High number of children injured or killed by accidental overdose

Many children are finding prescription painkillers in the home, ingesting them, and suffering serious consequences.  9,000 children in the U.S. have suffered injury due to accidental overdose between 2003 and 2006. 

Here are the ways you can keep children safe:

1. Keep drugs in a locked cabinet.
2. Keep track of you medications.  (Be careful of dropping or losing them.)
3. Remember that childproof packages aren’t really childproof.
4. Never leave medications, vitamins, or other items out in the open.
5. When guests visit, put luggage, purses, coats, and bags away.
6. Store drugs in their original containers.
7. Discard unused medications.
8. Seek help immediately.  Signs of overdose include: shallow breathing, clammy skin, constricted pupils, convulsions, and coma.  Even if you think the child may have ingested a hazardous material, seek medical attention immediately.

Read the full article here:  Prescription Opiates and Kids:  One Pill Can Kill.

10 Tips if Divorce is Imminent

1.    Consult an Attorney

Make sure you know what your rights and obligations are.  Be aware of how your behavior could affect the outcome of any potential divorce proceedings, i.e., should you move out of the marital home?

2.    Copy Documents

Make copies of everything you can find: tax returns, bank statements, check registers, investment statements, retirement account statements, employee benefits handbooks, life insurance policies, medical/dental insurance policies, mortgage documents, applications for credit, deeds and titles to property, financial statements, credit card statements, wills, social security statements, automobile titles, any prenuptial or postnuptial agreements between the parties, documentation of any child support either spouse already pays, etc.  Remember to check the home computer for additional documentation.  Florida requires certain documents be disclosed in all divorce proceedings.  Find that list here.  It is easier to obtain these documents before you separate than after.

3.    Inventory Household and Family Possessions

List the major items: furniture, artwork, jewelry, appliances, automobiles, etc.  Did you forget about anything in storage or that someone else is holding for you or borrowed from you?

4.    Know the Household Budget and Expenses

Examine and record where every penny goes.  This is important to determine if there are temporary needs while the divorce is pending and to determine the amounts owed between parties when negotiating a settlement or final judgment.

5.    Determine How to Manage Family Debt

Try to pay down any debt you may have if you can before divorce.  Division of debt is often a sticking point in divorce proceedings.  Cancel credit accounts if one spouse is too willing to whip out the credit card for unnecessary items.

6.    Find Out Exactly What Your Spouse Earns

Gain this information through paystubs, other documents, or casual conversation with your spouse’s business partner.

7.    Make a Realistic Appraisal of Your Earning Potential

What is a realistic view of your earning potential before and after the divorce?  Will some changes need to be made here?  If you have been a homemaker for a lengthy period of time, will education help you become self-sufficient?  Will your work schedule or location be effected by your divorce and your ability to care for your children?  What child care needs should be considered?

8.    Examine Your Own Credit History

Either establish or reestablish credit in your own, individual name.

9.    Build a Net Egg of Your Own

Try to have access to your own money in case your spouse stops paying the household expenses or bills during the divorce proceedings.  You may also need additional money for an attorney’s retainer, security deposit on a new residence, deposits on utilities, costs of moving, etc.

10.  Put Your Kids at the Top of Your Agenda

Divorce is not about you or your spouse when children are involved.  Children generally have no choice in the matter and their needs and wellbeing should always be your first concern.  Keep their routines as normal as possible, don’t argue in front of the children, don’t bad-mouth the other party to the children, stay involved with your children and their activities as much as possible, and don’t use your children as your sounding board, psychologist, attorney, or counselor! 

Source for some information here.

Widowed Dad leaves 9 children at Nebraska “Safe Haven”

This past July, Nebraska passed a safe haven law that not only allowed parents to leave a newborn child at a firehouse or hospital, but any child under the age of 18.  A father of 9 took Nebraska up on their legislation.  His wife died of a brain aneyurism shortly after giving birth to the 9th child.  The family had been struggling, but recently Dad lost his job and was falling behind on his bills.

Read more here.

Domestic Violence is About Power and Control

Domestic violence, also known as intimate partner violence, takes several forms:  physical, emotional, and sexual.  Domestic violence is not about violence directly.  The violence is the method in which the batterer demonstrates his [I will use the male gender because most batterers are men] power and control over his victim. 

 

Ways the batterer exercises his power and control:

1.    Intimidation;

2.    Emotional abuse;

3.    Isolation;

4.    Minimizing (his behavior), denying (his behavior), and blaming (the victim for his bad behavior);

5.    Using the children;

6.    Preventing the victim from having any money of her own;

7.    Male privilege; and

8.    Coercion and threats.

 

The abuser will mix and match methodologies to achieve this highest level of fear in his victim so she will cooperate or meet his demands.  Any combination of any of the above factors is enough to keep the victim from leaving the batterer.

Help for Victims of Domestic Violence

There are a number of services available (most of them are free) to victims of domestic violence.  If you are a victim in need of services, the first place you should try to contact is your local domestic violence project.  They can either provide the service you need, or can put you in contact with someone who can.  You should know that domestic violence projects will not tell you what to do, but will provide you with knowledge and options to make the best decision for you and your family.

