A Letter to My Dad From a Student in Foster Care

I was speaking recently to one of my students who is in a foster care placement. She had a visit with her mom and dad about a month ago. Both of her parents are addicted to meth and have been in and out of jail. They are currently out of jail and she claims they continue to do meth. The visit she had did not go well. They are allowed to be in public places together, but unsupervised. The student believed that her dad was high during the visit. On a different day, he came into her place of employment and got high in the restroom so he was asked not to return to that place.  She shared with me a text she sent him and I thought it was very well written and showed her feelings appropriately. (Please note, the incident was reported her her Family Case Manager from the Department of Child Services)

I wanted to post this because it shows the raw feelings of a student who has dealt with a (short) lifetime of pain, and of parents who cared more about their additions than their children. Getting help for additions takes courage, and if someone really wants to get help, they will admit themselves to a facility- maybe insurance doesn't cover everything, but if they are court ordered and in the system, it will get paid for one way or another! Many teenagers go off the deep end with parents like hers, but she has goals and there are kids out there who break the cycle of their parents.

Child Maltreatment Report Indicates Kentucky and Indiana as WORST States for Child Abuse

Why? Why is there child abuse in the first place? Why do I live in a state that has the second highest child abuse rate in the country? We don't even have one of the largest cities in the United States! These are questions with complicated answers. There is so much evil in some people's hearts- evil that they sometimes have little control over due to deep addictions to drugs or a mental illness they can't seem to overcome, even for the sake of children.

April is child abuse awareness month and I always make a post to bring the topic to light. The blue ribbon is both a symbol of Child Abuse Awareness and Autism Awareness.  More often than not, long term effects of child abuse results in mental disorders of children or deviant behavior, and the cycle is rarely broken.

The 2017 report was released in February of 2019.  According to the report, Indiana has 18.2 per 1000 child abuse reports, behind only Kentucky at 22.3 per 1000. The national average is 10.

Here are a few findings from the report.The full report can be accessed here:
Child Maltreatment Report 2017 (Released Feb 2019)
■ The national rounded number of children who received a child protective services investigation response or alternative response increased 10.0 percent from 2013(3,184,000) to 2017 (3,501,000). 
■The number and rate of victims have fluctuated during the past 5 years. Comparing the national rounded number of victims from 2013 (656,000) to the national rounded number of victims in 2017 (674,000) shows an increase of 2.7 percent. 
■The 2017 data show three-quarters (74.9%) of victims are neglected, 18.3 percent are physically abused, and 8.6 percent are sexually abused. These victims may suffer a single maltreatment type or a combination of two or more maltreatment types. 
■For 2017, an estimated 1,720 children died of abuse and neglect at a rate of 2.32 per 100,000 children in the national population.1

So what is the answer to this dilemma and increasingly saddening state of our Union? This issue can only be combated one child at a time, one family at a time, along with increasing mental health services and drug addiction rehabilitation. If you suspect something, say something. We are all mandated reporters and are protected under the law as long as we are making the report in good faith and not purposely trying to falsely accuse someone. Here is the Child Abuse Hotline number: 1-800-422-4453.  Childhelp is another organization dedicated to informing and assisting those who need to understand abuse or report abuse. Click on this link to the website address: www.childhelp.org

Remember: If you suspect abuse you must call the hotline to report it. If you feel more comfortable calling a school counselor or a police officer, either can help make this call.

When Kids Go Missing

In my 23 years of being a school counselor, I can think of only four times that one of my students has run away or gone missing. In each case, these students show up within 24-48 hours. They usually just hide out a friend's house- for whatever reason.  Usually there are complicated family issues at bay. Kids don't realize that no matter what conflict they are having with their parent/s, their parent/s still love them. Dysfunction is a real thing for a lot of families. What kids also don't realize is that the things that have been happening to them, which in turn causes poor behavior and decisions, have over time made them confused individuals. Running from your problems is not a new concept. Kids running away has been an issue long before social media. Social media helps us find kids quicker and easier because sometimes they make posts or keep in touch with another person when they are missing.

Kids running away is also not a crime, if they are not committing crimes when they run away. It's often just a form of escape from their world. It's a very terrifying experience for a parent, whether or not the relationship is in crisis.  We can only hope that when a child returns from his or her disappearance that he or she gets the emotional help and support needed, instead of criticism and punishment.  Hopefully this student will be found and returned to his family soon.

Book Review: Bridging the Softskills Gap by Bruce Tulgan

It's no secret that today's job market is being flooded with Generation Y, known as the second wave of Millenials, born between 1990-1999. These recent graduates have a lot in common: they are technically saavy, grew up with helicopter parents, and google all of their "how-tos". They often relate well to adults but are missing key soft skills in three important areas: Professionalism, Critical Thinking, and Followership. This book describes these three qualities in detail, giving employers specific ideas as to how to teach these skills. Yes, it is often frustrating for employers, but these kids are well trained and up to date on the technical skills needed to run a company.

