Laura Timoney fumes after son Patrick, 9, is busted for bringing 2-inch-long toy gun to school
BY Matthew Lysiak, Kate Nocera and Larry Mcshane
DAILY NEWS WRITERS
Originally Published:Wednesday, February 3rd 2010, 10:06 PM
Updated: Thursday, February 4th 2010, 7:10 PM
Fevelo for NewsThe actual size of the toy gun Patrick Timoney brought to PS 52.
Fevelo for NewsPatrick Timoney, 9, with plastic gun - barely 2 inches long - that nearly got him suspended after PS 52 Principal Evelyn Mastroianni (below) took action.
Fevelo for NewsTake our PollGun crazy
Do you believe officials at Public School 52 overreacted to Patrick Timoney's 2-inch-long toy gun?
Yes. It was only 2 inches long!
No. Size does not matter in this case.
Related NewsArticles
Editorial: Gun nutPols rip educrats who held up homeless student's graduationSchool principal apologizes to boy's mom for tiny toy gun bust
An irate Staten Island mom blasted a grade school principal Wednesday for treating her son like a pint-sized Plaxico Burress after he brought a 2-inch-long toy gun to school.
"This principal is a bully and a coward, and needs to be held accountable," said Laura Timoney, 44, after her teary fourth-grader was nearly suspended for playing with the tiny toy at lunch.
"The school should be embarrassed. This is a common-sense issue."
Patrick Timoney, 9, was terrified when he was yanked into the principal's office to discuss the teeny-weeny plastic "weapon."
"The gun was so little," the boy said. "I don't understand why the principal got so upset. I was a little nervous. They made me sign a statement."
Patrick and a friend were playing with Lego figures in the school cafeteria on Tuesday when he pulled out the faux machine gun and stuck it in the hands of his plastic police officer.
Boom! Trouble ensued, with Patrick's mom getting a phone call from Public School 52 Principal Evelyn Mastroianni saying her son had somehow gone from straight A's to the NRA.
"I was in disbelief," the still-fuming mother said. "Why didn't anyone step up with an ounce of common sense and put an end to the harassment of my child?"
Timoney said her boy loved the toy figure because her husband is a retired police officer.
The elder Patrick Timoney, a former 72nd Precinct cop, couldn't believe his son was nearly busted over something so obviously inauthentic.
"It's a 2-inch gun," he said. "She went overboard. She should have said, 'Put the toys away,' and that would have been the end of it."
After a meeting between the principal and the parents, the boy was spared any disciplinary action. City school officials said Patrick agreed to leave the "gun" at home.
"I'm never bringing a toy to school again," said Patrick, whose favorite subject is math.
Laura Timoney remained upset. Her son, a typically eager student, asked to stay home yesterday because he thought the principal was mad at him.
The mother said she expects an apology and may sue.
"The toy gun is not the issue," she said. "A lack of common sense is the issue."
Several parents at the school felt the principal overreacted, including Kim O'Rieley - whose son was playing with Patrick in the cafeteria.
Her boy's Lego man was toting a tiny ax, which the principal deemed less threatening.
"It's ridiculous," said O'Rieley, 36. "He felt so bad for his friend. They're taking things way too far ... No one is saying guns are okay.
"Come on, it's a Lego."
mlysiak@nydailynews.com
With Rachel Monahan
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2010/02/04/2010-02-04_big_trouble_over_this_tiny_toy_mom_fuming_at_a_lack_of_common_sense_as_son_buste.html
Isabella Brooke Knightly and Austin Gamez-Knightly
In Memory of my Loving Husband, William F. Knightly Jr. Murdered by ILLEGAL Palliative Care at a Nashua, NH Hospital
Friday, February 5, 2010
The Anatomy of Child Welfare Fraud: Part 1 Targeted Case Management
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNTa7BksGkg
The Anatomy of Child Welfare Fraud: Part 1 Targeted Case Management
A look at Targeted Case Management in Child Welfare.
For more information on Child Welfare Fraud, visit:
http://www.BeverlyTran.com
For all the latest dirt on the Child Protective Industry, visit:
http://www.LegallyKidnapped.blogspot.com
The Anatomy of Child Welfare Fraud: Part 1 Targeted Case Management
A look at Targeted Case Management in Child Welfare.
