Racial Disparities in School Discipline Feeding the ‘School-to-Prison’ Pipeline, Report Finds

Public schools are suspending Blacks and Latinos and students with disabilities at much higher rates than others, according to recent findings by the National Education Policy Center (NEPC).

In a newly released report, "Discipline Policies, Successful Schools, and Racial Justice,” NEPC documents that suspension rates for non-Whites have more than doubled since the 1970s, while the Black-White gap has more than tripled.

Civil rights advocates are concerned that such racial disparities in the educational system perpetuate the school-to-prison pipeline, i.e. the funneling of students — primarily children of color — out of public schools and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems.



www.unfinishedbusiness.org/20111021-racial-disparities-in-school-discipline-feeding-the-school-to-prison%e2%80%99-pipeline-report-finds/

11,000 Michigan families confront the unknown

The roles Sharon Matthews has fielded so far are hardly the stuff of cakewalks: high school dropout; single mom; gunshot victim.

But her toughest role yet begins next month: Guinea pig.

The 41-year-old Detroit resident and her 15-year-old daughter are among the 11,000 Michigan families banned from welfare, as the state of Michigan begins to enforce a 48-month lifetime cap on cash assistance.

Matthews knows her benefits likely will disappear forever in November. What she and others, from the office of Gov. Rick Snyder down to local soup kitchens, don’t know is what will happen after that.

The changes wrought to Michigan’s welfare system by Snyder and the Michigan Legislature are unprecedented nationally. No other state has kicked so many people off assistance in such a short amount of time, with such little notice. The result is a volatile social experiment that could help transform the state’s economy, or fill the beds of homeless shelters and prisons.

bridgemi.com/2011/10/11000-michigan-families-confront-the-unknown/

Employers challenged to help victims of domestic violence

When there's violence at home, it typically happens behind closed doors -- but has profound effects in many other places, including the workplace.

That's the conviction of Jennifer Fopma, executive director of SAFE Place in Battle Creek.

"It's a true dollars-and-cents issue," Fopma said. "An employee distracted by troubles at home is unlikely to be fully productive."

Statistics distributed by the shelter during Domestic Violence Awareness Month support her view that domestic violence has a negative impact on local, state and national economic sectors:

» One in four women experience physical violence from an intimate partner at some point, and 85 percent of domestic-violence victims are women.

» Three-quarters of women killed in non-robbery situations while working were murdered by a former intimate partner.

» Nationally, homicide is the second leading cause of death for women on the job, with 20 percent of those having been murdered by their partner.

» Businesses nationwide lose an estimated $727.8 million in productivity, with more than 7.9 million paid workdays lost annually because of intimate-partner violence.

www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20111017/NEWS01/110170302/Employers-challenged-help-victims-domestic-violence

Immigration expert tries to dispel 'myths' about Hispanics in U.S.

Marcelo Suárez-Orozco flashed a slide showing the 5.5 million surge in under-18 Hispanic population in the United States during the last decade, which, to the noted professor and immigration expert, underscored a stark reality of the future.

“These are the teachers, the firefighters, the cops, the scientists — this is the future of the United States. These are your new citizens,” he told a crowd of Seidman Business College students at Grand Valley State University’s Loosemore Auditorium on Thursday.

“For those of you in business, these are your new customers.”

Suárez-Orozco is co-founder of the Harvard Immigration Project and professor of globalization and education at New York University. His latest book, “Latinos: Remaking America,” is a comprehensive study of the nation’s fastest-growing ethnic group.

www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2011/10/immigration_expert_tries_to_di.html

Judge OKs Michigan Welfare Cuts

Welfare cuts are back on after U.S. District Judge Paul Borman ruled late Friday that the new notices sent out this week by the Michigan Department of Human Services provided enough warning and information to 11,162 families scheduled to lose their cash assistance benefits this month.

The revised notices “satisfy the due process concerns,” Borman wrote in his ruling.

www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20111015/NEWS01/310150002/Judge-OKs-Michigan-welfare-cuts?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

Gov. Snyder appoints commission to improve legal representation for the poor

A commission to investigate how to improve legal representation offered to low-income criminal defendants was created Thursday by Gov. Rick Snyder through an executive order.

