A bill passed the General Assembly calling for a plan to reduce the number of children in foster care. House bill 718 passed the Senate unanimously after passing the House of Delegates almost as easily with a 91-3 vote.
RICHMOND - The governor and department of social services need to put their thinking caps on now that a bill calling for a plan to reduce the number of children in foster care has passed the General Assembly
House bill 718 passed the Senate unanimously after passing the House of Delegates almost as easily with a 91-3 vote.
“It would be doing what we’ve already been doing. Expanding it and enhancing it and continue to move those practices and philosophical changes along in Virginia,” said Raymond Ratke, special advisor for children’s services
This bill requires the governor, department of social services and other appropriate agencies to develop a plan that will decrease the number of children in foster care 25 percent by 2020.
“In February there were 6,024 kids in foster care in Virginia,” said Ratke, special advisor for children’s services. Ratke said the current number is down 20 percent from December 2007.
The department of social services has not had a system in place targeted specifically at reducing the number of children in foster care. The department has focused more on seeking better outcomes for families who are involved in the foster care system.
The plan, developed by the governor and department of social services, would build on these programs already in place to not only promote good outcomes, but reduce the number of those in the foster care system altogether.
“A big part of what the plan would include would be increasing the number of adoptions and decreasing the amount of time it takes to find adoptive parents,” said Ratke.
Ratke said that much of the success of this kind of plan would come from placing emphasis on family engagement and kinship.
“We need to do a better job of finding and locating blood relatives, and placing kids safely with blood relatives,” Ratke said.
“We don’t have a great track record of that so far,” he added. “About 5 percent are with blood relatives.”
Ratke said that many children in foster care could actually stay with their families if a support system were in place.
“Research says when you are able to do that, those kids have much better outcomes than those placed in foster care.”
By implementing these ideas and building on programs already in place, the department of social services can reach the goal set forth in the bill, Ratke said.
“It’s a large number but, again, we’ve reduced it already by 20 percent in the last two years, he said. “We feel like it’s very doable and reasonable.”
Ratke is encouraged to see the state take a stance on the foster care issue by passing this bill.
“It’s really nice to have a bill that says, ‘This is the goal: to have fewer kids in foster care.’”
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For more information and data from the department of social services, visit http://www.vafamilyconnections.org/
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
‘Pothole Blitz’ seeks to repair Virginia’s roads
RICHMOND – A gap in the state budget isn’t the only hole Virginia officials are trying to fill. They’re also trying to plug potholes that harsh winter weather has left on roads throughout the commonwealth.
This article was published on the Gainsville Times Web site: ‘Pothole Blitz’ seeks to repair Virginia’s roads
This article was published on the Gainsville Times Web site: ‘Pothole Blitz’ seeks to repair Virginia’s roads
Monday, February 22, 2010
Va. bill challenges mandated health care
RICHMOND — Weighing in on the debate over federal health care reform, state lawmakers have passed legislation declaring that no one can force Virginians to buy health insurance.
This article was published on the Suffolk News-Herald Web site: Va. bill challenges mandated health care
This article was published on the Suffolk News-Herald Web site: Va. bill challenges mandated health care
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Bill requires interlock for any DUI
RICHMOND - Anyone convicted of drunken driving would have to have an ignition interlock installed in his or her car under a bill approved by the House of Delegates.
This story was published on the WPCVA Web site: Bill requires interlock for any DUI
This story was published on the WPCVA Web site: Bill requires interlock for any DUI
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Legislators Get the Point – an H1N1 Shot
By Samantha Downing and Nicole Fisher
Richmond, VA. - With the swine flu pandemic still looming, the Virginia Department of Health is giving state legislators vaccinations to prevent the spread of the virus. Health officials are visiting the Capitol this week to administer free H1N1 vaccinations.
This article was published on the Local Kicks Web site: Legislators Get the Point – an H1N1 Shot
Richmond, VA. - With the swine flu pandemic still looming, the Virginia Department of Health is giving state legislators vaccinations to prevent the spread of the virus. Health officials are visiting the Capitol this week to administer free H1N1 vaccinations.
This article was published on the Local Kicks Web site: Legislators Get the Point – an H1N1 Shot
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Gov. McDonnell offers GOP reply to Obama
Jobs. Health care. Energy. Those were important topics in Gov. Bob McDonnell’s response to the State of the Union address by President Barack Obama on Wednesday night.
This article was published on the Connect Richmond Web site: Gov. McDonnell offers GOP reply to Obama
This article was published on the Connect Richmond Web site: Gov. McDonnell offers GOP reply to Obama
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Plans for park in 'legal limbo'
This article was published in the Country Courier.
The King William Circuit Court is a deciding factor for whether or not Governors Run Sports Park is built in King William County.
A Hanover-based corporation, KW Morrison, LLC, plans to put the motocross park on land along Route 30, about four and a half miles west of Route 360 in King William County.
The land is zoned agricultural conservation. KW Morrison has been thinning trees and doing other preparatory work for months.
“They’re right behind me. I can hear them,” said Diana Jones-Walsh, a King William resident who owns adjoining land and opposes the park.
The easement KW Morrison uses to access its land is property of Judith Gwathmey.
In November 2008, the King William Board of Zoning Appeals decided that KW Morrison needed to include Gwathmey on the application for a conditional use permit because of the location of the easement.
KW Morrison filed an appeal in King William Circuit Court which should be heard within the next couple of months, said Daniel Wright, a member of the King William County Board of Supervisors.
In the meantime, plans are still moving forward, said Marshal Campbell, one of the owners of the park.
KW Morrison chose the site because of the increasing number of participants in motocross and similar sports in the county and because there are no sports parks nearby.
Some residents got together last year and formed Citizens for King William County to address issues like this by keeping the public informed and protesting certain matters.
