Legislators Want Answers To Ongoing Failures At DHS:

“Oklahoma’s Children Deserve Immediate And Absolute Protection…They Deserve Better

(Oklahoma City, OK ) With headlines and statistics telling the tale of failures to provide adequate protection for those children placed in their care and custody, state Rep. Mike Sanders, District 59 (R-Kingfisher) and Rep.Richard Morrissette, District 92 (D-OKC) are demanding an immediate halt to business as usual by the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.

“This morning we awoke to yet another headline in the Oklahoman that tells of ongoing failures at the department resulting in the death of yet another Oklahoma child.” stated Sanders and Morrissette.

Fifty children - on average - continue to die annually under the care of the Department of Human Services. Oklahoma is one of four states that have had an increase in child deaths.




Rep. Mike Sanders

 “How long do they, the Commission, and Director Hendricks, expect us to abide this issue which is now clearly systemic within the department to the extent that we can predict with certainty a future tragedy?” asked  Rep. Sanders.

Rep. Mike Sanders serves as Vice Chairman of the House Human Services Committee which oversees the formation of policy and necessary statutory changes required to provide direction for the Department of Human Services.

“In 2008, I brought HB2596 with the intention of reducing the burden upon child welfare case workers and those who administer these cases on behalf of Oklahoma children taken into custody by the department because of abuse and neglect within the home. That legislation involved breaking the department into the three manageable divisions. The bill was not allowed to be heard in committee and children keep dyeing.” stated Rep. Morrissette in frustration.

The House of Representatives under Speaker Chris Benge did allow for a performance audit of the agency, which came with a price tag of more than $430,000. The audit report made suggestions for significant policy changes, but, to date, only a handful of those have been implemented and many others in only partial compliance.




Chris Benge


The Department of Human Services Commission, whose task is to oversee the workings at the agency, have openly admitted to not even having read the report.

“We now demand that these commissioners come before the legislature to answer directly as to why they continue to neglect their responsibilities and to ignore the needs of Oklahoma’s most vulnerable resulting in the deaths of so many innocent children.” stated Sanders.

DHS Commissioners admit openly to failing to read the in-depth performance audit prepared by Hornby Zeller Associates.

“This is an opportunity for the Commission to address the need for a complete overhaul of their mission statement, practices and procedures and to adopt the remainder of the audit recommendations: NO MORE PASSING THE BUCK! CHILDREN DESERVE BETTER…THE PEOPLE OF OKLAHOMA DESERVE BETTER!”

Rep. Morrissette has worked on this idea of requiring answers from DHS since 2008. Rep. Sanders has been very vocal during this past session regarding particular cases within his House district dealing with DHS incompetence.

The plan Rep. Morrissette and Rep. Sanders will outline at a press conference to be held Monday, October 17, 2011 at 2 PM will involve requiring DHS Commissioners, individually, to come before the legislature to answer direct questions regarding DHS policies and practices.

http://bixbybulletin.com/news/legislators-want-answers-to-ongoing-failures-at-dhs-oklahoma-s/article_e4b062f0-f5d0-11e0-920f-001cc4c002e0.html?fb_ref=story-bottom&fb_source=profile_oneline

Legislators Want Answers To Ongoing Failures At DHS: “Oklahoma’s Children Deserve Immediate And Absolute Protection…They Deserve Better

DHS Commission Could Use More Members Like Steven Dow

The Oklahoman Editorial   

Published: September 18, 2011

STEVEN Dow's deposition in a class-action lawsuit over Oklahoma's foster care system is an indictment of the state Human Services Commission. That and Dow's willingness to criticize the panel publicly have made him some enemies, no doubt, but also may affect real, overdue changes. We certainly hope so.

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Dow was named to the commission in early 2010. He soon became frustrated by what he saw as a lack of commission oversight of the Department of Human Services and, in the face of news stories about children dying while in the DHS system, what he saw as an unwillingness by board members to do little more than attend their monthly meetings.
Dow told attorneys for the nonprofit Children's Rights Inc. that he felt information provided to commissioners about DHS operations was “absolutely insufficient.” What objective measures are commissioners given to help them gauge DHS's child welfare performance? “None.”
Has anyone on the board expressed an interest in such objective performance measures? “Not to my knowledge.”



Chairman Richard DeVaughn



Read more: http://newsok.com/dhs-commission-could-use-more-members-like-steven-dow/article/3604720#ixzz1ZeKb1uuQ

http://newsok.com/article/3604720



Aja Johnson



Baby illegally Detained By DCFS - California

Baby Illegally detained by DCFS, placing infant at emotional risk

DCFS Give Us Back Our Children, mothers, grandmothers, family supporters and community members are holding a press conference to demand that the Department of Children and Family Services return Cashmere Alexander, a 14-month-old baby, to her maternal grandmother, Deborah Farris. Cashmere has been under Ms. Farris care since her birth. Ms. Farris has done an exemplary job of providing food, shelter, clothing, and other care for the baby while receiving no material support from DCFS.

