Study tracks increase in child abuse: Economic link speculated
Mann, Denise. Cincinnati.com, September 21, 2011
The stress of unemployment, foreclosures and putting food on the table may be factors in a spike in shaken baby syndrome and other types of abusive head trauma seen among infants and young children during the recent recession.
A new study examined the rate of abusive head trauma seen among children under age 5 in various U.S. locales from 2004 to 2009. Researchers found that the rate of such trauma rose from about 9 per 100,000 children to nearly 15 per 100,000 during that time period - coinciding with the onset of the recession and massive job losses.
"I wasn't surprised, but I am disturbed," said study lead author Rachel P. Berger, a pediatrician at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. "This is the first really long recession in a really long time, and the medical diagnoses of abusive head trauma have increased in it."
Calling the findings "highly concerning," the researchers noted that abusive head trauma is the leading cause of death from child abuse and among the most common causes of traumatic brain injury among infants.
The study, published in the October issue of Pediatrics, can't definitely say that the increase is related to tough economic times, but unemployment was up in all of the regions it included. Although child abuse occurs in all economic classes, previous research has also shown that poverty is linked to the risk of physical abuse.
Overall, there were 422 abusive head traumas in children under age 5 in 74 counties during the five-year study period. Of these, 76 percent occurred in children younger than 1. They took place in 76 counties throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio and Seattle.
As to what could make a stressed-out caregiver snap, she said that among infants, crying may be the trigger, but as children age, it could be biting, toilet training or defiance issues.
This is not the first study to document a rise in abusive head trauma during the recent recession. A team of researchers from University Hospital's Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland also reported a doubling of such injuries during the recent recession. Those findings were presented in April at the American Association of Neurological Surgeons' meeting in Denver.
So, is there anything that can be done to reduce economic hard times' impact on the health of children? Berger believes that education and more support for struggling families may help put a dent in the troubling statistics she's seen.
"Stress and poverty are risk factors for child abuse," agreed Peter Sherman, a pediatrician and director of the residency program in social pediatrics at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. "If people are stressed out, it's not a big stretch that they are at high risk for being abusive."
Part of the onus to protect these children also falls on their doctors. "It really suggests that as clinicians, we need to look at stresses on parents," Sherman said. That includes looking at what else is going on in their lives, such as maternal depression, risk of homelessness and/or job loss. "We need to do better," he concluded.
Showing posts with label recession. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recession. Show all posts
Sunday, October 02, 2011
Thursday, December 23, 2010
570,000 Ohio children live in poverty - and the TANF Budget is insufficient to meet their needs
According to the State Budget Matters edition on The TANF Budget by the Center for Community Solutions:
- The federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program is the largest source of funding for states for programs that help low-income families. Ohio uses TANF funds primarily for cash assistance, county allocations, and early child care and education.
- For many years, Ohio did not spend all of its federal TANF block grant. This created a surplus balance, but those funds were spent down in the last biennium. The federal TANF grant has been flat-funded for over a decade.
- The TANF program was created during an economic boom and did not anticipate the challenges caused by a long and deep recession. The number of families receiving cash assistance has increased sharply since the start of the recession, and TANF funding is stretched too thin to meet all of their basic needs.
- Due to the use of one-time funds in the current biennium, expected FY 2012-2013 funding is insufficient to support current spending. State policymakers not only face the challenge of closing a structural deficit of $8 billion in Ohio’s General Revenue Fund, but they must close a shortfall in Ohio’s largest discretionary social service program as well.
- Their decisions will impact Ohio's children. The TANF program provides critical support for low-income families – and especially for children.
- The 2009 American Community Survey shows that 21 percent of Ohio’s children live in poverty, compared with 18 percent in 2007. There are about 570,000 children in Ohio living below the federal poverty line, an increase of almost 75,000 children compared with just two years before.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Kasich's opinions about what could be cut in 2011
Kasich eyes cost cutting
Governor-elect aims to take on public employee unions, nonviolent criminals in state prisons
Smyth, Julie Carr. Ohio.com, Dec. 10, 2010.
Republican Governor-elect John Kasich said Thursday he's pursuing obvious but politically dicey ways to save Ohio money, including taking on public employee unions and diverting nonviolent criminals from state prisons.
Kasich made wide-ranging remarks on how he'll tackle a looming $8 billion budget gap at an event to announce his nominee for tax commissioner: former Franklin County Auditor Joe Testa.
Kasich said ''low-hanging fruit'' like union protections and prison reforms should have been plucked long ago to curb Ohio's tax burden.
He said he opposes paying union-scale prevailing wages on public job sites, doesn't think public employees should have the right to strike, and opposes using binding arbitration to resolve contract disputes involving police officers and firefighters.
''We'll come up with a series of changes, but binding arbitration is not acceptable,'' Kasich said. ''You are forcing increased taxes on taxpayers with them having no say by people who come from a faraway place and have no accountability to the taxpayers.''
Jay McDonald, president of the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio, said Ohio's binding arbitration law took effect in 1984 as an alternative to settling police, fire and prison guard labor disputes through strikes. He said arbitrators side with employers ''on a very regular basis.''
''Certainly, arbitrators are very well aware of what today's economy is and they're not awarding benefits that are out of reach of employers,'' he said.
He acknowledged that public safety forces can be costly for taxpayers.
''It costs money to find somebody to face the threat of gunfire; it costs money to find somebody to run into a building that's on fire,'' he said. ''I don't think we want to contract out the rape investigation of our neighbor to the lowest bidder.''
Stephen Loomis, president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association that represents 1,500 police officers, detectives and dispatchers, said binding arbitration allows police to air their grievances and still keep the public safe.
''We work now and grieve later. That's the motto. That's what I tell my guys,'' Loomis said.
Kasich said public employees should not be allowed to strike anyway — though he doesn't know how practical it would be to do away with the practice.
''My personal philosophy is I don't like public employees striking. OK?'' he said. ''They've got good jobs, they've got high pay, they've got good benefits, great retirement. What are they striking for?''
Kasich said he will also fight to chip away at Ohio's prevailing wage law, which he said adds to construction costs at universities and drives up their tuition costs. Although he said he would prefer to repeal it, ''if we can make progress in some areas, we can allow people to provide more services at a lower price.''
Kasich is a former congressman, Fox News commentator, and Lehman Brothers managing director who defeated Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland in last month's election. He takes office Jan. 10 and by mid-March must have a blueprint for balancing Ohio's $50 billion-plus budget for the upcoming two-year period.
He said prison costs could be drastically reduced by rethinking whether nonviolent offenders, including those who commit drug-related offenses, should be sent for short stays in state prison. Kasich said people who commit such crimes are not a public threat and shouldn't be imprisoned at high cost to taxpayers alongside murderers.
He also said state prison seems like the wrong place for child-support delinquents.
''Why do I want to put somebody that doesn't pay child support in a state prison . . . instead of putting them somewhere and forcing them on a work detail or home confinement or county jail, in a place where the public is safe and yet we can get our costs?'' he said. ''To me, that's low-hanging fruit.''
Just last week, state Sen. Bill Seitz failed to get the necessary support to bring an overhaul of Ohio's criminal sentencing laws up for a vote on the floor of the Republican-controlled Senate.
The measure proposed cost-reducing measures such as imposing the same sentences for crack and powder cocaine offenses, expanding inmates' ability to reduce their sentences through good behavior, and increasing use of halfway houses and GPS devices, as well as numerous other changes.
Governor-elect aims to take on public employee unions, nonviolent criminals in state prisons
Smyth, Julie Carr. Ohio.com, Dec. 10, 2010.
