WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden urged unity Sunday to address the “hate that remains a stain on the soul of America” after a deadly mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, while state officials pleaded for federal action to end the ”uniquely American phenomenon” of mass shootings.

(Click below to watch the President's comments)

Addressing an annual law enforcement ceremony at the U.S. Capitol, Biden said he and his wife, Jill, pray for those who were shot “by a lone gunman, armed with weapons of war and hate-filled soul,” and their families.

Authorities say a white 18-year-old male in military gear opened fire on shoppers and workers at the supermarket on Saturday, killing 10 people, including a retired Buffalo police officer, and wounding three others. Most of the victims were Black.

Law enforcement officials said Sunday that the gunman had researched the local demographics while looking for places with a high concentration of Black people.

“We must all work together to address the hate that remains a stain on the soul of America,” Biden said at the 41st annual National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service honoring fallen law enforcement officers. “Our hearts are heavy once again, but the resolve must never, ever waver.”

“No one understands this more than the people sitting in front of me,” he added.

Biden, speaking at the ceremony for the second time as president, did not address the calls by New York officials — Gov. Kathy Hochul and Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown — for strong federal action to end what Brown said is the ”uniquely American phenomenon” of mass shootings.

The president also did not mention gun control efforts that have stalled in Washington.

Brown expressed frustration that “thoughts and prayers” and pledges to act are offered after every mass shooting, only to be be blocked by “some on one side of the aisle.”

“It seems like there are those that believe owning a gun is more precious than the sanctity of human life,” the mayor told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “So I think people all across this country have to rise up. They have to speak more loudly and more clearly that there must be gun control in this country. This is a uniquely American phenomenon. These mass shootings don’t happen in other countries across the world.”

Brown said he would like to see “sensible gun control.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said tighter gun measures are “a huge priority” for Democrats and the White House. She bemoaned the 60-vote threshold needed in the 50-50 Senate that has made it difficult to advance such legislation, but she pledged on CNN’s “State of the Union” that “we are not going away until the job is done.”

Hochul said most of the illegal guns being used on the streets of her cities come from other states. “We need a national response,” she told NBC.

“We need other states to step up. We need the federal government on our side,” said Hochul, a Buffalo native.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden urged unity Sunday to address the “hate that remains a stain on the soul of America” after a deadly mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, while state officials pleaded for federal action to end the ”uniquely American phenomenon” of mass shootings.(Click below to watch the President's comments)<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWhiteHouse%2Fvideos%2F1912091172315320%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=343" width="560" height="314" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>Addressing an annual law enforcement ceremony at the U.S. Capitol, Biden said he and his wife, Jill, pray for those who were shot “by a lone gunman, armed with weapons of war and hate-filled soul,” and their families.Authorities say a white 18-year-old male in military gear opened fire on shoppers and workers at the supermarket on Saturday, killing 10 people, including a retired Buffalo police officer, and wounding three others. Most of the victims were Black.Law enforcement officials said Sunday that the gunman had researched the local demographics while looking for places with a high concentration of Black people.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Jill and I will travel to Buffalo on Tuesday to grieve with the community that lost ten lives in a senseless and horrific mass shooting.&mdash; President Biden (@POTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1526003099529355264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 16, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>“We must all work together to address the hate that remains a stain on the soul of America,” Biden said at the 41st annual National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service honoring fallen law enforcement officers. “Our hearts are heavy once again, but the resolve must never, ever waver.”“No one understands this more than the people sitting in front of me,” he added.Biden, speaking at the ceremony for the second time as president, did not address the calls by New York officials — Gov. Kathy Hochul and Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown — for strong federal action to end what Brown said is the ”uniquely American phenomenon” of mass shootings.The president also did not mention gun control efforts that have stalled in Washington.Brown expressed frustration that “thoughts and prayers” and pledges to act are offered after every mass shooting, only to be be blocked by “some on one side of the aisle.”“It seems like there are those that believe owning a gun is more precious than the sanctity of human life,” the mayor told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “So I think people all across this country have to rise up. They have to speak more loudly and more clearly that there must be gun control in this country. This is a uniquely American phenomenon. These mass shootings don’t happen in other countries across the world.”Brown said he would like to see “sensible gun control.”House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said tighter gun measures are “a huge priority” for Democrats and the White House. She bemoaned the 60-vote threshold needed in the 50-50 Senate that has made it difficult to advance such legislation, but she pledged on CNN’s “State of the Union” that “we are not going away until the job is done.”Hochul said most of the illegal guns being used on the streets of her cities come from other states. “We need a national response,” she told NBC.“We need other states to step up. We need the federal government on our side,” said Hochul, a Buffalo native.

🎥Biden urges unity to stem racial hate after weekend shootings

OVERLAND PARK -&nbsp; U.S. Senator Roger Marshall announced at a Friday press conference, a shipment of protective equipment to Ukrainian military forces&nbsp;provided by Kansas law enforcement. 

Among the protective equipment being donated were approximately 300 vests and 50 helmets. The equipment varies in size and level of protection but will be distributed to both military and law enforcement officials within Ukraine.

Senator Marshall was joined by Eudora Police Chief Wes Lovett; Mike Bergmeier, owner of ShieldAg; and Daniel Rauchholz, owner of Farmada – Kansans who were instrumental in the collection of the protective equipment.&nbsp;

“We have all been inspired by the courage and bravery of the Ukrainian people and very few days go by in my life that somebody doesn’t ask, ‘What can we do to help the people of Ukraine?’ All this equipment is a testament of what Kansans do when we come together – more than 300 vests and 50 helmets all donated from 20 different Kansas law enforcement departments and agencies. These donations will help military and law enforcement officials in Ukraine and save lives,”&nbsp;said Senator Marshall.

Donations of the protective equipment were collected from Carbondale Police Department, Colby Police Department, Crawford County Sheriff’s Office, Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office, Eudora Police Department, Fort Hays State University Police, Haven Police Department, Kansas Attorney General’s Office, Leavenworth Police Department, McPherson Police Department, Overland Park Police Department, Park City Police Department, Riley County Police Department, University of Kansas Office of Public Safety, Wellington Police Department, and Wichita State University Police Department.

Senator Marshall’s staff is working with the Ukrainian Embassy to ship the items to Poland and they will then be moved into Ukraine and provided to Ukrainian military forces.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652655599648.jpeg" alt="Protective equipment for Ukrainian military forces provided by Kansas law enforcement including, FHSU&nbsp; police and Colby Police Dept. (Photos by Sen. Marshall's office)" />
 <figcaption>Protective equipment for Ukrainian military forces provided by Kansas law enforcement including, FHSU&nbsp; police and Colby Police Dept. (Photos by Sen. Marshall's office)</figcaption>
 </figure>OVERLAND PARK -&nbsp; U.S. Senator Roger Marshall announced at a Friday press conference, a shipment of protective equipment to Ukrainian military forces&nbsp;provided by Kansas law enforcement. <figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652655740266.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Among the protective equipment being donated were approximately 300 vests and 50 helmets. The equipment varies in size and level of protection but will be distributed to both military and law enforcement officials within Ukraine.Senator Marshall was joined by Eudora Police Chief Wes Lovett; Mike Bergmeier, owner of ShieldAg; and Daniel Rauchholz, owner of Farmada – Kansans who were instrumental in the collection of the protective equipment.&nbsp;“We have all been inspired by the courage and bravery of the Ukrainian people and very few days go by in my life that somebody doesn’t ask, ‘What can we do to help the people of Ukraine?’ All this equipment is a testament of what Kansans do when we come together – more than 300 vests and 50 helmets all donated from 20 different Kansas law enforcement departments and agencies. These donations will help military and law enforcement officials in Ukraine and save lives,”&nbsp;said Senator Marshall.Donations of the protective equipment were collected from Carbondale Police Department, Colby Police Department, Crawford County Sheriff’s Office, Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office, Eudora Police Department, Fort Hays State University Police, Haven Police Department, Kansas Attorney General’s Office, Leavenworth Police Department, McPherson Police Department, Overland Park Police Department, Park City Police Department, Riley County Police Department, University of Kansas Office of Public Safety, Wellington Police Department, and Wichita State University Police Department.Senator Marshall’s staff is working with the Ukrainian Embassy to ship the items to Poland and they will then be moved into Ukraine and provided to Ukrainian military forces.

Kan. law enforcement donate more equipment to Ukraine military

DOUGLAS COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal hit and run accident and asking the public for help to locate a van and driver that fled the scene.

Just after 5p.m. Saturday, police responded to a two-vehicle crash in the 1300 Block of East 1900 Road on the ramp over Kansas 10 Highway between Lawrence and Eudora, according to the Douglas County Sheriff.

According to a preliminary investigation, a 54-year-old man was driving a motorcycle northbound on East 1900 Road with a 9-year-old girl as passenger. As the approached the overpass, an unknown possibly a 2013-19 white Ford Transit van moved forward from the stop sign and the top of the eastbound off ramp from K-10 and into the intersection.

