UNDERSTANDING U.S.
HEALTH CARE SPENDING
NIHCM FoUNDATIoN DATA BRIEF
JULy 2011
1
Summary of Key Points
n U.S. spending for health care has been on a relentless upward path – reaching $2.5 trillion in the aggregate,
$8,100 per person, and 17.6 percent of GDP in 2009.
n Spending is highly concentrated among a relatively small portion of high-cost users, with just 5 percent of
the population responsible for almost 50 percent of all spending. At the other end, half of the population
accounts for just 3 percent of spending.
n As more people are being diagnosed with and treated for chronic conditions, including many linked to
rising obesity rates, high health spending has spread to a larger segment of the population. The spending
distribution remains highly concentrated, however.
n Higher spending for hospital care and physician and clinical services accounted for half of the increase
in total national health spending between 2005 and 2009 and more than 80 percent of the increase in
private insurance premiums over the period.
n Rising prices per unit of service have played a larger role than rising utilization rates as a determinant of
recent expenditure growth.
n Key drivers of rising unit prices and higher utilization include advances in medical technology, rising
treated prevalence rates for chronic diseases, and increased provider consolidation and market power.
Read more at:http://nihcm.org/images/stories/NIHCM-CostBrief-Email.pdf
Isabella Brooke Knightly and Austin Gamez-Knightly
In Memory of my Loving Husband, William F. Knightly Jr. Murdered by ILLEGAL Palliative Care at a Nashua, NH Hospital
Thursday, June 30, 2011
When CPS Attacks One Family. They Attack All Families.
Lone Star Watchdog: When CPS Attacks One Family. They Attack All Families.
When there will be revenue shortfalls in counties and states looking to make up the difference. One of the biggest revenue generators is Child Protective Services because under two laws. The first law was the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act and the Adoption and Safe Families Act. Both laws give big money to the states not to reunite and keep families together.They make the biggest through adoptions A racketeering operation sanctioned by the state. It has been proven the state who claim to have the best interest of the children at heart can not live up to their words.
When there will be revenue shortfalls in counties and states looking to make up the difference. One of the biggest revenue generators is Child Protective Services because under two laws. The first law was the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act and the Adoption and Safe Families Act. Both laws give big money to the states not to reunite and keep families together.They make the biggest through adoptions A racketeering operation sanctioned by the state. It has been proven the state who claim to have the best interest of the children at heart can not live up to their words.
State moves to give grandparents a voice
State moves to give grandparents a voice | The Tennessean | tennessean.com
Christopher Savoie
My mother died unexpectedly when I was only 8 days old. All of my relatives — aunts, uncles and cousins — helped to take care of me while my father grieved the loss of his wife. After a few years, however, my father was remarried and I had a new stepmother who seemed less than enthusiastic about being around her husband’s first wife’s family. Soon all visits and phone calls were blocked altogether.
Christopher Savoie
My mother died unexpectedly when I was only 8 days old. All of my relatives — aunts, uncles and cousins — helped to take care of me while my father grieved the loss of his wife. After a few years, however, my father was remarried and I had a new stepmother who seemed less than enthusiastic about being around her husband’s first wife’s family. Soon all visits and phone calls were blocked altogether.
Census: Even more kids living with grandparents-NOT in New Hampshire
Census: Even more kids living with grandparents | Chronicle | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle
Census data reveal a surprising growth spurt in the lives of U.S. kids
Census data reveal a surprising growth spurt in the lives of U.S. kids
Outcry in America as pregnant women who lose babies face murder charges
Outcry in America as pregnant women who lose babies face murder charges | World news | The Guardian
Women's rights campaigners see the creeping criminalisation of pregnant women as a new front in the culture wars over abortion.
Rennie Gibbs is accused of murder, but the crime she is alleged to have committed does not sound like an ordinary killing. Yet she faces life in prison in Mississippi over the death of her unborn child.
Women's rights campaigners see the creeping criminalisation of pregnant women as a new front in the culture wars over abortion.
Rennie Gibbs is accused of murder, but the crime she is alleged to have committed does not sound like an ordinary killing. Yet she faces life in prison in Mississippi over the death of her unborn child.
ATTENTION: ALL Father's who have lost their children due to the Court's Terminating a fictitious man's right's
ATTENTION: ALL Father's who have lost their children due to the Court's Terminating a fictitious
or the wrong man's right's.
