The blogosphere/MSM wars are apparently not universal:
Some journalists are unperturbed. CNN analyst Jeff Greenfield likes many blogs and doesn't much worry about "the baked-potato brains who say you're a media whore. . . . On the whole, I'm real happy to know there are a lot of people watching with the capacity to check me. I don't think that's chilling. It's just another incentive to get your facts right."
As for "smear artists" on the Internet, Greenfield says, "The freedom that it gives anonymous twerps to spew out invective -- that they don't like the way you look or think you're an idiot or a child abuser -- that's just part of the process."
(Washington Post registration required: randommentality/password)
Exactly.
Hat tip: Instapundit (not that he needs the link).
State 29 reports that the proposed fake rainforest in Coralville, Iowa, has indicated it's got a lead on $20 million in additional funding. Nope, it's not those ethereal "private investors". They're going to ask the state for more money. Why not just ask for the whole $180 million from the local, state and federal governments? get it over with? You've only got $70 million of it left, they might as well pick up the rest of the tab. Or are you angling on that approach already?
Talk about stupid. And take a look at the artist's specs. Is that thing ugly or what?
I saw this article on Iowa City in the Register this weekend: "Iowa City Drowns in Booze Culture, Arrests and Surveys Show." I'm not so sure about this. On the one hand, the ped mall at 2:00 am on a Friday night is a zoo. On the other hand, the city's enforcement of PAULA, Public Intox, and OWI laws is legendary. It's an old joke that it is safer to open a brothel than to urinate in an alley. My point? There are two things that effect arrest levels for a crime: how often people engage in that behavior, and how likely they are to get caught and prosecuted for doing so. The article implies the disparity in ticket rates is entirely due to the level of drinking. I think it's both.
General information:
With all the recent child abuse cases in the news, I thought I'd post links to some of the online definitions used in child abuse or neglect cases.
First of all, the definition of "Child Abuse" in Iowa:
2. "Child abuse" or "abuse" means:
a. Any nonaccidental physical injury, or injury which is at variance with the history given of it, suffered by a child as the result of the acts or omissions of a person responsible for the care of the child.
b. Any mental injury to a child's intellectual or psychological capacity as evidenced by an observable and substantial impairment in the child's ability to function within the child's normal range of performance and behavior as the result of the acts or omissions of a person responsible for the care of the child, if the impairment is diagnosed and confirmed by a licensed physician or qualified mental health professional as defined in section 622.10 .
c. The commission of a sexual offense with or to a child pursuant to chapter 709 , section 726.2 , or section 728.12 , subsection 1, as a result of the acts or omissions of the person responsible for the care of the child. Notwithstanding section 702.5 , the commission of a sexual offense under this paragraph includes any sexual offense referred to in this paragraph with or to a person under the age of eighteen years.
d. The failure on the part of a person responsible for the care of a child to provide for the adequate food, shelter, clothing or other care necessary for the child's health and welfare when financially able to do so or when offered financial or other reasonable means to do so. A parent or guardian legitimately practicing religious beliefs who does not provide specified medical treatment for a child for that reason alone shall not be considered abusing the child, however this provision shall not preclude a court from ordering that medical service be provided to the child where the child's health requires it.
e. The acts or omissions of a person responsible for the care of a child which allow, permit, or encourage the child to engage in acts prohibited pursuant to section 725.1 . Notwithstanding section 702.5 , acts or omissions under this paragraph include an act or omission referred to in this paragraph with or to a person under the age of eighteen years.
f. An illegal drug is present in a child's body as a direct and foreseeable consequence of the acts or omissions of the person responsible for the care of the child.
g. The person responsible for the care of a child has, in the presence of the child, as defined in section 232.2 , subsection 6, paragraph "p" , manufactured a dangerous substance, as defined in section 232.2 , subsection 6, paragraph "p" , or in the presence of the child possesses a product containing ephedrine, its salts, optical isomers, salts of optical isomers, or pseudoephedrine, its salts, optical isomers, salts of optical isomers, with the intent to use the product as a precursor or an intermediary to a dangerous substance.
h. The commission of bestiality in the presence of a minor under section 717C.1 by a person who resides in a home with a child, as a result of the acts or omissions of a person responsible for the care of the child.