 

Services frequently provided by domestic violence projects include:

911 cell phones

Safety planning

Emergency shelter

Relocation

Food or other basic needs

Long term housing needs

Court personnel to help you attain an order of protection

Some projects may provide limited legal services

Individual and/or group counseling, for adults and children

See if you are eligible for grant money for deposits on a different place to live

Help you sign up for any social services you may be eligible for or require; and

Almost any other service or assistance you need to get back on your feet!

 

To find a local domestic violence project, visit the National Coalition of Domestic Violence or call their hotline 1-800-799-7233.

Domestic Violence Safety in Rural Areas

If you live in a rural area or a small town, there are some extra things to keep in mind when you’re making a safety plan.

 

It may take police and sheriffs a long time to get to you.

If you call the police, get to a safe place to wait for the police. You may want to go to a friend or neighbor’s house or a public place you think is safe.

If you decide to leave your abuser, think about leaving your area, at least for a little while. Think about it even if you get a protective order.

 

A lot of times, there aren’t any buses, taxis, or other types of public transportation – and your abuser may keep you from using the car.

 Make a plan with a friend you trust to give you a ride when you need one.

 See if your local sheriff’s office or police department can help you.

 See if any local churches, synagogues or spiritual groups can help you.

 Talk with a domestic violence worker. She or he can help you make a plan to get a ride when you need one.

 

Your abuser may have weapons.

Be aware of things that your abuser can use as a weapon. He may use sharp or heavy objects, like a hammer or an ice pick, to hurt you.

Know where guns, knives, and other weapons are. If you can, lock them up or make them as hard to get to as you can.

Figure out “safe places” in your home – places where there aren’t weapons. If it looks like your abuser is about to hurt you, try to get to a safe place. Stay out of the kitchen, garage, or workshop. Try to avoid rooms with tile or hardwood floors

 

There may be many isolated areas in your community. These isolated areas can be dangerous for you.

Try to stay away from isolated areas when you can.

Travel “in a pack”. If you can, have someone in charge of paying attention to safety and what’s going on around you.

Consider leaving the area, at least for a little while. Consider it even if you get a protective order.

Carry a cell phone if you can, but don’t count on it too much. Cell phones may not get good service in some places, and batteries do run out. Ask your local domestic violence organization if they give out cell phones. Have emergency numbers on speed dial.

 

Safe places, like a friend’s house or a shelter, may be far away.

If you can use a car, try to keep a full tank of gas.

 In winter, keep clothing for cold weather (like a hat, scarf, and jacket) in an easy-to-get-to place. If you can, keep them in your car.

Be aware of where neighbors live along the road in case you need to pull over.

In your area, people may know where the domestic violence shelter is – the shelter location may not be confidential.

Be aware that your abuser and other people may know where the shelter is.

Think about going to a shelter outside of where you live, even if it’s only for a little while.

If you go to the shelter, cover your car with a sheet. This can help keep your abuser and other people from seeing your car in the parking lot.

Source:  “Safety in Rural Areas,” WomensLaw.org

GPS Monitoring as a Tool to Stop Batterers

In response to domestic homcides, many states (including Florida) are implementing underutilized laws to allow for GPS tracking of domestic batterers. 

Arguments in support of GPS tracking:

1. Allows police to keep tabs on domestic violence offenders
2. Alerts police and victims when an offender enters a restricted zone
3. Alert police if the offender attempts to remove or tamper with the monitoring bracelet
4. Deters offenders from re-offending.  Massachusetts has found that offenders with GPS are very unlikely to reoffend.
5. Enforce the kind of protection that a restraining/protective order can’t.

GPS Tracking can’t:

1. Guarantee that an offender won’t reoffender
2. Guarantee that an offender won’t be more aggitated because he is under 24/7 surveillance
3. Protect victims from long-distance harrassment or other abuse
4. If police can’t locate the offender to start with, they can’t put a monitoring bracelet on him

Issues with GPS tracking:

1. Who pays for the service
2. Are any offender rights violated?

Biggest benefit of GPS tracking:  fewer overnight stays in shelter programs

Source:  “Tracking Device:  How about using GPS monitoring to stop batterers?“ by Maura Kelly, Slate

Father not required to pay child support

Florida Court of Appeals held that a father did not have to pay child support because his children are members of the Seminole Tribe and the monthly stipends the children receive as members of the Seminole trible are sufficient to cover their needs.

Source:  Seminole Tribe Per Caps Sufficient to Cover Child Support, Turtle Talk Blog.

Forced to Divorce to Receive Medical Care

A couple had been married over 50 years but were forced to divorce so the wife could qualify for Medicaid to pay her $2,800 per week chemotherapy treatment.  This couple is not alone, many otherwise happily married individuals are divorcing simply so they can qualify for medical coverage. 

Source:  “Medical Costs Force Couples to Divorce,” by Suevon Lee, Ocala Star-Banner.

Common Law Marriage in Florida

Unless the common law marriage was entered into in Florida before January 1, 1968, Florida itself does not recognize a common law marriage.  However, if the common law marriage was valid in another state and the couple then moves into Florida, Florida will recognize a valid common law marriage from another state.

If you are unsure about the validity of a common law marriage in Florida, contact a local family law attorney!

Source:  “It’s the Law:  A Common Law Marriage Cannot be Created in Florida,” by William Morris, Esq., Marco News.