Arizona Parent Caims CPS Moved Child 17 Times

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - A harsh spotlight has been shining on Child Protective Services the last few weeks. Now a parent steps forward to talk about her experience with the agency -- sadly, it's not a good one.   She worries about the thousands of children trapped in the system, though there might be better options out there.
It was an emergency when 5-week-old Aurora came to David and April Snow in their Phoenix home nearly five years ago.

"The biological mother had some substance abuse issues and so we had our work cut out for us at the get go," said April.
CPS placed the baby with the Snows because Aurora is April's cousin.
From the time she was a baby to when she was taken four years later, Aurora was moved by CPS 17 times, according to April.
"She had 17 transitions in and out of our home, in and out of shelters, in and out of emergency placement, in and out of other foster homes," said April.
Aurora was placed with the Snows in February of 2009, but 13 months later, April says CPS deemed that the biological mother was able to care for her daughter again. The mother had since given birth to a baby boy and had moved to Tucson.
The Snows had to let Aurora go, but disagreed with CPS' decision.
"They returned Aurora to her biological mother, who now had a younger child and they were all homeless," said April, who adds that she could tell Aurora was losing her sparkle.
"My husband used to drive down every week to see them and would pick up Aurora and take her to eat, go to the store, buy food, clothes, whatever he could do because you hands are tied."
April says on one visit in July of 2010, they saw Aurora had cigarette burns on her.  They called CPS.
"They would reassure us everything was fine and no, the mother didn't burn the child on purpose.. the wind blew the cigarette, you know, things to us that weren't right."
The very next month, April says something finally happened in Tucson with Aurora's biological mother that could not be explained away or ignored.
"Her biological mother stabbed the boyfriend multiple times in the hotel room and when Tucson Police responded, they found both children in there.. blood everywhere and they removed the children."
Aurora went back to the Snows, but she was not the same child who had left them.
"Aurora who had left our home developmentally on task no longer spoke, she only grunted and screamed.. she had completely shut down," said April.
CPS would remove Aurora one more time from the Snows in September of 2011 when the couple said they couldn't take both Aurora and her baby brother -- just her.
Then a fourth CPS worker got the case, who April says was their guardian angel.
"She wasn't burned out, she was one of the good ones that still had a fight in her."
April says the CPS worker listened to their whole story, connected the dots, severed parental rights of the mother to Aurora and her baby brother.
The brother went to another family member and in March of 2012, the Snows officially adopted Aurora.
A happy ending on the surface, but the Snows will tell you the pictures of their adorable little girl with a pink feather boa doesn't reveal the whole truth.
"She wakes up every night crying.  Two nights ago, we found her in a closet hiding and these are things that are long lasting.  She used to scream every time the doorbell would ring and hide because she would be afraid," said April.
Aurora is in counseling, but the Snows know the damage runs deep.
They worry about the thousands of children in Arizona that are either trapped in a nightmare of abuse or bouncing around the system within a community that can't find a way to save them.
We asked CPS about the Snow's case.  The couple feels the agency can't or won't look at the big picture and do what's best for children in crisis.
CPS responded that it cannot comment on cases like this one.

Read more: http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/story/24246917/2013/12/17/cps-adoption#ixzz2oCjv79Tm

Shocking Report Of Abuse: Kids Harmed While In State Custody

Boston Herald front page - Dec. 3, 2013

 

Children supposedly out of harm’s way in foster homes were abused and neglected at a higher rate than their counterparts in schools or day care facilities under the state’s watch, according to an alarming new report one outraged lawmaker called “unacceptable.”
State officials found evidence supporting 249 allegations of physical and sexual abuse and poor care involving youngsters in state-watched settings last year, according to the Office of the Child Advocate’s 2013 report, a copy of which was obtained by the Herald.
Among those shocking cases, 30 percent were in foster homes — more than 70 instances.
The report adds 29 percent of the cases were in treatment programs; 19 percent in day cares; 18 percent from schools; and 4 percent from “others.”
The stunning report comes just months after the state trumpeted its victory in a lawsuit over its foster care system.
“You’re talking about a child-and-a-half a week who is in state custody and nonetheless is maltreated. That has to be a red flag,” said Sara Bartosz, an attorney for the advocacy group Children’s Rights, which unsuccessfully sued the Department of Children and Families for failing to protect kids in its care. Bartosz said the group is appealing a judge’s October ruling dismissing their suit.
“Unlike homes where unfortunately some individuals become parents and they’re not prepared to do so well, when you’re dealing with foster care, these are hand-selected providers to be trained and overseen by the state,” she said. “The appropriate standard is zero tolerance. This should be a safe harbor.”
DCF officials said the total number of abuse and neglect reports — often referred to as 51A reports — in the out-of-home settings has remained steady in recent years.
But Bartosz, citing data provided to the group during its lawsuit, said the number of those generated from foster homes has ticked back up — all while fewer kids enter the system — from 64 in federal fiscal year 2011, which ended that October. The state, she said, recorded 84 in 2010.
The state, meanwhile, has touted reducing its foster care population by 2,000 kids over the past five years, bringing it down to 7,300 youngsters last year.
“DCF has worked hard to build a strong system for protecting children and families across the commonwealth,” DCF spokeswoman Cayenne Isaksen said in a statement.
State Rep. Shaunna O’Connell (R-Taunton), who sits on the Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities, said she demanded more be done at the top of the state’s health agencies.
“It’s been a pattern with this administration with failed oversight — we saw it in the drug lab scandal and the New England Compounding scandal,” O’Connell said. “We’ve had a lack of oversight in these various agencies, and it’s a very alarming pattern and deaths have resulted. ... These numbers are unacceptable when it comes to protecting our children.”

 

DCFS’s Real Crime? Breaking Up families

By Diane L. Redleaf November 24, 2013 8:16PM

The recent news that DCFS investigations are missing the mark isn’t news to me. I have sued DCFS more than a dozen times and have established, through federal court findings, that the state’s child-welfare system has a staggering rate of error in its investigations. But the mistakes my cases have demonstrated are much different from the ones highlighted by recent news stories about child deaths. In fact, they are just the opposite: They show a DCFS too quick on the trigger to pull children from the care of suitable parents.

Without any oversight, review, or lawfully vested authority, DCFS regularly removes children from their homes and places them with relatives — a coercive separation that is often based on nothing the parent has actually done to harm the child.

DCFS also rampantly labels parents as guilty by innuendo, only to have its determinations overturned once a neutral judge reviews the evidence. These widespread errors never see the light of day because they don’t even make it to a juvenile courtroom, let alone a newsroom.

In other words, DCFS finds abuse where it doesn’t exist, while real abusers fall through the cracks.

The pain and trauma caused by the overly intrusive investigative practices leave long-lasting scars for the families and children DCFS touches.

In fact, in 2012, the Illinois Supreme Court declared void a policy under which DCFS investigates nearly a third of its cases annually. Instead of tightening its investigations in the face of this ruling and complying with the companion changes in state law, DCFS has continued to investigate and label more than 6,000 parents as child neglectors without any evidence of actual neglectful conduct in many of these cases. As a result, the Family Defense Center had to sue DCFS again in September to compel the agency to follow the clear mandate of the law.

