Kids at Risk Action (KARA) – Children's Rights Advocacy Network
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 15th.
From time to time high schools, colleges, & other organizations invite me to speak at their events.
Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) – 201
A powerful 90 minute conversation addressing the strengths and weaknesses of today’s child protection systems and the civil rights of youth in America today.
Brutal truths and best practices. Click on the link to hear the program.
Your comments are encouraged.
MikeT
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 12th Monday Night 7pm Call in phone: 646-595-2118
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bill-murray/2009/10/13/community-matters–9pm-et-6pm-pt
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.
I was impressed with the tenacity and commitment of Indiana’s foster and adoptive parents in the face of this state’s mean spirited children’s politics.
The evening before my talk I listened to story after story of the “fluid” nature of Department of Child Services policy, families not being allowed to question decisions or policy for fear of being blackballed, and what it’s like to watch long established, workable policies disappear to be replaced by whimsy and bullying.
Many families voiced that they were not allowed to get together and hold foster/adoption discussions without DCS present. This sounds like a constitutional violation of free speech to me (if you know an attorney, i think it is a fair question, or call Bob Olson, 651-690-3494)
On Saturday morning, at the end of my talk, there were more written questions than we could respond to, but it was perfectly clear that almost everyone had strong feelings about Indiana’s public policy about abused and neglected children being based on political ideology.
The State of Indiana today feels it a better investment to pay $75/day per inmate in its prison system than to pay foster families any more than $18/ day support fees for its children.
It is hard to feed a child for $18/ day and anything extra becomes a real burden to most Hoosier families. Is this what we think of children in America? Not my America.
Dear Indiana legislators, please recognize that most adoptive and foster families don’t come from the top one percent (see Wall Street Protesting).
I found it difficult to believe that the state’s newborn screening fund, collected from birth fees paid by parents, has been captured by the governor & directed back into the general fund instead of providing services and supplies for infants with birth disorders?
How cold and cruel are your state legislators?
How could Indiana retroactively terminate adoption subsidies to the five hundred families that adopted special needs children based on the promise that they would have assistance for their special needs children?
Ethically and economically, these are terrible decisions that will cost Indiana children & citizens for many years to come.
Before these cuts Indiana Ranked almost last, 49th out of the 50 states in not supporting child welfare, 37th in child mortality, 47th in juvenile incarceration, 32nd in child death from ages 1 to 14, & 33rd In births to teen moms (As listed by Child Well Being, Geography Matters).
We are the people that once were the middle class, now being pounded on to make this nation work and bring it back to where it can be a friendly, safe place to live.
We know that healthy children become healthy citizens and that every cost benefit analysis shows conclusively that subsidizing healthy children is a far better investment than subsidizing malls or prisons.
It’s not only the ethical & right thing to do, it is the most economically sound, ethical, and right thing to do.
Thank you Indiana foster & adoption families for your commitment to the weakest and most vulnerable among us.
The tide will turn as the community wakes up to these serious & costly injustices to bring back a more child friendly public policy for Hoosier children.
Support the Indiana Foster Care & Adoption Association in its efforts to bring Change to Indiana
Pass this on – written speech below – Continue reading ‘Thank You Indiana’
http://ifcaa.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=79&Itemid=26
Sign the State Adoption Subsidy Petition to help place foster children leave foster care for adoptive homes;
http://ifcaa.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=84&Itemid=130
Kids At Risk Action (KARA) has posted videos on our YouTube Channel of the 2008 KARA Forum held at Century College. To view more videos of our events, visit our page at YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/kidsatriskaction.
Here is a sample of the 2008 Kids At Risk Action (KARA) Forum:
Have something to add?
Successful entrepreneur and author Mike Tikkanen combines his business acumen with his passion for neglected and abused children to offer answers to some of our communities most serious and complex problems.
Since 1996, he’s volunteered in the Guardian ad-Litem program as a court appointed special advocate (CASA). Mike has worked with about fifty “Invisible Children” that have become part of the County Child Protection System. Mike has become passionate about the madness that surrounds the treatment of abused and neglected children.