I am doing research on how many father's out there, whose right's were NEVER terminated to their children. Where the Court's terminated the wrong man's right's or terminated a fictitious man's right's. Please send me your info and I will keep my blog updated as the messages come in. I know of three father's in Nashua, NH. I'm sure there are many more. New Hampshire Court's can't be the only ones illegally terminating fictitious father's right's. The only way we can stop this abuse, is to bring it out in the open. Thank's for your help!
The list start's Here
1. Austin Ricardo Gamez-Knightly's REAL fathers right's were never terminated-His father was deported to Honduras and Austin's father was NEVER notified. A fictitious man's right's from NH were terminated instead and Austin was ILLEGALLY adopted
2. Isabella Brooke Knightly's REAL father's right's were never terminated. CPS gave the court's a fictitious man's name as her father.Even after Isabella's mother filed a Paternity affidavit with the court, the Judge claimed he never received it, yet it was in the court file. Adoption was granted to Foster stranger's. Her father was never notified. When he found out, he was denied paternity testing and the right's to his child.
or the wrong man's right's.
I am doing research on how many father's out there, whose right's were NEVER terminated to their children. Where the Court's terminated the wrong man's right's or terminated a fictitious man's right's. Please send me your info and I will keep my blog updated as the messages come in. I know of three father's in Nashua, NH. I'm sure there are many more. New Hampshire Court's can't be the only ones illegally terminating fictitious father's right's. The only way we can stop this abuse, is to bring it out in the open. Thank's for your help!
The list start's Here
1. Austin Ricardo Gamez-Knightly's REAL fathers right's were never terminated-His father was deported to Honduras and Austin's father was NEVER notified. A fictitious man's right's from NH were terminated instead and Austin was ILLEGALLY adopted
2. Isabella Brooke Knightly's REAL father's right's were never terminated. CPS gave the court's a fictitious man's name as her father.Even after Isabella's mother filed a Paternity affidavit with the court, the Judge claimed he never received it, yet it was in the court file. Adoption was granted to Foster stranger's. Her father was never notified. When he found out, he was denied paternity testing and the right's to his child.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Flesh-Eating Cocaine Hits New York, Los Angeles
Flesh-Eating Cocaine Hits New York, Los Angeles (PHOTO)
It seems cocaine has been behind a rash of flesh-eating disease outbreaks in Los Angeles and New York.
Cocaine cut with the veterinary drug, levamisole has apparently been linked to a number of cases of rotting flesh, according to Good Morning America. While the cases reported thus far have been on the coasts, officials have warned that it could very well be a nationwide problem.
It seems cocaine has been behind a rash of flesh-eating disease outbreaks in Los Angeles and New York.
Cocaine cut with the veterinary drug, levamisole has apparently been linked to a number of cases of rotting flesh, according to Good Morning America. While the cases reported thus far have been on the coasts, officials have warned that it could very well be a nationwide problem.
Check up on DJJ doctors
Check up on DJJ doctors
Anyone with an Internet connection can go online and see that Dr. Gold Smith Dorval is on probation with the Florida Board of Medicine and that his medical license was suspended because he stole money from Medicaid. Why, then, did the Department of Juvenile Justice allow him to treat children in state custody and prescribe powerful drugs for them?
Anyone with an Internet connection can go online and see that Dr. Gold Smith Dorval is on probation with the Florida Board of Medicine and that his medical license was suspended because he stole money from Medicaid. Why, then, did the Department of Juvenile Justice allow him to treat children in state custody and prescribe powerful drugs for them?
"The Gary Little Story: The Judge Who Raped Children
"The Gary Little Story: About A Man, A City And The News Media" by Bruce Brown
THIS STORY came out of a conversation on the deck of Murray and Rosa Morgan's Puget Sound cabin during the summer of 1988.
As the sun set on Mt. Rainier that August evening, I told the story of Gary Little, the Seattle judge with impeccable and powerful establishment connections who had committed suicide the week before, just as his long history of homosexual child rape was revealed by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
THIS STORY came out of a conversation on the deck of Murray and Rosa Morgan's Puget Sound cabin during the summer of 1988.
