They Want Your Kids - Baby LK Report For December 9th 2012

Baby LK recaps the week in news for the child protection industry.
 
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Protecting Families From CPS - Baby LK Report For December 1st 2012

Baby LK recaps the week in news for the child protection industry.

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The wrong answer for Michigan’s economy

In light of right-to-work legislation passing in Michigan’s House and Senate on Thursday, reporters have turned to EPI associate Gordon Lafer’s research examining the claim that right-to-work laws will boost the state’s economy.

In his report, Lafer explains that the legislation restricts workers’ rights by making it illegal for them to enter voluntary contracts with unions to collect union dues. He also shows that right-to-work laws do not boost job growth in states that adopt them—and actually lower wages and reduce benefits for both union and non-union workers. ‘RIGHT TO WORK’ The wrong answer for Michigan’s economyVoting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Conyers: Governor Snyder Putting Divisive Policies Ahead of Michigan’s Working Families

(DETROIT) – Yesterday, Republican leadership in the Michigan State Legislature, alongside Governor Snyder, unexpectedly announced their support of right-to-work legislation. Later in the evening, the Republican controlled Michigan House of Representatives voted to approve the legislation 58-52 and the Republican controlled Michigan Senate passed a similar bill 22-16. Representative John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) issued the following statement in response:

“After promising to govern Michigan as a unifier, and even stating that so-called ‘right-to-work’ legislation was not on his political agenda, Governor Snyder has gone back on his promises and turned his back on Michigan workers,” said Conyers.

“Michigan’s proud history was built by the working men and women of this state, and the labor movement has and continues to play a monumental role in building our middle class. Expanding the middle class to include an increasing number of families in Michigan will require a robust labor movement, not an embattled one.

“I strongly urge Governor Snyder to reject this divisive ‘right-to-work’ measure that was crammed through the State Legislature during the lame duck session. Working families in Michigan are counting on allies in their public officials, not adversaries.”

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State Rep. John Olumba breaks silence about Dave Bing recall movement.

LISTEN IN: 

RADIO NEWS ALERT: State Rep. John Olumba breaks silence about Dave Bing recall movement.

Date: This Monday, December 10th, 2012 | 6:00am-10:00am

Station: 1200 WCHB, The Mildred Gaddis Show:  Special host, political commentator & radio personality: Jonathan Kinloch

PURPOSE: 
State Rep. Olumba finally speaks to the public about the Dave Bing recall to clarify:

• Why the Recall was initiated.
• The importance of this action happening NOW vs. waiting until August.
• The unveiling of the current and future damages executed-to be executed under the Bing administration.
• Petition involvement (313) 744-3381 or (313) 305 - 7792.
• And more.

To listen online this Monday, December 10th. 2012, 6:00am - 10:00am: Click Here 

See us on Facebook: John Olumba for Hope | MI State Representative
Website: www.recallbing.com

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Michigan Senate Passes Immunity For Child Welfare

Michigan Senate has passed a series of Bills to grant immunity to child welfare organizations against civil liabilities.  The State Bar of Michigan has concurred with my position of this type of public policy.

Interviewing direct service providers (i.e. person who provide supervision of assisted living, foster parents, staff) there is no recourse for these persons.  Allow me to explain.

If an individual, direct service provider, is injured due to the failure of a child welfare organization to properly meet the medical, psychological and emotional needs of the youth, the direct service provider has no legal grounds.

Simply put, if you are servicing a foster youth in your home and the child welfare organization does not inform you of the youth's history of serious psychosis coupled with violence and hypersexuality, and how there were never any mental health services provided and you are attacked because you were never trained, you cannot sue.
State Bar of Michigan Position on Bill to Grant Immunity to Child Welfare OrganizationsVoting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Presidential Proclamation -- International Day of Persons with Disabilities, 2012

To every person who has had their child taken from them just because you were disabled, to every parent or caregiver who has had a child taken just because the child was disabled, and to every person who believes disabilities are grounds to terminate parental rights, welcome to child welfare reform.

