Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 1

Metro For home delivery call 1-313-222-6500 15 Friday December 20, 1996 35 cents (50 cents outside 6-county metropolitan area) On Guard For 165 Years 47 3HE Half ttltae ira) Report on child services issued Ombudsman seeks 61 improvements mm Mi VV MJil 1L' li it" Wyy' V'- Debbie Neumann changes 2 year Photos by STEPHANIE SINCLAIRDetroit Free Press for Nick and his two siblings while caring for her two children. Baby-sitting pb, classes give Alpena mom a starting point High 20 Low 15 Today's forecast Mostly cloudy with chance of light snow. Saturday. Mostly cloudy with light snow. High 20.

Low 15. WEATHER 7F Beanie Babies: Why they are so popular KatherineWilliford, 7, of Franklin has a seal Beanie on her head. Lots of kids collect the bean-bag animals because they're cute, cuddly and not costly. THE WAY WE LIVE IE NorMesaleOifd A plan to turn Wayne County land into high-end housing and a golf course wins approval. LOCAL NEWS IB dinton fund targeted The Justice Department widens its probe into Democratic money-raising to include the president's legal defense fund.

NATION WORLD 5A Mastroiannidies The Italian film star was 72. NATION WORLD 19A Air bags deadline Automakers tell Congress they need rules by Feb. 14 if they're to make changes for 1998 vehicles. BUSINESS IF Holiday movies Terry Lawson reviews three new ones, about love, betrayal and (heh-heh) adventure. WEEKEND ID New Year's ideas Entertainment possibilities for the big night.

THE WAY WE LIVE 8E Jacques Demers next? St. Louis Blues create an opening by firing coach Mike Keenan. SPORTS 1C Dreams deferred Mitch Albom tells the story of a teenagerwhoquitthethinghe loved most the Cooley High School basketball team. SPORTS 1C INSIDE Bridge 7F Business IF Classified Index 7B Comics, Crossword 6F Editorials 10A Feature Page 8E Horoscope 8E Jumble 6E The List! 4D Lottery 2A Movie Guide 2D Names Faces 8F Obituaries 2B Sports 1C Television 2E The Way We Live IE Weekend ID Volume 166, Number 229 1996 Detroit Free Press Inc. Printed In the United States Find us on the Web www.freep.com ri I I PrimeCare Occupational full-time position with benefits.

her initiative, things happen ByJackKresnak Free Press Staff Writer Nearly two years after taking office as Michigan's Children's Ombudsman, Richard Bearup on Thursday released his first annual report and made 61 recommendations for improving the lives of the state's abused and neglected children. The much-anticipated and oft-delayed report which Gov. John Engler himself edited a few months ago, mirrors in many ways the July re- port of Lt. Gov. a fl Connie Bins- If feld's Children's fa Commission.

Tr Both reports criticize some a Agency, which mans report, is responsible Page 8A. for the welfare of thousands of children who are abused, neglected, abandoned or exploited every year in Michigan. But where Binsfeld's commission relied almost solely on the public testimony of people concerned about how the system treats at-risk children, Bearup's report draws on his reviews of confidential FIA files and, often, new investigations of abuse and neglect allegations. Bearup calls for more consistency in child welfare practices, better training for Children's Protective Services investigators and other case workers, and a tougher stance with abusive and neglectful parents who fail to improve their abilities to nurture their children. "There must be higher expectations for these parents and a realization that a caring and responsible parent would begin working as soon Please see CHILD, Page 8A Developers plan casinos as centers of activity BY TINA LAM Free Press Staff Writer The two leading candidates for casino licenses in Detroit unveiled grand visions for their casino projects for the first time Thursday a flashy shopping avenue with neon light shows projected onto a roof overhead, new hotels, a movie theater, a covered mall with tropical gardens, an ornate arch over Gratiot Avenue, and maybe a Motown Tower observatory.

"We don't want to Vegas-ize Detroit," said Paul Steelman, the Las Vegas architect for developers of a prospective $300-million Greektown casino. "We want to give it a new identity: big, spectacular and lots of fun." Meanwhile, Gov. John Engler is expected to name the new state gambling commission today. The commission would regulate gambling, including licensing casino operators, suppliers and employees to make sure they meet state standards. The Greektown group and Atwater Entertainment expect to be first in line for licenses.

