INVISIBLE CHILDREN

on January 30, 2012

. 0 Comments

I found this reference to Project Unbreakable today at the Boing Boing website.

It is a powerful statement on the lasting impact of child sexual abuse;

“Grace Brown created “Project Unbreakable” in October, 2011, and the tumblog appears to really be gathering momentum. The idea: “Use photography to help heal those who were sexually abused by asking them to write a quote from their attacker on a poster and photographing them holding the poster.”

So many stories from so many different people. Men, too, not only women. I was so moved by this post, which includes both a photograph and an audio narrative by an elderly woman who was sexually abused as a 12-year-old girl during World War II in Germany. Do listen to her story.

“You can never forget it. It is in your brain, marked like a stamp,” she says. “I still suffer from it.”

(via Jay Rosen)”

Thank you Boing Boing

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Rights Of The Child

Published

on January 28, 2012

in Events, Invisible Children and mike tikkanen speaking

. 0 Comments

Annual Justice Week Cretin Derham HS – An Important Educational Event – Feb 9-13 – 2012 Common People Creating Uncommon Change.

This is the most tuned in high school I am aware of-digging deeply into social justice issues from Africa’s child soldiers to American juvenile justice. I will speak to classes on Weds the 15^th.

From time to time high schools, colleges, & other organizations invite me to speak at their events.

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Universal Rights Of The Child; All Talk No Action

Published

Continue reading ‘Universal Rights Of The Child; All Talk No Action’

on January 21, 2012

in Invisible Children, Politics and Funding and Public Policy

. 8 Comments

There are two nations (of the 196 nations in the world) that have not ratified the Universal Rights of the Child. Somalia and America.

Somalia, because it has no functioning government, and the U.S. because we will not stop training child soldiers*.

Americans are proud of and outspoken about spirituality, values, and freedom – making proclamations about human rights, women’s rights, and so on.

My twelve years in County child protection as a volunteer guardian ad-Litem (Court Appointed Special Advocate/CASA) has taught me hard lessons.

Beaten children, sexually abused children, starved and neglected children enter the child protection system every day. Three million children a year are reported to child protection services in America.

Their numbers and stories are staggering. It is so painful and so common.

We do not offer adequate help or protection to children that need it the most.

Worse, we don’t like to talk about it. There is nothing that brings cold hard silence to a conversation than talking about my experiences with child sexual abuse or otherwise traumatized children.

When there is no discussion by those in the know, few people outside the system can understand the issues which means the media and politicians that could draw attention don’t (or they are mixed up in their understanding and speaking which is actually worse).

So nothing changes. In fact, during these lean times, programs for abused and neglected children are disappearing all over our nation and things are getting worse. Our Voices Matter was powerful program that allowed foster and adoptive kids a voice has recently disappeared due to lack of support. Many truly useful organizations are disappearing today because we don’t support children that need help the most.

From the courts, social workers, CASA programs, & health and other resources, to the foster and adoptive parents that work so hard to make life bearable for traumatized youth, child protection systems throughout this country are overwhelmed and unable to provide the services these children need.

Until I became part of the system, I had no idea that that 90% of the youth in juvenile Justice came through child protection, or that over 50% of youth in juvenile justice suffered from mental health issues with fully half that number diagnosed with multiple and severe mental health problems (the same is most likely true of children in child protection).

Without professional help, how do you un-teach drug use or sex habits to a 9 year old that has been forced to practice these things at home?

My first visit to a four year old was at the suicide ward at Fairview hospital. I’ve written about a seven year old foster child that hung himself and left a note (he hated the Prozac). There is nothing like facing a very young self-hating, suicidal child to bring home the cold hard reality that the mental health services, consistent help from the county (her new parent) will not be there. Knowing that her chances of recovering to lead a normal life are very, very, slim. This has made me feel like I’m part of a crime.

As long as we don’t talk about it, no one can know about it. Social workers are trained to not talk about it. These children have NO Voice in the substance and direction of their own lives. They suffer every day all day and we don’t want to hear about it.

Whether you are an abused child, foster/adoptive parent/social or health worker; empower yourself to start this conversation (and tell your friends/family to vote for child friendly initiatives**).

LET’S START TALKING

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Yesterday Was A Bad Day For At Risk Children In Minneapolis; 11 year old boy stabs his dad after repeated beatings & abuse;

Published

on December 30, 2011

Yesterday Was A Bad Day For At Risk Children In Minneapolis; 11 year old boy stabs his dad after repeated beatings & abuse;

. 0 Comments

Vigil planned for slain 3 year old; http://www.google.com/url?

Terrell has a fund set up at M & I Bank: Re-post from Don Samuels: A special fund has been established at M&I bank for the family of Terrell Mayes. Call (612) 904-8000 and mention the Terrell Mayes Fund. Continue reading ‘Yesterday Was A Bad Day For At Risk Children In Minneapolis; 11 year old boy stabs his dad after repeated beatings & abuse;’

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Stop Child Abuse Now Radio Show Interview;

Published

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bill-murray/2009/10/13/community-matters–9pm-et-6pm-pt

on November 27, 2011

in Invisible Children, Links To Audio and mike tikkanen speaking

. 0 Comments

I will be talking about my experiences as a CASA (guardian ad-Litem) child protection volunteer on an upcoming interview with Bill Murray & his Stop Child Abuse Now / Community Matters Radio Show http://naasca.org/index.html on December 12^th Monday Night 7pm Call in phone: 646-595-2118

More about the host & the radio show;

Part 1 of 3) On this episode of “Community Matters” Bill Murray, once a severely abused child, begins to publicly tell his life story for the first time. Now that his parents have died he feels free to do so. Mr. Murray, a long time recovering alcoholic and drug addict, hopes that revealing his past will help explain his passion for serving the community and improve his effectiveness on both the forum he’s founded here at LA Community Policing and the talk show he now hosts under its umbrella. On LACP’s “Community Matters” Bill advocates for members of society who are weak, vulnerable, innocent, socially outcast, abused, victims of crime, and the physically or mentally challenged. He often covers public safety topics such as domestic violence, child endangerment, missing people, homelessness, racism, victim’s rights, judicial reform and homeland security .. among many other things.

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Penn State, Child Rape, & Suicide— Child Sex Abuse Is Not Just Another Crime

Published

on November 14, 2011

http://www.invisiblechildren.org/2011/01/08/child-sex-abuse-the-most-powerful-suicide-note-ever/ Continue reading ‘Penn State, Child Rape, & Suicide— Child Sex Abuse Is Not Just Another Crime’

. 1 Comment

As a long time guardian ad-Litem I’ve encountered too many suicides and suicide attempts that are a direct result of child rape.

I have not read the suicide note written by the seven year old foster child that hung himself in Florida, but I have read the most powerful suicide note ever written by a person raped as a child and it is printed below. I have also had the experience of a acquaintance raped as a child confide in me (as the only person he ever told) what happened to him as a child and how it ruined his life until he sought therapy at 45 (he was over 70 when he told me & was still seeing the same therapist 25 years later).

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Fix Texas For Children; Remove Judge William Adams

Published

http://boingboing.net/2011/11/02/video-judge-beats-disabled-daughter-for-using-the-internet.html

on November 2, 2011

in Crime and Courts, Invisible Children and The States

. 10 Comments

U.S. states where children are worse off than if they lived in emerging nations.

Pass this on & support public advocacy for at risk children (they need your help).

Support KARA’s effort to stop punishing children; sponsor a conversation in your community (invite me to speak at your conference) / Buy our book or donate

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A Civil Rights Issue?

