**SafeCare helps prevent recurring child abuse**
UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA — The test program SafeCare is an evidence-based parenting program that addresses the social and family environment in which child maltreatment occurs, according to a news release.
The model is designed to directly address home safety, home cleanliness, nutrition, child medical care and parent-child interactions, said Mark Chaffin, a researcher with the OU Center on Child Abuse and Neglect.
The SafeCare model targets physical abuse and neglect. According to researchers, child neglect cases make up 78 percent of child protective services cases.
Recidivism into the abusive and neglectful behavior fell from 70 percent to 50 among study participants, according to the release.
—The Oklahoma Daily
By Sam Higgins
**Romney claims close Ohio victory on Super Tuesday**
UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON — The race to nominate a Republican presidential nominee continued with narrow margins on Super Tuesday.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney capped off the 10 primaries and caucuses on March 6 with a close 1 percent primary victory in Ohio over former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.
Romney won six states overall Tuesday, while Santorum won North Dakota, Oklahoma and Tennessee, and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich won his home state of Georgia.
According to CNN as of Wednesday, March 7, Romney led the nomination race with 429 overall delegates, and Santorum was in second place with 169 delegates. Gingrich followed with 118 delegates and Texas Rep. Ron Paul was in fourth place with 67.
—Flyer News
By Kayleigh Fladung
**Representative to introduce bill requiring drug tests for welfare recipients**
LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY — Following Florida’s controversial decision to require drug-testing for welfare recipients, the Georgia Senate passed a bill Wednesday to require drug testing prior to receiving welfare benefits, and Louisiana might be joining the bandwagon.
State Rep. Sherman Mack, R-Albany, proposed legislation to require 20 percent of adults receiving aid from the Family Independence Temporary Assistance Program to be randomly drug-tested.
“Any time you give government assistance to someone, you are entrusting yourself with funds from taxpayers — the public’s money,” he said.
The tests will detect any type of illegal narcotic, including prescription drugs, he said.
If a recipient tests positive to the random test, the legislation gives him or her a 90-day grace period to seek treatment. After 90 days, recipients must provide proof of treatment and pass a second drug test — which they must pay for — to receive welfare benefits again.
If a recipient fails this second drug test, he or she will be terminated from assistance for one year.
—The Daily Reveille
By Kate Mabry