Republican Governor-elect John Kasich said Thursday he's pursuing obvious but politically dicey ways to save Ohio money, including taking on public employee unions and diverting nonviolent criminals from state prisons.
Kasich made wide-ranging remarks on how he'll tackle a looming $8 billion budget gap at an event to announce his nominee for tax commissioner: former Franklin County Auditor Joe Testa.
Kasich said ''low-hanging fruit'' like union protections and prison reforms should have been plucked long ago to curb Ohio's tax burden.
He said he opposes paying union-scale prevailing wages on public job sites, doesn't think public employees should have the right to strike, and opposes using binding arbitration to resolve contract disputes involving police officers and firefighters.
''We'll come up with a series of changes, but binding arbitration is not acceptable,'' Kasich said. ''You are forcing increased taxes on taxpayers with them having no say by people who come from a faraway place and have no accountability to the taxpayers.''
Jay McDonald, president of the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio, said Ohio's binding arbitration law took effect in 1984 as an alternative to settling police, fire and prison guard labor disputes through strikes. He said arbitrators side with employers ''on a very regular basis.''
''Certainly, arbitrators are very well aware of what today's economy is and they're not awarding benefits that are out of reach of employers,'' he said.
He acknowledged that public safety forces can be costly for taxpayers.
''It costs money to find somebody to face the threat of gunfire; it costs money to find somebody to run into a building that's on fire,'' he said. ''I don't think we want to contract out the rape investigation of our neighbor to the lowest bidder.''
Stephen Loomis, president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association that represents 1,500 police officers, detectives and dispatchers, said binding arbitration allows police to air their grievances and still keep the public safe.
''We work now and grieve later. That's the motto. That's what I tell my guys,'' Loomis said.
Kasich said public employees should not be allowed to strike anyway — though he doesn't know how practical it would be to do away with the practice.
''My personal philosophy is I don't like public employees striking. OK?'' he said. ''They've got good jobs, they've got high pay, they've got good benefits, great retirement. What are they striking for?''
Kasich said he will also fight to chip away at Ohio's prevailing wage law, which he said adds to construction costs at universities and drives up their tuition costs. Although he said he would prefer to repeal it, ''if we can make progress in some areas, we can allow people to provide more services at a lower price.''
Kasich is a former congressman, Fox News commentator, and Lehman Brothers managing director who defeated Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland in last month's election. He takes office Jan. 10 and by mid-March must have a blueprint for balancing Ohio's $50 billion-plus budget for the upcoming two-year period.
He said prison costs could be drastically reduced by rethinking whether nonviolent offenders, including those who commit drug-related offenses, should be sent for short stays in state prison. Kasich said people who commit such crimes are not a public threat and shouldn't be imprisoned at high cost to taxpayers alongside murderers.
He also said state prison seems like the wrong place for child-support delinquents.
''Why do I want to put somebody that doesn't pay child support in a state prison . . . instead of putting them somewhere and forcing them on a work detail or home confinement or county jail, in a place where the public is safe and yet we can get our costs?'' he said. ''To me, that's low-hanging fruit.''
Just last week, state Sen. Bill Seitz failed to get the necessary support to bring an overhaul of Ohio's criminal sentencing laws up for a vote on the floor of the Republican-controlled Senate.
The measure proposed cost-reducing measures such as imposing the same sentences for crack and powder cocaine offenses, expanding inmates' ability to reduce their sentences through good behavior, and increasing use of halfway houses and GPS devices, as well as numerous other changes.
The State of the States isn't looking so good...
Agencies' budget outlook: Painful
Prisons would close, services would dry up under some scenarios
Niquette, Mark. Columbus Dispatch, Dec. 2, 2010.
Some state prisons would close and the rest would be dangerously overcrowded, college tuition could increase significantly and fewer Ohioans would get long-term health care from the state.
The dire warnings were among the initial budget estimates that state agencies were required to submit by yesterday to state legislative leaders and Republican Gov.-elect John Kasich.
Those requests, plus a national report issued yesterday outlining the difficult budget situation that all states face, underscore the challenge for Kasich and the legislature as they prepare a two-year spending plan with an expected $8billion shortfall that is due by June 30.
Earlier this year, Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland's administration instructed each state agency to prepare budget estimates using two scenarios: one based on receiving 100 percent of this year's funding, the other based on getting 90 percent.
The state budget office said it didn't have a summary of the agencies' proposals, and that the submissions could be obtained only from each individual agency. But an initial review of some of the larger agency proposals showed:
• The Board of Regents suggested a sharp reduction in financial aid would be required under the 90 percent funding scenario and warned that if state support were to decline, "Ohio's public campuses would need to significantly increase tuition to sustain balanced budgets" and meet enrollment goals.
• Budget cuts in the Department of Job and Family Services are likely to impact the state's neediest residents because 87 percent of the agency's budget goes to services. A 90 percent budget would result in fewer families receiving subsidized child care, reduced payments to child-care providers and higher co-pays for low-income families to access such services.
• Optional Medicaid services could be eliminated, including dental coverage, prescription drugs and hospice services. The agency also said the timeliness of child-protection investigations will be affected, "placing children at greater risk for maltreatment."
• The Department of Aging said more than 25,000 people would not receive long-term care services during the next two years with 100 percent funding, and that nearly 33,800 people would go without under the 90 percent scenario.
• The Department of Rehabilitation and Correction raised the possibility of inmates being released. Even at 100 percent of current funding, the agency said it would have to cut 339 corrections positions and close prisons because of the expected increase in payroll costs during the next two years.
That would increase prison overcrowding to 151.4 percent of capacity by 2013, the largest percentage in state history and "higher than at the time of the Lucasville riot" in 1993, Director Ernie L. Moore wrote in his summary.
At 90 percent of current funding, the department would lose 1,571 prison jobs through closing prisons and would take drastic steps such as "hot bunking," or having inmates sharing a bed based on shifts, Moore wrote. Overall department layoffs could reach 2,454, he said.
The cumulative effect of agency cuts would risk "threatening the safety of the public, staff and inmates," and the state would be "substantially more prone to litigation in multiple facets of operations," Moore wrote.
Prisons spokeswoman JoEllen Smith said there are no estimates on how many prisons would close under either scenario because those decisions would be made when final budget numbers are available.
Kasich hasn't provided details about how he plans to deal with prisons or other agencies in the executive budget he must introduce by March 15, other than promising not to raise taxes and saying "everything is on the table."
Spokesman Ron Nichols said Kasich's budget team started reviewing the budget documents yesterday.
Kasich, one of 29 new governors taking office next year, isn't alone in facing a budget crisis, according to a report issued yesterday by the National Governors Association and the National Association of State Budget Officers.
"We just hope they don't quit when they see how bad the budget is," NGA Executive Director Raymond C. Scheppach quipped during a conference call.
The report said Ohio and most states are expecting a slight increase in revenue and spending during the current fiscal year that ends June 30. But after two of the worst budget years since the Great Depression, spending and revenue nationwide are not likely to return to pre-recession levels until 2013 or 2014.
Making matters worse, states already have made significant cuts and face what the report calls the "cliff" in the 2012 fiscal year when federal stimulus money that helped balance current budgets ends.
"The low-hanging fruit has been picked; a lot of very difficult actions have been taken by states already," said Scott D. Pattison, executive director of the National Association of State Budget Officers.
Prisons would close, services would dry up under some scenarios
Niquette, Mark. Columbus Dispatch, Dec. 2, 2010.
Some state prisons would close and the rest would be dangerously overcrowded, college tuition could increase significantly and fewer Ohioans would get long-term health care from the state.
The dire warnings were among the initial budget estimates that state agencies were required to submit by yesterday to state legislative leaders and Republican Gov.-elect John Kasich.
