News roundup

.... and more on young Zyion Charles

A few days ago, I covered tragic death of 12-year old Zyion Charles, gunned down in a brawl outside Atlanta’s Atlantic Station. I’ve had a number of responses emphasizing that the issue of children being shot is a statewide one, pointing to similar problems in Albany and Savannah. It’s also perhaps not surprising to learn that Zyion’s mother and grandmother state he suffered from mental health issues and that they had reached out for help to no avail. We have a long way to go in Georgia to reform our children’s mental health system, and Kevin Tanner, the new head of Georgia’s behavioral health system, will have his work cut out for him as we head into the 2023 legislative session.

---

In other news:

• My friend Thea Ramirez wrote a great editorial in the Jacksonville paper regarding the use of technology to improve our ability to connect families with children who have no adoptive resource.

• In NYC, the Mayor says they are going to start involuntarily hospitalizing more people with severe mental illness. “The very nature of their illnesses keeps them from realizing they need intervention and support,” he said. “Without that intervention, they remain lost and isolated from society, tormented by delusions and disordered thinking.” If we implemented this in Georgia, we might be able to save people like George Chidi’s friend Melody.

• Point of personal privilege: a new nonprofit with which I’m involved, Fostering Impact, has formally launched to provide policy advocacy and resources for Georgia’s children in care and their foster or relative caregivers.

• It’s that time of year! Clark’s Christmas Kids has again teamed up with DFCS to ensure that the thousands of children in Georgia’s foster care system have a very merry Christmas. Please consider donating.

• Kansas’ legislature is concerned about whether attorneys for children and guardians-ad-litem are doing their jobs properly.

• Louisiana’s head of child welfare is out.

• Texas’ Department of Family Protective Services has a new leader after the Governor fired the most recent one.

• Here’s a report on New Mexico’s progress regarding its child welfare consent decree.

• Here’s a New York Times article on a case in which a minor in Texas wanted an abortion but the judge would not grant her the parental bypass.

As always, your feedback and contributions are appreciated!