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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 3, 2000)
M a y 3, 2000 Page A 4 (Jljv ©beeruer Articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views of ^Jortlanb © beeruer State officials urge com m unity (Tip ^3ortlanò (Oh se ruer USPS 959-680 Established 1 9 7 0 STAFF E d it o r C h ie f , in P u b l is h e r Charles H. Washington E d i t o it L a r r y J . Jackson, S r. B u s in e s s M anager A th in ly v e ile d response to child abuse and neglect attack on injuries O f all the tools we have to protect Oregon’s children from abuse and neglect, information is among the most important. This month the Oregon Department of Human Services released its annual report. The Status o f Children in O regon’s Child Protection System. Although anecdotal accounts and media reports o f child abuse and neglect can mobilize a community, influence policy and raise awareness, data yields a different picture. For example, each year we learn more about which children have died and who was responsible. We know that victims o f abuse and neglect are younger, maltreatment reports are up and caseloads are climbing. What we must ask is, “Why?” Why are children less than a year old dying at the hands of their caretakers? Why are more children coming into state care? Why does the state return children to homes where they were abused or neglected? Last year the Child Welfare League o f America, in cooperation with the state child welfare agencies, presented the nation's first comprehensive, interactive child welfare database: theNational Data AnalysisSystem. While a state-by-state comparison is premature because o f variances in how maltreatment is reported and defined, the CWLA database is a starting place for gauging the status ofchildren in the country’schild protection system. A key factor in Oregon is a child maltreatment category called “threat o f harm.” Oregon is clearly among the states that have adopted a broader definition for chi Id abuse and n eglect, a reflection o f the sta te ’s longstanding commitment to provide extensive protection to its children. Threat o f harm includes all activities, conditions, and persons that place the child at substantial risk o f physical or sexual abuse, neglect or mental injury. For example, threat o f harm could include children who are living with a convicted sex offender, children observing domestic violence in their homes and siblings o f chi Id maltreatment victims who have died or were severely injured. While this category contributes to a higher rate o f victim counts, it also puts child welfare workers in a position to identify early on those factors that will contribute to more abuse and neglect and calls upon us to apply creative solutions to complex problems. Among the lessons we continue to learn from Oregon’s status o f children report is that government alone cannot meet the goals o f child protection and permanence. We know how important is its for communities to be involved in what we do. The people we help - chidren, the elderly and the disabled - are part o f the communities where they live and part o f the larger Oregon “family.” Increasingly w e’re asking counties, cities, schools, non profit organizations, the faith community and other state agencies to help us. An example is the community safety net project that assists counties in organizing local resources to help children and families at risk so they don’t have to become involved with state programs and services. It’s all about the state and local governments working together to produce better outcomes for individuals and families. We will continue to find ways for our various systems - courts, juvenile corrections, child welfare, adult welfare, mental health and public health - to work together in the best interest o f our children. Gary Weeks is the director o f the Oregon Department o f Human Services; Ramona Foley is the administrator o f the State Office for Services to Children and Families. G a ry A n n T a y lo r A racial profiling bill cops can love C opy E d it o r Joy Ramos C r e a t iv e D ir e c t o r Shaw n S trahan 4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Portland, OR 97211 503-288-0033 Fax 503-288-0015 e-mail news@portlandobserver.com sitecnption@porttendobserver.com P ostmaster : Send address changes to Portland Observer PO Box 31 3 7 Portland, OR 9 7 2 0 8 Periodical Pos tage paid in Portland, OR Subscriptions are $60.00 per year D E A D L IN E S FO R ALL S U B M IT T E D M A T E R IA L S : ARTICLES: Monday by 5 p . m . ADS: Friday by noon The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. M anuscripts and photographs should b ec le a rly labeled and w ill be returned ifaccom paniedbyaseit’addressed envelope. A ll created design display ads becom e the sole property o fth e new spaper and cannot be used inotherpuhlicationsorpersonalusagew ithout the w ritten consent o f the general m anager, unless theclient has purchasedthe composition o f such ad. © 1 996 THE PORTLAND OB SERVER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PARTWITHOUT PERMISSION IS PRO HIBITED. The Portland Observer—O re g o n 's Oldest M ulticultural Publication—is a m em ber o f the National Newspaper A ssociation-Fou nded in 1885. and T h e N ational Advertising Represen tative Am algamated Publishers, Inc, N e