Those requests, plus a national report issued yesterday outlining the difficult budget situation that all states face, underscore the challenge for Kasich and the legislature as they prepare a two-year spending plan with an expected $8billion shortfall that is due by June 30.
Earlier this year, Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland's administration instructed each state agency to prepare budget estimates using two scenarios: one based on receiving 100 percent of this year's funding, the other based on getting 90 percent.
The state budget office said it didn't have a summary of the agencies' proposals, and that the submissions could be obtained only from each individual agency. But an initial review of some of the larger agency proposals showed:
• The Board of Regents suggested a sharp reduction in financial aid would be required under the 90 percent funding scenario and warned that if state support were to decline, "Ohio's public campuses would need to significantly increase tuition to sustain balanced budgets" and meet enrollment goals.
• Budget cuts in the Department of Job and Family Services are likely to impact the state's neediest residents because 87 percent of the agency's budget goes to services. A 90 percent budget would result in fewer families receiving subsidized child care, reduced payments to child-care providers and higher co-pays for low-income families to access such services.
• Optional Medicaid services could be eliminated, including dental coverage, prescription drugs and hospice services. The agency also said the timeliness of child-protection investigations will be affected, "placing children at greater risk for maltreatment."
• The Department of Aging said more than 25,000 people would not receive long-term care services during the next two years with 100 percent funding, and that nearly 33,800 people would go without under the 90 percent scenario.
• The Department of Rehabilitation and Correction raised the possibility of inmates being released. Even at 100 percent of current funding, the agency said it would have to cut 339 corrections positions and close prisons because of the expected increase in payroll costs during the next two years.
That would increase prison overcrowding to 151.4 percent of capacity by 2013, the largest percentage in state history and "higher than at the time of the Lucasville riot" in 1993, Director Ernie L. Moore wrote in his summary.
At 90 percent of current funding, the department would lose 1,571 prison jobs through closing prisons and would take drastic steps such as "hot bunking," or having inmates sharing a bed based on shifts, Moore wrote. Overall department layoffs could reach 2,454, he said.
The cumulative effect of agency cuts would risk "threatening the safety of the public, staff and inmates," and the state would be "substantially more prone to litigation in multiple facets of operations," Moore wrote.
Prisons spokeswoman JoEllen Smith said there are no estimates on how many prisons would close under either scenario because those decisions would be made when final budget numbers are available.
Kasich hasn't provided details about how he plans to deal with prisons or other agencies in the executive budget he must introduce by March 15, other than promising not to raise taxes and saying "everything is on the table."
Spokesman Ron Nichols said Kasich's budget team started reviewing the budget documents yesterday.
Kasich, one of 29 new governors taking office next year, isn't alone in facing a budget crisis, according to a report issued yesterday by the National Governors Association and the National Association of State Budget Officers.
"We just hope they don't quit when they see how bad the budget is," NGA Executive Director Raymond C. Scheppach quipped during a conference call.
The report said Ohio and most states are expecting a slight increase in revenue and spending during the current fiscal year that ends June 30. But after two of the worst budget years since the Great Depression, spending and revenue nationwide are not likely to return to pre-recession levels until 2013 or 2014.
Making matters worse, states already have made significant cuts and face what the report calls the "cliff" in the 2012 fiscal year when federal stimulus money that helped balance current budgets ends.
"The low-hanging fruit has been picked; a lot of very difficult actions have been taken by states already," said Scott D. Pattison, executive director of the National Association of State Budget Officers.
Kasich says: If you're not on the bus, he will run over you with the bus
Budget tactic: Offer savings
Groups expecting state cuts are warned: Give ideas to work with less
Candisky, Catherine. Columbus Dispatch, Dec. 5, 2010
Many advocates and special-interest groups seeking pieces of Ohio’s dwindling budget pie say that with sweeping cuts unavoidable, they need to adjust their strategy for the coming budget debate.
Instead of lobbying Gov.-elect John Kasich and Republican legislative leaders for money, they hope to preserve the services they hold dear by pitching ideas for saving scarce tax dollars.
“You can’t sit around singing Kumbaya anymore. There’s an $8 billion deficit, so we need to see what we can do to help this governor,” said Terry Russell, interim director of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill.
“I want to be his poster child for ‘You can do things better with less money.’ ”
Kasich set the tone for his administration two days after the Nov. 2 election when he told Statehouse lobbyists, “If you’re not on the bus, we will run over you with the bus. And I’m not kidding.”
He and GOP legislative leaders have been insistent: no new taxes.
More recently, the governor-elect said: “In this state, we are all one Ohio. If the coal miners down there in Chile were trying to grab the last breath of air, they’d all (have) died. If in our state, all these individual interest groups are going to whine, complain … it’s OK to say, ‘Here’s a problem; here’s a danger area.’ I want to hear that, OK? But don’t become hysterical, and don’t just look out for yourself, or we’re going to lose. This state will lose, and I’m not going to put up with it, and neither is the legislature.”
The rhetoric and realities of the next budget are forcing groups to do things differently, and key lawmakers say it’s a refreshing change.
“This is not the standard procedure I’ve seen over the years,” said Rep. Ron Amstutz, R-Wooster, a 30-year veteran and incoming House Finance Committee chairman. “The standard procedure is more of a frontal attack — we’re doing this critical stuff, and this is how much more we need.
“I think they’re recognizing special carve-outs aren’t going to be happening because of a lack of funds. They are trying to be more creative.”
Senate President-elect Tom Niehaus, R-New Richmond, agreed. Two years ago, when the budget problem was less severe but still significant, he said, groups would say: “I know the budget is going to be difficult, but this is only $50 million.”
“I’m not hearing that now,” he said. “I’m hearing: ‘We know how tough it’s going to be ... so we want to be proactive and share some ideas on how we can continue to deliver services in this new environment.’ I think that’s very encouraging.”
Gayle Channing Tenenbaum, co-chairman of Advocates for Ohio’s Future, a coalition of health and human-services organizations, said she was told in a meeting with House leaders last week: “Don’t come in here and ask for anything; come in with ideas.”
She plans to oblige them.
“I would much rather that we come up with ideas and come to the table than sit around and whine that we don’t want to do anything different,” she said.
Kasich must submit his two-year budget proposal to the General Assembly by March 15. In the lull before public hearings and debate, advocates and interest groups are meeting with lawmakers, educating their constituents about what’s at stake, prioritizing goals and developing plans to stretch state funds.
School districts have been told by GOP leaders to brace for a possible 20 percent cut in state aid. In response, educators say they will ask for more flexibility with the dollars they will get.
“One of our strategies is to reduce unfunded mandates, so we have asked our members to help put together a list,” said Damon Asbury of the Ohio School Boards Association. “We also want to talk about collective bargaining. That’s another area that we’d like to see some changes so we can better control costs.”
Kasich’s staff is encouraging advocates to submit ideas in writing.
“We are meeting with just about everyone who asks. Some are coming in with ideas for potential efficiencies. A lot are just trying to get a sense of where John is,” said Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols. “He has not made any promises. Everything is on the table.”
Advocates for mental-health and addiction services, which took one of the largest hits in the current budget, have been working on a plan for preserving community-based services.
Cheri L. Walter, CEO of the Ohio Association of County Behavioral Health Authorities, has begun talking to legislators about restructuring how services are financed to ensure they are available to those in need.
“We think there are savings to be had,” Walter said.
For instance, thousands of mentally ill Ohioans wind up in prison. For the cost of one prison bed, three people with mental illness and 15 in need of addiction treatment could be treated in the community.
The group also suggests that the state stop using general-revenue funds to pay for alcohol- and drug-addiction treatment and instead use profits from state liquor sales.