Learn the key issues facing abused and neglected children, what programs and policies work to improve their lives, and how you can be a better advocate for at risk children.
A public speaker on business for the past twenty years, Mike decided to bring public attention to what goes on behind closed doors and in the dark corners of our communities. Mike recently held a workshop at the United Nations in New York, and has spoken at many conferences (Social Workers, Women’s Prison Wardens, Educators) and hundreds of business, community, and religious organizations.
Once you’ve heard Mike’s message on Invisible Children, you’ll never be the same. If you want a program that gets your audience thinking, you’ll call Mike Tikkanen. He guarantees a message filled with rock solid evidence, emotion, and ideas. Call him for Luncheons, breakouts, and keynotes.
Areas of Expertise:
Grassroots Change for At Risk Children
Supporting Education for All
Growing Healthy Families and Children
Simplifying the Mental Health Discussion
Mike’s Most Requested Programs:
The Impact of Abuse & Abandonment
(on Children & Communities)
Why Some Kids Don’t Learn in School
(and what it’s like to teach them)
Punishing Abused Children
(restorative justice vs more punishment)
Mental Health and Psychotropic Drugs For Children
(street drugs, big pharma, and therapy)
Economic Issues of Abuse and Neglect
(short term and long term costs and considerations)
A Local, National, and an International Perspective
(comparisons of quality of life and children’s issues between cities, states, and nations)
Testimonials:
“Mike encourages everyone to become aware of the critical issues impacting abused and neglected children. After you hear him speak, you will ask yourself; what can I do to help?”, Shirley Schroeder, Teacher, guardian ad-Litem, Mother, Grandmother
“A passionate, informative, and compelling look at the shameful treatment of vulnerable Children, how it impacts society, and what we can do about it. Tikkanen effectively mixes personal experience and real-life stories…”, BurtBurlow, President Growing Communities For Peace
“It is truly critical for adults from all corners of our society to speak out on behalf of children, especially children without someone who cares about them and their futures…”, Connie Skillingstad, Executive Director Prevent Child AbuseMinnesota
“All children are born into a promise that the adults in their lives would take care of them. Unfortunately, that promise all too often gets broken and the only recourse these children have is a Child Protection System and Juvenile Justice System that certainly could use more help.”, Minnesota State Senator, Mee Moua
“Open your ears to riveting and accurate stories of today’s children. Mike’s eye opening experiences encourage us all to reach out and make life better for troubled children in our communities”, Donald Schmitz, Author and Founder of the Grandkids and Me Foundation
Periodically I speak in public and record those upcoming events in this space.
I recommend calling groups to let them know if you wish to attend.
May 29 , 730 am Rotary Vescio’s St Louis Park MN
Radisson Hotel Roseville at 2540 North Cleveland Avenue in Roseville, Minnesota. Take the Cleveland Avenue South exit off 35W, go south on Cleveland to the hotel (Cleveland Avenue is parallel to 35W on the east side). I speak from 1 to 130pm. to attend please call 651/636-9054.
May 26th, Eden Prairie Morning Rotary;
7:30 am on Tuesday mornings May 26th, at Biaggi’s at the Eden Prairie Center mall. Rotary meeting with breakfast buffet.
Call Scott H. Neal 952.949.8300
My Invisible Children workshop drew over ninety attendees and many of them actively participated in the almost forty minute dialogue that followed my presentation.
These were people that came a long way to be involved and learn how to make a difference. Most of my workshop attendees were from the U.S., with a few people from the other industrialized nations. The larger conference audience was much more diverse, representing many nations. Hamid Karzai, President of Afganistan was one of many internationally known speakers at the conference.
You may listen to the audio of the workshop on the KARA homepage.
The workshop discussion was centered around “Why Some Children Don’t Learn” and to help attendees understand the mental health issues of abused and neglected children and what resources they need to gain the coping and learning skills necessary to function in our schools, homes, and communities.
