Study: Arizona should increase child welfare spending by $54M

Study: Arizona should increase child welfare spending by $54M
SHERYL KORNMAN
Tucson Citizen

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/60639.php

A study by a nonprofit child welfare watchdog group calls for Arizona to
boost child welfare spending in 2008 by $54 million and spend most of
that money on housing, child care, addiction treatment and
transportation for families in poverty.


The Virginia-based National Coalition for Child Protection Reform's
study was funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

The report, released Monday at a news conference at the state Capitol
complex in Phoenix, concludes Arizona should reduce the number of
children in foster care and increase spending to help struggling
families keep their children at home.


The report calls for Arizona legislators on both sides of the aisle to
stop squabbling over "right" and "left" philosophies of welfare reform.

Instead, they should "make concrete help available to ameliorate the
worst aspects of poverty," the report said, adding funding for housing
assistance, child care subsidies and residential addiction treatment
that allows children to stay with their parents.


Richard Wexler, NCCPR's Alexandria, Va.-based executive director, chides
Gov. Janet Napolitano's admonition to child welfare workers several
years ago to "err on the side of protecting the child" by removing
children at risk from their homes and placing them in foster care or
shelters.


Jeanine L'Ecuyer, Gov. Janet Napolitano's spokeswoman, said the
governor's "emphasis since she took office has been on doing the right
thing for the child and that's where her emphasis continues to be."
In the 56-page report, Wexler cites a study published in American
Economic Review in 2007 measuring the effect of foster care on children.
The study found that "on average, children left in their own homes did
better than comparably maltreated children placed in foster care."
The report recommends 14 measures to improve outcomes for children in
the public welfare system in Arizona, including expanding the "Family to
Family" program, which brings family members and others close to a
family into the child welfare plan to prevent placing children with
strangers.
Wexler said in the report the state's child welfare system "functions in
a state of perennial panic, endangering children even as it needlessly
destroys thousands of families" by placing children in foster care or
shelters and failing to aid families it knows have members with
substance abuse or serious behavioral health problems.


Beth Rosenberg, director of child welfare and juvenile justice reform
for the nonprofit Children's Action Alliance in Phoenix, said reforms in
the delivery of child welfare services made in a special legislative
session in 2003 "were a move in the right direction."

She said the state Department of Economic Security, which oversees child
welfare programs, has put more emphasis in the last couple of years on
providing in-home services.

But she said Wexler is correct when he says Arizona does not have enough
resources to help families with substance abuse treatment, child care,
housing and behavioral health services.
"We certainly think there needs to be more resources for those families.

We don't think the kids are being removed (from their homes) just
because the family is poor," she said.
Rosenberg said Arizona children are removed for "lots of things that
happen around poverty, such as homelessness, drug addiction and
unsupervised care."


She said CAA "is looking forward to working with the legislature and
community groups for ways to improve our current child welfare system.
We are not alone in this. I think the whole nation struggles with how to
improve their child protective services systems."


A spokeswoman for the Arizona Department of Economic Security had not
returned a call for comment on the report by Monday afternoon.

The report is also critical of local newspaper coverage of the deaths of
children known to CPS, alleging that in Tucson, "newspapers mourn some
children a lot more than others," writing less about the children who
died in foster care than children who died in the care of their own parents.





1. Comment by Lori S. (Loris) — August 20,2007 @ 4:35PM
Rating: 1 Thumb Up

Finally, Richard Wexler of the NCCPR speaks. I was hoping they
would look at this. We need the Children's Rights group that is
investigating (also suing for many parents and making change happen OR
ELSE) currently in Rhode Island here.

Thank you to the Honorable NCCPR agency and Mr. Wexler for looking
into this,
especially for mentioning the coverup of Emily Mays and Dwight Hill
and the removal/kidnapping rate. The stats prove that a child is 8 - 12
times more likely to be abused (sexually, emotionally, and physically)
as well as murdered in foster care - basically that means 600 percent in
some cases, such as neglect of foster and shelter and adoptive children.

Thank you Mr. Wexler et al, from all our beloved children - the
victims of these political crimes against humanity.

Please folks, support this group. They stand for the children when
no one else will. Their research is detailed and extremely time
consuming. They get the truth (uncover all the bs given by the states).

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2. Comment by Linda C. (Doughgirl) — August 21,2007 @ 8:48AM
Rating: 1 Thumb Up

I just read the report that just came out and I agree with Mr
Wexler all the way. and yes Lori he mentioned there names a few times
along with some others that got swept under the carpet. Now if Az. would
relize there faults then maybe children do have a chance to be with
there families.