The actions of DCFS in removing Cashmere from her family - a family ready, willing and able to care for her - removing her from everyone she has known and is attached to, exposed a happy and well adjusted child to feelings of abandonment and future problems of attachment. This is abusive first of all to Cashmere, but also to her primary caregiver Ms. Farris and other family members who are bearing the emotional trauma of this precious infant being snatched from them. No one at DCFS was able to tell the family over the weekend where Cashmere was or who was caring for her, and no one had inquired about allergies or other health issues Cashmere might have.

California law that stipulates every effort must be made to place children with family members before detaining them was broken when Cashmere Alexander was detained by DCFS on Friday, July 23, 2010. Additionally, Federal law under the American Disabilities Act was also broken, since Cashmere was detained after her primary caregiver, her maternal grandmother had a seizure brought on by continuous harassing by the social worker.

The mothers and grandmothers in the group say that their relationship with their children is not seen as important and valued, making it too easy for their children to be taken and placed needlessly in foster care with strangers or put up for fast track adoption.

They also say that all too often families are penalized for simply being poor and that rather than making resources available to help mothers or grandmothers care for children, families are torn apart. The resources that could help these families instead are diverted to foster care with strangers. Also past records of contact with the criminal justice system and/or DCFS are used to block family members who now have clean records, and whose contact with criminal justice were for minor offenses to begin with. This has a disproportionate impact on communities of color which, due to poverty, institutional racism and more, are more likely to have been under the jurisdiction of the criminal justice system. Black children are detained at a disproportionate rate: Black children are 8% of the total LA County child population but are 34% of the foster children. LA County takes away children at a higher rate than most major metropolitan areas – and the number of families torn apart has increased most years since 2004.

Those victimized most are the children – taken needlessly from mothers and grandmothers whose only crime may be poverty, and then consigned to the chaos of foster care. Study after study has found that in typical cases children left in their own homes do better in later life. According to the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform (nccpr.org), foster care “alumni” found they had twice the rate of post-traumatic stress disorder of Gulf War veterans and only 20% could be said to be “doing well”.

We demand the immediate return of Baby Cashmere to her grandmother.

“DCFS Give Us Back Our Children!” is a self-help, multi-racial support and action group of mothers, other family members and supporters working together to end the unjust removal of children from their families by the Department of Children and Family Services. They are coordinated by Every Mother is a Working Mother Network, have a sister group the Philadelphia-based DHS-Give Us Back Our Children, and are part of a growing national movement.
Their DEMANDS are:

DHS/DCFS to prioritize –in practice – the protection, reunification and maintenance of families, recognizing that most children are safer and better off in their own home.

Prioritize placing children with family members if they truly can’t remain with their own parents (according to state law), not fostering them out to strangers. Children are almost always safer with family than with strangers.

2/3 of those who were in foster care report sexual abuse by an adult in a foster care facility (Casey Family Programs)

Stop removing children from a mother because she is suffering domestic violence. Families need protection from violence, not the further violence of separation.
The Federal Government, the State and County must provide adequate resources for mothers to keep families together, including financial support, housing, childcare day or night, family-centered drug treatment, support for people with mental and physical disabilities, legal and other help. A financial crisis is no excuse for inaction since this kind of assistance costs less than warehousing children in foster or group homes and destroying their futures.

One third of children would be home tomorrow if their parents just had decent housing! Richard Wexler, Natl Coalition for Child Protection Reform

End financial incentives for DHS/DCFS and provider agencies to keep children in foster care.
Families need access to free, respectful and accountable legal representation. Professionals must explain clearly what is happening in each case
DHS/DCFS and related agencies must stop hiding behind confidentiality to keep information from the public; allow families to decide if they want their case heard in courts open to the public.
End discrimination on the basis of race, gender, poverty, age, disability, immigration status, cultural differences, sexual preference, being a victim of domestic violence or any other.
End the run-around, delaying of cases and abuse of power by workers, lawyers, so-called “child advocates” and others, and give mothers the time they need to meet DHS/DCFS goals. Children need their mothers and/or other family members who love them, not be detained and then given a teddy bear.
Mothers and families must be treated with respect, not threats, harassment and arrogance. They have the right to the support and accompaniment of family and community members in all dealings with DHS/DCFS and Family Court.

Black children are more likely to be taken from their homes, to stay in protective custody longer and never to return to their parents. (Cincinnati Post)

Mothers must not be forced to choose between homelessness and staying with an abusive partner who may be her only source of financial support – either way the child is hurt and they risk losing custody. Welfare must be available.