The van struck the motorcycle which overturned. EMS transported the man and the girl to Overland Park Regional Medical Center. He had serious but non life threatening injuries. The girl, who was wearing a helmet suffered critical injuries and died Sunday morning, according the sheriff's department.

Witnesses reported that after the collision, the driver of the white van proceeded down the ramp leaving its black front bumper cover behind and returned to eastbound K-10.&nbsp;

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Douglas Co. Sheriff.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652713174349.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>DOUGLAS COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal hit and run accident and asking the public for help to locate a van and driver that fled the scene.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">EAST 1900 Road Fatality Accident After further investigation, Sheriff&#39;s Office detectives now believe the vehicle that left the scene yesterday was a Ford Transit Connect XL Model 2013-2019, more likely a 2018-19. Anyone with info is asked to call the DGSO, 785-843-0250. <a href="https://t.co/NazzZWkS2O">pic.twitter.com/NazzZWkS2O</a>&mdash; Douglas Co. Sheriff (@DGSOSheriff) <a href="https://twitter.com/DGSOSheriff/status/1525963802629505037?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 15, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Just after 5p.m. Saturday, police responded to a two-vehicle crash in the 1300 Block of East 1900 Road on the ramp over Kansas 10 Highway between Lawrence and Eudora, according to the Douglas County Sheriff.According to a preliminary investigation, a 54-year-old man was driving a motorcycle northbound on East 1900 Road with a 9-year-old girl as passenger. As the approached the overpass, an unknown possibly a 2013-19 white Ford Transit van moved forward from the stop sign and the top of the eastbound off ramp from K-10 and into the intersection.The van struck the motorcycle which overturned. EMS transported the man and the girl to Overland Park Regional Medical Center. He had serious but non life threatening injuries. The girl, who was wearing a helmet suffered critical injuries and died Sunday morning, according the sheriff's department.Witnesses reported that after the collision, the driver of the white van proceeded down the ramp leaving its black front bumper cover behind and returned to eastbound K-10.&nbsp;Anyone with information is asked to contact the Douglas Co. Sheriff.

Search continues for van in crash that killed 9-year-old Kan. girl

PITTSFIELD, Mass. (AP) — Two men who participated in an elaborate phone scam that cheated people from across the nation have agreed to repay their victims but avoided time behind bars, Massachusetts prosecutors said.

Ajaykumar Chaudhari, 26, of Pownal, Vermont, and Jitendra Chaudhari, 29, of Williamstown, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty in Berkshire Superior Court to larceny and attempt to commit larceny, according to a statement Wednesday from the office of Berkshire District Attorney Andrea Harrington. They were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/5a039563a11c5d22b1f1974d199a05ee">arrested in June 2020</a>.

The guilty pleas were filed by the court, meaning the defendants won't be sent to jail as long as they stay out of additional legal trouble.

They, together with a third defendant, have agreed to pay more than $200,000 in restitution. That&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-massachusetts-vermont-pittsfield-b6be2c31953b01374a93289866775db8">third defendant, Parth Chaudhari, pleaded guilty to the same charges in December</a>&nbsp;and was sentenced to time served. The restitution money has already been secured, prosecutors said.

All three men are members of the same family, the district attorney's office said.

“The victims in this case overwhelmingly supported a resolution that would return the most money in the most timely manner while sparing them, many of whom are aging and live out of state, from having to travel to Massachusetts to testify,” Harrington said in a statement.

The three men, sometimes posing as government employees, targeted about 20 victims, some of whom sent packages of cash, often to an address in Adams, Massachusetts, prosecutors said.

In one case, they told the victim their Social Security number had been compromised and they needed to send money to fix the problem, according to the DA's office. Victims came from multiple states including California, Missouri, Ohio and Virginia, prosecutors said.

Adams police started investigating in March 2020 after getting tips from out-of-state law enforcement agencies.

During the investigation, victims and law enforcement intercepted packages of cash together worth more than $100,000.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/4/1619452442605.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>PITTSFIELD, Mass. (AP) — Two men who participated in an elaborate phone scam that cheated people from across the nation have agreed to repay their victims but avoided time behind bars, Massachusetts prosecutors said.Ajaykumar Chaudhari, 26, of Pownal, Vermont, and Jitendra Chaudhari, 29, of Williamstown, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty in Berkshire Superior Court to larceny and attempt to commit larceny, according to a statement Wednesday from the office of Berkshire District Attorney Andrea Harrington. They were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/5a039563a11c5d22b1f1974d199a05ee">arrested in June 2020</a>.The guilty pleas were filed by the court, meaning the defendants won't be sent to jail as long as they stay out of additional legal trouble.They, together with a third defendant, have agreed to pay more than $200,000 in restitution. That&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-massachusetts-vermont-pittsfield-b6be2c31953b01374a93289866775db8">third defendant, Parth Chaudhari, pleaded guilty to the same charges in December</a>&nbsp;and was sentenced to time served. The restitution money has already been secured, prosecutors said.All three men are members of the same family, the district attorney's office said.“The victims in this case overwhelmingly supported a resolution that would return the most money in the most timely manner while sparing them, many of whom are aging and live out of state, from having to travel to Massachusetts to testify,” Harrington said in a statement.The three men, sometimes posing as government employees, targeted about 20 victims, some of whom sent packages of cash, often to an address in Adams, Massachusetts, prosecutors said.In one case, they told the victim their Social Security number had been compromised and they needed to send money to fix the problem, according to the DA's office. Victims came from multiple states including California, Missouri, Ohio and Virginia, prosecutors said.Adams police started investigating in March 2020 after getting tips from out-of-state law enforcement agencies.During the investigation, victims and law enforcement intercepted packages of cash together worth more than $100,000.

Two men admit to role in nationwide phone scam

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a weekend shooting in Wichita.&nbsp;

Just after 11:30 p.m. Saturday, police responded to a shooting call in the 500 block of South Lulu in Wichita, according to Officer Trevor Macy.

At the scene, police located a 16-year-old boy with a gunshot wound. EMS transported him to an area hospital where he was later pronounced deceased.

Officers learned that an unknown suspect shot the boy after the teen had approached the suspect's vehicle in front of the apartments on Lulu. The suspect vehicle then fled the scene southbound.

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a weekend shooting in Wichita.&nbsp;Just after 11:30 p.m. Saturday, police responded to a shooting call in the 500 block of South Lulu in Wichita, according to Officer Trevor Macy.At the scene, police located a 16-year-old boy with a gunshot wound. EMS transported him to an area hospital where he was later pronounced deceased.Officers learned that an unknown suspect shot the boy after the teen had approached the suspect's vehicle in front of the apartments on Lulu. The suspect vehicle then fled the scene southbound.

Police search for suspect who killed 16-year-old Kansas boy

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects on multiple charges after an incident in northeast Kansas.

Just before 10a.m. Friday, the Shawnee County Emergency Communications Center broadcasted information regarding a woman attempting to jump out of a vehicle near SE 22nd Street and SE California Avenue, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.

A deputy that was patrolling in the southeast part of Shawnee County responded to the area. She observed a red 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt drive towards oncoming traffic while passing multiple vehicles in an intersection.

The deputy immediately conducted a traffic stop near SE 38th Street and SE Adams Street. During the investigation, illegal narcotics were located.

The driver, Brent A. Haverkamp, 32, of Goff, Kan., was placed into custody and booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The passenger, Amber K. Bloomquist, 30, of Topeka, was arrested and booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections for two warrants for her arrest, one felony warrant and one misdemeanor warrant. Bloomquist was also booked on a requested charge of felony interference with law enforcement.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652628706174.png" alt="Haverkamp" />
 <figcaption>Haverkamp</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects on multiple charges after an incident in northeast Kansas.Just before 10a.m. Friday, the Shawnee County Emergency Communications Center broadcasted information regarding a woman attempting to jump out of a vehicle near SE 22nd Street and SE California Avenue, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.A deputy that was patrolling in the southeast part of Shawnee County responded to the area. She observed a red 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt drive towards oncoming traffic while passing multiple vehicles in an intersection.The deputy immediately conducted a traffic stop near SE 38th Street and SE Adams Street. During the investigation, illegal narcotics were located.The driver, Brent A. Haverkamp, 32, of Goff, Kan., was placed into custody and booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.The passenger, Amber K. Bloomquist, 30, of Topeka, was arrested and booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections for two warrants for her arrest, one felony warrant and one misdemeanor warrant. Bloomquist was also booked on a requested charge of felony interference with law enforcement.

Sheriff: Wanted Kan. woman tried to jump from moving car

MISSION, Kan. (AP) — “Y’all here to protect me,” the youth asked the officers, beseechingly. “Right?”