Ohio’s strong nursing-home lobby also plans to be a player.
“We are very worried. It seems there is pain to go around,” said Pete Van Runkle, executive director of the Ohio Health Care Association. “We intend to bring ideas to the table that would hopefully address the direction the administration wants to go. We just don’t know which way that is yet.”
Van Runkle said the administration might try to save dollars in the current long-term care system, or move to managed care.
Some say that savings are difficult to come by, such as state aid to local governments. That pays primarily for police, fire and other protective services.
“Our fight is a tactical one,” said John K. Mahoney, deputy director of the Ohio Municipal League. “I can’t come up with a way to cut the local-government fund and save the state money. Other kinds of budget items can do that, but we can’t.”
Groups expecting state cuts are warned: Give ideas to work with less
Candisky, Catherine. Columbus Dispatch, Dec. 5, 2010
Many advocates and special-interest groups seeking pieces of Ohio’s dwindling budget pie say that with sweeping cuts unavoidable, they need to adjust their strategy for the coming budget debate.
Instead of lobbying Gov.-elect John Kasich and Republican legislative leaders for money, they hope to preserve the services they hold dear by pitching ideas for saving scarce tax dollars.
“You can’t sit around singing Kumbaya anymore. There’s an $8 billion deficit, so we need to see what we can do to help this governor,” said Terry Russell, interim director of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill.
“I want to be his poster child for ‘You can do things better with less money.’ ”
Kasich set the tone for his administration two days after the Nov. 2 election when he told Statehouse lobbyists, “If you’re not on the bus, we will run over you with the bus. And I’m not kidding.”
He and GOP legislative leaders have been insistent: no new taxes.
More recently, the governor-elect said: “In this state, we are all one Ohio. If the coal miners down there in Chile were trying to grab the last breath of air, they’d all (have) died. If in our state, all these individual interest groups are going to whine, complain … it’s OK to say, ‘Here’s a problem; here’s a danger area.’ I want to hear that, OK? But don’t become hysterical, and don’t just look out for yourself, or we’re going to lose. This state will lose, and I’m not going to put up with it, and neither is the legislature.”
The rhetoric and realities of the next budget are forcing groups to do things differently, and key lawmakers say it’s a refreshing change.
“This is not the standard procedure I’ve seen over the years,” said Rep. Ron Amstutz, R-Wooster, a 30-year veteran and incoming House Finance Committee chairman. “The standard procedure is more of a frontal attack — we’re doing this critical stuff, and this is how much more we need.
“I think they’re recognizing special carve-outs aren’t going to be happening because of a lack of funds. They are trying to be more creative.”
Senate President-elect Tom Niehaus, R-New Richmond, agreed. Two years ago, when the budget problem was less severe but still significant, he said, groups would say: “I know the budget is going to be difficult, but this is only $50 million.”
“I’m not hearing that now,” he said. “I’m hearing: ‘We know how tough it’s going to be ... so we want to be proactive and share some ideas on how we can continue to deliver services in this new environment.’ I think that’s very encouraging.”
Gayle Channing Tenenbaum, co-chairman of Advocates for Ohio’s Future, a coalition of health and human-services organizations, said she was told in a meeting with House leaders last week: “Don’t come in here and ask for anything; come in with ideas.”
She plans to oblige them.
“I would much rather that we come up with ideas and come to the table than sit around and whine that we don’t want to do anything different,” she said.
Kasich must submit his two-year budget proposal to the General Assembly by March 15. In the lull before public hearings and debate, advocates and interest groups are meeting with lawmakers, educating their constituents about what’s at stake, prioritizing goals and developing plans to stretch state funds.
School districts have been told by GOP leaders to brace for a possible 20 percent cut in state aid. In response, educators say they will ask for more flexibility with the dollars they will get.
“One of our strategies is to reduce unfunded mandates, so we have asked our members to help put together a list,” said Damon Asbury of the Ohio School Boards Association. “We also want to talk about collective bargaining. That’s another area that we’d like to see some changes so we can better control costs.”
Kasich’s staff is encouraging advocates to submit ideas in writing.
“We are meeting with just about everyone who asks. Some are coming in with ideas for potential efficiencies. A lot are just trying to get a sense of where John is,” said Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols. “He has not made any promises. Everything is on the table.”
Advocates for mental-health and addiction services, which took one of the largest hits in the current budget, have been working on a plan for preserving community-based services.
Cheri L. Walter, CEO of the Ohio Association of County Behavioral Health Authorities, has begun talking to legislators about restructuring how services are financed to ensure they are available to those in need.
“We think there are savings to be had,” Walter said.
For instance, thousands of mentally ill Ohioans wind up in prison. For the cost of one prison bed, three people with mental illness and 15 in need of addiction treatment could be treated in the community.
The group also suggests that the state stop using general-revenue funds to pay for alcohol- and drug-addiction treatment and instead use profits from state liquor sales.
Ohio’s strong nursing-home lobby also plans to be a player.
“We are very worried. It seems there is pain to go around,” said Pete Van Runkle, executive director of the Ohio Health Care Association. “We intend to bring ideas to the table that would hopefully address the direction the administration wants to go. We just don’t know which way that is yet.”
Van Runkle said the administration might try to save dollars in the current long-term care system, or move to managed care.
Some say that savings are difficult to come by, such as state aid to local governments. That pays primarily for police, fire and other protective services.
“Our fight is a tactical one,” said John K. Mahoney, deputy director of the Ohio Municipal League. “I can’t come up with a way to cut the local-government fund and save the state money. Other kinds of budget items can do that, but we can’t.”
With an $8 Billion Deficit, there will only be MORE CUTS in 2011
High jobless rate has led more Ohioans to request cash aid, putting state in bind
Candisky, Catherine. Columbus Dispatch, Dec. 19, 2010.
Ohio’s welfare rolls have climbed more than 30 percent in the past three years, reversing a decade-long trend as unemployment persists and incomes fall, forcing more families to turn to government assistance.
Ohio’s welfare rolls are the third-largest in the nation; its average monthly caseload in the past fiscal year was 102,446 families, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
As of October, 104,542 families were relying on monthly checks averaging $160 a person. Three years ago, 80,269 families were on welfare.
Before the recession hit, cases involving a child with no parent present — often youngsters living with a grandparent — made up more than half the caseload. Now, single-parent households make up the largest proportion.
“We are attributing that to the economy and double-digit unemployment,” said Michael McCreight, deputy chief of staff for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
The expansion of welfare rolls in hard times shows that the system is working, he said.
“We are at a time of recession, and the program is intended to be a safety net,” McCreight said. “We are meeting that need for people who are in temporary setbacks. It makes sense that people are coming onto the program.”
California led the nation with 572,521 families receiving assistance, followed by New York, which had a caseload of 121,289.
Ohio’s rolls hit a high of 163,079 families in 1992. They hit a record low of 77,061 in early 2007, as sweeping reforms limited assistance to three years and imposed strict work guidelines.
The caseload is expected to keep climbing through 2013 as Ohio recovers from the recession, according to a recent budget analysis prepared by the Department of Job and Family Services. On average, an individual receives $165 a month in cash assistance.
To meet welfare reform’s goal of ending dependency, recipients are required to work, train for a job or be in school to collect benefits. But that is a federal mandate that Ohio failed to meet in 2007 and 2008, and stiff penalties come as Ohio faces a projected $8 billion shortfall in the next two-year budget.
McCreight said the state has asked federal regulators to waive a $77.8 million fine for 2007 and 2008 because the lack of jobs has made it difficult for recipients to find work. The agency expects additional fines to be levied against the state after receiving official notice that Ohio also fell short in 2009 and 2010.