When childcare arrangements fall through or when children are sick, mothers must not have to choose between staying with their children and getting fired, or leaving children alone or with inadequate care. Welfare must be available.
Independent public scrutiny of how cases are handled.
Accountability by case workers, supervisors & administrators for the welfare of children.
Accountability on how DHS/DCFS and related agencies are allocating their funding, ie how much goes into foster care and adoption and how much to services families need to stay together.

http://www.globalwomenstrike.net/content/baby-illegally-detained-dcfs-press-conference

Citizens Denied Access to CSB Meeting

Trumbull County Commissioners said they will be looking into allegations that citizens were denied access to a Children Services Board meeting on Tuesday because they refused to sign in.

Several citizens attended Wednesday's commissioners meeting to complain that the Children Services Board would not let them into Tuesday's meeting because they did not want to sign in. Children Services officials said people are always required to sign in when they attend the meetings because they are held at a facility that also also houses children and they want to know who is in the building.

Officials said signing in has been a policy at the agency for years.

"I don't know all the particulars but as an agency in this county, if they are having a public meeting then they should not deny anyone to participate and listen in the meeting," said Trumbull County Commissoner Dan Polivka.

Some of the citizens that were denied access said they have contacted an attorney and are considering filing a lawsuit.

"We asked for a copy of their policy, and they said it is not available. The police that came to the meeting said you are seeing a copy of the policy, it's not a requirment, you do as you are told," said Harold Smith.

 

http://www.wkbn.com/content/news/local/story/Citizens-Denied-Access-to-CSB-Meeting/-gEPCXsmBkS-nfUOsbO9Sw.cspx#.Tp9xyE7S0Mo.facebook

Trumbull County OH Commissioners Confronted About Children Services

A handful of people unhappy with Trumbull County Children Services showed up at the commissioners regular meeting on Thursday to voice their concerns.

Those in attendance voiced concerns over a recent allegation that an infant was raped during what was supposed to be a supervised visitation. The biological parents have been indicted in that case.

Commissioners said they understand the group's concerns and are pleased the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services will conduct an independent review of the department's policies and procedures.

"We want total transparency and support and independent investigation. We support the prosecutor and the state is doing an investigation. Iit's a tragedy, that this deranged couple could do this to their own kid, but we obviously want to make sure something like this doesn't happen in the future," said Commissioner Dan Polivka.

Those upset with Children Services said they also are planning to voice their concerns at CSB's regular meeting next week.

http://www.wkbn.com/content/news/local/story/Commissioners-Confronted-About-Children-Services/sySj3JQlhkaEKvgQBIE8fA.cspx#.Tpd99vCIYwk.facebook

Alberta judge allows ID of baby who died in care

An Alberta Court of Queen's Bench judge has lifted a publication ban on the identity of a four-month-old baby girl who died in government care six days after she was seized from her mother.
"The publication of Delonna Sullivan's name Pursuant to Section 126.2(2)(ii) of the Child Youth & Family Enhancement Act, is hereby granted," Justice M.D. Gates states in an order granted Thursday in Edmonton.
In his ruling, the judge said naming the little girl is "a matter of public interest."

"The community and citizens of Edmonton and Alberta have substantial interest in the welfare of all children in this province," he said.
The order was sought by Delonna's mother, Jamie Sullivan. Sullivan first went public with the story of her daughter's death in June, but Alberta's notoriously restrictive Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act prohibited the media from identifying her or her daughter.

Government of Alberta lawyer Kate Bridget told the judge that the government "neither consents nor objects to the application."
Sullivan welcomed the opportunity to finally show the public her daughter's picture.
"She's my little angel. I mean I should be able to say her name and show her picture to anybody and to have somebody tell me that I can't, really made me angry," she said outside the courthouse.
"How can you tell me that I can't show her picture to people. People can't see that — how healthy she was, how happy she was. Why does that have to be hidden?"
Sullivan's baby was taken away on April 5, 2011, after two social workers and an RCMP officer went to her home in central Alberta. They had an order to apprehend the children of an unrelated person who lived in the home.
They ended up seizing Sullivan's baby and placing her in foster care, believing there was "disharmony in the home."
According to documents obtained by CBC News, social workers also believed Sullivan had an alcohol problem — an allegation she denies.
Delonna died on April 11, six days after being placed in foster care.
Sullivan is still seeking answers about what happened. The provincial government says Delonna's death is under investigation. Autopsy results are expected by the end of the month.
Sullivan's lawyer, Larry McConnell, called the ruling a landmark decision that can be used by mothers in similar circumstances.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/story/2011/10/13/edmonton-baby-name-publication-ban-lifted.html?mid=501

