Re: Take kids from homeless parents? NYC mayor's plan "compassionate"?

P. Myers (mpwr@u.washington.edu)
Sun, 7 Nov 1999 09:36:08 -0800 (PST) 

I just heard that CA is taking this a step further, by
shortening the time in foster care...this is the most
egregious blame-the-victim-do-NOTHING-about-systemic
causes I have ever heard! (after all, politicos 
think the public only wants a quick fix and someone to blame)

We need more like Anitra, who interface with neighborhoods,
and do hands-on education of public opinion...

sooo depressing.  pat myers

On Sat, 6 Nov 1999, Tom Boland wrote:

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> Do you agree with NYC Mayor Giuliani's plan to put homeless kids in foster
> care?
> Why or why not?
> 
> If you've been a homeless parent, have you faced problems with child custody?
> Did the state's placement decision benefit of your child(ren)?
> 
> http://www.sltrib.com:80/1999/nov/11031999/nation_w/43741.htm
> FWD  Salt Lake Tribune - Wednesday, November 3, 1999
>      Knight Ridder News Service
> 
>      MAYOR BLASTED FOR PLAN TO DENY BEDS TO HOMELES WHO WON'T WORK
> 
> NEW YORK -- Mayor Rudolph Giuliani paraded his plan to deny shelter to
> able-bodied homeless people who refuse to work as "the highest form of
> compassion and love" last week, but as advocates for the homeless see it,
> the mayor's new policy is "cruel and unusual punishment."
> 
> The controversial plan is unlikely to go into effect by Jan. 1. The scheme
> faces an array of legal obstacles and has sparked sharp divisions within
> the Giuliani administration.
> 
> The administration has backed off plans to implement the policy for single
> adults by the end of the year. In state court last week, city lawyers
> agreed to a delay, pending a ruling on the legality of the plan by
> Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Stanley Sklar.
> 
> The plan aims to push the homeless toward independence by forcing them to
> find work or get job training. Those who refuse may be denied shelter and
> other forms of public assistance.
> 
> Giuliani's plan to send the children of homeless people who lose their
> shelter into foster care has drawn the most opposition. The city's shelter
> system currently houses about 9,000 children.
> 
> "We do not believe that the best way of helping homeless people is by
> subjecting them to cruel and unusual punishment," said City Council Speaker
> Peter Vallone.
> 
> The administration is downplaying such attacks.
> 
> "No one wants to take children away," said Thomas Crane, the city's chief
> litigator. "If a mother loses her children, it would be for her conduct.
> We're talking about the kind of person who shouldn't be a parent."
> 
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**********************
It is in the shelter *
Of each other        *
That the people live.*
**********************

>From a mural,
Mind-mapped by homeless
youth from Seattle's
University District.