02/05/07

See vlogg based on the infoprmation below at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN4aObIOA1g


Dailey internet new from Flint MI USA
GOOD MORNING FLINT - 01/05/07
http://goodmorningflint.blogspot.com/
What follows are the rough notes with citations for the vlogg.
vlogg on blogg at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN4aObIOA1g
_____
HEADLINE OF THE DAY

Freedom, Liberty, civil rights and DNA sampling, whats at risk.
_____
W-TRB
Your Morning News from Flint MI USA
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Terry Ray Bankert
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FROM MY EMAIL
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NEW YORK TIMES
U.S. Set to Begin a Vast Expansion of DNA Sampling By JULIA PRESTON New rules will allow the collection of DNA from most people arrested or detained by federal authorities. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/05/washington/05dna.html?th&emc=th The new forensic DNA sampling was authorized by Congress in a little-noticed amendment to a January 2006 renewal of the Violence Against Women Act, which provides protections and assistance for victims of sexual crimes. The amendment permits DNA collecting from anyone under criminal arrest by federal authorities, and also from illegal immigrants detained by federal agents.
Over the last year, the Justice Department has been conducting an internal review and consulting with other agencies to prepare regulations to carry out the law.
The goal, justice officials said, is to make the practice of DNA sampling as routine as fingerprinting for anyone detained by federal agents, including illegal immigrants. Until now, federal authorities have taken DNA samples only from convicted felons.
The law has strong support from crime victims’ organizations and some women’s groups, who say it will help law enforcement identify sexual predators and also detect dangerous criminals among illegal immigrants.
"Obviously, the bigger the DNA database, the better," said Lynn Parrish, the spokeswoman for the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, based in Washington. "If this had been implemented years ago, it could have prevented many crimes. Rapists are generalists. They don’t just rape, they also murder."
Peter Neufeld, a lawyer who is a co-director of the Innocence Project, which has exonerated dozens of prison inmates using DNA evidence, said the government was overreaching by seeking to apply DNA sampling as universally as fingerprinting.
"Whereas fingerprints merely identify the person who left them," Mr. Neufeld said, "DNA profiles have the potential to reveal our physical diseases and mental disorders. It becomes intrusive when the government begins to mine our most intimate matters."
Immigration lawyers said they did not learn of the measure when it passed last year and were dismayed by its sweeping scope.
"This has taken us by storm," said Deborah Notkin, a lawyer who was president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association last year. "It’s so broad, it’s scary. It is a terrible thing to do because people are sometimes detained erroneously in the immigration system."
Immigration lawyers noted that most immigration violations, including those committed when people enter the country illegally, are civil, not criminal, offenses. They warned that the new law would make it difficult for immigrants to remove their DNA profiles from the federal database, even if they were never found to have committed any serious violation or crime.
Under the new law, DNA samples would be taken from any illegal immigrants who are detained and would normally be fingerprinted, justice officials said. Last year federal customs, Border Patrol and immigration agents detained more than 1.2 million immigrants, the majority of them at the border with Mexico. About 238,000 of those immigrants were detained in immigration enforcement investigations. A great majority of all immigration detainees were fingerprinted, immigration officials said. About 102,000 people were arrested on federal charges not related to immigration in 2005.
While the proposed rules have not been finished, justice officials said they were certain to bring a huge new workload for the F.B.I. laboratory that logs, analyzes and stores federal DNA samples. Federal Bureau of Investigation officials said they anticipated an increase ranging from 250,000 to as many as 1 million samples a year.
The laboratory currently receives about 96,000 samples a year, said Robert Fram, chief of the agency’s Scientific Analysis Section.
DNA would not be taken from legal immigrants who are stopped briefly by the authorities, justice officials said, or from legal residents who are detained on noncriminal immigration violations.
"What this does is move the DNA collection to the arrest stage," said Erik Ablin, a Justice Department spokesman. "The general approach," he said, "is to bring the collection of DNA samples into alignment with current federal fingerprint collection practices." He said the department was "moving forward aggressively" to issue proposed regulations.
The 2006 amendment was sponsored by two border state Republicans, Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona and Senator John Cornyn of Texas. In an interview, Mr. Kyl said the measure was broadly drawn to encompass illegal immigrants as well as Americans arrested for federal crimes. He said that 13 percent of illegal immigrants detained in Arizona last year had criminal records.
"Some of these are very bad people," Mr. Kyl said. "The number of sexual assaults committed by illegal immigrants is astonishing. Right now there is a fingerprint system in use, but it is not as thorough as it could be."
Ms. Parrish, of the rape victims’ organization, pointed to the case of Angel Resendiz, a Mexican immigrant who was known as the Railroad Killer. Starting in 1997, Mr. Resendiz committed at least 15 murders and numerous rapes in the United States. Over the years of his rampage, Mr. Resendiz was deported 17 times. He was executed in Texas in June.
"That was 17 missed opportunities to collect his DNA," Ms. Parrish said. "If he had been identified as the perpetrator of the first rapes, it would have prevented later ones."
Immigration lawyers said the DNA sampling could tar illegal immigrants with a criminal stigma, even though most of them have never committed any criminal offense.
"To equate somebody with a possible immigration violation in the same category as a suspected sex offender is an outrage," said David Leopold, an immigration lawyer who practices in Cleveland.
Forensic DNA is culled either from a tiny blood sample taken from a fingertip (the F.B.I.’s preferred method) or from a swab of the inside of the mouth. Federal samples are logged into the F.B.I.’s laboratory, analyzed and transformed into profiles that can be read by computer. The profiles are loaded into a database called the National DNA Index System.
The F.B.I. also loads DNA profiles from local and state police into the federal database and runs searches. Only seven states now collect DNA from suspects when they are arrested; of those, only two states are authorized by their laws to send those samples to the federal database.
Mr. Neufeld, of the Innocence Project, said his group supported broad DNA collection from convicted criminals. But, he said, "There is no demonstrable nexus between being detained for an immigration matter and the likelihood you are going to commit some serious violent crime."
The DNA amendment has divided women’s groups that are usually unified supporters of the Violence Against Women Act, which was adopted in 1994.
"We were stunned by the extraordinary, broad sweep of this amendment," said Lisalyn Jacobs, vice president for government relations at Legal Momentum, a law group founded by the National Organization for Women. Ms. Jacobs recalled that the amendment had been adopted by a voice vote with little debate. She said many lawmakers eager to renew the act, which enjoys solid bipartisan support, appeared unaware of the scope of the DNA amendment.
"The pervasive problems of profiling in the United States will only be exacerbated by such a system," Ms. Jacobs said, because Latino and other immigrants will be greatly over-represented in the database. She noted that the law required a court order to remove a profile from the system.
Many groups warned that the measure would compound already severe backlogs in the F.B.I.’s DNA processing. Mr. Fram of the F.B.I. said there had been an enormous increase in the samples coming to the databank since it started to operate in 1998, but no new resources for the bureau’s laboratory. Currently about 150,000 DNA samples from convicted criminals are waiting to be processed and loaded into the national database, Mr. Fram said.
He said the laboratory had added robot technology to speed the processing. But in the "worst case scenario," where the laboratory receives one million new samples a year, Mr. Fram said, "there is going to be a bottleneck."
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YAHOO NEWS BAR
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The stark reality is that if we really want to alter the warming trajectory of the planet significantly, we have to cut emissions by an extremely large amount, and - a truth that everyone must know - we simply do not have the technology to do so. We would fritter away billions in precious investment capital in a futile attempt to curtail warming.
Consequently, the best policy is to live with some modest climate change now and encourage economic development, which will generate the capital necessary for investment in the more efficient technologies of the future.
Fortunately, we have more time than the alarmists suggest. The warming path of the planet falls at the lowest end of today's U.N. projections. In aggregate, our computer models tell us that once warming is established, it tends to take place at a constant, not an increasing, rate. Reassuringly, the rate has been remarkably constant, at 0.324EF per decade, since warming began around 1975. The notion that we must do "something in 10 years," repeated by a small but vocal band of extremists, enjoys virtually no support in the truly peer reviewed scientific literature.
Rather than burning our capital now for no environmental gain (did someone say "ethanol?"), let's encourage economic development so people can invest and profit in our more efficient future.
People who invested in automobile companies that developed hybrid technology have been rewarded handsomely in the past few years, and there's no reason to think environmental speculators won't be rewarded in the future, too.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20070202/cm_usatoday/livewithclimatechange;_ylt=AuurLks3DMaQgEd0ap9DcXXMWM0F;_ylu=X3oDMTA3YWFzYnA2BHNlYwM3NDI-
Flint Journal
http://www.mlive.com/flintjournal/