The cases our office defends are not at all like the horrendous death cases recently reported. Our cases often involve a parent who turned her head at the same moment a child fell, or a false allegation made by a disgruntled spouse in a bitter divorce proceeding. This is the typical fare for DCFS. In fact, such situations account for more than two-thirds of the DCFS caseload.

In the wake of the recent tragedies, it’s important to keep in mind that calls for more DCFS investigators won’t fix the problem. That’s because DCFS resources are being misallocated by targeting too many families that shouldn’t be swept into the system in the first place. DCFS simply cannot investigate its way out of a lack of standards for assessing child abuse and neglect, insufficient training, failure to coordinate services (or to provide appropriate follow-up services) and lack of accountability.

The real challenge is to pare down the DCFS caseload in order to allow DCFS to focus on the serious abuse cases, so that tragic deaths do not recur. One step in the right direction would be for DCFS to renew its efforts to deflect cases based on poverty into support services so that it can concentrate precious investigative resources on serious physical and sexual abuse cases.

Children deserve protection from abusive parents and caregivers, and the public is entitled to demand such protection from DCFS. But accountability starts with having a clear definition of abuse and neglect and an ability to recognize which cases should be investigated and which families should be left alone. Not all Hotline calls are credible, and only a fraction of DCFS calls involve actual or serious threats of harm to a child.

To better protect children from dangerous parents, DCFS needs to stop trying to protect children from good parents who have not abused or neglected them. On both sides of getting it right, there is much room for improvement.

Diane L. Redleaf is the founder and executive director of the Family Defense Center, an organization that advocates for justice for families in the child welfare system.

 http://www.suntimes.com/news/otherviews/23929829-452/dcfss-real-crime-breaking-up-families.html#!

249 Children Abused In State Custody In Massachusetts: Report

Massachusettes Gov. Deval Patrick answers a question after addressing a campaign rally in New Brunswick, N.J., Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013 (AP Photo/Mel Evans) | ASSOCIATED PRESS

Massachusettes Gov. Deval Patrick

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Children Abused Massachusetts, Child Abuse Report Massachusetts, Children Abused State Custody, Children Abused State Custody Massachusetts, Crime News

In one year, more than 200 children were abused while under the state of Massachusetts' care, according to a new report.
The Boston Herald reports:

State officials found evidence supporting 249 allegations of physical and sexual abuse and poor care involving youngsters in state-watched settings last year, according to the Office of the Child Advocate’s 2013 report, a copy of which was obtained by the Herald.

Thirty percent of those cases were in foster homes, 29 percent in treatment programs, 19 percent in day cares, 18 percent from schools and 4 percent from “others.”
The Associated Press reports that a Department of Children and Families spokeswoman said "the state works hard to protect all children."
The Herald's report comes just as officials in Arizona grapple with their own child abuse scandal.
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer is under heavy criticism after it was revealed the state's Child Protective Services department failed to investigate more than 6,000 abuse reports.
The American Humane Association has more information on child abuse and how to report it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/03/children-abused-massachusetts_n_4379305.html

Former DCF Worker Faces Charges Of Falsifying Records

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ORLANDO, Fla. —A former Department of Children and Families employee has been arrested and accused of falsifying records.

According to DCF officials, Mable Peters, 45, was arrested on Oct. 30 based on an investigation in 2010. She is accused of falsifying records about visits to multiple children.
Officials said none of the falsified records resulted in injuries to children.
Investigators said Peters reported making a visit on a night of bad weather, and a supervisor followed up with the family involved and learned Peters was never there.
Peters admitted to authorities with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement that she lied. She was transferred to desk duty.
Peters resigned when she was told she would be fired.

Read more: http://www.wesh.com/news/central-florida/orange-county/former-dcf-worker-faces-charges-of-falsifying-records/-/12978032/23116232/-/cvhjyfz/-/index.html#ixzz2m30SVZCP

Petitioning Esther Jacobo For Full Investigation Into DCF Florida

Dear Esther Jacobo: 

Robin K. Jensen

Thank you for your time and consideration into this matter. I am sure after your review of this case, you will see a pattern of lies and manipulation on the part of Ms.Robin K. Jensen Lawyer for DCF in Sarasota Florida.

I also ask that you request the court tapes to listen first-hand how easily a Lawyer can manipulate their status to abuse citizens under the color of law. We are petitioning for a full investigating in this case.

Sincerely,

Randy Kluge

941-915-1046

DCF caught kidnapping

Should the state be able to take your kids, or does it have too much power?

Wednesday, November 20, 2013


(WXYZ) - All parents make mistakes, but in Michigan, one mistake could cost you your child. Critics say it’s happening all too often because we have one of the worst laws in the country when it comes to how and when the state can take your children.

 “It was an unbelievable nightmare! Far worse than the death of my first child,” said Claire Zimmerman. Zimmerman’s son was taken from her for only three days but it was a harrowing experience her family will never forget.
It started as a night out with dad at a Tiger’s game and ended with their 7-year old boy in foster care.

“I felt totally helpless, I felt desperate,” Zimmerman told Action News Investigator Heather Catallo.
Zimmerman won’t allow current pictures of Leo to be publicized but she and her husband, Christopher Ratte, want everyone to know what happened.

At the ball park Christopher bought Leo a lemonade but it turned out, the University of Michigan archeology professor accidentally bought Mike’s Hard Lemonade, which has alcohol in it.
“It was just a mistake,” said Zimmerman.

Now, the couple is suing the state for taking their son because of what appears by all accounts to have been an honest mistake.
So exactly how did little Leo end up in foster care? At the end of the ballgame, security alerted Detroit Police and from there Zimmerman says everything spiraled out of control.
According to the lawsuit, a Detroit Police officer turned the boy over to the State Department of Human Services and the next day DHS put Leo in foster care.

Test results that were taken even before getting to the hospital, showed no alcohol in Leo’s blood.
“It’s terrifying, it makes you understand what it’s like to live in a totalitarian regime or something, where you have to fear for your own safety and where the government doesn’t provide you protection, it actually threatens you,” said Zimmerman.
Michigan ACLU Legal Director, Michael J. Steinberg says Michigan law is unconstitutional because it allows a child to be taken from his parents without having to prove the child is in immediate danger.

“Courts across the country have said, if you’re going to take a kid without a hearing there has to be a finding or a showing that the child is in harm,” said Steinberg.
Steinberg and other lawyers say there’s another major flaw with the system: the state fails to place children with family even though Michigan law requires DHS to try to do that. In Leo’s case, Steinberg says DHS refused to release him to his aunts and even his own mom, who had nothing to do with what happened at the ballpark.

“What’s happening in Michigan is a pattern of kids being taken away from parents against whom no allegations are made, simply based on the other parent’s conduct,” said University of Michigan Law Professor Vivek Sankran. Sankran challenges DHS decisions in the court daily and he’s alarmed by what he calls the “guilt by association” problem. Sankran says both DHS and the courts are equally to blame for perfectly “fit” parents losing their children.
“We are one of two states in the country that have this type of doctrine. Most states have clear case law that unless you make allegations against a parent, that parent gets their kids back immediately,” said Sankran.

