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The hike you are about to read about which starts at Dante's View and ends at Badwater is not recommended for the general public due to its extreme difficulty. We are posting a detailed description of our route in order to share the incredible experience we had with our family and friends. Please do not follow in our footsteps and attempt this hike on your own. There are a lot of things that can go wrong and dangerous situations which can present themselves to the unprepared hiker who is not familiar with Death Valley and attempts this route. Some of these include getting stranded on cliffs, falling off cliffs, slipping on steep slopes and getting injured, becoming lost or stuck somewhere on the route, and not having enough daylight or water to make it out safely. Several members of our group remarked upon completing the route that this was the best hike they had ever been on in Death Valley, but at the same time it was the hardest and most difficult.
This hike contains sections of climbing, exposed bypasses and/or high dry falls and may require safety ropes and equipment in order to complete the entire hike. Those without the proper training, experience, and safety gear should avoid attempting this hike and not drop off of the main ridge which runs between Dante's View and Mount Perry.
In preparation for my Fall 2010 trip to Death Valley, I spent some time researching Bad Canyon. I was interested in hiking into the middle part of the canyon, so I began studying climbers reports in the hopes of seeing pictures of some of the obstacles (such as dry falls) which could come up during the hike. I found the pictures I was looking for, but at the same time I found something which was even more interesting. By checking out multiple reports, I discovered that canyoneers were using two different routes to get into middle Bad Canyon. The first route was the standard route which was well known. Climbers would start at Dante's View and hike up to Dante's Peak. From there they would follow the Dante's ridgeline to the north until they could find a way to safely drop into Bad Canyon. Finally, they would head down Bad Canyon and use ropes to rappel down the huge dry falls found there and end up at Badwater Road. The second route was an alternative way to reach middle Bad Canyon. It probably began being used at times in the winter when Dante's View Road was closed due to ice. This alternative route started at Badwater Road and went up the Bad-Hades Ridge, which starts at the mouth of Hades Canyon and continues up to the Hades Fault. From the Hades Fault, the climbers would then drop down into either middle Bad Canyon or the head of Hades Canyon. As I studied these reports, the thought dawned on me that if the two Bad Canyon access routes were combined, it would be possible to hike all the way from Dante's View down to Badwater without doing any climbing. I realized that accomplishing such a hike would make history, as a hike from Dante's View to Badwater without using any ropes had never before been documented. Thus, I put a team of experienced Death Valley hikers together and carefully worked out the complete route and details.
Because the Dante's View to Badwater hiking route was something which I thought up and was pioneering, it would only be fair for me to lay down some ground rules about the hike. Our hike would need to be done in one day, so we would either need to be dropped off at Dante's View or we would need to use two vehicles as shuttles. Also, we would need to clearly define the route's beginning and ending. For the beginning, it was clear that we would have to start at the Dante's View sign and viewpoint. There could be no argument about that. For the ending, there was some debate as to where exactly we would have to reach. Some might say that just reaching Badwater Road would be enough, as that is part of the Badwater Basin. Others would say that Badwater Road is not Badwater itself. Then there might be some who say that reaching the Badwater parking lot and railing would be enough, while others would say that too is not truly Badwater. Finally, purists could say that to reach Badwater, someone would have to walk along the boardwalk and reach the Badwater sign and have their picture taken next to it. After much thought and debate, my final decision on this matter is that to truly accomplish the full hike from Dante's View to Badwater, it is necessary to hike from the Dante's View sign to the Badwater sign and get a picture next to both signs. Keep in mind that I am laying down these ground rules just for fun and this entire talk of "making history" is not meant to be taken very seriously. And it is worthwhile to walk the final portion from the Badwater Road to Badwater (which I have named "The Victory Lap") because it gives you the chance to cool down and presents an awesome photo opportunity at the Badwater sign. On our first hike (Nov. 26, 2010), some reached Badwater Road and some reached the Badwater parking lot. Meanwhile, on our second hike (Dec. 25, 2010), everyone hiked to the farthest possible end point and reached the Badwater sign. Therefore, I officially certify and give credit to the second group for accomplishing the 1st Documented Hike from Dante's View to Badwater. For this report, I am combining the photos of both hikes into one and this complete trip report will serve as official documentation of the hike as being accomplished. Congratulations to all who were involved in making history in Death Valley! Because the route turned out to be so spectacular and we have an abundance of photos, this report has been broken up into two parts. The first will cover the hike from Dante's View to the Hades Fault, while the second will cover the hike from the Hades Fault to Badwater. To read the second part, click on the red arrow button at the bottom. And now here is the first part.
To start with, let me introduce the two groups who will be hiking from Dante's View to Badwater. In our first group from Nov. 26, 2010, we have Patrick (an accomplished Yosemite climber and Death Valley hiker), Dave (the well known Death Valley hiker who rediscovered the Chuckwalla Canyon Crater in modern times), and Steve. In our second group from Dec. 25, 2010, we have Joe Silva (a long time friend and Death Valley hiker), Curtis (another long time friend on his first trip to Death Valley), Greg (a well respected long distance Death Valley hiker), Dave, and Steve. For both hikes, we started out at Dante's View at exactly 8:10am. After getting our pictures by the Dante's View sign and taking some nice shots of the early morning sunrise over Death Valley, we headed uphill and followed the trail which leads to Dante's Peak. From there, the easy to follow trail winds its way downhill along the Dante's ridgeline. This is the trail which ultimately leads to Mount Perry. At this point, we had to deal with the challenging task of finding a good place to drop from the ridge into Bad Canyon. On our first hike, we struggled a bit with this and ended up taking a longer route which had some very steep slopes to work our way down into the canyon. But on our second hike, armed with the knowledge of what we had done before, we were able to find a better drop into Bad Canyon and eliminate virtually all of the uncomfortable steepness. We ended up just below the head of Bad Canyon. Walking down Bad Canyon proved to be very easy and enjoyable. We were impressed with the nice views of the high walls around us and being able to see what the canyon was like. Soon, the Hades Fault appeared off in the distance and the canyon began heading directly towards it. We looked up at the Hades Fault and were slightly intimidated at the steep hike we would have to make to reach the top of it and continue on our route. On our first trip, when we reached the base of the Hades Fault, two of us took a 3 1/2 hour side trip into Bad Canyon. That proved to be an unwise decision because of not having enough daylight to finish the entire main route while it was still light out. On our second trip, we dropped our packs and just went down to spend a few minutes checking out the beginning of middle Bad Canyon, with its dry falls and steep gorge area. All in the group were left breathless at seeing the polished 25 foot dry fall which has a scary bypass ledge next to it. Soon we got back to our main route, and it was fairly easy to work our way up to the Hades Fault from the wash of Bad Canyon. It only took about 20-30 minutes to do that portion. Once at the Hades Fault, we looked around a bit and explored the interesting geology and scenery that was to be found there. Looking over the opposite side of the Hades Fault than what we had climbed up, we could see a clear view down from the head of Hades Canyon. We also realized that we were now halfway from Dante's View to Badwater. Below you will find a Google Earth map which shows the full route we took as we hiked from Dante's View to Badwater. The story of our historic journey continues with part two. (Note: A majority of the pictures shown below were taken during our second trip, as the shade and lighting were far superior and the pictures turned out a lot better.)