Secondly, what grounds the State has to show for immediate temporary removal from the home:
232.78 Temporary custody of a child pursuant to ex parte court order.
1. The juvenile court may enter an ex parte order directing a peace officer or a juvenile court officer to take custody of a child before or after the filing of a petition under this chapter provided all of the following apply:
a. The person responsible for the care of the child is absent, or though present, was asked and refused to consent to the removal of the child and was informed of an intent to apply for an order under this section, or there is reasonable cause to believe that a request for consent would further endanger the child, or there is reasonable cause to believe that a request for consent will cause the parent, guardian, or legal custodian to take flight with the child.
b. It appears that the child's immediate removal is necessary to avoid imminent danger to the child's life or health. The circumstances or conditions indicating the presence of such imminent danger shall include but are not limited to any of the following:
(1) The refusal or failure of the person responsible for the care of the child to comply with the request of a peace officer, juvenile court officer, or child protection worker for such person to obtain and provide to the requester the results of a physical or mental examination of the child. The request for a physical examination of the child may specify the performance of a medically relevant test.
(2) The refusal or failure of the person responsible for the care of the child or a person present in the person's home to comply with a request of a peace officer, juvenile court officer, or child protection worker for such a person to submit to and provide to the requester the results of a medically relevant test of the person.
c. There is not enough time to file a petition and hold a hearing under section 232.95 .
d. The application for the order includes a statement of the facts to support the findings specified in paragraphs "a" , "b" , and "c" .
2. The person making the application for an order shall assert facts showing there is reasonable cause to believe that the child cannot either be returned to the place where the child was residing or placed with the parent who does not have physical care of the child.
3. Except for good cause shown or unless the child is sooner returned to the place where the child was residing or permitted to return to the child care facility, a petition shall be filed under this chapter within three days of the issuance of the order.
4. The juvenile court may enter an order authorizing a physician or hospital to provide emergency medical or surgical procedures before the filing of a petition under this chapter provided:
a. Such procedures are necessary to safeguard the life and health of the child; and
b. There is not enough time to file a petition under this chapter and hold a hearing as provided in section 232.95 .
5. The juvenile court, before or after the filing of a petition under this chapter, may enter an ex parte order authorizing a physician or hospital to conduct an outpatient physical examination or authorizing a physician, a psychologist certified under section 154B.7 , or a community mental health center accredited pursuant to chapter 230A to conduct an outpatient mental examination of a child if necessary to identify the nature, extent, and cause of injuries to the child as required by section 232.71B , provided all of the following apply:
a. The parent, guardian, or legal custodian is absent, or though present, was asked and refused to provide written consent to the examination.
b. The juvenile court has entered an ex parte order directing the removal of the child from the child's home or a child care facility under this section.
c. There is not enough time to file a petition and to hold a hearing as provided in section 232.98 .
Third, what the State has to show in order to prove a child is a "child in need of assistance" such that the Court should have jurisdiction over where the child lives, what services are provided, etc., on a more prolonged basis:
6. "Child in need of assistance" means an unmarried child:
a. Whose parent, guardian or other custodian has abandoned or deserted the child.
b. Whose parent, guardian, other custodian, or other member of the household in which the child resides has physically abused or neglected the child, or is imminently likely to abuse or neglect the child.
c. Who has suffered or is imminently likely to suffer harmful effects as a result of either of the following:
(1) Mental injury caused by the acts of the child's parent, guardian, or custodian.
(2) The failure of the child's parent, guardian, custodian, or other member of the household in which the child resides to exercise a reasonable degree of care in supervising the child.
d. Who has been, or is imminently likely to be, sexually abused by the child's parent, guardian, custodian or other member of the household in which the child resides.
e. Who is in need of medical treatment to cure, alleviate, or prevent serious physical injury or illness and whose parent, guardian or custodian is unwilling or unable to provide such treatment.
f. Who is in need of treatment to cure or alleviate serious mental illness or disorder, or emotional damage as evidenced by severe anxiety, depression, withdrawal or untoward aggressive behavior toward self or others and whose parent, guardian, or custodian is unwilling or unable to provide such treatment.
