http://www.invisiblechildren.org Kids at Risk Action (KARA) - Children's Rights Advocacy Network Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:17:51 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en In 2005, when I wrote the book Invisible Children in MN there were less than 900 cases of child rape reported in the state I live in (MN). If that were true, I personally knew of about 50 cases, and there were about five hundred guardian ad-Litems besides myself ... http://www.invisiblechildren.org/2010/03/09/international-womens-day-march-7/ Most House Republicans Vote To Allow Solitary Confinement & Restraint Devices in Schools. The vast majority of the children we will be tying up & confining come from very troubled homes. Or, as former MN Supreme court Chief Justice Kathleen Blatz has stated, about 90% of the youth in juvenile ... http://www.invisiblechildren.org/2010/03/07/abusing-children-at-home-in-school-the-life-of-an-abused-child/ Monday's Irish Times announced that Ireland would be Implementing best practice on the right of children to be heard http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0301/1224265369793.html A child's right to be heard is the essence of the guardian ad-Litem program. Think about it. Voiceless, helpless children enduring unspeakable horrors, sometimes for many years with no one ... http://www.invisiblechildren.org/2010/03/05/ireland-implements-guardian-ad-litem-program/ In the 1950's I remember the public outrage when TV and newspapers uncovered senior citizens eating dog food out of cans and living under bridges. It was a a warm hearted, hot blooded citizen outcry that supported more social security for the aged, more health care, and more safety. ... http://www.invisiblechildren.org/2010/03/05/acting-like-a-responsible-adult-part-ii/ 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% ... http://www.invisiblechildren.org/2010/02/28/a-very-critical-look-at-foster-care/ Every state has it's loud and mean "I got mine" Tea Party contingency, but it is prudent to look deeper into who has voted us to where we are today. America's aging population is retreating into retirement with its pensions and savings and leaving young families with failing schools, health systems, ... http://www.invisiblechildren.org/2010/02/26/acting-like-a-responsible-adult/ I am taken by the hard stories and painful facts in Ruben Rosario's article on Victor Vieth's dream of ending child abuse in today's St Paul Pioneer Press http://www.twincities.com/ci_14437150 As a guardian ad-Litem, I know that most child abuse cases are not reported. Recently an acquaintance of mine ... http://www.invisiblechildren.org/2010/02/24/ruben-rosario-on-victor-vieths-dream-of-ending-child-abuse/ A Few years ago Judge Heidi Schellhas gave me a printout of the psychotropic medications the very young children in her child protection courtroom were proscribed. The impact of seven year olds on Prozac, Ritalin and other powerful medications is still with me. How profound the impact sexual abuse, violence, and ... http://www.invisiblechildren.org/2010/02/23/books-not-yet-written/ Dr. Bruce Perry gives credible argument that 25% of Americans will be special needs people in few generations if we do not act forcefully to mend our approach to the mental health needs of abused and neglected children http://www.childtrauma.org/CTAMATERIALS/vortex_interd.asp. Add to that the serious growing issues of diabetes that conservatively predicts ... http://www.invisiblechildren.org/2010/02/22/childrens-health-trends/ 300 years ago an Irish Minister wrote a highly acclaimed critical satire ("A Modest Proposal" - in its entirety below) in protest of the cruel public policies imposed on poor families that were destroying the lives of Irish children. Public policy at the time treated the Irish more like ... http://www.invisiblechildren.org/2010/02/21/a-modest-proposal-or-if-children-could-riot/ One of my last guardian ad-Litem acts was to be part of the court proceedings to remove children from the home of a man who could not afford daycare (his wife was a crack addict). Minnesota's Governor had killed programs that made day care affordable for low wage earners ... http://www.invisiblechildren.org/2010/02/19/day-care-in-america-ny-v-mn/ The "burden of eviction is Heavier on Black Women, Research in Milwaukee Shows" reads the New York Times today, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/19/us/19evict.html U of Wisconsin research shows that poor minority women are almost twice as likely to face eviction as minority men (1 of 14 vs. 1 of 25). Irresponsible behavior ... http://www.invisiblechildren.org/2010/02/19/someplace-where-we-can-be-a-family/ Last night I attended the Patrick