Human
Services & Public Safety
News Bulletin
9/27/2008 - 10/3/2008
Back to current week
Top News
A divided Supreme Court refused Wednesday to reconsider its ruling barring the death penalty for raping a child, despite having overlooked a recent federal law that authorized capital punishment for members of the military who commit the same crime. The five-justice majority brushed aside calls to reopen the issue. On June 25, they ruled the death penalty was cruel and unusual punishment for crimes that did not involve murder, and they overturned a Louisiana man's death sentence for raping his 8-year-old stepdaughter. In declaring such laws unconstitutional, the court's opinion said there was a "national consensus" against the use of the death penalty for crimes such as rape. The justices said it was their "independent judgment" that the ultimate punishment should be reserved for people who killed.
The Los Angeles Times (CA)
Stat of the Week
Maryland becomes the first state to require certification of child care workers in 24-hour residential programs under a new law taking effect today. The State Board for the Certification of Residential Child Care Program Professionals is now responsible for certifying an estimated 10,000 employees who work in residential child care programs. Previously, the panel oversaw certification for program administrators. The new rules require that workers have a college degree, or else have a high school diploma and have completed a training program. They must also pass an examination and clear state and federal criminal background checks. All workers must be certified by Oct. 1, 2013.
The Baltimore Sun
Health & Human Services
Arkansas hospital officials voiced support Monday for a statewide trauma system to coordinate emergency care but warned such a system would have to be well coordinated and well funded to work. The cost of establishing such a system in Arkansas is estimated at $ 28 million to $ 35 million, said Dr. Joe Thompson, the state’s surgeon general. Legislators will consider a proposal for a statewide trauma system during the 2009 session, which starts in January. Legislation for a trauma system failed last year when the House and Senate deadlocked over how to pay for it.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
FL/LA - Florida, La. to create food-stamp fail-safe
Reacting to a breakdown in the state's Disaster Food Stamp program after Hurricane Gustav, Louisiana has formed a technology partnership with Florida to create mutual backup systems for computer tracking of applicants, Department of Social Services Secretary Kristy Nichols announced Friday. Under the plan, the two states will use compatible online database mechanisms that either could use as an alternative if one state's system becomes unworkable during a disaster. More than 574,000 applications have been filed for the special food stamps since Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. The high volume overwhelmed the capacity of the state's system, which shut down for hours at a time and caused lost or duplicate benefits.
The Times-Picayune
GA - Fund trauma care with extra fees on insurance?
Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine on Monday said he is considering the addition of fees on car and other forms of insurance to support trauma care services for car accident victims and others. He said trauma cases often arise from incidents such as car crashes and work accidents, so it makes sense that the fees would apply to these forms of insurance. Some industry advocates, however, said such fees could raise costs to consumers and constitute new and unfair taxes to an industry already paying its share. Georgia has only 15 hospitals that specialize in trauma care, and many are losing millions of dollars providing the expensive service. State researchers say 700 people die annually because of Georgia’s spotty trauma coverage.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
WV - Business, healthcare groups band together to promote health care reform
A group of businesses and healthcare groups are joining forces to help make health care more accessible and affordable in West Virginia. West Virginians' Campaign for a Healthy Future planned to unveil its initiatives, goals and standards this morning at a press conference. It also was releasing results of a recent poll showing a majority of state voters say they have serious concerns about paying for, and finding, proper medical care. A poll conducted by the group in August revealed that 88 percent of state residents want changes that would guarantee access to health care coverage to all West Virginians.
The Charleston Daily Mail
Public Safety
Attorney General Jack Conway sued the Department of Corrections Wednesday to stop the agency from releasing prisoners early. The Department of Corrections has released 1,004 prisoners and discharged 1,237 from parole under its early release program, designed to decrease overcrowding in Kentucky state prisons and save the state money. Conway's lawsuit, which seeks an injunction to immediately stop the program, is the second such lawsuit to be filed against corrections over its early-release program.