Starting out at Dante's View on Nov. 26, 2010. Left to right, that's Patrick, Dave, and Steve:
Starting out at Dante's View on Dec. 25, 2010. Left to right, that's Greg, Dave, Curtis, Joe Silva, and Steve. Yep, Dave and Steve are wearing the same jackets for both hikes:
Taking a moment to look at the majestic view from Dante's View of the Badwater Basin and snow-capped Panamint Range:
Looking across at Telescope Peak. An interesting fact is that Telescope Peak is 20.5 air miles from Dante's View:
Panoramic view of Death Valley from Dante's View at the start of the hike (click to enlarge):
Panoramic view of the Bad-Hades Ridge (middle of picture) from Dante's View (click to enlarge):
Heading across the parking lot and up the trail which leads to Dante's Peak:
Joe stopping to look at the view during the early part of the trail:
In the middle of the picture you can clearly see the Bad-Hades Ridge and its terminus to the left at the mouth of Hades Canyon. Hades Canyon is to the left of the ridge, while Bad Canyon is to the right of the ridge:
Looking across at Telescope Peak once we reached Dante's Peak:
Panoramic view looking down central Death Valley from the high point at Dante's Peak (click to enlarge):
Looking across the terrain at upper Bad Canyon and Mount Perry far in the distance:
The is the Dante's Ridge, which we would continue to follow for a while longer:
Joe getting a picture next to a benchmark at Dante's Peak (Dante BM), the high point during our hike at 5,704 feet:
A couple of our hikers heading down the ridgeline. Curtis (front) is excited about the hike:
As you can see in the bottom center of the picture, there is a clear trail along the ridgeline which we are continuing to follow:
View off into Greenwater Valley from along the ridgeline:
Zooming in on beautiful Mount Perry. The trail continues to work its way towards the Mount Perry summit:
Curtis and Joe easily handling the beginning portion of the hike:
It was time to say goodbye to the trail and drop off the Dante's Ridge into a side canyon below:
Joe and Curtis heading down the side canyon, which had excellent terrain to walk down:
Taking this side canyon was one of the minor improvements we made over our first hike. The terrain was a lot more hiker friendly:
Heading towards the rocky outcroppings seen near the top of the picture:
We headed up towards this cave and wondered if we would be able to walk through from one side to the other:
Sure enough there was an opening and we sat down to take our first break on the other side:
Looking through the cave and at the texture of the rock:
Steve getting a picture at the cave with his new Dante's View to Badwater T-shirt (more on that in part 2 of our report):
Full view of the cave where we took our break:
At the top of the picture you can see our hiking group continuing on towards our next destination, which would be Bad Canyon:
Curtis and Joe dropping down the hillside on the other side of the cave in the next two pictures:
Off in the distance we could see some more caves and openings in the rock:
Finally we arrived at the actual head of Bad Canyon:
Looking down to where the wash dead-ends at the head of Bad Canyon:
Joe, Curtis, and Steve getting a picture at the head of Bad Canyon:
This was the drop into Bad Canyon, another improvement over our first hike. On the first hike, we entered Bad Canyon further down and the drop was much steeper and a lot more challenging:
Looking up at some the of the rocks which stood out on the hillside:
Curtis reaching the wash of Bad Canyon as he holds his Death Valley hiking stick:
View further up Bad Canyon as the wash begins disappearing:
And this is the view further down canyon where we would be headed:
The very first view of the Hades Fault from Bad Canyon as we looked off in the distance:
Greg and Dave heading directly towards the Hades Fault:
Curtis and Joe taking a breather in the canyon. This was another one of the easier portions of the hike:
Dave and Greg checking out one of the massive boulders which has tumbled into the wash of Bad Canyon:
Another huge colorful boulder which has fallen into Bad Canyon:
Picture of Steve with the Hades Fault in the background taken during the first hike:
Joe, Steve, and Curtis with the Hades Fault in the background taken during our second hike:
Looking back up Bad Canyon at the cool looking rocks up on the hillside in the next two pictures:
The next four pictures show various views of the Hades Fault as we continued to hike closer to the base of it:
Interesting looking formations in a small drainage off to the side:
To the left is the Hades Fault and to the right is Bad Canyon as it takes a sharp turn and drops into a steep narrow gorge:
We dropped our packs below the Hades Fault and went down to look into middle Bad Canyon:
Taking a look over the 25 foot dry fall which stops most hikers from entering middle Bad Canyon:
Greg checking out the infamous bypass ledge which is the only way a hiker can get past this obstacle and see more of Bad Canyon. We definitely don't recommend crossing this ledge:
Looking up at Curtis standing above one of the smaller dry falls after we were done looking over the 25 foot dry fall and headed back up canyon:
Steve with middle Bad Canyon and the narrow gorge behind him:
We were now back at the base of the Hades Fault, looking up at the steep climb ahead of us:
Starting the hike up and looking down on the rest of the group:
Working our way around some small obstacles on the way up:
A nice view of Bad Canyon cutting to the left as seen here:
Brilliant red colors stood out on the hike up the Hades Fault:
Curtis taking a break as we were now about halfway up the Hades Fault:
The fault separates two completely different sides and rock types:
Stunning panoramic view from the Hades Fault of middle Bad Cyn to the left and upper Bad Cyn to the right (click to enlarge):
Check out the texture and colors of these rocks we passed by:
Two more views of upper Bad Canyon from near the top of the Hades Fault:
Looking at the Hades Fault rock slide which is one its identifying features:
The high point of the Hades Fault is just up ahead:
These rock walls and outcroppings were on the right side (west):
And this rock wall with the rockslide was on the left side (east):
At the summit of the Hades Fault looking over the other side:
The view down into Hades Canyon. This point is considered the head of the canyon:
Two pictures showing the rockslide area and rocks which make it up:
Final view of upper Bad Canyon from the top of the Hades Fault:
Picture of Steve at the Hades Fault on Nov. 26, 2010:
And Steve at the same spot one month later on December 25, 2010. To continue following our epic hike from Dante's View to Badwater, click on the red arrow button below for Part 2:
or on the red arrow button to continue reading Part 2 of Dante's View to Badwater


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Fiscardo, Kefalonia, Greece
Fiscardo, or Fiskardo, offers pastel painted houses, little flotillas of sailing boats calling in to the harbour for lunch at a waterside taverna and the village streets are stuffed with patisserie, bakeries, arty shops and stylish cafes.
A stylist upmarket resort which is popular with the discerning traveller as well as the famous! In the harbour the traditional fishing boats are docked alongside million pound yachts and the restaurants and tavernas provide al fresco dining for those who want to watch the world go by!Read more about: Beaches | Nearby Attractions | Quick Facts | Fiscardo Reviews
Fiscardo Reviews
Mrs G Davies , Mold
|4th Aug 2015
|Almyra Hotel
|Deluxe Double Or Twin - Sea View
|Bed & Breakfast
Lovely resort, really pretty. Lots of good restaurants and local people really friendly.
Mr S Dubois, Isle Of Man
|16th May 2015
|Emelisse Art Hotel
|Double Or Twin - Garden View
|Bed & Breakfast
Lovely little traditional harbour with some surprisingly contemporary shops. One for the black book.
Mr S Dubois, Isle Of Man
|16th May 2015
|Emelisse Art Hotel
|Double Or Twin - Garden View
|Bed & Breakfast
Stunning little harbour town with fabulous eateries. Food really good. Easy to access and navigate. Loved it.
Mr A Smith, London
|28th Jul 2014
|Almyra Hotel
|Double Or Twin - Sea View
|Bed & Breakfast
Very nice resort.
Show More Reviews
Please note: the comments above are the subjective opinions of customers and not of sunshine.co.uk Ltd
There is a small pebbly beach here, with a further two beaches around 20 minutes walk away or the locals choice is at Aghia Jerusalem around 25 minutes by car.
Nearby Attractions
Visitors should take the time to wander around the capital of Argostoli, just an hour away. Here there is a beautiful waterfront and plenty of historical sights including a museum and the Victorian Drapano Bridge.
Quick Facts
Kefalonia Airport is approximately 74 km away - transfer time about 1 hour 40 minutes.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Texas Department of Family and Protective Services
Advisory Council Meeting
January 15, 2010
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) Advisory Council met in Public Hearing Room 125-E of the John H. Winters Building, 701 West 51st Street, Austin, Texas. Council Members present were Chair Ommy Strauch, Vice Chair Imogen Papadopoulos, Gigi Edwards Bryant, Debbie Epperson, Tina Martin, Linda Bell Robinson, and Scott Rosenbach.
Also present was Commissioner Anne Heiligenstein and department staff.
Not present was Council members, Paul Furukawa and Mamie Salazar-Harper.
Agenda Item 1 – Call to Order
The meeting was called to order by Chair Ommy Strauch at 9:01 a.m.
Agenda Item 2 - Reading, Correction. and Approval of Minutes of October 23, 2009 regular meeting
Ms. Papadopoulos moved approval of the minutes as printed; Ms. Bryant provided a second. The minutes needed no corrections and were approved as distributed.
Agenda Item 3 – Approval of New Date for April 2010 Council Meeting
Ms. Strauch asked the Council to consider changing dates from April 15 and 16 to April 19 for the April Work Session and April 20 for the Council Meeting. Ms. Epperson moved such; Ms. Martin provided a second. The motion carried without opposition; the Council will meet April 19 and April 20.
Agenda Item 4 - Public Testimony
No public testimony was offered at this council meeting.
Agenda Item 5 - Agency Briefings
5.a. Disproportionality and The Texas Story Event – Joyce James and Dr. Donn Bauman
Joyce James, Deputy Commissioner for DFPS, joined by Dr. Donn Baumann, presented the work on disproportionality in Texas. Disproportionality is the overrepresentation of a particular race or culture in a particular program or system. Disproportionality and disparate outcomes for African-American children and families is also an issue for the juvenile justice system, education, healthcare, and other systems. African-American children did not enter foster care in the United States until the late '50s or early '60s; however, they represented almost half of children in care by the early '80s.
