I belong to an organization called the SGI International. Our Organization, contribute to peace, culture, and education within society. Safeguard fundamental human rights and eliminate discrimination. Respect and protect freedom of religion and religious expression. Work together with other religions to resolve issues affecting humanity. Respect cultural diversity and promote cultural exchange. Encourage the protection of nature and the environment. We strive for World Peace. World Peace is the sincere desire that every single person in the world be happy.
The Recent exhibits sponsored by SGI-USA include:
Treasuring the Future--- Children's Rights and Realities: An interactive look at the state of children's rights.
Oct the, 2008 the Silicon Valley Region had a World Peace festival to commemorate the other Anniversary of Dr. Daisaku Ikeda's first visit to Northern California. To celebrate this special date , many dignitaries and local community leaders have issued resolutions, proclamations and congratulatory letters to Dr. Ikeda, the SGI and SGI-USA.
Commendation from Member of Congress, Mike Honda ( Santa Clara County ).
Congratulatory letter from the Member of Congress, Zoe Lofgren ( San Jose and Silicon Valley ).
Congratulatory letter from the President of San Jose State University, Jon Whitmore.
Congratulatory letter from the Mayor of Sunnyvale, Anthony Spitaleri.
Proclamation from the City of San Jose, Chuck Reed, Mayor: David Cortese, Vice Mayor: Kansen Chu, Councilmember: Madison Nguyen, Councilmember.
Proclamation from the city of Pal Alto, Larry Klein, Mayor
Proclamation from the City of Mountain View, Tom Means, Mayor.
Proclamation from the City of Menlo Park, Andrew Cohen, Mayor.
Proclamation from the City of Santa Cruz, Ryan Coonerty, Mayor.
Proclamation from the City of East Palo Alto, Patricia Foster, Mayor.
Proclamation from the City of Santa Clara, Patricia Mahan.
Proclamation from the City of Cupertino, Dolly Sandoval, Mayor.
Proclamation from the City of Saratoga, Ann Waltonsmith, Mayor.

WE NEED "CHANGES"

Inside the 'Broken' System -The Beat Goes On A few weeks ago I had opportunity to visit a Social Services executive where the subject of the recent San Jose Mercury series re Juvenile Dependency was brought up. This was right after Mr. Gary Proctor retired from his Dependency Services business but before his tragic suicide. There was a little consternation that the sudden retirement would leave the court system in a lurch, also not giving much time to find another firm to take on the representation of parents who enter the foster care system. That, at that time, those that had bid to take it on submitted higher bids than was already being expended was seen as an unfortunate ironic outcome of the Mercury series. We covered the history of CPS and its relationship to the District Attorney's Office (who represent the children) and the Legal Dependency Services (representing the parents) which was both illuminating and somewhat validating. I had started to see that the DA's office actually ran the whole show, with Social Workers and Dependency Services following their lead. This had been denied months ago when I brought it up to another person, but it was virtually confirmed with this higher-up administrator. A former District Attorney had priory been in Juvenile Dependency and was the most knowledgeable in dependency matters so 'everyone' deferred to the DA office on such matters. So, the playing field was greatly slanted to the point that Social Workers was in essence working for the District Attorney Office. This, reportedly, has been gradually being rectified but still has some ways to go. Of course, the District Attorney Office has their own Social Workers on the payroll which I never understood and neither does Social Services! Especially when the DA's Social Worker that I encountered were doing 'assessments' of a grandmother and father without even interviewing them! They must be damn good to pull that off especially when a judge accepts their 'findings'. Funny enough, it was commented on how the Reporter for the SJ Mercury, Karen DaSa was not trusted due to past experiences with the reporter not accurately reporting the data, slanting it, or reporting unverified data as fact when not verified. But the point here was that the Judges were not ratted out on since they were quite probably the source of information for the reporter. I responded agreeably, saying I know of one 'judge' that should have been exposed. As it turned out we were both talking about the same 'Judge' in dependency services. So not only are the parents complaining about this person but also Social Services!

MORE...