Family Case Worker Charged With Drunk Driving

 By Meghan Hurley, The Ottawa Citizen July 18, 2011

Woman allegedly travelling with two children in car

OTTAWA — A case worker with Family and Children Services of Renfrew County was allegedly travelling with two children in her car when she was arrested for drunk driving.
Renfrew County OPP received a traffic complaint last Friday around 4 p.m. about a driver on Elgin Street in Arnprior.
The driver of the car was arrested after she was given a breathalyzer test.
Cynthia Racine, 32, was charged with driving with a blood-alcohol level over the legal limit.
Reached at home, Racine refused to comment.
Arijana Tomicic, Family and Children Services of Renfrew County executive director, said she can’t speak specifically about the case, citing privacy concerns.
Tomicic wouldn’t say if Racine has been suspended from her job.
In most cases, an employee facing criminal charges would be suspended with pay until court proceedings are complete, Tomicic said.
“This is not taken lightly and this situation is not a usual situation that we have to deal with,” Tomicic said. “My responsibility and the responsibility of the agency is towards the children and the number one priority is to ensure their safety.”
Tomicic would not confirm if the two children in the car were Crown wards.
mhurley@ottawacitizen.com

Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Family+case+worker+charged+with+drunk+driving/5114344/story.html#ixzz1aQR8Aoi8

Court Rules Social Workers Must Follow Law



Lawsuit defendant Sheriff Joe

 A federal court has ruled that social workers have to respect the U.S. Constitution regarding privacy and parental rights, and if they don't they may be held liable.

The ruling comes in an Arizona case in which social workers, accompanied by Maricopa County deputy sheriffs, made unsupported threats to place a family's children in custody and arrest the parents if they were not allowed to make what ended up being an allegedly illegal search of the family's home.
U.S. District Judge Earl H. Carroll ordered that a lawsuit by the family against the social workers and sheriff will be allowed to continue, because the social workers' concerns were based on "an anonymous tip that the … Loudermilk children were being neglected and that plaintiffs' home was uninhabitable."
However, the judge said that under federal law, an anonymous tip,   "without more, does not constitute probable cause."

The case is being publicized by the Home School Legal Defense Association because of the involvement of the organization's members, the family of John and Tiffany Loudermilk.
"Social workers and sheriff's deputies had come to the home … demanding entry based on a six-week-old anonymous tip that the newly constructed home was unsafe for children," the organization said.

"The Loudermilks declined consent, as was their right under the Fourth Amendment. After an escalating confrontation at the front door that lasted 40 minutes, the social workers, backed by no fewer than four deputies, threatened to take the Loudermilks' children into custody and place them in foster care if the Loudermilks continued to deny them entry… An assistant attorney general repeated this threat to HSLDA attorney Thomas Schmidt, who was assisting the Loudermilks during the confrontation," the HSLDA report said.

Under duress, the family allowed the social workers and deputies inside, who found nothing wrong, the report said.

 

But as a result of the search, the family sued the social workers and others citing the violation of their Fourth Amendment rights in the search, and violations of their 14th Amendment rights to privacy and family integrity because of the threats.

The judge, acting on motions submitted by the defendants to escape liability, agreed with the family.
"Defendants persisted in their threats to remove the children if Plaintiff Parents did not consent to the search, stating that [they] could arrest or handcuff the Parents in front of the children," the judge said.
"Based on the allegations set forth in the Amended Complaint, viewed in Plaintiff's favor, no reasonable official would have believed that his or her conduct was authorized by state or constitutional law."
Even the assistant attorney general was cited for exerting "coercive pressure" through threats.
"The ruling in this case makes it clear that threatening to remove children to gain a parent's cooperation is unconstitutional," said James Mason, senior counsel for the HSLDA. "We hope that this ruling will change this common tactic used by investigative caseworkers all over the country."
"There you have it, [social agencies and workers] cannot threaten parents with court orders or the removal of children because parents assert their Fourth and 14th Amendment rights and refuse to cooperate," added Thomas Dutkiewicz, of the Connecticut DCF Watch organization.
"Parents do not have to cooperate with DCF whatsoever and DCF employees have to go away when parents deny them access to their home and children," he said. "DCF workers here in Connecticut are trained and instructed in this unconstitutional practice in order to conduct an unreasonable search and seizure of the home and child. They are to lie and threaten any way they can. All parents who were threatened should file a federal lawsuit against DCF, their workers, their supervisors and the police."
Now proceeding will be the lawsuit against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, deputies Joshua Ray, Joseph Sousa, Richard Gagnon and Michael Danner, social workers Rhonda Cash and Jenna Cramer, and Assistant Attorney General Julie Rhodes.
 

The judge noted that the social workers misrepresented that they had a court order for an inspection of the home, but refused to provide it. He also noted the deputies were uncooperative, refusing to provide the family their cell telephone number so the HSLDA attorney could talk to them.
The claim against Rhodes stemmed from her advice to the family that the social workers were not bound by the Fourth Amendment in their intent to search the home.
The judge said verbal threats generally are not actionable in a federal civil rights proceeding, but in this case, "courts have held that a threat constitutes an actionable constitutional violation in certain circumstances, including 'when the threat is so brutal or wantonly cruel as to shock the conscience…'"

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:NdbNuMcEnx8J:www.wnd.com/%3FpageId%3D44203+lawsuits+against+dcf&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Tina And Kenny Thomas......Where's My $65,000 Tax Refund?