The 17-year-old’s foster father, unable to deal with a teen who seemed to be in the throes of schizophrenia, had called Wichita police. When they arrived, Cedric “C.J.” Lofton refused to leave the porch and go with them; he was obstinate but afraid, meek but frantic.

After an hourlong stalemate, the police lost patience. It was time to take him away -- by force, if necessary.

And so began the last two days of a life plagued by family dysfunction, brushes with the law, years in foster care and, finally, mental illness. The events leading to C.J.’s death, just a day short of his 18th birthday, would be captured on video; the result would be litigation, pleas for reform, cries that the system had failed yet another Black youth.

Authorities would decide against any prosecutions in connection with his death. But there were crucial errors, and vital holes in the safety net that had fatal consequences.

Owing to the hour, a team that included a mental health worker was unavailable to respond on that night last September; police alone responded. And C.J. was taken not to a mental hospital but to the county Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center, where for about 40 minutes he was held face down, resulting in his death.

C.J. “went from crisis to death because we got involved,” said Sedgwick County Commissioner Jim Howell.

“We all need to own what we did right and what we did wrong,” he added. “And the reality is there’s things that happened that were wrong.”

Friends who met C.J. in foster care described him as a goofball, fun loving, with a dark childhood that he hinted at but never talked about much.

“He would dance everywhere, just wiggly, just you know, no coordination at all. Just dancing just to dance,” said Skylar Mannie, 16, of Wichita.

But under the surface, she sensed anxieties. “He worried about making sure that he was safe, making sure everybody around him was safe and that they were good at all times.”

He was raised with the help of his grandmother. His father, Chadrick Lofton, racked up multiple convictions for domestic assault; one case sent him to prison for a year and a half when C.J. was 2, and after that, C.J. told friends, his father wasn’t around. His mother, Sarah Harrison, also had a criminal record, including a theft conviction in Texas that carried a 400-day sentence.

As he entered his teen years, C.J. was living with his mother in Junction City, a Kansas town of about 22,000 near the Fort Riley military base. In the summer of 2018, at age 14, he began to get in trouble.

He was accused first of using a stolen debit card, then with stealing a car and tools, court records show. At a football game that fall, he was caught with a BB gun and suspended from school; he was truant often, the court filings show.

Then, in November, he was accused of battery and stealing a video game from a Walmart and was sent to a juvenile detention facility. Court records noted that his “behavior is escalating and there is no parental control,” but he was released to his mother that December.

He broke curfew again and again. Ultimately, a judge signed an order removing Lofton from his home, noting there was “no parent/guardian present.” By August 2019, a court filing found that he was doing “very well” in foster care.

C.J. moved around at first, friends said. But in December 2020, he was placed in Wichita with a foster father that his friend, Marquez Patton, described as “one of the good ones.”

By all accounts, they got along. C.J.’s foster father told investigators that he had been doing fine in school and that there were no major issues until their final weeks together, according to a report by Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett.

The foster father, whose name hasn’t been released, declined an interview request through DCCCA Inc., a private foster care agency that contracts with the state’s Department of Children and Families.

During the pandemic-disrupted 2020-21 school year, C.J. became a favorite of Traci Kallhoff, a zoology teacher at Wichita Southeast High School. He was always asking questions, sometimes tossing a blanket over his head to liven up virtual instruction.

“Some of those kids, like when they’re kind of like that, you know, like a little ornery, but really just so full of life, they just kind of grab your heart,” she said, adding that they grew so close that he emailed over summer break and hugged her when classes resumed in the fall.

Patton, 22, met C.J. when they worked at the same McDonald’s. He said among other things, the pair bonded over music -- C.J. posted his own classic gangster rap on YouTube, full of references to shootings and bloodshed.

Indeed, C.J. had been part of a Junction City gang, friends said. “Gangs are like a family,” Patton said, but C.J. had vowed to leave that behind and “do better.” The lyrics were merely what sold, he told friends.

He started dating Kyanya Hardyway in June 2021. Her family “loved him,” she said, because he was so respectful. They went to the mall, the YMCA and church together.

Eventually, though, he started telling her and other friends that he was hearing things, that the world was going to end soon. It worried her. But she added: “I was just glad that he was just telling me stuff.”

Friends said C.J. planned to remain in foster care until he finished high school. But he was growing restless as he prepared to age out of the system. Two friends had already been forced from the foster placement after getting in trouble, Patton said.

Then, last August, his grandmother died in Texas. Cassandra Harrison’s death was a blow.

His foster father said when Cedric returned from the funeral in September, “it got progressively worse,” according to the prosecutor’s report. He described him as “paranoid.”

“He was really sad. He felt like he didn’t really have anybody,” said Angelee Phillips, an 18-year-old who also had spent time in foster care.

She said she knew he was smoking weed. His foster brothers also suspected he was doing drugs, possibly the synthetic marijuana known as K2, although none had witnessed it firsthand. Partly, their suspicions stemmed from his strange behavior; one foster brother heard C.J. saying that his classmates were robots intent on hurting him.

Tests conducted as part of the autopsy report came up positive for marijuana, nothing else.

By Sept. 22, the situation was escalating. C.J. walked away from school that day and his foster father called police to report him as a runaway.

“He has been telling people not to look in the mirror because it takes your soul,” he told a dispatcher, adding that C.J. thought security guards were secret agents that were spying on him and that he doesn’t want anyone to come into his room because he says the house is bugged.

Hardyway said he called her around 2 the next morning. She could tell he was outside, but he refused to tell her where.

“He was just telling me like he loved me and stuff and then he just hung up because his phone was about to die,” she recalled. They never spoke again.

When C.J. returned home around 11:30 a.m. that Friday morning, the foster father immediately took him to the county’s mental health provider for an evaluation. But they never made it inside.

“He started freaking out and then ran off on me again,” the foster father told police.

He said C.J. had mentioned “he can get access to a gun.” He suspected the teen had schizophrenia. Although C.J. hadn’t been diagnosed, a cousin had told the foster father that the condition ran in the family.

It was all too much. The foster father told a caseworker he couldn’t handle C.J. anymore.

C.J. didn’t realize that when he returned around 1 a.m. on Sept. 24. His foster father told C.J. to stay on the porch, that he was worried about him. He called police.

The community operates a program in which a mental health professional, a law enforcement officer and a paramedic respond to emergent mental health crisis. But it only operates from noon to 10 p.m., Tuesdays through Fridays.

That meant the unit was not available when the foster father called, and police had to go instead -- one of the first big missteps, said Sedgwick County Commissioner Lacey Cruse: “We’re expecting law enforcement to do way too much.”

Officers approached the house. What followed plays out on body camera video:

While the foster father attempts to reach the after-hours foster care contacts, officers try to persuade C.J. -- who was also sick with COVID-19 -- to let them take him to a mental hospital.

Over and over, for nearly an hour, they beg him to submit. C.J. offers to sleep outside. He points at things he alone sees, things that do not exist.

C.J., who had told his foster father that he feared police would shoot him, empties his pockets at one point -- apparently, to show the officers he is unarmed. Change clatters to the ground.

“We don’t want your stuff,” an officer tells him.

An officer asks him again about the hospital.

“The hospital,” C.J. says. “I thought you was talking about jail.”

The officer responds: “Not jail, just the hospital. ... I promise you we would go there.”

But C.J. will have none of it. At 2:15 a.m., officers call for assistance. The 5-foot-10, 135-pound teenager is still refusing to budge.

The sergeant who responded to the scene would later explain that he wasn’t willing to just leave C.J. alone outside, according to the prosecutor’s report: “We can’t walk away.”

This was another mistake, said Cruse and fellow commissioner Howell. “Where is this impatience coming from?” Howell asked.

In the video, C.J. screams and yells “help” over and over again as officers grab for his arms.

“This is illegal,” C.J. says. “Isn’t it?”

Breathing heavily, the officers order C.J. not to bite, they are there to help.

Eventually the officers restrain him in something called the WRAP, a device comprised of a locking shoulder harness, leg restraints and ankle straps. The sheriff’s office describes it as a way to restrain a person who is out of control so that they don’t hurt themselves or others.

C.J. is frantic. “They are going to kill me,” he screams, biting at the straps.

As the teen is carried to the police cruiser, he can be heard muttering, repeatedly, “Kill yourself.”

The destination was no longer the mental hospital. The sergeant later explained that he believed C.J. was too combative to take there, according to the prosecutor’s report.

Instead, the vehicle headed for the juvenile intake center. C.J. was accused of multiple counts of battering law enforcement officers.

“It shocks me how this child is telling you they are seeing things that don’t exist and an alternate decision, aside from taking him to the hospital, was made,” said Brittany Brest, a community psychologist who is overseeing a grant from the National Alliance on Mental Illness to better support Kansas inmates.

Even one of the officers can be heard questioning the change of destination during the drive, arguing that C.J. would fare better at the mental hospital.

“It fixes whatever is wrong with him,” the officer says. The officers C.J. bit, he said, were “putting themselves in positions of being battered” because they were putting their hands in front of his mouth.