Published

on September 26, 2011

. 2 Comments

When I began as a guardian ad-Litem, a very young child in my caseload had been horribly burned when she was placed in a tub of scalding water by her 6 year old niece (the baby had very poopy diapers and was stinky).

The cold water pipe had frozen solid in the Minnesota winter & the landlord had turned the hot water heater to “scalding” to compensate for the absence of cold water.

My legally minded friend Bob Olson pointed out that if she were my child, an insurance claim would be made against the property owner & at least some justice might be served.

Bob gave me a name of a top attorney who I engaged to represent this girl. Within a year the attorney argued successfully in a mediation with the insurance company and awarded this child the top limit of the landlords insurance policy (the landlord had after all, allowed the cold water pipes to remain frozen solid that winter and caused burns that would leave the girl terribly scarred her whole life).

Today, this young lady has a college fund and is a little compensated for the burns that made her legs look like scales when she grew up in a crack house.

I expect that other very young children in child protection systems have been terribly injured with insurable claims that will never see the light of day because the crack mom don’t know & the caseworkers are not trained to see this as a solution.

It does not seem right to me that the only children to be compensated for their insurable childhood injuries should be those that come from healthy families. In fact, those that need it the most, don’t come from healthy families.

Bob can be helpful and reached at 651-690-3494

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World’s Best Foster Child Blog

Published

on September 11, 2011

in Invisible Children and Kids At Risk Action (KARA)

. 0 Comments

I found this foster child blog to be hard hitting, honest, and compelling.

I was a Foster Kid

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How Bad Is It?

Published

on September 10, 2011

Continue reading ‘How Bad Is It?’

. 3 Comments

Matthew Degner, 14, Found Dead In Squalid Chicago Home Among 200 Animals

During a presentation to 50 social workers I commented on how long children were enduring horrible abuse before being investigated & anything could be done to remove the children from the abuse.

People commented that it was even worse than I had described it. One social worker stated that there was such a high bar set for responding that by the time she and her colleagues were granted permission to investigate, most children have spent two to three years in terrifically abusive homes and were damaged for life.

Her advice to us was to report animal abuse because animal abuse gets investigated & when it is investigated, those people see things that can trigger a social worker saving a child.

This seemed pathetic to me at the time, but now I tell people how important it is.

We are now suffering through the worst abandonment of civic responsibility to American children in my lifetime. The child that died in the Chicago home above, is another powerful example of a hardening of our hearts and disregard for the weakest and most vulnerable among us.

Service providers are so over worked and under resourced that only the worst of the worst cases are being investigated. About one in three reports is investigated today where I live in Hennepin County MN.

When the 18 month old baby drowned in the Minneapolis bathtub after 14 police calls to the home, Star Tribune reporters called me to gather information on how this tragedy can happen. My related case had 49 calls to the home before the children were removed (a prostituted seven year old and her five year old sister).

Normally when a baby drowns or is found in a dumpster, social workers are blamed, much like teachers are blamed for failing students, or the police are blamed for “not caring enough” about my accident or rape.

The next time one of your friends complains about the indifferent police, problems in the courts, schools or social services, remind them that we the service providers are working harder than ever, with fewer resources, more children, and a growing feeling of abandonment.

The caseloads are so high, the morale is so low, and the failure to fund new programs and make small cost effective improvements because of budget restraints ensures that our failures and unhappiness can only grow until the demand for attention, understanding, and change is heard.

We are in this terrible place where children drown in bathtubs and die in cages for the same reason the 35W bridge collapsed and killed and injured 160 people. We think we’re saving money.

The economic reality is that maintenance of children and bridges pays. When we don’t spend the small money to save children, bridges, and our communities, we have to pay the big money instead.

Instead of saving the 5 million dollars to replace the gussets on the 35W bridge, we spent almost a Billion dollars to rebuild it (not counting the human suffering).

Instead of saving the relatively small amounts of money to make life bearable for abused and neglected children, we pay millions over their lifetime for chronic illness, the burden on schools, social workers, crime, preteen pregnancy, & prisons (not including the human suffering).

Convince yourself, your family, and your friends that not voting, or not voting for the party that supports programs that improve the lives of children is ruining young lives and destroying our community.

Don’t be confused by the fear mongering and political rhetoric. Every vote counts. Pass this article onto someone you think needs to see it.

Support KARA’s effort to stop punishing children; sponsor a conversation in your community (invite me to speak at your conference) / Buy our book or donate

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Child Sex Abuse & The Most Powerful Suicide Note Ever

Published

on January 8, 2011

Continue reading ‘Child Sex Abuse & The Most Powerful Suicide Note Ever’

. 11 Comments

Two of my friends have killed themselves this year and I want badly to know how to help others deal with suicidal thoughts and depression with more than psychotropic medications.

When I wrote INVISIBLE CHILDREN in 2005, a 70 year old friend asked me out to lunch. After the meal he explained how he told no one of his abuse at the hands of a priest when he was a twelve year old boy and how finally at 45, after 2 failed marriages and several failed business partnerships, he sought out a therapist.

He was still seeing that therapist 25 years later.

Of the children I’ve worked with as a guardian ad-Litem, a high percentage of them have been sexually abused. I have seen the horror of child sex abuse and how 10 or 25 years later, a troubled being still fighting the darkness every day.

Child sex abuse may be the most under-reported crime in America. It could also be the most under-treated horror in America. As a guardian ad-Litem, my first visit to a hospital suicide ward to visit a four year old girl that had been horribly abused was never made public, or when I worked with the seven year old that had been prostituted, or any of the family members that practiced child sex abuse.

There are successful sex abuse recovery programs, but our local governments and state agencies don’t support them in a large scale, and the under-reporting of abuse means most children do not receive the help they need. As these children age, the damage from abuse does not disappear – it is often magnified and becomes a serious behavioral problem.

The medical people at http://www.avahealth.org/ are working to make the discovery and treatment of child abuse a normal part of medical examinations (support them). This would be a big first step in identifying the scope and scale of the problem and making treatment available to those that need it.

This is the longest and most powerful and articulate suicide note I’ve ever read and it has great meaning to me for its power to relate these two incomprehensible sorrows (abuse & suicide).

I could not read Bill Zeller’s last letter without feeling the terror, physical and mental impediments, and daily reminders of his childhood nightmares, adult confusion and suicide.

From the Huffington Post;
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/07/bill-zeller-dead-princeto_n_805689.html

Support KARA’s effort to stop punishing children; sponsor a conversation in your community (invite me to speak at your conference) / Buy our book or donate

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Holiday Best Wishes To Everyone & a Great Foster Child Blog

Published

on December 12, 2010

Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/KidsAtRisk

. 0 Comments

It is really hard to be in a troubled home or the child protection system around the holidays.

The world feels unfriendly and uncaring at a time when others are joyful. It seems so unfair.

It may help to know that you are not alone & that people do care.

Part of the problem is that once we start believing people don’t care, we can behave in a manner that makes it harder for them to care.

Be very careful what you believe to be true.

There are many good people, the challenge is to believe in good people and find them.

Another big factor is that we are all more stressed this year, because of the added poverty from the recession and how this multiplies the problems of families, workers, and friends.

It is difficult to be thoughtful and kind when sadness and trouble are at our own door (but it is important to try).