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Tina and Kenny Thomas filed their taxes in February and are still waiting for their refund.
The Thomases are expecting a whopping $65,000 check from the IRS this year, thanks to the adoption tax credit they claimed after adopting five special needs children from foster care over the past few years.
The refund was supposed to arrive on May 3, according to the "where's my refund?" tool on the IRS website. They're still waiting for a check.

The family is buying a home in foreclosure for $55,000 and agreed to pay cash with their refund. But the check didn't arrive by their closing date. They've already extended the closing date once, but if they don't get the money by June 13, they may lose the house.
"We are frustrated because [the IRS] knows they owe it," said Tina. "If we owed them, they would be charging us hundreds of dollars in interest. It's a lot of money so it seems like they're trying to prolong it as much as possible."
While the couple finally received about $5,000 -- the portion of their refund that doesn't include the adoption credit -- they have yet to see the bulk of the money.
Thousands of other Americans who adopted children over the last five years and filed for the adoption credit are in limbo as well, waiting for similarly large sums from the IRS. The adoption tax credit gives parents who adopt children as much as $13,170 per child -- up from a cap of $12,150 last year. And this is the first year the credit is refundable, meaning the money goes directly into a qualifying taxpayer's pocket, rather than being applied to future taxes owed.
That's especially helpful for lower income families because they get the cash even if they don't owe any taxes.
A typical private adoption runs about $30,000, so the credit was intended to help families by reimbursing expenses, such as court fees. Parents who adopt children with special needs, however, can receive the entire credit even if they had no expenses.

But because of the huge amounts of money adoptive parents are claiming this year, the IRS is being extra vigilant before it doles out thousands of dollars.

They tried to deduct what?!

Andrew Long and his wife still haven't received the $67,000 refund they say they're owed, after adopting four children with special needs last year.
"The new adoption refund is going to be very helpful, once the IRS decides to give it to us," said Long.
The Longs recently received a check for about $12,000 -- the portion of the refund that didn't include the adoption tax credit. But they have yet to see the remaining $55,000.
Playing the waiting game
In its latest report on the tax filing season, the Treasury Inspector for Tax Administration found that, by the end of April, the IRS had received returns from 72,656 taxpayers claiming more than $897 million in adoption credits. About 58% of those claims were sent for further review, and will be audited to verify that proper documentation was submitted and that the amount of money being claimed is correct.
The IRS didn't provide an average timeframe for resolving these additional examinations.
Long said the IRS sent him multiple letters asking for the same paperwork he had already attached to his original return in February. After re-sending the documents in April, he said his tax refund status online still hasn't budged from "under review."

When he called to see what was going on, he said a representative told him that all adoption credit returns are being audited this year.

6 minivans packed with family-friendly features

The IRS has acknowledged the issue, but says the delays are largely coming because taxpayers are filing improper paperwork or are missing documents.
"We recognize what an important credit this is for people who are adopting, since the dollar figure on this one compared to other refundable credits is very large," said IRS spokesman Terry Lemons. "But we have people who are trying to game the system all the time, so we're kind of stuck in the middle -- we know parents are counting on this money, but we're also trying to make sure each claim truly qualifies."
This may explain why parents like Deborah Schwinger, the new mother of two adopted siblings, have been left in the dark. Schwinger also claimed the adoption credit, and said she's supposed to get $24,300 back from the IRS. She received the part of her refund excluding the adoption credit, and says the IRS continues to send her letters notifying her of further delays.
"No adoptive parents, that I know, have actually gotten the money -- everyone's return is being reviewed or delayed," she told CNNMoney. "I think many people may give up."

As they wait, many confused and angry adoptive parents across the country are flocking to an online forum on Adoption.com. A thread dedicated to the issue contains 85 pages filled with comments about refund delays.

But some families are winning the waiting game. The Wards, from Smithfield, North Carolina, were one of the few families that have received a refund from the adoption credit -- totaling $54,000 -- after adopting five kids over the past five years. They've been waiting since January, when they filed their return.
To claim the credit, taxpayers are required to file a paper return, instead of filing electronically. And they must attach documentation, including an adoption order or decree. The IRS says it typically takes six to eight weeks to receive a refund if the taxpayer has submitted a proper return.
But to those parents whose refunds are being delayed because of the intense screening process, Lemons said the IRS apologizes.
"This doesn't help out the people who claimed the credit and who deserve it ... we're sorry this is taking some time for those caught up in this," said Lemons. 