A second officer responds, simply, “It is not our call.”

They pull into the juvenile center at 2:44 a.m. and multiple officers carry him inside. C.J. continues repeating “kill yourself” when he was removed from the WRAP restraint around 3:40 a.m. Officers cautiously back out of the holding cell, leaving C.J. alone inside.

A juvenile worker later opened the door to the cell and told C.J. he “won’t be here that long” if he cooperated with being weighed and fingerprinted.

C.J., though, was still agitated. He walked out of his holding cell and tried to grab a computer monitor from the intake counter, the prosecutor’s report said.

Surveillance video from inside the facility shows him resisting attempts to place him back in the cell. At one point, he can be seen punching one of the juvenile detention employees in the head, knocking his glasses to the ground.

The video, which contains no audio, shows detention workers wrestling him into the cell. The camera angle doesn’t offer a clear view of what happened next.

But the prosecutor’s office said staff shackled Lofton’s ankles around 4:29 a.m. and put him on his stomach on the floor a few minutes later. One worker held C.J.’s ankles, another his thighs and two others held down his arms.

C.J. struggled, saying he would “hex” staff and that he was Jesus, according to the report.

A worker can be heard calling dispatch: The teen needed to be taken to a hospital for mental evaluation.

Around 5:08 a.m., the workers managed to put C.J. in handcuffs so he would be ready to be transported when police arrived, according to the prosecutor’s report. He remained face down. The workers then heard what sounded like snoring; they assumed he had had tired himself out and fallen asleep.

But C.J. was far from fine. The snoring was likely agonal breathing, a common sign of cardiac arrest, explained Dr. Michael Freeman, a forensic epidemiologist who testified in the George Floyd case.

“I think the biggest problem here is that the people who do the restraint don’t understand how dangerous what they’re doing is,” he said.

C.J.’s COVID-19 infection also would “contribute and make it even more dangerous,” said Dr. Victor Weedn, a forensic science professor at George Washington University. Weedn said the problem is that people can’t breathe fast enough or deep enough when they are restrained face down to get rid of carbon dioxide, especially if they are under stress.

But the workers knew none of this, insisting later that they were using restraints that they had been taught. It took them about 5 minutes longer to notice something was wrong, roll C.J. on his back and start chest compressions, according to the prosecutor’s report.

They called for help. When the emergency crew arrived, he had no pulse. “I have one 17-year-old male post code red coming to you,” a paramedic called in, after the crew managed to restart his heart.

But his condition was grave, his blood pressure just 62 over 24. And two days later, he was dead. He never regained consciousness.

The final autopsy, released in December, listed C.J.’s cause of death as “complications of cardiopulmonary arrest sustained after physical struggle while restrained in the prone position.” The death was declared a homicide.

Andrew M. Stroth, the family’s attorney, said he is preparing a “robust legal filing,” describing what happened as “tragic on so many levels.”

Sedgwick County Corrections Director Glenda Martens also described what happened as “tragic” in a news conference but said that the corrections workers “acted well within the policy and the requirements of that policy” in restraining the teen.

Meanwhile, interim Wichita Police Chief Lem Moore said his department is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-kansas-wichita-4a5aacdb2d18f75894034eef86ebd90a">looking into the actions officers took</a>&nbsp;when booking the teen. The FBI also is investigating, and Kansas’ governor ordered a review of how the foster care system handled the case.

A task force assembled jointly by the city and county reviewed C.J.’s death. Its members, who include a local NAACP official and a 20-year-old youth organizer, recommended a series of changes, including improving training and mental health services.

Bennett, the district attorney, said he struggled with whether an involuntary manslaughter charge was justified, but concluded in January that the state’s “stand-your-ground” law prevented him from pursuing it because staff members were protecting themselves.

Robert Spitzer, author of “Guns Across America: Reconciling Gun Rules and Rights,” said Bennett’s interpretation is a “perfectly logical application” of a law that he described as “deeply problematic.”