Canadian waste increased more than 38 percent in Genesee County during fiscal year 2006, according to the annual landfill report from the Department of Environmental Quality.
Genesee County now ranks fourth in the state for the amount of imported waste.

By comparison, the statewide increase in imported waste from Canada and other states was 3 percent, from about 18.5 million cubic yards to about 19 million cubic yards. Canada was, by far, the largest contributor, at 12.1 million cubic yards - up 545,212 cubic yards from the previous year.
More than 88 percent of Canada's increase was hauled to Genesee County - raising the local total to almost 1.8 million cubic yards of Canadian waste shipped to Montrose, Richfield and Mundy townships.
Most of it ended up at Brent Run Landfill, which took in 1.46 million cubic yards of Canadian waste. Citizens Disposal took in 192,059 cubic yards, while Richfield Landfill took in 97,341.
"The tonnage is going up, more and more being shipped every year. So there's much more urgency about getting something done and getting it done now," said state Rep. Ted Hammon, D-Burton, one of those behind an anti-trash bill, pushed by House Democrats, that proposes higher dumping charges and other measures to stem the tide of imported trash.
But county residents are skeptical that anything done in Lansing will have an impact here.
"It seems like the more effort they say they're putting into stopping it, the worse it gets," said Burton resident Earl Davis. "Raising the dumping price just penalizes us. If they raise it, then that's what we'll be paying too."
"It's disgusting. This issue always comes up around election time, and then dies right down until the next election. The reality is they'll continue to dump as long as there's room to dump," said Charles Verostick of Grand Blanc Township.
An agreement signed in August 2006 by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment promises to end shipment of all municipally managed solid waste to Michigan by 2010. That would eliminate about 37 percent of the solid waste Canada currently sends here.
"It's not just the amount of waste that's a problem. It's what's in it," said Verostick. "Every load needs to be inspected at the border, with Canada paying the cost. And if it costs too much to do that, maybe they'll stop bringing it."
http://www.mlive.com/news/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-41/117059340286400.xml&coll=5#continue
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Talking Back to Talk Back

RESPECT FREEDOM OF SPEECH: It is simply malarkey to be labeled unpatriotic for expressing an opposing opinion to the war in Iraq. It is extremely patriotic to openly exercise freedom of speech, one of the few remaining privileges we have left as Americans, even if it contradicts the action of the White House.
- Mundy Township
SHOW RESPECT: When grown people are always bad-mouthing everyone in authority, we show our youth that they do not have to respect anyone. No wonder our youth are disrespectful and angry. They are imitating adults such as Journal columnist Andrew Heller who thinks it is cute to call our president all sorts of names.
- Flushing
RADICALS EVERYWHERE: The radical Islam movement is not just in Iraq. It is in France, Spain, London, the Philippines and many other places. The U.S. cannot rid the entire world of terrorists. Journal columnist Andrew Heller is a smart guy and we love him.
- Flushing
http://www.mlive.com/columns/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1170588390170940.xml&coll=5
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Model for Michigan: Eight ways to
restructure how the state does the public's business
IF YOU ASK ME
FLINT
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITIONSunday, February 04, 2007
By Phil Power and John BebowJOURNAL READER
We need fundamental reforms in how Michigan both spends and collects our taxes.
This isn't some obscure argument best left to academics and bureaucrats. It's at the core of such living room issues as the rising costs of college, the dependability of your local cops and firefighters, and the security of your job.
What to do? We have a choice. We can keep staggering along, patching the state budget year after year the way we patch potholes. Or we can truly transform the way our state works. A durable solution requires finding common ground, far away from the normal partisan, transactional Lansing politics.

