Prog Blogs, Orgs & Alumni
Bank Slate
Betsy Devine
birch paper
Democracy for NH
Granite State Progress
Mike Caulfield
Miscellany Blue
Pickup Patriots
Re-BlueNH
Still No Going Back
Susan the Bruce
New Hampshire Labor News
Chaz Proulx: Right Wing Watch
Politicos & Punditry
The Burt Cohen Show
John Gregg
Landrigan
Pindell
Primary Monitor
Scala
Schoenberg
Spiliotes
Campaigns, Et Alia.
NH-Gov
- Maggie Hassan
NH-01
- Andrew Hosmer
- Carol Shea-Porter
- Joanne Dowdell
NH-02
- Ann McLane Kuster
ActBlue Hampshire
NHDP
DCCC
DSCC
DNC
National
Balloon Juice
billmon
Congress Matters
DailyKos
Digby
Hold Fast
Eschaton
FiveThirtyEight
MyDD
Open Left
Senate Guru
Swing State Project
Talking Points Memo
50 State Blog Network
Alabama
Arizona
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Rhode Island
Tennessee
Texas
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
The Concord Monitor examines the impact of eliminating "Children in Need of Services" (CHINS), a state program in which parents or school officials can ask the court system for help with children whose behavior suggests serious problems.
That intervention ... is often a last resort for families dealing with uncontrollable, troubled children and the only way to provide adequate treatment and monitoring, said Maggie Bishop, the director of the state's juvenile justice division.
One of the more valuable aspects of the Children in Need of Services process is that it allows for oversight of a family's home, said Judge Ned Gordon, who oversees family cases in Franklin District Court.
"Usually, if a kid's not going to school, that's not the problem. It's a symptom of the problem," Gordon said. In addition to having a probation officer monitor a child and make sure he gets to school and participates meaningfully, the court can require a child to call the officer every night, impose a curfew and require that the child submit to random drug and alcohol testing.
Bringing the CHINS cases to court creates "a full-press effort," said David Kemper, chairman of the state's advisory group for the Coalition for Juvenile Justice, a national nonprofit association. "You're having a lot more people surrounding this kid and this family ... basically forcing this kid to make good choices."
Failure to intervene is likely to lead to increasingly negative outcomes: reduced engagement in school leading to a lifetime loss of employment and income, exacerbated family tensions resulting in assaults or abuse, and deeper involvement in criminal behavior and incarceration. Ultimately, they will require more costly services and will place increased burdens on local police and hospitals.
CHINS served 1,000 New Hampshire children last year. The House budget saves $7 million over the next two years by eliminating the program. GOP Rep. Neal Kurk, chairman of the House Finance subcommittee that proposed eliminating CHINS, said there was "no question" that cutting CHINS will shift costs elsewhere.
Next week, the Senate Finance Committee will begin voting on budget item recommendations.