“We never recovered from the last recession, so we have been at a disadvantage,” McCreight said.
Joel Potts, director of the Ohio Job and Family Services Directors Association, said it’s hard to meet work requirements when there are not enough jobs.
Many cash-assistance recipients “are either underemployed or have lost their jobs,” he said. “Even those jobs that don’t require skills and are low-paying, people with college degrees are battling for them now.”
Ohio’s rising caseload means that more of the state’s $1.1 billion two-year welfare budget pays for cash assistance, making less available for other services such as subsidized child care and training programs.
Job and Family Services spokesman Benjamin Johnson said federal regulations require the state to pay cash assistance first.
The agency’s budget analysis, prepared at the request of outgoing Gov. Ted Strickland, recommended cutting $100 million a year from child care for low-income families by changing earnings requirements so that fewer qualify. The department also recommended slashing aid to county agencies; they use that money to administer programs and provide support services to recipients such as job training and emergency auto repairs.
Potts noted that counties’ funding already has been cut by $120 million a year, forcing thousands of layoffs and the elimination of programs such as one in Hamilton County that provided education, job training and family counseling. It had a 90 percent job-placement rate for welfare recipients.
“It’s a vicious Catch-22,” Potts said. “The higher our caseloads, the less money to support programs to get people off cash assistance.”
Candisky, Catherine. Columbus Dispatch, Dec. 19, 2010.
Ohio’s welfare rolls have climbed more than 30 percent in the past three years, reversing a decade-long trend as unemployment persists and incomes fall, forcing more families to turn to government assistance.
Ohio’s welfare rolls are the third-largest in the nation; its average monthly caseload in the past fiscal year was 102,446 families, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
As of October, 104,542 families were relying on monthly checks averaging $160 a person. Three years ago, 80,269 families were on welfare.
Before the recession hit, cases involving a child with no parent present — often youngsters living with a grandparent — made up more than half the caseload. Now, single-parent households make up the largest proportion.
“We are attributing that to the economy and double-digit unemployment,” said Michael McCreight, deputy chief of staff for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
The expansion of welfare rolls in hard times shows that the system is working, he said.
“We are at a time of recession, and the program is intended to be a safety net,” McCreight said. “We are meeting that need for people who are in temporary setbacks. It makes sense that people are coming onto the program.”
California led the nation with 572,521 families receiving assistance, followed by New York, which had a caseload of 121,289.
Ohio’s rolls hit a high of 163,079 families in 1992. They hit a record low of 77,061 in early 2007, as sweeping reforms limited assistance to three years and imposed strict work guidelines.
The caseload is expected to keep climbing through 2013 as Ohio recovers from the recession, according to a recent budget analysis prepared by the Department of Job and Family Services. On average, an individual receives $165 a month in cash assistance.
To meet welfare reform’s goal of ending dependency, recipients are required to work, train for a job or be in school to collect benefits. But that is a federal mandate that Ohio failed to meet in 2007 and 2008, and stiff penalties come as Ohio faces a projected $8 billion shortfall in the next two-year budget.
McCreight said the state has asked federal regulators to waive a $77.8 million fine for 2007 and 2008 because the lack of jobs has made it difficult for recipients to find work. The agency expects additional fines to be levied against the state after receiving official notice that Ohio also fell short in 2009 and 2010.
“We never recovered from the last recession, so we have been at a disadvantage,” McCreight said.
Joel Potts, director of the Ohio Job and Family Services Directors Association, said it’s hard to meet work requirements when there are not enough jobs.
Many cash-assistance recipients “are either underemployed or have lost their jobs,” he said. “Even those jobs that don’t require skills and are low-paying, people with college degrees are battling for them now.”
Ohio’s rising caseload means that more of the state’s $1.1 billion two-year welfare budget pays for cash assistance, making less available for other services such as subsidized child care and training programs.
Job and Family Services spokesman Benjamin Johnson said federal regulations require the state to pay cash assistance first.
The agency’s budget analysis, prepared at the request of outgoing Gov. Ted Strickland, recommended cutting $100 million a year from child care for low-income families by changing earnings requirements so that fewer qualify. The department also recommended slashing aid to county agencies; they use that money to administer programs and provide support services to recipients such as job training and emergency auto repairs.
Potts noted that counties’ funding already has been cut by $120 million a year, forcing thousands of layoffs and the elimination of programs such as one in Hamilton County that provided education, job training and family counseling. It had a 90 percent job-placement rate for welfare recipients.
“It’s a vicious Catch-22,” Potts said. “The higher our caseloads, the less money to support programs to get people off cash assistance.”
Monday, October 26, 2009
Cuts in human services at a time when families need help more than ever
Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services tries to make do with less money, Dissell, Rachel. Cleveland Plain Dealer, Oct. 19, 2009.
CLEVELAND -- Overwhelmed parents, calling from the last knot on their rope, won't get help from the Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services.
That's because with a total of at least $19 million in state cuts last year, this year and the next, the department can no longer afford the services.
After years of building preventive programs to keep children out of foster care, the agency is making soul-churning choices.
"We have been all things to all people for a long time," department director Deborah Forkas said. "This will not be the same agency anymore. We will only be able to do what we are mandated to do and nothing more."
That means the agency, which has one of the largest budgets in the county, at $164 million this year, will wait until a baby is born drug-positive to step in. The agency will work with families only when abuse and neglect have been verified or other problems have actually occurred, rather than stepping in early to help.
And it will peel back efforts elsewhere to focus on its core mission: aiding seriously abused and neglected children, especially the youngest and most helpless kids.
So far, projected cuts from 2008 through 2010 amount to more than 10 percent of the agency's budget.
That does not take into consideration cuts to nonprofit and grant-funded agencies the county collaborates with. Many of those have suffered severe cutbacks as well. And more cuts could still come. It's depressing news for any county, which throughout Ohio are grappling with shrinking state aid and growing need.
So state officials are giving counties as much flexibility as possible in deciding what to cut.
"Each county has different priorities, different funding sources," said Brian Harter, a spokesman for Ohio Job and Family Services. "Some counties have levy dollars, some don't. It's up to each individual county to prioritize how they spend their money. They have a better sense of the needs of their county."
In that sense, Cuyahoga County is lucky. Sort of.
In addition to state and federal money for health and human services, the county began collecting money for needy families, elderly programs and MetroHealth Medical Center in 1976 when it passed its first health and human service levy. The county passed a second levy in 1989, and now, the two taxes are replaced or renewed by voters every four or five years, including one tax last year.
In 2004, county commissioners pledged to spend only levy money -- not general fund income -- on health and human services. That way, funding for the agencies remains separate from the pool of money that pays for most county services and offices.
Of course, both streams of money are fueled by taxes, mostly sales tax for the general fund, and property tax for the health and human services fund.
But county officials are not considering mixing the money, even while they bemoan what they call "devastating" state cuts.
The county is even shifting some costs, such as $365,000 for the public defender's social work staff, from the general fund to the health and human services levies.
Commissioners Tim Hagan and Peter Lawson Jones said they don't believe the county should use general fund money to make up for health and human service losses. But every dollar spent reflects a choice, a point Hagan made at a commissioners' meeting last month.
"We should be investing in our children as quickly as we can," he said.
Still, county officials are independently elected and so, can choose how to spend their allotted budgets.
The county treasurer's staff can attend weekend festivals to share information about subsidized home loans and easy payment programs. The auditor can have three satellite offices.
Auditor Frank Russo spends about $45,000 annually to rent three offices throughout Cleveland, said Destin Ramsey, the auditor's chief of staff. Fourteen office assistants are paid a total of $560,000 to work at the offices, to answer questions and process licenses.
