|
 MI
Gongwer
11-20-02
Child Special Needs
Fund Renamed
MI
Gongwer
11-20-02
Report to Show Fewer
Teen Births, Lower Arrests
from Gongwer News
Service, 11-20-02
For more articles visit
www.bridges4kids.org.
Child Special Needs Fund Renamed
Gongwer News Service, November 20, 2002
A 58-year old fund designed to help children with special
needs has been renamed, according to Community Health Director
James Haveman.
The Trust Fund for Children with Special Needs has been
renamed the Children with Special Needs Fund. The fund pays to
help children with particular health needs and their families,
and Mr. Haveman said the shorter name would help in efforts to
make the fund a household name.
The fund was created in 1944 by gifts from the Dow Chemical
Company founds Dr. and Mrs. James Pardee, and is supported by
other gifts. Children needing such services as wheelchair
ramps, van lifts, therapeutic tricycles, air conditioning and
electrical upgrades are eligible to apply for assistance.
Report to Show Fewer
Teen Births, Lower Arrests
Gongwer News Service, November 20, 2002
A report being released Thursday will show that the number of
teens having children dropped significantly in Michigan during
the 1990s as did the number of teens being arrested for
violent or property crimes. However, the same study will show
that the number of young people dropping out of high school
increased during the decade.
The latest edition of the Kids Count in Michigan data book,
available from the Michigan League for Human Services, also
shows that infant mortality and accidental deaths of children
has decreased over the last decade.
However, the report will also show some anomalies, such as
while the number of teens giving birth and being arrested has
declined over the decade in the most urban counties, it has
increased in many rural counties.
The number of teenagers giving birth in the state dropped by a
third over the decade, the report will show, from 19,701 live
births in 1990-92 to 14,881 in 1998-2000. That decline is
twice as steep as the national decline over the decade,
according to the report.
Wayne County largely tracked the state's trends, with the
number of live births by teens falling from 6,932 in 1990-92
to 4,156 in 1998-2000. Most Michigan counties also showed teen
birth rates falling during the 1990s, but in 18 counties,
mostly smaller, rural counties, the number of teens giving
birth increased or stayed the same. Probably the largest
percentage increase was a better than 20 percent increase in
Mason County, from 47 births during 1990-92 to 58 in
1998-2000.
During the decade, the report will show that overall arrests
of juvenile for property crimes decreased by 38.4 percent,
while arrests for violent crimes fell by 42.7 percent.
Again, however, the report shows a split between the largest
counties and the smallest ones, especially with violent
crimes. While youth crime dropped over the decade in Wayne
County-violent crime was down 54.7 percent while property
crimes were down by 55.2 percent-crime was up among youths in
a number of counties. Arrests for property crimes were up in
11 counties, but arrests for violent crimes were up in 25
arrests of more
than 200 percent, with arrests over the decade in Marquette
County jumping by 294.3 percent.
The report also showed that the number of high school dropouts
increased by 15 percent over the decade.
|