Bennett agrees, calling on the Legislature to change the law and raising questions about nearly everyone involved in C.J.’s care, from the juvenile workers to the foster care system.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1642856231058.png" alt="Image from the security camera video released by Sedgwick County." />
 <figcaption>Image from the security camera video released by Sedgwick County.</figcaption>
 </figure>By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTHMISSION, Kan. (AP) — “Y’all here to protect me,” the youth asked the officers, beseechingly. “Right?”The 17-year-old’s foster father, unable to deal with a teen who seemed to be in the throes of schizophrenia, had called Wichita police. When they arrived, Cedric “C.J.” Lofton refused to leave the porch and go with them; he was obstinate but afraid, meek but frantic.After an hourlong stalemate, the police lost patience. It was time to take him away -- by force, if necessary.And so began the last two days of a life plagued by family dysfunction, brushes with the law, years in foster care and, finally, mental illness. The events leading to C.J.’s death, just a day short of his 18th birthday, would be captured on video; the result would be litigation, pleas for reform, cries that the system had failed yet another Black youth.Authorities would decide against any prosecutions in connection with his death. But there were crucial errors, and vital holes in the safety net that had fatal consequences.Owing to the hour, a team that included a mental health worker was unavailable to respond on that night last September; police alone responded. And C.J. was taken not to a mental hospital but to the county Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center, where for about 40 minutes he was held face down, resulting in his death.C.J. “went from crisis to death because we got involved,” said Sedgwick County Commissioner Jim Howell.“We all need to own what we did right and what we did wrong,” he added. “And the reality is there’s things that happened that were wrong.”___Friends who met C.J. in foster care described him as a goofball, fun loving, with a dark childhood that he hinted at but never talked about much.“He would dance everywhere, just wiggly, just you know, no coordination at all. Just dancing just to dance,” said Skylar Mannie, 16, of Wichita.But under the surface, she sensed anxieties. “He worried about making sure that he was safe, making sure everybody around him was safe and that they were good at all times.”He was raised with the help of his grandmother. His father, Chadrick Lofton, racked up multiple convictions for domestic assault; one case sent him to prison for a year and a half when C.J. was 2, and after that, C.J. told friends, his father wasn’t around. His mother, Sarah Harrison, also had a criminal record, including a theft conviction in Texas that carried a 400-day sentence.As he entered his teen years, C.J. was living with his mother in Junction City, a Kansas town of about 22,000 near the Fort Riley military base. In the summer of 2018, at age 14, he began to get in trouble.He was accused first of using a stolen debit card, then with stealing a car and tools, court records show. At a football game that fall, he was caught with a BB gun and suspended from school; he was truant often, the court filings show.Then, in November, he was accused of battery and stealing a video game from a Walmart and was sent to a juvenile detention facility. Court records noted that his “behavior is escalating and there is no parental control,” but he was released to his mother that December.He broke curfew again and again. Ultimately, a judge signed an order removing Lofton from his home, noting there was “no parent/guardian present.” By August 2019, a court filing found that he was doing “very well” in foster care.C.J. moved around at first, friends said. But in December 2020, he was placed in Wichita with a foster father that his friend, Marquez Patton, described as “one of the good ones.”By all accounts, they got along. C.J.’s foster father told investigators that he had been doing fine in school and that there were no major issues until their final weeks together, according to a report by Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett.The foster father, whose name hasn’t been released, declined an interview request through DCCCA Inc., a private foster care agency that contracts with the state’s Department of Children and Families.During the pandemic-disrupted 2020-21 school year, C.J. became a favorite of Traci Kallhoff, a zoology teacher at Wichita Southeast High School. He was always asking questions, sometimes tossing a blanket over his head to liven up virtual instruction.“Some of those kids, like when they’re kind of like that, you know, like a little ornery, but really just so full of life, they just kind of grab your heart,” she said, adding that they grew so close that he emailed over summer break and hugged her when classes resumed in the fall.Patton, 22, met C.J. when they worked at the same McDonald’s. He said among other things, the pair bonded over music -- C.J. posted his own classic gangster rap on YouTube, full of references to shootings and bloodshed.Indeed, C.J. had been part of a Junction City gang, friends said. “Gangs are like a family,” Patton said, but C.J. had vowed to leave that behind and “do better.” The lyrics were merely what sold, he told friends.He started dating Kyanya Hardyway in June 2021. Her family “loved him,” she said, because he was so respectful. They went to the mall, the YMCA and church together.Eventually, though, he started telling her and other friends that he was hearing things, that the world was going to end soon. It worried her. But she added: “I was just glad that he was just telling me stuff.”Friends said C.J. planned to remain in foster care until he finished high school. But he was growing restless as he prepared to age out of the system. Two friends had already been forced from the foster placement after getting in trouble, Patton said.Then, last August, his grandmother died in Texas. Cassandra Harrison’s death was a blow.His foster father said when Cedric returned from the funeral in September, “it got progressively worse,” according to the prosecutor’s report. He described him as “paranoid.”Friends saw the difference, too.“He was really sad. He felt like he didn’t really have anybody,” said Angelee Phillips, an 18-year-old who also had spent time in foster care.She said she knew he was smoking weed. His foster brothers also suspected he was doing drugs, possibly the synthetic marijuana known as K2, although none had witnessed it firsthand. Partly, their suspicions stemmed from his strange behavior; one foster brother heard C.J. saying that his classmates were robots intent on hurting him.Tests conducted as part of the autopsy report came up positive for marijuana, nothing else.By Sept. 22, the situation was escalating. C.J. walked away from school that day and his foster father called police to report him as a runaway.“He has been telling people not to look in the mirror because it takes your soul,” he told a dispatcher, adding that C.J. thought security guards were secret agents that were spying on him and that he doesn’t want anyone to come into his room because he says the house is bugged.Hardyway said he called her around 2 the next morning. She could tell he was outside, but he refused to tell her where.“He was just telling me like he loved me and stuff and then he just hung up because his phone was about to die,” she recalled. They never spoke again.___When C.J. returned home around 11:30 a.m. that Friday morning, the foster father immediately took him to the county’s mental health provider for an evaluation. But they never made it inside.“He started freaking out and then ran off on me again,” the foster father told police.He said C.J. had mentioned “he can get access to a gun.” He suspected the teen had schizophrenia. Although C.J. hadn’t been diagnosed, a cousin had told the foster father that the condition ran in the family.It was all too much. The foster father told a caseworker he couldn’t handle C.J. anymore.C.J. didn’t realize that when he returned around 1 a.m. on Sept. 24. His foster father told C.J. to stay on the porch, that he was worried about him. He called police.The community operates a program in which a mental health professional, a law enforcement officer and a paramedic respond to emergent mental health crisis. But it only operates from noon to 10 p.m., Tuesdays through Fridays.That meant the unit was not available when the foster father called, and police had to go instead -- one of the first big missteps, said Sedgwick County Commissioner Lacey Cruse: “We’re expecting law enforcement to do way too much.”Officers approached the house. What followed plays out on body camera video:While the foster father attempts to reach the after-hours foster care contacts, officers try to persuade C.J. -- who was also sick with COVID-19 -- to let them take him to a mental hospital.“Hell no,” C.J. says.Over and over, for nearly an hour, they beg him to submit. C.J. offers to sleep outside. He points at things he alone sees, things that do not exist.C.J., who had told his foster father that he feared police would shoot him, empties his pockets at one point -- apparently, to show the officers he is unarmed. Change clatters to the ground.“We don’t want your stuff,” an officer tells him.An officer asks him again about the hospital.“The hospital,” C.J. says. “I thought you was talking about jail.”The officer responds: “Not jail, just the hospital. ... I promise you we would go there.”But C.J. will have none of it. At 2:15 a.m., officers call for assistance. The 5-foot-10, 135-pound teenager is still refusing to budge.The sergeant who responded to the scene would later explain that he wasn’t willing to just leave C.J. alone outside, according to the prosecutor’s report: “We can’t walk away.”They decide to take C.J. forcibly.This was another mistake, said Cruse and fellow commissioner Howell. “Where is this impatience coming from?” Howell asked.In the video, C.J. screams and yells “help” over and over again as officers grab for his arms.“This is illegal,” C.J. says. “Isn’t it?”Breathing heavily, the officers order C.J. not to bite, they are there to help.Eventually the officers restrain him in something called the WRAP, a device comprised of a locking shoulder harness, leg restraints and ankle straps. The sheriff’s office describes it as a way to restrain a person who is out of control so that they don’t hurt themselves or others.C.J. is frantic. “They are going to kill me,” he screams, biting at the straps.As the teen is carried to the police cruiser, he can be heard muttering, repeatedly, “Kill yourself.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/9/1633046927211.png" alt="CJ Lofton courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>CJ Lofton courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>___The destination was no longer the mental hospital. The sergeant later explained that he believed C.J. was too combative to take there, according to the prosecutor’s report.Instead, the vehicle headed for the juvenile intake center. C.J. was accused of multiple counts of battering law enforcement officers.“It shocks me how this child is telling you they are seeing things that don’t exist and an alternate decision, aside from taking him to the hospital, was made,” said Brittany Brest, a community psychologist who is overseeing a grant from the National Alliance on Mental Illness to better support Kansas inmates.Even one of the officers can be heard questioning the change of destination during the drive, arguing that C.J. would fare better at the mental hospital.“It fixes whatever is wrong with him,” the officer says. The officers C.J. bit, he said, were “putting themselves in positions of being battered” because they were putting their hands in front of his mouth.A second officer responds, simply, “It is not our call.”They pull into the juvenile center at 2:44 a.m. and multiple officers carry him inside. C.J. continues repeating “kill yourself” when he was removed from the WRAP restraint around 3:40 a.m. Officers cautiously back out of the holding cell, leaving C.J. alone inside.A juvenile worker later opened the door to the cell and told C.J. he “won’t be here that long” if he cooperated with being weighed and fingerprinted.C.J., though, was still agitated. He walked out of his holding cell and tried to grab a computer monitor from the intake counter, the prosecutor’s report said.Surveillance video from inside the facility shows him resisting attempts to place him back in the cell. At one point, he can be seen punching one of the juvenile detention employees in the head, knocking his glasses to the ground.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1642880340757.png" alt="Image from the security camera video released by Sedgwick County." />
 <figcaption>Image from the security camera video released by Sedgwick County.</figcaption>
 </figure>The video, which contains no audio, shows detention workers wrestling him into the cell. The camera angle doesn’t offer a clear view of what happened next.But the prosecutor’s office said staff shackled Lofton’s ankles around 4:29 a.m. and put him on his stomach on the floor a few minutes later. One worker held C.J.’s ankles, another his thighs and two others held down his arms.C.J. struggled, saying he would “hex” staff and that he was Jesus, according to the report.A worker can be heard calling dispatch: The teen needed to be taken to a hospital for mental evaluation.Around 5:08 a.m., the workers managed to put C.J. in handcuffs so he would be ready to be transported when police arrived, according to the prosecutor’s report. He remained face down. The workers then heard what sounded like snoring; they assumed he had had tired himself out and fallen asleep.But C.J. was far from fine. The snoring was likely agonal breathing, a common sign of cardiac arrest, explained Dr. Michael Freeman, a forensic epidemiologist who testified in the George Floyd case.“I think the biggest problem here is that the people who do the restraint don’t understand how dangerous what they’re doing is,” he said.C.J.’s COVID-19 infection also would “contribute and make it even more dangerous,” said Dr. Victor Weedn, a forensic science professor at George Washington University. Weedn said the problem is that people can’t breathe fast enough or deep enough when they are restrained face down to get rid of carbon dioxide, especially if they are under stress.But the workers knew none of this, insisting later that they were using restraints that they had been taught. It took them about 5 minutes longer to notice something was wrong, roll C.J. on his back and start chest compressions, according to the prosecutor’s report.They called for help. When the emergency crew arrived, he had no pulse. “I have one 17-year-old male post code red coming to you,” a paramedic called in, after the crew managed to restart his heart.But his condition was grave, his blood pressure just 62 over 24. And two days later, he was dead. He never regained consciousness.___The final autopsy, released in December, listed C.J.’s cause of death as “complications of cardiopulmonary arrest sustained after physical struggle while restrained in the prone position.” The death was declared a homicide.Andrew M. Stroth, the family’s attorney, said he is preparing a “robust legal filing,” describing what happened as “tragic on so many levels.”Sedgwick County Corrections Director Glenda Martens also described what happened as “tragic” in a news conference but said that the corrections workers “acted well within the policy and the requirements of that policy” in restraining the teen.Meanwhile, interim Wichita Police Chief Lem Moore said his department is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-kansas-wichita-4a5aacdb2d18f75894034eef86ebd90a">looking into the actions officers took</a>&nbsp;when booking the teen. The FBI also is investigating, and Kansas’ governor ordered a review of how the foster care system handled the case.ADVERTISEMENTA task force assembled jointly by the city and county reviewed C.J.’s death. Its members, who include a local NAACP official and a 20-year-old youth organizer, recommended a series of changes, including improving training and mental health services.Bennett, the district attorney, said he struggled with whether an involuntary manslaughter charge was justified, but concluded in January that the state’s “stand-your-ground” law prevented him from pursuing it because staff members were protecting themselves.Robert Spitzer, author of “Guns Across America: Reconciling Gun Rules and Rights,” said Bennett’s interpretation is a “perfectly logical application” of a law that he described as “deeply problematic.”Bennett agrees, calling on the Legislature to change the law and raising questions about nearly everyone involved in C.J.’s care, from the juvenile workers to the foster care system.“This,” he said, “should never have happened.”