Here are eight thorny ideas to jumpstart the discussion:
1. Reduce prison spending. The state spends $1.9 billion a year to warehouse some 125,000 prisoners, parolees and probationers. The state spends another $1.9 billion a year on community colleges and universities educating around 300,000 students. Which is the better investment? Michigan's incarceration rate is 40 percent higher than neighboring states.
2. Keep better score. Michigan automatically sends billions in sales taxes straight to school districts and local governments. Instead, we need a statewide scorecard to spur local efficiencies in budgets, staffing, pay and benefits. Money should follow concrete results.
3. Erase borders. Michigan has 83 counties, more than 1,200 townships, nearly 500 cities and villages with fewer than 10,000 residents, more than 550 public school districts, more than 200 charter schools, and 57 intermediate school districts. Despite cooperative talk, much duplicated bureaucracy remains. School leaders keep calling for large-scale consolidation of business operations. Such ideas could gain traction if state aid were tied to proven efficiencies.
4. Critically examine public sector pay and benefits. Michigan taxpayers are on the hook for $35 billion in unfunded public sector pension and health care costs. Local government costs in Michigan are hundreds of millions of dollars above those in states without binding arbitration in contract disputes.
5. Sales tax: Lower the rate and broaden the base. All but 11 states impose sales taxes on more types of services than Michigan. Significant sums could be raised by taxing more items while lowering the rate.
6. Business tax: Lower the rate and broaden the base. Fewer than 500 Michigan businesses pay more than a third of the entire Single Business Tax, which is the state's main levy on companies. More than 80,000 businesses pay no SBT.
7. Graduate the income tax. Michigan could raise the state tax rate for those with the highest incomes. They, in turn, would likely see little or no actual tax increase because state taxes can be written off federal returns. Thirty-seven states do this now.
8. Consider beverage taxes. Some states tax beer at five times Michigan's rate of two cents per bottle. Others raise significant cash through sales taxes on soda pop. It's hard to imagine businesses leaving or avoiding Michigan because our taxes on unhealthy beverages are too high.
Phil Power and John Bebow are the founder and executive director, respectively, of the Center for Michigan, which describes itself as a moderate "think-and-do" tank aimed at revitalizing the state's economy. Power is a former owner of a group of suburban Detroit newspapers and a former Democratic member of the University of Michigan Board of Regents. A paper containing full discussion of these ideas is online at www.thecenterformichgian.net.
***
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Sphere: Related Content

02/03/07

GOOD MORNING FLINT - 02 /03 /07
http://goodmorningflint.blogspot.com/
vlogg on blogg at
_____
HEADLINE OF THE DAY
How do we save our children?
Termination of parental rights, should the grandparents rights be terminated also.
_____
W-TRB
Your Morning News from Flint MI USA
Channel 12.5
Part of the TRB Broadcasting Network :)
Terry Ray Bankert
http://terrybankert.blogspot.com/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Flintcitizen/
http://attorneybankert.com/
BANKERT VLOGG ARCHIVE
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CONTACT AT
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JOIN THE DISCUSSION ON FLINT TALK
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Information to help you make a difference in Flint MI
If you want to be seen show up and stand up. If you want to be heard speak up.
Don’t wait to follow just lead.

Child protection Law and ProcedureParents losing their children!!The following is a recent case on termination of parental rights....1/28/07

Case 1
Issues: Termination of parental rights pursuant to §§ 19b(3)(b)(ii), (g), and (j); Whether the trial court erred in terminating the respondent-mother’s parental rights based on environmental neglect; Whether respondent was offered services related to the issue; Whether there was testimony the home conditions adversely affected the children; In re King; Whether the trial court erred in terminating respondent’s parental rights based on her husband’s alleged abuse of them and her failure to protect; In re Miller; The best interests of the childrenCourt: Michigan Court of Appeals (Unpublished)Case Name: In re S.L.A.e-Journal Number: 34586Judge(s): Per Curiam – Saad, Cavanagh, and SchuetteSince clear and convincing evidence supported termination of the respondent-mother’s parental rights, the trial court properly terminated them. The children were removed following the death of their brother, Ethan, at 14 months. He died from position asphyxiation—although the death was ruled accidental, the facts were consistent with the child getting stuck in his highchair and being unable to breathe.When he was examined at the hospital, the child had been dead at least six hours. Respondent had been busy with Girl Scouts, errands, and cooking. Her husband was left in charge most of the time beginning about 2 PM. The husband found the child’s body about 8 PM.The evidence showed a filthy, unsanitary environment in the home unsafe for anyone to live in. Clothes, garbage, used diapers, and animal feces littered the home, and extension cords snaked around the floor.The electricity did not work on one side of the house and the gas was not working. Dirty dishes were piled in the sinks and bathtub, and the tub had grayish-black water covered with a scum and gnats flying about.The toilet was very dirty and the house had a foul odor. The record supported the trial court’s finding respondent was incapable of providing a safe, clean environment for the children. Affirmed.


case 2
Issues: Statutory grounds for termination of parental rights; §§ 19b(3)(g), (i) and (j); Best interests of child; In re Miller; In re Trejo
Court: Michigan Court of Appeals (Unpublished)
Case Name: In re Dolman
e-Journal Number: 34717
Judge(s): Memorandum – Borrello, Jansen and Cooper
The trial court properly terminated the respondent-mother’s parental rights because termination was in the child’s best interests. The respondent argued her parental rights should not have been terminated because doing so was contrary to the child’s best interests. The court disagreed. Even though respondent regularly visited with the child and took parenting classes, the evidence also showed the respondent and the child never bonded. Most importantly, the respondent continued to maintain a relationship with the father of one of her children, Fisher, even though the trial court repeatedly told her the child would not be returned as long as Fisher, who had a substance abuse problem, remained in her home and involved in her life. In light of respondent’s continued dependence on Fisher, the trial court ruled reunification would not be in the child’s best interests. Based on the record, the court concluded the trial court properly determined termination was not clearly contrary to the child’s best interests. Affirmed.
How does this process start?


I OverviewChild Protection proceedings are commenced when a person reports a suspected instance of child abuse and neglect to the Department of Human Services or a mandatory reporter. ( teacher, doctors etc..)


