One of the larger newspapers in southwest Louisiana and a regional television station published news articles last week about the sexual exploitation of two Children. The articles incorrectly identified the two Children as prostitutes. Children are never prostitutes. These two Children were sold and raped. I contacted the news desk,…
rick wheat
Endings are complicated. Typing was once a more physical experience. Each page of paper was inserted and rolled around a platen. Each keypress was a levered, mechanical event. With each inked letter impressed on the paper, a third of the typewriter’s mass, the part called “the carriage,” would move one…
While reading this morning’s news reports about child welfare among the states, the following problems seem to be the most prevalent and significant problems of child welfare agencies around the country. 1. First is the problem of children being removed from parents and placed into foster care for reasons of…
After 14 years without an increase in the daily board rate for foster care, Louisiana’s support of foster caregivers improved this week. Louisiana increases the foster care board rate for first time since 2007 For the first time in more than a decade, Louisiana’s foster caregivers will receive an increase…
These news stories report the harm done to children and families when child welfare agencies and managed care organizations routinely place children in out-of-state facilities. As Louisiana learned from the Gary W. case filed in 1974, placing children far from home, out of sight, and out of mind, allows bad…
Louisiana's definition of "battery" is remarkably like our state's definition of "corporal punishment", making it difficult not to see today's vote as blatant approval of battery against children.
“Your ache is also your prayer.” Your ache is your prayer. This was on my mind when I woke today. Jesus taught that prayer is a personal experience each of us has with the One who made us. Anyone can pray because prayer is literally your experience with God. There…
The tension between profit for owners and quality of care is not a new one. Against the background described by these article, the COVID-19 pandemic draws attention to the two different priorities.
I have gathered a list – a collection of Kid Count headlines – and I will update it because it provides a decades-long mirror into which we in Louisiana can gaze and see how our children have fared. The headlines are from news articles about Louisiana’s Kids Count ranking for…
These are important reports related to Louisiana's rank among the states on women's rights, child well-being, poverty, and gender parity among elected officials. In summary, Louisiana comes up short in all of these reports.