Sankran points to another troubling case. Bryson Stone’s mom abused drugs and willingly gave up the baby to his biological father, Milton Stone, right after Bryson was born.
“They said I would be able to take him home, and I was there at his birth,” said Stone.

Instead of allowing Milton to take his own son home, Wayne County DHS workers had Bryson put in foster care, even though Milton was never accused of abuse or neglect.
“These teddy bears represent all the foster kids I had with me,” said Stone pointing to a row of stuffed animals.

Milton is currently the foster parent to his cousin Antonio. This means Michigan DHS approved Milton to foster parent his cousin, but refuses to let him parent his own son.

“This is a clear violation of this father’s fundamental right to parent. It’s one of the most closely guarded rights we have under the U.S. Constitution, and its being completely trampled on,” said Stone’s attorney, Tracy Green. She says DHS should have never brought this case before a judge.

DHS officials tell Action News that “safety comes first,” so the child is often placed in foster care until it can be determined if the other parent is complicit in the danger.

Experts say a child’s time in foster care is often prolonged because DHS requires the parents who are not even accused of abuse or neglect to comply with something called a “service plan” or “service agreement.” It’s a list of requirements that can include psychological evaluations and parenting classes, which often conflict with parents work hours.

If you fail to follow the plan you may not get your kids back. DHS blames the courts for this even though they create the service plans the judges approve.

“If a parent decides not to work with the court, if they decide to disregard the court’s orders, then that case is going to move forward in all likelihood towards termination of parental rights,” said Steve Yager, Deputy Director of the DHS Children’s Services Administration.

“But why does a parent who’s not accused of abuse have to follow one of your service plans? They’re not accused of the abuse! Why should they have to jump through your hoops? It’s their child,” asked Catallo.

“Again, the court has jurisdiction over the entire family,” said Yager.

DHS officials insist their workers have no greater authority in the courtroom than the parents’ lawyers or the child’s representatives. But many legal experts tell Action News, in many cases, the state and the court have no business stepping in, in the first place.
“We cannot take for granted the idea that the state is going to protect our rights. It’s not true,” said Claire Zimmerman.

DHS officials say they cannot comment on specific cases but they insist the safety of children is their number one priority.
The case against Leo Ratte’s father was quickly dismissed and Leo’s family is working hard to change the child seizure law. They want a requirement that the state will have to show that a child is in immediate danger of serious harm before he or she can be taken from a parent.

They’re hoping to call it Leo’s Law. If you would like more information about Leo’s Law we have posted a copy of the proposed legislation below.

Read more: http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/local_news/investigations/state-taking-your-kids#ixzz2lF9CmfoF
 

Father Shot And Killed As Police Try To Take Child

William Reddie, a 32-year-old single father from Michigan, was shot and killed as local Child Protective Services (CPS) officials and police officers attempted to remove his 3-year-old son from the home.
An anonymous tipster claiming that Reddie had marijuana in the home set off a string of incidents which turned a happy toddler into an orphan – and led a local newspaper to conduct its own investigation and issue its own report.
A police officer who followed up on the tip stated he smelled marijuana at William Reddie’s home. Possession of marijuana is a misdemeanor, unless law enforcement officers find large amounts or an intent to sell. Michigan Child Protective Services staffers did not have any indication of any type of child abuse or neglect inside the home and felt the drug possession was justification enough to remove the toddler.
Reddie’s action when Michigan police officers attempted to remove the child surely played a role in his death, but the entire incident could have been avoided if CPS and the investigators had not overreacted to possible marijuana smoking, Reddie’s family and friends say.
City of Grayling police officer Alan Somero went to Reddie’s home for an alleged domestic disturbance earlier the day of the shooting, but did not make any arrests. Reddie allegedly became “agitated” when accused of smoking pot in front of his son. He was reportedly on the phone in a heated conversation with a woman when the police and CPS workers arrived. The man fighting for custody of his child understandably did not agree with what was being done.
The social services workers asked for a police escort during the removal.

An excerpt from the court order allowing the removal of the child reads:
“There are reasonable grounds for this court to remove the child(ren) from the parent… because conditions or surroundings of the child(ren), and is contrary to the welfare of the child(ren) to remain in the home because: It is alleged that the father used marijuana in the home in the presence of the child. In addition, there is concern for the safety of the child due to a domestic disturbance and threats made toward law enforcement by the father.”
When the Michigan Child Protective Services workers and law enforcement officers tried to remove the child, Reddie reportedly displayed his 4-inch pocketknife and lunged at the group. The officers had been holding their Taser guns during the altercation, but ultimately holstered their non-lethal weapons and grabbed their firearms. Crawford County Deputy John Klepadlo shot and killed Reddie during the incident.
Crawford County Sheriff Kirk Wakefield called for a Michigan State Police investigation into the use of deadly force by the deputy. Despite a state police investigator’s desire to charge Deputy Klepado, the prosecuting attorney decided that the shooting was justified, according to Reason Magazine.
County prosecutor Mark Jernigan had this to say about the use of deadly force ruling:
“The deceased was in possession of an edged weapon. The deceased pulled a knife and hid it behind his back. At the point where he pulls his hand forward and lunges at the officer, he is in such close proximity, and presents a clear danger of deadly force, the officer is left with no option other than to use deadly force to protect himself, the other officer and the three civilians that were present. The use of deadly force is completely justified and therefore, the homicide was justified.”
But friends and family say CPS and state official should not have been at the home in the first place: Toxicology reports found no alcohol or marijuana in his system.
“Where was protect and serve?” his mom, Michelle VanBuren said to a local newspaper. “The officers always have to stick together and for them to do this is just totally uncalled for. …They took the only thing he ever loved.”
http://brainsyntax.com/Home/MessageDetail/1129

DCF-The Frightening Reality Of The Florida State Mob Punishing Parents And Pulling Favors

Posted on November 16, 2013 by imaconstitutionalist

I’ve never seen DCF move so quickly….and without probable cause. This case was a terrifying jolt of reality.