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3. Comment by Lori S. (Loris) — August 21,2007 @ 10:13AM
Rating: 1 Thumb Up

Here are the links-

The Report:
PERENNIAL PANIC - Why Child Welfare in Arizona Never Gets Better
August 20, 2007
http://www.nccpr.org/reports/arizona08202007.pdf

*The Press Release"
NATIONAL COALITION FOR

CHILD PROTECTION REFORM - PERENNIAL PANIC PLAGUES ARIZONA CHILD
WELFARE Press Release

The NCCPR Website with many reports and expert opinions

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4. Comment by Lori S. (Loris) — August 21,2007 @ 10:23AM
Rating: 1 Thumb Up

PROOF - ITS ALL ABOUT THE MONEY.
Laura Knaperek was an excellent representative in the Phoenix area.
She hits the nail on the head here. Oops. I don't think her comment
was a slip. It was done on purpose. She speaks her mind and the truth.
Open records will mean no federal money.
Translation: No more lies, no more removals based on the false reports.
Summary: It is all about the federal money. This is now confirmed.
Nappi herself.
This is a form of prostitution. Gov Napolitano is responsible for
the deaths of these children, as is the head of ADES. Governor, please
step down. This is beyond treason. Murdered dead tortured babies for
federal dollars. That is the most filthy form of prostitution I have
ever seen! And you talk about the drug and prositituion industry? The
drugging of foster children by psych meds is all about drugs and the
profits of the drug and psych constractors, such as Deavearax and La
Paloma, Providence, and the like. Read the report. many of our reps are
sitting on these or own these companies. Murderers, most all of them!
It is past time for The People to start hanging ropes outside the
courthouses and legislative offices of this state.
Treasonous crooks they are, at the expense of children even. How
low can any animal stoop?!

Critic says Arizona places too many children in foster care
By Howard Fischer, Capitol Media Services Tucson, Arizona |
Published: 08.20.2007
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/197308.php
Former state Rep. Laura Knaperek, R-Tempe, who has been an advocate
for open access to records, said efforts have been thwarted by arguments
by Janet Napolitano -- first as attorney general and more recently as
governor -- that such moves [opening the courts and files] would result
in the loss of federal dollars. But Knaperek said that hasn't happened
in other states which have more public access than Arizona.

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5. Comment by Rose W. (rosewhite) — August 21,2007 @ 10:58AM
Rating: 0 Thumbs Up

18 USC 1961 RICO, Racketeering - a Federal Crime
(2) “State” means...any political subdivision, or any department
[ADES-DCYF], agency, or instrumentality thereof [CPS and state
constractors];
(3) “person” includes any individual or entity capable of holding a
legal or beneficial interest in property [anyone benefitting from the
monies including the licensers, state contracted service providers, etc];
(4) “enterprise” includes any individual, partnership, corporation,
association, or other legal entity, and any union or group of
individuals associated in fact although not a legal entity;
(5) “pattern of racketeering activity” requires at least two acts
of racketeering activity, one of which occurred after the effective date
of this chapter and the last of which occurred within ten years
(excluding any period of imprisonment) after the commission of a prior
act of racketeering activity;

TITLE 18 PART I CHAPTER 96 96

RACKETEER INFLUENCED AND CORRUPT ORGANIZATIONS
§ 1961. Definitions
§ 1962. Prohibited activities
§ 1963. Criminal penalties
§ 1964. Civil remedies [lawsuits]
§ 1965. Venue and process
§ 1966. Expedition of actions
§ 1967. Evidence
§ 1968. Civil investigative demand

Racketeering/RICO
Federal and state racketeering, profiteering, and RICO
(Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organization) laws make it illegal for
criminal organizations to profit from any legitimate business
operations. Many of these laws allow for the confiscation and seizure of
the criminal organization's legitimate enterprise assets, and are
typically used against known "organized crime" groups. The goal is to
cripple the operation financially, and cut off sources of cash that
support ongoing criminal activity.

Especially emphasized is interstate commerce. The ICPC (Interstate
Compact for the Placement of Children)is the perfect example, especially
in light of the fact some of these children are sent across state
boundries to where? Yes, they get the federal bucks for this too. Money,
money, money. Bottom line for all of it.




CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A
DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NSA / CIA
WIRETAPPING PROGRAM....

CPS Does not protect children...
It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even
killed at the hands of Child Protective Services.

every parent should read this .pdf from
connecticut dcf watch...

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com/8x11.pdf

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 Washington. (NCCAN)
Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS

*Perpetrators of Maltreatment*

Physical Abuse CPS 160, Parents 59
Sexual Abuse CPS 112, Parents 13
Neglect CPS 410, Parents 241
Medical Neglect CPS 14 Parents 12
Fatalities CPS 6.4, Parents 1.5

CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES, HAPPILY DESTROYING HUNDREDS 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 ABOLISHING 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...