Help children become lifeline to our future

“Our national security in the year 2030 is absolutely dependent upon what is going on in pre-kindergarten today.” — Retired Rear Admiral James Barnett.  As a pacifist by nature and social services coordinator dedicated to child abuse prevention, it is odd that I have found some of the most compelling information to support expansion of services for children and families coming from the Pentagon. In a recent report, the Pentagon reported that a whopping 75 percent of Americans ages 17 to 24 — 26 million young Americans — cannot join the military. The reasons behind this are extremely serious, and if left unaddressed, there will be a deleterious effect on the future of national security. Seems that one out of four of our nation’s youth do not have a high school diploma. To make matters worse, about 30 percent of the recruits with a diploma who take the military qualifying test, fail it.

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http://www.mcall.com/opinion/yourview/mc-children-freedman-yv-20110814,0,4520970.story

JACKSON, Miss. – A federal appeals court has reinstated a lawsuit that claims a 9-year-old Mississippi girl was checked out of school six times by an unauthorized man who then raped her. The lawsuit said the school failed to verify Tommy Keyes’ identity when he took the girl from a Covington County elementary school between 2007 and 2008. The 6-foot-2-inch Keyes allegedly signed the check-out sheet on one occasion as the girl’s mother but usually signed her father’s name.

CALGARY – Calgary cops walked in on a horrific scene early Saturday – a man with a knife, his baby son slashed and bleeding in the kitchen of a home in a quiet southeast community. He dropped the knife and surrendered, allowing officers to tend to the 11-month-old (not six months as police previously indicated), suffering severe cuts to his neck and abdomen.

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http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Crime/2011/08/14/18552176.html?cid=rssnewslast24hours

The number of reports of child abuse crimes usually increases when schools start after summer vacation, said Joe Nabors, executive director of the Children’s Advocacy Center of Calhoun and Cleburne counties. He said when children are out of school for the summer, they often have had nobody to tell, and they seem to want to tell someone once school starts.

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http://www.gadsdentimes.com/article/20110814/NEWS/110819882?Title=Investigator-8216-There-8217-s-no-excuse-for-not-reporting-8217-crimes-against-children

DETROIT, MI– The Detroit family of a 14-year-old who was shot and killed in his own home is searching for answers about exactly what happened. Dontavis Jones was shot by a gun that was being held by his 18-year-old friend. The shooting happened late Saturday on Coplin in Detroit.

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http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/region/detroit/a-detroit-family-is-trying-to-cope-with-the-shooting-death-of-a-14-year-old-in-his-own-home

Confessed Child Killer Gives Jailhouse Interview

$45,000 REWARD BEING OFFERED

DUNKLIN CO, Mo — A suspect in the disappearance of a 3-year-old Missouri girl last seen riding her bicycle was in custody Saturday, authorities announced. Authorities were searching for Breeann Rodriguez’ body and bicycle in an undisclosed area in Dunklin County, the Senath Police Department and Dunklin County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. The unnamed suspect is from the area and is not related to the family, according to the statement. He was being held at the Dunklin County Justice Center pending formal charges.

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http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-breeann-rodriguez-missing,0,5698725.story

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. — Authorities on Saturday found two bodies inside an abandoned car one week after a man abducted his 2-year-old daughter, prompting a statewide Amber Alert. Madeline Layla Samaan-Fay was taken by her father in Sacramento on August 7, according to a press release from the FBI. Mourad “Moni” Samaan has partial custody of his daughter, Madeline, but failed to return her to her mother’s home over the weekend, according to FBI agent John Cauthen.

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http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-amber-alert-missing-2-year-old,0,2909235.story

LAS CRUCES, N.M.- Las Cruces Police are looking for a 60-year-old Las Cruces man who has two arrest warrants for sexually assaulting a teenager and threatening to call immigration authorities if the girl acknowledged the abuse. Javier Mendez, 60, is charged with three counts of criminal sexual penetration of a child, and one count each of intimidation of a witness and stalking. Mendez is believed to still be in the Las Cruces area but he has family in El Paso, and could be in that city.

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http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-news/ci_18668453

Twilight hunk Kellan Lutz has opened up about the bullying hell he suffered as a child in the hope his story will help others get the help they need to combat cruel tormentors. The actor was teased mercilessly by classmates because he had big ears; they dubbed him Dumbo after the Disney cartoon character. He admits turning to his older siblings for help was not an option – because they also terrorised him.

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http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/story/kellan-lutz-recalls-bullying-trauma_1239560

Sentenced for earlier child abuse case

Before he beat to death his 8-week-old daughter, an Easton man with a history of child abuse had taken the steps the system asked of him. Joseph A. Urquia had completed anger management and parenting classes, and followed the directions of his Northampton County caseworkers. Just the day before Urquia stuck baby Joselynn Urquia “at least twice” in the head, he’d gone to a health clinic where he received family therapy.

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http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-easton-baby-murder-probation-20110812,0,5048717.story

DETROIT, MI–(WXYZ) – Police are looking for two little boys that went missing from their home in Southwest Detroit. It’s possible they have been kidnapped. The father, Charlie Edwards, believes they were taken by a woman named “Brianna” that he recently met online.

DAYSHAUN & RAYSHAUN BIGSBY are missing from Detroit, Michigan & believed to be in EXTREME DANGER. The 2 and 3 year-old children were abducted by the 18 year-old suspect, Brianna Walker, from their residence. Please contact the Detroit Poilce Department at 313-596-5900 or 911.

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http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/region/wayne_county/search-underway-for-two-young-brothers-missing-from-their-southwest-detroit-home/?asdf

Former child-star Corey Feldman is making some shocking claims in a new interview with ABC’s Nightline. The 40-year-old actor, who starred in hit films in the 1980s like “The Goonies” and “Stand By Me,” told Nightline that the biggest threat to children in show business is something that just isn’t talked about — pedophilia. “I can tell you that the number one problem in Hollywood was, and is, and always will be pedophilia. That’s the biggest problem for children in this industry… it’s all done under the radar. It’s the big secret,” he said.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/12/corey-feldman-pedophilia-is-hollywoods_n_925287.html