NCCPR in Youth Today: Is California’s ACEs Questionnaire a ‘Trap’ For Poor Families?

I’ve written about a study that found that poor mothers often avoid revealing their problems or accepting much-needed help because those asking about the problems and offering the help are mandated reporters — they are required by law to report any suspicion of child abuse or neglect.

In that study, one mother from Rhode Island reads aloud from a questionnaire she receives every two months from her child’s school. She is asked to respond to a series of statements, such as: “I feel little interest or pleasure in doing things.” “I feel too stressed to enjoy my child.” “I get more frustrated than I want with my child’s behavior.”

“It’s like a trap,” the mother said. “If you say yeah, I get more frustrated with my child’s behavior, that means you’re gonna hit ‘em or something, they probably think …”

That trap may soon be sprung on millions of poor families in California.

Read the full column in Youth Today

Child welfare and the latest “drug plague,” part three: Mother Jones comes closer to getting it right

The previous two posts to this Blog dealt – at great length – with the failings of a Washington Post story on the intersection of the “opioid epidemic” and child welfare. That story was a throwback to the “crack baby” journalism of 30 years ago.

Just a few days after the Post story, Mother Jones published its own take on opioids and child welfare – and came closer to the mark.  Yes, like the Post, it emphasizes horror stories – something I’ll get to below. But reporter Julie Lurie’s story diverges sharply from the Post, and much typical child welfare reporting, in the lessons learned from the horrors. And the entire story is infused with a sense of humanity and empathy that is missing from much of American journalism about either drug abuse or child welfare.