What Is Wrong with Police who Would Taser a Sick Child?

Bizarre incident at Save-On Foods
Oct, 25 2007 - 4:40 PM

NORTH VANCOUVER/CKNW(AM980) - A 14 year old girl in possession of some knives was arrested during the noon hour at Lynn Valley Centre.

North Vancouver police constable Randall Wong describes what happened.

"Two members arrived on scene. They found a young female in the fruit isle stabbing fruit and waving the knives around."

Wong says officers tried tasering the girl, but it deflected off her clothing and knapsack.
The girl finally threw the knives at one of the attending officers and she was subdued.

Police are contemplating charges of assault and threatening.
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Is this really the best this society can do for a CHILD who is obviously mentally ill. Seriously, a charge of child abuse must be brought against these officers. This is just a shocking abuse of power against this child. It is time for police to be trained in non-abusive ways of working with people with mental health and psychiatric issues and held accountable for their abuse.

Child Poverty: BC Leads the Country In Spite of $4.1 billion Budget Surplus

POVERTY: Each and Every Child: Understanding and working with children in the poorest and most difficult situations [publication] [25 October 2007] - This report discusses the challenges that confront Plan and other child-focused organisations as they seek to assist those children whose rights are most violated and who are living in some of the poorest and most difficult situations in the world. Organisations have mainly worked with these children according to different categories, such as street children, children in conflict with the law and children in the worst forms of child labour. However, many children have multiple problems and belong to more than one category or move between categories over time. Many of the root causes and factors that impact on the lives of these children are similar. There is therefore the need to develop a more holistic approach, particularly in terms of prevention. This report proposes a framework that can help staff think about working with these groups of children from an integrated, child-centred and rights-based development perspective.Working with children in the poorest and most difficult situations is important because of significant inequities both within and between countries, and the increasing concentration of poverty among specific marginalised groups in many cases. Within marginalised groups, poverty and lack of opportunity are experienced disproportionately by children. As a result, very large numbers of children live their lives without adequate care and protection from adults and are excluded from the benefits of their societies. In their choice of where and with whom to work, child-focused organisations therefore need to consider how the impact of poverty is distributed between different social groups and within the family, as well as its geographic distribution.Further information

Senior UN official urges rights based approach to achieving anti-poverty targets (10 July 2007)

Plan report: Because I am a Girl: The State of the World's Girls 2007 (May 2007)

For more information, contact:Plan International - HQChobham House, Christchurch Way, Woking, Surrey GU12 1JGTel: +44 1483 755 155 / 733 285; Fax: +44 1483 756 505Email: info@plan-international.orgWebsite: www.plan-international.org/
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=15260

How Does BC Measure Up?

DISABILITY: Promoting the rights of children with disabilities [publication] [25 October 2007]
Children's Rights Information Network (CRIN)

Children with disabilities and their families constantly experience barriers to the enjoyment of their basic human rights and to their inclusion in society. Their abilities are overlooked, their capacities are underestimated and their needs are given low priority. Yet, the barriers they face are more frequently as a result of the environment in which they live than as a result of their impairment.While the situation for these children is changing for the better, there are still severe gaps. On the positive side, there has been a gathering global momentum over the past two decades, originating with persons with disabilities and increasingly supported by civilsociety and governments. In many countries, small, local groups have joined forces to create regional or national organisations that have lobbied for reform and changes to legislation. As a result, one by one the barriers to the participation of persons with disabilities as full members of their communities are starting to fall.Progress has varied, however, both between and within countries. Many countries have not enacted protective legislation at all, resulting in a continued violation of the rights of persons with disabilities.The Innocenti Digest on Promoting the Rights of Children with Disabilities attempts to provide a global perspective on the situation of the some 200 million children with disabilities. The Digest is based on reports from countries across regions and from a wide range of sources. These include accounts by persons with disabilities, their families and members of their communities, professionals, volunteers and non-governmental organisations, as well as country reports submitted by Member States to the United Nations, including to human rights treaty bodies responsible for monitoring the implementation of international human rights treaties.This Digest focuses particularly on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The latter instrument was signed by an unprecedented 81 countries on opening day, 30 March 2007. As of 15 August 2007, 101 countries had signed the CRPD and 4 had ratified it. For entry into force, it is necessary that the Convention receive 20 ratifications. The Disabilities Convention offers a unique opportunity for every country and every community to reexamine its laws and institutions and to promote changes necessary to ensure that persons with disabilities are guaranteed the same rights as all other persons.It expresses basic human rights in a manner that addresses the special needs and situation of persons with disabilities and provides a framework for ensuring that those rights are realised.

