By Sarah Purtill
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A. – 11,000 disabled student veterans are facing a delay with their stipends this month. These payments are subsistence allowance payments. They help to pay for living expenses while the students go to school. The program which pays the stipends is through the Department of Veterans Affairs as part of its Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment program. The money is supposed to be disbursed on the last day of each month. The money should have been disbursed on January 31, but the students did not see the disbursement until February 6.  An internal memo obtained by the Washington Post called the problem a “computer glitch.” In the memo, VA employees were told to apologize to the students and tell them their money was on the way.

The program gained popularity because it helps disabled veterans get job counseling. It also helps them earn college degrees or learn technical skills. There are internship opportunities and resume workshops. Although the problem was fixed in a few days, it may create a multitude a problems for the students. They may be late on rent or other bills or may not be able to buy groceries for a few days.

One army veteran who did not receive his stipend on the 31st is Rick Collins of Portland Oregon. Because his stipend will be arriving several days late, he has had to put off paying some of his bills and will not have to pay late fees as well. Collin had served in Afghanistan and suffers from post traumatic stress, severe memory loss, and chronic back and shoulder pain.

“This was going to be my first month with money left over after bills, and now that will all go to late fees,” said Collin. He is a father to four children aged 9, 7, 2 and 9 months. He is also studying photography at Portland Community College.  He has also said that he is in his fifth week of the term and still has not received the computer he was promised. He only received the camera he was promised last week.

“Any large bureaucracy has their glitches, but anytime veterans are not getting their benefits on time, especially when on a program like this, it’s a real hardship,” said Garry J. Augustine, executive director of 1.3 million-member Disabled American Veterans.

According to VA spokesman Curt Cashour, The glitch “has been fixed and it won’t occur again the future.” He also said, “We apologize to the veterans affected by this inconvenience.”

Even still the VA is facing a lot of scrutiny lately for several issues including long waits for appointment times and medical malpractice.

For more information, please see:

Chicago Tribune – 11,000 Disabled Student Veterans Left Without Rent, Expense Money Due to Computer Glitch – 2 February 2018

Washington Post – 11,000 Disabled Student Veterans Left Without Rent and Expense Money Due to Computer Glitch – 2 February 2018

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs – Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E)

By Sarah Purtill
Impunity Watch Reporter

GEORGIA, United States – Dougherty county residents initiated the investigation of this case following a tip that was given to police officers. The tip came in after several Dougherty county residents were approached by some of the elderly outside of the Albany apartments, “begging for food.” Following the investigation, three people were arrested. Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr described the case as a “horrific elder abuse scheme.’’ He went on to say that the elders were not given proper “health care, shelter and necessary sustenance.” Additionally, there appeared to be a scheme which included siphoning off the resident’s social security benefits.

This is one of many unlicensed care cases in Georgia. It has remained a problem in the state for years. Georgia personal care homes are supposed to provide food, lodging and if needed, personal care. The residents of these personal care homes are usually senior citizens and people with mental impairments.

Since 2010, Georgia has had over 3,000 people charged with elder abuse crimes in situations like that of the seniors in Albany.  This issue became more apparent after 49 individuals were rescued from supposed “dungeons” according to GBI Director Vernon Keenan. Despite what appears to be high numbers of such cases, Georgia is seen as having one of the nation’s strongest laws in place to protect the elderly and mentally impaired, says Keenan.

The Albany units in question have been condemned because living conditions in them are so poor. Those units were rented by Michelle Oliver, Harold Hunt and Cynthia Riley. The three were charged on a 17 count indictment including violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, neglect, exploitation and intimidation of the elderly and disabled. Oliver, 39, was arrested on September 20 for operating an unlicensed personal care home called Miracle One Care Center. After seven elderly and disabled individuals were triaged at the residence, Oliver was taken into custody at her home. Four elderly and disabled individuals were found in the home. Three more victims were found at an apartment in Macon.

“While this case is horrifying, it’s also gratifying to see the results of new laws and new funding passed in the last five years by the governor and the state Legislature,’’ Kathy Floyd, executive director of the Georgia Council on Aging said. “Law enforcement and state agencies have more tools and training to fight elder abuse.” Peter Skandalakis, executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, said Tuesday that “the tentacles [of these crimes] go not only across county lines, but also state lines.”

“This has been an ongoing problem in our state,” said Melanie McNeil, the state’s long-term care ombudsman. “Georgia is a leader in the nation for recognizing this problem, developing training and collaborations among law enforcement, prosecutors, and state agencies to rescue residents and prosecute the perpetrators.”

For more information, please see:

CBS – Police: Elderly were Starved, Injected with Medicine and Victims of Fraud – 16 January 2018

Telegraph – Authorities Charge Neglect, Exploitation and Drugs Amount to ‘Web of Abuse’ in Macon Albany – 16 January 2018

WABE – ‘Horiffic’ Elder Abuse Case Highlights Crackdown on Unlicensed Georgia Facilities – 16 January 2018

By: Karina Johnson
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON D.C.  — On Monday, January 8, Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen M. Nielsen declared that El Salvador’s Temporary Protected Status (TPS) will end on September 9, 2019, affecting over 200,000 Salvadoran nationals residing in the US.  El Salvador has been part of the TPS humanitarian program since the 2001 earthquakes that significantly damaged the country’s infrastructure, and before that from 1990-1992 during its civil war.

According to the Migration Policy Institute, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a provision within the 1990 Immigration and Nationality Act to protect foreign nationals currently living in the United States by designating criteria upon which relief could be granted.