Presidential Proclamation -- International Day of Persons with Disabilities, 2012

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES, 2012

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BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

Americans have always understood that each of us is entitled to a set of fundamental freedoms and protections under the law, and that when everyone gets a fair shot at opportunity, all of us do better. For more than two decades, our country has upheld those basic promises for persons with disabilities through the Americans with Disabilities Act -- a sweeping civil rights bill that moved our Nation forward in the journey to equality for all. And from making health care more affordable to ensuring new technologies are accessible, we have continued to build on that progress, guided by the belief that equal access and equal opportunity are common principles that unite us as one Nation.

On the 20th International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we reaffirm that the struggle to ensure the rights of every person does not end at our borders, but extends to every country and every community. It continues for the woman who is at greater risk of abuse because of a disability and for the child who is denied the chance to get an education because of the way he was born. It goes on for the 1 billion people with disabilities worldwide who all too often cannot attend school, find work, access medical care, or receive fair treatment. These injustices are an affront to our shared humanity -- which is why the United States has joined 153 other countries around the world in signing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which calls on all nations to establish protections and liberties like those afforded under the Americans with Disabilities Act. While Americans with disabilities already enjoy these rights at home, they frequently face barriers when they travel, conduct business, study, or reside overseas. Ratifying the Convention in the Senate would reaffirm America's position as the global leader on disability rights and better position us to encourage progress toward inclusion, equal opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for persons with disabilities worldwide.

We have come far in the long march to achieve equal opportunity for all. But even as we partner with countries across the globe in affirming universal human rights, we know our work will not be finished until the inherent dignity and worth of all persons with disabilities is guaranteed. Today, let us renew our commitment to meeting that challenge here in the United States, and let us redouble our efforts to build new paths to participation, empowerment, and progress around the world.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim December 3, 2012, as International Day of Persons with Disabilities. I call on all Americans to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
third day of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.

BARACK OBAMA

Rocking the Cradle: Ensuring the Rights of Parents with Disabilities and Their Children
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Michigan's immigrant youths put in legal limbo

Secretary of state says up to 12K here illegally despite Obama's deferred deportation policy

• By Serena Maria Daniels
• The Detroit News
• 20 Comments

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Sergio Martinez, 24, is not allowed a driver’s license in Michigan because of a decision by Secretary of State Ruth Johnson. (Steve Perez / The Detroit News)

Detroit — For Sergio Martinez, proving that he has been in the United States from the age of 5 hasn't been easy.

U.S. Immigration and Customs officials wanted every report card, school award, immunization record and transcript he has acquired over 21 years

Luckily, his mother provided him with all of his records, practically enough documentation to fill a Sunday newspaper.

"You name it, they asked for it. I'm surprised they didn't ask for a hair sample," said Martinez, 24, who lives in Detroit.

He is among the 308,935 young adults who were brought into the country illegally as children who have applied for a two-year deferment from deportation under an Obama administration policy announced this year.

But the stack of records will not be enough for Martinez to get a driver's license or state identification card in Michigan.

Martinez is among the 7,000 to 12,000 undocumented immigrants in Michigan who meet the requirements of President Barack Obama's federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, but are not being allowed to obtain licenses in Michigan. Secretary of State Ruth Johnson ruled in October that this group of immigrants does not have legal presence in the country.

Johnson's spokeswoman, Gisgie Gendreau, said the state cannot issue licenses until the undocumented immigrants are granted legal presence to be in the United States.

"We rely on the federal government to tell us who is here legally; we don't determine that," Gendreau said. "So far, the federal government has not provided information to the states indicating that DACA grants that legal status."

The Johnson ruling typifies a legal limbo existing for recipients of deferred action. Under that policy, young adults who arrived in the country illegally as children can be granted work permits and Social Security numbers, but only for two years. The policy does not automatically lead to permanent legal status or citizenship .

Getting into the deferred action program is a lengthy process. Among the many requirements, applicants must:

Have proof of identity and can prove he or she arrived in the country before age 16 and were under age 31 as of June 15, 2012.

Provide evidence he or she graduated or is working toward completing high school or its equivalent and must be otherwise law-abiding.