This week, a family was ambushed by the Florida Dept. Of Children and Families (DCF). The DCF mafia, under investigation and responsible for several deaths due to unqualified and un-credentialed so-called social workers and investigators from mostly third-world countries who have been charged with protecting abused and neglected children in the state of Florida, moved swiftly in their attempts to usurp two children from a couple grieving over the recent suicide death of their teenage son.
In dependency court in Palm Beach County this week, the Child Protective Investigator blatantly lied in her Petition for Shelter, citing that the children of the Palm Beach County family were in imminent danger, citing physical abuse and neglect. The misquotes and material misrepresentations in the Petition were so blatant, that the DCF attorney didn’t even bother putting the investigator on the stand. Without a private attorney present, those parents would have been thrust into a system operated by this mafia that was not only eager to cash in on their living children, but also on their dead son. But why…?
Also disturbing was the jurisdictional issue. Though the family resided in Palm Beach County, it was an investigator from Broward County and a BSO Deputy, that initially contacted the parents just 4 days after the death of their son. DCF cited “a conflict” which was later learned to be that a family member of the natural father, who had been paying child support and, though he had very little (if any) relationship with the children, also stood to capitalize on the estate of the deceased child. The father’s immediate relative is an “award-winning” Supervisor at DCF. Evidently, even DCF isn’t immune from calling in the occasional favor. It is known that this DCF Supervisor and her family made the allegations against the mother, who had been engaged in a custody battle for years, and the step-father, who had been a daily and active participant in the lives of the children, picking up where the natural father had dropped off. Ironically, the natural father, though present, was neither a witness nor a party to the case.
The investigator never entered the home where the alleged abuse took place (which was clean, full of food, and had zero history of domestics or abuse). In fact, they never even went to the home. They coerced the older remaining son to write an email to the investigator…though even his email stated clearly that there had never been any physical abuse. The intake report cited bruising on the now deceased child, but there was never any abuse in the home, and the boy played contact sports. The accusations were false, misleading, and a disgusting attempt at DCF to pull favors and punish a family that was already grieving for the obvious sake of estate standing and child support adjustments.
The parents and their counsel were given less than 24 hours to prepare for the hearing. This isn’t uncommon, though it’s also interesting given the fact that the investigator never entered the home and there had been no police or school reports citing abuse, domestics or any type of violence or even harsh corporal punishment ever. DCF rarely moves quickly in cases of serious abuse, so this move by them was preposterous.
The courtroom was filled with witnesses in favor of the mother and step-father, and when DCF’s fumbling attorney began questioning the son, she essentially threatened him with perjury, trying to prove that there was any purpose at all for DCF to have even removed the children in the first place. Her leading questions were compounded, and she was clearly frustrated. The private counsel was repeatedly interrupted by the presiding judge, who, in his defense, has to spend every day with the DCF lawyers. He walks a tightrope with trying to protect children and families, while protecting same from the Department of Children and Families.
Without an ounce of evidence to statutorily substantiate the removal of the children, and without an iota of case law or factual standing to consider the children in imminent danger, show that the least restrictive means test had been met, or further prove that even notice of hearing had been served except via phone by an investigator that refused to disclose the location of the hearing in the first place, the judge had no choice but to dismiss the Petition against the already grieving parents.
One thing is certain: without the parents having private counsel, they would have been living more of an already massive nightmare. They already lost one child, and now because DCF’s Star-Supervisor was an accomplice in an obvious custody and estate matter that didn’t involve abuse, they would have lost their other children.
The fear-mongering Palm Beach County DCF staff (all colleagues of that Supervisor who called in her mafioso favor) were unapologetic and upset at the outcome. In fact, their manager was overheard saying, “This is ridiculous.” Yes, ma’am, this was. This was a disgusting overreach of your department’s power and a gross example of your desire to intimidate and harass a grieving family as a favor to your colleague.
The reality is, DCF (no matter how lousy their lawyers) rarely loses to unsuspecting parents-yet rarely protect the children that ARE abused (see Miami Herald articles on DCF). Don’t EVER attempt to fight allegations alone. Hire an attorney….you can’t put a price on your Constitutional right and liberty to parent.
imaconstitutionalist

http://imaconstitutionalist.com/2013/11/16/dcf-the-frightening-reality-of-the-florida-state-mob-punishing-parents-and-pulling-favors/

DSS Supervisor, ER Nurse Charged In Abuse Of Boy, 11

MONROE, N.C. -- A Union County couple remained in jail Saturday night under more than a million dollars combined bond, charged with child abuse after a deputy found their 11-year-old foster child handcuffed to the porch with a dead chicken tied around his neck.

Dorian Lee Harper, 57, an emergency room nurse at CMC-Union in Monroe, and Wanda Sue Larson, 57, a Union County DSS supervisor, are charged with intentional child abuse inflicting serious injury, false imprisonment, and animal cruelty, because of the conditions of animals found at the home.
Larson faces an additional charge of failure to discharge her duty as a public official, based on her job as a DSS supervisor. She wasn't home when the deputy found the boy, but was "complicit" in mistreatment of the children, according to a sheriff's statement.
The couple has four other adopted children.
Friday morning, an animal control deputy responding to a complaint about a loose pig found the boy at the home at 4116 Austin Road, south of Monroe, on Friday.
The sheriff's office said the deputy found the 11-year-old boy handcuffed to the porch rail by his ankle. A chicken, whose feet had been tied together with string, hung around his neck. The boy appeared to be shivering, according to the sheriff’s office.
Moments later, a man came out from the house and questioned the officer about why he was there, according to a statement from the sheriff’s office. The deputy asked for an explanation and for the man’s identification. As the man pulled out a driver’s license, another child opened the front door, letting out several large dogs. The animals chased the deputy back to his patrol car off the property, said the statement.
In the time it took to secure the dogs, the sheriff’s office says the man freed the boy from the ankle cuff and took off the chicken.
Backup officers responded and searched the house. Police removed five children, ages 14, 13, 11, 9 and 8, from the home, and began a criminal investigation. They took Harper into custody at the scene.  The children are in the custody of Social Services in another county.
Carolina's Healthcare System confirmed Saturday that Harper is an RN in the CMC Union emergency room. He has been placed on administrative leave.
Officers booked both suspects into the Union County Jail. Harper is being held under a $500,000 secured bond. Larson’s bond is set at $525,000.
Union County Sheriff Eddie Cathey called the incident shocking.
“I can assure you that we have only just begun our investigation into what has happened, and we will pursue it to its fullest extent,” he said.
Saturday afternoon, neighbors reacted to the arrests.
“That's some sick people,” said Harry Wallace, who lives across the street. “Sick and ungodly bunch.”
Gene Wallace, who lives at the same house, was shocked to hear his neighbor was a DSS supervisor charged with such a serious crime.
“It was beyond surprise,” he said. “Makes you wonder what our county officials do in their spare time.”
He wonders why no one checked in on the children – even if their adoptive mother is a DSS supervisor.
“Anyone who takes children should be supervised,” he said.  “I don't care who it is.”
Gene Wallace said the family was reclusive, living at the end of a long gravel driveway with a variety of animals.
“Pigs, donkeys, llamas.. the whole gamut,” he said.  “If we complain about their animals being on our property they get mad or they won't come to the door when you go over there.”
Harper and Larson face a court date on Monday.

http://www.wcnc.com/news/crime/Police-Boy-found-handcuffed-to-house-with-dead-chicken-around-neck-232149571.html

Broomfield man accused of prostituting teenage runaway on Craigslist

By Ryan Parker and Kieran Nicholson
The Denver Post

Posted:   11/07/2013 10:12:57 PM MST | Updated:   about 11 hours ago

Robert Felix Gonzales of Broomfield faces multiple charges.