For more information on Child Welfare Fraud, visit:
http://www.BeverlyTran.com
For all the latest dirt on the Child Protective Industry, visit:
http://www.LegallyKidnapped.blogspot.com
L.A. County will no longer strive to reunite families(Looks like L.A.want's to take lesson's from N.H. now)
L.A. County will no longer strive to reunite families
The Department of Children and Family Services will suspend its effort to reduce the number of children in foster care in the wake of the deaths of several children formerly in its care.
Related
As L.A. County spun its wheels, children died
With time and help, a mom may learn to conquer anger
Computer calls the shots for L.A. County children in peril
Stories
Social workers protest perceived role in children's deaths
By Garrett Therolf
February 5, 2010
Los Angeles County has suspended a long-standing effort to reduce the number of children in foster homes because keeping more of the children with their birth families could be unsafe, the county's top child-welfare official said.
The decision marks a turnaround for the Department of Children and Family Services, which for many years has sought to cut the foster care rolls, in part by trying to mend troubled families. The department's leaders have cited the decline in foster children -- from a high of 52,000 in 1997 to a low of 19,900 last year -- as one of their proudest achievements.
"I do want these numbers to start going down again but only when I can assure everyone that the work we are doing results in safety for that child who is going home," said Trish Ploehn, the department's director.
"I don't know how much more we can go down in the numbers, though," she said. "We are a very large county, and it's possible that we are already at the level where we are supposed to be."
The decision is the most significant of several reforms made by the department after a series of high-profile child deaths last year, some of which involved the department putting too much faith in its ability to rehabilitate families. In 2009, The Times reported that reunifications led to some children's further injuries and even deaths. Isabel Garcia, for instance, starved to death two months after child-welfare officials deemed that she, her five siblings and their parents were all doing well.
Toddler Angel Montiel and his siblings were reunited with their parents after the couple enrolled in parenting classes, drug testing and other "family preservation" services.
He subsequently was beaten to death. An autopsy found dozens of injuries, some fresh and some healed, including broken bones and burns. Originally charged with murder, his mother pleaded no contest to manslaughter and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
"These cases had a very deep effect on the department," Ploehn said.
Under the department's policies, social workers had been encouraged to keep children in their original homes by helping parents deal with problems believed to underlie abuse, including addiction, anger, unemployment and mental illness. At the same time, the county increased the number of child-parent reunions, reduced the time such reunifications take and -- for children who couldn't go home -- doubled the number of adoptions.
In 2007, the department wagered that it could drive the numbers down further. It entered an experimental federal program that pays the county a limited sum for foster care services. If it exceeded that amount, the county had to pay the difference. If it spent less, the county could use the savings to reduce child abuse and neglect as it saw fit.
The policy pivot by Ploehn is likely to be controversial. Foster care has many critics who say children often are dispatched to one place after another without any sense of permanence or normal family life, and end up homeless and unemployed in adulthood.
A group called DCFS Give Us Back Our Children often demonstrates outside Edelman Children's Court in Monterey Park, saying that too many children are removed from families unnecessarily.
One member, Sabreen Shabazz, 56, of Los Angeles, cares for her 11-month-old granddaughter, who was removed from her daughter's custody.
Shabazz worries that her granddaughter might be unnecessarily sent to foster care because the family lives on only $845 a month and sometimes struggles to pay for apartment repairs ordered by the department.
"DCFS has a family preservation unit and they need to focus on that work more, not less," said Janet Mitchell, a friend who attends the group's monthly meetings. "Look at Sabreen: She's a loving grandmother who just needs help. They live in poverty, but the child is happy because she is loved."
In 2009, at least 17 children died of abuse or neglect even though child-welfare officials were well aware of their troubled family histories. Fourteen youngsters suffered such deaths in 2008.
Among the other reforms under way:
* Three hundred workers are being redeployed to the child abuse investigations unit at a cost of $37.5 million, reducing the average investigator's caseload from 25 to 18.
* An improved computer system is being developed to provide child-abuse investigators with more information from other county agencies -- mental health, for example, or law enforcement -- about troubled families.