My recommended blog of the day is written by a former foster child & I think it the best I have ever read (do send me other great foster blogs);
http://looneytunes09.wordpress.com/”>

Support KARA buy our book , send the ebook free to a friend, or donate

Become part of KARA’s email network by sending a request to join to;

amy.rostronledoux@yahoo.com

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How To Behave In A Failing System

Published

on December 7, 2010

. 1 Comment

As a volunteer guardian ad-Litem, I have spoken with too many frustrated social workers, CASA workers, educators, birth, foster, and adoptive parents that have experienced gaping holes in our child protection systems.

Overburdened workers are managing large numbers of very troubled children with minimal resources, educators coping with seriously damaged youth in classrooms without adequate training or skills, and parents that need crisis nurseries, available daycare, and mental health services for their troubled children are often left without any help.

These are the folks that have a hard time finding the time to call a state representative, congress person, or governor to explain that these Invisible Children will soon be visibly troubled youth that will blossom into dysfunctional adults if we continue to avoid the obvious holes in our institutions.

They need our help.

For years now I have tried through the CASA guardian ad-Litem program, speaking, and writing to bring information to a larger audience hoping that every mind enlightened would benefit an at risk child somewhere.

Feel free to download (FOR FREE) and email my ebook INVISIBILE CHILDREN to people in your network.

Share your ideas in the comment section for helping to identify and address the most glaring problems facing abused and neglected children.

Support KARA buy our book or donate

Become part of KARA’s email network by sending a request to join to;

amy.rostronledoux@yahoo.com

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A Great Rally for Children In MN (Thanks Amy)

Published

on October 19, 2010

in Invisible Children and KARA Events

. 0 Comments

On Sunday October 10, 2010, 5 wonderful KARA volunteers joined roughly 1000 others at the State Capitol for a March and Rally for Children and Youth. Dubbed 10-10-10, the first of its kind event organized by the young leaders of the Children’s Defense Fund and dozens of local, partnering organizations, was a whopping success!

Attendees were able to fill their bags with worthwhile literature, bumper stickers and activities and fill their minds with the wisdom and insight of speakers such as Garrison Keillor, Peg Chamberlain and Marion Wright Edelman. Following the rally, those in attendance were asked to fill out commitment cards stating that they will do their part to assure that ALL Minnesota children are given a fair start in life by informing law makers and holding them accountable for the decisions they make on behalf of children.

The event was conceptualized by a gentleman from North Minneapolis. Four years ago, Darrel Young brought his brother to the Twin Cities from Chicago. Intending to give him a better life than what he could find in Chicago, Darrel quickly became dismayed when his brother was slain just 4 doors down from his home on the streets of North Minneapolis. His 17 year old brother was walking home to his brother’s house when he was shot and killed. The next day in the paper, the headline merely read “Number 37″ because Darrel’s brother was the 37th homicide in Minneapolis in 2006.

As a result of this event, Darrel pledged to honor his brother by being a stronger influence in the lives of young people. He began working with the youth leaders of YALT, Youth Advocacy Leadership Training, at the Children’s Defense Fund and the vision of the 10-10-10 Rally and March came into fruition. The youth created, planned, organized and led the March and Rally every step of the way; they will even continue the momentum by speaking at congregations and working with the 2011 legislature to pass into law issues that are of importance in the lives of children and youth.

Visitors to the KARA booth were able to watch a video slideshow produced by KARA, sign up to be on our email list and wear a bracelet displaying a fact about children that they were challenged to share with three other people before going to bed that night. The shocking facts stated on the six different bracelets included:

* Foster children are twice as likely as war veterans to develop PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder);
* 25% of U.S. youth in the Juvenile Justice System are tried as adults;
* 50-75% of U.S. youth in the Juvenile Justice System have a diagnosable mental illness;
* 25% of high school graduates in the United States are illiterate;
* Most states are growing prison spending much faster than higher education spending;
* firearms deaths of children in the U.S. are more than 10 times higher than all the other industrialized nations combined.

Attendees were also given a copy of Mike Tikkanens’s book, Invisible Children with a KARA bookmark that read:

Each day in America:

– 4000 children are arrested

-30 children die of gunshot wounds

– 4 children are killed by their parents

- 15,000 children are beaten, molested, neglected or watch their mother being beaten or raped

Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/KidsAtRisk

Support KARA buy our book or donate

Become part of KARA’s email network by sending a request to join to;

amy.rostronledoux@yahoo.com

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Quality Of Life

Published

on September 12, 2010

Wow. One in ten American children are living with their grandparents.

. 2 Comments

Here are a few grandparent stories from my CASA cases a few years ago;

Grandma told me that “when that child is 18, I will be 88 years old”. She had adopted four tragically abused grandchildren, the youngest was a Quadriplegic.

My heart was heavy with just how much physical and mental energy raising these very troubled children were going to be for this dedicated grandmother. What strength it took this dear sweet person to make this giant commitment.

Another example of extreme courage by a grandparent came a few years later when after 49 police calls to a home, the two girls were finally removed from their violent drug using home because the 7 year old tried to kill the 5 year old in front of the police officer.

I believe that the 7 year old had been prostituted.

Grandma stepped in and adopted her grandchildren accepting all the difficulties that go along with raising terrifically abused children.

There is little that comes easier for a sixty or seventy year old person when it comes to raising children.

The physical and mental demands made on grandparents by their younger charges are tremendous.

From the bottom of my heart, Thank You.

From the rest of us, let’s see to it that they and the children they care for, get adequate help from our communities to make their tasks a little easier and more successful.

Happy Grandparents Day in advance.

Send us stories and information about how your community supports grandparents in these circumstances.

Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/KidsAtRisk

Support KARA buy our book or donate

Become part of KARA’s email network by sending a request to join to;

amy.rostronledoux@yahoo.com

Continue reading ‘Quality Of Life’

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The Evolution of CASA volunteering

Published

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jul/22/volunteers-act-parents-foster-children-never-had/

on July 24, 2010

in Invisible Children and Links To Helpful Orgs

. 3 Comments

When I began as a CASA volunteer there were not many sanctioned ways to help the struggling children I was working with. Many restrictions applied (children were not allowed in my car, no hamburgers, no toys, etc).

I understood the liability issues but could not abide by so many fearful regulations and did generally what seemed like the right thing to do for the very unhappy and disoriented child in my caseload.

Today I see more and more CASA programs thinking outside the box and providing ways for their volunteers to get more involved with the youth they serve as this Voices For Children Program in California demonstrates

Looking back at the overly stressed child protection system I volunteered in, children need a consistent caring adult in their lives.

For several of the children in my caseloads, I was that person as the other adults (social workers, foster parents, educators and health care people people) came and went over the years.

As economic chaos continues to shrink nonprofit & community resources for abused and neglected children, the need for CASA volunteers, staff, and directors to build successful programs that can put a consistent caring adult into the life of the children they serve is ever greater.

CASA is most often the only voice a child has once in our overburdened court system. The program is perfect for discovering people that want to help children. Do you support the CASA program in your community?

Many new and useful possibilities are being provided to children caught up in the child protection system as organizations like CASA to fill these needs.

Often, the CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) is the only consistent adult in the child’s life and can make a world of difference just by being there.

CASA Minnesota
CASA National

Voices4children.com
CASA volunteers are making a huge difference in the lives of abused children. Tell your friends.
Continue reading ‘The Evolution of CASA volunteering’

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Citizen Review Panels Advocating For Abused & Neglected Children

Published

http://www.ldnews.com/news/ci_15513594

on July 17, 2010

in Invisible Children, Politics and Funding and Public Policy

. 0 Comments

The article below outlines a positive approach to educating a public and service providers to what is working and what needs improvement to insure a better practices approach to serving the needs of abused and neglected children in your community.

