Page 25 - Flathead Beacon // 10.28.15

HELENA
5. Gov. Appoints Commission to Examine Child Protection System
Gov. Steve Bullock has appointed 14 people to examine the state’s child pro- tection system and recommend ways the agency can improve its ability to protect children from abuse and neglect.
Bullock met in July with counsel- ors and the families of some children involved with child protective services who sought wholesale changes within the agency. They complained that they were disrespected by caseworkers, the agency ignored the recommendations of some counselors and workers seemed to lack training.
The families and counselors have tes- tified before the Legislature and have picketed at several Child and Family Ser- vices offices around the state.
Bullock issued an executive order in September creating the Protect Mon- tana Kids Commission in response to their concerns.
Those named to the commission on Oct. 23 include Sarah Corbally, the administrator of the Montana Child and Family Services Division of the state health department.
Other public employees on the com- mission include Scott Darkenwald, dep- uty director of the Department of Jus- tice; District Judge Leslie Halligan of Missoula; Bullock’s deputy chief of staff Ali Bovingdon; Chief Public Defender Bill Hooks; Deputy Flathead County Attor- ney Ann Lawrence and Bart Klika, assis- tant professor at the University of Mon- tana School of Social Work.
A private attorney who is a child wel- fare specialist, a pediatrician, the exec- utive director of Court Appointed Spe- cial Advocates of Montana and a mental health therapist on the Flathead Indian Reservation are also on the commission.
The group is tasked with examining the child protection system and recom- mending policies, practices and services to improve the system.
The commission must report its rec- ommended changes to the governor by March 31 2016 so his office and the Department of Public Health and Human Services can prepare a package of bills to present to the 2017 Montana Legislature.
Also in September, Bullock announced the state would hire 33 aides to casework- ers, offer more training and upgrade the computer system used by caseworkers. It also created a critical incident review team within the division to review inci- dents of serious child injury or death and, based on those findings, make recom- mendations for immediate improvement.
HELENA
6. Juneau Considers Challenging Zinke for U.S. House Seat
Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau is considering challenging U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke for Montana’s U.S. House seat next year, a spokeswoman for the Democrat said last week.
Juneau, 48, has been the state’s public schools superintendent since 2009 and is the first female Native American elected
to statewide office in Montana.
“Denise is seriously considering a run
for office because she sees an opportu- nity to bring a Montana work ethic and her record of getting things done to the U.S. House,” spokeswoman Emilie Ritter Saunders said.
But it is a big decision for Juneau and she has set no deadlines for making it, Saunders added.
Zinke, 53, is a first-term Republican from Whitefish who was elected in 2014 over former U.S. Sen. Max Baucus aide John Lewis.
If she decides to run, Juneau would be the first person to challenge Zinke in the 2016 election.
“The congressman welcomes her in the race and he’s looking forward to dis- cussing the issues that are most import- ant to Montana families,” Zinke spokes- woman Heather Swift said.
Zinke has hired two professional fundraising firms to help him shore up campaign cash for next year’s elections. As of Sept. 30, his campaign had more than $747,000 in the bank.
BILLINGS
7. Montana, Wyoming Join Suit to Block Clean Air Rules
Montana and Wyoming joined 22 other states last week in suing to block new rules they claim exceed the U.S. gov- ernment’s authority to cut power-plant emissions.
President Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan seeks to slow climate change by cutting carbon dioxide emissions nationwide by 32 percent over the next 15 years. It calls for states to come up with individual plans to meet widely varying targets to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
The lawsuit led by West Virginia was filed in the District of Columbia Cir- cuit Court of Appeals, coinciding with the Environmental Protection Agen- cy’s publication of the rules. The lawsuit claims the EPA exceeded its authority and abused its discretion in issuing the mandate.
Montana Attorney General Tim Fox said any such rules must come from Con- gress, and it doesn’t matter whether the EPA’s program is a good idea or a bad idea.
“Federal agencies simply don’t have the authority to make up new laws and they should not be permitted to unilat- erally take over a major section of the economy while raising electric rates on American families,” Fox told reporters.
EPA officials have said the new rules will ultimately lower utility bills.
Montana state Sen. Dick Barrett, D-Missoula, said the EPA took action under the authority it has after Congress has failed to do so. Barrett, who co-au- thored a letter in support of the Clean Power Plan with 33 other legislators, said the federal overreach argument by the state attorneys general suing the EPA doesn’t ring true to him.
“They simply don’t want to shoulder the burden of dealing with these carbon emissions,” Barrett said. “They, just like Congress, want to sweep this issue under the rug.”
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