RSSLaw enforcement joins call to fund abuse prevention
Yakima Herald-Republic
E-mail
Print
Comments
More 'Local'
- Water main bursts at Benton Co. Courthouse
- West Side Baptist to host Surf and Turf BBQ
- Parker woman given 9 years for robbery
- Elderly man dies from Sunday crash injuries
- Taylor to have hearing Sept. 27
- 09/02/10 Yakima People
- Naches man given nine years for shooting
Top Read
- Elderly man dies from injuries in motor home crash
- Woman sentenced to nine years for armed robbery
- Murder charge filed in boy's death
- Former mayor’s alleged encounter with 14-year-old became hot topic in Prosser
- Naches man given nine years for shooting
- Businesses speak out against I-1082
- County eases gun possession codes
Emailed
- Groundwater management area next step in cleaning up polluted wells
- Hoops event shows again we're more similar than different
- 09/01/10 Letters to the Editor
- County eases gun possession codes
- Student scores mixed on first year of new state assessments
- Forking over more green for your eggs and ham (or bacon)
- Taylor to have hearing Sept. 27
Commented
- 09/02/10 Letters to the Editor
- 09/01/10 Letters to the Editor
- Hoops event shows again we're more similar than different
- Embrace of lowrider event is something Yakima can learn from
- Taylor to have hearing Sept. 27
- Car theft, robbery on decline in Yakima
- Naches man given nine years for shooting
YAKIMA, Wash. -- Advocates of child abuse prevention programs, lawmakers and local law enforcement officers gathered at Children's Village on Tuesday to urge Gov. Chris Gregoire not to cut funding to such programs.
Roughly $1.5 million in state matching funds are put toward child abuse prevention programs statewide.
But if the state doesn't receive $480 million in federal Medicaid assistance program funds, Gov. Gregoire could call for a special session or make across-the-board cuts to keep the budget afloat this biennium.
Gregoire has given herself a deadline of Aug. 9 to decide which route to take if the state doesn't receive the Medicaid funds from Congress, said spokeswoman Karina Shagren in Olympia.
As it is, officials say only about 11 percent of families statewide who qualify for child abuse prevention programs take part because of limited funds. Federal money provides about the same amount as the state matching funds.
At Tuesday's gathering, Yakima police Chief Sam Granato and Yakima County Sheriff Ken Irwin explained the direct correlation between child abuse and crime.
Irwin and Granato are among 4,000 police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors and violent crime prevention advocates statewide who belong to the anti-crime group Fight Crime: Invest in Kids Washington.
"Violence breeds violence," Irwin said after reading from a report prepared by the anti-crime group.
The report revealed that abused children are more at risk to commit crimes and join gangs.
Local programs provide home visits to poor, young, first-time parents to give them parenting skills and teach them how to keep their children from trouble.
The report showed that at-risk children whose parents did not participate in such programs were twice as likely to commit a crime than those whose parents did.
Both Granato and Irwin said that funding such programs is cheaper than sending youths through the justice system.
"I am convinced that if we are serious about combating these crimes, we need some intervention early on," Granato said.
* Phil Ferolito can be reached at 509-577-7749 or pferolito@yakimaherald.com.
Who ever heard of the novel concept of treating crime in a proactive manner such as programs to actually prevent crime? It seems that government would rather spend money n law enforcement and incarceration and counseling and free medical bills for victims of violent crime/gang warfare, than to invest in the prevention of all this.
Typical government decision making techniques.
Meanwhile, our State CPS needs a complete revamp while they are at it. It shouldn't be that a parent who needs to discipline a kid is threatened by the chance the kid can call CPS and have them arrested on phony, trumped up and unsubstantiated claims of child abuse for slapping a smart mouth on occasion.
NOM:
It worked on me... and all my siblings, and gave me a healthy respect for my parents.... which I still have by the way... (respect for them, that is)
I will say this though... It is somehow just wrong, for our state to act like dogs begging at the Federal Buffet...
How did we (when did we) become so needy for federal FUNDS... its sickening that we live in such a "welfare" minded society.
Wonderful programs should be born and funded by we the citizens, not we the TAX PAYER... and to me there is a difference.
Maybe a difference in my mind but i don't think so.
Tagless - "Wonderful programs should be born and funded by we the citizens, not we the TAX PAYER... and to me there is a difference."
First, one might argue the same thing for local issues like gang activity, drug use, public education, building baseball stadiums and convention centers. Unfortunately, that creates a disparity between wealthier areas (or even average areas) and low income areas - like the 5th lowest family income community in the nation. Statewide taxpayer funds then get allocated either to reduce suffering and inequalities or because you had powerful and occasionally smart politicians (like the Senator Deccio years and the Sun Dome and YVCC additions).
Second, we allowed greed and a colossal lack of ethics to drive the nation's economy to the brink of collapse. Now it is time to pay the piper and as usual the weakest will be called on to pick-up as much of the tab as possible.
Third, if you are implying that groups like churches might fill the purpose, one might argue that nothing has been stopping them up to this point. If it actually worked anywhere but in people's "wish factories", it would already be done and we wouldn't have this issue.
Posting Guidelines - Updated Aug. 21 2009
Readers are encouraged to use these forums to discuss issues affecting the
Yakima Valley. Debate the ideas presented in stories and other comments, but
refrain from personal attacks and offensive remarks aimed at others; e.g.,
you may call an idea idiotic, but don't say the person is an idiot. The
Herald-Republic reserves the right to remove any comment for any reason.
Examples include material that is obscene, encourages illegal activity or
stereotypes based on race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs and
other factors. Continued violation of these guidelines can lead to
suspension or revocation of your ability to post comments. If you believe a
comment is inappropriate, you can bring it to our attention by clicking the
"report violation" link by each comment. Guidelines revised Aug. 21, 2009.
Registered User?