Though Santa Clara County is known nationally for its model dependency court, the county provides children here with an unusual, and controversial, group of lawyers.
For more than 20 years, the district attorney's office has represented local youths in dependency court, a system used nowhere else except Fresno.
That arrangement represents a large financial investment by the county. The district attorney's office offers significant resources, including databases, investigators and office social workers. Santa Clara County prosecutors are California's highest-paid children's lawyers, at more than $180,000 a year each.
But what the county adopted as a measure to protect children has troubled child welfare experts. The practice was condemned two decades ago by a panel of professionals advising the state's Judicial Council. "A clear majority of us on that committee felt it was inappropriate for district attorneys to represent children," said Marin County Public Defender Joe Spaeth.
"We felt that their interests were not necessarily in the best interest of the children. Because the role of the prosecutor is first and foremost public safety and prosecuting crime, their allegiances were divided."
The approach poses a potential conflict. In many cases, the district attorney's office is prosecuting a parent in one courtroom for conduct - typically drug offenses and in some cases child abuse - that caused the child to land in dependency proceedings

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Until last month, the same supervising attorney oversaw both teams of attorneys - those prosecuting child-abuse suspects, and those representing their children.

That alarms outside experts. "Prosecutors, by definition, are prosecutorial," said Erik Pitchal, a Suffolk University law professor, who said the approach clashes with a system not designed to be punitive.

Top Santa Clara County prosecutors insist there is no conflict in the office's dual roles.

''There isn't a fundamental conflict, otherwise we wouldn't be in those cases," said District Attorney Dolores Carr. Lawyers in the office are able to "put on a different hat" in dependency court, she said, adding the office strikes "the appropriate balance between advocating for a safe place for a child to grow up," while recognizing "the best place for a child is with the parent."
Aaron West, supervising deputy district attorney, said her office's resources make it uniquely suited to represent children. Prosecutors representing children consult schools and community service providers. Investigators hired by the office interview children using age-appropriate language skills and relay the information to lawyers who appear for them.
And "if there is a committee supporting parents' services, we're on that committee and advocating for services," West said.
Prosecutors' role
'They should be out of
the dependency process'
No one tracks how often prosecutors argue against returning children to their parents, even when social workers favor reunification. West defended the district attorney's approach, identifying seven examples from 2000 to 2008 when the office sought reunification despite social workers' recommendations. West said: "The whole point is to get these children back home. But ultimately, we have to protect the child."
Current and former judges and lawyers for parents and social workers contend that far too often, the district attorney's office argues positions against reunification.
"They beat up on parents," said longtime Juvenile Court presiding Judge Leonard Edwards, who retired in 2006. Prosecutors "think that kids will do better in out-of-home care. They should be out of the dependency process completely."
Judge Patrick Tondreau praised the district attorneys for their passion and dedication, but said they "resist return of any children and tend to advocate against parents."
In April, when a reporter observed the normally closed proceedings, Assistant District Attorney Laura Aizpuru-Sutton urged Judge Tondreau to prevent a mother from weekly visits with her 8-year-old girl.
Aizpuru-Sutton told the judge she had decided to oppose the visits after she learned the girl suffered nightmares following her mother's visits.
No one in court that day raised the fact that the file included a social worker's report, reviewed by a reporter, that offered a different cause of her nightmares. The report said the nightmares occurred after the girl told police she was molested by her foster father.
At the hearing, Tondreau declined Aizpuru-Sutton's request, saying he would not prevent the weekly visits without hearing from the social worker.
Aizpuru-Sutton referred questions to West, who said last week that Aizpuru-Sutton had based her statement on other information the office had gathered.
Supervising judge
Former prosecutor worked
on child-abuse cases
Katherine Lucero, who succeeded Edwards as supervising judge of Santa Clara County Juvenile Dependency Court, knows well the district attorney's office's aggressive stance toward parents.
In 1997, before becoming a judge, Lucero worked as a deputy district attorney, assigned to prosecute child-abuse suspects, including parents. She replaced Christine Hudson, deputy district attorney, who had moved from prosecuting abuse suspects to the unit that represents children. Lucero said she was immediately struck by the office's aggressive posture in building cases against parents and other family members.
"I remember thinking, this is wrong," Lucero said. She recalled the arrest of a grandmother who smacked a child with a fly swatter; the woman's grandchildren were taken to a shelter. Lucero said she immediately ordered the grandmother released from jail and the children returned. "I didn't find them appropriate," Lucero said of cases she inherited.
Hudson, whose work is praised by judges including Edwards, said that when she first began representing children, her prior experience prosecuting child-abuse suspects left her mistrustful: "I came here with an attitude of: These parents have done horrible things."
But she said she has since gained perspective, recognizing the importance of reuniting families whenever possible. What changed her, she said, was seeing the impact of foster care on her young clients. "They have this emptiness in them," Hudson said. "You just see it in their eyes."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMGqNUSGpnc

http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-108189
http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-56273
http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-99060
http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-99044
http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-85138
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMGqNUSGpnc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKKLaNTjSv0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IOUIZf_wB4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p8bCcqJ4As