A primary goal of mine was to show how Post Traumatic Stress is common among children that suffer from extended exposure to violence and deprivation, and make a solid case for why educators, social workers, foster and adoptive parents, and others dealing with abused and neglected children need more and better resources if they are to make progress in helping these children succeed with friends and family, at home and in school.
I also work hard to explain why we need to be advocates not only for the children, but for the people dealing with abused and neglected children.
Too many teachers are leaving their field or transferring out of inner city schools to suburban or private schools. The danger and difficulty of working with violent and unstable children is real and growing.
Our schools are showing the results with high rates of failure and dropouts. Our communities are showing the results of high crime rates and the world’s highest rates of incarceration.
Without support at the community level for programs and policies that support America’s institutions, continued exodus from these most important fields and resulting failure of the children they serve must be expected.
One of the workshop attendees told me afterwards that she had recently quit working in her much loved field of social services because of the lack of resources and negative recognition given to her and her coworkers.
Her comment (rephrased) was that she could make three times as much money being a nanny for one child in New York (and be appreciated for it- my insight) than she could caring for a huge caseload of really needy children without having the resources needed to make a difference in their lives, watching them fail, and at the same time, be blamed for their lack of progress (it truly is depressing).
Her heart was genuinely with the children in need, but it is grueling work and without the resources, or support of the community (or the system) one can only stand so much failure (it becomes personal).
Addendum;
If you ever have the chance to visit the United Nations and take the tour, do it.
Our tour was lead by a bright young man from Uruguay who was able to give us the sense of history and evolution of the UN.
There is an aura of cooperation and striving for a better world that drifts from the walls. At the same time there are many sorrowful examples of tortured people, eleven year old boy soldiers, murdered and raped children, and nations committing horrific violence upon their own innocent populations and their neighbors.
The need for an organization committed to mediating disputes seems so necessary. The violence that is so endemic among us seems so useless. We are stuck with the latter, we can only hope for the former.
Start or join our online groups and discussions on this website to promote this dialogue in your community.
Be involved,
take the lead,
the KARA team
This last weekend I attended and presented at the 11th National Workshop on Adult & Juvenile Female Offenders held in Bloomington MN.
There were wardens and justice workers from many states & many stories. America has 25% of the world’s prison population.
The Program was committed to Gender, Environment, Relationships, Services & Supervision, Socioeconomic Status, and Community for women.
I discovered committed and intellegent people trying to effect positive change within communities that are becoming more open to new approaches.
Where progressive programs are encouraged (like Shakopee Women’s Prison used to be), recidivism is greatly reduced, while in regressive communities (some states still shackle women prisoners in child birth) recidivism for women offenders is about the same it is for male offenders.
Last year, 33 states held children and juveniles with mental illness in detention centers without any charges.
In 2001, nearly 2/3 of California local law enforcement departments did not have written guidelines governing the care of children whose sole caretaker had been arrested (Marilyn Moses, article in Police Chief, Sept 2005)
In Boston, the 9 year old Arts Incentive Program found that 57% of those with criminal records who were redirected to mental-health care have not be re-arrested or involved with the courts.
In the Texas Outreach & Tracking program participants had a 65% lower re-arrest rate than kids on parole. There are many states with great programs.
Chicago’s Child-Parent Centers have served 100,000 three and four year-olds since 1967. Findings indicate that the program cut the rates of child abuse and neglect in half.
The Nurse Family Partnership in Elmira, NY, reduced incidents of child abuse by 80% and children from families not in the program had twice as many arrests by age 15.
It’s hard to believe the vast differences between communities. Some policy makers are genuinely committed to breaking the cycle of violence, abuse, and neglect that drives emotionally and mentally disturbed people into lives on the edge of society.
Other political leaders are still banging pots and screaming for more prisons and fewer resources for people struggling to succeed.
From a strictly financial perspective, investing in children to solve problems (through repeatable proven programs) is a miniscule investment compared to the twenty, thirty, and forty years these children can spend in child protection and future correctional facilities.
We must also consider the havoc they wreak on the lives of the people within our communities and the progeny that follow them into our institutions.