All 50 states have passed some form of a mandatory child abuse and neglect reporting law in order to qualify for funding under the
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA)(Jan. 1996 version),42 U.S.C. 5101, et seq.. The Act was originally passed in 1974, has been amended several times and was most recently amended and reauthorized on October 3, 1996, by the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment and Adoption Act Amendments of 1996 (P.L. 104-235).
http://www.smith-lawfirm.com/mandatory_reporting.htm
All states require certain professionals and institutions to report suspected child abuse, including health care providers and facilities of all types, mental health care providers of all types, teachers and other school personnel, social workers, day care providers and law enforcement personnel. Many states require film developers to report.
Abuse and neglect reports are referred to a protective services worker. Law enforcement assistance must be sought within 24 hours of a sexual abuse or exploitation , severe physical injury, or death from suspected abuse or neglect or if the abuse was committed by a person responsible for the children care and welfare.The prosecutor must be informed of cases involving pornography, and criminal sexual conduct.The court may conduct a preliminary inquiry which is an informal review to determine appropriate action on a petition or a preliminary hearing.If a child is taken into protective custody a preliminary hearing is required.The court may dismiss the complaint, deny authorization of the petition, refer the matter to alternative services or authorize that a petition be filed on a showing of probable cause that one or more of the allegations in the petition are true. MCLA 712A.13a, MCR 5.926 (B).If there are reasonable grounds to believe that the home conditions would endanger a child health welfare or safety the court may enter an order for the removal of the child from the parents home and placer the child in custody usually foster care.A protective services worker must then file a petition requesting court action. MCR 5.961, within 24 hours.A preliminary hearing authorizes the filing of a petition for the children if probable cause is shown that abuse or neglect has been shown. Probable cause is when reasonable, within the bounds of common sense, grounds are stated that if true become the basis for belief that the accused person is guilty as charged.If the petition is authorized a child may be placed with someone other than the parent if (1) parental custody presents a substantial risk of harm to the life, physical health or mental health of the child.. (2) alternative services or arraignments cannot protect the child from those risks in the parents home and (3) the conditions of placement away from the parents are adequate to safeguard the health and welfare of the child. MCR 5.965 ©)(2).A child must be placed in the most family like setting consistent with his or her needs.A court must inquire whether any immediate or extended family is available to take custody of the child. Grandparents here is where you should become immediately involved and contact the child protective services workers.If the child is placed with a relative a criminal and protective services background check and a home study must be made. MCLA 712A. 13a (9).
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712A.13a Definitions; petition; release of juvenile; order removing abusive person from home; placement of child; duty of court to inform parties; criminal record check and central registry clearance; family-like setting; parenting time; review and modification of orders and plans; release of information; information included with order; "abuse" defined.

Sec. 13a.

(1) As used in this section and sections 2, 6b, 13b, 17c, 17d, 18f, 19, 19a, 19b, and 19c of this chapter:

(a) "Agency" means a public or private organization, institution, or facility that is performing the functions under part D of title IV of the social security act, 42 USC 651 to 655, 656 to 657, 658a to 660, and 663 to 669b, or that is responsible under court order or contractual arrangement for a juvenile's care and supervision.
(b) "Agency case file" means the current file from the agency providing direct services to the child, that can include the child protective services file if the child has not been removed from the home or the family independence agency or contract agency foster care file as defined under 1973 PA 116, MCL 722.111 to 722.128.
(c) "Attorney" means, if appointed to represent a child in a proceeding under section 2(b) or (c) of this chapter, an attorney serving as the child's legal advocate in a traditional attorney-client relationship with the child, as governed by the Michigan rules of professional conduct. An attorney defined under this subdivision owes the same duties of undivided loyalty, confidentiality, and zealous representation of the child's expressed wishes as the attorney would to an adult client. For the purpose of a notice required under these sections, attorney includes a child's lawyer-guardian ad litem.
(d) "Case service plan" means the plan developed by an agency and prepared under section 18f of this chapter that includes services to be provided by and responsibilities and obligations of the agency and activities, responsibilities, and obligations of the parent. The case service plan may be referred to using different names than case service plan including, but not limited to, a parent/agency agreement or a parent/agency treatment plan and service agreement.
(e) "Foster care" means care provided to a juvenile in a foster family home, foster family group home, or child caring institution licensed or approved under 1973 PA 116, MCL 722.111 to 722.128, or care provided to a juvenile in a relative's home under a court order.
(f) "Guardian ad litem" means an individual whom the court appoints to assist the court in determining the child's best interests. A guardian ad litem does not need to be an attorney.
(g) "Lawyer-guardian ad litem" means an attorney appointed under section 17c of this chapter. A lawyer-guardian ad litem represents the child, and has the powers and duties, as set forth in section 17d of this chapter. The provisions of section 17d of this chapter also apply to a lawyer-guardian ad litem appointed under each of the following:
(i) Section 5213 or 5219 of the estates and protected individuals code, 1998 PA 386, MCL 700.5213 and 700.5219.
(ii) Section 4 of the child custody act of 1970, 1970 PA 91, MCL 722.24.
(iii) Section 10 of the child protection law, 1975 PA 238, MCL 722.630.
(h) "Nonparent adult" means a person who is 18 years of age or older and who, regardless of the person's domicile, meets all of the following criteria in relation to a child over whom the court takes jurisdiction under this chapter:
(i) Has substantial and regular contact with the child.
(ii) Has a close personal relationship with the child's parent or with a person responsible for the child's health or welfare.
(iii) Is not the child's parent or a person otherwise related to the child by blood or affinity to the third degree.
(i) "Permanent foster family agreement" means an agreement for a child 14 years old or older to remain with a particular foster family until the child is 18 years old under standards and requirements established by the family independence agency, which agreement is among all of the following:
(i) The child.
(ii) If the child is a temporary ward, the child's family.
(iii) The foster family.
(iv) The child placing agency responsible for the child's care in foster care.
(j) "Relative" means an individual who is at least 18 years of age and related to the child by blood, marriage, or adoption, as grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent, aunt or uncle, great-aunt or great-uncle, great-great-aunt or great-great-uncle, sibling, stepsibling, nephew or niece, first cousin or first cousin once removed, and the spouse of any of the above, even after the marriage has ended by death or divorce. A child may be placed with the parent of a man whom the court has found probable cause to believe is the putative father if there is no man with legally established rights to the child. A placement with the parent of a putative father under this subdivision is not to be construed as a finding of paternity or to confer legal standing on the putative father.
(2) If a juvenile is alleged to be within the provisions of section 2(b) of this chapter, the court may authorize a petition to be filed at the conclusion of the preliminary hearing or inquiry. The court may authorize the petition upon a showing of probable cause that 1 or more of the allegations in the petition are true and fall within the provisions of section 2(b) of this chapter. If a petition is before the court because the family independence agency is required to submit the petition under section 17 of the child protection law, 1975 PA 238, MCL 722.637, the court shall hold a hearing on the petition within 24 hours or on the next business day after the petition is submitted, at which hearing the court shall consider at least the matters governed by subsections (4) and (5).
(3) Except as provided in subsection (5), if a petition under subsection (2) is authorized, the court may release the juvenile in the custody of either of the juvenile's parents or the juvenile's guardian or custodian under reasonable terms and conditions necessary for either the juvenile's physical health or mental well-being.
(4) The court may order a parent, guardian, custodian, nonparent adult, or other person residing in a child's home to leave the home and, except as the court orders, not to subsequently return to the home if all of the following take place:
(a) A petition alleging abuse of the child by the parent, guardian, custodian, nonparent adult, or other person is authorized under subsection (2).
(b) The court after a hearing finds probable cause to believe the parent, guardian, custodian, nonparent adult, or other person committed the abuse.
(c) The court finds on the record that the presence in the home of the person alleged to have committed the abuse presents a substantial risk of harm to the child's life, physical health, or mental well-being.
(5) If a petition alleges abuse by a person described in subsection (4), regardless of whether the court orders the alleged abuser to leave the child's home under subsection (4), the court shall not leave the child in or return the child to the child's home or place the child with a person not licensed under 1973 PA 116, MCL 722.111 to 722.128, unless the court finds that the conditions of custody at the placement and with the individual with whom the child is placed are adequate to safeguard the child from the risk of harm to the child's life, physical health, or mental well-being.
(6) In determining whether to enter an order under subsection (4), the court may consider whether the parent who is to remain in the juvenile's home is married to the person to be removed or has a legal right to retain possession of the home.
(7) An order entered under subsection (4) may also contain 1 or more of the following terms or conditions:
(a) The court may require the alleged abusive parent to pay appropriate support to maintain a suitable home environment for the juvenile during the duration of the order.
(b) The court may order the alleged abusive person, according to terms the court may set, to surrender to a local law enforcement agency any firearms or other potentially dangerous weapons the alleged abusive person owns, possesses, or uses.
(c) The court may include any reasonable term or condition necessary for the juvenile's physical or mental well-being or necessary to protect the juvenile.
(8) If the court orders placement of the juvenile outside the juvenile's home, the court shall inform the parties of the following:
(a) That the agency has the responsibility to prepare an initial services plan within 30 days of the juvenile's placement.
(b) The general elements of an initial services plan as required by the rules promulgated under 1973 PA 116, MCL 722.111 to 722.128.
(c) That participation in the initial services plan is voluntary without a court order.
–
Mcr5.965