"Every agency has their budget," Ramsey said. "Either you spend it or you don't."
The county budget office calculates the spending for each office. But commissioners really have no control over elected officials' budgets, other than the total dollar amounts.
"It's a conundrum," McCafferty said. "You certainly want services for health and human services. But there are also services for the general population. You can't just cut out all other services to support health and human services."
In the past, Cuyahoga County had a strong reputation statewide for investing money in its children.
Forkas planned to develop a program for older foster-care children, about to "age out," or leave the system. But now the agency cannot afford to make those children a top priority, especially since Forkas said the agency has lost more than 200 positions though a combination of unfilled positions, layoffs and buyouts.
The layoffs included workers who supervised visitation. That work has now been shifted to social workers. The staff of special advocates and workers who assist drug-addicted parents also has been snipped.
Forkas said she's not sure state officials realize the actual impact of their cuts.
"They ought to be out here and see these families and these kids," she said. "Of course this is bad for us, but it is 10 times worse for our clients who are suffering."
Although doing less will save money now, it could end up costing more as untreated problems fester, experts say.
"Whenever we cut the up-front, early preventive services, the cases that come to us later on are further along and more intense," said Crystal Ward Allen, executive director of the Public Children Services Association of Ohio. "I do believe it will come back and be more costly, not only financially, but also in terms of child outcomes."
Jon Honeck, director of public policy for the Center for Community Solutions said that a few years ago, a poor family might be able to get help fixing a car so a parent could get to his job.
Now the money isn't available. "Having these prevention, retention and contingency funds, having them go away or be cut down to nothing, it's penny-wise, pound-foolish," he said.
But Honeck doesn't think counties can raid their general funds to pay for preventive programs. That's because of declining sales tax revenue and state budget cuts affecting other county functions.
"All the counties are in a revenue crunch, to one degree or another," he said. "I don't know if there really is anywhere they could do major shifts. You can't fix this just by tinkering around the edges."
Forkas agrees. Resigned to the fact she cannot prevent all the cuts, she has moved on to other strategies.
The agency plans to seek more grants. And it's reaching out to business and community groups.
Earlier this year, on a whim, Forkas wrote a letter to a Lowe's Home Improvement store, explaining that there was no adequate outdoor place for parents and siblings to visit each other at the agency's downtown office.
Parents attempting to reunite with their children often start visiting at the agency under supervision of social workers.
To her surprise, Lowe's donated nearly $4,500 worth of plants and materials for the visitation center and urban garden.
"We just have to get more creative now, I guess," Forkas said.
CLEVELAND -- Overwhelmed parents, calling from the last knot on their rope, won't get help from the Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services.
That's because with a total of at least $19 million in state cuts last year, this year and the next, the department can no longer afford the services.
After years of building preventive programs to keep children out of foster care, the agency is making soul-churning choices.
"We have been all things to all people for a long time," department director Deborah Forkas said. "This will not be the same agency anymore. We will only be able to do what we are mandated to do and nothing more."
That means the agency, which has one of the largest budgets in the county, at $164 million this year, will wait until a baby is born drug-positive to step in. The agency will work with families only when abuse and neglect have been verified or other problems have actually occurred, rather than stepping in early to help.
And it will peel back efforts elsewhere to focus on its core mission: aiding seriously abused and neglected children, especially the youngest and most helpless kids.
So far, projected cuts from 2008 through 2010 amount to more than 10 percent of the agency's budget.
That does not take into consideration cuts to nonprofit and grant-funded agencies the county collaborates with. Many of those have suffered severe cutbacks as well. And more cuts could still come. It's depressing news for any county, which throughout Ohio are grappling with shrinking state aid and growing need.
So state officials are giving counties as much flexibility as possible in deciding what to cut.
"Each county has different priorities, different funding sources," said Brian Harter, a spokesman for Ohio Job and Family Services. "Some counties have levy dollars, some don't. It's up to each individual county to prioritize how they spend their money. They have a better sense of the needs of their county."
In that sense, Cuyahoga County is lucky. Sort of.
In addition to state and federal money for health and human services, the county began collecting money for needy families, elderly programs and MetroHealth Medical Center in 1976 when it passed its first health and human service levy. The county passed a second levy in 1989, and now, the two taxes are replaced or renewed by voters every four or five years, including one tax last year.
In 2004, county commissioners pledged to spend only levy money -- not general fund income -- on health and human services. That way, funding for the agencies remains separate from the pool of money that pays for most county services and offices.
Of course, both streams of money are fueled by taxes, mostly sales tax for the general fund, and property tax for the health and human services fund.
But county officials are not considering mixing the money, even while they bemoan what they call "devastating" state cuts.
The county is even shifting some costs, such as $365,000 for the public defender's social work staff, from the general fund to the health and human services levies.
Commissioners Tim Hagan and Peter Lawson Jones said they don't believe the county should use general fund money to make up for health and human service losses. But every dollar spent reflects a choice, a point Hagan made at a commissioners' meeting last month.
"We should be investing in our children as quickly as we can," he said.
Still, county officials are independently elected and so, can choose how to spend their allotted budgets.
The county treasurer's staff can attend weekend festivals to share information about subsidized home loans and easy payment programs. The auditor can have three satellite offices.
Auditor Frank Russo spends about $45,000 annually to rent three offices throughout Cleveland, said Destin Ramsey, the auditor's chief of staff. Fourteen office assistants are paid a total of $560,000 to work at the offices, to answer questions and process licenses.
"Every agency has their budget," Ramsey said. "Either you spend it or you don't."
The county budget office calculates the spending for each office. But commissioners really have no control over elected officials' budgets, other than the total dollar amounts.
"It's a conundrum," McCafferty said. "You certainly want services for health and human services. But there are also services for the general population. You can't just cut out all other services to support health and human services."
In the past, Cuyahoga County had a strong reputation statewide for investing money in its children.
Forkas planned to develop a program for older foster-care children, about to "age out," or leave the system. But now the agency cannot afford to make those children a top priority, especially since Forkas said the agency has lost more than 200 positions though a combination of unfilled positions, layoffs and buyouts.
The layoffs included workers who supervised visitation. That work has now been shifted to social workers. The staff of special advocates and workers who assist drug-addicted parents also has been snipped.
Forkas said she's not sure state officials realize the actual impact of their cuts.
"They ought to be out here and see these families and these kids," she said. "Of course this is bad for us, but it is 10 times worse for our clients who are suffering."
Although doing less will save money now, it could end up costing more as untreated problems fester, experts say.
"Whenever we cut the up-front, early preventive services, the cases that come to us later on are further along and more intense," said Crystal Ward Allen, executive director of the Public Children Services Association of Ohio. "I do believe it will come back and be more costly, not only financially, but also in terms of child outcomes."
Jon Honeck, director of public policy for the Center for Community Solutions said that a few years ago, a poor family might be able to get help fixing a car so a parent could get to his job.
Now the money isn't available. "Having these prevention, retention and contingency funds, having them go away or be cut down to nothing, it's penny-wise, pound-foolish," he said.
But Honeck doesn't think counties can raid their general funds to pay for preventive programs. That's because of declining sales tax revenue and state budget cuts affecting other county functions.
"All the counties are in a revenue crunch, to one degree or another," he said. "I don't know if there really is anywhere they could do major shifts. You can't fix this just by tinkering around the edges."
Forkas agrees. Resigned to the fact she cannot prevent all the cuts, she has moved on to other strategies.
The agency plans to seek more grants. And it's reaching out to business and community groups.
Earlier this year, on a whim, Forkas wrote a letter to a Lowe's Home Improvement store, explaining that there was no adequate outdoor place for parents and siblings to visit each other at the agency's downtown office.