As the sun set on Mt. Rainier that August evening, I told the story of Gary Little, the Seattle judge with impeccable and powerful establishment connections who had committed suicide the week before, just as his long history of homosexual child rape was revealed by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
School for Disabled Forces Students to Wear Backpacks That Deliver Massive Electric Shocks
School for Disabled Forces Students to Wear Backpacks That Deliver Massive Electric Shocks | Civil Liberties | AlterNet
A rights group has filed a report and urgent appeal with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture about outrageous school rules.
May 5, 2010 |
Mental Disability Rights International (MDRI) has filed a report and urgent appeal with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture alleging that the Judge Rotenberg Center for the disabled, located in Massachusetts, violates the UN Convention against Torture.
A rights group has filed a report and urgent appeal with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture about outrageous school rules.
May 5, 2010 |
Mental Disability Rights International (MDRI) has filed a report and urgent appeal with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture alleging that the Judge Rotenberg Center for the disabled, located in Massachusetts, violates the UN Convention against Torture.
I Attended the Meet and Greet Michelle Bachman 6/28/11 in Raymond, NH To Request Help for Our Families
I attended the Meet and Greet Michelle Bachman in Raymond, NH yesterday. I'm hoping it was very productive.Though I really didn't get to talk to her, I was able to give her some of my paperwork concerning my two STOLEN grandchildren, Austin and Isabella, along with their pictures, a list of question's and a flyer for the Gov Abuse National Protest which takes place on August 12, 2011.
I know many parent's and grandparent's do not support her at this time, due to the fact she raised 23 foster children, along with her own. But I am willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. I am a fair person who does NOT judge people by what they have or haven't done. The only people, And I use that term loosely, that I DO judge because of their illegal practices are CPS and the Judicial system.I have seen first hand the destruction they are capable of.
I know Michelle Bachman believes she did a good thing, by taking in foster children. Was she suckered in by the deceitful CPS, just as so many other's have been? Does she even know how CPS and the Family Court's Destroy Families? Most times, Innocent families? Does she have any idea how many children are stolen each year from INNOCENT parent's? Parent's who are NOT afforded Due Process? Parent's whose Constitutional Right's are violated every day?
As I have said before, if Michelle Bachman will help the families devastated by CPS and the Court's AND put a stop to their deceitful practices, hopefully an overhaul of the entire corrupt system, I WILL support her and will push for the support from other's screwed over by the corrupt CPS and the Court's, which include bringing our stolen children home and holding the Destroyer's of Family accountable.
I met other parent's, grandparent's, State Rep's, the Chairman of the House and was able to speak to a few Reporter's, along with many other people. I was also able to pass out my protest flyer's.
The question's I gave Michelle Bachman are listed below. I'm hoping she read's over ALL the paperwork I gave her, which includes the proof of the termination of parental right's of a fictitious man as my grandson Austin's father. I am in hopes Michelle Bachman will respond to OUR plea. If she does, I'm sure she will have many new supporter's!
1. Are you aware children are being removed from their families without proof of abuse and neglect?
2. Are you aware Judges will NOT admit proof of innocence?
3. Are you aware parent’s are NOT allowed to speak on their own behalf?
4. Are you aware, even when criminal charges are dropped due to proof of innocence, the children are still never returned?
5. Are you aware services are NOT provided to families before the children are taken and placed in foster care?
6. Are you aware relative placement is NOT considered before foster care?
7. Are you aware nobody get’s their children back once taken in NH?
8. Are you aware every parent ‘s right’s are terminated that have a TPR in NH?
9. Are you aware the NH Supreme Court NEVER reverses or overturns a parental right’s termination?
10. Are you aware DCYF/CPS CAN do whatever they want because our Government gave them the power to do so?
11. Are you aware fictitious mens right’s are terminated in Nashua and probably other places instead of the REAL Father’s?
12. Are you aware newborn babies are stolen from their Mother’s due to Morphine in the newborns system? Morphine given to the mother’s in labor?
13. Are you aware immigrant’s get deported and their children are illegally adopted?
14. Are you aware Nashua DCYF places children in foster homes that don’t meet residence requirement’s?
15. Are you aware Nashua DCYF places three little girlsin a 2 bedroom condo with 5 adult’s and two teenage son’s? And then let’s them adopt them. Is that legal?
16. Are you aware NH DCYF falsify’s Title IV paperwork and other paper’s in order to get federal funding?
17. Are you aware NH Judges are granting illegal adoptions and illegal name changes, before the children are adopted?
18. Are you aware Reasonable effort’s in Nashua consists of mandatory drug test’s and visitation? Shouldn’t parent’s be afforded REAL effort to reunify their family?