Further information CRIN's thematic page on children and disability

From Exclusion to Equality - realising the rights of persons with disabilities (October 2007)

The new disability Convention and the protection of children

More Victims of the BC Child Welfare system

Savannah Hall's mother raised concerns with foster-care home, inquest told

Last Updated: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 1:12 AM ET
CBC News

The natural mother of Savannah Hall raised red flags about the girl's foster-care home seven months before the three-year-old died in foster care in January 2001, an inquest heard Tuesday.

Hall said she had concerns about bruises to her daughter's face, legs and feet and she was also concerned about hunger when she visited.

This is a photo of Savannah Hall with her mother, Corinna Hall, and her grandmother at a library in happier times. (Courtesy of Corinna Hall)

"She'd be really hungry when I came over," Hall said. "I'd feed her, but the foster mom told me not to feed her."

Corinna Hall was testifying on the second day of a coroner's inquest into Savannah's death in Prince George, B.C.

Savannah died after being taken by her foster parents to hospital in a coma with massive brain swelling, hypothermia and multiple bruises.

Social workers weren't listening to her concerns, Hall alleged.

Hall also testified she was denied opportunities to be with her daughter on special occasions like her birthday and holidays in the months before Savannah died.

Corinna Hall said Tuesday she's determined to find answers into the death of her three-year-old daughter, Savannah. (Betsy Trumpener/CBC)

One Christmas the foster mother cancelled the get-together, saying the girl was ill, while other pre-arranged visits were also cancelled by the foster mother with little or no explanation, Hall said.

During one visit, Savannah said she didn't want to go back to the foster home.
"She held onto me and started crying," Hall said.

Savannah was found unresponsive in her foster-care home in PrinceGeorge and died in B.C. Children's Hospital two days later.

The inquest, which began Monday, is scheduled to continue through Nov. 2.

With files from the Canadian Press.

Excerpt from Michael Smyth's column

Spookiest tales of season come from Victoria
Break-ins, shady deals and plain bad behaviour

Michael Smyth, The ProvincePublished: Sunday, October 21, 2007

Halloween seems to have come early to Victoria, where tales of witching-hour break-ins, shady double-dealings and general skulduggery have the provincial capital in an October tizzy.
There's quite a brew bubbling in Victoria's cauldron. And it ain't Red Rose tea. Let's lift the lid and take a peek:

All in the family: Husband-and-wife bureaucrats Ron and Joan Danderfer seemed to have it all. They both had senior, well-paid jobs in the provincial government.

Until last week, that is, when they both quit amid official inquiries into a $10,000 cheque paid to Joan by a consultant who landed a contract with Ron's Health Ministry department.

"The ministry was contacted by the RCMP," Health Minister George Abbott confirmed. "I presume they were looking for information, but I don't know that."

The RCMP refused to comment. So did the Danderfers. But you can bet the office water coolers have been awash in chatter.

The Heat is On...

Two B.C. officials under audit quit
Married couple may be under investigation by RCMP over cheque

Jonathan Fowlie, Vancouver Sun. Published: Friday, October 19, 2007

VICTORIA -- Two senior government officials whose financial dealings were being audited both quit their jobs this week, and an NDP MLA said Thursday that the RCMP might now be investigating their affairs.

The married couple -- Ron and Joan Danderfer -- held senior positions in different ministries, and were already on leave following an allegation of financial impropriety involving a $10,000 cheque.

NDP health critic Adrian Dix asked Health Minister George Abbott during question period Thursday whether an audit of the couple's dealings had been completed, and to "confirm that the audit ... is now the subject of a police investigation."

Abbott said the audit was continuing and confirmed the police has talked to the government about the case, but would not say whether there was a police investigation. "I am advised that we were contacted by the RCMP in respect of the matter, but I cannot provide any further advice as to the status of that file," he said.

Ron Danderfer was an assistant deputy minister for knowledge management and technology in the Ministry of Health. He also sat on the ministry's eHealth initiatives committee. Joan Danderfer was a senior manager with the Ministry of Children and Family Development.

