If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
BALTIMORE - Maryland : Child advocates: State must do better forkids
Child advocates: State must do better for kids
http://www.examiner.com/a-846207~Chi...or_k ids.html BALTIMORE - Jaime Malarkey, The Examiner 2007-07-25 20:14:46.0 In the same year a Baltimore teenager died in a state-run residential detention center and a Prince George’s county youth died after a tooth infection spread to his brain, child advocates today pressured Maryland lawmakers to improve problems affecting kids that, according to a new report, appear to be worsening. Maryland’s rank nationally fell from 23rd to 24th in an annual child wellness report released today from the Baltimore-based Annie E. Casey Foundation, which analyzed factors including infant mortality, teen pregnancy and high school dropout rates. Using the foundation’s indicators and some of their own, local advocates said the ranking should be much better considering Maryland is the second wealthiest state in the nation. They said the gap is the third largest in the country. (Click here to read the Annie E. Casey Foundations' KIDS COUNT 2007 Data Book.) http://www.kidscount.org/sld/databook.jsp “There is a pattern of consistent disappointment for the well-being of Maryland’s children,” said Matthew Joseph, executive director of Advocates for Children and Youth. “The first step to moving Maryland from a state of disgrace to a state of success is to stop being a state of denial.” Statistics indicate Maryland’s achievement gap, juvenile recidivism rate, kids’ access to dental care and the number of abused an neglected children in group homes are also worsening, according to a panel of local and national experts. But their study used newly analyzed data that predated Gov. Martin O’Malley’s administration — which they said is showing initiative, such as considering bonuses to attract principals to under-performing schools. Citing 17-year-old Isaiah Simmons, who died in January while being restrained by staff at Bowling Brook Preparatory Academy in Carroll County, Department of Juvenile Services Secretary Donald DeVore, an O’Malley appointee, said the state is seeking to keep offenders in the community rather than transfer them out of state or into detention centers. The state closed Bowling Brook in March. Foster home recruitment is also a top priority for the new administration, said Brenda Donald, secretary of the state’s Department of Human Resources, another O’Malley appointment. “We do agree Maryland can do better and we will,” she said. But advocates said they’ve heard the promises before. Charles Cooper, administrator of the state’s Citizens’ Review Board for Children said the state could save $50 million by recruiting foster homes instead of sending children to group homes — the wrong solution, he said, for kids’ with “fixable” problems. “We’ve heard before there was going to be progress, but we haven’t seen it,” Cooper said. “This crisis is one that could be a danger and an opportunity.” BY THE NUMBERS * Maryland has the nation’s second worst achievement gap for low-income fourth-graders and others in reading and math; the gap is the fifth worst nationally for eighth graders * 70 percent of Maryland’s children enrolled in state-funded health programs go without any dental care in any given year * Of the nearly 10,000 Maryland children removed from their parents’ house because of abuse or neglect, 27 percent live in group facilities rather than foster homes or with relatives; the figure has doubled in the last decade * 53 percent of juvenile inmates commit a crime again within one year of release Source: Advocates for Children and Youth Inc. 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 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 sexual 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. 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... |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Child advocates criticize editing of Miami child welfare report | wexwimpy | Foster Parents | 0 | June 15th 05 06:20 PM |
I Need Good Legal Counsel for the State of Maryland | Ronald Brown | Child Support | 2 | January 19th 05 12:49 AM |
If I live in Maryland, and the mother of my child and the baby live in NY, what child support laws apply to me? Whic State? | Leonardo H | Child Support | 2 | September 30th 04 04:24 AM |
Warnings of abuse, yet the system fails a child Protection: The beating death of 2-month-old David Carr is the latest in a string of cases that highlight serious flaws in city and state agencies charged with protecting children, advocates say. | wexwimpy | Foster Parents | 0 | February 4th 04 05:28 PM |
Advocates say state does too little for foster children turning 18 | Wex Wimpy | Twins & Triplets | 0 | June 25th 03 05:20 PM |