19. Are you aware Nashua Family Court Judges court order parent’s out of methadone treatment in order to regain custody of their child, which is both illegal and discriminatory?
20. Are you aware parent’s in Nashua are court-ordered into programs that don’t exist, just to make sure they can’t comply?
21. Are you aware Probate Court Judges are falsifying their decision’s and the Supreme Court will NOT reverse the decisions even though false statement’s are proven?
22. Are you aware Father’s are Not allowed paternity test’s and are denied custody hearings?
23. Are you aware Nashua DCYF and their cohort hospital, SNHMC, keep evidence of innocence hidden for at least six month’s after the child is taken and the Judge states it’s too late. The parent only has thirty day’s to appeal?
24. Are you aware the children are trying to commit suicide and then are drugged, because they are so severely traumatized, after being dragged from their families they know and love and plead to be with?
25. Are you aware DCYF does incomplete Home studies and then falsify’s the paperwork?
26. Are you aware DCYF does NOT try to find relatives for these children to be placed?
27. Are you aware Nashua DCYF denies Foster parent licenses to Grandparent’s?
28. Are you aware after promising grandparent’s their grandchildren, and starting a home study which takes eight month’s, they place the child in a stranger’s home for them to adopt?
29. Are you aware perjury is permitted in Family court’s?
30. Will you stop the Title IV funding which pay’s DCYF for every child placed in foster care?
31. Will you end the Adoption Promotion Act?
32. Will you reform DCYF/CPS making sure there is ONLY Family Preservation? Not Family Destruction?
33. Will you reform the Family Court system?
34. Will you make Federal Mandates Law, so DCYF/CPS have to abide by these Law’s?
35. Will you enforce relative placement BEFORE Foster care?
36. Will you enforce accountability of DCYF/CPS?
37. Will you enforce Evidentiary Rules in the Family Court’s?
38. Will you enforce 50/50 custody for both parent’s?
39. Will you stop the needless removal and traumatization of our children?
40. Will you put into effect jury trial’s for ALL parent’s accused of abuse and neglect?
41. Will you afford the parent’s with the same right’s as accused criminal’s?
42. Will you enforce the admittance of proof of innocence to parent’s?
43. When a parent is found innocent or the charges are dropped in criminal court, will you enforce the court to return the children?
44. Will you enforce the right’s of Parent’s and families and their constitutional right’s in the upbringing of their children?
45. Will you put and end to the drugging of our children?
46. Will you hold Judges, Marital Master’s and Gal’s accountable for their actions toward families?
47. Will you rectify the removal and illegal adoptions of our children and grandchildren?
48. Will you enforce court-appointed CUSTODY Lawyer’s, NOT Real Estate and other Lawyer’s for these cases?
49. Will you enforce the parent’s right’s to their files and transcript’s, etc?
50. Will you change the Family Court’s “preponderance of evidence” to Burden of Proof”?
51. Will you initiate Open Court’s for abuse and neglect cases?
52. Will you afford Parent’s the right of presenting NEW evidence which proves innocence, at ANY time, as afforded by convicted criminal’s?
I know many parent's and grandparent's do not support her at this time, due to the fact she raised 23 foster children, along with her own. But I am willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. I am a fair person who does NOT judge people by what they have or haven't done. The only people, And I use that term loosely, that I DO judge because of their illegal practices are CPS and the Judicial system.I have seen first hand the destruction they are capable of.
I know Michelle Bachman believes she did a good thing, by taking in foster children. Was she suckered in by the deceitful CPS, just as so many other's have been? Does she even know how CPS and the Family Court's Destroy Families? Most times, Innocent families? Does she have any idea how many children are stolen each year from INNOCENT parent's? Parent's who are NOT afforded Due Process? Parent's whose Constitutional Right's are violated every day?
As I have said before, if Michelle Bachman will help the families devastated by CPS and the Court's AND put a stop to their deceitful practices, hopefully an overhaul of the entire corrupt system, I WILL support her and will push for the support from other's screwed over by the corrupt CPS and the Court's, which include bringing our stolen children home and holding the Destroyer's of Family accountable.