A Broomfield man is accused of prostituting a teenage runaway for nearly two years, pimping her out on Craigslist in exchange for methamphetamine and cash, until she jumped from his moving car and escaped.
Robert Felix Gonzales, 39, is charged with multiple violent and sex crimes involving a child, whom police say he pimped out to at least 30 strangers at various motels, according to an affidavit released Thursday by the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office.
During those two years, Arvada police made an "exceptional effort" to get the runaway teen out of her situation, which began when she was 14, police spokeswoman Jill McGranahan said. But the girl would always return to her alleged pimp.
Gonzales, who police say at one point hid the teen from authorities behind a secret wall in his home, was arrested on Halloween.
His victim is now under new foster care.
The girl told police that what began as a friendship turned into a recurring situation where she was forced to have sex and often beaten.
The teen originally met Gonzales through her foster family. A habitual runaway, the girl told police she fell in love with Gonzales and believed he had the same feelings, but the situation spiraled out of control, according to the affidavit.
Gonzales allegedly gave the teenager drugs and alcohol, and had sex with her, starting in October 2011. Soon after, the teen told police, Gonzales would make her have sex with his friends. He eventually began pimping her out through Craigslist postings, which often mentioned "Tina," a code word for meth, according to the affidavit.
The teen was reported missing multiple times in 2012. Tips would lead authorities to Gonzales' home in the 10500 block of West 101st Avenue, but police could not find the runaway there because she was hidden behind a "false wall in the basement," according to the affidavit.
Gonzales allegedly beat the girl at times, possibly even breaking his hand hitting her in the face with such force, according to the affidavit. Although the girl would accompany Gonzales to the hospital when he was hurt, sometimes from beating her, she was never treated even though she told police she had visible injuries, according to the affidavit.
The girl was finally located in her hiding place in Gonzales' home on July 25, 2012. At that time, however, the girl did not cooperate with police or tell them of their sexual relationship. She was placed in a group home, but she soon ran away. Gonzales was arrested for that incident but continued the relationship while awaiting trial.
On May 20, he pleaded guilty to harboring a minor. On July 24, Gonzales was sentenced to three years' probation with a suspended jail sentence.
The teen told police she had finally had enough of being used and left Gonzales by jumping out of his speeding car on July 22, according to the affidavit.
The girl, who police noted had sores on her face related to meth use, finally confided in authorities about her life with Gonzales during interviews in September.
Gonzales has a criminal history dating to 1992, which includes several drug, assault and harassment charges, plus restraining- order violations.
Gonzales is being held at the Jefferson County Jail on a $500,000 bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 5.
Ryan Parker: 303-954-2409, rparker@denverpost.com or twitter.com/ryanparkerdp

Read more: Broomfield man accused of prostituting teenage runaway on Craigslist - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_24480049/broomfield-man-accused-prostituting-teenage-craigslist#ixzz2k49DLove
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Quest for Baby Veronica attorneys fees sends ominous message, Cherokee official says

MICHAEL OVERALL World Staff Writer | Updated 18 hours ago
Trying to collect legal fees from the Cherokee Nation in the Baby Veronica case, adoption attorneys are sending a message to other tribes, too, an official said Wednesday.

“It seems to be a warning to fathers and to tribes,” said Chrissi Nimmo, an assistant attorney general for the Cherokees. “ ‘Don’t fight for your children, or we will ruin you financially.’ ”

Eight weeks after taking custody of Veronica, Matt and Melanie Capobianco have filed an action in Oklahoma to collect more than $1 million in attorneys fees and other costs.

The moved shocked Cherokee officials, said Nimmo, who led the tribe’s effort to keep Veronica with her Cherokee family.

The Cherokees would presumably have to pay the bulk of any judgment, since Veronica’s biological father wouldn’t have the cash.

Dusten Brown handed the girl over Sept. 23 at the tribe’s headquarters in Tahlequah and later announced that he was dropping all legal appeals to get her back, ending the custody battle.

“We’re extremely disappointed,” Nimmo said. “We believed all parties when they said they would make an effort to move on and heal.”

The Cherokee Nation will argue that tribal sovereignty will give it immunity from the demand for attorneys fees, Nimmo said.

Winning an epic court battle that dragged on for nearly four years and stretched across two states, the Capobiancos took Veronica back to South Carolina, where they raised her for the first two years of her life.

But to get custody away from Veronica’s biological father, the couple spent two months in Oklahoma, taking their case to six different court rooms in five different counties, including the state Supreme Court.

“Attorneys are entitled to get their fees and expenses associated with successfully enforcing a custody order,” said Lori Alvino McGill, a Washington, DC., attorney who represents the adoptive parents.

“So the Capobiancos’ attorneys can seek their fees/expenses associated with having to chase Brown around to enforce the South Carolina orders.”

The Brown family has not commented on the recent developments.

http://m.tulsaworld.com/news/quest-for-baby-veronica-attorneys-fees-sends-ominous-message-cherokee/article_abae5a80-4735-11e3-b755-0019bb30f31a.html?mode=jqm

DCS Will No Longer Remove Kids From Homes Without A Hearing

Late on a warm August evening in 2008, Robert Andrews was standing in his yard when three caseworkers with the Department of Children’s Services and two Hickman County deputies drove up, got out of their cars and asked to go inside.
Andrews said no, but the caseworkers and one of the deputies went in anyway, searched the home and took each of his four children aside for interviews. Then the officials left. Neither Andrews nor his wife, Patti, was ever accused of a crime in connection with the visit.

Doug Dimond, the Department of Children's Services' chief legal counsel, said he believes caseworkers can no longer remove a child from a home without a formal court hearing unless the situation meets a narrow definition of 'exigent circumstances' — defined as an immediate, identifiable risk of harm that is 'serious, immediate, physical or specific.' / George Walker IV / File / The Tennessean

The events of that night led to a lawsuit, one of two similar legal challenges filed by families against caseworkers. Both challenges were taken up by a federal appeals court. And in a pair of recent rulings, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit used the cases to spell out for the first time that caseworkers, like police, are governed by the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment, which protects citizens against searches and seizures done without a warrant.
DCS response to the July 31 ruling, however, is drawing criticism from child advocates and juvenile judges.
The agency told caseworkers this month that they can no longer remove children from homes without an in-person court hearing, a process that can take days — or longer in some rural areas — and potentially leave a child being abused or neglected in dangerous homes until a judge can review the case.
Before the federal ruling, caseworkers and their supervisors could decide on their own to remove a child from a home, but had to petition a court within 72 hours for a hearing to review their actions — a policy that the Sixth Circuit decision made clear is unconstitutional.
Juvenile court officials and attorneys say there is a middle ground between DCS’ previous policy giving the agency sole authority to remove a child on the spot and its new policy to wait until a judge can decide.
Juvenile judges are willing to issue temporary, emergency orders known as “ex parte orders” — even over the phone or by email — to caseworkers who attest to a child being in danger, said Davidson County Juvenile Court Judge Sophia Crawford. Juvenile judges across the state provided DCS officials personal cellphone numbers and designated on-call staff members during overnight hours to issue the orders shortly after the federal court rulings, Crawford said.
It’s an offer that DCS officials declined, she said.
“Myself and magistrates are available on a 24-hour basis to address any problems or questions that arise as the department works to protect children,” Crawford said. “We’ve gone over and above by reminding them (DCS) we are available on a 24-hour basis for any issue that requires a court order of protection of children. As a juvenile court judge, I feel comfortable that we can do what we need to, but I don’t have any control over the policies and procedures of the department.”
Doug Dimond, the department’s chief legal counsel, said he believes caseworkers can no longer remove a child from a home without a formal court hearing unless the situation meets a narrow definition of “exigent circumstances” — defined as an immediate, identifiable risk of harm that is “serious, immediate, physical or specific.” The definition could exclude a child’s disclosure of sexual or physical abuse, even if there are injuries visible on a child.
DCS could change its policy, Dimond noted. It is still deciding on its final policy, which won’t take place until the end of the year, he said.