Snyder said the commission is necessary because the quality of such representation varies greatly around the state.

“A core principle of our criminal justice system is to guarantee that an individual charged with a crime be entitled to legal representation, even if they are unable to hire private counsel,” Snyder said in a release. “The Commission will work to ensure that all criminal defendants receive effective assistance of counsel.”

The 14-member Indigent Defense Advisory Commission is charged with recommending changes in the system, due to the governor and Legislature by July 15, 2012.

www.mlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/10/gov_snyder_appoints_commission.html

Welfare recipients to get another reminder that they've lost cash assistance

More than 11,000 Michiganders who get cash assistance from the state might find a bit of déjà vu in their mailboxes this week. The Michigan Department of Human Services (DHS) has reissued 11,162 notices alerting recipients of Family Independence Program (FIP) that they’ve about to lose those benefits.

That’s because they’ve reached their lifetime limits, and recipients are encouraged to call 1-855-763-3677 to talk to a DHS social worker who can connect them with other programs and resources.

The letters, which DHS director Maura Corrigan said are the fourth notice to go out, were sent again after a ruling by U.S. District Judge Paul D. Borman last week.

www.freep.com/article/20111012/NEWS06/111012019/Welfare-recipients-get-another-reminder-they-ve-lost-cash-assistance

Mom jailed for being too poor to pay child support

The Michigan Supreme Court heard oral arguments Thursday at 9:30 a.m. to decide whether the felony conviction of a Detroit woman who was too poor to pay more than $1,100 a month in child support should stand.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan and the University of Michigan Innocence Clinic are representing Selesa Likine, who lost her job and custody of her three children after being diagnosed with a severe mental illness.

The ACLU of Michigan and the U of M Innocence Clinic will argue the trial court violated Likine’s constitutional rights by not allowing her to prove to the jury that she was unable to pay her assessed child support.

Last year, a judge adjusted Likine’s child support payments to $25 a month; however, she still owes tens of thousands of dollars in back payments.

In 2005, Likine was diagnosed with Schizoaffective Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder.
After a lengthy hospital stay, she was terminated from her job and has not been able to work since.

In 2007, despite the fact that her only income was the $603 a month she received in Social Security benefits, the court increased her child support payments from $181 to $1,131 a month.

www.dowagiacnews.com/2011/10/06/mom-jailed-for-being-too-poor-to-pay-child-support/

Mich. shrinks safety net for poor as poverty rises

Michele Shoemaker spent Wednesday packing, faced with a weekend deadline to leave the simple two-bedroom rental in Jackson where she and her 15-year-old son have lived for five years. About to be cut off from welfare and with no job, she has sent him to live with her sister and his cousins, but there's no room for her.

Shoemaker, 38, said Medicaid will cover the costs of treating her bipolar disorder and painful fibromyalgia, but even if she could find a job after 10 years on welfare, perhaps as a waitress or cook, it would be hard to keep because of her mood swings. She's losing her home and has no place to go, but she says the hardest thing is the loss of her son.

"I want him home and I don't even have a home for him to come to," she said, fighting through tears.

Read more: www.bradenton.com/2011/10/05/3551412/mich-shrinks-safety-net-for-poor.html#ixzz1aDV3ggKm

Judge halts welfare cuts for 41,000 Michigan residents

A federal judge today accused the state of "sleight of hand," and halted plans to end welfare benefits to nearly 41,000 Michigan residents.

U.S. District Judge Paul Borman determined after a hearing today that the state failed to give proper notice to those it planned to cut off, and although the issue was brought to the federal court in a lawsuit filed by just three plaintiffs, the judge also granted class status to include everyone affected by the state's decision.

Lawyers for the government declined to discuss after the hearing how the state will respond.

The judge's order requires the state to send new notices to all those affected — and this time the state must include a copy of a new policy that dictates the changes.

detnews.com/article/20111004/METRO/110040423/Judge-halts-welfare-cuts-for-41-000-Michigan-residents#ixzz1ZrUyf84G