The Lexington Herald-Leader
OK - State targets meth usage
Oklahoma leaders announced a statewide campaign against methamphetamine abuse Monday in Oklahoma City. The campaign, Crystal Darkness Oklahoma, will include a local element that will involve the Carter County Health Department, churches, schools, civic groups, law enforcement agencies and the media. The campaign is modeled after similar programs in Nevada, California, Oregon and Arizona. It is aimed at increasing meth awareness, as well as providing treatment and law enforcement assistance to communities — large and small — across Oklahoma. According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, methamphetamine or meth is a highly addictive central nervous system stimulant that can be injected, snorted, smoked or ingested orally. It has a high potential for abuse and addiction.
The Ardmoreite
TX - Texas Youth Commission report stirs lawmakers' doubts
Several state lawmakers said Wednesday they are still frustrated by the Texas youth prison system and questioned whether it will ever regain the public trust. Panel members meeting Wednesday were concerned by a report issued last week by TYC ombudsman Will Harrell that said scores of allegations of mistreatment of youth may have been closed without proper investigation over the past 14 months. On Wednesday, TYC officials said the report was based on an old and incomplete database. An internal follow-up investigation did not find the same problem, although officials said they are still reviewing the cases.
The Dallas Morning News
The U.S. Department of Justice said Monday that drugstore operator Walgreen Co. paid $9.9 million to settle whistleblower allegations that it overcharged the Medicaid programs in Minnesota, Michigan, Florida and Massachusetts. In those four states, Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreen is limited to billing Medicaid for the copay amount when the beneficiary also holds private insurance. In some cases, Walgreen billed more than that amount, the Justice Department said. The extent of the alleged overcharging was also unknown.
The Brainerd Dispatch (NY)
California came closer than any other state to instituting routine H.I.V. screening as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday signed into law a bill requiring private health insurance providers to cover the cost of the testing regardless of a primary diagnosis. As soon as next year, health care providers in California will no longer have to manipulate the codes on insurance forms to goad private insurers into paying for the tests that screen for H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS. Removing the cost barrier is a major step toward making H.I.V. screening more prevalent and, in the process, removing the fear and stigma long attached to the test.
The New York Times
CA - California launches broad effort to control hazardous chemicals
California on Monday launched the most comprehensive program of any state to regulate chemicals that have been linked to cancer, hormone disruption and other deadly effects on human health. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed two broad laws that shift the state away from a scattershot approach in which bills targeting individual chemicals and products have passed or failed depending on the intensity of the lobbying and media attention. The new measures are designed to encompass 80,000 chemicals now in circulation, rather than focus narrowly, as previous bills have, on specific substances in products such as baby bottles, toys, mattresses, computers or cosmetics. State regulators are to inventory the most dangerous, widespread chemicals first and control them at the manufacturing stage, before they are handled in workplaces, incorporated into products or allowed to escape into air and water.
The Los Angeles Times
More News
GA - Trauma workers, lawmakers to convene
KY - Report: Most nursing homes were cited
LA - Disaster food stamp centers set to close
LA - Food stamp program raises benefit levels
LA - Plan to reduce DHH spending put off
MO - MU autism center wins $890,000 grant
NC - Feds may cite new mental facility
SC - South Carolina employees pay larger portion of their health-care costs
WV - State psychiatric hospital accreditation in jeopardy
Public Safety
AL - Debate rages on inmates' right to vote
GA - Group files suit to dismiss airport guns ruling
SC - Alligator capture raises questions about S.C. law
TX - Texas State forensic 'body farm' unveiled
TX - Center for missing children opens in Austin
TX - Texas DWI bills gain support after tragedies
TX - Texas Gov. Rick Perry wants $24 million to fight border crime
TX - 300 people still missing since Ike hit Texas
VA - Pastors decry police prayer policy
Click here to visit the Human Services & Public Safety Committee of the SLC.
To subscribe to the Weekly Bulletin, please contact Jeremy Williams, Policy Analyst, SLC.