Announcement: Justice4Children Internet Radio Show 7/30/10

Forwarded Message from Theresa Edwards:

PLEASE JOIN ME, THERESA EDWARDS ON

FRIDAY 30 JULY 2010 AT 8 PM - 10 PM EST

THE TOLL FREE PHONE NUMBER IS

1-646-716-8675

www.blogtalkradio.com/wakeupcallshow

OUR GUESTS TONIGHT WILL BE SARAH WILCOX OF B&B CARE SERVICES, ALONG WITH REPRESENTATIVES FROM OTHER ORGANIZATIONS THAT HELP FAMILIES WITH FINANCIAL AID TO OBTAIN SERVICES, AND ITEMS TO BENEFIT OUR CHILDREN.

CALL IN TO SEE IF THEY CAN HELP YOU AND YOUR CHILD(REN).

Let's talk and Come Together.

Our Children Need Our Help and Co-operation.

If you have any announcements that you would like to have put out on the air please submit them to me at hedwards08@comcast.net

PA: Man With Autism Left in Hot Car by Caregiver Die

Man With Autism Left in Hot Car by Caregiver Dies

Disabled man spent more than 5-hours in car as temps soared over 150-degrees

By VINCE LATTANZIO

Updated 11:21 AM EDT, Tue, Jul 27, 2010

BUZZ UP!

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Investigators want to know how a man with autism could be left inside a van for hours in the intense heat just steps from the facility where he lived.

The unidentified 20-year-old man died after spending more than five hours inside a van operated by Woods Services in Middletown Township, Pa. last Saturday, police say.

The man, whose autism left him unable to speak, was in the backseat of the van for a return trip from Sesame Place in Langhorne, Pa. with three other residents and two caregivers.

Once back on the grounds of the facility, two of the residents were taken inside by one caregiver, police said.

Authorities say an unidentified man with autism...

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When it was determined the man was missing, staff conducted a search of the buildings and subsequently the vehicle where he was found dead.

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The driver of the van and a coworker were both suspended after the man's death. Investigators are also looking into the possibility of whether criminal charges are warranted in the case.

For the full article, please follow this link: http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local-beat/Autistic-Man-Left-in-Hot-Car-by-Caregiver-Dies-99292304.html

VA: Washington Post Article Highlights Alleged Sexual Predator; Abuse World-wide, Goes Back Decades

Author's Note: The Washington Post has published an article about alleged sexual predator Kevin Ricks. Ricks has allegedly sexually abused boys and documented his exploits in journals, photos, and videos.

Below is an excerpt:

Kevin Ricks' career as teacher, tutor shows pattern of abuse that goes back decades

By Josh White, Blaine Harden and Jennifer Buske

Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, July 25, 2010

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/24/AR2010072402605.html

Kevin Ricks was a gregarious, well-traveled English teacher at Osbourn High School, a Walt Whitman devotee who was so popular that a photo of him in class was chosen to fill the opening page of the yearbook. A writer and photographer himself, Ricks would walk the halls of the Manassas school with a leather-bound journal of his musings tucked in his bag, next to his laptop computer.

What teachers, parents, students and even his wife didn't know was that his journals contained decades of dark secrets, a running handwritten commentary of Ricks's world of obsession, infatuation, pursuit, sexual abuse and international child exploitation.

They didn't know about his library of homemade pornographic videos and explicit photographs capturing his tequila-soaked sex acts with teenage boys he had handpicked. They didn't know about the makeshift shrine boxes containing mementos of the episodes, including sex toys, soiled tissues and hair trimmings.

Even some of the victims didn't know they were victims.

A four-month Washington Post investigation of Ricks's career as a teacher, tutor, foreign exchange host and camp counselor has revealed a pattern of abuse that dates to at least 1978 and has left a trail of victims spanning the globe. But despite the abuse, Ricks moved from one teaching job to the next over nearly 30 years, navigating the nation's public and private school systems undetected, evading traps designed to catch him.

For the full article, please follow this link:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/24/AR2010072402605.html

India: Partha De "Determined to Stop the Menace of Corporal Punishment at Any Cost" with New Complaint System

July 28, 2010

Corporal Punishment

(The Telegraph) Students and parents can soon complain about corporal punishment directly to the state government through SMS and email under a separate set of rules meant to ensure that teachers spare the rod.

“We are determined to stop the menace of corporal punishment at any cost. No teacher will be allowed to inflict physical and mental torture on students,” declared school education minister Partha De following a series of meetings through the day to finalise the draft of the proposed rules.

The rules, including “direct government intervention” based on complaints filed by guardians and students with the authorities, will be binding on all schools affiliated to the state board.

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“There can be no excuse for beating up a student. When a teacher is appointed, he/she needs to make a declaration not to impose any kind of physical or mental torture on students. The new set of rules aims to ensure that under no circumstance can a teacher break that oath,” said De.

To read the full article, please follow the link: http://news.icbse.com/complain-corporal-punishment-email-sms-482#ixzz0v15Sjs00

IL: PBIS in Harvard Park Elementary School

July 28, 2010

By Jennifer Searcy

Founder/Director of Public Policy & Affairs

The Coalition for Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports

Harvard Park Elementary School, which is part of Springfield Public Schools, has made their "Behavior Expectations" brochure and their "PBIS Behavior Matrix" brochure available online.