* An additional layer of review is being added to child-abuse investigations before they can be declared "unfounded."
* Dozens of workers are being disciplined for their poor handling of cases that ended in death.
By some key measures, however, the county is falling behind schedule on reform efforts, especially the computer system.
That project is overseen by County Chief Executive William T Fujioka because it requires coordination with many county departments.
The need for such a system has been repeated in more than a dozen reports over almost two decades. Each concluded that county agencies were not exchanging vital information that could prevent death and injury to abused children. None inspired significant change.
Once again, the deadline for many of the improvements -- such as adding data from county hospitals and local police departments -- has passed without action. Work on longer-term goals has barely begun.
Overall, the department's reform efforts also have been stymied by a 9% reduction in its $1.7-billion budget this year. That's not likely to improve any time soon: Ploehn has been ordered to plan an additional 9% cut for next year.
garrett.therolf@latimes.com
Copyright © 2010, The Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-foster-care5-2010feb05,0,201241.story
The Department of Children and Family Services will suspend its effort to reduce the number of children in foster care in the wake of the deaths of several children formerly in its care.
Related
As L.A. County spun its wheels, children died
With time and help, a mom may learn to conquer anger
Computer calls the shots for L.A. County children in peril
Stories
Social workers protest perceived role in children's deaths
By Garrett Therolf
February 5, 2010
Los Angeles County has suspended a long-standing effort to reduce the number of children in foster homes because keeping more of the children with their birth families could be unsafe, the county's top child-welfare official said.
The decision marks a turnaround for the Department of Children and Family Services, which for many years has sought to cut the foster care rolls, in part by trying to mend troubled families. The department's leaders have cited the decline in foster children -- from a high of 52,000 in 1997 to a low of 19,900 last year -- as one of their proudest achievements.
"I do want these numbers to start going down again but only when I can assure everyone that the work we are doing results in safety for that child who is going home," said Trish Ploehn, the department's director.
"I don't know how much more we can go down in the numbers, though," she said. "We are a very large county, and it's possible that we are already at the level where we are supposed to be."
The decision is the most significant of several reforms made by the department after a series of high-profile child deaths last year, some of which involved the department putting too much faith in its ability to rehabilitate families. In 2009, The Times reported that reunifications led to some children's further injuries and even deaths. Isabel Garcia, for instance, starved to death two months after child-welfare officials deemed that she, her five siblings and their parents were all doing well.
Toddler Angel Montiel and his siblings were reunited with their parents after the couple enrolled in parenting classes, drug testing and other "family preservation" services.
He subsequently was beaten to death. An autopsy found dozens of injuries, some fresh and some healed, including broken bones and burns. Originally charged with murder, his mother pleaded no contest to manslaughter and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
"These cases had a very deep effect on the department," Ploehn said.
Under the department's policies, social workers had been encouraged to keep children in their original homes by helping parents deal with problems believed to underlie abuse, including addiction, anger, unemployment and mental illness. At the same time, the county increased the number of child-parent reunions, reduced the time such reunifications take and -- for children who couldn't go home -- doubled the number of adoptions.
In 2007, the department wagered that it could drive the numbers down further. It entered an experimental federal program that pays the county a limited sum for foster care services. If it exceeded that amount, the county had to pay the difference. If it spent less, the county could use the savings to reduce child abuse and neglect as it saw fit.
The policy pivot by Ploehn is likely to be controversial. Foster care has many critics who say children often are dispatched to one place after another without any sense of permanence or normal family life, and end up homeless and unemployed in adulthood.
A group called DCFS Give Us Back Our Children often demonstrates outside Edelman Children's Court in Monterey Park, saying that too many children are removed from families unnecessarily.
One member, Sabreen Shabazz, 56, of Los Angeles, cares for her 11-month-old granddaughter, who was removed from her daughter's custody.
Shabazz worries that her granddaughter might be unnecessarily sent to foster care because the family lives on only $845 a month and sometimes struggles to pay for apartment repairs ordered by the department.
"DCFS has a family preservation unit and they need to focus on that work more, not less," said Janet Mitchell, a friend who attends the group's monthly meetings. "Look at Sabreen: She's a loving grandmother who just needs help. They live in poverty, but the child is happy because she is loved."