The Center for Policy and Innovation (CPI) is researching the historical entry of African-American children into the Texas foster care system. Council member, Gigi Edwards Bryant believes she and her siblings may have been among the first African-American children to enter the foster care system in Texas. Deputy Commissioner James has invited Ms. Bryant to assist CPI in researching this history.
Almost 37 percent of the 500,000 children in foster care in the nation's child welfare system are African-American; yet, they represent only 15 percent of the child population in the United States. In Texas, African-American children represent 33 percent of the children in foster care but only 12 percent of the total child population. As a point of reference, Anglo children represent 38 percent of the Texas child population, and 27 percent of the children in Texas foster care. Hispanic children represent 46.6 percent of the Texas child population, and 36.5 percent of the children in Texas foster care. These statistics portray disproportionality; the percentage of African-American children in foster care is higher than the percentage of African-American children in the general population.
National child abuse and neglect incident studies confirm that African-Americans do not abuse their children at a greater rate than other races. This finding has caused agencies across the country to pose the question, "why does disparity exist in the foster care system?"
Ms. James stated that when she talks about the Texas Story, she is generally talking about her own personal journey in working on this issue. Her efforts to address disproportionality started at the regional level in Jefferson County where she served as a CPS Program Administrator and later as a CPS Regional Director. Ms. James worked in the field of child welfare for approximately 16 years before she started asking questions about this issue. She began looking at data regarding race and ethnicity in her region in 1996; this data was the vehicle for opening conversation around the issue. Data showed that in one county, African-American children made up 30 percent of the child population yet represented 77 percent of the children in foster care.
CPS partnered with a university to research contributing factors to disproportionality and the following contributing factors were identified: poverty, substance abuse, lack of education and job skills, lack of community resources, feelings of hopelessness, and possible worker bias due to lack of cultural competency. Disproportionality was not, and is not, a problem that CPS owned by itself. It is an issue in which other systems, including the community, must be engaged. Often times in Jefferson County, families did not receive supports that they needed in the community before coming to the attention of CPS. Research supported that disproportionality needed to be addressed in a systemic way to improve outcomes. In order to impact the issues bringing Jefferson County African-American children into the system, changes had to be made regarding how services were provided.
The Chief of Juvenile Probation in Jefferson County, the school director and other community partners also collaborated with CPS to study disproportionality. The juvenile probation system reported similar data, showing that 69 percent of the children involved in juvenile probation and 88 percent of the children who had been identified as at-risk in communities and schools were African-American. A community meeting, the first of many, was held to develop a unified vision, mission and goals for addressing disproportionality.
The resulting community engagement model in Jefferson County, specifically located in Port Arthur, was named "Project HOPE, Helping Our People Excel". Project HOPE, located in a community that was fairly well blighted, without resources or services, such that people had to travel long distances for services, was an area where a lot of removals occurred. Project HOPE coordinated resources, set up shop, and brought services into the community, making them easily accessible to families. Ms. James is very proud of the work that was started and continues under regional leadership and with support from State Office. Disproportionality has decreased in Jefferson County.
Ms. James took her passion for this issue with her to State Office when she became Assistant Commissioner of CPS in April 2004. Her first month as Assistant Commissioner, she asked staff to pull data at the state level by race and ethnicity, and confirmed that disproportionality exists for African-American children and families across the state. The data showed where the gaps and the barriers were in the system. In her second month on the job, she contacted Carolyne Rodriguez with Casey Family Programs. Casey Family Programs was already working with CPS on transitional living programs and pilots for kinship, and Ms. Rodriguez agreed with the suggestion to add the issue of disproportionality. The model used in Jefferson County continues to be used and improved upon at the state level.
During her third month as Assistant Commissioner, Governor Perry issued the executive order for review and reform of the Texas CPS system. After review by the Office of Inspector General (OIG), CPS had about 164 recommendations. One such recommendation was to assess disproportionality of African-American children in the Texas CPS system. Thus the disproportionality work already begun by CPS was timely to the OIG's recommendations.
In 2005, the Texas Legislature mandated an analysis of the statewide child welfare data to determine if disproportionality in fact existed in the Texas child welfare system, after factoring out issues such as poverty and family structure; namely single-parent households. If disproportionality was still found, the Legislature would mandate that CPS develop a remediation plan, and this is what happened. The analysis determined that African-American children were removed from their homes at twice the rate of Anglo or Hispanic children. African-American children remained in the foster care system at almost three times the rate of the general population. They were reunified less often, waited longer, and were adopted less often than their Anglo counterparts. Additionally, at the time of the 2005 study, African-American families were also less likely to receive family-based safety services. Data showed that differential treatment towards certain groups of children and families was occurring in the system, and although research has shown that African-American children are no more likely to be abused or neglected than white children, African-American families were still more likely to be reported to state authorities.
Remediation efforts were directed towards CPS leadership development. To affect true systemic change, leadership would have to acquire new skills, take them to the staff, and support the system in the change process. With the support of the Texas Legislature, CPS created a state level disproportionality manager and a disproportionality specialist to target areas with the greatest disparity and form community disproportionality boards. These boards have since been expanded to all 11 regions of the state. Each region also now has its own disproportionality specialist. By using Project HOPE as a best practice model, CPS has brought together stakeholders including, youth, parents and other systems. CPS has openly shared data and worked as true partners to come up with solutions to remove barriers to services that had been preventing positive outcomes for certain families and children.
Identifying best practice, embracing the family-focused approach, training to improve cultural competency, and studying data has resulted in significant progress. Training has included the Undoing Racism and Casey's Knowing Who You Are modules. Over 3,000 DFPS staff have been trained in Undoing Racism. Over 4,000 staff have participated in the Knowing Who You Are module that DFPS will continue to provide for staff. The true measure of any organization is its ability to leave the families and children in a better place than where they were found. The system is not as good as it could be for a child of any race; however, we believe that by raising the bar for those who are least likely to achieve positive outcomes, the bar will be raised for all children and families, making the system better for all of those whom it serves.
In August of 2009, an event was held called the Texas Story. Ms. James expressed her thanks to Ms. Bryant for telling her personal story at this event which hosted professionals from other states, judges, and partners from the Administration for Children and Families and various other systems. Planning for this event started when two states asked CPS to share knowledge, and it grew to include presentations from some of our partners. Response from the Texas Story was favorable; one participant was quoted "every child welfare system in the country needs to hear the story about the work done in Texas on this critical issue".
Dr. Baumann reported on four questions asked during the research phase: what are the perceptions of CPS in the communities in which we operate; are racial and ethnic groups disproportionately represented in CPS, taking other factors into account; can the process be changed; and can we explain something about the factors involved in disproportionality? University partners conducted nineteen focus groups in the two largest regions and received information into three categories: agency contributions; community contributions; and shared contributions between the agency and the community.
Agency contributions included agency climate, differential response to African-American families, ineffective interventions, and workforce issues. Community contributions included breakdown of community, environmental issues, and barriers to obtaining resources. Shared contributions included the lack of cultural sensitivity and barriers to the use of kinship care, and a lack of engagement between DFPS and the community.
Findings from the report that Ms. James discussed indicated African-American children were disproportionately represented in our system, even when other factors were taken into account. In addition, African-American and Hispanic children left foster care slower than Anglo children. The question was then asked, "Can the removal process be changed?" To compare disproportionality over a five year span, 2005 to 2008, a chart was constructed with an index of disproportionality. Numbers higher than one amount equal greater disproportionality; numbers less than one amount equal less disproportionality. The chart showed that when the work began, African-American children were 1.4 times more likely to be removed than were Anglo children; Hispanics less so; Native American children were 1.6 times more likely to be removed (note: numbers for Native American children are small and inconsistent). By 2008, the numbers had dropped to about 1.2 times more likely to be removed for African-American children.
Charted results indicated the numbers dropped in four of the five counties where disproportionality existed, so the conclusion can be reached that change has been effected in disproportionate numbers of African-American children who are removed to care. However, change is incomplete, in that the numbers have not been reduced to the same level as Anglo child removals and placements into care. Since fewer children were being removed, we needed to determine whether children remained safe. During the same period, 2005 to 2008, the African-American children's rates of repeat maltreatment during a six-month period were lower than that of Anglo children. We are now studying data on repeat maltreatment at a case level and over longer periods of time.