three prerequisites to releasing a child to someone other than a parent:
(a) custody of the child with the parent presents a substantial risk of harm to the life, physical health, or mental well being of the child;
(b) no provision of service or other arrangement except removal of the child is reasonably available to adequately safeguard the child from the risk as described in subrule (C)(2)(a); and
(c) conditions of child custody away from the parent are adequate to safeguard the health and welfare of the child. [6]


--
(9) Before or within 7 days after a child is placed in a relative's home, the family independence agency shall perform a criminal record check and central registry clearance. If the child is placed in the home of a relative, the court shall order a home study to be performed and a copy of the home study to be submitted to the court not more than 30 days after the placement.
(10) In determining placement of a juvenile pending trial, the court shall order the juvenile placed in the most family-like setting available consistent with the juvenile's needs.
(11) If a juvenile is removed from his or her home, the court shall permit the juvenile's parent to have frequent parenting time with the juvenile. If parenting time, even if supervised, may be harmful to the juvenile, the court shall order the child to have a psychological evaluation or counseling, or both, to determine the appropriateness and the conditions of parenting time. The court may suspend parenting time while the psychological evaluation or counseling is conducted.
(12) Upon the motion of any party, the court shall review custody and placement orders and initial services plans pending trial and may modify those orders and plans as the court considers under this section are in the juvenile's best interests.
(13) The court shall include in an order placing a child in foster care an order directing the release of information concerning the child in accordance with this subsection. If a child is placed in foster care, within 10 days after receipt of a written request, the agency shall provide the person who is providing the foster care with copies of all initial, updated, and revised case service plans and court orders relating to the child and all of the child's medical, mental health, and education reports, including reports compiled before the child was placed with that person.
(14) In an order placing a child in foster care, the court shall include both of the following:
(a) An order that the child's parent, guardian, or custodian provide the supervising agency with the name and address of each of the child's medical providers.
(b) An order that each of the child's medical providers release the child's medical records. The order may specify providers by profession or type of institution.
(15) As used in this section, "abuse" means 1 or more of the following:
(a) Harm or threatened harm by a person to a juvenile's health or welfare that occurs through nonaccidental physical or mental injury.
(b) Engaging in sexual contact or sexual penetration as defined in section 520a of the Michigan penal code, 1931 PA 328, MCL 750.520a, with a juvenile.
(c) Sexual exploitation of a juvenile, which includes, but is not limited to, allowing, permitting, or encouraging a juvenile to engage in prostitution or allowing, permitting, encouraging, or engaging in photographing, filming, or depicting a juvenile engaged in a listed sexual act as defined in section 145c of the Michigan penal code, 1931 PA 328, MCL 750.145c.
(d) Maltreatment of a juvenile.

---If the court finds probable cause at a hearing that a parent , guardian, custodian or other person residing in the home committed the abuse it may authorize the petition and order the perpetrator out of the home. MCLA 712A.13aIf placement is outside the parents home the court must inform the parties about an initial services plan. Parenting time may be discontinued if it might be harmful to the child pending psychological evaluation or counseling .Parenting time is automatically suspended at an initial hearing to consider termination unless the parent establishes and the court determines that the exercise of parenting will not harm the child . MCLA 712 A.18f (3) (f).If the child is not placed outside the home a trial must be held within 6 months. If the childis placed outside the home the trial must begin within 63 days.The parent gets a jury trial only if asked for early on.



GENESEE AND FLINT AREA
The Uncommonsense
http://www.downtownflint.com/
East Village Magazine
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Flint Talk
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The Laundry Room
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Flint Area Citizen Internet Advocacy US -FLINT CITIZEN
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Flint Town Talk
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TV 12 Forum
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Legal Help
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Family Rights articles - Terry Ray Bankert P.C.
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Parents in Child Protective proceedings
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/child_neglect_abuse/

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See:
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Sphere: Related Content

02/02/07

GOOD MORNING FLINT - 02 /02 /07
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vlogg on blogg at[ to be posted]
_____
HEADLINE OF THE DAY
Status report on global warming. Its continuing.
And its too late ........................
_____
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Don’t wait to follow just lead.

TOP STORY OF THE DAY

Global warming man-made, will continue
By SETH BORENSTEIN Associated Press Writer

PARIS (AP) -- International scientists and officials hailed a report Friday saying that global warming is "very likely" caused by man, and that hotter temperatures and rises in sea level "would continue for centuries" no matter how much humans control their pollution.

The head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Rajendra Pachauri, called it a "very impressive document that goes several steps beyond previous research."

A top U.S. government scientist, Susan Solomon, said "there can be no question that the increase in greenhouse gases are dominated by human activities."

The 21-page summary of the panel's findings released Friday represents the most authoritative science on global warming. The panel comprises hundreds of scientists and representatives of 113 governments.

The scientists said the changes are "very likely" caused by human activity, a phrase that translates to a more than 90 percent certainty that global warming is caused by man's burning of fossil fuels. That was the strongest conclusion to date, making it nearly impossible to say natural forces are to blame.