Getting more people involved in gathering and disseminating information about the issues of child abuse and what can and should be done to protect and serve vulnerable children has to be a good thing.

After many years as a volunteer guardian ad Litem it is clear to me that most folks don’t have a very good concept of the needs of abused and neglected children. It is also obvious that abused and neglected children are not being well served in our nation today.

Too many of them do not receive the help they need and are going lead dysfunctional lives. They hurt themselves and the community they live in.

Supporting positive change for the hardworking people that do the work to improve the lives of abused and neglected children and appreciating that results will always be a product of effort and an efficient application of resources is sound policy.

The focus must remain on improving the quality of services to children, and not politics and name calling.

This process can add accountability and provide a positive source of insight and overview of the complex system of children, courts, foster and adoptive parents, and service providers.

The downside is that if the panel is not well constructed and well managed, it can become a negative force of unsupportive, nonconstructive people that will not help build a more effective child protection system in your community. Be certain to bring only positive well meaning people that care about the needs of children on to your panel.

Support KARA buy our book or donate

Become part of KARA’s email network by sending a request to join to;

amy.rostronledoux@yahoo.com

Continue reading ‘Citizen Review Panels Advocating For Abused & Neglected Children’

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Tip Of The Iceberg; Abused Children Dying Due To County Backlogs

Published

on June 30, 2010

Continue reading ‘Tip Of The Iceberg; Abused Children Dying Due To County Backlogs’

. 0 Comments

The Los Angeles Times article below points out the tragic preventable death of 2 year old little Joseph due to a backlog of 12,000 cases. There are not enough social workers to visit the families. The public outrage leads to blaming social workers when we should be looking at ourselves.

Blaming social workers for murdered babies is like blaming the police for who rides in the squad car and it won’t solve anything. Until the caseloads become more reasonable and the departments get the resources they need to improve the lives of the children they visit, the suffering and death of innocent children will continue to rise.

It is a terrible indictment of our society (what is it we value?)

What frightens me most about this story is the counties move to hide information about the continued death and abuse of children in the county system. Their argument is that it puts the family on trial and brings terrible publicity to the department.

The counter to this is that until the public and policymakers understand the numbers, the suffering, and the hopelessness these families are living in, the cycle will continue to expand generation after generation as it has for about fifty years. Change will not come without awareness of the need for change.

The topic is uncomfortable so we avoid it.

The truth makes us look bad so we hide the information.

Child sex abuse, neglect, and violence against children in this nation have grown exponentially and by not reporting this bad news we are only delaying the reckoning that we must face (and helpless children are dying because of the hiding and underreporting of information). Get the real information from the medical community; www.avahealth.org

A Minneapolis baby suffered the exact same type of bathtub drowning death last year after 14 calls to child protection. I was called by the Minneapolis Star Tribune reporters who were surprised when I told them that as a volunteer CASA guardian ad Litem one of my cases had 49 police calls to a home before the children were removed from the home (and then, only because the seven year old tried to kill the five year old in the presence of the police).

Abused and neglected children have no voice but the social workers and police that visit their homes. When a worker has a monstrous caseload, babies die and children suffer. Abused children suffer their traumas for life and communities bear that cost in the courts, schools, and unsafe communities that result from their double abandonment.

We have money for wars, big stadiums, and even in times of economic downturns we afford what is important to maintain our lifestyle.

Funding programs for abused and neglected children is the very least we can do to assert ourselves as a civilized people.

Support KARA buy our book or donate

Become part of KARA’s email network by sending a request to join to;

amy.rostronledoux@yahoo.com

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The State of Child Welfare

Published

This severely disabled child was turned away from the Lake City Medical Center after being alerted by social workers of his urgent need of medical care;he was sent home with a note (where he had just come from).

on June 18, 2010

in Invisible Children and Politics and Funding

. 0 Comments

The boy suffered from severe malnutrition, starvation, open lesions, bedsores and uncontrolled seizures. In school when he was examined, he could not walk or feed himself and he lay on a cot in the fetal position. http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/96573529.html Thank you Paul Walsh for reporting on this important community event and writing a strong article. Please follow up and let us know how the story ends.

The story caught my eye because it similar to what happened to a child in my guardian ad-Litem caseload except that my young friend got immediate relief from a toxic environment when the care provider quickly determined that this condition must be investigated.

Starved, beaten, tied to a bed and sexually abused, my seven year old needed an advocate. The damage lasts for a lifetime. Nothing makes it disappear. Catching and treating horrific abuse early allows a greater chance at recovery.

The only voice a young child has when being terribly abused is a teacher, a social worker, a medical person or some other caring adult.

Children have no voice of their own. They can’t understand what is happening to them and they often don’t know it is wrong.

They only know that it is their own life and that it hurts.

That terribly abused children can be turned away from hospitals and sent directly back into an abusive home speaks volumes about our community.

Today 2/3 of child abuse calls are being screened out of child protection in Hennepin County. The national average is 1/3.

Yes, I agree that providing more services to people that are screened out is a positive approach (the argument for the greater number of screened out calls). My experience has been that the system is overwhelmed and underfunded, and this young boy may be out of the home, but what about others like him that go unreported or untreated?

How do you think the hospital in your community would handle such a case?

I know people that refuse to believe that the abuse being reported could possibly be occurring (especially the sexual abuse of very young children).

There are three million cases of child abuse reported in this nation each year (when we count them).

Let’s implement procedures to make sure that this sort of error is minimized. “What you do to your children, they will do to your society”. Pliny 2500 years ago

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Continue reading ‘The State of Child Welfare’

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What Happened To Portia?

Published

on June 9, 2010

in Invisible Children, Occasional Authors and Public Policy

. 0 Comments

I’ve known the author of the following article for a long time and only now heard her story. It is a very sad story that happens when service providers are overworked, undertrained, and as you will read, unable to rise to their complicated tasks.

In defense of the profession, in the twelve years I worked as a guardian ad-Litem, this story did not happen to me. The social workers I was engaged with were truly committed and in this line of work because they loved kids and wanted to make a difference in their community. Social work is a calling (being a nanny pays way better and is much easier).

It is my belief that people want to do their work well, especially when it involves the welfare of abandoned, helpless children. This story does not reflect that.

When a person fails to complete a simple task, and a tragedy occurs, we (the system/management) should find the problem and insure that it can’t happen again.

The problem lies it a system that is not well designed to see to the well being of the children it is meant to serve. This system is being undermined by our current economic chaos, and children are suffering.

There needs to be accountability and a greater responsiveness built into our child protection system. This will not happen without public support and more resources.

Not valuing children reflects badly on our society and it is beginning to show.

If children were as important as expensive business machines, the doctor would have had the authority to save this child’s life (or some other fail safe process would have been in place.

KARA supports more training, better resources, and greater attention to the needs of social workers, teachers, and service providers to at risk children, because it is difficult work.

This unfortunately cannot change what happened to Portia. Continue reading ‘What Happened To Portia?’

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Can’t Make This Stuff Up

Published

Continue reading ‘Can’t Make This Stuff Up’

on June 1, 2010

in Invisible Children, Politics and Funding, Public Policy and The States

. 0 Comments

An article appearing in the Star Tribune May 29th by Seema Jilani (Houston Pediatric physician) points out the stunning impact that the economic chaos and anti tax sentiment are having on the abused and neglected children that I came to know as a volunteer guardian ad-Litem.