Caseworkers were surveyed, and this survey data was tied to the case load data and actual decisions that workers made. The relationship between case factors, race, and poverty can be difficult for caseworkers to understand. This phenomenon, called the fundamental attribution error, means that people tend to think that situations in people's lives are not as powerful as they really are and attribute cause to people themselves. Dr. Baumann states that all people are prone to making this error, not just caseworkers. For example, when poverty, a situational factor, is in play, people tend to think the effect of poverty is less powerful in people's lives than it actually is. When workers think they have less interpersonal skills, they tend to have greater disparities in removals as well. Thus, when caseworkers feel they are not culturally competent, they tend to remove more African-American children.
Having more African-American or Hispanic families on a caseload is associated with fewer disparate removals. Exposure to other cultures lessens disparate removals. It is also important to note research findings that indicate more removals are likely to occur in communities that have less than adequate resources. A caseworker is more inclined to remove a child if the caseworker believes that services necessary to ensure the child's safety are not available in the community.
The family group decision-making conferences have improved the overall rates for reunification and exits to kinship placements, respectively, and decreased the disproportionate rates for both types of exits
Ms. Strauch thanked Dr. Baumann for his report, and then asked Ms. Bryant to make a few comments.
Ms. Bryant attended the Texas Story event as a guest speaker. She has participated in the Undoing Racism training and would recommend the training for others who have the opportunity to participate. According to Ms. Bryant, the primary concern to CPS is protection of children. Disproportionality training benefits children and families and staff, and the training should be embraced.
Ms. Epperson thanked Ms. James for her passion for this issue; noting the importance of the disproportionality work.
Dr. Robinson commented on cultural differences between caseworkers and families, and asked about cultural sensitivity training. Ms. James replied that CPS has incorporated Knowing Who You Are into the Basic Skills Development (BSD) course. Knowing Who You Are is a racial and ethnic identity formation training that addresses cultural competency. Leadership has committed to providing this training to managers as well.
A plan to make cultural competency training accessible to all DFPS employees is under development and will be presented to Commissioner Heiligenstein and the executive team. Additionally, each region has a disproportionality specialist, and CPS Regional Directors are grounded in this work. Regional staff are involved in talk-backs, think-tanks, and liberated zones to encourage continued work on the issue of cultural competency.
Ms. Strauch thanked Dr. Baumann for his presentation, and Ms. James for her commitment to the issue. She then thanked Carolyne Rodriguez and Casey for their continued support of so many of the important issues the department is addressing; stating it is impossible for the Council and the public to know about all of the incredible work taking place. We tend to read the spectacular and the extraordinary; however, much of the work taking place is systemic. Ms. Strauch is proud to hear about the department's efforts to understand and end disproportionality.
5.b. Tablet PC Demonstration Videos - Michele Carter, IT Project Manager
Ms. Carter demonstrated how to use a tablet PC, using her own tablet which is her sole automation device. She takes her tablet everywhere, on the road and to meetings, and she utilizes it to give presentations, take notes, and to work remotely. Ms. Carter played a three minute video showing how caseworkers are being trained to use their tablets before, during and after their visits with families.
Commissioner Heiligenstein thanked Ms. Carter, Terri Ware, and everyone involved in creating this video. Tablet PCs are a significant investment in electronic tools by the Legislature that occurred as part of Child Protective Services and Adult Protective Services reform. Mobile use of the tablets is a very efficient way to work, enabling caseworkers to maximize the amount of time they have for face-to-face contact with families.
Ms. Papadopoulos asked whether the battery could be charged while driving, and Ms. Carter responded in the affirmative. Dr. Robinson asked if the tablet also has a GPS tracker to compute shortest distance between travel points. The tablet has Streets and Trips mapping software which allows users to determine the shortest route.
Ms. Epperson asked if caseworkers are visiting more clients per day now that they have tablets. Ms. Carter replied that the research had not been done yet; however, the department has recently implemented the latest mobile protective services software, the application used when caseworkers are out in the field. After this application is deployed in March, the department will be able to run and utilize MPS reports.
Mr. Rosenbach asked what percentage of staff has a tablet PC and is using the tablet PCs in the field. Ms. Carter replied that when a caseworker receives a tablet, it becomes their only automation device. With regards to using the tablets during home visits, we have found that staff still struggle with using the tablets in a mobile environment. In response, training will provide more time for practice. Scripted practice scenarios have been developed for this reason.
Commissioner Heiligenstein stated how much easier it is for staff who are hired and trained to use the tools, rather than training someone who is accustomed to working in a different environment. More sophisticated technologies allow greater efficiency opportunities. Commissioner also mentioned state-issued cell phones are replacing standard business phones to further increase staff mobility. Ms. Strauch thanked Ms. Carter and stated that she looks forward to updates.
5.c. Commissioner's Report to include: Caseload Forecasts, Program Realignment, Foster Care Redesign, Notification of Rule Adoptions, and Other Major Initiatives - Anne Heiligenstein
Commissioner Heiligenstein reported an increase in case load this past year, particularly as of last fall. Traditionally, as the economy weakens, families' needs for services become greater. Additionally, there were several very tragic, and highly publicized, child deaths in cases where CPS had prior contact with someone in the household. Tragic child deaths and increased service needs will always have an effect on staff in terms of second-guessing decisions made and assessing manageable risk and can result in a higher number of removals.
Of due concern is the family-based safety services program, which is the program to help children remain in their own homes, avoiding the trauma of removal and placement in foster care. The department has taken steps to infuse resources into this program due to our belief that children grow best when safe within their own families. One action taken was to realign staff; this past fall, we filled positions appropriated by the Legislature and ensured that staff was appropriately placed in the types of jobs and geographic areas where they were most needed.
There is an appropriation cap on the number of jobs the department can have on the payroll, and although we were within the cap, some of the jobs were not located where the greatest workloads were, or in the stages of service, or types of jobs that were needed in order to keep children safe. Staff had to be adjusted through the program realignment.
584 staff were management transferred within CPS. They experienced no loss in pay and their new positions are within 30 miles of their previous office locations. Approximately 176 staff were paraprofessional or clerical support staff who could not be placed within DFPS. These staff members have have been placed at the Health and Human Services Commission. Approximately 880 staff have been affected by this realignment; no one was left without a job, and no one was asked to take a decrease in salary. Some staff were required to move to a different headquarter site, but in no case did that site ever exceed 30 miles from their existing headquarter site, in order to ensure a commutable distance.
Commissioner Heiligenstein is very, very proud of DFPS staff. When something like the program realignment happens, the change can be disruptive and painful for staff members. DFPS staff are very good at what they do, and when they are told they will be given a different assignment, and it is not an assignment of choice, it is very hard on them. However they have understood the need to have our resources maximized in family based safety service caseworkers.
The rule-making process has been instrumental in implementing Fostering Connections. This time next year, CPS will have the ability to financially support children who are placed with relatives. For those children who the courts decide cannot go home to their parents safely, for whom adoption is not the best solution, CPS will work with parents to find relatives who are willing and able to protect and care for the child, allowing the child to grow up with family.
The disproportionality work presented earlier is an important and effective tool. CPS will soon be able to provide monetary support to families who do not have the financial wherewithal to care for additional children in their home, but who are able to provide nurturing, loving care for an additional child. Commissioner Heiligenstein is very excited about this Fostering Connections initiative as it is a landmark step in terms of improving and accelerating the work to end disproportionality in Texas.
The department continues to strengthen the training programs for staff. A tremendous infusion of additional staff, literally thousands, has resulted in a green, or not completely matured, workforce who will continue to improve with training and experience. The department, specifically CPS and the Center for Learning and Organizational Excellence (CLOE), are working with the National Resource Center, which provides technical support. It is most important that first-line unit supervisors have the competency skills needed to guide, support, nurture, and develop the caseworkers reporting to them. The department staffed up so quickly that many supervisors do not have much tenure themselves; the department needs to be sure those supervisors have been given the tools necessary to support good decision-making.
DFPS has undertaken a major new project to redesign foster care. When we talked with children, particularly the teenagers in foster care, to learn what we do well and what we do wrong, they are very clear about what we have done wrong: we have taken them very far from their homes, separated them from their siblings, disrupted their care and/or moved them to a new foster placement too often.
We must work to ensure the foster care system is meeting our children's needs when they can not be kept safe in their own homes. We must strive to keep these children close to home where they can remain connected to their family, school, and friends; place them with siblings as often as possible; and be sure they have a continuum of care. We have got to recognize a procurement, contract, and reimbursement structure that reflects and gives us the wherewithal to be able to deliver this kind of system.
