Does Race Matter? 3/6/07

Good Morning Flint
vlogg at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3yQbhEMlpc 03/06/07

Whites that are good people should run for the Flint School Board or the 68th District Court. Good people that happen to be African American will give you a fair hearing before they decide their vote.

Like anybody else you have to work for political support. Following is a repost of mine with comments , edited only as to length no content added, from Flint Town Talk and Flint Talk with my rebuttal with an accompaning Vlogg.

Flint Talk Politcal thread, Good Morning Flint at http://flinttalk.com/viewforum.php?f=2
Good Morning Flint. 03/04/07

My wife and I attended the NAACP Freedom Fund dinner last Saturday night.

What a great evening! The speakers were well received, the food delicious and the guests were dressed in their best.

I watched several of the candidates in the upcoming Mayoral contest work the room.

I wondered to my self what chance will these candidates have in a city wide race in an African American City.

I exempted the Mayoral race itself because Williamson is an incumbent with extensive community ties and history.

But what if there were no incumbents, would a white have a chance?

Recently I sponsored a workshop on Educational issues in Flint. Several candidates were among the 88 participants.

Do any of the white candidates have a chance when running for a seat against an African American opponent in the Flint Board of education race and the 68th District Court seat being vacated by Judge McAra in Flint Michigan?

Both seats , school board and 69th District Court, are in the City of Flint. Flint is 55-60 percent African American in registered voters.

Why should whites expect to receive any support from the African American community if their African American opponent possessed good qualities? I listen closely to the young African American speaker at the NAACP dinner.

I heard no talk of inclusion. His parents fought for equal civil rights . His message was one of equal economic rights. I do not believe I ever heard the word inclusion. Please tell me if I am wrong. So where are we today?

Will a white candidate get a fair hearing? Given the history of civil rights in this county I do not criticize the African American community for promoting to public position good citizens from their community over any white.

Just let the whites know if they are wasting their time.

So here is my point, can white candidates with extensive community backgrounds and qualifications expect to get an evaluation of competency before political support is decided in Flint races by the African American Leadership and community?

Running for public office is a hard thing to do. There is an extreme personal cost on the candidate, the candidates family and friends. Some of the white candidates for the Flint Board of Education have supported civil rights and affirmative actions all of their lives.

What a disappointment it would be to have a community vote against them simply because they were white.

So again my question is will a qualified white get a fair hearing when competing against a good African American candidate in the Flint School Board election or the soon to be vacant City of Flint 68th District Court seat? Or is there effectively a sign “ Whites do not need to apply?”

I do not know the answer. I only have an opinion and hope for inclusion, but it may just be wishful thinking. I do not think it is wishful thinking that whites can win in African American, Black, Districts.

Its just a new experience for whites to face prejudice. Whites must now have the Audacity of Hope that race does not matter. That good people will vote for good people that share their values and issues positions. The best will rise no matter what the community.

We must look to Barack Obama in his book “ The Audacity of Hope” when talking of professionals and politicians he stated on page 241. “... you won’t hear these men and women use race as a crutch or point to discrimination and as a excuse for failure.”

I have learned from this discussion. I hope you have also.

What do you think?
Terry Bankert
attorneybankert@yahoo.com

RESPONSES FOLLOW --
The numbered post are from Flint Town Talk
http://www.mlive.com/forums/flint/index.ssf

10315.1. Should blacks apply? by cyclepillz, 3/4/07 13:32 ET

Look, blacks vote for white candidates at a MUCH higher rate then whites voting for blacks. Can you imagine Grand Blanc or Fenton or Clio voting in a black mayor. The candidate could be Obama or Powell and they'd STILL cast their vote for the white guy. [Good Point, I think you are correct.-TRB] --

10315.1.1. Ya can't exempt Ex-Con Don by cyclepillz, 3/4/07 14:10 ET

For better or for worse he is a candidate whose appeal crosses racial lines. Flint is one off the most segregated cities in America s for a white candidate to all of a sudden show up in the black community looking for votes could be viewed as disingenuous pandering. Dayne, Dale, and the rest don't stand a chance because they will be perceived as opportunistic outsiders who are not in touch with the needs of the African-American community.

Now when it comes to the school board you will see white candidates elected who have a high profile in the African American community. They will have to be stellar to stick out. [ I took out Williamson because I thought his arrival after the receivership and use of his own wealth make him the exception. Now I agree with you. He was the best choice for Flint at this time in our history. The good people made the right decision. That should not be discounted.-TRB] --

10315.1.2. SO whites should apply... by terrybankert, 3/4/07 15:01 ET SO

the answer is that whites should apply, knowing that they have to work a little harder. White candidates are experiencing nothing different from what black candidates have experienced for 100 years. In the long view blacks are fairer that whites are already. I agree Terry Bankert --

10315.1.2.1. The problem with Flint by WingMasterGL, 3/4/07 16:04 ET

is that it is top heavy with incompetent black management that was hired in during the Stanley administration. These people can't manage to keep on a budget they can't keep from fighting and bickering among themselves and most are unqualified for the positions they currently hold. And the Flint school Board is no better off.

If the black community could find a highly qualified candidate to run for mayor why didn't they have him run against Mayor Williamson in the last election. And If they can find one today why are they not supporting him Now. ---

10315.1.2.1.1. So whites can get elected to.. by terrybankert, 3/4/07 16:13 ET

the Flint School board. I heard your other comments but here I am considering how to consult with friends who are running on how to win. Some are black some white. What I hear is good people will prevail. TRB ____

10315.1.2.1.1.1. Good question by yankeesrule6, 3/4/07 20:14 ET

First of all cycle you are so annoying, but anyways Terry asked a good question. If you were to ask Herbert Cleaves, I am sure he would think differently. The sad thing is that it should be the most qualified candidate no matter what color, race, gender etc. Obviously in Flint unless you are black you don't stand much of a chance.

