School is starting and many of you parents out there have to decide whether or not your kids are ready to be home alone. Thousands of children across Wisconsin come home after school to an empty house. Nationally, nearly seven million children between ages 5 and 14 are left home alone for some period of time each school day, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Wisconsin law does not specify an age a child may be left without adult supervision. However, it is the parents’ responsibility to protect and keep their children safe. (more…)

Donate to FM 106.1’s Care-A-Van for Kids, benefitting the CAP Fund

Child abuse is the absolutely worst kind of abuse that can occur in this world, that is my opinion. Children can’t fight back, children can’t run for help, children can’t save themselves in the most desperate times.

I am the second oldest of 16 children. All of us in my family were, I mean ARE, victims of child abuse. Every one of us was in a foster home, every one of us has endured the pain and horror of facing a parent who chooses violence.

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Next Monday, Aug. 24, Discovery Health Channel will air a “Mystery Diagnosis” episode about one of our patients. Claire Mantey was diagnosed here at Children’s with a rare condition called lymphangiomatosis. The film crew spent several days at our hospital last winter, interviewing our physicians and recreating how Claire was diagnosed. The program airs at 9 p.m. We hope you’ll tune in.

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“Drive through” school supply drive this Friday at Children’s Services Society of Wisconsin

On any given day in Milwaukee, 2,500 children are living in foster care while their families take time to heal. A foster parent provides a temporary family and home for a child until he or she can be reunited safely with his or her biological family or placed in a permanent living situation.

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When I explain the work of the Fetal Concerns Program to friends and colleagues, it’s hard to convey the emotion behind what we do. That’s one reason Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin has made a new video, called “Molly’s story.” In this video, the Pechan family from Barneveld, Wis., shares their experience with the Fetal Concerns Program in Milwaukee.

The Fetal Concerns Program coordinates care for women whose pregnancies are complicated by health issues, especially when there is a health risk to her child. These problems can range from high risk of premature birth and correctable birth defects such as cleft lip or clubfoot to more severe birth defects, including those that the baby has no chance of surviving.

As you will see, our services go way beyond medical care. Our program’s goal is to make sure parents are informed and the family is fully supported in their decisions and throughout the difficult process.

– Steven Leuthner, MD, program director, Fetal Concerns, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. The Fetal Concerns Program is a cooperative effort between the Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin Birth Center and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. It is the only program of its type in Wisconsin.