Ms. James and CPS Assistant Commissioner Audrey Deckinga are working with national experts to design options/proposals for the foster care redesign. Joyce James is the Co-Chair for the Public/Private Partnership (PPP) which brings together the agency, providers, and judges, one retired and three active. The PPP will be making recommendations to the Commissioner regarding the foster care redesign. This will be done hand-in-hand with other stakeholders, including other providers and entities, judges, and CASA volunteers. The department will continue to keep the Council and legislative decision-makers apprised of progress for the foster care redesign.
In preparation for the next legislative session, HHSC agencies are entering into the strategic planning process where we plan for the direction of the agency over the next several years. This process requires the department to ask such questions as: What are risks and the challenges that we face as an agency? What is on the horizon for the issues we will need to deal with in the future? And the agency will have to prepare for the Legislative Appropriation Request for next session. The Council's input and the public's input are both very important to the strategic planning process, and the Council's help and support is most appreciated.
Another issue the department is addressing is the very large number of deaths of infants due to incorrect positional sleeping. Last year alone, CPS investigated 166 infant deaths that occurred while the infants were sleeping with adults or other children. Regrettably, poverty is often the reason that people share their beds with infants; or they share their beds because it seems loving and nurturing to sleep with your infant, but in fact, it can be very dangerous. DFPS and the Department of State Health Services (DSHS), have started the Room to Breathe campaign. Intent of Room to Breathe is to get word out to the public that it is dangerous for babies to sleep on couches or to sleep in cribs with lots of padding and blankets. Professionals advised "dress the baby; not the bed" because an infant's breathing system is not yet well-developed, and the extra pillows, blankets, etc. can create quite a risk. DFPS and DSHS are working together, as a protection agency and a health agency, to give parents information on how to be sure their baby sleeps safe and to avoid some of these tragic deaths.
DFPS is also working on the Why Not Me? adoption campaign. This campaign reminds the public that 6,000 children are waiting to be adopted; it asks families, couples and single adults to ask themselves, "why not me?" Some terrific strides have been made over the past few years in terms of the numbers of children being adopted; the number has increased 43 percent, but Texas still needs families for waiting children.
Ms. Papadopoulos asked whether the increased number of intakes and case loads has affected APS as well as CPS. APS Assistant Commissioner, Beth Engelking, stated that APS is also experiencing an increase in intakes and caseloads.
Ms. Papadopoulos asked the department to continue monitoring intake and case loads, citing the age of the baby-boomer generation and stating that the department must be prepared for the upsurge. Commissioner Heiligenstein responded that the same demographic boom that went through the public school system in the 1950s will put stress on the systems that care for seniors. It is going to be an extraordinary problem, not just for Texas but for the entire country.
5.d. Chair's Report - Ommy Strauch
Ms. Strauch noted the incredible amount of work that goes into preparing for the presentations, updates, and ongoing work of the Council meetings and work sessions. Some issues garner a lot of attention, and work on other issues quietly goes on; we would not be able to hear about all of the department's initiatives if this were not the case.
Ms. Strauch is pleased that the two newest Council members have attended a child welfare board meeting and other activities in their respective areas. This involvement has given them a better understanding of the work going on locally. Ms. Strauch is serving as a member of the Public/Private Partnership and looks forward to the work the partnership is doing. She and Dr. Furukawa attended the monthly adoption ceremony in San Antonio, where over 100 children were being adopted, with about 500 people in attendance. Justice O'Neill officiated and gave words of encouragement. Ms. Strauch encouraged the other Council members to try to attend an adoption ceremony in their areas as it is heart-warming.
Ms. Papadopoulos is being recognized by the Houston Jewish Community Center. She is the honoree for a particular event at which she and her work in the community will be recognized. Specifically, she is being recognized for her involvement with children and seniors. We commend her.
Ms. Strauch is working with the department on making the Council liaison assignments; several Council members who have asked to keep their current responsibilities will do so. Ms. Bryant will continue working with the Disproportionality Advisory Task Force. Ms. Papadopoulos will remain with APS, and Ms. Martin will work with Child Care Licensing. We will continue to make assignments for the remaining Council members.
6. New Business
6.a. Recommendation to propose rule changes to 40 TAC, Chapter 711, Investigations in DADS Mental Retardation and DSHS Mental Health Facilities and Related Programs - Beth Engelking, APS
Ms. Engelking introduced Kez Wold, the new APS Director of Field as of January 1. Coming from Region 7 as the Regional Director, he brings a wealth of experience and enthusiasm.
Ms. Engelking requested the Council recommend to Commissioner Heiligenstein and Executive Commissioner Suehs that the rules be published in the Texas Register for formal public comment.
Ms. Papadopoulos moved that Council recommend for proposal by the Health and Human Services Commission the amendments and new section in Chapter 711 concerning investigation in DADS Mental Retardation and DSHS Mental Health Facilities and related programs, as reflected in the Council's January 15, 2010 agenda item 6.a. Dr. Robinson seconded. The motion passed.
6.b. Recommendation to propose rule changes in 40 TAC, Chapter 700, Strengthening Families Through Enhanced In-Home Support Program - Audrey Deckinga, CPS
Ms. Deckinga recognized Pastor Hendricks, Travis County Chair of the Disproportionality Advisory Task Force, and thanked him for all his work in Travis Country and Region 7.
Ms. Deckinga requested the Council approve the proposed rule action in regard to the Strengthening Families through Enhanced In-Home Support Program, which had been discussed at length during the previous day's work session.
Ms. Epperson moved that the Council recommend for proposal by the Health and Human Services Commission the amendments, repeal, and new sections concerning Strengthening Families Through Enhanced In-Home Support Program, as reflected in the Council's January 15, 2010 agenda item 6.b. Mr. Rosenbach seconded. The motion passed.
6.c. Recommendation to repeal rules in 40 TAC, Chapter 700, relating to permanency planning for foster children - Audrey Deckinga, CPS
Ms. Deckinga requested the Council consider the proposed rule action, as discussed in the work session, and that the Council recommend repeal of the rules regarding permanency planning that are currently in TAC.
Ms. Bryant moved the Council recommend the proposal by the Health and Human Services Commission for the repeal of 700.1203 and 700.1207 concerning permanency planning for foster children, as reflected in the Council's January 15, 2010, agenda item 6.c. Ms. Martin seconded. The motion passed.
6.d. Recommendation to propose rule changes in 40 TAC, 745 Licensing, to support and implement Senate Bill 68 - Sasha Rasco, CCL
CCL Assistant Commissioner Sasha Rasco expressed appreciation for Senator Nelson and her staff in their work in passing Senate Bill 68, the impetus for the rule packet. It is a complex bill that carried much needed clarification and added authority for the Department. In the Council's packet is implementation information of the most significant pieces of that bill related to exemptions, background checks, and the change in time period for denial from two to five years after revocation of a license.
Ms. Rasco requested the Council recommend to Commissioner Heiligenstein and Executive Commission Suehs that these rules and the revision to 745.139, as previously discussed in the work session, be proposed and published in the Texas Register for formal public comment.
Dr. Robinson moved the Council recommend for proposal by the Health and Human Service Commission the amendments, repeals, and new sections concerning licensing rules to support and implement Senate Bill 68, as reflected in the Council's January 15, 2010 agenda item 6.d., and revision to 745.139. Mr. Rosenbach seconded. The motion passed.
Ms. Strauch thanked everyone who made presentations at the work session. Having such comprehensive presentations of issues during the work sessions combined with the opportunity for the Council to ask and have their questions answered by staff makes for much more effective Council meetings.
Agenda Item 7 - Old Business
7.a. Recommendation to adopt rule changes in 40 TAC, Chapter 702, Section 702.425 regarding CPS youth in TYC placements or under TYC supervised release or parole - Audrey Deckinga, CPS
Ms. Deckinga requested the Council recommend to Commissioner Heiligenstein and Executive Commissioner Suehs the adoption of the rules in reference to the MOU between DFPS and TYC.
Ms. Epperson moved the Council recommend for adoption by the Health and Human Service Commission new 702.425, concerning CPS youth and TYC placements or under TYC supervised release or parole, as reflected in the Council's January 15, 2010 agenda item 7.a. Ms. Martin seconded. The motion passed.