DCS is being 'overly cautious'

Rob Huddleston, an attorney who is often appointed as guardian ad litem to represent the interests of children, said the new rules are already affecting the safety of children.
Last week, Huddleston said, DCS didn’t intervene to prevent a days-old baby born addicted to drugs in Sevier County from being sent home with the mother. Previously, caseworkers would have taken immediate custody of the child, he said. In this case, Huddleston had already been appointed to represent the child because of a legal dispute between the parents, and he was able to get an emergency order from a local judge without DCS intervention. The emergency order will last for only a few days, until the family, DCS and Huddleston can bring the case for a full hearing.
“I think they are being overly cautious,” Huddleston said. “I do not agree with how they are reading the Sixth Circuit opinion. I think they are trying to protect caseworkers from liability instead of protecting children. My sense is this policy is going to be short-lived until something tragic happens.”

Other states use emergency orders

No other state subject to the Sixth Circuit ruling has gone as far as DCS to limit caseworkers’ abilities to remove children. The federal court has jurisdiction over Tennessee, Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky.
In Michigan, judges have set up a system in which someone is available 24 hours per day to issue emergency orders over the phone while awaiting a formal hearing to consider testimony from parents and child protective workers, according to Michigan Department of Human Services spokesman David Akerly.
In Kentucky, caseworkers are likewise instructed to seek such temporary orders while awaiting a hearing, according to the Kentucky Cabinet for Children and Family Services policy guide.
And in Ohio, the site of the second lawsuit used by federal judges to establish that parents have constitutional rights in the removal of their children, caseworkers can seek an emergency, temporary written order from a judge over the phone or via email. Caseworkers would then be required to appear at an in-person hearing in court on the next business day, in which parents also can present their side to the judge, according to Joe Frolik, spokesman for the Cuyahoga County prosecutor.

A 'neutral arbiter'

The Ohio case occurred six years before DCS caseworkers showed up at the Andrews family’s door in Hickman County. A police officer in a small, northern Ohio town kicked down Nancy Kovacic’s door, and caseworkers placed her two school-age children in foster care, where they would remain for 10 months. Kovacic did not face any criminal charges in the case.
“Caseworkers can’t just make a judgment call and say, ‘Well, I don’t like this, and with the power of the state, I’m taking these children,’ ” said Jay Crook, Kovacic’s attorney. He said the now-grown children in the case suffered abuse in foster care and had to undergo years of therapy for the trauma of being removed from their mother. “Without that neutral arbiter, that magistrate, that judge — even over the phone — you have lost all your due process safeguards.”

Contact Anita Wadhwani at 615-259-8092 or awadhwani@tennessean.com.

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20131031/NEWS21/310310049/DCS-will-no-longer-remove-kids-from-homes-without-hearing

Child-Protection Worker Accused Of Falsifying Reports

October 10, 2013|By Erika Pesantes, Sun Sentinel, By Erika Pesantes, Sun Sentinel

A Broward sheriff’s employee entrusted to help shield kids from harm didn’t even bother to meet five children she needed to watch over, possibly compromising their safety, authorities say.

Sandra Marti

Sheriff’s child investigative specialist Sandra Marti has been arrested, accused of falsifying reports that stated she had met with the children, according to a sheriff’s report. Instead, Marti simply arranged for parents to send her cellphone photos of the children, the report said.

Marti was jailed Wednesday on multiple counts of falsifying reports, records show.
“The falsification of official records, and the potential risks that any kind of falsification could pose for children, will not be tolerated,” said Dennis Miles, the regional managing director for the state’s Department of Children and Families’ Southeast Region.
Marti submitted the falsified records involving the five children between Dec. 1, 2011, and June 30 this year, the Sheriff’s Office said. Detectives found that those children are doing well, sheriff’s spokeswoman Keyla Concepcion said.
“We have gone back and made sure that all of those kids were safe, and the original allegations had been addressed,” she said.
An investigation into Marti’s actions began in June when a child’s mother phoned the Broward Sheriff’s Office. The mother said she planned to send Marti a photo of her son, but couldn’t because she had lost Marti’s phone number, an arrest report said.
That was a red flag for Marti’s supervisor, Concepcion said.
Detectives from the Broward Sheriff’s Public Corruption Unit reached out to several parents who each similarly detailed Marti’s instructions to send her photos of their children. They all said their sons and daughters did not meet with her on instances when she indicated they had, according to an arrest report.
Marti, a civilian employee, is currently suspended without pay, Concepcion said. Marti, 57, of Coral Springs, has been employed with the Sheriff’s Office for nine years.
She previously worked in pre-trial services and community control supervision of offenders, and later began working as a child investigative specialist.
Detectives have reviewed all of Marti’s cases since July 2010 — when she began working in the Child Protective Investigations Section — and only found five cases “in which she acted inappropriately,” Concepcion said.
Marti, who was freed from jail on a $5,000 bond, could not be reached for comment Thursday despite several attempts to contact her via a relative.
As part of their role, child protective investigators take a look at allegations of abuse, neglect or abandonment that come into the DCF hotline. Those cases range from neglecting to offer a child medical attention, to leaving minors who cannot care for themselves home alone, to sexual abuse, DCF spokeswoman Paige Patterson-Hughes said.
However, it was not known Thursday what circumstances led Marti to each of the cases for which she allegedly falsified reports.
“It’s important for there to be the appropriate contact with the potential victim and other people involved,” Patterson-Hughes said. “Not following through clearly is a problem.”
In the case that helped start the investigation, Marti filed a report indicating she met a child on June 13 this year, authorities said. But in a sworn statement, the boy’s mother said Marti did not meet her son and instead asked the mother for a cellphone photo.
According to the arrest report, investigators found that Marti filed a report in January 2012 stating that she had met with another child. But that boy’s mother also gave a sworn statement that said Marti didn’t see her son.
The scenario repeated itself in December 2012, when Marti said in a report she visited a 7-year-old girl at Croissant Park Elementary School in Fort Lauderdale, an arrest report said. But the school’s assistant vice principal said she had no record of an investigator visiting the child at the time, the report said.
Marti allegedly also asked that girl’s mother to send a cellphone snapshot of her other child, a 2-year-old girl. The mother, in a sworn statement, said she did as instructed.
In April 2013, Marti gave a 16-year-old boy’s mother her business card and asked that his photo be emailed to her, the report said. The boy told investigators that he never met Marti, but did take a photo of himself on his cellphone and emailed it to Marti.
Patterson-Hughes said meeting people is essential: It offers investigators clues to anything else that should be taken into account during their investigation.
“Clearly, when you’re talking to a person, you’re oftentimes taking in more than the words. You’re looking at other aspects, the behavior, the demeanor and the circumstances that brought you to the person in the first place,” Patterson-Hughes said.
Marti also is accused of falsifying a report that said she had met with a parent, authorities said.
In May this year, Marti allegedly filed a report stating she had met with the father of a child who had an open case, authorities said. The father told detectives that he had a telephone conversation with a child protective investigator, but did not meet the investigator in person, the arrest report said.
Miles called the allegations against Marti a “serious matter” and commended the Sheriff’s Office for investigating. In an emailed statement Thursday, he said that DCF “will work with [sheriff's] investigators to ensure the integrity of other cases which involved this investigator.”
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-10-10/news/fl-child-protection-arrest-bso-20131010_1_broward-sheriff-five-children-falsifying-reports