In 2009, at least 17 children died of abuse or neglect even though child-welfare officials were well aware of their troubled family histories. Fourteen youngsters suffered such deaths in 2008.
Among the other reforms under way:
* Three hundred workers are being redeployed to the child abuse investigations unit at a cost of $37.5 million, reducing the average investigator's caseload from 25 to 18.
* An improved computer system is being developed to provide child-abuse investigators with more information from other county agencies -- mental health, for example, or law enforcement -- about troubled families.
* An additional layer of review is being added to child-abuse investigations before they can be declared "unfounded."
* Dozens of workers are being disciplined for their poor handling of cases that ended in death.
By some key measures, however, the county is falling behind schedule on reform efforts, especially the computer system.
That project is overseen by County Chief Executive William T Fujioka because it requires coordination with many county departments.
The need for such a system has been repeated in more than a dozen reports over almost two decades. Each concluded that county agencies were not exchanging vital information that could prevent death and injury to abused children. None inspired significant change.
Once again, the deadline for many of the improvements -- such as adding data from county hospitals and local police departments -- has passed without action. Work on longer-term goals has barely begun.
Overall, the department's reform efforts also have been stymied by a 9% reduction in its $1.7-billion budget this year. That's not likely to improve any time soon: Ploehn has been ordered to plan an additional 9% cut for next year.
garrett.therolf@latimes.com
Copyright © 2010, The Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-foster-care5-2010feb05,0,201241.story
Local hospital settles federal case
Note from unhappygrammy-It's funny how the U.S. Attorney's office will go after the hospital for the federal government, but not for patients.
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/news/594826-196/local-hospital-settles-federal-case.html
Local hospital settles federal case
NASHUA – Southern New Hampshire Medical Center paid a $33,400 settlement to close a federal investigation that alleged the hospital improperly paid an employee through federal health care programs.
The U.S. Attorney’s office announced Wednesday that Southern New Hampshire didn’t admit liability with the civil settlement, but paid $33,400 to resolve allegations it had violated the False Claims Act.
From February 2002 to September 2007, the hospital employed a licensed nursing assistant through various temporary employment agencies, the U.S. Attorney’s office charged.
The employee, who was not named, allegedly performed services at the hospital that were paid for, in part, by Medicare, Medicaid and other federal health care programs.
Because the employee had been “excluded” from federal health care programs, Southern New Hampshire was not entitled to receive payments from them, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
The nursing assistant was also employed by Premier Medical Staffing, a New Hampshire corporation, and allegedly conducted similar services. Premier also settled with the government – paying $90,000 – without admitting liability, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
– Albert McKeon
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/news/594826-196/local-hospital-settles-federal-case.html
Local hospital settles federal case
NASHUA – Southern New Hampshire Medical Center paid a $33,400 settlement to close a federal investigation that alleged the hospital improperly paid an employee through federal health care programs.
The U.S. Attorney’s office announced Wednesday that Southern New Hampshire didn’t admit liability with the civil settlement, but paid $33,400 to resolve allegations it had violated the False Claims Act.
From February 2002 to September 2007, the hospital employed a licensed nursing assistant through various temporary employment agencies, the U.S. Attorney’s office charged.
The employee, who was not named, allegedly performed services at the hospital that were paid for, in part, by Medicare, Medicaid and other federal health care programs.
Because the employee had been “excluded” from federal health care programs, Southern New Hampshire was not entitled to receive payments from them, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
The nursing assistant was also employed by Premier Medical Staffing, a New Hampshire corporation, and allegedly conducted similar services. Premier also settled with the government – paying $90,000 – without admitting liability, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
– Albert McKeon
Thursday, February 4, 2010
BUSINESS IS BOOMING, BUY A TAX KID TODAY.
BUSINESS IS BOOMING, BUY A TAX KID TODAY.
February 3, 2010 – 11:42 am Free the FLDS Children - AKA The Freedom Liberty Defenders Society
The Fed’s have announced an increase to a total of $24,300.00 PER YEAR, PER CHILD, if you agree to buy a kid today. At this rate, which is expected to increase every tax year, your worries about inflation and foreclosure is gone. In fact, you can warehouse the kid’s and take in as many as you want up to a quarter of a million dollars worth before they start reducing your profits.