'From crisis to death': Probing Kan. teen's last, desperate hours

By STEVEN A. ABRAMS <a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-behind-the-us-infant-formula-shortage-and-how-to-make-sure-it-doesnt-happen-again-182929">The Conversation</a>

A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/10/us/baby-formula-shortage.html">baby formula shortage</a> has added to the woes of American parents already confronted with the pressures of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2021/03/isolation-becoming-new-parent-during-pandemic/618244/">raising an infant during a pandemic</a> in a country <a target="_blank" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/marybethferrante/2019/06/21/unicef-study-confirms-the-u-s-ranks-last-for-family-friendly-policies/?sh=176ff24133ba">ranked low for family-friendly policies</a>.

Media reports have highlighted the plight of mothers, fathers and caregivers across the U.S. who have <a target="_blank" href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/baby-formula-shortage-in-washington-has-caregivers-parents/">scrambled to find scarce supplies</a>, or <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/texas/lake-jackson-texas-mom-drives-hour-baby-formula-amid-shortage/287-d1638ecb-4153-415d-ab63-58e342ec764f">driven long distances</a> to buy formula.

But what is behind the shortage? And how can it be prevented from
 happening again? The Conversation asked Dr. Steven Abrams, a leading <a target="_blank" href="https://dellmed.utexas.edu/directory/steven-a-abrams">expert on pediatric health</a>
 at the University of Texas who has advised both the formula industry 
and government on infant nutrition, these questions along with what 
advice he could give parents facing problems getting adequate supplies 
of infant formula.

1. Why there is a shortage of formula now?

There are really two factors that have driven the current shortage. First, we have the <a target="_blank" href="https://theconversation.com/4-reasons-americans-are-still-seeing-empty-shelves-and-long-waits-with-christmas-just-around-the-corner-168635">supply chain problem</a>,
 which has affected all manner of goods since the onset of the pandemic.
 It eased off a little, but then at the beginning of 2022 it <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wired.com/story/supply-chain-crisis-data/">became worse</a>.

Then in February a <a target="_blank" href="https://wwmt.com/news/local/baby-formula-shortage-crisis-intensifies-as-sturgis-plant-remains-shut-down">major baby formula manufacturing plant in U.S. went down</a>. The FDA <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nbcboston.com/news/national-international/fda-to-allow-closed-abbott-plant-to-release-baby-formula-supply-amid-shortage/2717440/">shut down Abbott Nutrition’s factory</a> in Michigan. The closure came after Abbott’s nationwide <a target="_blank" href="https://www.similacrecall.com/us/en/home.html">recall of multiple brands of formula</a>,
 including routine Similac cow milk-based formulas such as Similac 
Advance and several specialty formulas for allergic babies, including 
Similac Alimentum and and Similac EleCare.

Closing the factory had to be done amid an <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fda.gov/food/outbreaks-foodborne-illness/fda-investigation-cronobacter-infections-powdered-infant-formula-february-2022">investigation into bacterial infections</a>
 in connection to powdered formula produced at the plant, and the deaths
 of at least two babies. The problem is there just isn’t much redundancy
 in U.S. infant formula production. In other words, there aren’t enough 
other factories to pick up the slack when one goes down. The Michigan 
plant is the largest producer in the country, so when it goes down, it 
put added strain on the entire U.S. formula distribution system, 
especially for certain formulas for babies with high-risk allergic 
diseases and metabolic disorders.

Over the last couple of weeks the shortage has gotten worse. I can’t 
say for sure why this has happened. But I suspect there has been some 
hoarding going on as parents get anxious. Stores can limit the amount of
 formula that people can buy, but that doesn’t stop people going online 
to buy more.

On top of that, the shortage has gained wide publicity in newspapers,
 on TV and in political speeches. All that publicity feeds into public 
sense that the system is failing, prompting more panic buying and 
hoarding.

A majority of parents will feed babies with formula at some point to 
meet their nutritional needs, especially older infants. At birth and in 
days immediately after, around 80% of babies receive <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/data/reportcard.htm">all their nutrition through breast milk</a>. But by the age of 6 months, the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/data/reportcard.htm">majority of babies get at least some formula</a>.
 The proportion of year-old babies receiving formula is even higher. 
This is largely the result of social dynamics and pressures – mothers 
going back to work after giving birth, but not receiving sufficient 
support to produce and store sufficient amounts of breast milk.

But the shortage will affect some parents more than others. Not 
surprisingly, the most affected parents are those on the lowest income. 
The federal food program for poorer women, infants and children, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/wic">called WIC</a>, provides formula for a majority of babies in low-income families. But costs have gone up and formula has become scarcer.

I’m hearing of some families driving two hours to find stores selling
 formula. Obviously that will be harder to do for poorer families as 
there are costs involved. Likewise, more affluent parents may be able to
 buy more expensive, so-called elite brand formulas.

The other thing to note is that the shortage is affecting both regular infant formula, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-takes-important-steps-improve-supply-infant-and-specialty-formula-products">specialized versions</a>.
 Regular or standard formula is the type most families are familiar 
with, and around 95% of formula-fed babies get the standard type. 
Specialized formula is for babies with unusual requirements, due to 
allergies, damaged intestines or special nutritional needs. Before the 
Michigan factory closed, it made most of the specialized infant formula 
used in the U.S. So it is an absolute crisis for families needing that 
type of formula.

3. What are the potential consequences of the shortage?

In the first six months, babies should <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/faq/index.htm">only have breast milk or formula</a>
 – anything else fed to them will be nutritionally incomplete. So there 
is a risk that a shortage will mean that babies will not be getting the 
nutrition they need to develop. That could lead to a range of health 
problems affecting their physical growth and brain development.

Then there are concerns that parents may be using unsafe 
alternatives, like watering down their baby’s formula. People have been 
known to try and make their own by mixing powdered milk or vegan milk 
with vitamins. Not only are these alternatives <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7033a4.htm">not nutritionally complete</a>, they may not be entirely sterile.

After the age of six months, things get a little better once the 
infant is able to start eating solid food. But even then, formula or 
breast milk remains the primary source of nutrition. So there may still 
be a risk of nutritional deficiencies, such as iron deficiencies.

Over the age of six months of age, for only reasonably short periods of time, <a target="_blank" href="https://healthychildren.org/English/tips-tools/ask-the-pediatrician/Pages/Are-there-shortages-of-infant-formula-due-to-COVID-19.aspx#.Ynr6sYw9zEQ.twitter">parents can feed infants whole cow milk</a> and look into iron supplements.

It isn’t ideal, and only applies for older babies. For those under 
six months old, cow milk is a real problem. It doesn’t have the right 
protein blend for babies and has next to no iron – risking anemia in 
very young babies. Cow milk also has a misbalance of minerals, 
especially for younger babies.

So what guidance is there for low-income parents?

It is challenging and I can’t provide a magic answer. But food banks 
and the WIC program have been a crucial lifeline. The WIC program in 
particular has proved itself to be very flexible during this shortage. 
When Abbott had to recall products and then couldn’t provide enough 
non-recalled formulas in states in which they were the WIC provider, WIC
 was able to change providers and reprogram EBT cards to allow 
low-income parents to buy different brands.

5. What can be done to prevent this situation happening again in the U.S.?

First we need to help families regain confidence in the formula 
production and supply system. This will prevent problems such as 
hoarding or making home brew formulas.

Then we need to look at how to make sure one plant going down doesn’t
 affect the whole system. The federal government can’t stockpile formula
 in the same way it might stockpile oil, as formula has a shelf life. 
But diversifying infant formula production is a possibility. This would 
involve making sure multiple factories and companies are making the 
formulas that this country needs. This doesn’t necessarily mean 
increased costs – competition could potentially drive down prices.

I believe America also needs to look at the country’s breast feeding 
support system. Don’t get me wrong, some parents will always need 
formula. But those who want to breast feed need everything possible done
 to support them. That includes better family leave policies, and help 
for low-income mothers who want to pump and store milk while they work.