The audit is being run by the Ministry of Finance's internal audit branch, and involves looking into whether a $10,000 cheque -- issued to Joan Danderfer by a consultant working for her husband -- was appropriate and adhered to ministry policy.

RCMP "E" division spokeswoman Const. Annie Linteau said Thursday she could not confirm or deny if police were investigating the couple. "If there are allegations, they would be looked into, but I can't confirm or deny anything," she said.

Abbott told reporters his ministry had been contacted by the RCMP in July about the matter, but said he did not know what they wanted. Abbott said Ron Danderfer officially left his job on Monday, and was not given severance. Another government official said Joan Danderfer had retired from her job on Wednesday. No one answered the phone at the Danderfer home Thursday.

jfowlie@png.canwest.com
© The Vancouver Sun 2007

Family, Child and Youth Law analysis

Family, Children and Youth - Library of Parliament Research Publications.
Child Care in Canada: The Federal Role (16 April 2007)
Child Care in Canada: Regulated, Unregulated, Private or Public [In Brief] (3 June 2004)
Divorce Law in Canada (22 February 2006)
The "Spanking" Law: Section 43 of the Criminal Code (23 January 2007)

Tip of the Iceberg

Audit targets two B.C. officials
$10,000 cheque sparks probe of married couple

Kelly Sinoski , CanWest News Service
Published: Saturday, July 21, 2007

Two senior civil servants with the B.C. government are on mandatory leave while provincial investigators probe an allegation of financial impropriety involving a cheque from a consultant for almost $10,000.

The married couple -- Ron and Joan Danderfer -- have senior positions in two ministries. Ron Danderfer is an assistant deputy minister for knowledge management and technology division in the Ministry of Health. His wife Joan is a senior manager with the Ministry of Children and Family Development.

The Ministry of Finance's internal audit branch is conducting an audit.

The investigation will look into whether the cheque issued to Joan Danderfer by a consultant working for Ron Danderfer was appropriate and adhered to ministry policy.

The investigation was ordered after deputy health minister Gordon Macatee "received information about the possible actions of a senior staff person at the Ministry of Health which requires answers," he said in written statement Friday.

While on mandatory leave, the Danderfers do not have access to office records or the government computer system.

"Such reviews are standard practice within government any time questions are raised regarding the conduct or actions of staff," Macatee said in a statement.

"We expect a report will be done as quickly as possible, which will tell us whether there are concerns which would require further action.

"We take all such matters seriously and we are committed to maintaining the integrity of the public service."

The Vancouver Sun has learned that the consultant in question is connected with a Web-based health technology company. The company has done work for several health authorities.
Government spokesman Kelly Gleeson said the allegations may prove to be groundless.NDP health critic Adrian Dix called for the government to act quickly on determining whether something improper has been going on.

"Clearly, we expect more information and that the government will come clean quickly on this," he said. "There's a lot at stake. It's important the public confidence is maintained."

Ron Danderfer joined the ministry more than 25 years ago and on Oct. 31, 2003 assumed the role of assistant deputy minister. According to a federal government website, his key role was the strategic development, implementation and evaluation of the information resource management plans of the ministry.

Danderfer provides leadership and ensures the Internet technology strategies, policies, standards and initiatives support the integrated delivery of system-wide health information management, the website said.

He was previously chief executive officer of the B.C. Vital Statistics Agency and is B.C.'s representative on the advisory committee on information and emerging technologies and a board member of the Canadian coordinating office for health technology assessment.

Vancouver Sun
© CanWest News Service 2007

Domestic Violence: What Really Happens Behind Closed Doors

Spouse killers usually record-free
A Statistics Canada study also suggests victims of abuse are still too afraid to come forward.

By RANDY RICHMOND, SUN MEDIA
The London Free Press

Almost three quarters of people accused of spousal homicide or attempted homicide had no police record of previous abuse, a Statistics Canada study concludes.

That suggests either the violence is coming out of the blue, or victims -- mostly women -- are still too afraid to come forward.

"Out of the blue? No," Megan Walker, head of the London Abused Women's Centre, said yesterday. Despite some improvements in how police and courts handle abuse, many victims are still reluctant to get help from the justice system, she said. "I don't think it's changing."

