Don't gag media, Port aux Basques family says

CBC News - Nfld. & Labrador - Don't gag media, Port aux Basques family says

A family in southwestern Newfoundland that has alleged social workers were heavy-handed in removing children from their custody does not want the media to be prevented from reporting fully on their case.

Sources tell CBC News that the provincial government will go to court Thursday to seek a publication ban in the case of Dorothy and Bobby Rodgers of Port aux Basques whose two children were taken into care last year.

The Rodgers spoke out earlier this month when they could not get their two young children out of foster care in part because they scored poorly on a series of tests, including an IQ test. The case has drawn a strong public reaction.

Eileen King, Bobby Rodgers's sister, said the family believes the government wants media reports on her brother's case shut down.

"No names would be mentioned, that the Rodgers family name would not be mentioned," King told CBC News.

'Cover up what they have done'

A publication ban would mean that any media identifying the family would be breaking the law.

"I think it's just another way for them to cover up their track, to cover up what they have done," King said in an interview.

Child, Youth and Family Services Minister Charlene Johnson has suggested there is more to the Rodgers story than has been reported and has said government officials are bound by confidentiality.

King said her family would like to know what government means about what has not been disclosed.

"We have nothing to fear nor do we have anything to hide," she said.

The Department of Child, Youth and Family Services would not comment on the issue of a publication ban, and said it cannot comment on specific cases.

The Rodgers case involves numerous complicated factors, including Dorothy Rodgers's admission that she made false allegations when she stayed at a transition house. She has said she was coping with sexual abuse suffered years ago.

As well, Dorothy Rodgers says she did not trust social workers because of her own experiences growing up in foster care.



Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2011/02/16/rodgers-publication-ban-216.html#ixzz1EAeN7a00