WAIT! There’s more.
If you act now, you’ll receive further incentives from the State, and the County. Free Medical for the kid’s if you want to take them to the doctors or dentists. Gas, mileage and road expenses if you take the kids out of their rooms (Optional). Up to $500.00 PER CHILD, PER MONTH, for Food Stamps whether you decide to feed them or not. A clothing allowance of up to $2,400.00 PER MONTH PER CHILD, if you decide to allow them to wear clothing.
All this, and you and your lover, partner or pimp can live the easy life. No pimp? NO PROBLEM! You can buy as many kids as you want even if your partner is off making a dope deal.
The initial ONE TIME charge to get started in building your business can be as little as $5,000.00 depending upon the quality of the product you wish to purchase. For those who wish to be able to take your merchandise into public places and your friends and neighbors homes, you have the option of obtaining a color acceptable to them without the hassle of having to clean up the burned crosses on your front lawn! This is a win-win situation for you and the lawyers, CPS, CASA, the the judges.
WAIT! THERE’S EVEN MORE!
If you’ve seen a piece of merchandise that your neighbors and you can accept in the neighborhood, simply call toll-free and let us know where we can find it and we’ll do the rest. Choose a kid that can be declared “Special needs” by medicating him or her, and you can reap additional rewards including the option of selling the drugs supplied rather than bothering to feed them to the kid! You get to pocket the proceeds, tax free!
Can I change the kids name, religion and ethnicity?
You betcha Bubba. If the kid is a Catholic, a Mormon or a Jew (God forbid), you can make it the religion of your choice including, but not limited to Santeria and Goth.
Don’t like the name?
Change it!
What about if it dresses funny, prayers strangely or has funny eating habits?
You’re free to change it’s clothing, or leave it naked, your choice. Make the kid pray, (Or not) as you prefer. Don’t like the way the kid eats or even what he/she eats? Stop feeding them and save even more!
What if I don’t like the model I get?
Send it back or trade it in for a newer/better model at no extra expense.
Suppose the ingrate doesn’t like me or my own children?
Knock a few teeth out and he’ll change his or her mind.
What if my children or I wanted a girl and we got a boy?
Slap a dress on him.
For more information, call your local CPS marketing and promotion department today. Operators are standing by to receive your calls and start the process of capturing the kid of your choice today, just give us the criteria and we”ll find the kid within 24 hours that fits the bill.
http://www.flds.ws/
February 3, 2010 – 11:42 am Free the FLDS Children - AKA The Freedom Liberty Defenders Society
The Fed’s have announced an increase to a total of $24,300.00 PER YEAR, PER CHILD, if you agree to buy a kid today. At this rate, which is expected to increase every tax year, your worries about inflation and foreclosure is gone. In fact, you can warehouse the kid’s and take in as many as you want up to a quarter of a million dollars worth before they start reducing your profits.
WAIT! There’s more.
If you act now, you’ll receive further incentives from the State, and the County. Free Medical for the kid’s if you want to take them to the doctors or dentists. Gas, mileage and road expenses if you take the kids out of their rooms (Optional). Up to $500.00 PER CHILD, PER MONTH, for Food Stamps whether you decide to feed them or not. A clothing allowance of up to $2,400.00 PER MONTH PER CHILD, if you decide to allow them to wear clothing.
All this, and you and your lover, partner or pimp can live the easy life. No pimp? NO PROBLEM! You can buy as many kids as you want even if your partner is off making a dope deal.
The initial ONE TIME charge to get started in building your business can be as little as $5,000.00 depending upon the quality of the product you wish to purchase. For those who wish to be able to take your merchandise into public places and your friends and neighbors homes, you have the option of obtaining a color acceptable to them without the hassle of having to clean up the burned crosses on your front lawn! This is a win-win situation for you and the lawyers, CPS, CASA, the the judges.
WAIT! THERE’S EVEN MORE!
If you’ve seen a piece of merchandise that your neighbors and you can accept in the neighborhood, simply call toll-free and let us know where we can find it and we’ll do the rest. Choose a kid that can be declared “Special needs” by medicating him or her, and you can reap additional rewards including the option of selling the drugs supplied rather than bothering to feed them to the kid! You get to pocket the proceeds, tax free!
