Chronicle investigation spurs calls to close foster care shelters, By Karen de Sá, Joaquin Palomino, and Cynthia Dizikes, May 22, 2017, San Francisco Chronicle: “The state attorney general’s office is looking into hundreds of dubious arrests at California’s shelters for abused and neglected children that were detailed last week in a San Francisco Chronicle investigative report. The attorney general’s response comes amid calls from judges, state lawmakers and youth lawyers to consider shutting down shelters where children as young as 8 have been funneled into the criminal justice system for minor incidents…”
Category: Social Services
Southern Illinoisan Series on Child Welfare
Protecting the Innocent: Southern Illinois combats high rates of child abuse in region, series homepage, April 2017, The Southern Illinoisan: “In many counties throughout Southern Illinois, the child abuse rates are double, triple or nearly quadruple that of the statewide rate. In recognition of April being National Child Abuse Prevention Month, The Southern will publish a story every day this month to bring further awareness to the problem, and highlight the efforts of those working diligently to combat it throughout the region. The newspaper’s mission is to be an advocate for positive change, and with this series, our goal is to do our part alongside the many others throughout Southern Illinois working to protect our children and strengthen families…”
Refugee Resettlement – North Dakota
Federal funds give refugees a start, but communities offer local safety net, By Andrew Haffner, March 28, 2017, Grand Forks Herald: “When she’s not behind the counter at Al Amin Grocery in Grand Forks, Ilhaam Hassan is helping fellow members of the local Somali refugee community find their way in a new land. Hassan, a native of Somalia, came to the U.S. in 1999 when she was just a child. Now in her early 30s, Hassan’s fluency in English has opened a role for her as an interpreter with the local office of Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota, the agency tasked with resettling refugees, many of whom are Somalis, in the state’s most populous cities: Fargo, Bismarck and Grand Forks. With her own passage a distant memory, Hassan now works with those refugees from Somalia who now find themselves in northeast North Dakota. Even with help from the federal government and local civic groups, she says the transition is difficult for new arrivals…”