Posted by: "Doug Dante" dougdante1@yahoo.com dougdante1
Wed Feb 9, 2011 5:56 am (PST)
Michigan's Children Ignores Evidence of Corruption
"Children with rumbling tummies and abused children worried about hiding fresh
injuries can't give their full attention to their lessons." said Jack Kresnak,
president and CEO of Michigan's Children
Yet Jack and his band of "give me more tax dollars" cohorts will continue to
ignore evidence that abused children are being systematically stripped of the
care of one parent, most often their fathers, because that arrangement generates
more Title IV-D funds for insiders at the court and Friend of the Court.
Today, when a parent of a poor child runs into the Friend of the Court and says
"Help me, my child is being abused by the other parent!" the FOC worker there
often choses to violate Michigan law (MCL 552.505) and refuse to make available
forms to change custody.
Worse yet, if he or she manages to actually get someone to bother to conduct a
custody investigation, the attitude of bureaucrats more interested in their
pocketbooks than the welfare of children seems to be "when one parent is on
welfare, the other must pay".
In other words, "We're going to violate Michigan's Child Custody Act (MCL
722.23), ignore the best interests of the child as defined by law, and instead
we're going to base the living arrangements of this child exclusively our own
financial interests, and if the child is abused, too bad."
Too bad for Nevaeh Buchanan, whose mom probably owed the state for her
incarceration, that it could collect that money by taking her child support.
Navaeh was stuck with her substance abusing mom and her sex offending "father
figure" while her apparently fit and willing dad was denied all access to his
own child. She was later murdered, probably due to the incredibly dangerous
situation in which she was placed.
But Michigan's Children won't say a peep about Navaeh, or the mess caused by
financial conflicts of interest which endanger abused children throughout the
state, because for them, there is always only one solution "give me more money".
More information online at scribd dot com slash DougDante.
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Last Updated: February 08. 2011 1:32PM
Poverty, abuse surge among Michigan children
Annual 'Kids Count' paints dire picture of economy's impact
Catherine Jun / The Detroit News
Lansing— Nearly half of Michigan's public school students qualified for free
and reduced-price lunches in 2009, just one troubling statistic on how the
economic crisis has affected the state's youngest residents.
The rate of those who qualified jumped 26 percent in three years, rising to
almost 46 percent of children in 2009 from 36 percent in 2006, according to the
annual "Kids Count in Michigan" report released today. In Detroit, 81 percent
qualified.
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The lunches, funded by the federal government, are designed for students whose
families have gross incomes below $40,200 for a two-parent family of four.
"Sometimes you hear where parents eat less so they can provide for the kids,"
said Terri Stangl, executive director of the Center for Civil Justice, a
nonprofit law firm.
Macomb County showed the largest year-to-year increase: 39 percent in 2009,
compared with 32 percent in 2008.
The report also shows a 25 percent increase in the rate of confirmed victims of
abuse and neglect between 2000 and 2009.
For child advocates, the report highlights the need for the state to spend
more money on early childhood learning, starting with prenatal care and
preschool support.
"We can't ignore the huge role economic security, health and personal safety
play in a child's ability to learn," said Jack Kresnak, president and CEO of
Michigan's Children, a Lansing- based advocacy group.
"Children with rumbling tummies and abused children worried about hiding fresh
injuries can't give their full attention to their lessons."
Rates alarming
The report found childhood poverty increased at alarming rates for
African-American and Hispanic children, with 1 out of 2 and 1 out of 3,
respectively, living in poverty in 2009.
"What this means for these kids is that their struggle continues and their hope
for breaking the generational cycle of poverty is even a bigger struggle," said
Marcella Wilson, CEO of Matrix Human Services, which feeds and serves 1,500
Detroit children in its Head Start program.
The report examined data from the Michigan Department of Community Health and
other state and federal agencies.
The report also indicated that more than a quarter of Michigan's children
depended on food stamps in 2009, compared with 10 percent in 2000.
The report highlighted some improvements: Deaths of children 1-4 years old
declined by 17.3 percent in 2006-08.
The number of high school dropouts fell 25 percent from 2007-09.
The percentage of fourth- and seventh-graders who fell below proficient in
MEAP reading tests fell by 15.9 percent and 18.0 percent, respectively.
The Michigan League of Human Services, based in Lansing, compiled the report
with the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a charity dedicated to aiding disadvantaged
children. The full report can be viewed at www.milhs.org.
cjun@detnews.com
(313) 222-2019
From The Detroit News:
http://detnews.com/article/20110208/SCHOOLS/102080334/Poverty--abuse-surge-among-Michigan-children#ixzz1DTC6cMQl
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