http://money.cnn.com/2011/06/02/pf/taxes/adoption_tax_credit_refund_delay/

I Call Stealing A Baby Kidnapping DCF Calls It A Good Days Work

The Collusion Between Jackson County Ga DCF and Stephens County GA DCF a Follow up Blog from Yesterday

 

Newborn Nathan and Payton with their Mom and Dad

Yesterday I wrote a blog about how a week old baby was literally torn from his mother’s breast as she was feeding him. This baby’s name is Nathan and it was the first time his older sister had met him.
The background is Jackson County DCF snatch Payton a while back. They snatched her because her mother was accused of deprivation- this is their standard method of operation. This way they don’t have to charge the parent criminally. If they had there would have been no case.
Fast forward to Monday May2,2011. Leigh had taken the new baby Nathan to visit his sister at the Tree House in Jackson County. Leigh currently lives in Stephens County.
While she was gone a Stephens County Deputy and a caseworker showed up at the house demanding to know where Leigh and Nathan were. Her mother in law told them she was visiting Payton. They didn’t want to see the baby’s room but they did take picture's of the mother in law’s van and the house.
From there the insanity proceeded to the Tree House. That is where a Jackson county deputy and one Maria Ryder a caseworker from Jackson County stripped baby Nathan from his mother’s breast while he was feeding and put him in a car seat in the transporter’s van and let him continue to cry for thirty minutes because he was hungry. This child had health issues when he was born and was supposed to receive breast milk as opposed to formula.
Now there is more abuse on Jackson County and Stephen County’s part. They have taken a newborn put him in a van hungry- let him cry without feeding him, he has health issues and to add more to that other children in the facility saw this abuse taking place. His sister saw this abuse taking place. They were all traumatized.
Maria Ryder is the caseworker in Jackson County who stole Payten from her mother when sought medicla attention for her daughter. She fell off the radar after Leigh moved to Stephens County but yet she was the one who showed up to steal Nathan. The Supervisor of Jackson County is A Heather Murray.
Now the back story on Nathan – Doug Haines who is the attorney for Jackson County DCF told Leigh before Nathan was born that if there was any way he could get the new baby he would. Between him, Maria Ryder and Heather Murray they managed it.
This is how they did it. They found out when the baby was born when Leigh was going to visit Payton then then contacted Garth Rivers with Stephens County DCF and feed him lies. He told Leigh that he just couldn’t let Nathan stay with his mom.
Right- like he went to a nice foster home. IF you notice the band aid under Payton’s eye. There is a story that will make you sick. It appears that the foster care provider was supposed to be on vacation in Ga with Payton- but instead they were at a soccer game for their 11 year old daughter. Payton Fell from the bleacher’s and was bitten by a dog. She is now going to require plastic surgery the wound is so bad. But yet they put this new baby in this same home. They didn’t even tell Leigh what happened – She found out when they brought Payton to the Tree House to visit her mom. The transporter told her. The foster care provider was nowhere to be found.
Now we do know that Jackson County is under investigation and from all the sources I have talked to the investigation is very ugly. We know there is corruption, greed and abuse in that county by DCF. We know they sell children for profit. We have known this for a long time. It is time to return these children back to their family. They have no case, if they really had a deprivation case they would have charged Leigh and arrested her. In fact she told Garth Rivers to do just that he refused. That is proof positive that there is no case. If they had a case and charged Leigh then it would go to criminal court and all the evidence would be public knowledge. Time to stop the corruption Time get these kids home where they belong.

http://protectingourchildrenfrombeingsold.wordpress.com/2011/05/04/the-collusion-between-jackson-county-ga-dcf-and-stephens-county-ga-dcf-a-follow-up-blog-from-yesterday/

Media Blitz to 20/20 and Mark Levin

 You have the honor of standing up for those that can not stand up, be their voice, even if you have had no issue with the courts or Social Services, you have a moral obligation to protect the innocent, as well as the right to stand up for your Constitutional Rights.

You are invited to join together with us to send a blitz of stories, comments, and links to this weeks targeted choices.

This week our information will be going to 20/20 and Mark Levin: a Constitutional Attorney, who wrote the book "Men in Black" about the corruption behind the bench. He has a syndicated talk show

We do not have to like the particular organization that is targeted and we vary every week, we are not making friends with them we want to peak their journalist interest and hopefully touch their hearts. Remember to keep your story or comments relevant, concise, on point, no inflammatory statements or language. We want to be taken seriously. I am not saying not to put your heart into it, but remember that they are looking for a story for ratings.

Be a voice for those that have none, fight for your Constitutional Rights because if you don't no one will.