The state's new casino law they helped draft and campaigned for gives them first rights to licenses, if the city chooses them as operators and if they pass the state licensing requirements. Please see CASINO, Page 4A Parker has done so well at her job at Status Report On July 1 the state Family Independence Agency began Project Zero, a one-year ex periment to find jobs for everyone on welfare in six areas of Michigan. This week the state announced that half the people in the target group have found jobs. Today the Free Press examines how the program has changed the lives of two of those people, one in Alpena, the other in Detroit in Detroit that she's been offered a Detroit woman says prayer helped make old Nick's diaper. She's paid to baby-sit By Wendy Wendland Free Press Staff Writer It's after 9 a.m.

on a snowy morning. Debbie Neumann is sitting in front of the TV, sipping a Pepsi and smoking her first cigarette of the day. Alexis, one of three children she is paid to watch, has for kindergarten. Kathy, 5, her own daughter, has been watching TV since Neumann turned it on, nearly two hours ago. Neumann's other daughter, Kristina, 1, is upstairs crying herself to sleep.

Wade 4, whom she is paid to watch, is on a steam radiator. His brother, Nicholas, 2, is hard at play. Neumann is working as a baby-sitter for her neighbors. The job was arranged with the help of her former caseworker at tine Alpena Family Indepen bnya A federally funded survey by the University of Michigan's Institute of Social Research of eighth-, 10th- and 12th-graders found that more of them tried cigarettes, marijuana and alcohol, as well as cocaine, heroin and LSD, in 1996 than in the year before. More students also are regularly using the drugs.

The largest rates of increase were among the youngest kids, according to the national Centers BY Free Press with Doesn't It!" The month of a all west The to look schools, She urged the class to stay on top of what businesses are opening or expanding, then apply there. "Troy is a hot spot right now," said Vicks, who works for Ross Innovative Educational Services. "Everybody says, Troy, that's too But with Somerset, there's a lot of jobs." Parker, 23, a single mother from Detroit admitted later she wasn't too sure what to think of the course. "At first I thought 'Oh, this is so boring. Why do we need to know that?" But later I said, 'Oh, OK.

I see now." For her, the job-training course Please see TONYA, Page 8A WENDY WENDLAND Staff Writer Tonya Parker sat in a classroom inspirational messages like, "Believe in Yourself and "Success Come to You You Go to posted to the wall. job-finding course, held last in downtown Detroit was part mandatory, three-week program welfare recipients in a Family Independence Agency district on Detroit's side must take. instructor, Victoria Vicks, discussed what abbreviations in classified ads mean. She suggested places for a job newspapers, libraries, job fairs and flyers. dence Agency.

Neumann, 26, who has been on welfare most of her adult life, hopes it will last "Brrm, brrm, brrm," Nicholas yells, as he bangs his yellow plastic dump truck against the family room floor. Nicholas glances at Neumann to see if she's watching. Nicholas, still in his pajamas, pulls on his snow boots and jumps up to his feet Clunk, clunk, clunk. His boots patter against the wood floor as he dashes toward the kitchen door. Because Nicholas likes to make a break for it every chance he gets, his parents have rigged the door to an electronic bell.

"Ding-ding." Please see DEBBIE, Page 8A War on teen drug use failing, study says Many experts said the problem is cultural parents and the media sending dangerously mixed messages to young Americans. Others said students no longer believe what school educators were telling them about drugs. Darnell Jackson, director of the Michigan Office of Drug Control Policy, said society needs a stronger Please see DRUGS, Page 9A By Shankar vedantam And Maryanne George Free Press Staff Writers WASHINGTON America's war on drug use by teens is faltering and the villains in the struggle may be parents and the media, some experts said Thursday. Fresh statistics from the Department of Health and Human Services Thursday confirmed the seriousness of the problem. "America fell asleep.

the war on drugs." DARNELLJACKSON, drug control director www.auto.com.