It is painful to know that children who come from trauma and abuse, are now finding fewer services, more burdened staff, less resources, and inevitably, less chance of finding help in many communities.

Seema points out that a Hawaii program that had serviced 4000 families now services 100, South Carolina now has caseload ratios as high as 60 to 1 in some regions & that nearly half of the abused children murdered in Texas have been investigated by Child Protective Services.

I did know most of the financial problems facing the people and programs created to help abused and neglected children. I also know that eliminating those programs will not save communities any money*.

I did not know that children raised in families with incomes under $15,000 are 22 times more likely to to be abused and I am well aware of the dismal standing of certain states when it comes to how they treat children.

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Mad At The Wrong People (throwing baby out with bathwater again)

Published

on May 22, 2010

. 4 Comments

I hear mean things said about foster & adoptive parents, social workers, educators, and guardian ad-Litems too often.

Many people involved in child protection are receiving unfair treatment. This is why I became a guardian – a friend’s adoption problems prompted me to act). Now, as funding drys up and services are restricted or eliminated, results are worsening and more and more people are being mistreated by service providers.

It is easy to blame the teachers, social workers, and guardians ad-litem and argue for the dissolution of the system when we are mistreated by it.

How simple the solution; fire them all, kill the programs, and everything will be improved.

After working with service providers over a twelve year period as a volunteer guardian ad-litem, and knowing how impossible their tasks are, with the training they receive (and don’t receive), the resources they have (and don’t have) and the overwhelming amount of work they are burdened with each day, I know that the rest of us are missing a VERY BIG point.

America’s institutions need support and improvement and not destructive criticism*.

It is because programs are underfunded and and under-supported that training and standards are lower than they should be, which puts under-trained and under-qualified people into high stress positions without adequate training or tools to do the work.

NO, it is we the people that have voted to underfund our schools and social programs (and 35W bridge maintenance) that have created the painful failure we are living with today. The bridge fell in the river for the same reason our schools, jails, and child protection systems are struggling so mightily-we failed to maintain it.

It’s not the lack of commitment from the people that go to work every day trying hard to make a difference in their community and the lives of the children in their classrooms or caseloads (I’m really convinced of this).

It is America’s inability to face the fact that we have created monster problems that will continue to worsen until we support solutions that will fix them (and not just hate on the people doing the work).

Over my twelve twelve years in the system, I have found the teachers, social workers, and guardians, to be a very committed bunch of people. It is hard work and they are attacked from most sectors (troubled parents, the public, the media, and not much support back at the office). Art teachers have wept as they have told me their stories. Social workers on the east and west coast have it really hard when it comes to bad press and not much help back at the office (from comments made to me after the United Nations talk and my research).

I have experienced and written about the huge mistakes made and the great pain to all involved because of our failing institutions, but to listen to people demanding the destruction of the guardian ad-litem program instead of improving it, would leave children with absolutely no voice in an already cold and overwhelming system.

Foster and adoptive parents face a complicated system with unpredictable results due to the institutions we continue to band aid together to cope with the growing problems we are facing. The people I’ve met are sincere, many of them poor and trying to help children and their community with very limited resources and very troubled children. Many communities are barely able to make life tolerable for foster children. This may explain the recent statistic that 80% of youth aging out of foster care are leading dysfunctional lives.

To blame social workers when a baby is found in a dumpster is wrong. The case loads the American public demands social workers carry and the scarce resources that are available for struggling families and children explains why the vast majority of violent crime committed by youth came out of under 4% of Ramsey county family (A.C.E. study) and 90 percent of the youth in juvenile justice have come through the child protection system (according to former Supreme Court Chief Justice Kathleen Blatz). It also explains why American girls have among the highest STD and preteen pregnancy rates in the world.

Blaming Teachers for failed schools in like holding police officers accountable for the criminal in the squad car. Until children are ready to learn, we are making educators managers of out of control children, not teachers. The amount of Prozac, Ritalin, and other psychotropic medications proscribed to American youth (without therapy) is astronomical. Teachers would be astounded if they knew the data.

It is up to us who are working for positive change that we recognize who are friends are and quit throwing rocks at them.

Here are some positive suggestions, please add more through the comment section; Continue reading ‘Mad At The Wrong People (throwing baby out with bathwater again)’

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http://www.orphantrainridersofminnesota.com/

Published

on May 6, 2010

. 1 Comment

Minnesota Orphan Train Riders of New York

Minnesota became the first state to host an official gathering of its orphan train riders and their families with an event that took place on July 1, 1961 with nine attendees. This event was organized by two women who discovered later in life that they had ridden the same orphan train to Minnesota as young children. This fall the Minnesota Orphan Train Riders of New York, the official Minnesota orphan train riders organization, will celebrate its 50th reunion, honoring the 11 surviving Minnesota riders and recognizing the many thousands of others who arrived in Minnesota during the Orphan Train Era. Adoptees Have Answers will also celebrate these amazing nonagenarians on Saturday, June 19, 2010, from 2:00 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Minnesota History Center (cosponsor). For more information about the event, contact Anne Johnson at 612-746-5122 or ajohnson@mnadopt.org
Continue reading ‘http://www.orphantrainridersofminnesota.com/’

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Invisible Children Audiobook & ebook Without Charge

Published

http://www.invisiblechildren.org/our-book/

on May 4, 2010

in Invisible Children, Links To Audio and Mike Tikkanen

. 2 Comments

Invisible Children (The American Cycle Of Abuse & Its Cost) Free ebook & audiobook

An informative & compelling look at the shameful treatment of vulnerable children, how it impacts our communities, and what we can do about it.

Listen, Read. Pass it on (a great gift).

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What Have We Come To?

Published

on March 23, 2010

in Invisible Children, Politics and Funding and Public Policy

. 0 Comments

The following article http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2010-02-23/news/bal-md.bowman23feb23_1_adoption-agency-girls-killing from the Baltimore Sun froze the blood in my arteries and brought my attention to the critical importance of funding child protection services in our communities.

Money losing newspapers are hard pressed to assign reporters to these tragic stories. As a guardian ad-Litem, I had a case with 49 police calls to a home before the children were removed (& only because the seven year old attempted to kill the five year old in front of the officer). I believe that the seven year old had been prostituted.

How can our community stand by without demanding change as three and five year old children are tortured and murdered and our overworked and underfunded social workers and institutions provide no safe place for abused youth to hide?

What follows are the sad stories of the Maryland girls, and several other tragedies that I have followed recently.
Continue reading ‘What Have We Come To?’

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Burn Injuries Make Up 10 % of All Child Abuse Cases

Published

on March 20, 2010

http://www.ncjrs.gov/txtfiles/91190.txt

. 3 Comments

This government study shows the frequency of children, most under two, almost all under ten, that are deliberately burned by their caregivers. It is striking in that it gives clear definition & how to interpret a child’s burns.

This is perhaps a more technical/professional piece than is usually found here, but I think it is important and might serve as reference to people you know in the social service or medical fields.

It explains how to distinguish between accidental burns and deliberate burns. I found it to be a complete and important investigation of this serious and not often discussed type of abuse.

One of my first cases was a baby in a very dysfunctional home that had been terribly scalded in a bathtub. The skin on the bottom half of her body had suffered third degree burns in a bathtub of 161 degree water. A very painful experience for the baby that would be with her for her life (her legs and bottom would be scarred forever).