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMhkkGzTCUw
NECESITAMOS EL " CHANGES" Dentro del ' Broken' Sistema - el golpe va en hace algunas semanas que tenía oportunidad de visitar un ejecutivo de los servicios sociales donde el tema de la serie reciente del Mercury de San Jose con referencia a dependencia juvenil fue sacado a colación. Esto correcto después de que el procurador de Sr. Gary se retirara de su negocio de servicios de la dependencia pero antes de su suicidio trágico. Había una poca consternación que el retiro repentino dejaría el sistema judicial en una sacudida, también no dando mucho tiempo para encontrar otra firma para adquirir la representación de los padres que incorporan el sistema de la acogida. Eso, en aquel momento, los que habían hecho una oferta para tomarlo en ofertas más altas sometidas que era expendida ya fue vista como resultado irónico desafortunado de la serie del Mercury. Cubrimos la historia del CPS y de su relación al districto Attorney' oficina de s (quién representan a los niños) y los servicios legales de la dependencia (que representan a los padres) que iluminaba y validaba algo. Había comenzado a ver que el DA' la oficina de s funcionó realmente la demostración del conjunto, con los asistentes sociales y los servicios de la dependencia siguiendo su plomo. Esto había sido negada hace meses cuando lo traje hasta otra persona, pero fue confirmado virtualmente con este administrador del mandamás. Un fiscal de distrito anterior tenía priorato sido en dependencia juvenil y estaba el más bien informado de las materias tan ' de la dependencia; everyone' diferido a la oficina de DA en tales materias. Así pues, el terreno de juego fue inclinado grandemente al punto que los asistentes sociales esencialmente trabajaban para la Oficina del Fiscal del Distrito. Esto, se ha estado rectificando según se informa gradualmente pero todavía tiene algunas maneras de ir. ¡Por supuesto, la Oficina del Fiscal del Distrito tiene sus propios asistentes sociales en la nómina de pago que nunca entendía y ni uno ni otro hace servicios sociales! Especialmente cuando el DA' el asistente social de s que encontré hacía ' assessments' ¡de una abuela y de un padre sin incluso entrevistarse con los! Deben ser buena maldito quitar eso de especialmente cuando un juez acepta su ' findings'. Bastante divertido, fue comentado respecto a cómo el reportero para el Mercury de SJ, Karen DaSa no era confiado en debido a las experiencias anteriores con el reportero que divulgaba no exactamente los datos, inclinándolos, o divulgando datos inverificados como hecho cuando no estaba verificado. Pero el punto aquí era que los jueces no ratted hacia fuera encendido puesto que eran absolutamente probablemente la fuente de información para el reportero. Respondí conforme, decir sé de un ' judge' eso debe haber sido expuesta. Pues resultó éramos ambos que hablaban del mismo ' Judge' en servicios de la dependencia. ¡Tan no sólo están los padres que se quejan por esta persona pero también servicios sociales! MÁS... Aunque el condado de Santa Clara se conoce nacionalmente para su corte modelo de la dependencia, el condado provee de niños aquí un inusual, y polémico, grupo de abogados. Por más de 20 años, el districto attorney' la oficina de s ha representado juventudes locales en la corte de la dependencia, un sistema usado en ninguna otra parte excepto Fresno. Ese arreglo representa una inversión financiera grande por el condado. El districto attorney' la oficina de s ofrece recursos significativos, incluyendo bases de datos, investigadores y asistentes sociales de la oficina. Los querellantes del condado de Santa Clara son California' s children' mejor remunerado; abogados de s, en más de $180.000 por año cada uno. Pero qué el condado adoptó como una medida para proteger a niños ha preocupado a expertos del bienestar infantil. La práctica fue condenada hace dos décadas cerca un panel de los profesionales que aconsejaban el state' consejo judicial de s. " Una clara mayoría de nosotros en ese comité sentía que era inadecuado que los fiscales de distrito representen a los niños, " defensor público dicho Joe Spaeth del condado de Marín. " Sentíamos que sus intereses no estaban necesariamente en el mejor interés de los niños. Porque el papel del querellante es sobre todo seguridad pública y crimen de procesamiento, sus lealtades eran divided." El acercamiento plantea un conflicto potencial. En muchos casos, el districto attorney' la oficina de s está procesando a un padre en una sala de tribunal para la conducta - narcotice típicamente las ofensas y en algunos casos la pederastia - que hicieron al niño aterrizar en procedimientos de la dependencia

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