The coronavirus pandemic distracted from another deadly epidemic: a resurgence of overdose fatalities that claimed at least 96,779 lives from March 2020 to March 2021—a new high, according to preliminary data released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention on Wednesday.
Child welfare leaders across the United States are hearing an increasingly loud chorus of voices, making one of three demands:
- “Abolish the child welfare system!”
- “Don’t abolish the system. Reform it!”
- “No matter what, we MUST protect children!”
Each group is impassioned and urgent, convinced their approach is the best and only way forward. As someone who believes either/or propositions are a dangerous way to make important decisions, I propose we reap value from each of these positions.
Led by Franklin and Cincinnati legislators, Ohio lawmakers are again making a bipartisan push for a bill that would teach students age-appropriate lessons aimed at stopping abuse. The renewed effort is fueled in part by the conviction of a Springboro teacher for sexually assaulting dozens of students. The state has 1.8 million school-age children, said Rosa Beltre, executive director of the Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence. Of those, one in four girls and one in six boys will be victims of sexual abuse; but only a third will report it, she told a Senate committee during an Oct. 5 hearing for House Bill 105.
Fran Frazier has been helping young black girls since the late 80’s. Black Girl Rising, Inc. was fed up with emotionally exhausting violence last year. The founder did not want to march. She didn’t want to start a new initiative. She and some friends just wanted to write.
Racial disproportionality is well documented in the child welfare space. We know the problem well. In fact, investigating families of color and removing their children operates like a bad habit that we are willing to acknowledge but just cannot seem to find a way to fix.