The Statistics Canada study, released yesterday, examined 11 years of police data. Only 26 per cent of suspected abusers had been accused of earlier spousal violence and only four per cent were considered chronic abusers, with four or more previous incidents reported to police, the study reported. The report says 82 per cent of killers were men and men were far more likely to have a previous record of abuse.

In nine out of 10 cases where women were accused of killing or trying to kill a husband, the attack was the first recorded incident of abuse.

The study also found in cases where there was previous abuse, the episodes become more frequent in the period just preceding the major attack.

Abused women give several reasons why they avoid the criminal justice system, Walker said.
"Women are fearful of the consequences, of retribution, from the abuser."
Some women are also afraid police will not believe them.
Nor are they confident the courts will treat their case properly or properly punish the abuser, Walker said.
"Some women who are being abused -- and this is where it gets complex -- genuinely love the abuser."

Most abusive relationships did not begin that way, but start with love, Walker said.

Many women get help through the health care, social service or education systems, she said.
And many women tell no one.

"They minimize the danger," Walker said. "It's a survival instinct. They can't possibly imagine it.
"How could you live with someone thinking they're going to kill you?"

Abuse & Bullying in the School System

Verbal abuse from teachers linked to risk of early sexual intercourse: study

By Andy Blatchford, THE CANADIAN PRESS. Canoe News.

MONTREAL - Children, especially girls, may be more likely to have sex before the age of 14 if they have been verbally abused by teachers, a new study suggests.

The study, which followed 312 children from kindergarten to age 23 in a rural Quebec town, also draws a link between peer rejection and girls engaging in early sexual intercourse.
"The girls seem to suffer more from these negative social experiences," said Mara Brendgen, the study's lead author.

"Girls, generally, are a bit more oriented towards social relationships and suffer more if these social relationships go sour."

Researchers found children at elementary school who were shouted at, harshly criticized or embarrassed by teachers in the classroom had an increased risk of early sexual intercourse.
These students often disengaged from normal expectations and many turned to generalized delinquency, said Brendgen, a psychology professor at the Universite du Quebec in Montreal.
"(Often) it's the same children who are delinquent, who take drugs who also engage in risky sexual behaviour," she said.

Sexually active girls under 14 are more at risk of having multiple partners, which increases their chance of contracting a sexually transmitted disease or becoming pregnant, she added.
The study, published last week in the October issue of the American Journal of Public Health, also suggests that students who were criticized or laughed at by peers developed a lower self esteem.

Brendgen said some girls used sexual intercourse to give their battered self esteem a lift.
"Basically, it's a similar experience that they have from the teachers as they have from peers, in the sense that they are really publicly humiliated and exposed," she said. Meanwhile, it's the disruptive students who were most frequently targeted, she added. "It's not random," Brendgen said. "These children have certain behavioural characteristics that may provoke either their peers or the teachers into negative behaviour."

Brendgen estimates between 10 and 15 per cent of children are regularly abused by teachers, while the same percentage are rejected by peers.

Neil Guilding, a co-ordinator at Head and Hands, a Montreal youth-assistance centre, said many adolescents complain about being singled out by their teachers. "There are definitely situations where certain youths are being picked on all the time," he said. Guilding believes rejection by teachers and classmates can increase the chance of drug use and criminal activity down the road. "I think school can be a very lonely and scary place," said Guilding, who runs the centre's drop-in program. Brendgen, meanwhile, said teacher training should highlight the potential consequences of negative behaviour toward students. "Teachers need to have a lot more training, but also a lot more support in dealing with problem children," she said. "On the side of the children, it is also important to maybe think about targeted interventions to help them develop positive relationships with their teachers and with their classmates."

The study, which began assessing children in 1986, was funded by grants from the federal and Quebec governments.

A Million Steps for Child Care

October 3, 2007
BCGEU Communications
Press Release (pdf)

Vancouver Island woman launches A Million Steps for Child Care
run Campbell River to Victoria, October 9-16, 2007

Campbell River resident Shelagh Germyn is beginning an eight-day
marathon run from her hometown to Victoria to raise awareness of the
urgent need for a quality, affordable and accessible universal early
learning and child care system for BC's and Canada's children and
families.

Germyn will be starting her A Million Steps for Child Care journey in
Campbell River on Tuesday, October 9 and plans to arrive at the Victoria
Legislature Tuesday, October 16.