“We’re trying to educate the community as to negative environmental impacts that the motocross will have,” said Perrin Gower, who works with Citizens for King William County by helping to oversee the meetings and get the word out.
He said one of his concerns is ground water contamination from spilled fuel, whether spilled accidentally or as the result of a wreck.
Jones-Walsh, who also works with Citizens for King William County to inform the public, said she doesn’t think the chosen location is the right place for a motocross park.
“I think it’ll be too much traffic on a small road,” she said, adding that the curve in the road at that location will only make it worse. She also said that she is concerned about the noise level.
Campbell said that the corporation is taking steps to avoid these problems.
“We have secured the services of various professionals to detail the best practices to follow to protect our property and the environment,” he said in an e-mail.
Campbell also said the park will incorporate features to minimize sound transmission beyond their property lines.
“We have made many changes to our original plan, to address concerns that have been brought to our attention … ,” Campbell said. “We have also received numerous great suggestions from citizens that we have incorporated into our planning.”
Gower, Jones-Walsh and others in opposition to the park hold meetings, write letters and articles, and hand out fliers in the county.
“We need to keep the issue in front of the community,” said Jean Girves, who sends out newsletters for Citizens for King William County via e-mail.
On their Web site, the group asks people to contact the county board of supervisors in opposition to the motocross park. The motocross park also asks for help from the citizens on their Web site.
The board so far has been indifferent, said Gower, but citizens have generally been anti-motocross.
Campbell said many citizens have supported the efforts to build the park.
“The number of those supporting our project continues to grow as more people learn what motocross is, and of our desire to bring a high-quality, family-friendly sports park to the area.”
Wright said he has received hundreds of phone calls and letters to state opposition to what he thinks is the most controversial subject in his four years of being on the board.
“I’d say close to 700 people have contacted me,” he said. “I haven’t heard much on the other side saying ‘we want it.’”
What people don’t seem to understand, Wright said, is that there isn’t anything the board can do right now.
“As of today, it’s in legal limbo. Nothing can be done until the judge rules,” said Wright. “The board of supervisor members have not touched it or looked at it.”
The other board members agree. Tom Smiley and Cecil Schools, also on the board of supervisors, said they don’t know any more about the park than other residents.
If the circuit court judge rules in favor of KW Morrison, the corporation may submit an application to the board.
The King William Circuit Court is a deciding factor for whether or not Governors Run Sports Park is built in King William County.
A Hanover-based corporation, KW Morrison, LLC, plans to put the motocross park on land along Route 30, about four and a half miles west of Route 360 in King William County.
The land is zoned agricultural conservation. KW Morrison has been thinning trees and doing other preparatory work for months.
“They’re right behind me. I can hear them,” said Diana Jones-Walsh, a King William resident who owns adjoining land and opposes the park.
The easement KW Morrison uses to access its land is property of Judith Gwathmey.
In November 2008, the King William Board of Zoning Appeals decided that KW Morrison needed to include Gwathmey on the application for a conditional use permit because of the location of the easement.
KW Morrison filed an appeal in King William Circuit Court which should be heard within the next couple of months, said Daniel Wright, a member of the King William County Board of Supervisors.
In the meantime, plans are still moving forward, said Marshal Campbell, one of the owners of the park.
KW Morrison chose the site because of the increasing number of participants in motocross and similar sports in the county and because there are no sports parks nearby.
Some residents got together last year and formed Citizens for King William County to address issues like this by keeping the public informed and protesting certain matters.
“We’re trying to educate the community as to negative environmental impacts that the motocross will have,” said Perrin Gower, who works with Citizens for King William County by helping to oversee the meetings and get the word out.
He said one of his concerns is ground water contamination from spilled fuel, whether spilled accidentally or as the result of a wreck.
Jones-Walsh, who also works with Citizens for King William County to inform the public, said she doesn’t think the chosen location is the right place for a motocross park.
“I think it’ll be too much traffic on a small road,” she said, adding that the curve in the road at that location will only make it worse. She also said that she is concerned about the noise level.
Campbell said that the corporation is taking steps to avoid these problems.
“We have secured the services of various professionals to detail the best practices to follow to protect our property and the environment,” he said in an e-mail.
Campbell also said the park will incorporate features to minimize sound transmission beyond their property lines.
“We have made many changes to our original plan, to address concerns that have been brought to our attention … ,” Campbell said. “We have also received numerous great suggestions from citizens that we have incorporated into our planning.”
Gower, Jones-Walsh and others in opposition to the park hold meetings, write letters and articles, and hand out fliers in the county.
“We need to keep the issue in front of the community,” said Jean Girves, who sends out newsletters for Citizens for King William County via e-mail.
On their Web site, the group asks people to contact the county board of supervisors in opposition to the motocross park. The motocross park also asks for help from the citizens on their Web site.
The board so far has been indifferent, said Gower, but citizens have generally been anti-motocross.
Campbell said many citizens have supported the efforts to build the park.
“The number of those supporting our project continues to grow as more people learn what motocross is, and of our desire to bring a high-quality, family-friendly sports park to the area.”
Wright said he has received hundreds of phone calls and letters to state opposition to what he thinks is the most controversial subject in his four years of being on the board.
“I’d say close to 700 people have contacted me,” he said. “I haven’t heard much on the other side saying ‘we want it.’”
What people don’t seem to understand, Wright said, is that there isn’t anything the board can do right now.
“As of today, it’s in legal limbo. Nothing can be done until the judge rules,” said Wright. “The board of supervisor members have not touched it or looked at it.”
The other board members agree. Tom Smiley and Cecil Schools, also on the board of supervisors, said they don’t know any more about the park than other residents.
If the circuit court judge rules in favor of KW Morrison, the corporation may submit an application to the board.
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