Parents attempting to reunite with their children often start visiting at the agency under supervision of social workers.
To her surprise, Lowe's donated nearly $4,500 worth of plants and materials for the visitation center and urban garden.
"We just have to get more creative now, I guess," Forkas said.
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Child abuse escalates during a recession
Abuse of children escalating to brutality, experts say
Sullivan, Lucas. Springfield News Sun, Oct. 4, 2009.
Infants and toddlers have become helpless casualties of an economic crisis, suffering severe physical abuse at levels that rival anything local experts have seen in at least 20 years.
Investigations of physical abuse in Montgomery County increased from 817 in 2006 to 1,033 the next year and landed at 981 in 2008, according to county data. The numbers are rising more this year.
Dayton Children’s Medical Center, which handles patients from throughout the Miami Valley, reported an increase from 195 cases of possible abuse between January and August in 2008, to 326 during the same time period this year.
Caseworkers in Clark County also reported an increase in physical abuse, and like their counterparts in Montgomery County, they’ve gone from working about 15 cases at a time, to about 20. But Warren and Greene counties reported no increases in physical abuse.
The increase in physical abuse is concerning, but more alarming, “it’s more severe,” said Carol Griesdorn, a 20-year veteran with Montgomery County Children Services.
County Coroner Dr. James Davis said the abuse has not led to more child fatalities, just more violent deaths. “There needs to be a more appropriate word to what we’re seeing because it’s not abuse,” he said. “What we’re seeing is outrageous brutality.”
The rise in severe abuse mirrors a local unemployment rate that ballooned from 6 percent in 2005 to nearly 12 percent last month, according to data from the state department of Job and Family Services.
Griesdorn and caseworkers from area counties said the recession has stripped social services, leaving parents or caregivers with short fuses without a support system.
That means more helpless children in dangerous situations, Griesdorn said.
Every case of child abuse is disturbing, but images of the injuries that led to 3-year-old Hope Cook’s death won’t leave forensic or homicide investigators anytime soon.
Cook was beaten to death by her half-sister Kimberly Cook, 23, in July 2008. A Montgomery County jury took 90 minutes Thursday, Oct. 1, to find Kimberly Cook guilty of all murder and abuse charges .
Hope Cook’s head injuries were so severe, county Coroner James Davis used phrases like “Oh my gosh,” and “horrific brutality,” when talking about the case.
“Let’s just say there is no doubt Hope Cook was murdered,” Davis said. “I would rather spare the public the extent of the brutality and only say it’s the worse case I’ve seen in my 29 years.”
While Hope Cook’s death is an extreme case, child advocates say the instances of especially harsh abuse appear to be increasing.
“The past year I have noted (that) many infants and younger toddlers presenting physical abuse concerns have more severe injuries,” said Dr. Lori Vavul-Roediger, director for the Department of Child Advocacy at Dayton Children’s Medical Center. “There seems to be a slightly increasing trend (of) abusive head injuries in infants and younger toddlers.”
It’s difficult for medical experts to pinpoint why more children are suffering severe head trauma , but when it comes to head injuries from abuse or accident, the indicators are palpable, Davis said.
“It’s very difficult to fracture a child’s skull,” he said. “Bones in young children are more rubbery and much harder to break than in adults.
“We can see a pattern in the fracture (like a cracked egg) and tell right away. When you see a solid bone that’s fractured like that — they’ve sustained a severe blow.”
While Vavul-Roediger acknowledged the possibility of a link between the increase in violence and the economy, she said that increased awareness among professionals about the signs of abuse also is leading to more reported cases.
But there is still a long way to go, she said.
“A major factor is that family violence is exceedingly common, and sadly, overlooked by our society,” she said. “We as a community and a nation often fail to protect our children and respond appropriately to tragic family violence.”
Disbelief is not uncommon as well, particularly when a parent is confronted with allegations of child abuse by a loved one.
Homicide detectives believe that was the case in the death of 2-year-old Malechi Wilson.
The toddler was beaten severely in early June in the home of his mother’s boyfriend. Police said the boy suffered for hours before his mother, Denise Stinson, called 911.
The coroner said Malechi was beaten so badly his internal organs were severed.
Stinson would not say why she waited so long to call police , and she refused to blame her boyfriend Mark Newberry, whom police said beat the boy.
Without Stinson’s cooperation, the investigation into Malechi’s death stalled ; and to date, no one has been charged for Wilson’s death.
“It’s hard for some parents to accept that their significant other could do something like this,” said Carol Griesdorn, a caseworker with Montgomery County Children’s Services. “But things start piling up on people and they snap. We are seeing more and more heat-of-the-moment incidents.”
At the same time, support services are being cut, said Nancy Mahoney, of Clark County Children’s Services. “We are laying off 33 people here, including me. Families are losing safety nets.”
Mahoney said her agency is relying more on the families they serve to work out solutions.
“We had a mom that had a substance abuse issue, and her children were left in a questionable supervision situation while the mother decided to go out and use drugs,” Mahoney said. “We sat down with (the family) and they were able to work out a system to adequately care for the children.”
It’s not the best solution, she said, “but the children are in a safer environment.”
Sullivan, Lucas. Springfield News Sun, Oct. 4, 2009.
Infants and toddlers have become helpless casualties of an economic crisis, suffering severe physical abuse at levels that rival anything local experts have seen in at least 20 years.
Investigations of physical abuse in Montgomery County increased from 817 in 2006 to 1,033 the next year and landed at 981 in 2008, according to county data. The numbers are rising more this year.
Dayton Children’s Medical Center, which handles patients from throughout the Miami Valley, reported an increase from 195 cases of possible abuse between January and August in 2008, to 326 during the same time period this year.
Caseworkers in Clark County also reported an increase in physical abuse, and like their counterparts in Montgomery County, they’ve gone from working about 15 cases at a time, to about 20. But Warren and Greene counties reported no increases in physical abuse.
The increase in physical abuse is concerning, but more alarming, “it’s more severe,” said Carol Griesdorn, a 20-year veteran with Montgomery County Children Services.
County Coroner Dr. James Davis said the abuse has not led to more child fatalities, just more violent deaths. “There needs to be a more appropriate word to what we’re seeing because it’s not abuse,” he said. “What we’re seeing is outrageous brutality.”
The rise in severe abuse mirrors a local unemployment rate that ballooned from 6 percent in 2005 to nearly 12 percent last month, according to data from the state department of Job and Family Services.
Griesdorn and caseworkers from area counties said the recession has stripped social services, leaving parents or caregivers with short fuses without a support system.
That means more helpless children in dangerous situations, Griesdorn said.
Every case of child abuse is disturbing, but images of the injuries that led to 3-year-old Hope Cook’s death won’t leave forensic or homicide investigators anytime soon.
Cook was beaten to death by her half-sister Kimberly Cook, 23, in July 2008. A Montgomery County jury took 90 minutes Thursday, Oct. 1, to find Kimberly Cook guilty of all murder and abuse charges .
Hope Cook’s head injuries were so severe, county Coroner James Davis used phrases like “Oh my gosh,” and “horrific brutality,” when talking about the case.
“Let’s just say there is no doubt Hope Cook was murdered,” Davis said. “I would rather spare the public the extent of the brutality and only say it’s the worse case I’ve seen in my 29 years.”
While Hope Cook’s death is an extreme case, child advocates say the instances of especially harsh abuse appear to be increasing.
“The past year I have noted (that) many infants and younger toddlers presenting physical abuse concerns have more severe injuries,” said Dr. Lori Vavul-Roediger, director for the Department of Child Advocacy at Dayton Children’s Medical Center. “There seems to be a slightly increasing trend (of) abusive head injuries in infants and younger toddlers.”