Steven A. Abrams is a professor of pediatrics at the University of Texas at Austin.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652456647413.jpg" alt="Pixabay image" />
 <figcaption>Pixabay image</figcaption>
 </figure>By STEVEN A. ABRAMS <a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-behind-the-us-infant-formula-shortage-and-how-to-make-sure-it-doesnt-happen-again-182929">The Conversation</a>A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/10/us/baby-formula-shortage.html">baby formula shortage</a> has added to the woes of American parents already confronted with the pressures of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2021/03/isolation-becoming-new-parent-during-pandemic/618244/">raising an infant during a pandemic</a> in a country <a target="_blank" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/marybethferrante/2019/06/21/unicef-study-confirms-the-u-s-ranks-last-for-family-friendly-policies/?sh=176ff24133ba">ranked low for family-friendly policies</a>.Media reports have highlighted the plight of mothers, fathers and caregivers across the U.S. who have <a target="_blank" href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/baby-formula-shortage-in-washington-has-caregivers-parents/">scrambled to find scarce supplies</a>, or <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/texas/lake-jackson-texas-mom-drives-hour-baby-formula-amid-shortage/287-d1638ecb-4153-415d-ab63-58e342ec764f">driven long distances</a> to buy formula.But what is behind the shortage? And how can it be prevented from
 happening again? The Conversation asked Dr. Steven Abrams, a leading <a target="_blank" href="https://dellmed.utexas.edu/directory/steven-a-abrams">expert on pediatric health</a>
 at the University of Texas who has advised both the formula industry 
and government on infant nutrition, these questions along with what 
advice he could give parents facing problems getting adequate supplies 
of infant formula.<h2>1. Why there is a shortage of formula now?</h2>There are really two factors that have driven the current shortage. First, we have the <a target="_blank" href="https://theconversation.com/4-reasons-americans-are-still-seeing-empty-shelves-and-long-waits-with-christmas-just-around-the-corner-168635">supply chain problem</a>,
 which has affected all manner of goods since the onset of the pandemic.
 It eased off a little, but then at the beginning of 2022 it <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wired.com/story/supply-chain-crisis-data/">became worse</a>.Then in February a <a target="_blank" href="https://wwmt.com/news/local/baby-formula-shortage-crisis-intensifies-as-sturgis-plant-remains-shut-down">major baby formula manufacturing plant in U.S. went down</a>. The FDA <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nbcboston.com/news/national-international/fda-to-allow-closed-abbott-plant-to-release-baby-formula-supply-amid-shortage/2717440/">shut down Abbott Nutrition’s factory</a> in Michigan. The closure came after Abbott’s nationwide <a target="_blank" href="https://www.similacrecall.com/us/en/home.html">recall of multiple brands of formula</a>,
 including routine Similac cow milk-based formulas such as Similac 
Advance and several specialty formulas for allergic babies, including 
Similac Alimentum and and Similac EleCare.Closing the factory had to be done amid an <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fda.gov/food/outbreaks-foodborne-illness/fda-investigation-cronobacter-infections-powdered-infant-formula-february-2022">investigation into bacterial infections</a>
 in connection to powdered formula produced at the plant, and the deaths
 of at least two babies. The problem is there just isn’t much redundancy
 in U.S. infant formula production. In other words, there aren’t enough 
other factories to pick up the slack when one goes down. The Michigan 
plant is the largest producer in the country, so when it goes down, it 
put added strain on the entire U.S. formula distribution system, 
especially for certain formulas for babies with high-risk allergic 
diseases and metabolic disorders.Over the last couple of weeks the shortage has gotten worse. I can’t 
say for sure why this has happened. But I suspect there has been some 
hoarding going on as parents get anxious. Stores can limit the amount of
 formula that people can buy, but that doesn’t stop people going online 
to buy more.On top of that, the shortage has gained wide publicity in newspapers,
 on TV and in political speeches. All that publicity feeds into public 
sense that the system is failing, prompting more panic buying and 
hoarding.<h2>2. Who is the shortage affecting?</h2>A majority of parents will feed babies with formula at some point to 
meet their nutritional needs, especially older infants. At birth and in 
days immediately after, around 80% of babies receive <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/data/reportcard.htm">all their nutrition through breast milk</a>. But by the age of 6 months, the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/data/reportcard.htm">majority of babies get at least some formula</a>.
 The proportion of year-old babies receiving formula is even higher. 
This is largely the result of social dynamics and pressures – mothers 
going back to work after giving birth, but not receiving sufficient 
support to produce and store sufficient amounts of breast milk.But the shortage will affect some parents more than others. Not 
surprisingly, the most affected parents are those on the lowest income. 
The federal food program for poorer women, infants and children, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/wic">called WIC</a>, provides formula for a majority of babies in low-income families. But costs have gone up and formula has become scarcer.I’m hearing of some families driving two hours to find stores selling
 formula. Obviously that will be harder to do for poorer families as 
there are costs involved. Likewise, more affluent parents may be able to
 buy more expensive, so-called elite brand formulas.The other thing to note is that the shortage is affecting both regular infant formula, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-takes-important-steps-improve-supply-infant-and-specialty-formula-products">specialized versions</a>.
 Regular or standard formula is the type most families are familiar 
with, and around 95% of formula-fed babies get the standard type. 
Specialized formula is for babies with unusual requirements, due to 
allergies, damaged intestines or special nutritional needs. Before the 
Michigan factory closed, it made most of the specialized infant formula 
used in the U.S. So it is an absolute crisis for families needing that 
type of formula.<h2>3. What are the potential consequences of the shortage?</h2>In the first six months, babies should <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/faq/index.htm">only have breast milk or formula</a>
 – anything else fed to them will be nutritionally incomplete. So there 
is a risk that a shortage will mean that babies will not be getting the 
nutrition they need to develop. That could lead to a range of health 
problems affecting their physical growth and brain development.Then there are concerns that parents may be using unsafe 
alternatives, like watering down their baby’s formula. People have been 
known to try and make their own by mixing powdered milk or vegan milk 
with vitamins. Not only are these alternatives <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7033a4.htm">not nutritionally complete</a>, they may not be entirely sterile.After the age of six months, things get a little better once the 
infant is able to start eating solid food. But even then, formula or 
breast milk remains the primary source of nutrition. So there may still 
be a risk of nutritional deficiencies, such as iron deficiencies.<h2>4. Are there any viable alternatives?</h2>Over the age of six months of age, for only reasonably short periods of time, <a target="_blank" href="https://healthychildren.org/English/tips-tools/ask-the-pediatrician/Pages/Are-there-shortages-of-infant-formula-due-to-COVID-19.aspx#.Ynr6sYw9zEQ.twitter">parents can feed infants whole cow milk</a> and look into iron supplements.It isn’t ideal, and only applies for older babies. For those under 
six months old, cow milk is a real problem. It doesn’t have the right 
protein blend for babies and has next to no iron – risking anemia in 
very young babies. Cow milk also has a misbalance of minerals, 
especially for younger babies.<h2>So what guidance is there for low-income parents?</h2>It is challenging and I can’t provide a magic answer. But food banks 
and the WIC program have been a crucial lifeline. The WIC program in 
particular has proved itself to be very flexible during this shortage. 
When Abbott had to recall products and then couldn’t provide enough 
non-recalled formulas in states in which they were the WIC provider, WIC
 was able to change providers and reprogram EBT cards to allow 
low-income parents to buy different brands.<h2>5. What can be done to prevent this situation happening again in the U.S.?</h2>First we need to help families regain confidence in the formula 
production and supply system. This will prevent problems such as 
hoarding or making home brew formulas.Then we need to look at how to make sure one plant going down doesn’t
 affect the whole system. The federal government can’t stockpile formula
 in the same way it might stockpile oil, as formula has a shelf life. 
But diversifying infant formula production is a possibility. This would 
involve making sure multiple factories and companies are making the 
formulas that this country needs. This doesn’t necessarily mean 
increased costs – competition could potentially drive down prices.I believe America also needs to look at the country’s breast feeding 
support system. Don’t get me wrong, some parents will always need 
formula. But those who want to breast feed need everything possible done
 to support them. That includes better family leave policies, and help 
for low-income mothers who want to pump and store milk while they work.Steven A. Abrams is a professor of pediatrics at the University of Texas at Austin.

ANALYSIS: What’s behind the U.S. infant formula shortage?

By BLAISE MESA <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-05-10/kansas-foster-families-say-attorneys-representing-foster-kids-in-court-are-failing">Kansas News Service</a>

TOPEKA, Kansas — Rob and Carla Ingraham believed their grandchildren lived in danger.

They complained to Kansas child protection authorities, figuring that would keep the grandchildren in the Ingrahams’ home — <a href="https://www.kcur.org/2022-02-08/family-and-friends-who-take-on-foster-kids-in-kansas-say-they-need-more-support-from-the-state" target="_blank">state-sanctioned foster care often granted to relatives.</a>

Yet
 they contend the state never truly investigated the case and, at least 
as troublesome to them, the lawyer appointed to argue for the children’s
 best interests neither knew the kids nor grasped the dynamics that the 
Ingrahams thought put the children in harm’s way.

Ultimately, the lawyer moved the children from their grandparents back to the home of their parents.

The
 Ingrahams stand with other foster families who contend a critical part 
of the state’s child welfare system fails to protect kids because the 
lawyers assigned to look out for kids — known as guardians ad litem — 
either don’t take the time or have the time to study their cases.

Guardians
 ad litem represent the best interest of the children in court and do 
not work for any other party — not the foster, not biological parents.

The <a href="https://www.kscourts.org/KSCourts/media/KsCourts/Rules/Rule-110A.pdf" target="_blank">Kansas Supreme Court requires</a>
 them to talk with the children, reach their own conclusions on what is 
best for them and report that to a judge. They’re also supposed to 
conduct independent investigations into allegations. In the case of 
their grandchildren, the Ingrahams say, that didn’t happen.