Managers complained that these young people lacked in the following areas: personal responsibility, work habits, checking devices on a regular basis, not being able to problem solve or defer to authority, and finally, greatly lack in teamwork.

In brief the categories addressed in this book of each area that employers can focus on and provide training to employees are as follows:
Professionalism- self-evaluation, personal responsibility, work habits, positive attitude and people skills
Critical Thinking- proactive learning, problem solving and decision making
Followership- respect for context, good citizenship, service and teamwork

In short, I recommend this book to high school teachers, college professors, and employers. Teachers and professors can use it in their classrooms and employers can use it in their training.  It is easy to read, practical and very clear and concise. There is a compatible workbook that can be purchased also. It is called Soft Skills Training: A Workbook to Develop Skills for Employment by Frederick Wentz.

Ivy Tech Community College & The Workforce Development Grants

As many in the world of secondary and higher education are discovering, in this age of a booming economy, the skilled trades are hurting for good workers. The state of Indiana has come up with an excellent solution to aid industries with a partnership they call Next Level Jobs. Please take a look at these websites: Department of Workforce Development and Next Level Jobs

Instead of paying to go to college, industries will pay young adults to do on the job training and get necessary certifications in five high demand fields: Advanced Manufacturing, Building and Construction, Health and Life Sciences, Business and IT Services, and Transportation and Logistics.  Students who apply and get accepted to one of the partners in these areas can get their training paid for through the Workforce Development Grant and credits through Ivy Tech Community College.

Many high schools have dual credit programs through their Career and Technical Education Centers and students are already earning certifications. Students who study in these fields in high school are often ready to start a job upon graduation if they complete the one or two year programs.  Students can continue their education after graduation through these partnerships. Students who may not have had the opportunity to enroll in a CTE program in high school now have this opportunity after graduation.

Upon completion of the program, a person can earn between $12-45 hourly, with no college loans!  Students who want a hands on occupation or career should look into this opportunity. To get started, please take a look at the websites listed above.

Graduation Pathways in Indiana: A Simple Explanation

Graduation Pathways is the new term for End of Course Assessments and ISTEP in Indiana. Students who do not pass the ISTEP exams in high school can now qualify for graduation if they meet criteria in three different categories. The first category is to take all courses to qualify for a high school diploma, whether that is a Core40, Technical Honors, or Academic Honors diploma.

The second category is to complete 100 hours of community service, extra curricular activity, work hours or service learning. Many of the students at my school have part time jobs, so we are already talking to students about meeting this requirement by turning in a W-2 or year to date pay stub.

The third category is a little more daunting. Students must show proficiency on one of several exams or take a Career and Technical Education class (CTE) through their local Vocational Tech program and receive a grade of C or higher for 6 credits, which is one full year of the program.

The exams students can choose from include ACT, SAT, and the ASVAB (the military aptitude test). Students must achieve the college readiness or military readiness score on one of these.

For more information, please visit the Indiana Department of Education website and follow this link:
Indiana Graduation Pathways

Free Army Educator Tour to Fort Sam Houston

As an educator, I don't get to do very many things for free, especially professional development. So when I received an e-mail from my local army recruiter saying the Army was going to sponsor an educator tour over the summer and it wouldn't cost me anything, I submitted an application. I sent several e-mails asking if I had been chosen, and when I was, I was really excited.

I  knew the Army recruited kids out of high school and they had to go to boot camp, but beyond that, I didn't know much about the Army except that if a recruit served, they could also get a free education.

The place we got to go was Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio Texas. We spent two full days on the base with travel days on each end, for a total of four days. During day 1 we toured the education campus and saw what medical jobs recruits are trained for. This base is phase 2 of Army training. Phase 1 is boot camp. Recruits come to Fort Sam Houston to be trained in a variety of medical fields. Respiratory, Optometry, Dentistry, Surgery, you name it, they are trained to fully operate a field hospital anywhere in the world.

On day 2 we went to an FOB (Forward Operating Base), which is basically a field experience set up for a real situation. In this case, we were going to "Afghanistan." On this site we observed recruits rehearsing real life situations on realistic mannequins. For example, they had to repeatedly do things to "save"a person until they reached a certain minimal time.  They learn to apply tourniquets, put in trachs, and stabilize a person.

I have always respected military personnel, but after this trip, my respect level went up a notch when I realized how much they have to learn and the courage they need to face dangerous situations. If you are an educator and have the opportunity to take this tour, I highly recommend it.  The Army seeks to put young people in a career they will enjoy for a lifetime, as well as prepare them to defend and protect all of us.