September 28, 2009

Update, also 40 Below

An update on the budget issues: First off, I hear there is a public forum on 10/8/09 at the old courthouse (Montgomery St., next to the civic Center) at 7 PM. Second, I additionally sent a copy of my email regarding child protective's role in the budget to Legislator Bill Meyer, as he is chairman of the legislature.

Also, last Friday I attended the 5th annual 40 below summit. I enjoyed it quite a bit and got to reunite with a lot of members of the Young Democrats. Congressman Maffei was there, as well as all three mayoral candidates. Shook each candidates hand, the Congressman was only there at a time when I was heading to an informative session. Lots of organizations came, offering ways to volunteer and help in the community. Of the three mayoral candidates, I think I still like Otis Jennings, although the fact that one of my friends works with Ms. Miner and finds he agrees with her on most things does reassure me. Here's hoping for an interesting race!

September 25, 2009

Where budget cuts should not come from

I sent the following email to my county legislator, and a close variant to those legislators whose campaigns I worked on. I urge you to also contact your county legislator (mail, email, phone, whatever), whether it is this issue (child welfare) or whatever you feel is vital and needs protection in our County budget.

Dear Mr. Warner,

As one of your constituents, I am writing to you on an issue that is of importance to me and which I have some firsthand knowledge of. I was watching the news last night. The news of a conviction in the Erin Maxwell case was followed shortly by a story talking about how the budget cuts being made propose that child protective workers have their hours reduced.
http://www.9wsyr.com/news/local/story/CPS-caseworkers-may-see-reduction-in-hours/jUALCIoxlkC2vWPsROjYxg.cspx

As a former child protective worker and as someone who still knows most of the staff, this situation alarms me. As I understand it from the report, the workers doing the investigations, determining if there is indeed abuse or not, are exempt from this. This means it would apply to those workers dealing with the long term providing of services. In short, this means that those workers dealing with families where the investigators found there was an issue, and found that the family needs some help, would be the workers that are affected. Investigations often get priority, and to a certain degree this makes sense, as any report has to have a response within 24 hours according to state mandate, and as we quickly have to determine whether there is an issue or not, and in some cases this is a matter of life or death. However, the workers that will be affected by this cut in hours are the workers we have monitoring those families where we have already determined there are some issues. They have mandates from the state as well, with the state mandating the number of times per month or months when family members have to be seen in person. Additionally, the hour cut on these workers will end up impacting the investigators as well, as investigator caseloads will increase due to the additional time it will take to transfer the case on to the long term worker (caused by those workers increased work load in decreased time).

This comes at a time when, as the report mentions, caseloads are increasing due to high profile cases making the news. Additionally, what the report did not cover, was that the summer is typically a time of less reports. Reports rise after the school year has got underway (due to school teachers being able to see the children on a regular basis and notice the signs of possible abuse), and my friends in the department have told me that this increase in cases is most definitely starting up again. Please take this under consideration when determining the county's budget.

September 13, 2009

Primaries!!

Don't forget to vote in Tuesday's primaries if you're a registered Dem or Rep. Particularly if you live in the city of Syracuse. Syracuse.com once again has a voter guide that can tell you if there are primaries for you to vote on. They've also got some nice bits on the mayoral race. Also, democracywise again has a list and short bios for all Onondaga County races this fall.

Something I found interesting, La Bella Pizza has signs up for Dave Stott's Republican oponant, Judy Tassone, in the November election for County Legislator of district 4. I know at one point Dave part owned La Bella. And Ms. Tassone also has her headquarters in the building Dave used during the last run. To say anything else would be speculation on my part, but it is curious.

Anyway, back to mayor, which I can't vote in, as I just moved out of the city of Syracuse (dang). Anyway, here are my endorsements:

Republican party: Otis Jennings. I like that he wants to spend a day a week in city schools and talk with staff and students to try to work on our terrible graduation rates. He's pledged to hold himself responsible if those rates don't improve. My criminal justice education also leads me to believe his views on reducing crime might be more viable then his opponent, Steve Kimatian. Kimation did mention having worked with Don Schaefer, former mayor of Baltimore, during it's revival, and I like that. Plus, Kimatian seems to have business experience that might prove useful. In the end though, I give Jennings the nod.

Democratic party: Joe Nicoletti. This was a tough choice for me. Number one it seemed harder to get information on concrete views in this race. Number two, it was particularly hard to get information at all on long shot candidates Carmen Harlow and Alfonso Davis. To their credit, I like that Harlow wants to start working with tenants and landowners before properties become vacant, and I like that Davis's views on community policing. In the end, I like Nicoletti's plan to re-establish an office solely to seek grants. There's plenty of aide money I'm sure we're missing out on. Also, Nicoletti wants to have monthly meetings with the mayor, school board and superintendant, and the common council. It's not quite going to the schools once a week, but it's another way of putting our schools near the top of the list. The other Democratic candidate, Ms. Miner, has the disadvantage that I've seen her in person. I have not been impressed and in fact was a little bit irritated. I can see how she could get a reputation for having a personality that might prove a hindrance to some negotiations. So Joe gets my nod.