w York, N Y , and T h e W est Coast Black Publishers Association- Serving Portland and Vancouver 4 I by Earl Ofari Hutchinson for The Portland Observer It was a bizarre scene recently in front o f the C alifornia’s State Capitol building in Sacramento. Hundreds o f stu d e n ts, b la c k and L a tin o com m unity activists, and police reform advocates were holding a spirited rally to support a bill by Kevin M urray, a black D em ocrat state senator from Los Angeles, to compel the state to compile figures on the race, age and gender o f motorists stopped by the California Highway Patrol. The CHP makes more traffic stops than any other police agency in the nation. The bill also would’ve required the CHP to tell why motorists were stopped, and whether a search and arrest was made as a result o f the stop. But midway through the rally the mood o f the crowd changed from exuberance to shock and then anger not at Governor Gray Davis who vetoed an identical bill M urray introduced last fall but at Murray. The crowd turned on him when they got word that he had gutted the bill o f the data col lection provision to get Davis’s signature. The amended bill required only that police hand a business card to drivers and undergo more diversity training. The toothless bill was immediately hailed by Los Angeles County Sheriff and LAPD ChiefBemard Parks. Both have waged a personal c ru sa d e to to rpedo le g isla tio n re q u irin g th e ir departments to keep racial stats on traffic stops. But if Murray’s original bill requiring data collection had become law it w ould’ve been a big step toward proving or disproving whether police departments use racial profiles to harass and intimidate blacks and Latinos on the highways. Since laws passed in C alifornia are closely watched and frequently emulated by officials in other states, Murray’s bill might have spurred reluctant and timid officials in those states to pass a similar law. This would have been a crucial breakthrough for another reason. Manv blacks and Latinos have long screamed that police target them for sh ake dow ns on the highways and streets. According to a Justice Department study, blacks comprise about 14 percent o f the population, yet account for more than 70 percent o f all routine traffic stops. Murray him self took up the fight against racial profiling because o f a scrape he had with police. On election night in June, 1998, he and his wife w ere retu rn in g hom e from his campaign headquarters when they were pulled over by a police officer in Beverly H ills. M urray was not speeding, or driving unsafely. He immediately identified himself to the o ffic e r as a sta te o ffic ia l and explained where he was coming from and going. This meant nothing to the officer who ran a complete check on him. M urray’s title, position, and prestige as an incumbent state senator counted for nothing. He publicly protested that he was a victim o f “driving while black and brown,” filed a lawsuit against the police, and introduced his bill. B e v e rly H ills p o lic e o ffic ia ls responded to Murray’s complaint the same way most police agencies do to thousands o f others who say they are victims o f racial profiling. They sav that it’s illegal and they don’t do it. But that’s easy for them to say since other than anecdotal horror tales by black and Latino motorists o f police mistreatment on the highways, there is no real smoking gun proof that the practice exists. To get that kind o f proof requires state law enforcement agencies to keep hard i n u m b e rs on the race o f all motorists they stop on the roads. Letters to the Editor Dear Editor, Yourchildren will probably beexposed to pesticides today, and you may not even know it. Pesticides are used pretty much everywhere our children go, in schools, playgrounds, parks, yards and even within our homes. It is unfortunate that in this age o f nearly ubiquitous use, we don’t have the right to know wheje or when we are being exposed to these potentially dangerous chemicals. Anyone can be sickened by exposure to pesticides, but children, especially young children, are often the most susceptible. Exposure at a young age can w reak havoc w ith c ritical developmental processes. Increases in rates o f childhood leukemias, asthmas and allergies have been linked to increased use o f pesticides within the last 50 years. In 1996 alone, over 126,000pesticideexposures were reported to poison control centers. Over a half o f these were children under six who were poisoned within their own homes. We need to know what our children are being exposed to, so we can have a chance o f protecting them from th e se d a n g e ro u s ch em icals. Currently, Oregon has the second worst rate o f exposure cases in our schools. A study done by Northwest C o a litio n fo r A lte rn a tiv e s to Pesticides found that symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, nausea and rashes occurred in schoolchildren, even from applications following all safety measures. In September, the Oregon legislature passed a bill requiring disclosure o f pesticide use in Oregon. Currently, the governor and the Department o f Agriculture are working out the details o f how this law will be applied and enforced. I urge an y o n e and everyone concerned about pesticide exposures to contact the governor or the D o f A. We must have an effective tracking