Prior to the implementation of the TPS program, the executive branch would designate certain countries for Extended Voluntary Departure (EVD), where immigration courts could exercise prosecutorial discretion to not pursue removal of nationals from those countries.  However, critics called the process too partisan and subject to political whims, citing the Regan administration’s failure to designate El Salvador for EVD during the civil war in the 1980s.

The program grants a temporary legal status—typically for a period of six to eighteen months—to migrants currently in the US who do may not qualify as refugees, but whose home countries are in some sort of crisis, such as civil unrest, wide-spread violence, or a natural disaster.  Applications have a $495 processing fee for the initial application as well as subsequent renewals. TPS beneficiaries may apply for a work permit and a driver’s license, and the TPS prevents their deportation.  According to the press release from the Department of Homeland Security, “the original conditions caused by the 2001 earthquakes [in El Salvador] no longer exist. Thus, under the applicable statute, the current TPS designation must be terminated.” However, the US government cited the pervasive gang violence as a factor for choosing to renew El Salvador’s TPS in 2016, and El Salvador remains one of the deadliest countries in the world with an average of 15 reported homicides a day.

US foreign policy has itself severely impacted El Salvador’s current social climate.  During El Salvador’s civil war in the 1980s and early 1990s, the US government backed a repressive right-wing military regime that left 75,000 civilians dead and forced 2 million people to flee to the US.  In the mid-90s, the US began deporting Salvadorans en masse, including gangsters incubated with the US prison system who would then go on to form the Salvadoran branch of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13).  The rising gang violence began a new wave of refugees—primarily unaccompanied minors or women with their children—fleeing El Salvador for the United States.

Oscar Chacon, executive director of Alianza Americas—an immigrant advocacy group—said to Reuters, “Our (US) government is complicit in breaking up families — nearly 275,000 US-born children have a parent who is a TPS holder — and further destabilizing our neighboring countries.”

According to a 2017 report by the Center for Migration Studies, 51% of Salvadorans with TPS have lived in the US for more than 20 years, 34% have homes with mortgages and the majority of them live in California, Texas, New York and Washington DC.

Remittances to El Salvador from relatives abroad are at an all-time high and account for almost 20% of El Salvador’s GDP, while in 2016 the World Bank reported that economic growth had reached 2.4% and was the slowest growing economy of Central America.

El Salvador joins Haiti, Nicaragua, and Sudan as the fourth country in four months to lose its Temporary Protection Status.

For more information, please see:

Vox News – Thousands of Salvadoran TPS workers clean federal offices. Now their livelihoods are on the line. – 11 January 2018

The New Yorker – What the Salvadorans Being Kicked Out by Trump Face Back Home – 9 January 2018

Reuters – Salvadorans say going home not an option after U.S. axes protection – 9 January 2018

Vox News – Trump’s attacks on humanitarian immigration just became a full-blown war – 9 January 2018

The Guardian – US says 200,000 people from El Salvador must leave within 18 months – 8 January 2018

NPR – U.S. Ends El Salvador’s Protected Status, Affecting 200,000 Residents – 8 January 2018

The Intercept – Ignoring Violence in El Salvador, Trump Ends Years of Special Protective Status for Immigrants – 8 January 2018

The New York Times – Trump Administration Says That Nearly 200,000 Salvadorans Must Leave – 8 January 2018

Reuters – U.S. moves toward expelling 200,000 Salvadorans – 8 January 2018

The Washington Post – ‘We will lose practically everything’: Salvadorans devastated by TPS decision – 8 January 2018

Congressional Research Service – Temporary Protected Status: Current Immigration Policy and Issues – 17 January 2017

By Sarah Purtill
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON D.C., U.S.A – Google Glass had been considered a failure by many. Recently, however, a study was completed concerning Google Glass and children with Autism. In America alone, there are over 3.5 million people who have been diagnosed with some form of Autism. The potential benefits of Glass Enterprise Edition (Glass), the successor to Google Glass smart glasses, were explored in children with autism and their caregivers to evaluate its role within the condition.

The study contained 8 children in different places along the Autism spectrum and of all school ages (6 to 17).  The children were given the glasses to inspect and on the glasses were several different assisted-reality apps. The children were all able to take their time inspecting the glasses and becoming comfortable enough to progress to the next part of the study in the interview room. All 8 of the children in the study found Glass to be both useful and practical as communicated by them or when needed, by their caregiver. The children said they did not experience sensory overload or an overwhelming emotional experience.

Additionally, all of the children’s caregivers stated they believed the children appeared to enjoy using Glass. Dr. Ned T. Sahin, the study’s principal investigator was actually surprised at how well both children and caregivers embraced the concept.

“Parents and teachers routinely tell me they are surprised how well children with autism can use Empower Me on Google Glass! It is important to recognize that millions of autistic children and adults struggle to obtain the specialized services they need. This technology will augment the work of their human therapists and teachers, provide game-like, self-motivating ways to practice life skills and add sensor-based data that no human practitioner could otherwise incorporate. The future will be very empowering!”

Although this is a small study and was limited by a short exposure to Google Glass and its’ applications, it is an important movement in validating technology’s role in addressing and assisting with the needs of children with autism. This adds to the growing literature on feasibility and tolerability and together, help establish Glass as a useful clinical tool. Further, Brain Power has secured more than $110,000 in crowd funding to help further develop this kind of technology.

The use of Google Glass can offer real-world tools and assistance for children with autism.  The data also suggests that children and caregivers could potentially embrace Google Glass and similar technology in a way that just might make it fun for all.

For more information, please see:

Forbes – Google Glass is a Hit for Children with Autism – 4 January 2018

Science Daily – Google Glass App Helps Autistic Children with Social Interaction – 16 September 2017

STAT – Google Glass is Back – As a Tool to Coach Autistic Children, Train Doctors and More – 29 August 2017