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We can 'make a difference in the life of a child'
It only takes a minute to make a difference in the life of a child.
Across the nation, April is designated as Child Abuse Prevention Month. In Fresno County, the Council on Child Abuse Prevention (FCCAP) is the conduit for child abuse prevention education and mandated child abuse reporter training.
The lives of thousands of children have been positively impacted because of the services made available by FCCAP to social service agencies, law enforcement and the general public. Our challenge is to continue with these educational services, at the most productive level, to insure the continued well-being of our children.
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Liberals and children
Proposition 83, Jessica's Law, will protect our children from child molesters by requiring mandatory minimum prison sentences and predator-free zones. This proposition is on the ballot because liberal Democrats in the California Legislature blocked its approval. While liberal Democrats were blocking Jessica's Law here, other states have had Jessica's Law blocked by the same liberal agenda.
This is an interesting scenario considering the self-righteous attitude liberals took concerning former Republican Rep. Mark Foley's sex e-mails. However, Foley resigned his House seat and was condemned by his Republican peers for his disgusting actions.
The Democrats are guilty of a double standard about protecting the children. Their opposition to Jessica's Law and their allies in the liberal press sitting on the Foley story for months cast doubt on their concern for the children.
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Too many Valley children slipping through cracks
In the final beating of her life, 3-year-old Erianna Beltran was hit with an extension cord, bitten on the arm and left with so many bruises that doctors couldn't count them all.
Although her case has received little public attention, Erianna's death in January 2008 is part of a disturbing pattern in Fresno County -- the third time in about two years that a parent or guardian has been charged with killing a child after county social workers had already been warned about abuse or neglect.
In each case, relatives or lawyers have accused the county of failing to protect the children by not taking more decisive action before they were killed.
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Jessica's Law comes to Calif.
SACRAMENTO Voters will be asked Nov. 7 to add California to the growing list of states enacting Jessica's Law, a politically popular measure that toughens sex-crime penalties and requires lifetime monitoring of some offenders.
In Fresno County, where there is about one registered sex offender for every 94 children under the age of 15, Proposition 83 as it will appear on the ballot would seem to be a sure-fire winner.
But some elected officials are concerned about a controversial provision they fear would attract sex offenders to the region.
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SUSAN B. ANDERSON AND KENDRA ROGERS: First 5 makes difference in Fresno County
The Bee has dedicated much time and attention to First 5 Fresno County, with two articles published last month. As the commission chair and executive director of First 5 Fresno County, we know the stories paint an unfair picture of our agency and the work it does for children in our community.
First 5 Fresno County uses tobacco tax revenues to fund programs and services that benefit the lives of children ages 0 through 5. We exist because California voters understood that research proves it is easier and more cost effective to support the healthy growth of a child than to fix an adult.
Our funding allows children, who otherwise would not have access to early learning experiences, the opportunity to enter school ready for success. Children with special needs are identified earlier and linked to intervention services and health insurance is available to children ineligible for other programs.
The real child abuse
Once again our childish lawmakers are looking for another dog to wag. Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, D-Mountain View, has attempted to divert attention away from democratic opposition to Jessica's Law by "protecting" our children from "spanking."
Are we supposed to be impressed with disputed studies and data that includes current illegal child abuse? Piercing an infant's ears fits the legal definition of assault better than a swat to deter a 2-year-old from touching a stove.
Poor diet and lack of exercise will create much more health and psychological issues for children than non-abusive spanking. Shall we arrest those parents who cannot afford a proper diet? Or should we simply redirect our efforts back to protecting children from child predators instead of replacing them in a cell with a mother who gave her 2-year-old a swat?
Eric Fletcher
Fresno
'Ludicrous' elected officials
Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, D-Mountain View, has introduced a bill that would make spanking a child under 3 a misdemeanor punishable up to one year in prison and a $1,000 fine. There is serious doubt this bill will make it out of conference, but it shows how ludicrous some of our elected officials are.
While this bill has been introduced to prohibit spanking, these same elected officials refused to approve Jessica's Law protecting our children from child molesters by requiring mandatory minimum prison sentences and predator-free zones. However, the electorate overwhelmingly approved Proposition 83 making Jessica's Law law.
The only conclusion one can come to is that the inmates are running the California Assembly and Senate in Sacramento. God help us!
Ed Staples
Visalia
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