Stop Child Protective Services From Wrongfully Taking Kids

Petition by
Kevin Kulman
COUNTLESS INNOCENT KIDS AND FAMILIES are victims to CPS’ corrupt power. CPS neglects to do proper investigations before removing a child. And when in shelter or foster care, they refuse to act when the child is being abused or hurt. Countless amounts of children are legally kidnapped over nothing by CPS from the laziness of social workers not doing their job of a proper investigation.


This cause is important because:

1. We need to stop traumatizing kids and tearing apart families.
2. We must help the parents that are dealt brain shattering stress wasting thousands of dollars hiring attorney fees to get their own child back.
3. Lastly, CPS is illegally taking kids. It is sad, it gets me angry knowing this is going on right now, a kid somewhere crying for their mommy or daddy, locked up in a new world with a stranger

IT HAS TO STOP! Please if you support this cause, sign this petition! It’s free and you are legitimately helping, I promise! I am petitioning to President Barack Obama to change the rules and regulations of CPS to moderate how much power they have in taking kids and to ensure a proper investigation is taken place.
Thank you so much for reading this, your signature means a world of hope to me and the kids of America!

MY STORY: I was taken into CPS when I was 16 after my doctors got frustrated that they  did not know how to treat my heart condition and blamed my mom for making me have open heart surgery and said all my pain was in my head.
Three days after being in CPS custody, I collapsed. The days prior, I begged to see a doctor because I was having cruel stabbing chest pain. CPS said it was all in my head and refused to let me go to the doctor. Luckily I had a follow up appt. with my cardiologist made, and when I finally got treated. I came out with  a pericardial effusion, pleural effusion, pericarditis, pneumonia and a 104.2 fever. If I didn’t have that appointment I would have died.
Sign Today. Thank You
http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-child-protective-services-from-wrongfully-taking-kids?share_id=EWhCvlmfag&utm_campaign=friend_inviter_chat&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=share_petition&utm_term=permissions_dialog_true

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/

California Promotes Cps Caseworkers

California Promotes CPS Caseworkers Who Lie to Judges and then teaches other Caseworkers how to do the Same

April 27, 2011

by Kimberly Edds, Staff Writer

An Orange County social worker who lied to a juvenile court commissioner in order to take away a woman’s two daughters — and cost the county $4.9 million in a court judgment — was later promoted to a supervisor, county officials confirmed.
She now trains other social workers.

 It took Seal Beach mother Deanna Fogarty-Hardwick six-and-a-half years to regain custody of her children, who were 6 and 9 when they were taken from her in 2000.
Fogarty-Hardwick’s oldest daughter, Kendall, is now 20, and filed her own lawsuit against the county and three of its social workers for depriving her of a relationship with her mother.
Orange County Social Services social workers Marcie Vreeken and Helen Dwojak filed false reports and held back evidence which would have cleared Fogarty-Hardwick, an Orange County jury found in 2007. A third social worker was cleared of liability.
The jury awarded Fogarty-Hardwick $4.9 million in damages, with the county responsible for the bulk of the award. The county appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which denied the county’s request to be heard last week.
Vreeken and Dwojak were never disciplined.
In fact, Vreeken was later promoted, according to county records. She earned $103,441.48 last year as a senior social services supervisor, according to county records.

Dwojak, who was Vreeken’s supervisor, retired from the county in 2006, according to county records.
“I am certain and I stand by my social workers that they did not fabricate, they did not suppress any information and they did not perjure themselves,” said Dr. Michael Riley, director of the Orange County Social Services Agency. “If they had I would have dismissed them.”
Social Services conducted an investigation into how the social workers handled the case and found no wrongdoing, Riley said. “This woman is the epitome of integrity,” Riley said of Dwojak. “They did nothing wrong.”
According to court papers, Vreeken threatened that if Fogarty-Hardwick did not “submit” to her will, she would never see her children again. The social workers also tried in 2000 to coerce Fogarty-Hardwick to sign a document saying she was a bad parent by threatening to take her daughters away, Fogarty-Hardwick alleged.
Fogarty-Hardwick refused.
According to daughter Kendall Hardwick’s lawsuit, Vreeken “attempted to coerce Kendall into visiting her father by threatening that if Kendall did not visit with her father she would be taken away from her mother and ‘put in a home.’ ”
Kendall Hardiwick’s lawuit accuses Vreeken of lying in a Feb. 17, 2000 court report, including failing to disclose her threats against Kendall and her sister that left the two girls in tears and a subsequent argument between Vreeken and Fogarty-Hardwick.
A county commissioner ordered Fogarty-Hardwick’s daughters taken from their mother and put in Orangewood Children’s Home immediately. Vreeken and another social worker went with a uniformed police officer to to take Kendall’s younger sister, who was “screaming and crying for her mother as she hid under the principal’s desk,” according to Kendall’s lawsuit. Kendall was also forcibly removed, leaving her “devastated.”