The only positive was in this sad case was a firm that specialized in burns that recovered substantial damages for the child against the landlord that had ignored frozen cold water pipes and turned the hot water heater to a scalding temperature.

Link to the complete Worksheet;

Continue reading ‘Burn Injuries Make Up 10 % of All Child Abuse Cases’

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A Very Critical Look At Foster Care

Published

on February 28, 2010

Each state must look hard at the outcomes it wants to achieve. Recent studies show that 80% of children aging out of foster care are leading dysfunctional lives

. 20 Comments

The following synopsis of under-resourced foster care systems is taken from the superior reporting on the Grandparents Blog; SUNDAY,

FEBRUARY 21, 2010

A Critical Look At The Foster Care System:How Widespread a Problem?

A Critical Look At The Foster Care System:
How Widespread a Problem?
http://unhappygrammy-grandparentsblog.blogspot.com/

A New York University Survey determined that over 28% of the children in foster care had been abused while in the system. The cases noted were frightening. Louisiana a study indicated that 21% of abuse and neglect cases involved foster homes. Hundreds of Louisiana foster children were shipped to Texas.

Stephen Berzon of the Children’s Defense Fund explained the shocking findings of the court before a Congressional subcommitte, saying: “children were physically abused, handcuffed, beaten, chained, and tied up, kept in cages, and overdrugged with psychotropic medication for institutional convenience.”

The rest of this report is terrifying. Many states have decades long histories of ignoring the physical violence and overt sexual abuse of very young children. This report names names, dates, and places.

California paid $18 million to children that were abused while in its custody. This is a frightening story.

I agree with Children’s Rights Project attorney Marcia Robinson Lowry: “There are a lot of injuries, a lot of abuse. The most significant thing is the psychological death of so many of these kids. Kids are being destroyed every day, destroyed by a government-funded system set out to help them.”

There is an institutional violence done to children when the system is too busy, too under-trained, or under-resourced to include family members.
Continue reading ‘A Very Critical Look At Foster Care’

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CASA Comments On This May Not Be The Case

Published

on February 14, 2010

in Invisible Children and Politics and Funding

. 0 Comments

My February 4th post was in response to the federal study showing a substantial decline in child abuse. Here are comments and follow up from CASA guardian ad-Litem web conversations; Continue reading ‘CASA Comments On This May Not Be The Case’

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More Volunteers Needed For Children In Court System

Published

http://www.casaforchildren.org/site/c.mtJSJ7MPIsE/b.5301295/k.BE9A/Home.htm

on February 9, 2010

in Guardian ad-Litem and Invisible Children

. 0 Comments

Abused and Neglected children have suffered from extended exposure to violence and deprivation before they are removed from their homes and placed in child protective services.

Children need and deserve a voice in the system that rules their lives. Their only chance of having that voice is if there is a guardian ad-Litem speaking for them in child protection.

There are CASA (guardian ad-Litem) offices near you. If you have a friend that would like to be a volunteer voice & help a child send this to them;

This article out of Florida captures my sentiment well;

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2010/feb/03/more-volunteers-needed-children-court-system/

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Click here to join our Linked in online discussion about at risk children

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=2468497&trk=anet_ug_hm

Become part of our email network by sending a request to join to; amy.rostronledoux@yahoo.com

Continue reading ‘More Volunteers Needed For Children In Court System’

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Be A Part of Reforming America’s Child Protection System

Published

on February 3, 2010

in Invisible Children and Links To Helpful Orgs

. 0 Comments

Child Welfare League of America is devoted entirely to the well-being of America’s vulnerable children.

Listen, Talk, Learn;

Their program broadcasts on the Internet every Wednesday, 2:00-2:30 pm ET. The call-in number is 347/326-9411. Visit www.blogtalkradio.com/CWLA-Radio.

On the Line with CWLA is a thought-provoking, interactive, live Internet radio program focusing on subjects, stories, and strategies of special interest to child welfare policymakers, providers, and practitioners. The program, devoted solely to discussions about the welfare of America’s vulnerable children, features a forum where numerous points of view and voices of experience within the child welfare universe can be heard.

The live program, hosted by CWLA Vice President for Policy and Public Affairs Linda Spears, is a production of CWLA that will provide a platform for CWLA member organizations, their staffs, its partners, and concerned citizens in the national community to share ideas and thoughts about critical issues that affect child welfare agencies, vulnerable children and teens, and their families.

The weekly subject-oriented, solutions-driven program broadcasts online at www.blogtalkradio.com/CWLA-Radio, Wednesdays, 2:00-2:30 pm ET and feature indepth, timely discussions with leading child welfare experts, agents, and advocates; leadership and representatives from CWLA’s member agencies; and local and national political figures working to improve child welfare and give a voice to child welfare professionals, providers, and practitioners nationwide.

On the Line with CWLA is a production of the CWLA, Arlington Virginia

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20% of Western Australia Child Abuse is Sex Abuse

Published

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/wa-has-worst-rate-of-child-abuse-report/story-e6frg13u-1225822209261 Continue reading ’20% of Western Australia Child Abuse is Sex Abuse’

on February 1, 2010

in International Child Abuse and Invisible Children

. 0 Comments

As a long time guardian ad-Litem, it always appeared that sex abuse was minimized or under-reported in the child abuse cases I worked on. Uncomfortable to to talk about and often difficult to prove.

The impact of sex abuse on children lasts for ever as is well documented by the medical community www.avahealth.org (watch the videos on this site, the The Relationship of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE’s) to Adult Health Status at the bottom of the home page is terrific).

This article about sex abuse of children in Australia’s child protection system makes me wonder if their reporting is just more honest than ours, or if they really do see more of it.

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Voices For Children Foundation Announces Their 2010 Be A Voice Feel the Magic Gala with Special Cirque Du Soleil Performers

Published

Continue reading ‘Voices For Children Foundation Announces Their 2010 Be A Voice Feel the Magic Gala with Special Cirque Du Soleil Performers’

on January 29, 2010

in Guardian ad-Litem, Invisible Children, Links To Helpful Orgs and Public Policy

. 0 Comments

This very determined organization ensures that every abused, abandoned, and neglected child in their county has a court appointed guardian Ad Litem to represent their best interests.

Every county in every state needs to know about the guardian Ad Litem program and how it helps at risk children through the difficult system of child protection services.

It is to all our benefit when children thrive in our communities. Children can only thrive if they are given a fair chance to thrive.

Without court appointed guardians, abused and neglected children are voiceless in our communities. For the CASA guardian ad litem program in your state, http://www.nationalcasa.org/, for Florida; www.casa-stpete.org/, for CASA Minnesota http://www.casamn.org/

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How Americans Respond To Child Abuse

Published

on January 28, 2010

in Invisible Children, Kids At Risk Action (KARA) and Public Policy

. 0 Comments

This organization Childabuse.com goes a long way in measuring the attitudes and understanding this nation has towards child abuse and why public policy has lagged so far behind the reality. The more we know, the better our policies and programs;

Fifty percent of Americans do nothing when they witness abuse

New Study by Prevent Child Abuse America Reveals Alarming Trends in How Americans Respond to Child Abuse

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Three in ten Americans have witnessed an adult physically abuse a child and two in three Americans have seen an adult emotionally abuse a child (see table 1). Yet nearly half of these Americans failed to respond to the incident, according to a study released today by Prevent Child Abuse America, formerly the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse. Continue reading ‘How Americans Respond To Child Abuse’

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Connect for Kids Child Advocacy 360

Published

on January 26, 2010

http://www.connectforkids.org/newsletters/update

. 0 Comments

This Connect For Kids website has terrific coverage of children’s issues. Here are a few of their current stories;

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/10/community_schools.html

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Crimes Against Children Study New Hampshire University:

Published

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/124/5/1411 Continue reading ‘Crimes Against Children Study New Hampshire University:’

on January 24, 2010

in Crime and Courts and Invisible Children

. 0 Comments

In a study of Crimes Against Children, the University of New Hampshire found that the majority (60.6%) of children had experienced at least 1 direct or witnessed victimization in the previous year.