Communities along the A Million Steps for Child Care route are
organizing local events in support. Vancouver Islanders are invited to
join Germyn by biking, running, or walking with her along the way. Local
residents are also asked to create a banner decorated with the name of
their community and colourful children's footprints. The banners will be
displayed at the Legislature at the end of the run.

Earlier this year, Germyn saw a local town hall meeting on the effects
of provincial and federal child care funding cuts. She explains that she
was so touched by the stories of parents and their struggles to find and
afford child care that she decided to do this run to raise awareness
about the need for more public child care funding.

Germyn, married for 29 years and with two grown children, says "I love
children and I also love to run. So these are inspirations behind my A
Million Steps for Child Care run."

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BCGEU - Child care - Let's Make it Happen campaign
Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC - Million Steps Letter

Can MCFD Really Be Trusted to Investigate Itself?

October 02, 2007

Simons Calls for Full Investigation Into Ministry Response To Reports of Sexual Abuse

BC NDP News Release

VICTORIA–Reports today that a young female prisoner says she was denied access to a lawyer has prompted New Democrat MLA Nicholas Simons to call for an independent review into the Ministry’s response to sex abuse allegations at the Burnaby Youth Custody Centre.
Simons said it appears the Ministry of Children and Family Development did not follow proper procedures when informed about allegations of improper sexual touching during medical assessments at the Youth Custody Centre.

"When such allegations arise, its standard procedure to have an assessment done by a child protection social worker - sometimes in conjunction with the RCMP," said Simons. "Instead, the Ministry banned the advocacy group which reported the allegations, and now it appears that prison officials may have blocked access to lawyers."

According to the group Justice For Girls, several young women disclosed at a group meeting in June they had experienced improper touching by a male doctor. Justice For Girls reported the allegation to the Ministry, but instead of launching a full assessment, the Ministry banned the organization from the Youth Custody Centre.

Simons has written the Ministry seeking answers regarding their response to the allegations. "Why didn't the proper assessment take place? And who is advocating for the young women? The Campbell government should follow proper procedures whenever there are allegations of sexual assault," said Simons.

Allegations of Sexual Misconduct towards Girls MCFD Youth Detention Centre

Girls in custody say doctor assaulted them
By John Bermingham, The Province. Published: Monday, July 09, 2007

Burnaby Mounties are investigating allegations of sexual assault involving a girl inmate at the Burnaby Youth Custody Centre. RCMP Cpl. Jane Baptista said a third-party complaint has been made on behalf of the teen, who police have interviewed.

Vancouver-based Justice For Girls filed the complaint after three girls told them they were improperly touched on their breasts by a male doctor during psychiatric tests.

Asia Czapska of Justice for Girls said she was talking with the girls last month when a 17-year-old girl said a male doctor improperly touched her breasts. Then two more girls, both 15 or 16, described similar acts by the same doctor.

"They started to talk about how weird these breast exams were," said Czapska. "One of the girls described specifically how he basically groped her breasts."

The girls felt they couldn't refuse the breast exams, but they did refuse when the doctor offered to also perform Pap tests on them to check for cervical cancer.

Justice For Girls informed prison officials of the allegations.

The Ministry of Children and Family Development is also investigating.

NDP children's critic Maurine Karagianis wants to know why girls are undergoing breast exams and being offered Pap tests during psychiatric assessments.

"I don't understand what the policy could possibly be that would require girls to undergo those kinds of examinations when receiving a psychiatric examination," said Karagianis.
The doctor initially withdrew his services at the Inpatient Assessment Unit, but is now back working.

"During the period of time the investigation is ongoing, he has voluntarily chosen not to do examinations on young women till the thing is resolved," said Barry Lynden, executive director of youth custody services.

"It's nothing that we're overly concerned about. If we were, we would have taken much more severe and drastic steps," he said.

Lynden said a breast examination is part of a routine medical exam, which is in turn part of the psychiatric assessment. A female nurse is supposed to be present during those tests.

"We're dealing with extremely vulnerable children here, and many of these children have never had physical examinations," he said.
"We want to ensure the safety of the kids."

Lynden said Justice For Girls filed the complaint, not the girl, who is still in custody.
"The child is not complaining," he said. "The child has no issue whatsoever, at this point."
Lynden said he hasn't received complaints from any others.

jbermingham@png.canwest.com