The report said no matter how much civilization slows or reduces its greenhouse gas emissions, global warming and sea level rise will continue on for centuries.

"This is just not something you can stop. We're just going to have to live with it," co-author Kevin Trenberth, director of climate analysis for the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., told The Associated Press in an interview. "We're creating a different planet. If you were to come up back in 100 years time, we'll have a different climate."

Sharon Hays, associate director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy at the White House, welcomed the strong language of the report.

"It's a significant report. It will be valuable to policy makers," she told The Associated Press in an interview in Paris.

Hays stopped short of saying whether or how the report could bring about change in President Bush's policy about greenhouse gas emissions.

The panel predicted temperature rises of 2-11.5 degrees Fahrenheit by the year 2100. That was a wider range than in the 2001 report.

However, the panel also said its best estimate was for temperature rises of 3.2-7.1 degrees Fahrenheit. In 2001, all the panel gave was a range of 2.5-10.4 degrees Fahrenheit.

On sea levels, the report projects rises of 7-23 inches by the end of the century. An additional 3.9-7.8 inches are possible if recent, surprising melting of polar ice sheets continues.

Trenberth said scientists do worry that world leaders will take the message in the wrong way and throw up their hands. Instead, the scientists urged leaders to reduce emissions and also adapt to a warmer world with wilder weather.

"The point here is to highlight what will happen if we don't do something and what will happen if we do something," co-author Jonathan Overpeck at the University of Arizona said. "I can tell if you will decide not to do something the impacts will be much larger than if we do something."

The panel, created by the United Nations in 1988, releases its assessments every five or six years - although scientists have been observing aspects of climate change since as far back as the 1960s. The reports are released in phases - this is the first of four this year.

The next report is due in April and will discuss the effects of global warming. But that issue was touched upon in the current document.
---
On the Net:
Report: http://www.ipcc.ch/SPM2feb2007.pdf
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FRANCE_CLIMATE_CHANGE?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


FROM MY EMAIL
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WASHINGTON POST

Politics is a contact sport.

In the interview, Biden described Obama as "the first mainstream African American [presidential candidate] who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man."

Obama later issued a statement that absolved Biden only in part. "I didn't take Senator Biden's comments personally," he said, "but obviously they were historically inaccurate. African-American presidential candidates like Jesse Jackson, Shirley Chisholm, Carol Moseley Braun and Al Sharpton gave a voice to many important issues through their campaigns, and no one would call them inarticulate."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/31/AR2007013100404.html?referrer=email&referrer=email&referrer=emai
--
Washington Post Staff WriterFriday, February 2, 2007; Page D01

The Senate voted overwhelmingly yesterday to increase the federal minimum wage for the first time in nearly a decade, but added small-business tax breaks that are unacceptable to House leaders, preventing Democrats from claiming a quick victory on one of their top legislative priorities.

The Senate voted 94 to 3 in favor of the measure, which would raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour from $5.15 over two years.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/01/AR2007020100231.html?sub=AR

--

WALL STREET JOURNAL
NEW YORK TIMES
-
Florida Shifting to Voting System With Paper Trail By ABBY GOODNOUGH and CHRISTOPHER DREW Voting experts said Florida's move could be the death knell for the paperless electronic touch-screen machines. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/02/us/02voting.html?th&emc=th
-
QUOTATION OF THE DAY
"There's something wrong with me. There's something wrong with my brain. And I know when it started." - TED JOHNSON, a former linebacker for the New England Patriots, on the concussions he suffered in August 2002. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/02/sports/football/02concussions.html?th&emc=th


MICHIGAN
Flint Journal
http://www.mlive.com/flintjournal/
Film Festival

From conscientious objectors in Israel to the challenging of corporate power and the ethics of forced marriage, the winter Global Issues Film Festival brings the human condition to film Wednesday through Saturday at Kettering University.

The winter half of the 2006-07 festival features five films, sponsored by the GM Sullivan Fellowship Program, the Greater Flint Arts Council, the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs, Mott Community College and Kettering University's Department of Liberal Studies.

All films are free and open to the public in the McKinnon Theater in the Kettering Academic Building.

"Raised to Be Heroes" (6 p.m. Wednesday, 54 minutes. Directed by Jack Silberman and Tracey Friesen, this film introduces the latest generation of Israeli soldiers to selectively object to military operations undertaken by their country.

"McLibel: Two People Who Wouldn't Say Sorry" (6 p.m. Thursday, 85 minutes). Directed by Franny Armstrong. In the longest trial in English legal history, the "McLibel Two" (Helen Steel and postman Dave Morris) represented themselves against McDonald's powerful legal team in a freedom-of-speech case.

"Bride Kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan" (7 p.m. Friday, 51 minutes). Directed by Petr Lom, this is the first film to document the custom of bride kidnapping, an ancient marriage tradition in
Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet Republic in Central Asia. When a Kyrgyz man decides to marry, he often abducts the woman he has chosen, and the film documents in harrowing detail four such abductions.

"Shadow Company" (1 p.m. Saturday, 86 minutes). Directed by Nick Bicanic and Jason Bourque.

The distinction between soldier and mercenary has blurred as the recent use of private military companies (PMCs) in Iraq has been more extensive than at any time in modern history. The film explores the moral and ethical issues of the trend.

"Can't Do It In Europe" (3:30 p.m. Saturday, 46 minutes). Directed by Charlotta Copcutt, Anna Weitz and Anna Klara Ahren. Looking for a truly unusual tourist spot? How about the silver mines of Potosi in Bolivia, where you can don helmets, gloves and overalls and descend into the dark, hot, polluted mines to watch real Bolivian miners at work? This new phenomenon is called "reality tourism," whereby bored American or European travelers seek out real-life experiences as exciting tourist "adventures."

For more information about the festival, call (810) 762-9865 or visit www.kettering.edu/visitors/index.jsp#one or www.mcc.edu/13_news/news_global_film.shtml.
http://www.mlive.com/news/fljournal/features/index.ssf?/base/features-6/1170172266101720.xml&coll=5#continue




Talking Back to Talk Back

TRIM THE FAT: The economy and the quality of life in this state are collapsing, and Rep. Gonzales pursues "feel good" legislation on trans fat. Perhaps he should put his personal agenda, however, noble in better times, on hold. The state has more important issues to deal with right now.
- Swartz Creek -[ See ya at McDonalds-trb]

BE SINCERE: First, Swartz Creek wanted voters to approve $68-million for a new school, which was turned down. Most voters claimed it was too much. Now they're trying to get us to approve $88 million. Is spending millions of dollars on a school the answer? How about focusing more on the students? The district officials need to prove to us they are sincere and our money won't be spent frivolously.