IN all honesty this has hurt the Flint schools, because they already had highly intelligent, totally competent superintendent (Chow) and they ran him out of town for the totally incompetent ( black) man they have now, simply because ole Hebert wanted a black man. Now if Milton could do the job, then fine, but he is screwing things up immensely. Also, Cleave's again criticized the Flint teachers. Rather than saying they work hard in very difficult conditions he said and I quote, "We simply don't have enough black teachers", hmmmm......that sounds racist to me, but according to cycle only BLACKS can be victims of race, right? It's sad that it isn't about who is most qualified, or who wants the best for the city and Flint school systems, but if the city continues to elect like Cleaves, than comes down to the color of skin, and that is a shame. Also, why is there not a United Caucasian College Fund, or the NAACP- the National Academy for the Advancement of Caucasian people?

Oh, because that would be racist, right? I only hope that when the City schools totally fall apart that they ( Cleaves and the other ignorant sb members) have enough sense to hire a new superintendent who can do the job and who is qualified, and that being said hopefully the main criteria is not skin color. __

10315.1.2.1.1.1.1. When the state comes in to take over the schools, they won't look by mom23under12, 3/4/07 21:27 ET

at skin color and everyone will have to live with it. If the voters of Flint elect the same people into the school board this election, then they deserve what they get!! __

10315.2. Audacity of Hope by terrybankert, 3/5/07 9:03 ET

I do not think it is wishful thinking that whites can win in African American, Black, Districts. Its just a new experience for white to face prejudice. Whites must now have the Audacity of Hope that race does not matter. That good people will vote for good people that share their values and issues positions. The best will rise no matter what the community.

We must look to Barack Obama in his book “ The Audacity of Hope” when talking of professionals and politicians he stated on page 241. “... you won’t hear these men and women use race as a crutch or point to discrimination and as a excuse for failure.” I have learned from this discussion. I hope you have also. __

10315.2.1. In a city like Flint by WingMasterGL, 3/5/07 12:37 ET

race will always be an issue. Former Mayor Woodrow Stanley saw to that. He made race an issue every time things didn't go his way. __

10315.2.1.1. Legacy of White Racism by cyclepillz, 3/5/07 13:08 ET
Don't make it sound like blacks are the only ones guilty of racism. Whites on this forum never take any responsibility. [Here he is talking about Flint Town Talk not Flint Talk] ___

10315.2.1.1.1. It's really... by saxmanSA80, 3/5/07 14:54 ET
easy to paint everyone with a broad stroke, even if it makes your statement untrue. __

10315.2.1.1.1.1. I simply stated to facts by WingMasterGL, 3/5/07 17:06 ET

Stanley was a major league racist to the point where even after being recalled from office instead of bowing out with class He stood in front of the press and loudly proclaimed Quote (The stench of racism will linger in the nostrils of Flint for years to come)The man didn't have even the last shred of dignity left he had to cry racism to the very end. Like the coward he was he never took responsibility for what he did to the city. __

10315.2.1.1.1.1.1. Amen Wingmas...... by yankeesrule6, 3/5/07 18:31 ET

Stanley is the biggest racist of all. Cycle thinks that only blacks can be victims of racism, but how about Herbert Cleaves, Stanley, Ricky Hampton, are they not racist towards whites? Like I said, how come there is not a United Caucasian College Fund, why? Because, that would be racist. I am sick of people like Stanley, Hampton , and Cleaves using the race card every time something doesn't go their way.

Prime example- Cleaves wanted a black super, and he now has one, and even though he is totally mucking up the job, HEY, at least he is black, right Cleaves??? Cycle, you are no better than them. Is there racism in Genesee County? I am sure there is, but hey the door swings both ways buddy, so quit thinking so one sided. Take off your blinders man! __

10315.2.1.1.1.1.2. Here is what... by saxmanSA80, 3/5/07 22:08 ET

you stated... "Whites on this forum never take any responsibility." That has nothing to do with any facts. It is painting a broad, negative picture of a specific group and is not factual. __ From JBToolFist I applaud you for being willing to ask the tough questions that few people really want to talk about openly.

Until we are willing to deal with these questions/issues head on, with frank discussion and dialogue, the race issue will just continue to fester in the subconscious of everybody. African Americans who "get it" recognize that in this day and age, it's not about working "for the man" or "against the man," it's about working "WITH the man." Flint is one of the most racially divided cities in America. And look at what we have to show for it (unemployment, crime, low tax revenue, apathy, fear.)

Hopefully Flint voters are savvy enough to recognize and vote for talent/quality and not race in the upcoming elections (and that goes for whites and blacks.) JBToolFist From Flint Talk __

What do you Think?

I think the answer is good people should run for public office no matter where they live.

Whites that are good people should run for the Flint School Board or the 68th District Court. Good people that happen to be African American will give you a fair hearing before they decide their vote.

Like anybody else you have to work for political support.

Terry Bankert 03/06/07 attorneybankert@yahoo.com

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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
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What follows are the rough notes with citations for the vlogg.
vlogg on blogg at
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_____
HEADLINE OF THE DAY

Freedom, Liberty, civil rights and DNA sampling, whats at risk.
_____
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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."
=====

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
===============
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
=====
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.
_____
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Your Morning News from Flint MI USA
Channel 12.5
Part of the TRB Broadcasting Network :)
Terry Ray Bankert
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JOIN THE DISCUSSION ON FLINT TALK
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Information to help you make a difference in Flint MI
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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.
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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]


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(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.



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