 The girls were later put in foster care.
Kendall Hardwick’s lawsuit also accuses Vreeken of repeatedly lying in court reports and on the stand to thwart Fogarty-Hardwick’s attempts to regain custody of her daughters.
In a March 31, 2000 letter, a therapist wrote to the agency that “Kendall … shows signs of emotional regression. She was tearful throughout the session, begging to go home. … She doesn’t know how much longer she can cope and visibly shook while relating this.”
“Defendants knew of Plaintiffs emotional collapse,” the suit reads. “Yet, while testifying in the juvenile court trial, Vreeken refused to acknowledge the children were mentally deteriorating.”
The social workers instead reported the children “were doing well,” according to the lawsuit.
Fogarty-Hardwick gave her ex-husband full custody in 2002, hoping to protect her daughters. She was then allowed two supervised visits a month for two years. She eventually won 50-50 custody in 2006.
Fogarty-Hardwick sued the county in 2002, arguing the Social Services Agency and its two social workers violated her civil rights. A jury ruled against her.

 She sued again, arguing this time county’s policies violated her constitutional rights, including her Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights.
Fogarty-Hardwick’s accused the county of violating her constitutional rights by removing her children without making a finding of imminent danger or serious physical injury; interviewing her daughters without a parent present; holding her children without cause; fabricating evidence; and failing to properly train employees about parents’ constitutional rights.
The jury voted 10-2 in favor of Fogarty-Hardwick. The county appealed.
In the Fourth District Court of Appeal opinion, Justice William Bedsworth wrote, “the evidence adduced at trial obviously caused both the jury and the judge to conclude not only that something seriously wrong was done to Fogarty-Hardwick in this case, but also that the wrongful conduct was not an isolated incident.”

“Despite Fogarty-Hardwick’s complaints, and the concerns expressed by others about the handling of this dependency case, SSA did not investigate the situation or consider assigning different social workers to the matter. Neither of the social workers involved was disciplined. Instead, Vreeken was promoted to supervisor in 2001,” Bedsworth wrote.
Child Protective Services cases are not open to the public, a fact which Riley says prevents him from providing the whole picture.
“We have no agenda to disrupt families,” Riley said. “Our goal is to keep families together.”
http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2011/04/25/lying-social-worker-promoted-now-trains-others/81173/#comment-150701

Categories: Abuse by CPS Tags: Abuse by CPS, corruption by cps, greed by cps, Helen Dwojak, Marcie Vreeken, stolen children for profit, 

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

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

Need for a search warrant trips social workers

Ohio authorities not aware of Fourth Amendment protections

Erie County, OH   A home schooling family has settled its case against Erie County social workers and Vermilion police for the coerced entry into the family's home on Feb. 21, 2001.

Courts have settled this key issue in other jurisdictions, and now its settled in this jurisdiction.  Social workers cannot enter a home, willy-nilly, without a warrant,” said Gary McCaleb, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, the national legal organization based in Scottsdale, Arizona, that supported the case.

Paul and Linda Walsh filed a lawsuit after police and caseworkers entered their home without a warrant and without permission.  The social workers said they were acting on an anonymous tip about unspecified hazards in the home, and claimed they had a right to enter the home without a warrant.

The social workers threatened the family, saying that if they were not allowed in the home they would take the children away from the parents.  In papers filed with the court, the Walshes said that a social worker even blocked their driveway with her car when the family tried to leave to attend a church function that evening. 

The social worker summoned police, who frisked Mr. Walsh and threatened to arrest him on charges of obstructing official business if he did not allow the caseworkers into the home.  Walsh said that he then allowed the workers to enter the home rather than risk being jailed.

The caseworkers found nothing in the home that constituted an immediate hazard to the family.

Instead of tolerating this official abuse, the Walshes chose to sue the caseworkers, the Erie County Department of Job and Family Services, the Erie County Board of Commissioners, the City of Vermilion, Ohio; and three Vermilion police officers.

Defendants told the court that the Fourth Amendment prohibitions against illegal searches and seizures do not apply to them in such circumstances.  They asked the court to throw the case out, but the court refused.   The court said the facts supported the Walshes claims against the defendants for unreasonable searches and seizures, as well as for false imprisonment, assulat, battery, and infliction of emotional distress.

In a forceful opinion, US District Judge James G. Carr wrote: Despite the Defendants exaggerated view of their powers, the Fourth Amendment applies to them, as it does to all other officers and agents of the state whose requests to enter, however benign or well-intentioned, are met by a closed door.  There is...no social worker exception to the strictures of the Fourth Amendment.  ...Any agency that expects to send its employees routinely into private homes has a fundamental obligation to ensure that those employees understand the constitutional limits on their authority.

