Now that Eric Smith, (not real name) a 17-year-old foster child, has been declared a dependent of the court, he is on a mission to change the laws that regulate CPS. “No one should have to go through what I did,” he said, citing his nine months in CPS custody last year. “They treated me like I was a villain, instead of a victim. Why? Because they can.” Eric wants to see that stop. Just shy of 18, Eric is not yet able to fully tell his story. But that is not stopping him from writing letters to political officials and child welfare groups, recounting his experiences and proposing legislative changes. And what he can tell of his story, he does. On April 1 2011, an emergency CPS social work

Q. I’m currently working on a project for my ethics class. In this project I play the role of a risk manager who provides information to a 15 year old patient asking for medical emancipation. Do you know of any good resources where I can find more information on medical emancipation because I haven't been successful in my research? Thank you so much for your time, I appreciate it very much. Best Regards, Maria In most cases, parental consent is required for a minor’s medical treatment. There are, however, exceptions, known as “medical emancipation” statutes. These statutes, which allow minors to consent to medical treatment without parental knowledge, approval, or consent, fall into two

The Sacramento County Probation Department recently passed the one-year anniversary of its participation in “Baby Elmo” classes for its juvenile residents. The program, designed in part by Georgetown University, teaches parenting skills to incarcerated juveniles with children. Naomi McCormack, who works with residents at the Youth Detention Facility, praised the first year’s results. “One of the least recognized groups in our society is the children of incarcerated parents,” McCormack said. “This program does not reward the resident. It really rewards the child. They shouldn’t be punished by not getting to see their parents.” McCormack oversees the 10-week course, which focuses on bondi

Three juveniles, ages 14 to 15, cased then robbed the fireworks stand on the corner of 47th Ave & 44th St. in South Sacramento Friday just after noon. A Sheriff helicopter orbited the area around the school where the juveniles were last seen breaking apart the large package of fireworks they had just stolen from the fireworks stand hosted by Parkway Swim and Tennis. Public address announcements were made from the helicopter stating to people in the neighborhood: "we are looking for three felons who just stole a large red package of fireworks…" This was the largest package of fireworks offered and is considered a "block party" set that sells for $600. The helicopter spotted the torn apart

Sacramento, CA- Two juvenile burglars remain at large Wednesday night. Witnesses approached a friends house in the 7900 block of Deer Creek Drive Wednesday evening, near 11 p.m.  When they noticed that the people they could see in the house were not their friends, they called police. Sacramento police arrived rapidly, however the black, male juveniles had already fled. Police set up a perimeter and found several subjects in the area that matched the description of the subjects. Police drove witnesses by the detained subjects in a "field show up" (the equivalent of a line-up in the field) to identify the burglars; however none of the detained individuals were positively identified. Public

Sacramento, CA -- Police K-9 "takes a bite out of crime" today and apprehends a juvenile after a brief man hunt.   Two juveniles were seen trying to break into a Freeport home in the Belleau Wood Lane area, late Tuesday morning. When police arrived in the area, the would-be burglars ran.   One subject was apprehended immediately while the other led police on a neighborhood foot pursuit. When the subject evaded officers, a tight neighborhood perimeter was established by inbound officers.   After officers verified and had evidence that a crime had been committed, public address announcements were made warning neighbors that the police dog was going to be deployed and to give the evading juve