Their 
concerns were supported by multiple court-appointed special advocate 
reports that said the state was reunifying the children too quickly.

“This
 (court-appointed special advocate, or CASA) is concerned therapist 
recommendations are not being given consideration in the decision to 
reintegrate so soon, especially in light of what (one child) shared with
 her therapist about being scared her dad would hurt her,” a report 
said. “This CASA is concerned the emotional wellbeing of (the children) 
is being overlooked without the ability for them to continue to have the
 support of their individual therapist.”

Despite the reports, the 
guardian ad litem filed a court motion and a judge ordered the children 
to be sent home with their parents.

“You can imagine the terror, 
the fear,” Carla Ingraham said when the couple was told of the change. 
“They didn’t even let us say goodbye — two and a half years. They didn’t
 even let us say goodbye.”

The Ingrahams say the court-appointed 
attorney rarely, if ever, met with the children and was difficult to 
work with. Not seeing the child, they said, means he couldn’t have 
possibly known what was in the children’s best interest.

Several foster parents told the Kansas News Service that it can be 
difficult to see a guardian ad litem and that people in that position 
rarely see the children they represent. These attorneys could get 
updates from caseworkers, but some children have multiple caseworkers 
and that makes consistent exchanges of information hard.

District 
Judge Kellie Hogan said she understands parents’ frustration, but she 
said guardians ad litem are overworked. Their caseloads can be further 
bloated in urban parts of the state where there are more kids. Hogan, 
who was a court-appointed attorney before she became a judge, said some 
people represented hundreds of children.

“You can’t,” she said, “be everywhere all the time.”

Foster
 parents and statewide advocacy groups all had similar concerns: that 
lawyers paid to look out for foster kids aren’t coming to court with the
 background and insight into the cases of the children they represent.

Amy
 Bryant, who was both a foster parent and a social worker, said some 
lawyers appointed to be a guardian ad litem come through for the kids by
 exploring their cases. But she watched in court as one child’s attorney
 called the girl he was representing a boy.

“Multiple times,” she said. “I remember thinking at that point, like wow, this guy legitimately has no idea about this child.”

That was from a decade ago, but Bryant said things have not improved since.

An
 unresponsive and unprepared guardian ad litem is especially 
problematic, Bryant said. They carry real sway in the courtroom. These 
lawyers don’t make the final decision, but their recommendation can 
change a child’s life.

Grant Brazill, a parents' attorney in 
juvenile court, said the representatives should have around 60 cases at 
most. Instead, they often juggle far more.

The state has 493 
guardians ad litem. There is no clear total for the number of cases they
 have to represent. Caseloads are tracked by each judicial district with
 no statewide information available.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652200357205.png" alt="Carla and Rob Ingraham say their guardian ad litem rarely met the children he represented. Blaise Mesa / Kansas News Service " />
 <figcaption>Carla and Rob Ingraham say their guardian ad litem rarely met the children he represented. Blaise Mesa / Kansas News Service </figcaption>
 </figure>By BLAISE MESA <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-05-10/kansas-foster-families-say-attorneys-representing-foster-kids-in-court-are-failing">Kansas News Service</a>TOPEKA, Kansas — Rob and Carla Ingraham believed their grandchildren lived in danger.They complained to Kansas child protection authorities, figuring that would keep the grandchildren in the Ingrahams’ home — <a href="https://www.kcur.org/2022-02-08/family-and-friends-who-take-on-foster-kids-in-kansas-say-they-need-more-support-from-the-state" target="_blank">state-sanctioned foster care often granted to relatives.</a>Yet
 they contend the state never truly investigated the case and, at least 
as troublesome to them, the lawyer appointed to argue for the children’s
 best interests neither knew the kids nor grasped the dynamics that the 
Ingrahams thought put the children in harm’s way.Ultimately, the lawyer moved the children from their grandparents back to the home of their parents.The
 Ingrahams stand with other foster families who contend a critical part 
of the state’s child welfare system fails to protect kids because the 
lawyers assigned to look out for kids — known as guardians ad litem — 
either don’t take the time or have the time to study their cases.Guardians
 ad litem represent the best interest of the children in court and do 
not work for any other party — not the foster, not biological parents.The <a href="https://www.kscourts.org/KSCourts/media/KsCourts/Rules/Rule-110A.pdf" target="_blank">Kansas Supreme Court requires</a>
 them to talk with the children, reach their own conclusions on what is 
best for them and report that to a judge. They’re also supposed to 
conduct independent investigations into allegations. In the case of 
their grandchildren, the Ingrahams say, that didn’t happen.Their 
concerns were supported by multiple court-appointed special advocate 
reports that said the state was reunifying the children too quickly.“This
 (court-appointed special advocate, or CASA) is concerned therapist 
recommendations are not being given consideration in the decision to 
reintegrate so soon, especially in light of what (one child) shared with
 her therapist about being scared her dad would hurt her,” a report 
said. “This CASA is concerned the emotional wellbeing of (the children) 
is being overlooked without the ability for them to continue to have the
 support of their individual therapist.”Despite the reports, the 
guardian ad litem filed a court motion and a judge ordered the children 
to be sent home with their parents.“You can imagine the terror, 
the fear,” Carla Ingraham said when the couple was told of the change. 
“They didn’t even let us say goodbye — two and a half years. They didn’t
 even let us say goodbye.”The Ingrahams say the court-appointed 
attorney rarely, if ever, met with the children and was difficult to 
work with. Not seeing the child, they said, means he couldn’t have 
possibly known what was in the children’s best interest.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/5/1652200429288.png" alt="The guardian ad litem filed for a change of placement. The Ingrahams say he never properly investigated their allegations. Blaise Mesa / Kansas News Service " />
 <figcaption>The guardian ad litem filed for a change of placement. The Ingrahams say he never properly investigated their allegations. Blaise Mesa / Kansas News Service </figcaption>
 </figure>Several foster parents told the Kansas News Service that it can be 
difficult to see a guardian ad litem and that people in that position 
rarely see the children they represent. These attorneys could get 
updates from caseworkers, but some children have multiple caseworkers 
and that makes consistent exchanges of information hard.District 
Judge Kellie Hogan said she understands parents’ frustration, but she 
said guardians ad litem are overworked. Their caseloads can be further 
bloated in urban parts of the state where there are more kids. Hogan, 
who was a court-appointed attorney before she became a judge, said some 
people represented hundreds of children.“You can’t,” she said, “be everywhere all the time.”Foster
 parents and statewide advocacy groups all had similar concerns: that 
lawyers paid to look out for foster kids aren’t coming to court with the
 background and insight into the cases of the children they represent.Amy
 Bryant, who was both a foster parent and a social worker, said some 
lawyers appointed to be a guardian ad litem come through for the kids by
 exploring their cases. But she watched in court as one child’s attorney
 called the girl he was representing a boy.“Multiple times,” she said. “I remember thinking at that point, like wow, this guy legitimately has no idea about this child.”That was from a decade ago, but Bryant said things have not improved since.An
 unresponsive and unprepared guardian ad litem is especially 
problematic, Bryant said. They carry real sway in the courtroom. These 
lawyers don’t make the final decision, but their recommendation can 
change a child’s life.Grant Brazill, a parents' attorney in 
juvenile court, said the representatives should have around 60 cases at 
most. Instead, they often juggle far more.The state has 493 
guardians ad litem. There is no clear total for the number of cases they
 have to represent. Caseloads are tracked by each judicial district with
 no statewide information available.In Johnson County, the “full”
 guardian ad litem positions — who are contracted to work 20 hours a 
week — average 43 cases. “Half” positions they contract for 10 hours 
average 22 cases. With their workloads, Brazill said it “would require a
 Herculean, superhuman effort” for them to meet with every child they 
represent.Guardian ad litem Danielle Packer has 66 
child-in-need-of-care cases. Of those, she represents children in 32 of 
them. Packer says guardians ad litem are overworked and underpaid, and 
more resources are needed to attract people to the field.Each 
county is responsible for staffing guardians ad litem. The attorneys 
contracted by the county can turn down cases, but someone has to take 
it, even if all the contracted positions are overwhelmed."“You do what needs to be done when it needs to be done,” Packer said.Changes could be coming in Kansas.State
 Rep. Gail Finney, a foster parent and a Wichita Democrat, is preparing 
legislation requiring every guardian ad litem to submit a written report
 detailing how often they’ve talked to a child.She hopes 
requiring this will show the judge how well that person knows the child.
 State requirements mandate that guardians ad litem keep in touch with 
children, their therapists and others, but Finney said that is not 
happening.“That is just devastating to our youth,” she said. 
“There's a myriad of reasons that have been given as to why there's no 
accountability … that needs to change.”Blaise Mesa reports on 
criminal justice and social services for the Kansas News Service in 
Topeka. You can follow him on Twitter @Blaise_Mesa or email him at 
blaise@kcur.org.