Summary of News Events this Week by Mark Young

Most Recommended Stories
Sun. April 15, 2007
1. Family Secrets
2. Hiring illegal aliens
3. Officers aid parents in fight against meth
4. Another View: Pedophile's Web site a disturbing reminder

To view these stories or the complete versions of the articles in this weeks post use the "Statesman Journal" link provided in the "links" section of this blog.

The article on "Children of Prison Inmates" was rather disturbing. The fact that an estimated 100,000 of these children statewide have parents who are somehow involved with the criminal justice system is deplorable.
The "invisible population" of children whose parents are incarcerated is another example of how the most vulnerable segment of our society if often neglected. These children have done nothing wrong, but due to their parents actions, their lives are irrevocably altered. Another social factor is how many of them will go on imitate the actions of their parents and end up in jail themselves. Too often children follow in their parents footsteps and without proper guidance fall prey to repeating the only type of behavior that they have ever known. I am not sure if these children fall under the category of a "socially excluded group" or not. However, in many cases thanks to their parents they have become part of a group that may be excluded from many of the opportunities that life has to offer. This is another example of how the actions of one person can affect many others, and often it is the innocent who pay the greatest price!