Once approved, the applicant can get a work permit and may be eligible to get a Social Security number.

Mich. challenges policy

While most states have not challenged the policy, Michigan joins the two states — Nebraska and Arizona — that have banned the issuance of driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants who qualify for the deferred action program. Conversely, in California, the state with one of the heaviest concentration of immigrants in the country, Gov. Jerry Brown in September signed a law that allows people approved for DACA to obtain driver's licenses or state ID cards.

"It seems that the national trend among states is we're already seeing a pro-immigrant position versus anti-immigrant," said Alina Das, a law professor at the Immigrant Rights Clinic at New York University.

"That's why Michigan to me is interesting. … I would not have guessed that (the Michigan secretary of state) would have taken this position given the climate there. Michigan has a strong and vibrant immigrant community."

Immigrant rights groups, legal experts and young immigrants who call themselves DREAMers — a nod to failed federal legislation that would have given young immigrants a path to citizenship — say Johnson's directive is misguided, based on her reasoning that DACA doesn't give recipients legal presence.

Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano joined activists last month in opposing Johnson's ruling. In a letter to Gov. Rick Snyder, Ficano urged him to issue an executive directive calling for Johnson to rescind her decision.

"Ms. Johnson apparently issued her directive based on the legally erroneous conclusion that because a DACA designation 'does not provide legal status' to the DACA beneficiary, the DACA beneficiary is, therefore, 'unlawfully present' within the United States," the letter states. "She apparently reached this decision, notwithstanding federal authority stating that although a DACA designation may not confer legal status on that individual, the person is nonetheless, 'legally present' within the United States."

The legal case

Gendreau said Johnson in recent weeks has met with the American Civil Liberties Union to discuss the group's concerns and explained that unless the federal government changes its position, the Secretary of State's Office cannot change its position.

Susan Reed, supervising attorney for the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, an advocacy group in Kalamazoo, said she finds that reasoning hard to believe.

"I think that they're giving that term a tremendous amount of weight when it really has no weight at all," Reed said.

The legal case in favor of licenses and IDs for DACA recipients made by immigration advocates relates to the federal REAL ID Act. That law, enacted in 2005, considers individuals in deferred action to be lawfully present for the purpose of obtaining driver's licenses, they argue.

"Regulations implementing the REAL ID Act specifically state that an individual with approved deferred action has 'valid documentary evidence that the applicant is lawfully present in the United States,'" according to an issue brief published by the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center.

Under a state law passed in 2004, applicants for driver's licenses must provide valid evidence that they possess a Social Security number.

That has meant many illegal immigrants — whose licenses have expired over the past eight years — have risked being caught driving without a license.

One Detroit area resident got caught recently in the dilemma. While awaiting approval of a deferred action application, a 19-year-old, named Jose, who plans to attend Washtenaw Community College next term, was stopped by Redford police on I-96 and ticketed for driving without a license. Jose asked that his last name not be published out of fear that his father, who is undocumented, would be deported.

When Jose couldn't show the necessary documentation, his car was impounded, and he and his mother had to get a ride from a nearby gas station, Jose said.

Only weeks ago, Jose learned he had work authorization and a Social Security card, which he might have been able to use to renew his license. "I'm caught in this situation where I can go to work, I can go to school, I'm legal here, but I can't go to work and can't go to school."

Meanwhile, Sergio Martinez continues to take chances getting from his job as a bartender to the brick home in Detroit he and a friend are renovating.

Instead of letting the fear get to him, Martinez said he pays close attention to every development out of Washington. He works closely with the Alliance for Immigrants Rights and Reform Michigan to share his story.

If he could have, Martinez said he would have voted for Obama, calling him his hero for the measures the president has taken to decriminalize immigrants.

Still, he says he has to drive like a grandmother to avoid getting pulled over. And he missed joining friends on a recent trip to Lebanon because he would not be authorized to return to the United States.

"I've almost contemplated moving to Mexico," Martinez said, though he doubts he would fit in if he were to return to his native Mexico City. "It's almost like America doesn't want me here."

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20121203/METRO/212030340#ixzz2E18ciyNL
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