Almost half (46.3%) had experienced a physical assault in the study year, 1 in 4 (24.6%) had experienced a property offense, 1 in 10 (10.2%) had experienced a form of child maltreatment, 6.1% had experienced a sexual victimization, and more than 1 in 4 (25.3%) had been a witness to violence or experienced another form of indirect victimization in the year, including 9.8% who had witnessed an intrafamily assault.

One in 10 (10.2%) had experienced a victimization-related injury. More than one third (38.7%) had been exposed to 2 or more direct victimizations, 10.9% had 5 or more, and 2.4% had 10 or more during the study year.

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A Program Worth Repeating

Published

Continue reading ‘A Program Worth Repeating’

on January 23, 2010

in Invisible Children and The States

. 0 Comments

Every state releases youth that are troubled and without the skills or resources to cope in the community. Nationally, up to 80% of the 15,000 youth aging out of foster care each year are leading dysfunctional lives.

Few states think through the consequences when youth do not meld into the community to become healthy and productive citizens. Here’s one great example, this program Katz said is successful: 61 percent of the women have high school diplomas or GEDs, 97 percent are enrolled in school and 60 percent have found part-time work or are in school full-time.; http://www.miamiherald.com/492/story/1398131.htmlMiami-Dade nonprofit offers affordable housing to women aging out of foster care.

BY JONATHAN DAVILA

JDAVILA@MIAMIHERALD.COM
In Miami-Dade County, more than 130 girls become too old for foster-care eligibility every year, according to a study by Our Kids, a Florida-based nonprofit.

They’re given a monthly stipend of about $1,135 by the county and are required to attend school to keep receiving it.

“I was living paycheck to paycheck. It was kind of crazy,” said Rachel Johnson, a 25-year-old former foster child who aged out of the system at 18.

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America’s Science Phobia Ravages Children

Published

on December 29, 2009

in David Strand, Invisible Children and Public Policy

. 3 Comments

David Strand, Columnist

Human development labored for centuries in a struggle between early science and ancient superstition. Superstition won many battles, typified by religious leaders who forced Galileo to recant his belief that the earth revolved the sun instead of the opposite. Eventually his beliefs were vindicated and one noted contemporary scientist Stephen Hawking says, “Galileo was responsible for the birth of modern science.” That doesn’t mean that superstition no longer affects human attitudes about science. It does.

No nation is equal to the United States in scientific achievement. Its universities are prodigious engines of research, its scientists unmatched in capturing Nobel prizes, and its corporations are leaders in communications, biology, computer and medical advances. The bad news for American kids is that they live in a nation that neglects to apply many basic social science truths for its most vulnerable citizens. The child and family principles that have been discovered to work by American researchers find their routine implementation in other countries, but tragically, not here. It’s a reality that is devastating for America’s future, its children.

It starts with the unborn. Every other developed country provides universal pre-natal care for expecting moms. This is an essential human decency practice in order to prevent unnecessary infant mortality. As a result, the United States is a shameful 36th in the world, with death rates for its tiniest citizens double what is achieved in northern Europe, where along with Japan, infant mortality is the lowest.

If we just had only the average rate of Europe, more than 10,000 kids would be saved each year. This isn’t rocket science. It is simply implementing what is fundamental and right; provide moms and the babies they carry with preventative health proven essential for successful births.

Next comes the adjustment to life for the healthy newborns. Mountains of brain development research, much of it generated by U.S. scientists, prove that the most important year is the baby’s first. Every modern nation in the world except one, provides universal maternity leave for working parents so that their babies get the best possible start in life. In northern Europe this means both moms and dads can stay home from work for a year or more, and have incomes supplemented and their jobs held for their return.
Continue reading ‘America’s Science Phobia Ravages Children’

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Minnesota Matters Radio Show Link

Published

http://www.am950ktnf.com/files/archive/Minnesota%20Matters%20121809.mp3

on December 22, 2009

in Invisible Children and KARA Events

. 0 Comments

The interviewers, Dusty Trice & Tommy Johnson asked many good questions.

The first fifteen minutes are the hosts talking, you can move the cursor through (about 1/2 an inch) to get right to the interview).

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America’s Families (From Grief Speaks)

Published

on December 13, 2009

. 1 Comment

I was quite taken by the information on Lisa Athan’s blog, Grief Speaks;http://www.griefspeaks.com/American children;

1 in 2 will live in a single parent family at some point in childhood
1 in 3 is born to unmarried parents
1 in 4 lives with only one parent
1 in 8 is born to a teenage mother
1 in 25 lives with neither parent

68.7% of American Youth are living in non-traditional families

23.3% living with biological mother (Step-family Association)

4.4% living with biological father (Step-family Association)
1% Foster Families (U.S. Census Bureau)

3.7% living with non-relatives (U.S. Census Bureau)

6.3% living with grandparents (AARP – U.S. Census Bureau)

30% living in Step-families ** (Step-family Association)
(Note: This does not include youth impacted by the death of a loved person such as a sibling or grandparent.)

Approximately 30% of U.S. families are now being headed by a single parent, and in 80% of those families, the mother is the sole parent.

The United States is the world’s leader in fatherless families.Father absence contributes to crime and delinquency. Violent criminals are overwhelmingly males who grew up without fathers.

Slightly more than 40% of all current marriages are second or third marriages. (U.S. Census Bureau, 1992)

75% of children/adolescents in chemical dependency hospitals are from single-parent families. (Center for Disease Control, Atlanta, GA)

1 out of 5 children have a learning, emotional, or behavioral problem due to the family system changing.

More than one half of all youths incarcerated for criminal acts lived in one-parent families when they were children. (Children’s Defense Fund)

Nine million American children face risk factors that may hinder their ability to become healthy and productive adults.

One in seven children deal with at least four of the risk factors, which include growing up in a single-parent household…The survey also indicated that children confronting several risk factors are more likely to experience problems with concentration, communication, and health. (1999 Kids Count Survey – Annie E. Casey Foundation)

Every 78 seconds a teen attempts suicide – every 90 seconds they succeed. (National Center for Health Statistics)

63% of suicides are individuals from single parent families (FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin – Investigative Aid)…

75% of teenage pregnancies are adolescents from single parent homes

Approximately 13% of all babies born in the U.S. are born to adolescent mothers, with one million teens becoming pregnant each year.

Continue reading ‘America’s Families (From Grief Speaks)’

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Cut Off A Nose to Spite A Child’s Face

Published

on November 22, 2009

in Invisible Children and Politics and Funding

. 0 Comments

12 years working in child protection proved to me how precious those caring people are that adopt at risk children. I would single out among them, folks who have the courage and integrity to adopt teenagers.

Older children are not as cute and cuddly as babies and toddlers and teenagers come with more severe and obvious issues.

Older youth in child protection systems have a difficult time finding families to adopt them. It would make sense that anything our community could do to facilitate their adoption into loving families would be the right thing to do for the child and the community.

What good comes from the Catholic Church taking such a mean position?