- Swartz Creek -[Move to Flint Please.-trb]

HUMANE TREATMENT? I called Animal Control recently to report my neighbors lack of food and water for their dog. I called back two days later when there was still no food or water. I was told that frozen water in the dog bowl is acceptable because the dogs can eat snow instead.
- Grand Blanc -[Do you know whee your kids are?-trb]

ABUSE OF POWER: It's against the law for a parent to abuse a child, but when you go to Flint schools, it's OK for security in the high schools to abuse a child.
- Flint -[Put up or shut up-call protective services and give more detail-trb]

GREAT ONCE AGAIN: If our mayor and City Council did as much for Flint as they do bickering, what a great city we could be once again.
- Flint -[I agree, what do you suggest?-trb]

SNOW JOB: As a tax payer in the Swartz Creek School District, I have often wondered why in past years the Swartz Creek schools truck with the plow has been seen on several occasions, plowing snow out of certain residential driveways.
- Clayton Township -[They did not tell you about the secret society? or mabey it was the elderly?-trb]


HELP US OUT: Where is the police department in the city of Swartz Creek? Building identification, directional signage and adequate lighting at key intersections is needed in the area.
- Genesee County -[ I suggest NU-Vision-trb]

ENOUGH ALREADY: Are we going to spend the next four years listening to the Republicans crying about what Granholm is doing or isn't doing to please them? It's getting tiresome.
- Fenton -[Some people just cannot accept defeat?-trb]


WJRT TV 12
http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/

Detroit News
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage

SCHOOL FUNDING
School Funding
K-12 Funding
Glossary
Charter school A public school, sometimes with a particular educational approach, that is exempt from certain state regulations; also known as a public school academy.
Foundation allowance A per pupil amount of state funding that pays for school operations.
Intermediate school district (ISD) An education service agency that provides support to school districts within a geographic area (frequently approximates the county).
Mill A monetary unit equal to 1/1000 of a dollar. Millage is the tax rate on property—the number of mills assessed against the property's taxable value.
Public school academy A charter school.
School Aid Fund A fund into which certain state revenues are deposited and from which funds may be spent only on K–12 education.
Taxable value The amount of property value upon which property taxes are levied

[APRIL 1, 2002] After 25 years of futility and 12 ballot proposals, in 1994 Michigan voters approved Proposal A, which revamped the way the state funds K–12 education. Voters reduced the state's relatively high property taxes, which had been about 35 percent above the national average before the reforms and now are about the same as the national average. Proposal A not only gave property tax relief but reduced funding disparities among school districts—spending had ranged from $3,400 to $10,300 per pupil.
Local property taxes for schools were largely replaced with new state education taxes. The reforms
increased the state's 4 percent sales tax to 6 percent and earmarked the increase for the School Aid Fund;
created several new revenue sources for schools, including a 6-mill state education property tax and a 75-cent per pack cigarette tax;
limited annual property tax increases on each parcel of property to the lower of (1) the inflation rate or (2) 5 percent;
stipulated that school districts on the low end of the funding spectrum would receive bigger annual funding increases than would the "richer" schools; and
eliminated a number of categorical (special) grants and rolled the funds into the foundation allowance.
-
Funding Distribution
To reduce funding disparities among school districts, a "foundation allowance"—a per pupil amount of operating funding—was established for each district in the state. This allowance was influenced by the amount of funding a district had received before Proposal A was passed, meaning that districts that had higher property values before Proposal A were assigned a higher foundation allowance. (In the first year of Proposal A, foundation allowances for K–12 districts ranged from $4,200 to $10,294.) A "minimum" foundation allowance—the least amount a district would receive—was established at $4,200 in FY 1994–95 and has increased each year to the current level of $6,500.
A basic foundation allowance (the "basic")—a target amount to which lower-funded districts one day would be raised—also was established. In FY 1994–95, the first full fiscal year of the new school finance system, the basic was $5,000 per pupil. Districts with a foundation allowance below the basic received an increase in their per pupil funding of up to twice the dollar amount of the increase in the basic. For example, if the basic increased from $5,000 to $5,153, as it did from the first to second year of the reforms, all districts with a minimum foundation allowance of $4,200 in FY 1994–95 received a per pupil increase of twice this $153 rise, or $306. However, every district that was above the basic received only $153 per pupil—the amount of increase in the basic.