Man Testifies DCF Failed To Warn Him About Abusive Past Of Child He Took Into Home

By Jane Musgrave
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
WEST PALM BEACH —

In the weeks before 10-year-old Jerald came to live with a Wellington couple, he had been repeatedly raped by a 19-year-old in a house where state officials sent him after they rescued him from his neglectful mother.


Testifying for the first time Tuesday in a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against the Florida Department of Children & Families and another child welfare agency, the man who welcomed the filthy, malnourished neighborhood kid into his home said he and his wife weren’t told about those assaults nor the years of torture the boy had endured.
“Were you told by anyone that based on his history there was a likelihood that an animal or a child would be in danger around him?” attorney Stephan LeClainche asked his client, reading from reports the father said were kept secret from him. “Did you know that when rated on the issue of whether he posed a risk of violence to others he scored 4 out of 5?”
The father shook his head.
Instead, not knowing about the physical and sexual abuse heaped on Jerald beginning when he was 18 months old, the man moved the boy into his son’s bedroom. As many psychologists predicted, Jerald became a predator, ultimately sexually assaulting the couple’s then 9-year-old son, leaving the youngster with emotional scars that refuse to heal 10 years later, the father claims.
“He wouldn’t have been allowed to play with (Junior) period,” he testified of what he would have done had he known about Jerald’s tumultuous background.

The parade of horribles that Jerald experienced have been a focal part of the trial that began last week. Worried that the jury may punish them for not doing more to help Jerald, attorneys representing DCF and Camelot Community Care asked Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Meenu Sasser to tell the eight jurors that they can’t hold the two agencies responsible for any services they failed to provide Jerald, who is now in state prison on larceny convictions.
“Jerald is not a party to this case,” Sasser told the jury. Instead jurors are being asked to decide whether DCF and Camelot caseworkers failed to warn Junior’s mother and father about Jerald’s background and, if so, how much money Junior deserves for the emotional wounds the now 19-year-old youth suffered as a result. Another agency, Boys & Girls Town, also known as Father Flanagan’s, reached a confidential settlement with the family.
The Palm Beach Post is not reporting the full names of the parents, Junior or Jerald due to the nature of the allegations. It is the paper’s policy not to identify victims of sexual assault.
While Jerald isn’t a part to the case, his horrific young life is center stage.
According to testimony during the trial, although state law requires child welfare workers to immediately report allegations of abuse, a DCF caseworker didn’t do so when she learned that 19-year-old Reggie Cruz had sexually assaulted Jerald during the month they lived under the same roof. In fact, LeClainche said, because Cruz’s mother and Jerald’s mother were friends, the abuse had been going on for years.
“They moved (Jerald) into the home of his abuser,” he said.
But, the father testified, DCF caseworker Suzie Parchment didn’t tell him or his wife about the assaults. Eventually, Jerald did.
About a month after Jerald came to live with them in September 2002, he made sexual overtures to a 4-year-old girl who was visiting. Horrified, the mother confronted Jerald and the story spilled out. She called authorities. Cruz was eventually convicted of sexual battery on a juvenile and sent to prison for 18 months.
Days after the mother learned of the assault, Parchment sent a letter to DCF higher-ups, saying she had removed Jerald from the Cruz home after learning of rape allegations.
Parchment, the father testified, never told him or his wife why she had removed Jerald from the Cruz home. And, he said, it wasn’t the only information that was withheld even though he repeatedly asked them for background information.
He said he and his wife, who died in 2006 after a nearly two-year battle with cancer, weren’t told that Jerald had been diagnosed as suicidal when he was 3 and found wandering in traffic. They weren’t told he had tried to slit his sleeping father’s throat with a knife or that he told a teacher he planned to bring a gun to school and kill her and himself. They didn’t know he had been diagnosed as both suicidal and homicidal or that he heard voices.

He testified that had he known of even some of Jerald’s demons, he would have realized the outbursts he dismissed as harmless were troubling warning signs and his son was in danger. For instance, he said, he wasn’t alarmed when Jerald threatened his son with a butter knife because he had no idea the boy had tried to kill his father.
“Of course it would have taken on more significance,” he said. “But if I had known (about his past) he would have never been there in the first place.”
His testimony is to continue.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/crime-law/man-testifies-dcf-failed-to-warn-him-about-abusive/nbJp6/

Three CPS Workers Arrested In Connection To Greenville Teen's Murder Investigation

Three Child Protective Services workers were arrested Tuesday in connection with an investigation into the murder of a teenager in 2012. The arrests include a supervisor, a case worker and a retired investigator.
Laura Ard, Natalie Reynolds and Rebekah Ross are charged with official oppression and tampering with evidence. Some of those charges are reportedly related to the Alicia Moore murder investigation.
The body of the 16-year-old Moore was found along a road near Canton in Van Zandt County in Nov. 2012. Moore had disappeared four days earlier after getting off a school bus in Greenville, which is in Hunt County.
Alicia Moore's family said they only dealt with CPS last summer after Alicia was sexually assaulted.
They said CPS was never involved in her disappearance or murder in November. However, Hunt County Sheriff's Deputies still arrested the three women for tampering with evidence.
CPS confirms Ard was CPS's Investigative Program Director in the Greenville office. She was hired in 1992 and retired this past March.
CPS records show Natalie Reynolds, 33, was hired in 2002 and worked as an Investigative Supervisor. She's charged with oppression and tampering or fabricating evidence with a $40,000 bond.
Alicia Moore's aunt tells FOX4 she dealt with Reynolds trying to get a copy of a report related to Alicia's sexual assault case last summer. She believes these arrests are only related to that case, not the murder case.
"I don't have no problem with them. They did what they could do. My main focus is trying to find see what's going to happen with her murder. I mean, if my uncle, if they have more evidence that shows that he did it. I'm not even thinking about this."
Moore's uncle, Michael Vincent Moore, 57, was arrested and charged with capital murder in the case.

Read more: http://www.myfoxdfw.com/story/23520286/three-cps-workers-arrested-in-connection-to-greenville-teens-murder-investigation#ixzz2h90SRXcE

STOP Florida Department Of Children And Families Circuit 20

March 6, 2013

Department of Children and Families News Letter

Social Workers Help Children, Families, Vulnerable Adults in Need

Marian B. Scirrotto

There are several Social workers who really care and take their cases very personal and not just a job or paycheck. Those are few that are deserving of recognition, here in the 20th circuit.