7.b. Recommendation to adopt rule changes in 40 TAC, Chapter 746, Licensed Child-Care Centers and Chapter 747, Registered and Licensed Child-Care Homes to implement legislative changes regarding gang-free zones, transportation training, and unsafe child products - Sasha Rasco, CCL
Ms. Rasco reminded the Council and the public that Child Care Licensing is not proposing adoption of any rules related to booster seats in vehicles at this time. Ms. Rasco requested the Council recommend to Commissioner Heiligenstein and Executive Commissioner Suehs that these rules be adopted related to the implementation of House Bill 2086, Senate Bill 572, and Senate Bill 95 in child daycare centers.
Mr. Rosenbach moved the Council recommend for adoption by the Health and Human Service Commission licensing amendments and new sections concerning changes in Child-Care Centers and Child-Care Homes to implement legislation, as reflected in the Council's January 15, 2010 agenda item 7.b. Ms. Bryant seconded. The motion passed.
7.c. Recommendation to adopt rule changes to 40 TAC, Chapter 745, Licensing, Chapter 748, General Residential Operations and Residential Treatment Centers, and Chapter 749, Child-Placing Agencies relating to legislative changes regarding posting a revocation or denial on the DFPS website, and transportation training - Sasha Rasco, CCL
Ms. Rasco reported this rule packet implements House Bill 1012 related to the exemptions of those conducting court-ordered social studies; Senate Bill 61, Section 2 related to definition of general residential operations; Senate Bill 68, Section 17 related to posting a revocation, denial, or suspension notice on our website; and Senate Bill 572, related to transportation safety. She requested the Council recommend to Commissioner Heiligenstein and Executive Commissioner Suehs that these rules be adopted.
Dr. Robinson moved the Council recommend for adoption by the Health and Human Services Commission the residential child care amendments concerning changes in general residential operations, residential treatment centers, and child-placing agencies to implement legislation, as reflected in the Council's January 15, 2010 agenda item 7.c. Ms. Martin seconded. Ms. Papadopoulos inquired whether the rules relating to safety restraints had also been withdrawn from this proposal. Ms. Rasco confirmed. Without further discussion, the motion passed.
As follow-up to the rule making process from the October Council Meeting, Commissioner Heiligenstein stated that of the seven rule packets for consideration, three had no public comment and have been submitted to Executive Commissioner Suehs with recommendation to adopt them. One packet related to extending foster care benefits and transitional living services, a part of Fostering Connections. Another packet related to the Permanency Care Assistance Program; again part of Fostering Connections, which will ensure that we have the rules in place to implement by September 1, 2010, our ability to have children in paid guardianship care with relatives as their permanency plan. The third packet recommended for adoption related to the Fostering Connections Act and adoption assistance, including our ability to extend adoption assistance benefits.
The recommendation to proposed rules regarding release of certain information related to child fatalities is being prepared for submission to HHHC. Legislation passed last session, Senate Bill 1050, which requires us to provide information on a routine basis to the public regarding fatalities of children being investigated. No comments were received on this rule packet either.
APS intake data requested by Ms. Papadopoulos earlier in the meeting will be emailed to the Council members.
Agenda Item 8 - Adjourn
Ms. Strauch adjourned the meeting at 10:30 a.m.


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On a daily basis, you do not appreciate the great work done by hand joints. It is thanks to them that you write by hand or on a computer, you bind your shoes, improve your pillow, put on your hairstyle and apply cream on your face. Thanks to them you are able to grow, DIY and cook. In a word, you need them every minute of your life. What would happen if the hand joints immobilized overnight and ceased to perform their functions? Such a scenario may happen to all of us – although adverse changes do not progress rapidly, gradually take away efficiency. The cause of this process may be arthritis of the hands. Check if you are within reach of this condition and how you can help yourself.
Inflammatory changes including palms generally accompany arthritis, or rheumatoid arthritis. In typical cases, the initial stage of the disease focuses on the joints of the hands – the inflammation first attacks the metacarpophalangeal joints (sites of the fingers attachment) and the interphalangeal joints (places at the middle of the fingers). Inflammation of the hand joints usually occurs symmetrically, i.e. it takes both hands simultaneously. Mostly, women aged 40-50 suffer from RA, and the main cause of this disease has not been found so far. It was only established that inflammation induces an immune system that, due to an unknown error, attacks the body's cells and treats them as pathogenic pathogens. It is believed that the factors that promote RA are, among others hormonal changes (which may explain the prevalence of falling ill among women), frequent injuries, long-term overloads, infections and genes.
Because RA is responsible for a series of more or less characteristic ailments, we focus on the symptoms directly related to the hand. Acquired joints ache and stiffen (morning stiffness is a typical symptom of RA), which makes it difficult for the patient to perform normal work. The progressive chronic condition is manifested by edema, as well as warming and redness of the skin above the joints.
At the initial stage of the disease, arthritis of the hands can cause a number of nuisance symptoms, such as: numbness and tingling of the fingers, sensitivity to low temperatures, the impression of "dying" hands.
Due to the chronic and progressive nature of the disease, patients must accept gradual weakening of muscle strength and fitness. The patient has difficulty with clenching a hand in a fist and catching objects, sometimes even simple activities (eg clothes) require a lot of effort.
Chronic inflammation of the hands also leads to unnatural flexion of the fingers (ulnarisation, "swan neck", toe fingers), which not only constitutes a difficult to accept cosmetic defect, but also seriously hinders precise movements. The appearance of the hand is also aggravated by the painless rheumatoid nodules occurring above the erectile surfaces of the joints. The place occupied by inflammation can also be recognized by the changed skin, which becomes thin, damp and cool to the touch.
Treatment of RA, and thus arthritis of the hands, takes place in a long-term and using various methods. First, the symptoms of inflammation are silenced by the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and glucocorticosteroids. At the same time, disease-modifying drugs are introduced that are able to stop further joint damage and loss of fitness. In addition, the doctor may decide to include biological drugs that are most effective in suppressing the progress of RA, and at the same time do not cause such serious side effects as NSAIDs or steroids.
Since arthritis of the hands leads to a gradual loss of fitness, it is very important to stop this process with the help of rehabilitation. RA patients are referred to, among others for massages, laser therapy and iontophoresis. Kinesitherapy (or rehabilitation gymnastics) plays a special role in the treatment of the disease, thanks to which the patient partly regains grip strength and the ability to move his fingers and is also able to perform more precise activities. People with arthritis of the hands are also advised to moderate sports – only disciplines that overly stress the joints, i.e. tennis, weightlifting, volleyball and basketball, should be avoided. In addition, ask your doctor or dietitian for proper nutrition at the affected joints.


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About AFSM
LThe Asian Federation of Sports Medicine (AFSM) was instated in the year of 1990 during the time of 11th Asian Games, held in Beijing. The federation is one of the multinational, continentally divided entities, governed by outlined regulations of the International Federation of Sports Medicine (FIMS). Up till now, it has thirty National Sports Medicine Association members, which continue to grow. The purpose for which AFSM stands today is to cultivate and advance the use and awareness of Sports Medicine in Asia. The charter, manifesto, managerial rules and regulations, and administrative structures that the organization holds are all built under the commands and policies laid by FIMS, which was set up in 1928.
Federation's History
The initiative to form an organized and independent Asian wing for Sports Medicine was taken in 1987. But the idea was successfully implemented in 1990 during FIMS' parliamentary gathering in Amsterdam where the Asian delegation joined FIMS in a preliminary meeting. Hence in the days of Asian Games in Beijing, Asian Federation of Sports Medicine (AFSM) was instituted and Professor Qu. was selected as the first President of the federation. After the commencement of the elementary operations of the organization, a few Sports Medicine courses were offered in Philippine and China during the years 1990-1992. After two years of its establishment, the first AFSM parliamentary conference (Congress) was held in Hong Kong. Later on, AFSM has organized twelve congress meetings in different Asian countries at different times. The purpose to hold such meetings is to reinforce the federation's agenda and sort out all potential issues that might hinder its smooth functioning and operations.
AFSM's mission is to nurture and promote Sports Medicine in Asia, direct federation's efforts for continuous improvement in the given field and strive for health and fitness for all.


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K-12 Education:
Public High Schools with More Students in Poverty and Smaller Schools Provide Fewer Academic Offerings to Prepare for College
GAO-19-8: Published: Oct 11, 2018. Publicly Released: Oct 26, 2018.
