Food Pantry Helps Students in Need at Metro Atlanta University
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As the holidays draw closer, while many college students are spending late nights preparing for final exams and finishing projects, some students are just worried about finding the money to pay for food. At one college in the northern suburbs of Atlanta, students struggling between paychecks have access to a donated food pantry where they can stock up on two-weeks of food. The Feed the Future program, run by the Psychiatric and Social Services Department of Kennesaw State University and the KSU Staff Senate, feeds up to 30 hungry students each month during the fall and spring semesters, according to the program’s director, Tao Bartleson Mosley, a professor and social worker at the campus health clinic. “Demand varies by month,” she said. “Summer is slow.
Study: Curfew Laws Reduce Juvenile Arrests
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A recently published study found youth curfews reduce juvenile arrests. The study, published in The American Law and Economics Review by the University of California, Berkeley, showed arrests of youths were directly impacted by curfews, dropping almost 15 percent in the curfew’s first year and 10 percent in the following years. The report analyzed data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Unified Criminal Reporting files from 1980 to 2004 for 54 large U.S. cities (with populations more than 180,000) that enacted youth curfews between 1985 and 2002. Arrests of young adults outside the curfew restriction also dropped suggesting fewer cross-age interactions, according to the study. A survey in 1996, found 146 of the largest 200 U.S. cities had curfew laws on the books.
Georgia Drug Court Judge Faces New Ethics Charges
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Embattled Georgia Superior Court Judge Amanda Williams is facing new charges of favoritism. Williams formerly oversaw the state’s largest drug court. On Monday, the state Judicial Qualifications Commission filed charges accusing the judge for allowing a man charged with cruelty to children and battery to improperly enter the drug court program despite not being charged with any drug-related offenses, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The defendant is the nephew of Brunswick, Ga., attorney Jim Bishop who Williams, according to court documents, said has “been there for me for years and years.” Williams is quoted in court documents as saying Bishop's nephew, Henry Bishop III, would lose his state insurance license if he was not diverted into the drug court program. In November, Williams was charged by the Judicial Qualifications Commission with a dozen ethics violations relating to her time as head of the Glynn County, Ga., drug court program.
Free Webinar Focuses on “Above the Influence” Toolkit
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Reclaiming Futures will host a free webinar Wednesday, December 14 on the “Above the Influence” campaign that helps kids avoid negative peer pressure. The webinar kicks off at 2 p.m. EST and focuses on the “Above the Influence” toolkit. The program will be followed by a Q&A session featuring Mark Krawczyk of the Office of National Drug Control Policy and Sandy Olsen and Kay Crocket, both from the Coalition of Behavioral Health Services in Houston. The “Above the Influence” campaign was created by the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, a program of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, with the goal of helping teens stand up to the pressure to drink or do drugs.
Departure of Family and Child Services Director Leaves Many Stunned
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The sudden departure Monday of Georgia’s Division of Children and Family Services (DFCS) director Rachelle Carnesale after less than a year left many child advocates scratching their heads. “It is a surprise to everybody,” said Normer Adams, Executive Director of the Georgia Association of Homes and Services for Children. A statement from Department of Human Services (DHS) spokesperson Ravae Graham said only that “Rachelle Carnesale is no longer with the Department.”
According to two child welfare specialists familiar with the situation, who wished to remain anonymous because of the sensitivity of the subject, DHS Commissioner Clyde Reese fired Carnesale. One specialist speculated Carnesale was dismissed because she was not making progress at the agency fast enough for Reese. He went on to say that, despite her good work, Carnesale did not have a “high profile presence” at the agency.
Interim Director of Georgia Family and Child Services Division Announced
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Following the sudden departure of director Rachelle Carnesale, Georgia Department of Human Services (DHS) Commissioner Clyde Reese has named new interim leadership at the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS). Deputy Director Ron Scroggy will serve as Acting Director of DFCS. His new Acting Deputy Director will be Katherine Herren. In a statement Tuesday afternoon, Reese stressed the safety of the children involved with Georgia’s welfare agency was the top priority. “During this period of transition, it was important to appoint individuals that were experienced with Georgia’s social services field,” said Reese.