Since 2005, I have been a court watcher at the Lee County Justice Center, I have seen success stories, However, I have seen more Horror in Family and Dependency courts.

In my experience with the Florida Child Protection System, I can assure you what I have seen and heard is beyond disbelief. I know every one of the Fl Status 39 and stay up to date on all revisions, which I find that the Sub-Contracting Agencies are NOT complying with at all.

I and my fellow court watchers across this state , find this Extremely Disturbing.

As a voice for the last 8 years, I have made my position very well known. So known, that my door was knocked on too many times with false allegations with the hope that one day, Something would stick.

Having the knowledge I do, Your case workers were unable to prove or pursue.

In 2010, They finally found something to suck us into the system of corruption. With NO Allegations or Association, My grand-daughters estranged mother, who had abandoned her in 2004 and lost her rights to 1 child in New Jersey (2010) , Gave birth while having a drug addiction, which was passed to another new innocent child. Now, we have a legitimate case with this mother..

Because my son and her were never married and there was NO legal court order of custody, We became victims to the system. My son had to jumped threw hoops of fire for 2 1/2 years before his portion of the case was closed.

The mother and other father, did not attend court hearings and were non-compliant with their case plans

The one thing I have found to be a benefit from being a victim and a court watcher, Is I know all the players. I have done my research, I have watched them closely, I listen to them intensely and I can see the money trail that hold families hostage.

The system is Black and White, There should be No shades of Grey for either the Court or the case management. The Status are defined as such to be followed, Not to be interpreted by anyone differently.

Here in the 20th , I can say honestly that only 1 Supervisor and her staff at DCF , Follow the laws, Genuinely, in the best interest of the children and help to the fullest degree, Above and Beyond, To help the children or families reunite.

The Courts, Family Court does not reaffirm Standing orders from Dependency Court, Dependency Court holds NO weight in Family court at all. The entire Family Court system is for profit. Regardless of any standing order, You must BUY your child to have legal custody. The entire Family court system is not in the best interest of the family or the children…

In closing, I have some very strong advice. The 20th Should be investigated and NOW.. Rumors are that several seasoned DCF employees are leaving . Those in charge, have Never done their job to know their job. You are about to see the this circuit implode. Working lunches at the bar are not meant to be.. Lucifer Services supervisors and case managers should not be entertained by DCF Operations.

The click of drunks, Should NOT be openly seen and heard during court recess.

Professionalism is Non-existent, when the public can hear them cursing and bad mouthing fellow workers. One of which was referred too as a fucking cunt for knowing how to do her own job and the job of that OPA . Making sexual remarks about male staff members is very inappropriate to say the least and offensive..

(Not to jeopardize the job of the seasoned well known person, she was speaking of, I will keep that to myself unless needed in the future.)

I will be watching and listening in the coming weeks, The interest of what will be happening is too hard to resist and I sincerely Hope, You take my advise. Remember the Black Eye the media will have in store, as they feed off failure. And, The BEST INTEREST of the families..

Marian B. Scirrotto

Founder : And Justice 4 all

“Committed to Change”

“If you can read this, thank a teacher-and, since it’s in English, thank a soldier !!”

And they did NOT take my advise,However,They
DID go back for my grand-daughter !
https://sites.google.com/site/stopflcircuit20dcf/

STOP Florida Department Of Children And Families Circuit 20 Corruption

March 6, 2013

Department of Children and Families News Letter 

Social Workers Help Children, Families, Vulnerable Adults in Need

There are several Social workers who really care and take their cases very personal and not just a job or paycheck. Those are few that are deserving of recognition, here in the 20th circuit.

Since 2005, I have been a court watcher at the Lee County Justice Center, I have seen success stories, However, I have seen more Horror in Family and Dependency courts.

In my experience with the Florida Child Protection System, I can assure you what I have seem and heard is beyond disbelief. I know every one of the Fl Status 39 and stay up to date on all revisions, which I find that the Sub-Contracting Agencies are NOT complying with at all.

I and my fellow court watchers across this state , find this Extremely Disturbing.

 

 

As a voice for the last 8 years, I have made my position very well known. So known, that my door was knocked on too many times with false allegations with the hope that one day, Something would stick.

Having the knowledge I do, Your case workers were unable to prove or pursue.

In 2010, They finally found something to suck us into the system of corruption. With NO Allegations or Association, My grand-daughters estranged mother, who had abandoned her in 2004 and lost her rights to 1 child in New Jersey (2010) , Gave birth while having a drug addiction, which was passed to another new innocent child. Now, we have a legitimate case with this mother..

Because my son and her were never married and there was NO legal court order of custody, We became victims to the system. My son had to jumped threw hoops of fire for 2 1/2 years before his portion of the case was closed.

The mother and other father, did not attend court hearings amd were non-compliant with their case plans

      The one thing I have found to be a benefit from being a victim and a court watcher, Is I know all the players. I have done my research, I have watched them closely, I listen to them intensely and I can see the money trail that hold families hostage.

The system is Black and White, There should be No shades of Grey for either the Court or the case management. The Status are defined as such to be followed, Not to be interpreted by anyone differently.

 

 

Here in the 20th , I can say honestly that only 1 Supervisor and her staff at DCF , Follow the laws, Genuinely, in the best interest of the children and help to the fullest degree, Above and Beyond, To help the children or families reunite.

The Courts, Family Court does not reaffirm Standing orders from Dependency Court, Dependency Court holds NO weight in Family court at all. The entire Family Court system is for profit. Regardless of any standing order, You must BUY your child to have legal custody. The entire Family court system is not in the best interest of the family or the children...

 

 

In closing, I have some very strong advice. The 20th Should be investigated and NOW.. Rumors are that several seasoned DCF employees are leaving . Those in charge, have Never done their job to know their job. You are about to see the this circuit implode. Working lunches at the bar are not meant to be.. Lucifer Services supervisors and case managers should not be entertained by DCF Operations.

The click of drunks, Should NOT be openly seen and heard during court recess.

Professionalism is Non-existent, when the public can hear them cursing and bad mouthing fellow workers. One of which was referred too as a fucking cunt for knowing how to do her own job and the job of that OPA . Making sexual remarks about male staff members is very inappropriate to say the least and offensive..

  

(Not to jeopardize the job of the seasoned well known person, she was speaking of, I will keep that to myself unless needed in the future.)

I will be watching and listening in the coming weeks, The interest of what will be happening is too hard to resist and I sincerely Hope, You take my advise. Remember the Black Eye the media will have in store, as they feed off failure. And, The BEST INTEREST of the families..  

Marian B. Scirrotto

Founder : And Justice 4 all

"Committed to Change"

"If you can read this, thank a teacher-and, since it's in English, thank a soldier !!"

And they did NOT take my advise,However,They DID go back for my grand-daughter !

 

https://sites.google.com/site/stopflcircuit20dcf/