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What GAO Found
Students in relatively poor and small schools had less access to high school courses that help prepare them for college, according to GAO's analysis of Department of Education (Education) data for school year 2015-16 (the most recent available). While most public high schools, regardless of poverty level, offered courses like algebra and biology, disparities in access were associated with school poverty level for more advanced courses like calculus, physics, and those that may allow students to earn college credit, like Advanced Placement (AP) courses (see figure). High-poverty schools were less likely to offer the math and science courses that most public 4-year colleges expect students to take in high school, according to GAO's analysis of college websites. GAO's regression analysis also showed that smaller schools and certain types of schools, like charter schools, are less likely to offer the college preparatory math or science courses that many colleges look for during the admissions process.
Courses Offered in Public High Schools, by School Poverty Level
Note: The low poverty quartile represents those schools with 0-24.9 percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (FRPL), and the high poverty quartile represents those schools with 75-100 percent eligible for FRPL.
Officials GAO interviewed in selected high-poverty high schools said their students can face a number of complex challenges in preparing for college. For instance, officials said that many students are academically behind when they enter high school and are unable to progress to more advanced courses. Further, high-poverty schools may not offer rigorous courses, such as AP courses, due to lack of resources or teaching staff. Students in high-poverty schools also face other stressors that can make going to college challenging. Officials at 9 of the 12 schools GAO visited cited the effects of poverty on their students, such as homelessness, hunger, and trauma, that make preparing for college difficult. School officials also said the steps involved in applying to and enrolling in college can be difficult to navigate for many students in high-poverty schools. Officials in selected schools reported efforts to address these challenges, such as offering free college courses and obtaining outside supports to assist with college advising.
Why GAO Did This Study
Poverty can have a profound effect on academic outcomes and college readiness and students from low-income families are less likely to go to college. The low rates of degree attainment for low-income students raises questions about whether the students who wish to pursue higher education have access to courses that support their readiness for college. GAO was asked to review college preparatory course offerings in U.S. high schools.
This report (1) examines the extent to which high schools of different poverty levels offer courses to prepare students academically for college, and (2) describes the challenges students in high-poverty schools face being prepared to attend college. GAO analyzed 2015-16 Education data on course offerings by school poverty level, type, and size, and developed a generalized linear regression model to explore whether certain school-level characteristics may be associated with course offerings; reviewed a generalizable sample of public 4-year college websites for course requirements for admission; and interviewed officials from Education and the Department of Justice. GAO also conducted site visits to 12 high-poverty high schools in 3 states selected to provide variation in course offerings, among other things. In this review, GAO focused on public 4-year colleges because they offer a bachelor's degree and are generally a more affordable 4-year option.
For more information, contact Jacqueline M. Nowicki at (617) 788-0580 or firstname.lastname@example.com.
Dec 3, 2019
Special Education:IDEA Dispute Resolution Activity in Selected States Varied Based on School Districts' CharacteristicsGAO-20-22: Published: Nov 4, 2019. Publicly Released: Dec 3, 2019.
Oct 24, 2019
Private School Choice:Accountability in State Tax Credit Scholarship ProgramsGAO-19-664: Published: Sep 24, 2019. Publicly Released: Oct 24, 2019.
Oct 2, 2019
Foster Care:Education Could Help States Improve Educational Stability for Youth in Foster CareGAO-19-616: Published: Sep 19, 2019. Publicly Released: Oct 2, 2019.
Sep 19, 2019
Public Service Loan Forgiveness:Opportunities for Education to Improve Both the Program and Its Temporary Expanded ProcessGAO-19-717T: Published: Sep 19, 2019. Publicly Released: Sep 19, 2019.
Sep 12, 2019
Higher Education:More Information Could Help Student Parents Access Additional Federal Student AidGAO-19-522: Published: Aug 20, 2019. Publicly Released: Sep 12, 2019.
Sep 5, 2019
Public Service Loan Forgiveness:Improving the Temporary Expanded Process Could Help Reduce Borrower ConfusionGAO-19-595: Published: Sep 5, 2019. Publicly Released: Sep 5, 2019.
Jul 25, 2019
Federal Student Loans:Education Needs to Verify Borrowers' Information for Income-Driven Repayment PlansGAO-19-347: Published: Jun 25, 2019. Publicly Released: Jul 25, 2019.
Jul 24, 2019
K-12 Education:School Districts' Efforts to Address Lead-Based PaintGAO-19-461R: Published: Jul 9, 2019. Publicly Released: Jul 24, 2019.
Jul 15, 2019
K-12 Education:Certain Groups of Students Attend Alternative Schools in Greater Proportions Than They Do Other SchoolsGAO-19-373: Published: Jun 13, 2019. Publicly Released: Jul 15, 2019.
Jul 11, 2019
K-12 Education:Education Should Take Immediate Action to Address Inaccuracies in Federal Restraint and Seclusion Data [Reissued with revisions on July 11, 2019.]GAO-19-551R: Published: Jun 18, 2019. Publicly Released: Jun 18, 2019.
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Doctor Rat (Fiction)
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Winner of the World Fantasy Award
A bloodcurdling novel in the spirit of ANIMAL FARM and 1984, DOCTOR RAT is a trip through a laboratory worthy of a Nazi mad doctor, except this doctor is a wisecracking rodent who could have been played by Groucho Marx. The London Times called DOCTOR RAT, "a splendidly nutty animal Magnificat with echoes of William Blake."
"Doctor Rat is weird and wonderful... Kotzwinkle attempts a spectacular feat of sympathetic imagination: to get inside the skin of a rat. It is a fantastic and ferocious Animal Factory Farm, a splendidly nutty Magnificat with echoes of William Blake." - The London Times
"Doctor Rat is dazzlingly original, witty and insanely satiric. It is also occasionally quite beautiful. Kotzwinkle's tale is a dizzying montage... from scenes of gross black humor in the experimental lab to idyllic glimpses of the animal kingdom. Designed to shock us into ecological awareness, Kotzwinkle's lab experiments are hair-raising." - Los Angeles Times
"A clout from the pen of a modern Zen master of the literary world." - New Musical Express
"It's as good as Gulliver's Travels and Kotzwinkle is very close to Jonathan Swift... a masterwork by a WAY-out writer." - Readers Syndicate
"Mr. Kotzwinkle is a first-rate fabulist." - John Leonard, The New York Times
"Doctor Rat is a fascinating book, full of deeply felt emotion, important ideas, and heartbreaking insights." - Charleston Evening Post
"Kotzwinkle is a truly imaginative impresario of the might-almost-be-true and here he spins a new fable on the cyclometered wheels in the laboratory of Doctor Rat. How can you not enjoy Doctor Rat? It teases your conscience with educated wit and versatile improvisation, not to mention the casual flick of a tail about to be cut off." - Kirkus Reviews
"A comic triumph... Doctor Rat is thoroughly anthropomorphic, very funny, and not lacking in the bite of truth essential to good satire. " - The New Scientist
"Kotzwinkle is always in control. His writing has an eloquent sense of timing and brevity, and his quisling rodent proves to be an ingenious device, one that cleverly wisecracks us into a gut-churning realization of just how self-oriented and inhumane our species really is." - Book Letter
"A faint but authentic Blakeian echo in Mr. Kotzwinkle's rage gives the book the voltage necessary to bypass insulating ideas and strike right into the emotions." - The Listener
Chapter 1
* * * *
In the colony I'm known as Doctor Rat. Having been part of this laboratory so long and having studied so carefully, it's only right I be given some mark of distinction other than the tattoo on the inside of my ear, a mark that all the other rats have too. Some of them have tattoos and V-shaped wedges cut out of their ears. Some even have three or four wedges cut out of their ears, but that doesn't mean they are as learned as I. It simply means they have had the liver removed (one wedge), the liver and pituitary gland removed (two wedges), liver, pituitary and pineal glands removed (three wedges), and so forth. After they remove your heart, no more wedges are needed, ha ha!
Then they just bottle your bones, bottle your bones.
But I've come to enjoy the smell of formaline--a 5% solution is satisfactory for removing all the soft parts of a rat's body. Yes, the smell is pleasing to my nose because I know the bones aren't mine.
From my platform here in the maze, I can watch the whole procedure--a dead rat is now being dunked in the formaline. Soon all the soft parts of his body will fall away. Then a simple solution of sodium carbonate, bleaching powder, and water is sufficient to take off the rest of any muscles or fat left hanging. The expense is not great. To the rat involved, of course, the expense is complete, but what does he care, he's free!
Death is freedom, that's my slogan. I do what I can for my fellow rats, giving them the best advice. For after all is said and done, the Final Solution (5% formaline) is death, and death is freedom.