The speaker I followed, Susan George, PhD Associate Professor, Harris Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Chicago,completed a large study showing relationships between foster children and incarcerated mothers and a significant growth in the number of children being born to women in the system.
A tremendous cost to society of not treating children and juveniles when they are still young enough to effect change, is the exponential addition of the next generation of potentially troubled children they bring into your community. The average number of children born to women in the Illinois systems has grown from three to four (Susan George’s recent study).
Our Federal Reserve Board Chairman, Art Rolnick has proven conservatively, that investments in early childhood programs exceed other public spending in return on investment percentages.
Citizens ask, “where will get find the money” when they ought to be asking, “how are we spending our Money?”
As a long time guardian ad-Litem working with youth in the court system, I continue to see huge sums spent on counter-productive mental health treatments, poorly designed and supported residential treatment facilities & other partial attempts to deal with serious problems.
One damaged child, without proper support can develop severe and lasting mental and emotional problems that stick to them for life.
Studies on foster home children indicate that eighty percent of foster home graduates go on to lead dysfunctional lives of mental illness, drug dependency, crime, and unemployment.
Many of these children will have lived in multiple foster placements and incur very real and very costly care before they leave their foster home placements. Think of how untreated abused children impact your schools, city streets, and police departments.
Examples:
http://www.invisiblechildren.org/2009/02/08/mn-early-childhood-summit-speech-david-lawrence/
http://www.invisiblechildren.org/2005/12/17/missouri-model/
Conferences like the National Workshop on Adult & Juvenile Female Offenders, exemplify that most of the people in the system care, there are many successful programs, and perhaps most of all, sharing information is critical to success in saving our community’s children.
Let’s do more of that.
In the weeks and months to come, I will post successful and unsuccessful programs and stories that I have gathered.
Send them to me.
Have something to add? Tell us your point of view or story…
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On Weds September 14, I spoke at the Grand Parents rally at the state capital in St Paul. State Representative Jeff Vandeveer and Children’s Defense Fund representative Beth Haney spoke also.
At the same time in Washington DC, the national rally was held.
This is one of America’s most active and powerful resources in the struggle to save our At Risk Children.
Grandparents need the attention and appreciation of our policy makers to help them in their efforts.
Support the MN Kinship Care Givers. They do some very hard work for some very special people.
For those of you who have stories or comments on the issues facing grandparents in their struggle to make the lives of their grandchildren better, please post them to this blog.
Support at risk children, start a KARA group in your community
Have something to add? Tell us your point of view or story…
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On Aug. 28, 2005, the Hibbing, MN Daily Tribune ran an article about me and my book, Invisible Children, titled A serious book about a serious problem by reporter Cathy Braun.
The article is not on their website, but the above is a scan of the cover and below are scans of the article itself (click the images to enlarge.)
Have something to add? Tell us your point of view or story…
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Armchair Intervews is a website that works at “connecting authors to their readers.”
My new book, Invisible Children, was recently reviewed by Barbara Broom.
Here’s a quote:
The author packed the book with his passion and purpose: society’s involvement in children’ in abusive and dysfunctional homes’ foster care and the system in general. If you care about your community’s welfare, it is a “must read.”
Listen to the audiobook online (for free)
The book is finished. It just arrived from the publisher. Books are always neater and cleaner than the process that makes them. Hundreds of hours, stacks of paper, and dozens of edits. I’m genuinely embarrassed by some of the poorly edited pages that I sent to people to review and comment on what I had been writing.
What started out as three hundred pages of research notes, personal stories, and comments are now forged into 200 pages that are readable. Unlike this blog that seems to collect problems of the moment, the book sorts through issues and arranges them in an orderly fashion, and relates them to people, policy, and community.
The plan now is to get books to reviewers, media, and friends to see if it’s worthy of being read. Objectivity is hard. I’m heavily invested in the topic. The writing could always be improved, and I see now what I left out and how the book could have been clearer and made more impactful.
Oh well, perhaps next time.
If you have comments on the book, Please post them here.
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