Email: marklevin.show@cumulus.com

 

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=123566&page=1

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Texas Child Wins Protection From State Child Welfare Agency

By National Coalition for Child Protection Reform

Published: Thursday, Sep. 29, 2011 - 11:30 am

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 29, 2011 -- /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A Texas court is sending an urgent message to child protective services agencies across the country: Stop harming children in the name of "protecting" them, according to a national child advocacy organization.
The National Coalition for Child Protection Reform responded Thursday to a decision by a court in Texas ordering the Texas Child Protective Services agency to stay away from a 14-year-old girl.
Such "orders of protection" are common in domestic violence cases.  "But we've never heard of such an order protecting a child from a child welfare agency – until now," said NCCPR Executive Director Richard Wexler.
In the Texas case, according to KHOU-TV, a 14-year-old was taken after allegations of neglect, apparently as a result of a misunderstanding.  After 18 months during which she was repeatedly abused in a group home, she couldn't take it anymore and ran away.  According to the family's lawyer, the caseworker then said something that speaks volumes about whether the child ever needed to be taken:
"The case worker called [her] mom and said she ran away, but you find her, you can keep her," attorney Julie Ketterman told KHOU.
The mother did find her daughter. Then Ketterman went to court and won the family that order of protection.  The court ruled that "[CPS] engaged in conduct constituting family violence and good cause exists for issuance of a protective order...in the best interest of the child."
"Sadly the only thing unusual about this case is the outcome," said Wexler.  "Tens of thousands of times every year, all across America, children are needlessly taken from everyone they know and love.  The emotional trauma is, in itself, devastating.  But several studies have found abuse in one-quarter to one-third of foster homes and the record of group homes and institutions is even worse.
"All those cases of children wrongfully removed overload CPS agencies, so workers have less time to find children in real danger who really do need to be taken from their parents.
"We congratulate this family for its courage and we congratulate their lawyer, Ms. Ketterman, for finding an innovative way to protect her client – and send a message across the country," Wexler said.
SOURCE National Coalition for Child Protection Reform

http://www.sacbee.com/2011/09/29/3948518/texas-child-wins-protection-from.html

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/09/29/3948518/texas-child-wins-protection-from.html#ixzz1ZkRbefTZ

Foster Care System: Broken Beyond Repair In Clark County, NV?

 

http://www.ktnv.com/news/local/130394563.html

 

Clark County, NV (KTNV) - Desperate parents.  Children with no rights.  Ruthless caseworkers, and a corrupt system. That's how Clark County's Department of Family Services has been described by child welfare experts who say our system is broken almost beyond repair.
"We are damaging children so much more within the system..." says Anita Stephens of the Clark County Caregiver Advisory Board.
"I think what you're seeing here is exactly what happens when children do not have a voice," says Janice Wolf of the Children's Attorneys Project.
"I believe if anybody should be charged with child abuse and neglect it should be the Department of Family Services," says Vicki Lambou, a foster mom.
Those concerns are echoed across the valley by judges, attorneys, child advocates and parents who are hoping against hope that change comes to Clark County.
"Nevada is woefully behind," says Wolf.  She leads the Children's Attorneys Project through the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada. She says they only have the resources to represent half of Nevada's 3200 foster children.
"We're catching up, but in so many states the law requires every child to have an attorney."
Matthew and Brandon did not have an attorney. The two brothers lived with UMC emergency room nurse Vicki Lambou for three years. She was supposed to adopt them and says they all dreamed of being a family.
"I told the children I'm not going anywhere.  I'm here.  I'm mommy forever.  Forever.  I had no idea that the DFS was capable of something like this."
Clark County's Department of Family Services took Matthew and Brandon out of Vicki's home based on a substance misuse charge that was later overturned in Family Court for "insufficient credible evidence." Despite that, Vicki never got the boys back.
"They've betrayed me and they've betrayed the children.  They've used me.  And now I'm being discarded like I'm trash."
Child welfare experts believe this case illustrates what's wrong with Nevada's foster care system, which they say is staffed with inexperienced, overloaded caseworkers who often fail to put children's best interests first.
"They're in a fragile little bubble and the slightest thing can pop that and destroy their world," says Anita Stephens, past president of the Foster Parent Association.  She currently sits on the Caregiver Advisory Board made up of foster parents and DFS staff. She's been closely following Vicki's case.
"We have to use a little more compassion in my opinion in really looking at the situation and not just saying I'm the almighty authority."
Over seven and a half years, she and her husband have fostered 43 children, two of whom they've adopted.
"I've worked with DFS enough to know that blanket rigmarole that they put out there of the confidentiality."
She believes DFS often hides behind confidentiality laws in order to protect their decisions. That's exactly what they did when Contact 13 asked about Vicki's case.
"It's the nameless, faceless little people that the bureaucracy of DFS and CPS and the County Commission and all these other people make decisions around," Stephens says.
Vicki went to the County Commission for help, and accountability for DFS.
"And I'm asking for there to be an eye on what happens and who's looking out for the best interests of the children in our community.  And why are we taking foster parents that are stepping up to the plate to adopt these children and crucifying them?" Vicki asked Commissioners.
She told then that over a three-month period, DFS filtered the boys through five different foster homes, at times separated from each other.
DFS is now trying to get their biological grandparents to adopt them.
"I know in Vicki's case that's kind of what the premise is--they should be able to be with biological family--but that's where they were removed from.  No one's addressing that piece," Stephens says incredulously.
Also, there was no transition for the brothers out of the home where they'd lived for three years. DFS left most of their things behind too.
"I think it's a classic example to look at and say this is what goes horribly wrong within the system and it happens more often than not," Stephens says.
County Commissioners are working to at least get Vicki visitation with the boys.
The National Center for Youth Law in San Francisco is also reviewing the case.
And, just this week, the County Commission approved funding to expand the Children's Attorneys Project.
That means every foster child in the system will have an attorney within the next two years.
Vicki Lambou has started a petition to ask our elected officials for accountability and transparency from DFS.
She's gotten over 200 signatures so far. We've posted a link to that along with this story.
And we'd like to hear your thoughts on this story. Sound off in an email to 13investigates@ktnv.com.
And if you've got a story about the foster care system, you can send that to us as well.