It’s difficult for medical experts to pinpoint why more children are suffering severe head trauma , but when it comes to head injuries from abuse or accident, the indicators are palpable, Davis said.
“It’s very difficult to fracture a child’s skull,” he said. “Bones in young children are more rubbery and much harder to break than in adults.
“We can see a pattern in the fracture (like a cracked egg) and tell right away. When you see a solid bone that’s fractured like that — they’ve sustained a severe blow.”
While Vavul-Roediger acknowledged the possibility of a link between the increase in violence and the economy, she said that increased awareness among professionals about the signs of abuse also is leading to more reported cases.
But there is still a long way to go, she said.
“A major factor is that family violence is exceedingly common, and sadly, overlooked by our society,” she said. “We as a community and a nation often fail to protect our children and respond appropriately to tragic family violence.”
Disbelief is not uncommon as well, particularly when a parent is confronted with allegations of child abuse by a loved one.
Homicide detectives believe that was the case in the death of 2-year-old Malechi Wilson.
The toddler was beaten severely in early June in the home of his mother’s boyfriend. Police said the boy suffered for hours before his mother, Denise Stinson, called 911.
The coroner said Malechi was beaten so badly his internal organs were severed.
Stinson would not say why she waited so long to call police , and she refused to blame her boyfriend Mark Newberry, whom police said beat the boy.
Without Stinson’s cooperation, the investigation into Malechi’s death stalled ; and to date, no one has been charged for Wilson’s death.
“It’s hard for some parents to accept that their significant other could do something like this,” said Carol Griesdorn, a caseworker with Montgomery County Children’s Services. “But things start piling up on people and they snap. We are seeing more and more heat-of-the-moment incidents.”
At the same time, support services are being cut, said Nancy Mahoney, of Clark County Children’s Services. “We are laying off 33 people here, including me. Families are losing safety nets.”
Mahoney said her agency is relying more on the families they serve to work out solutions.
“We had a mom that had a substance abuse issue, and her children were left in a questionable supervision situation while the mother decided to go out and use drugs,” Mahoney said. “We sat down with (the family) and they were able to work out a system to adequately care for the children.”
It’s not the best solution, she said, “but the children are in a safer environment.”
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Ohio's transitioning youth face a scary future in terms of seeking employment
Jobless fund in red, still bleeding
By end of next year, state may owe U.S. government $3 billion
Candisky, Catherine. Columbus Dispatch, Aug. 15, 2009.
"Had we started charging more and limiting benefits a year ago, the hole wouldn't be quite as deep." -- Andrew E. Doehrel, state Chamber of Commerce
Ohio's ailing unemployment-compensation fund is $1 billion in the hole as of this week, and the shortfall is expected to top $3 billion by the end of 2010 -- six years sooner than projected.
Since Ohio's fund went broke earlier this year as the jobless rate soared, the federal government has been picking up the tab. But the money eventually must be repaid.
While the debt has gotten little attention from state officials, business and labor leaders agree a solution must be found.
"If we put this off until we owe $3 billion, now you're talking about having to jack up (employers') rates very, very high and doing something very questionable with benefits," said Andrew E. Doehrel, president of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and a member of the state's Unemployment Compensation Advisory Council.
Zach Schiller, spokesman for Policy Matters Ohio, a Cleveland-based research group, said, "At some point, Ohio will have to pay this back and we'll have to figure out how to do that. Nationwide, states are more than $12 billion in debt, so it's a national problem."
There is no deadline for repaying the money, although interest will begin to accrue on Jan. 1, 2011. By the end of that year, the state's interest payment alone would be $171 million, said Brian Harter, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
If the debt is not settled by Jan. 1, 2012, federal guidelines require that a tax be imposed on Ohio businesses to repay the money.
Ohio is among 17 states that have depleted their funds for paying unemployment compensation and are now borrowing from the national trust fund to cover jobless benefits. As of Monday, the states owed $12.6 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Ohio depleted its unemployment-compensation fund in January. It was drained amid rising unemployment and after years of collecting less in unemployment taxes than the fund paid out in benefits.
At that time, Ohio was among five states borrowing from the federal trust fund.
States operate unemployment-compensation systems under federal guidelines. If funds are depleted, states are required to borrow from the federal government to ensure that unemployed workers continue to receive benefits.
Earlier this year, Congress agreed to waive interest payments on such loans through the end of next year.
Ohio officials have known for years that the fund was in trouble. Since 2001, the fund has collected less in employer taxes than it paid out in jobless benefits in every year but one.
States set their benefit amounts and tax rates. In Ohio, employers pay on the first $9,000 earned by each employee, an amount unchanged since 1995.
The tax and benefits are based on recommendations from the advisory council, subject to approval by the General Assembly. An agreement on how to fix the problem continues to be elusive.
"Had we started charging more and limiting benefits a year ago, the hole wouldn't be quite as deep," Doehrel said. "Now, the changes that will be needed will be more severe on both sides of the equation."
By end of next year, state may owe U.S. government $3 billion
Candisky, Catherine. Columbus Dispatch, Aug. 15, 2009.
"Had we started charging more and limiting benefits a year ago, the hole wouldn't be quite as deep." -- Andrew E. Doehrel, state Chamber of Commerce
Ohio's ailing unemployment-compensation fund is $1 billion in the hole as of this week, and the shortfall is expected to top $3 billion by the end of 2010 -- six years sooner than projected.
Since Ohio's fund went broke earlier this year as the jobless rate soared, the federal government has been picking up the tab. But the money eventually must be repaid.
While the debt has gotten little attention from state officials, business and labor leaders agree a solution must be found.
"If we put this off until we owe $3 billion, now you're talking about having to jack up (employers') rates very, very high and doing something very questionable with benefits," said Andrew E. Doehrel, president of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and a member of the state's Unemployment Compensation Advisory Council.
Zach Schiller, spokesman for Policy Matters Ohio, a Cleveland-based research group, said, "At some point, Ohio will have to pay this back and we'll have to figure out how to do that. Nationwide, states are more than $12 billion in debt, so it's a national problem."
There is no deadline for repaying the money, although interest will begin to accrue on Jan. 1, 2011. By the end of that year, the state's interest payment alone would be $171 million, said Brian Harter, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
If the debt is not settled by Jan. 1, 2012, federal guidelines require that a tax be imposed on Ohio businesses to repay the money.
Ohio is among 17 states that have depleted their funds for paying unemployment compensation and are now borrowing from the national trust fund to cover jobless benefits. As of Monday, the states owed $12.6 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Ohio depleted its unemployment-compensation fund in January. It was drained amid rising unemployment and after years of collecting less in unemployment taxes than the fund paid out in benefits.
At that time, Ohio was among five states borrowing from the federal trust fund.
States operate unemployment-compensation systems under federal guidelines. If funds are depleted, states are required to borrow from the federal government to ensure that unemployed workers continue to receive benefits.
Earlier this year, Congress agreed to waive interest payments on such loans through the end of next year.
Ohio officials have known for years that the fund was in trouble. Since 2001, the fund has collected less in employer taxes than it paid out in jobless benefits in every year but one.
States set their benefit amounts and tax rates. In Ohio, employers pay on the first $9,000 earned by each employee, an amount unchanged since 1995.
The tax and benefits are based on recommendations from the advisory council, subject to approval by the General Assembly. An agreement on how to fix the problem continues to be elusive.
"Had we started charging more and limiting benefits a year ago, the hole wouldn't be quite as deep," Doehrel said. "Now, the changes that will be needed will be more severe on both sides of the equation."
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