Can I change the kids name, religion and ethnicity?
You betcha Bubba. If the kid is a Catholic, a Mormon or a Jew (God forbid), you can make it the religion of your choice including, but not limited to Santeria and Goth.
Don’t like the name?
Change it!
What about if it dresses funny, prayers strangely or has funny eating habits?
You’re free to change it’s clothing, or leave it naked, your choice. Make the kid pray, (Or not) as you prefer. Don’t like the way the kid eats or even what he/she eats? Stop feeding them and save even more!
What if I don’t like the model I get?
Send it back or trade it in for a newer/better model at no extra expense.
Suppose the ingrate doesn’t like me or my own children?
Knock a few teeth out and he’ll change his or her mind.
What if my children or I wanted a girl and we got a boy?
Slap a dress on him.
For more information, call your local CPS marketing and promotion department today. Operators are standing by to receive your calls and start the process of capturing the kid of your choice today, just give us the criteria and we”ll find the kid within 24 hours that fits the bill.
http://www.flds.ws/
State to cut child-care aid Subsidy program short $9.5 million
State to cut child-care aid
Subsidy program short $9.5 million
By KAREN LANGLEY
Monitor staff
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
February 03, 2010 - 7:36 am
The state plans to reduce child-care aid for 4,760 families in a move officials say will eliminate a $9.5 million shortfall projected for the subsidy program this year.
Families will be charged a greater portion of their child-care bills starting March 1, and families with multiple children in care will pay for each child. The plan modifies a redesign of the state's child-care subsidy program, unveiled in July, that advocates described as reflecting a family's ability to pay.
More than half the families that receive subsidized care have income under the federal poverty line, and those 2,700 families pay an average of $1.78 each week for care, according to a letter the commissioner of Health and Human Services wrote last week to the Joint Legislative Fiscal Committee.
Under one plan being considered by state officials, those families would pay an average of $9.33 each week for every child in care. Another plan would increase that cost to $17 per child each week, said Maggie Bishop, the director of the Division for Children, Youth and Families. Officials are still deciding among four formulas to determine each family's share of child-care costs, Bishop said.
The department has not decided how long the change will last, but it will use the cuts to eliminate any deficit for the biennium, Bishop said.
Child-care providers and advocates warn that reducing subsidies will lead parents to a difficult choice: quitting jobs so they can watch their children or patching together an unregulated network of care from friends and family. Either option could lead to an increased need for social services later on, they say. When struggling parents hesitate to pull their child from care, centers must decide if they can reduce a family's fee, said Bobbie Gaudette, executive director of the White Birch Community Center, a nonprofit child-care center in Henniker.
The Bureau of Child Development has spent the past four months trying new ways to stay on budget after a year when unprecedented numbers of families have sought child-care assistance. The deficit projected for the child-care program this year has nearly doubled since July, despite a multi-pronged effort to cut costs. The department in October stopped accepting all but a few applicants for subsidies, and last month it halted cash awards for child-care centers that meet standards above basic licensing.
The number of children receiving aid grew 15 percent between February 2008 and August 2009, shortly before the department stopped accepting applications from families that do not receive cash welfare assistance, host foster children or are considered at risk by the state. While total enrollment has risen, the state has seen disproportionate increases in the most expensive types of care.
In his letter to legislators, Commissioner Nicholas Toumpas cited an increased number of infants, as well as longer average stays in the child-care system, as reasons the program's projected shortfall has grown to $9.5 million for this year, up from an estimate of $5 million in July. Children younger than 18 months accounted for nearly 25 percent of aid recipients in August, up from 10 percent 18 months earlier. The state calculates the cost of part-time care for an infant at nearly twice the cost of care for a school-age child.
When the department began wait-listing aid applicants in October, officials predicted the list would grow to 1,100 children by July. But applications continued to pour in more quickly than expected - about two children per business hour - and in late December officials said the list could include 3,000 children by the fiscal year's end. Still, the cut had not been enough to eliminate a deficit then projected at $6 million.