Maura Corrigan Director Michigan Department Of Human Services

This Article is So Wrong on So Many Levels!

May 9, 2011

This article is wrong on so many levels. The author of this article states that the letter of the law is followed when children are taken. She also says that caseworkers don’t have the ability to snatch children without a signed order from the judge.

There are so many things wrong it is almost laughable.

To begin with children are snatched daily just on the word of a caseworker and we know they lie. It has been proven over and over again. The Bahrona Case is a prime example the caseworker and guardian et libum both stated there was no family trying to get the children when in fact the Aunt and Uncle in Texas had been trying almost since day one. They had even written the judge several times.
The next dumb statement is that the letter of the law is followed- really! Parents are denied their constitutional rights on every level, Their 4th, 6th, and 1st rights under the Constitution are violated from the get go. Parents are threatened, harrassed and abused by CPS from day one.
They are considered guilty before they ever get in front of a biased judge who also stands to gain under Title IV funding.
Maura Corrigan can try to spin this anyway she wants to- it still walks like a duck- looks like a duck and smells like a duck. In other words children are stolen for profit on a daily basis especially since the economy is in the tank. Parents are charged with deprivation and neglect which are criminal charges but yet they are never charged criminally- if they were the case would be open as it would be in criminal court. We who are fighting this corrupt system know they all including the judges work under the veil of secreacy in order to be able to steal children for profit. Ms. Corrigan needs to quit while she is still ahead. Before she gets in over her head.

Maura Corrigan Director Michigan Department of Human Services

BY MAURA D. CORRIGAN

DETROIT FREE PRESS GUEST WRITER

Issues of child welfare have dominated the headlines in the past few months. As the current director of the Department of Human Services and a former justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, I appreciate any spotlight on the plight of our state’s most vulnerable children. But if we are all to work together to protect children and ensure that they are living in safe and stable homes, we must understand the system in place to protect them.

Contrary to popular belief, our Child Protective Services caseworkers do not decide on their own to remove children from their homes. Only judges can issue orders removing children from their homes; such orders are issued only in the most extreme circumstances.

In fact, fewer than 8% of the cases investigated by CPS in 2010 result in children being placed in another home to protect their safety. Law enforcement sometimes removes children from home in emergencies to protect them from immediate threats of harm. In those situations, CPS still must obtain a court order before accepting the child from law enforcement for purposes of placement in a safe home.

A dramatic picture is often painted of parents being caught unaware when their child is to be removed from the home. Sometimes the parents cannot be provided advance notice of an order of removal, as it may threaten the safety of the child.

Both the parents and the child are represented by an attorney before the judge when the case is being weighed. The parents’ attorney is responsible for bringing to light relevant facts, and only when all the evidence is considered will a judge make the determination whether to place a child away from his or her home.

The best place for children is with their own families. Many programs are in place to help parents acquire the skills they need to care for their children — and these are the most prescribed actions when dealing with child abuse and neglect cases. But in that small percentage of cases where children are unsafe or at imminent risk of harm, we must take action to find a safe haven.

Under Michigan law, DHS is bound to protect the privacy of the children in our care. We cannot share the background that led to our actions or the facts that would make the court’s decision to remove a child clear. This can lead to the perpetuation of misinformation and/or a mischaracterization of the actions taken in a case. Sadly, our social workers who are so committed that they are willing to face horrors each day to protect children are demonized.

A child’s welfare is first and foremost the responsibility of the family. But when a family is unable, or unwilling, to care for their children, the courts, law enforcement, community partners and DHS all share responsibility for ensuring that children are safe and that families receive the support and services needed to achieve successful reunification.

Maura D. Corrigan became the director of the Michigan Department of Human Services in January and is a former Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice.

Categories: Abuse by CPS