My own case is not unusual. I was driven mad in the mazes. The primary symptoms of shivering, whirling, and biting have all passed now, but I've been left with the curiously mad practice of writing songs and poetry. Obviously this is somewhat out of place in a scientific atmosphere and I do my best to suppress the tendency, giving all my attention to writing learned, factual papers. I like to think they're the very latest word in animal behavior.
Well, why shouldn't they be? I'm intimate with all the animal behavior programs. There's an interesting demonstration going on in the lab at the moment: A young rat has just been placed on a small metal stand. His back paws have been pierced by thumb tacks which hold them in place nicely; his front paws are raised onto the metal stand and tied there, so he'll remain in an upright position. His eyes dart about. I can feel the racing of his heart, and I call to him, giving him moral support.
"Don't worry, fellow rat, it won't take long."
"What are they doing to me!"
"Nothing that won't be done to all of us, sooner or later, dear brother. Remember the slogan, death is freedom."
"I don't want to die!"
The Learned Professor who directs the many and varied experiments in our lab has now stepped up to the stand. Carefully, coolly, he makes the cisternal puncture, draining out the rat's spinal fluid. The rat wants to die now, I assure you.
Death is freedom, brother!
Now bottle his bones, bottle his bones.
His spinal fluid is being examined by one of our graduate assistants and now the assistant is pouring it down the sink. He's getting better at this experiment. It's part of my work to spot the promising young scientists and feature them in my Newsletter. At first, this lad's hands were nervous and trembling. He looked a little like a young rat about to be castrated--those weighing more than 30 grams are discarded at birth. But after practicing on fifty-two rats, the boy is really solid. With a smile of accomplishment he washes out his test tube.
Now over here, in a thermos bottle of ice, you'll see several young rats being cooled to two degrees below zero centigrade.
"Doctor Rat, we're f-f-f-freezing!"
"That is correct, my friends, and soon you'll be c-c-c-castrated, as I am. But you won't feel a thing. Your nuts will be numb and they'll come off without a hitch."
"Please, Doctor Rat, h-h-h-help us!"
"My dear friends, don't worry. After your b-b-b-balls are removed, you'll get your p-p-p-picture in the Newsletter, and it goes all over the world."
In this way, I spread good cheer throughout the lab, helping my fellow rats to understand the important role they play in global affairs.
I should now like to sing "Three Blind Rats." It's part of the experimental program of music that's being channeled toward certain rats, to make them more docile and sweet. Several of them are indeed beginning to nuzzle up to each other, one of them even executing a light-fantastic tripping of his tail, in time to the beat.
In the cage beside them, we actually have three blind rats. In fact, we have twenty-three blind rats, part of a magnificent new experiment initiated by a very ambitious student, whom I'm featuring in this month's Newsletter. He's a sensitive chap and it was his exquisite sensitivity that caused him to dream up the item that's become the latest rage here at the lab: the fabulous removal of the eggs from a female rat's body and the grafting of them to different parts of a male rat's body--to the tail, to the ear, to the stomach. And for the past twenty-three days, he's been grafting them to their eyeballs! So now it's time we sang that promising young scientist a song. I'm stepping to the center of the maze and climbing the Reward Ladder from which I can be clearly seen by all.
"Brother and Sister Rats, members of the choir, I should like us all to sing 'Three Blind Rats,' as part of our research program. Sing:
* * * *
Three Blind Rats
Eyeballs gone
See how they run
See how they run
We all run after the graduate life
And cut off your balls with a carving knife
Did you ever see such a grant in your life
For Three Blind Rats!"
The voices of the rats in the Hemorrhagic Sore Cage are truly well trained. You will observe one of them being pickled in a few moments. If left too long in the Final Solution the smaller bones will disintegrate. But if taken out in time, they can be scraped and brushed until they're shining clean, and the Learned Professor likes to see that. Good clean bones every time. It gives him the feeling of a job completely and thoroughly done.
Where was I? Oh yes, that young man with the rat's eyeball. He's undoubtedly going to have one of the most unusual papers of the year. It ranks with removing the stomach and connecting the esophagus with the duodenum.
Is that a scream I hear? Oh do, oh do, oh do, oh duodenum, with decapitation as the terminal procedure. I want every one of you to make sure that you die calmly, without any show of fear or twitching, in order that the young scientists will be able to dispense with you neatly and quickly. Remember X-rays can be taken of the rat after its sacrifice by slicing the head with a sharp saw or razor, after which we'll be cutting up your carcass into four parts with a cleaver.
Isn't that a scream?
Is that a scream I hear?
Yes, it is, just down the row of cages. Shall we move along and take a few notes? "Help, help!"
"Please, young fellow, there's no need to get so worked up about your little contribution to science. Have a bit of pressed biscuit before you die. Eat hearty and remember--death is freedom!"
"What are they doing to me, Doctor Rat?"
"Let me just check my notes . . . yes, here we are. You'll be the tenth rat this week to have his brains sucked out by a pneumatic tube."
"Help, help!"
I comfort my fellow rats where I can. It requires psychological understanding, of course. And having been driven insane, I hold the necessary degree in psychology.


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The AscTec Communication Interface (ACI) is a method of communication between your device and your local machine (remote software). It is designed for requesting variables, sending commands and setting parameters easily.
The operation is simple: The local machine asks the device, which variables, commands or parameters are available on the device with a full description of each of them. You can create your own packages to send or receive. The advantage of this method is that you can choose, which variables shall be received at which transmitting rate from the device, and which commands and parameters you want to send to or set on the device.
- Easy to Install You shall easily get in touch with our interfaces, so it has to be easy to install. For that, we created a tutorial to integrate ACI in our AscTec SDK 2.0. Also on the remote side, you only need a few lines of code to get your first results. Check out the tutorials for more informations.
- Testing easily You can check your written code for the device by using the AscTec ACI Tool. So you can easily check, if your code works. Also, if you only want to use the predefined variables, flash the UAV with one of our pre-compiled binaries.
- Fixed set variables, commands and parametes We created a list of all predefined variables, commands and parameters, which we are using. If one id was set by us to one variable, command or parameter, it will never be changed again. Every new variable will get a new id. So, you can be sure, that your code will also work, if we add new variables in our interfaces or your code runs on other AscTec UAVs with ACI support.
- Documentation We give our best to give you a good documentation for easily implementing your ideas. All important functions are explained trough our Doxygen documentation. A step by step tutorial helps you to learn the usage of our communication platform and gives you an imagination how to realize your project.
There are two different modules for the AscTec Communication Interface.
- ACI Device in C: A simple module for your device, where you can set easily, which variables, commands and parameters are available on the device and which of them the local machine can choose.
- ACI Remote in C: A small module written in C to get all variables, commands and parameters of the device. It only uses standard libraries and works on every operating system
This source code is distributed under the terms of the GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 3 (GPLv3). It is also available with a commercial license. Contact us for more information.


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You know that feeling you get when something makes you feel so euphoric and overwhelmed that you feel like your heart is swelling up?
Well, that's what I get when I see things like this.
(This can go in another category - cute animal activity - as I'm pretty sure there were baby parakeets inside that tree)
This is Richmond Park. It was so cold you would not BELIEVE, but so unbelievably beautiful and tranquil. Still no snow yet here in the capital, but I'm hoping by the time I escape from work this evening there will be.
But if not, there's always perfect autumnal days like these.


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Babagan awake dhewe
Text about our company
NCR iki diadegaké ing taun 2003, minangka salah siji saka manufaktur relay anjog ing China karo luwih saka 600 Staff. We are loman kanggo nandur modal ing peralatan produksi paling majeng lan teknologi donya. Output taunan luwih saka 100 yuta bêsik.
NCR owns two factories in Wenzhou and Jiaxing city, Zhejiang China,operating two brands seperately to serve for customers in different fields:
NCR: Home Appliances, Automotive, Smart Metering & Grid.
NNC: Industrial Control, Automation.
Product range includes Electromagnetic Relay, Latching Relay, Relay Socket, Solid State Relay, Power Semiconductor Module and Bridge Rectifier etc.
Wenzhou NCR INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD
NCR was established in 2003, as one of the leading relay manufacturers in China with more than 600 staff.


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Public list Gaming (Public) (2895):
LAI provides high-quality, human-based game localization services using a proprietary framework called ALF. ALF reduces localization cost by eliminating waste and unnecessary steps. ALF enables you to track projects, manage costs and stay in control.
Company (Alive / Active)
Phone: 650-571-7877
1660 S. Amphlett Blvd Suite 106
San Mateo, 94402
California, United States
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