Wasn't it around $90,000 per year or so per kid?

I contend that cost would be lower than all the time wasted in the judicial and penal systems. And maybe most of these teens could be turned into useful citizens instead of career criminals.

Or are you Mrs. Payne?

Tell Mitch. Tell your state senators and representatives. Tell them nine times in and out of “juvenile” is around six too many for the same parent(s). News Flash: Something's wrong with the parenting.

We've tried throwing money and more money at failed biological parent reunifications for years- WHERE IS THE LIMIT? When is “failure”? If there are definitive limits in attempts, or time, or money- they are too liberal or not enforced. What do we get in return? We get kids that are abused, neglected, don't graduate, repeat the cycle of poverty, or perhaps the case in point- start shooting people in the streets. (If someone has first-hand knowledge of a more definitive lead reason than the standard of parenting Shamus received for years- I'm all ears and apologize if I've incorrectly speculated.)

I've been banging on this topic for years from being exposed to foster parents that have seens hundreds of kids come and go through their home. It's a complete industry unto itself to keep the biological loop intact. It's often not good for the children in the long term, but under the mantle of “biological parental rights”, the social workers, nurses, doctors, lawyers, courts, and associated parties keep those biological reunifications a'-hummin'.

No one sector of this problem is without some success, or “the culprit” in what's wrong, the source of all that is corrupt, or the golden solution. However, we lost common sense along the path. My suggestions have evolved to:
1) When a single mom wants a government check for her new birth, DCS monitors at least every six months for 2-3 years for abuse and neglect.
2) Biological reunifications with the parent(s) and child after the child has been taken from the home get 3 attempts and 18 months total, starting with an 18 month year-old child or younger. These kids are the most vulnerable, and correspondingly have the most potential to be saved from a life of fewer choices.
3) After four visits to juvenile/arrests/removal from the home, it's time for foster care and new parents- regardless of age.

Foster care is a long way from perfect and get a deserved bad rap sometimes. But, our “biological preeminance” is not working. We have to take a stab at doing better than a 50% graduation rate in the big picture or we're not headed, we're THERE at being a third world country- or at least this city. We'll get some funding that pipes into foster parenting from capping biological reunifications and catching dysfunctional single mom parenting.

Agree. Disagree. Shoot these ideas down. Modify them. Tell me where I'm out to lunch. Where they're not going to work with current legislation. But, I'd appreciate feedback while the the burner has been turned-up on the topic. Parenting standards are a touchy subject and our state assembymen typically don't want to go near them.

Thanks for your forum, Abdul.

of ten's of thousands of 'vile, degenerated, deranged & mentally/physically diseased' black predator 'teenage male' terrorists…

operating freely out of majority negroid ethnic communities of marion county…

this is the 'dark & ugly' legacy that my generation of usa negroes has freely beqetted to the next two to three generations of usa negro populations…

& there is not a d@mn thing that any force in the universe that is going to change the dysfunctional future that is in store for many majority negro communities across this nation

…priceless!!!

the negroid ethnic community of marion — nor indiana black expo…

has built the 'ethical, civic, cultural, economic, emotional, intellectual, moral or social' intrastructure/interstructure…

to deal successfully with the massive levels of black dysfunction & self-destructive tenderenies…

of an ever increasing number of its population…

the elite negro political class of marion county — regardless of party — has only created political pressure groups to play on 'white liberal guilt'

…priceless!!!