Emerging Issues
The 2003–04 legislative session will see Proposal A's 10-year anniversary. This occasion, along with budget cuts caused by the current recession, no doubt will bring the "new" system's strengths and weaknesses under scrutiny, and the following issues are likely to be part of the debate.
Reducing the Funding Gap
As stated above, Proposal A has achieved the goal of bringing all districts up to the basic foundation allowance. The exhibit
shows that the minimum foundation allowance has increased nearly 55 percent from the first year of Proposal A, more than twice the 20 percent increase of the maximum foundation allowance. The per pupil funding gap between the highest- and lowest-funded district has narrowed from $6,900 to $5,255. While it is good news that all districts have reached the basic foundation allowance, it also means that all districts now will receive the same dollar increase each year, and the gap will not be further narrowed without additional legislation.
Infrastructure and Capital Improvements
Proposal A was targeted toward school operating funds, which are used to pay for wages and salaries, textbooks, and other day-to-day operational expenses. It was not intended to address capital needs such as building, expanding, or improving school buildings; these still are funded primarily from voter-approved debt millage. However, the aging of the state's stock of school buildings and the necessity to equip buildings for computer technology are escalating the need for capital improvements, for which money must be raised locally. The value of the property in the district affects the amount of money per mill that a district can raise for capital expenses—for example, in Northport one mill raises about $816 per pupil, but in Highland Park it raises only about $32 per pupil.
Declining Enrollment
Proposal A tied a district's funding much more to enrollment than was the case under the old system, so for every pupil a district gains or loses, it now also gains or loses money. In FY 2001–02, more than 300 of the 554 local districts lost pupils and therefore funding. Although total school enrollment is increasing statewide, much of the growth is found in the state's 190 charter schools rather than in traditional school districts. In future years, total school enrollment is expected to decline statewide, meaning that even more districts, as well as charter schools, will see fewer pupils enter their doors.
Local Revenue-Raising Ability
As part of the effort to provide tax relief and reduce funding disparities, Proposal A severely limits a district's ability to levy additional mills in order to increase operating funds. Under the old system, districts were relatively free to ask voters to approve new millage for operations. Since Proposal A, however, districts may ask at any given time for only up to three "enhancement" mills for operation. In 1997 additional restrictions were imposed, and districts now must request enhancement mills on an intermediate school district (ISD)–wide basis. In other words, they must ask all voters in the ISD in which they are located to approve the additional mill(s) and, if approved, share the resulting revenue on an equal, per pupil basis with all districts in that ISD. Since 1997 only one such millage request has been approved, and it is unlikely that many others will follow.
School Revenue Growth and Stability
When Proposal A passed, there were questions about whether, over time—in a good and bad economy—the new system would provide sufficient revenue to support schools. It appears that during a good economy, school revenue has been sufficient and has exceeded the inflation rate. From FY 1994–95 to FY 2001–02, a period during which the national and state economies were expanding, the foundation allowance grew from $5,000 to $6,500, an average annual increase of 3.8 percent, which exceeds the 2.7 percent Michigan inflation rate. At this writing, the School Aid Fund is larger than the entire state General Fund, the fund that pays for the operation of nearly all of the rest of state government.
In March 2001 the National Bureau of Economic Research declared that a recession was underway in the United States for the first time in ten years. The resulting decline in state revenue for schools forced lawmakers to reduce the FY 2001–02 budget from its enacted level, marking the first school budget cut since the Proposal A reforms came into being. It is too soon to determine whether in a recession schools will suffer more under Proposal A than they would have under the old system, but early evidence suggests that this may be the case, and this question deserves analysis when sufficient data become available.
DISCUSSION
Reducing the Funding Gap
As stated above, legislation is required to further close the school funding gap. Indeed, in FY 2001–02, a one-time "equity payment" was allocated to reduce the gap between the minimum and maximum foundation allowances from $1,500 to $1,300. This payment gave up to $200 per pupil to districts having a foundation allowance below $6,300, effectively raising the foundation allowance to $6,500. The cost to the state was $129 million. While many people support the concept of greater equity among school districts, the price tag of such an effort is an obstacle. The recent economic downturn makes it unlikely that the state will be able to afford another equity-enhancing program in the near future.
Infrastructure and Capital Improvements
Not since the 1970s, when the state provided funds for "millage equalization," has Michigan provided direct state assistance for infrastructure. Many school representatives and others are pressing for state help with infrastructure needs, but such assistance could cost billions if fully funded. Proponents argue that a state role is necessary because of the vast inequities in local districts' ability to raise such money. They also argue that Proposal A makes it harder for districts to get a debt millage passed, since there is a misperception among many that the reform meant there would be no more millage elections. Opponents counter that the current School Aid Fund was created to pay only for school operations and it is up to the locals to get their debt millages approved by voters and provide their own bricks and mortar. Others may not oppose state assistance on principle but argue that the state simply does not have sufficient funding to provide such support or has higher funding priorities.
Declining Enrollment
Supporters of financial help for districts with declining enrollment argue that such a decline can be caused by demographic or economic factors beyond a district's control. They point out that shrinking enrollment could one day affect almost all districts, as the total Michigan school-aged population is expected to decline 1.9 percent from FY 2001–02 to FY 2005–06. Opponents argue that many districts lose pupils to charter schools or other districts, and the state should not reward a district with extra funding when it simply could not compete with other schools. Others say that schools should adapt by cutting spending when enrollment declines.
Local Revenue-Raising Ability
Support seems to be growing to allow local districts to levy additional local operating millage. In 2001–02, legislation was introduced (House Bill 4917), for the first time since Proposal A passed, to permit districts to go to voters for additional operating millage. Supporters say that if voters are willing to pay more to support their local schools, they should be allowed to so. They also point to the fact that many of the higher-funded districts have received less-than-inflationary increases in their per pupil funding since Proposal A went into effect, and they argue that a millage would help them to keep up with rising costs. Opponents say that allowing additional local mills would erode the property tax relief granted under Proposal A; they also could argue that new operating mills in some districts would once again allow the funding gap between rich and poor districts to widen. As the state constitution requires that the enabling legislation for any type of new school millage must be passed by a three-fourths affirmative vote by both legislature chambers, enacting an operating-millage bill would be difficult.
See also K–12 Quality and Testing; K–12 Schooling Alternatives; Special Education.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Michigan Association of School Administrators1001 Centennial Way, Suite 300Lansing, MI 48917(517) 327-5910(517) 327-0771 FAXwww.gomasa.org
Michigan Association of School Boards1001 Centennial Way, Suite 400Lansing, MI 48917(517) 327-5900(517) 327-0775 FAXwww.masb.com
Michigan Department of EducationHannah Building608 West Allegan StreetP.O. Box 30008Lansing, MI 48909(517) 373-3324(517) 373-4022 FAXwww.michigan.gov/mde
Michigan Department of Management and BudgetP.O. Box 30026Lansing, MI 48909(517) 373-1004(517) 373-7268 FAXwww.michigan.gov/dmb
Michigan Education Association1216 Kendale BoulevardEast Lansing, MI 48826(800) 292-1934(517) 337-5598 FAXwww.mea.org
above at
http://www.michiganinbrief.org/edition07/Chapter5/K12Funding.htm






GENESEE AND FLINT AREA
The Uncommonsense
http://www.downtownflint.com/
East Village Magazine
http://www.eastvillagemagazine.org/

Flint Talk
http://www.flinttalk.com/http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Flintcitizen/
The Laundry Room
http://www.thelaundryroom.us/

Flint Area Citizen Internet Advocacy US -FLINT CITIZEN
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Flintcitizen/
Flint Town Talk
http://www.mlive.com/forums/flint/index.ssf
TV 12 Forum
http://forums.go.com/abclocal/WJRT/forum?start=0&forumID=73

Legal Help
http://attorneybankert.com/
Family Rights articles - Terry Ray Bankert P.C.
http://www.thelaundryroom.us/http://terrybankert.blogspot.com/
Parents in Child Protective proceedings
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/child_neglect_abuse/

Flintlist q Flint Area Citizen Buy & Sell & Swap
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/Flintlist/
Terry Bankert My Spacehttp://www.myspace.com/113559892
You Tube Archives- Good Morning Flint
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=terrybankert
See:
The "In My Opinion" Show. With Host Ronald Barry Robinson and Friends. Seen every Saturday at 6 P.M. and Wednesday at 8:30 P.M. on Comcast Cablevision Channel 17Flint Michigan
Hear:
WFLT 1420 AM every Saturday morning 9am to 9:30 pm KNOW THE LAW with attorney Terry Bankert talking about Family Rights Flint Michigan.
Published by Terry Bankert :
attorneybankert@yahoo.com
1000 Beach St
Flint MI
48503
810-235-1970
COMMENTS OR NEWS ITEMS WELCOMED.

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