system for pesticides so we can have a chance o f protecting ourselves and our children. Sincerely, Sound bites and negativism can be more persuasive than logic and objectivity. Emotions inhibit rational thinking. Take Constitutional Amendment 81. On May 16, Oregon voters will decide whether to amend our constitution to allow the Legislature to restrict the amount o f money that a person may recover in any civil claim . The amendment was put on the ballot by the Legislature, acting at the request o f powerful special interests, including HMOs, big insurance companies and the tobacco lobby. In promoting the measure, the special interests who created it are trying to focus your attention on the supposed source o f all evil; the dreaded trial lawyer. W hilethecampaignforConstitutional Amendment 81 will attack trial lawyers over and over again, be aware - the true object o f the attack is citizen juries. The amendment would take away the effectiveness o fa trial by jury, a basic right guaranteed in the Constitution. Politicians in Salem, who have not heard the facts o f a case, not heard witnesses or a judge’s instruction to a jury would be able to make one-size-fits-all decisions on civil court issues. Decisions by juries o f 12 ordinary citizens that hear testimony, weigh evidence and make decisions on a case-by-case basis would be overridden by the legislature. Sometimes the courts are the only way to make a bad company pay for its actions. This proposed change to our constitution would allow corporations who harm consumers with faulty and unsafe products to walk away with only a slap on the wrist, while the victims would have to pay their own medical bills. Irresponsible companies should be punished and faulty products should be forced off the market. Exploding gas tanks and faulty garage door openers have killed and yet only through civil action did the companies change those products and pay for their deception. The effects o f changing the constitution would not be limited to injury claims. The “civil actions” referred to in the measure include everything in civil court - contract disputes, patent infringements, hazardous waste claims, claims o f corporate stockholders, fraud schemes, anything you can possibly think of, without exception. If you’re seeking justice, who would you rather have deciding your case, a jury o f 12 ordinary people or the politicians and lobbyists in Salem? The proponents o f 81 are referring to our right to jury trial as “the lawyers’ loophole.” Funny, w e’ve had the right to trial by jury in our state constitution as a so-called loophole for the past 150 years. Common sense tells us that upholding the constitution will not create a loophole. Justice is not a loophole. Before we get too overwhelmed at the sound bites and scare tactics, we should think about the philosophy o f the politicians, insurance corporations, HMOs and tobacco com panies who brought us Constitutional Amendment 81 They assert that we, as citizens, are not rational enough to make reasonable decisions when we serve on juries, and therefore we should give up our democratic right to decide what is adequate compensation for someone’s loss. They say we should give up our most basic democratic right. It doesn’t make sense to me, but the proponents o f Constitutional Amendment 81 are betting hundreds o f thousands o f dollars they can overcome our common sense if they just say the right words. When you hear the campaign for 81 attack trial lawyers, look for the substance. Read the ballot measure explanation in your voter pamphlet. The real target is juries and you, the citizen juror. EXPLORE YOUR FUTURE COLLEGE PREP WORKSHOP MAY 13, 2000 High school students and their parents are invited to attend this free informative workshop on getting ready for college. Whether you are looking at eventually attending a community college, a state university, or a private college, this event will help bring your future into focus. You can attend sessions on: Rigel Pearce To the Editor, Anne and Annette Kirkwood of Madras are my heroes. These two w om en used the civil justice system to hold General Motors accountable for the exploding side-saddle gas tanks installed on GM pickup trucks. If you don’t recall the news coverage, Anne w as h o rrib ly b u rn e d in the accident and shows her bravery every day, just fighting to stay alive. Unfortunately, the Legislature put Constitutional Amendment 81 on the May 16 ballot to make it more difficult to hold big corporations accountable for faulty products. When you get your voter pamplet, p le a se read c a re fu lly the explanation o f Amendment 81. If it passes, Oregonians will lose a basic right, the right to trial by ju ry . L e t’s p ro te c t our constitutional rights and vote “No” on 81. • • • • • • Benefits of a College Education Developing the Vision Understanding the Admissions Process Unlocking the Mystery of Financial Aid What Should I Know Now to Plan for College? Exploring the Options - Dispelling the Myths This is a great opportunity to get a jump-start on your future. There will be door prizes and snacks provided for the day. W HERE AND WHEN: Maranatha Church of God 4222 N.E. 12th Avenue May 13, 8:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Sponsored by the African-American A lum ni o f George Fox University TO RESERVE A SEAT, ( Al l 554-2253 I
