It hurts me to see the NRA making public policy & politicians blaming teachers for failed schools while they (those same policy making people) are ignoring the screaming need for early childhood programs that could stem the poverty and mental health tsunami that has attacked our inner cities (Detroit, Flint, Houston, Compton, Baltimore…giant swaths of a new and dangerous America )
DetailsFor those of you who read this blog regularly, you know I am critical of the lack of protection (concern) this nation has for its most vulnerable citizens. Other than the “Imminent Harm Doctrine” which allows the court to take children from life threatening circumstances, there is no federal protection for children in this nation. This is a step in the right direction. Thank you Texas Rep Lloyd Doggett for introducing this bill.
From the Alliance for Children & Families website;
The law creates a national commission to examine child fatalities, which the findings state are both preventable and significantly underreported, while the states lack a national standard for reporting. In previous hearings, members of Congress heard testimony about the significant gaps in reporting that prevent effective policies and practices from being implemented.
DetailsAmerica at that time had slid far from the top in almost all of the important measurements.
Today’s Institutes of Medicine & National Research Council 378 page study demonstrates that our nation is at the bottom of almost every health indicator, early death, the world’s leader in gun death, and U.S. women are now second to last in life expectancy.
David Strand’s study determined that programs helpful to young families and children used regularly in other nations always lead to safer, healthier, and more educated societies.
DetailsThank you everyone who shared time, energy, and generosity for (Court Appointed Special Advocates for children) CASA Minnesota’s first annual Silent Auction & Wine Tasting Fundraiser.
It a terrific affair & a good time was had by all (especially me).
Our guitarist Mark play excellent soft guitar sounds, the donors of valuable things were just remarkable in their big-heartedness, and a whole bunch of happy and fun loving people showed up to taste the wine & treats, share information and stories, and help fund our organization through their attendance and support of the silent auction (a very big winner).
DetailsFriends, these videos from the CASA National website clearly articulate the CASA mission and shed light on the institutions and circumstances of abused and neglected children in America today.
Feel free to pass one on to a friend;
I Am For The Child
Dr Phil Show April
The CASA Difference
CASA PSA
77,000 CASA volunteers speak for over 200,000 abused and neglected children throughout the U.S. today. The need for child advocacy in our communities is huge and only partially met by this organization and other American institutions today.
Detailsbegin with a puritans early world view that corporal punishment & abstinence works (think Cotton Mather & the WitchCraft trials) and denouncing the teaching of “higher order thinking”.
In 2011, Representative Michael Villarreal proposed that sex education taught in public schools be medically accurate (the bill never made it out of committee). In its place Texas Republicans approved Corporal punishment, refusing federal funding for schools, and denying pre-school and kindergarten, as a step forward for Texas children.
At least 3 Texan school districts teach that;
Premarital sex can have fatal consequences,
If a woman is dry, the sperm will die,
3 of the 4 text books used in 30% of Texan school districts never mention condoms but do promote “getting plenty of rest” to avoid contracting Sexually Transmitted Disease.
DetailsNew York State Ranks 44th in adoption of state ward children and 40th in moving children off of the state ward list.
At a cost of about $666/per child, abused and neglected children have had a personal volunteer CASA voice speak for them in the cold, hard, underfunded institution that is child protection in New York. CASA graduates in New York are half as likely as non CASA children to re enter the system (and a whole host of other positive measurements). One of my CASA case boys alone has cost Hennepin County several million dollars (without counting the people he has stabbed, teacher he assaulted, lives he has crushed, or property he has destroyed).
In his case, my county saved the money (under $500) it would have cost to complete a background check on the man who requested custody of his son while he was still in prison.
DetailsIn Florida it is against the law for a Pediatrician to ask a patient about guns in the house.
In 2010 almost 20,000 children were killed or wounded by firearms in America (A child is killed or wounded every thirty minutes) (Slate article Feb 1)
Simply explaining public health issues to parents seems like a natural function of the medical profession.
At Children’s Health of Ocala, Florida, Pediatrician, Dr. Okonkwo was asking routine public safety questions about swimming pools, bike helmets & loaded guns in the home of one of his patients.
Dr Okonkwo was right about locking ammunition and guns separately as a public health issue for children.
For this he could be accused of “unnecessarily harassing” the mother of his patient (the child).
Turns out, it is against Florida law to ask questions about gun ownership or ammunition in the entire state of Florida. The initial bill called for a five million dollar fine & five years in prison (for asking a Floridian if there was a gun in the home).
DetailsMy writings are found to be disagreeable by a percentage of readers. All comments are welcome. However, bad mouthing articles as false, without providing your own proof will not be printed. Just because you said so is not proof.
I always include links to verified sources to public policy, law, and data. Unhappy readers are required to do the same.
Please be specific.
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