races
are mostly similar, this socio-economic group tends to be the most
hostile toward other races and therefore unable to work together as a
group.
Among the members of any racial or ethnic group, there are going to be
some affluent members who can represent that group’s interests in a way
the poor as a group cannot. Those struggling to make ends meet do not
have the time to form organizations, send out press releases and the like.
In my own research a few years ago focusing on Child Protective Services
(Department of Child Services in Indiana), I found the poor as a group
were incapable of holding the state accountable for its actions towards
them. Lack of access to media, attorneys and the resources to be
politically active contribute to the problem.
Instead of hearing about poverty issues from the people actually
experiencing poverty, those in power hear from organizations dealing
with poverty for a living. Though all of the college-educated white folk
in attendance at Wednesday’s forum did appear to sincerely care about
the children state actions affect, most currently make a living from the
systems they point to as harmful failures and will be better off if the
commission makes recommendations that benefit their particular programs.
Interestingly though, as the meeting wore on, few of the suggestions
attendees put forth that would really help troubled and poor children
were ones necessary for the commission to recommend to the state
legislature.
Being more involved in our communities, focusing less or material
things, taking responsibility for the kids around us, volunteering as a
mentor, being a role model, giving a kid a job, these things were all
discussed and would go much further to actually have a positive impact
in kids’ lives than any state program. It should also be made clear
there was some consensus that these state systems are currently treating
kids unfairly and doing harm. No one pointed to a current state program
with praise.
The following was sent to me in response to last week’s column: “The
state is now more involved than it has ever been in the raising of
children, and children are now more neglected, abused, and mistreated
than they have been in our time. This is not a coincidence, and, with
all due respect, I am here to tell you: It does not take a village to
raise a child. It takes a family.” — Senator Robert Dole
Jeffersonville resident Kelley Curran considered pointing out that
legislative commissions are dispro****tionally ineffective, but she knows
the legislature would only propose a commission to study the problem.
Write her at kelinawriterhat@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Inconvenient Truth about Child Protective Services, Foster care, and
the Child Protection "INDUSTRY"
Child Protective Services Does not protect children...
It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even
killed at the hands of CPS.
every parent should read the free handbook from
connecticut dcf watch...
http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com
Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the US
These numbers come from The National Center on
Child Abuse and Neglect in Wa****ngton. (NCCAN)
Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS
Perpetrators of Maltreatment
Physical Abuse CPS/Foster care 160, biological Parents 59
***ual Abuse CPS/Foster care 112, biological Parents 13
Neglect CPS/Foster care 410, biological Parents 241
Medical Neglect CPS/Foster care 14 biological Parents 12
Fatalities CPS/Foster care 6.4, biological Parents 1.5
Imagine that, 6.4 children die at the hands of the very agencies that
are supposed to protect them and only 1.5 at the hands of parents per
100,000 children. CPS perpetrates more abuse, neglect, and ***ual abuse
and kills more children then parents in the United States. If the
citizens of this country hold CPS to the same standards that they hold
parents too. No judge should ever put another child in the hands of ANY
government agency because CPS nationwide is guilty of more harm and
death than any human being combined. CPS nationwide is guilty of more
human rights violations and deaths of children then the homes from which
they were removed. When are the judges going to wake up and see that
they are sending children to their death and a life of abuse when
children are removed from safe homes based on the mere opinion of a
bunch of social workers.
THIS IS AMERICA'S HIDDEN HOLOCAUST
Currently Child Protective Services violates more constitutionally
guaranteed liberties & civil rights on a daily basis then all other
agencies combined, Including the National Security agency/Central
intelligence agency wiretaping programs…
THE CORRUPT BUSINESS OF CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES
BY: Nancy Schaefer Senator, 50th District of Georgia
http://www.senatornancyschaefer.com/articles.php?filter=6
This is Child Protection?
By Gregory A. Hession, J.D.
http://www.jbs.org/node/4632
Mercenary Motherhood: "Memoirs of a Babystealer."
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-callahan16oct16,0,5019944.story?coll=la-opinion-rightrail
FOSTER CARE IS A 80 PERCENT FAILURE:. A Brief Analysis of the Casey
Family Programs. Northwest Foster Care Alumni Study. By Richard Wexler
http://www.nccpr.org/re****ts/cfpanalysis.doc
HOW THE WAR AGAINST CHILD ABUSE BECAME A WAR AGAINST CHILDREN
http://www.nccpr.org/issues/1.html
Adoption Bonuses: The Money Behind the Madness
DSS and affiliates rewarded for breaking up families
By Nev Moore Massachusetts News
http://www.massnews.com/past_issues/2000/5_May/mayds4.htm
A recent study has found that 12-18 months after leaving foster care:
30% of the nation’s homeless are former foster children.
27% of the males and 10% of the females had been incarcerated
33% were receiving public assistance
37% had not finished high school
2% receive a college degree
50% were unemployed
Children in foster care are three to six times more likely than children
not in care to have emotional, behavioral and developmental problems,
including conduct disorders, depression, difficulties in school and
impaired social relation****ps. Some experts estimate that about 30% of
the children in care have marked or severe emotional problems. Various
studies have indicated that children and young people in foster care
tend to have limited education and job skills, perform poorly in school
compared to children who are not in foster care, lag behind in their
education by at least one year, and have lower educational attainment
than the general population.
*Casey Family Programs National Center for Resource Family Sup****t
80 percent of prison inmates have been through the foster care system.
The highest ranking federal official in charge of foster care, Wade Horn
of the Department of Health and Human Services, is a former child
psychologist who says the foster care system is a giant mess and should
just be blown up.
http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=2017991
Four rigorous studies have found that at least 30 percent of America’s
foster children could be home right now if their parents had decent
housing.
These studies found thousands of children already in foster care who
would have done better had child protection agencies not taken them away
in the first place.
Front-page story in USA Today.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-07-02-foster-study_N.htm?csp=34#Close
Read the studies online.
Casey "alumni" study: "Improving Family Foster Care: Findings from the
Northwest Foster Care Alumni Study,"
www.casey.org/Resources/Publications/NorthwestAlumniStudy.htm
MIT study: "Child Protection and Child Outcomes: Measuring the Effects
of Foster Care,"
www.mit.edu/~jjdoyle/doyle_fosterlt_march07_aer.pdf
http://www.cftl.org/do***ents/2008/FCfullre****t.pdf
Texas comptroller's "Forgotten Children" re****ts:
http://www.window.state.tx.us/news/60623statement.html
www.window.state.tx.us/forgottenchildren
The bottom line? - Child Protective Services and the Foster Care system
for the most part turns out young adults that are nothing more than
Walking Wreckage...
CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CONSTITUTIONALLY
GUARANTEED LIBERTIES & CIVIL RIGHTS ON A DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER
AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY/CENTRAL
INTELLIGENCE AGENCY WIRETAPPING PROGRAMS....
CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES, HAPPILY DESTROYING THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT
FAMILIES YEARLY NATIONWIDE AND COMING TO YOU'RE HOME SOON...
BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF
REFORMING OR ABOLI****NG CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES
TAKE A STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEY
ARE "FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION...
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