Henry High School Community Forum on the impact that children's mental health has on the entire education and juvenile justice systems held by Representatives Mindy Greiling and the Civil Justice Committee Chair Joe Mullery. Smart people from mental health and education spoke on stigma, truancy, ... http://www.invisiblechildren.org/2010/02/17/civil-justice-mental-health-children-politics/ The largest share of the No Tax approach to balancing Minnesota's budget will fall on the sick, mentally ill, and disabled in the Governor's new proposal. Mr Pawlenty has already slashed programs for healthcare and daycare for the poor and focused his his attention on building prisons and increasing ... http://www.invisiblechildren.org/2010/02/16/health-human-services-in-minnesota-largest-share-of-budget-cuts/ Another state is putting the burden of health costs back onto families earning less than 200% of the federal poverty level. Kansas budget cuts and layoffs have created a backlog that appears to be growing dramatically. Budget cuts hurting state child health program By Marshanna Hester http://www.ktka.com/news/2010/feb/01/budget-cuts-hurting-state-child-health-program/ Almost all developed nations ... http://www.invisiblechildren.org/2010/02/15/kansas-losing-health-care-for-40000-children/ LA County is refusing to release information about the deaths of the most recent deaths of 12 children that have passed through child protection, claiming that the agency has been denigrated unfairly by the media coverage of these deaths. The public will not long stand for this. White hot issues ... http://www.invisiblechildren.org/2010/02/14/blaming-social-workers-when-children-die/ 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; Study released indicates sharp drop in child abuse in the U.S. Child abuse drops sharply in U.S. Study: Incidents declined by ... http://www.invisiblechildren.org/2010/02/14/casa-comments-on-this-may-not-be-the-case/ Georgia's hiding of hard truths is a terrifying trend in our nation. Here's why; When the truth is not reported, the critical problem is not perceived and no steps are taken to correct the underlying core issues. Things can only get worse until the system is destroyed. Operating on ... http://www.invisiblechildren.org/2010/02/12/the-sad-results-of-tampering-with-georgia-students-test-results/ Today's NY Times article on the lack of oversight in New York's mental health facilities for youth mirrors the rest of the nation. 2 Important truths; most of the youth in the juvenile justice system have come through child protection services, & a large percentage of these youth suffer ... http://www.invisiblechildren.org/2010/02/11/juvenile-injustice-mental-health/ 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 ... http://www.invisiblechildren.org/2010/02/09/more-volunteers-needed-for-children-in-court-system/ The good news; A recent report from the non profit Jobs For The Future found that high schools with early college programs that have been open for more than four years are graduating 92% of their students with 40% of students earning at least a full year of ... http://www.invisiblechildren.org/2010/02/09/keeping-at-risk-students-in-high-school/ This organization is has many resources and will be of great value for parents, kids, and communities in working to end child abuse. Five time Nobel Peace Prize nominees Sara O'Meara and Yvonne Fedderson founded ChildHelp to raise awareness and funds to end child abuse. From their website; National Child Abuse ... http://www.invisiblechildren.org/2010/02/08/childhelp-org/ According to World News 380,000 Haitian children were made homeless when their orphanages were destroyed in the earthquake. Before the earthquake, UNICEF estimates that tens of thousands of Haitian children were being sold as servants to rich Haitians each year. Developing nations are often unable to provide ... http://www.invisiblechildren.org/2010/02/07/a-million-haitian-orphans/ According to the 2006 California Blue Ribbon Commission on Children in Foster Care, the state has more than 75,000 children in foster care, almost 80% removed for neglect, 45% have been in foster care for over two years, 17% for more than three years. African American and American Indian ... http://www.invisiblechildren.org/2010/02/06/californias-child-protection-problems-grow/ Perhaps the test of how a nation treats its youngest citizens will determine how nations are are viewed in the twenty first century. After an apparently preventable death of a 12 year old girl in Australia, public outrage over lack of standards for child care prompted legislation at a federal level ... http://www.invisiblechildren.org/2010/02/05/australia-begins-national-child-care-standards/