g. Whose parent, guardian, or custodian fails to exercise a minimal degree of care in supplying the child with adequate food, clothing or shelter and refuses other means made available to provide such essentials.
h. Who has committed a delinquent act as a result of pressure, guidance, or approval from a parent, guardian, custodian, or other member of the household in which the child resides.
i. Who has been the subject of or a party to sexual activities for hire or who poses for live display or for photographic or other means of pictorial reproduction or display which is designed to appeal to the prurient interest and is patently offensive; and taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, scientific, political or artistic value.
j. Who is without a parent, guardian or other custodian.
k. Whose parent, guardian, or other custodian for good cause desires to be relieved of the child's care and custody.
l. Who for good cause desires to have the child's parents relieved of the child's care and custody.
m. Who is in need of treatment to cure or alleviate chemical dependency and whose parent, guardian, or custodian is unwilling or unable to provide such treatment.
n. Whose parent's or guardian's mental capacity or condition, imprisonment, or drug or alcohol abuse results in the child not receiving adequate care.
o. In whose body there is an illegal drug present as a direct and foreseeable consequence of the acts or omissions of the child's parent, guardian, or custodian. The presence of the drug shall be determined in accordance with a medically relevant test as defined in section 232.73 .
p. Whose parent, guardian, or custodian does any of the following: unlawfully manufactures a dangerous substance in the presence of a child, knowingly allows such manufacture by another person in the presence of a child, or in the presence of a child possesses a product containing ephedrine, its salts, optical isomers, salts of optical isomers, or pseudoephedrine, its salts, optical isomers, salts of optical isomers, with the intent to use the product as a precursor or an intermediary to a dangerous substance.
(1) For the purposes of this paragraph, "in the presence of a child" means the physical presence of a child during the manufacture or possession, the manufacture or possession occurred in a child's home, on the premises, or in a motor vehicle located on the premises, or the manufacture or possession occurred under other circumstances in which a reasonably prudent person would know that the manufacture or possession may be seen, smelled, or heard by a child.
(2) For the purposes of this paragraph, "dangerous substance" means any of the following:
(a) Amphetamine, its salts, isomers, or salts of its isomers.
(b) Methamphetamine, its salts, isomers, or salts of its isomers.
(c) A chemical or combination of chemicals that poses a reasonable risk of causing an explosion, fire, or other danger to the life or health of persons who are in the vicinity while the chemical or combination of chemicals is used or is intended to be used in any of the following:
(i) The process of manufacturing an illegal or controlled substance.
(ii) As a precursor in the manufacturing of an illegal or controlled substance.
(iii) As an intermediary in the manufacturing of an illegal or controlled substance.
q. Who is a newborn infant whose parent has voluntarily released custody of the child in accordance with chapter 233.
Basically, filing a complaint with the Department of Human Services - either anonymously or otherwise - starts the investigation process. If there's sufficient grounds for temporary immediate removal, the State can request it. Hearings must be held to determine if it lasts longer. Even if temporary removal isn't warranted, the State can still file a petition alleging the child is 'in need of assistance.' The State must prove the child fits the definition outlined by statute. (Sometimes problems arise when somebody's found out a unique, innovative way to put a kid in danger. You need to figure out how to make it fit into the definition). If after a hearing the Court finds the evidence supports that, the Department of Human Services will oversee the family and provide services. The key will be showing what's in the 'best interest of the child.' The eventual goal is to reunify a healthy family when possible. If not, to look at termination and placement of the child with an adoptive family. Usually foster care is an intermediate step, with goals and conditions set for the parent to gain custody back.
NOTE: It's occurred to me that some people may be more interested in this information, and not just as a ruler to gauge how current events will fit into the law. Given that, not only do I stand by my disclaimer in the sidebar, but I'm strengthening and reiterating it here. Each case is radically different, because it's tailored to the individual family and child. I can't answer questions on what to do in a specific case, 'cause I don't have the file. I won't take the file, 'cause I'm not in private practice and I don't have the facilities for it. If your kids are in the system and you have a burning question about it, you need to talk to your lawyer. There's lots more stuff under Chapter 232 of the code, all about procedures and hearings and timing and burden of proof, and it all needs to be looked at, not just pieces and definitions.
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