Department officials have met with child-care providers since early January to decide what cuts would fill the gap. One participant, the director of a nonprofit serving child-care providers and clients, said the group worked until members agreed their plan would cause the least possible harm.
"At the same time, that adjective still worked," said Jackie Cowell, executive director of Early Learning New Hampshire. "Even though there was the least 'harm,' it remained harmful."
Hooksett resident Jessica Hoag has already felt the impact of increased demand on the child-care program. When Hoag was a few days late submitting the renewal forms for her 6-year-old son's child-care subsidy in November, they lost their aid, she said. She and her son's father were no longer able to afford the full-time care Bruce received after kindergarten, and so Hoag had to stay home to watch him.
Bruce began behaving badly without the activities and socialization of child care, and Hoag lost so many business clients while running errands that she no longer works, even after Bruce qualified for part-time aid and returned to child care in January, she said.
"It kind of defeats the purpose," Hoag said. "We're supposed to get the help so we can work and be independent."
With their family now living on the money her son's father earns driving a taxi, Hoag said she will wait and see whether the cost change pushes child care out of reach.
"It depends how much more," she said. "There's a very fine line between what we can afford and what we can't."
Gaudette, of White Birch Community Center, said the impending cuts to state aid will not necessarily mean most subsidized families pay more for child care.
"I would venture to guess White Birch will probably excuse some of that co-pay," she said. "It puts White Birch in a fiscal position where we're subsidizing the child care again."
The center is already expecting a $22,000 cut in state revenue for 2010, and employees have not received raises since 2007, Gaudette said. She said the cuts in awards for centers and subsidies for parents will force some programs to close.
Decreased subsidies have prevented Above and Beyond Childcare in Hooksett from increasing its fees for several years, making it increasingly difficult to pay rising costs, said owner Rebecca Collins.
"It's hard to hit the parents twice," she said.
The Division for Children, Youth and Families plans to notify families and providers of the planned changes in the next few days.
http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100203/FRONTPAGE/2030306
Subsidy program short $9.5 million
By KAREN LANGLEY
Monitor staff
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
February 03, 2010 - 7:36 am
The state plans to reduce child-care aid for 4,760 families in a move officials say will eliminate a $9.5 million shortfall projected for the subsidy program this year.
Families will be charged a greater portion of their child-care bills starting March 1, and families with multiple children in care will pay for each child. The plan modifies a redesign of the state's child-care subsidy program, unveiled in July, that advocates described as reflecting a family's ability to pay.
More than half the families that receive subsidized care have income under the federal poverty line, and those 2,700 families pay an average of $1.78 each week for care, according to a letter the commissioner of Health and Human Services wrote last week to the Joint Legislative Fiscal Committee.
Under one plan being considered by state officials, those families would pay an average of $9.33 each week for every child in care. Another plan would increase that cost to $17 per child each week, said Maggie Bishop, the director of the Division for Children, Youth and Families. Officials are still deciding among four formulas to determine each family's share of child-care costs, Bishop said.
The department has not decided how long the change will last, but it will use the cuts to eliminate any deficit for the biennium, Bishop said.
Child-care providers and advocates warn that reducing subsidies will lead parents to a difficult choice: quitting jobs so they can watch their children or patching together an unregulated network of care from friends and family. Either option could lead to an increased need for social services later on, they say. When struggling parents hesitate to pull their child from care, centers must decide if they can reduce a family's fee, said Bobbie Gaudette, executive director of the White Birch Community Center, a nonprofit child-care center in Henniker.
The Bureau of Child Development has spent the past four months trying new ways to stay on budget after a year when unprecedented numbers of families have sought child-care assistance. The deficit projected for the child-care program this year has nearly doubled since July, despite a multi-pronged effort to cut costs. The department in October stopped accepting all but a few applicants for subsidies, and last month it halted cash awards for child-care centers that meet standards above basic licensing.
The number of children receiving aid grew 15 percent between February 2008 and August 2009, shortly before the department stopped accepting applications from families that do not receive cash welfare assistance, host foster children or are considered at risk by the state. While total enrollment has risen, the state has seen disproportionate increases in the most expensive types of care.