Included in the Elementary School's PBIS policies are:

Child access to a "Safety Zone." This area allows children a "stress break" for up to 5 minutes, where children may "make positive decisions about their behavior" when they are feeling frustrated, angry, or overwhelmed.

"Gotchas." These certificates awarded to children when they are "caught" engaging in appropriate behaviors.

"Expectation Rotation Centers." This includes a walk-though of the school with demonstrations and modeling of appropriate behaviors in various environments within the school.

"Cool Tools." These skills and behaviors are taught to children, and include listening, showing respect, problem-solving, etc.

Monthly and quarterly celebrations are also held, in addition to teacher selection of "Student of the Week."

The "Behavior Expectations" brochure can be accessed here: http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/downloads/basic/86111/f_10385-149-ae1.pdf

The "Behavior Matrix" brochure can be found here: http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/downloads/basic/86112/f_10385-213-ca7.pdf

TN: Thousands of Memphis Elementary Students Suspended And Expelled

Reported by: Kevin Holmes
Email: kholmes@myeyewitnessnews.com
Last Update: 9:23 am

http://www.myeyewitnessnews.com/news/local/story/Thousands-of-Memphis-Elementary-Students/sB_MLR55-ka4TJuGOkPWZQ.cspx

MEMPHIS, TN – Just about every school in the country has suspended or expelled a student, but when it comes to Memphis City Schools the number is in the thousands, according to Memphis City School Board Member Kenneth Whalum, and that’s just for elementary school. Last year, nearly 9,000 MCS students (K – 5) were suspended. Close to 500 were expelled.

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According to James Bacchus, MCS’ Executive Director of Student Support, programs are in place to deal with the problem. One is called Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS). Its goal is to help teachers understand and identify inappropriate behavior before it starts. But PBIS has been around for years, which is why Whalum questions if that’s enough.

For the full article, please follow the link: http://www.myeyewitnessnews.com/news/local/story/Thousands-of-Memphis-Elementary-Students/sB_MLR55-ka4TJuGOkPWZQ.cspx

To see the MCS Code of Conduct, please click here: http://www.mcsk12.net/policy/policy_coc.asp

HI: Board of Ed Exploring Bullying Policies

Hawaii One Of Few States With No Laws Against Harassment, Bullying

Jodi Leong KITV4 News Reporter

POSTED: 10:14 pm HST July 27, 2010
UPDATED: 5:52 am HST July 28, 2010

http://www.kitv.com/news/24418999/detail.html

Honolulu -- Hawaii is one of a few states that has no laws against bullying and harassment in the public schools.

A Board of Education committee Tuesday, started gathering information on the problem and potential solutions from experts.

A Hawaii School Health Survey taken in February, found an alarming 51 percent of high school students surveyed, feel harassment and bullying by other students is a problem in their school.

The survey also found 32 percent have been hurt by messages sent by e-mail or by postings on the Internet.

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Although there is currently no law that protects students from bullying or harassment, the BOE committee is gathering input from experts and may eventually craft a proposal that would make the practice illegal in Hawaii’s public schools.

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Experts urged BOE members to support a plan that includes mental health intervention for both bullies and their victims. “When a child has been assaulted in the Hawaii state school system, what kind of intervention is done on behalf of the victims? There is nothing,” said clinical and forensic psychologist Reneau Kennedy.

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The BOE plans further discussions on bullying and harassment in public schools over the next few months.

NE: Dept of Ed Develops Restraint and Seclusion Document

JULY 28, 2010

http://preventionperspectives.com/nebraska-doe-develops-document-on-restraint-and-seclusion/

The Nebraska Department of Education developed a technical assistance document, Developing School Policies & Procedures for Physical Restraint and Seclusion in Nebraska Schools.

The document was created to provide schools information and guidance to create or revise policies regarding use of restraint and seclusion, based on national policy directions and research.

It contains sections on developing policies and procedures on restraint and seclusion, components of policies and procedures, and examples of policies.

View the Developing School Policy & Procedures for Physical Restraint and Seclusion in Nebraska Schools technical assistance document.

NC: Abuse Claims at School for Deaf

July 17, 2010

THE NEWS & OBSERVER, RALEIGH, N.C. | LYNN BONNER | Sat, Jul 17, 8:41 AM

http://dailyme.com/story/2010071700001905/abuse-claims-nc-school-deaf.html

July 17--The director of the N.C. School for the Deaf in Morganton has been suspended after reports that staff members slapped a student, shoved another and held one girl face-down on the floor with a force that left bruises.

Raleigh-based Disability Rights N.C., an independent advocacy group that persuaded state officials to investigate, also said that girls at the residential school reported that a dorm director made a habit of dropping in when they were scheduled for showers and watched them on a security camera while they were in their pajamas.

On Friday, the state Department of Health and Human Services suspended the director of the school, Janet McDaniel, as it responded to allegations that she failed to act on the reports of physical abuse and let months go by before she did anything about the dorm director.

For the full article, please click the following link: http://dailyme.com/story/2010071700001905/abuse-claims-nc-school-deaf.html