The court stated that because the Walshes refused consent, and because the anonymous complaint did not supply persuasive evidence of an emergency, the caseworkers had no option but to either leave the [Walshes] alone and in peace or seek a search warrant.

The court further ruled that the police did not have probable cause to detain, frisk, and threaten to arrest Walsh, since he was not breaking any law but merely asserting his “fundamental right to be left alone.

Kurt D. Anderson, a partner with the Elyria firm of Fauver, Keyse-Walker & Donovan, represents the Walshes.  Anderson, a graduate of Alliance Defense Fund's second National Litigation Academy, said the training gave him the background to help the Walshes when the opportunity arose.

ADF's training and resources really helped us confront an issue that, unfortunately, had apparently never been addressed in Ohio before, Anderson said.  As far as we could tell, nobody in Ohio had ever challenged a caseworker's home inspection for failure to get a warrant. As a home schooling parent myself, I really took the Walshes situation to heart.  I admire them for their courage to stand up for their rights, but it's a crying shame that it would even have to come to that.  Its just a reminder that we have to be vigilant and assertive about protecting our rights.  They can be trampled on even by well-meaning but uninformed government agents.

Anderson expects that as a result of the Walsh case, training policies will be revised for social workers not just in Erie County, but across the state of Ohio.  The caseworkers in the Walsh case admitted they had never been taught anything about the Fourth Amendment or search warrants.   The feedback I'm getting is that agencies across the state have gotten a wake-up call on this issue.

Anderson declined to reveal the specific amount of the settlement, which was not stated in the court record.

For more information about home schooling and the law, please contact the Home School Legal Defense Association, an ally of the Alliance Defense Fund.  HSLDA attorney Scott Somerville can be reached at (540) 338-5600.

The Alliance Defense Fund is a servant organization serving people of faith.   The Alliance Defense Fund provides strategy, training, and funding in the legal battle for religious liberty, sanctity of life, and traditional family values.

http://www.landrights.com/Search%20Warrant.htm

President Obama Save Our Children

petition to president Obama

by Abbi Orenstein on Friday, August 19, 2011 at 1:42pm

Dear Sir, since the days of Walter Mondale and Bill Clinton's safe families act child protective services have been steadily getting out of control.

Caseworkers and social workers are oftentimes guilty of fraud. They withhold evidence. They fabricate evidence and they seek to terminate parental rights. However, when charges are made against them, the charges are ignored, They have abused civil rights, violated procedure, lied to the courts, to the parents, and have gotten away with it even when caught. Some have even used racial bias to remove and keep children.

Children have died from abuse and neglect in their care. Child welfare can operate under a veil of secrecy in which they do not have to answer to anyone. Parents often have no recourse, cannot get community support, and must rely on legal aid to respent them.

when cps goes after a family most people believe there was abuse. this is why community support is hard to get and parents may even find themselves dealing with vengful law enforcment.

WHAT WE WANT:
Transparency of the courts: the privacy act only protects cps. Parents must be given equal ability to defend themselves. The media must be allowed to research cases so it is not just the parent's word against the goverment. Parents must be allowed to invoke trial by jury.

Accountability: When a social worker breaks the law to seize a child, that seizure must be considered unjustified and the child returned immediately.

Due process: Parents must not have to wait months to years to even see their children let alone defend themselves properly. Childhood is fleeting and the children may grow up in the system abused and devoid of parental care. By the time the parents get them back they may be well on a road to destruction they cannot escape.

An amendment in the constitution to protect parental rights: up until now we have not needed one. but because social workers have taken children from birth over mere speculation or the word of an angry neighbor is high time we need one.

Education of parental rights: Laws can easily be abused when people are unaware of their rights.

Over haul of the foster care system: as there are children that need to be there, the system must be fixed to hold foster parents and cps to higher standards. Backgrounds must be checked, foster homes must be checked regularly and doctors questioned.

Protection from clinical testing: foster children must not be used to test medicines in all states.

Nancy Schaefer's act: End the financial incentives that separate families. Nancy Schaefer is so far the only politician to try and end this abuse of the system. you can be the second and you can succeed.

     Mr.president there are terrible cases of children that have starved to death in foster care. cases where an unpopular family may be ripped apart, minority children abused by racist foster parents, military families loose their children, and where a child may have a swat team unleashed to take her away when her mother decides to stop medicating her with unapproved psychotropic medicine. This should not be happening in our era, this something that happens in a Dickinson or Orwell novel. Please Mr.President, save our children.