In 2006, Boston’s archbishop, Sean P. O’Malley, said that Catholic Charities there would stop its adoption-related work rather than comply with a state law requiring that gay men and lesbians be allowed to adopt children.

And today in the New York Times;

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/13/us/13marriage.html
when children’s lives are literally at stake?

Officials from the archdiocese said they feared the law might require them to extend employee benefits to same-sex married couples. As a result, they said, the archdiocese would have to abandon its contracts with the city if the law passed.

Abandoning the poor children of Washington DC if the gay marriage bill passes lacks compassion and is everything the Catholic Church does not stand for.

Many of the issues abused and neglected children suffer from are similar to the issues of gays and lesbians. In my experience, abandoned children connect well with adoptive parents from this community.

I have experienced positive adoptions and long term foster care families that might not have happened otherwise if gay and lesbian couples had not stepped forward to speak for an abandoned child.

There is enough pain, poverty, and suffering in our inner cities without religious institutions threatening to heap on more. This threat is over the top and needs to be retracted.

No one wins.

This is one more example of the great need for KARA’s grassroots effort to raise awareness to the needs of America’s at risk children.

Until that happens, children, schools, families and communities, will continue to suffer.

It is a bigger step to convince people that healthy children become healthy citizens, but it is true.

Support at risk children! Become a CASA volunteer or start a KARA group in your community.

Have something to add? Attach a comment to this blog post or Contact Us to tell us your point of view or story.

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Epidemic

Published

on September 20, 2009

in Guardian ad-Litem, Invisible Children, Kids At Risk Action (KARA), Politics and Funding and Public Policy

. 1 Comment

MN Child protection services are failing to protect the weakest and most vulnerable among us. It is epidemic. Other states have even bigger problems.

This morning’s news http://www.startribune.com/local/59883387.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3LGDiO7aiU (Star Tribune 9.19.09 Mom charged in death of the murdered 15 month-month old baby girl) brings home the need for a robust social service agency and a more compassionate community.

It hurts me to see that my neighbors no longer react to the next murdered baby in their city.

Minneapolis/St. Paul Metro is approaching twenty murdered and brutalized very young children & babies for the year.

A major newspaper really needs to put a reporter on this, as I suspect that next year, due to cuts in funding, social service agencies will report a decline in reports of child abuse (and then we could refer them to the data and ask them to start investigating more of the calls that they should be following up on).

Just a month ago I wrote about my conversation with reporters from the Star Tribune about the 14 calls to child protection before the baby drowned in the bathtub.

These reporters were surprised that a baby could be left in dangerous circumstances after 14 social service calls to the home.

As a guardian ad-Litem, I worked on a case with 45 police and social service calls to a home where the children lived with drugs, gunfire, and prostitution & were only removed on the 45th call because the seven-year-old tried to kill the five-year-old in front of the officers.

There was evidence that the seven-year-old had been prostituted (she had certainly been sexually abused).

The impact on a child of extended exposure to violence, drug use, and sex abuse is lifelong and traumatic. The cost to society is compromised schools, failing communities, and monstrously high crime and criminal justice costs.

“What you do to your children, they will do to your society” Pliny, 2500 years ago.

Abused and neglected children have no voice.

If you and I don’t speak up for them who will?

Postscript 1; We must accept that it is because we have not fully supported child protection services that they do not have the resources to respond to the soaring numbers of serious cases, and babies are being murdered. Blaming social workers for dead babies is like blaming teachers for failing schools, doctors for a troubled health care system, or the police for crime ridden cities. Pogo said it best, “We have met the enemy, and it is us”.

Postscript 2; Blaming and hating terribly damaged parents is a reptilian response to the problem but it solves nothing. Many of these people have severe and chronic mental health issues and have grown up in homes as crazy and dysfunctional as the one they are now giving to their own children. As a guardian ad-litem removing children from birth homes I have empathy for the sadness that these people must live with every day of their lives.

Postscript 3; It is public policy that social workers are trained to not speak of their work publicly. It insures that the public will not know of the conditions that led to the seven-year-old foster child hanging himself, the two-year-old “disappeared” foster child in Nevada, or any of the other tragic conditions that result in the sorrowful tales that finally do make it into the newspaper.

Anonymity is important, but the thought that the problems of abused and neglected children do not deserve to be spoken of, is adding to the impossibility of finding support for them while they are still young enough to receive the guidance and resources that can help them to lead normal lives.

This is one more example of the great need for KARA’s grassroots effort to raise awareness to the needs of America’s at risk children.

Until that happens, children, schools, families and communities, will contintue to suffer.

It is a bigger step to convince people that healthy children become healthy citizens, but it is true.

Support at risk children! Become a CASA volunteer or start a KARA group in your community.

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Setting the Wrong Kind of Record

Published

8 month old 8.24 in bloomington

on August 30, 2009

in Invisible Children, Kids At Risk Action (KARA), Politics and Funding and Public Policy

. 2 Comments

For those of us in child protection services this has been a horrific summer for babies in need of child protection services.

I was interviewed by the Star Tribune after the baby died in July in the bathtub after 14 calls to child protection. Alex Ebert & Anthony Lonetree spoke with me about my experience as a guardian ad-litem and seemed quite surprised that multiple calls to a home with no official response were commonplace.

I worked on a case with 45 calls to a home before the child was removed (and only then because she tried to kill her five year old sister in the presence of the officers). The officers were not at all surprised or defensive about this. A prostitute lived in the home and it was highly probable that the seven year old had been prostituted.

Children deserve better. Here are a few recent cases:

Developmentally disabled child starved 8.04

8 month old homicide in Golden Valley 8.29

Anger at the parents serves no purpose. Usually, their lot in life is as troubled as their child’s. Helping them would help their child.

The best hope for these babies would have been a more responsive community with more compassion, more daycare, more crisis nursuries, and more child protection services.

MN day care

It is a bigger step to convince people that healthy children become healthy citizens, but it is true.

Support at risk children! Become a CASA volunteer or start a KARA group in your community.
Have something to add? Attach a comment to this blog post or Contact Us to tell us your point of view or story.
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Buy our book or listen to it (for free)
Join the public debate for children (they have no senator, lobby, or voice)

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6 Month Old Dies After a Dozen Calls To Child Abuse Hotline

Published

on July 25, 2009

in Crime and Courts, Guardian ad-Litem, Invisible Children, Public Policy and The States

. 1 Comment

Two weeks ago in my City of Minneapolis, an 18 month old baby drowned in a bathtub after 14 calls to child protection services.

The local newspaper (Star Tribune) interviewed me because I have written about a case (as a guardian ad-Litem) where the police had been to a home 49 times before removing the child from a terrible environment (I believe the 7 year old was prostituted). I told the editor about several of my cases where three year olds were sexually abused and cocaine positive, and one experience where the four year tried hard to kill herself.

Its important for each and every one of us to react as compassionate beings for children. It is all that separates us from animals.

Not having empathy for the screams of your neighbors six year old child as he is being murdered, or as she is being sexually abused is the very last sign that we have entered the dark ages. Not having resources or systems to insure that children will be removed from toxic environments is the community’s way of not having empathy for the screams of your neighbors six year old.

From the Los Angelas Times By Hector Becerra and Garrett Therolf
July 25, 2009 South L.A. boy died after previous reports of abuse Continue reading ’6 Month Old Dies After a Dozen Calls To Child Abuse Hotline’

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Abandoned, Abandoned Again Then Tasered – What’s Next For At Risk Youth?

Published