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Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Tuesday's DN: How To Help Youths Before They Kill

The Daily News takes a look at youths who kill in the city and how they often share a common profile.  Some do well when supervised by the courts after early trouble but fall back when released.  And here's a run-down of some recent cases that highlight the problem.

The federal license for a Spring Garden Street gun shop is being revoked after the owner pleaded guilty yesterday to making false statements and failing to keep proper records on the sales of 10 weapons.

A former Philadelphia Sheriff's deputy gets five to 10 years in prison for shooting her neighbor.

And Sticky the cat is on the mend and headed for a new home soon.
Posted by Chris Brennan @ 8:25 AM  Permalink | 3 comments
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:49 AM, 09/29/2009
    Releasing kids back into the community that spawned the trouble is a good predictor of repeat offense. It's better if you can get the kid placed outside of the troubled neighborhood in residential treatment, foster care, or with relatives not in that locale. Getting mom to move out is also I think an option that should be formalized. Why not help mom relocate to where schools and services are better to firm up the chance of success? It should not be such a controversial issue. Warehousing the troubled poor in the inner city is not working, and our housing policy has to change.
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:57 AM, 09/29/2009
    I'm certain that DHS invited Johnnie Mae Cooper, the mom of one of the kid killers, to attend parenting classes, as she admitted to hitting her kid. But she refused most likely, since she has 6 kids. We have to start compelling parents to attend classes or face removal. Philly offers a lot of services, too much manage properly, in fact, but DHS is getting better. But we have to take kids out of the home when its warranted. If a kid is getting beaten, you can't just say "it's a black thing" as one social worker tried to explain to me. Or you end up with prisons that are a "black thing." You might even have to prosecute mom, which I suspect Cooper knew was an issue, so she was likely a non-cooperative mom. This is not an issue where social services were not offered. This was mom not being compelled to open up the door. The Johnnie Mae Coopers of Philly are tough ladies, and you have to be tough with them to get results and to help them. They don't want your help, you practically have to smack them in the head to help them. Social services and probation/parole have to enforce and be tough, and enforcement must be swift and immediate for moms to make the connection that good behaviors are expected.
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:02 AM, 09/29/2009
    DPW in the state of PA is contributing to this problem because it's not working. Benefits are handed out with no follow up. Cooper has six kids and that is her paycheck. This is a mom whose kids would benefit by having her required to attend education as a condition of benefits, and required to work. Work gets moms sober, going to bed on time, waking up and getting everyone in school so she can work. Welfare-to-work works miracles that no social worker can do alone. I've seen it. PA is one state that lags on welfare-to-work goals, and even lost federal money because of it. We have to tie benefits to behaviors, not to just chucking out one kid after another that mom has no clue how to nurture.
    — CleanupPhilly


3 comments
About The Philly Clout Team
PhillyClout
Chris Brennan, a native Philadelphian and graduate of Temple University, joined the Daily News in 1999. He has written about SEPTA, the Philadelphia School District, the legalization of casino gambling, state government, the mayor, the governor, City Council and political campaigns.
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David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics ­– which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com
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Catherine Lucey joined the Daily News in 2002 and has written about murderous drug gangs, political protesters and Harry Potter. After covering the 2007 mayoral election, she moved over to the City Hall bureau where she has been reporting on the Nutter administration.
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Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans.
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Catherine Lucey
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Chris Brennan
brennac@phillynews.com

Jan Ransom
Ransomj@phillynews.com
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