In his letter to legislators, Commissioner Nicholas Toumpas cited an increased number of infants, as well as longer average stays in the child-care system, as reasons the program's projected shortfall has grown to $9.5 million for this year, up from an estimate of $5 million in July. Children younger than 18 months accounted for nearly 25 percent of aid recipients in August, up from 10 percent 18 months earlier. The state calculates the cost of part-time care for an infant at nearly twice the cost of care for a school-age child.
When the department began wait-listing aid applicants in October, officials predicted the list would grow to 1,100 children by July. But applications continued to pour in more quickly than expected - about two children per business hour - and in late December officials said the list could include 3,000 children by the fiscal year's end. Still, the cut had not been enough to eliminate a deficit then projected at $6 million.
Department officials have met with child-care providers since early January to decide what cuts would fill the gap. One participant, the director of a nonprofit serving child-care providers and clients, said the group worked until members agreed their plan would cause the least possible harm.
"At the same time, that adjective still worked," said Jackie Cowell, executive director of Early Learning New Hampshire. "Even though there was the least 'harm,' it remained harmful."
Hooksett resident Jessica Hoag has already felt the impact of increased demand on the child-care program. When Hoag was a few days late submitting the renewal forms for her 6-year-old son's child-care subsidy in November, they lost their aid, she said. She and her son's father were no longer able to afford the full-time care Bruce received after kindergarten, and so Hoag had to stay home to watch him.
Bruce began behaving badly without the activities and socialization of child care, and Hoag lost so many business clients while running errands that she no longer works, even after Bruce qualified for part-time aid and returned to child care in January, she said.
"It kind of defeats the purpose," Hoag said. "We're supposed to get the help so we can work and be independent."
With their family now living on the money her son's father earns driving a taxi, Hoag said she will wait and see whether the cost change pushes child care out of reach.
"It depends how much more," she said. "There's a very fine line between what we can afford and what we can't."
Gaudette, of White Birch Community Center, said the impending cuts to state aid will not necessarily mean most subsidized families pay more for child care.
"I would venture to guess White Birch will probably excuse some of that co-pay," she said. "It puts White Birch in a fiscal position where we're subsidizing the child care again."
The center is already expecting a $22,000 cut in state revenue for 2010, and employees have not received raises since 2007, Gaudette said. She said the cuts in awards for centers and subsidies for parents will force some programs to close.
Decreased subsidies have prevented Above and Beyond Childcare in Hooksett from increasing its fees for several years, making it increasingly difficult to pay rising costs, said owner Rebecca Collins.
"It's hard to hit the parents twice," she said.
The Division for Children, Youth and Families plans to notify families and providers of the planned changes in the next few days.
http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100203/FRONTPAGE/2030306
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Foster Child's Death Under Investigation
Foster Child's Death Under Investigation
Posted: Feb 02, 2010 6:10 PM EST
(AP) NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Nashville police said a 12-week-old foster child died when he was taken off life support after suffering a severe head injury. They are investigating the death as a homicide.
According to police, Cherokeewolf William Diedrich died Tuesday at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He was taken to the emergency room on Jan. 9 in extremely critical condition.
Police said the infant was born on Nov. 9 to a homeless woman and the Tennessee Department of Children's Services took custody of the child two days later. The child was placed in the Nashville home of Cheryl and Earl Green.
Rob Johnson, a spokesman for DCS, said that the birth mother as well as a guardian appointed by juvenile court agreed to end life support once doctors said he might not recover.
Police said no charges have been filed. An autopsy will likely be conducted on Wednesday.
http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=11922125
Posted: Feb 02, 2010 6:10 PM EST
(AP) NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Nashville police said a 12-week-old foster child died when he was taken off life support after suffering a severe head injury. They are investigating the death as a homicide.
According to police, Cherokeewolf William Diedrich died Tuesday at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He was taken to the emergency room on Jan. 9 in extremely critical condition.
Police said the infant was born on Nov. 9 to a homeless woman and the Tennessee Department of Children's Services took custody of the child two days later. The child was placed in the Nashville home of Cheryl and Earl Green.
Rob Johnson, a spokesman for DCS, said that the birth mother as well as a guardian appointed by juvenile court agreed to end life support once doctors said he might not recover.
Police said no charges have been filed. An autopsy will likely be conducted on Wednesday.
http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=11922125
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