I met other parent's, grandparent's, State Rep's, the Chairman of the House and was able to speak to a few Reporter's, along with many other people. I was also able to pass out my protest flyer's.
The question's I gave Michelle Bachman are listed below. I'm hoping she read's over ALL the paperwork I gave her, which includes the proof of the termination of parental right's of a fictitious man as my grandson Austin's father. I am in hopes Michelle Bachman will respond to OUR plea. If she does, I'm sure she will have many new supporter's!
1. Are you aware children are being removed from their families without proof of abuse and neglect?
2. Are you aware Judges will NOT admit proof of innocence?
3. Are you aware parent’s are NOT allowed to speak on their own behalf?
4. Are you aware, even when criminal charges are dropped due to proof of innocence, the children are still never returned?
5. Are you aware services are NOT provided to families before the children are taken and placed in foster care?
6. Are you aware relative placement is NOT considered before foster care?
7. Are you aware nobody get’s their children back once taken in NH?
8. Are you aware every parent ‘s right’s are terminated that have a TPR in NH?
9. Are you aware the NH Supreme Court NEVER reverses or overturns a parental right’s termination?
10. Are you aware DCYF/CPS CAN do whatever they want because our Government gave them the power to do so?
11. Are you aware fictitious mens right’s are terminated in Nashua and probably other places instead of the REAL Father’s?
12. Are you aware newborn babies are stolen from their Mother’s due to Morphine in the newborns system? Morphine given to the mother’s in labor?
13. Are you aware immigrant’s get deported and their children are illegally adopted?
14. Are you aware Nashua DCYF places children in foster homes that don’t meet residence requirement’s?
15. Are you aware Nashua DCYF places three little girlsin a 2 bedroom condo with 5 adult’s and two teenage son’s? And then let’s them adopt them. Is that legal?
16. Are you aware NH DCYF falsify’s Title IV paperwork and other paper’s in order to get federal funding?
17. Are you aware NH Judges are granting illegal adoptions and illegal name changes, before the children are adopted?
18. Are you aware Reasonable effort’s in Nashua consists of mandatory drug test’s and visitation? Shouldn’t parent’s be afforded REAL effort to reunify their family?
19. Are you aware Nashua Family Court Judges court order parent’s out of methadone treatment in order to regain custody of their child, which is both illegal and discriminatory?
20. Are you aware parent’s in Nashua are court-ordered into programs that don’t exist, just to make sure they can’t comply?
21. Are you aware Probate Court Judges are falsifying their decision’s and the Supreme Court will NOT reverse the decisions even though false statement’s are proven?
22. Are you aware Father’s are Not allowed paternity test’s and are denied custody hearings?
23. Are you aware Nashua DCYF and their cohort hospital, SNHMC, keep evidence of innocence hidden for at least six month’s after the child is taken and the Judge states it’s too late. The parent only has thirty day’s to appeal?
24. Are you aware the children are trying to commit suicide and then are drugged, because they are so severely traumatized, after being dragged from their families they know and love and plead to be with?
25. Are you aware DCYF does incomplete Home studies and then falsify’s the paperwork?
26. Are you aware DCYF does NOT try to find relatives for these children to be placed?
27. Are you aware Nashua DCYF denies Foster parent licenses to Grandparent’s?
28. Are you aware after promising grandparent’s their grandchildren, and starting a home study which takes eight month’s, they place the child in a stranger’s home for them to adopt?
29. Are you aware perjury is permitted in Family court’s?
30. Will you stop the Title IV funding which pay’s DCYF for every child placed in foster care?
31. Will you end the Adoption Promotion Act?
32. Will you reform DCYF/CPS making sure there is ONLY Family Preservation? Not Family Destruction?
33. Will you reform the Family Court system?
34. Will you make Federal Mandates Law, so DCYF/CPS have to abide by these Law’s?
35. Will you enforce relative placement BEFORE Foster care?
36. Will you enforce accountability of DCYF/CPS?
37. Will you enforce Evidentiary Rules in the Family Court’s?
38. Will you enforce 50/50 custody for both parent’s?
39. Will you stop the needless removal and traumatization of our children?
40. Will you put into effect jury trial’s for ALL parent’s accused of abuse and neglect?
41. Will you afford the parent’s with the same right’s as accused criminal’s?
42. Will you enforce the admittance of proof of innocence to parent’s?
43. When a parent is found innocent or the charges are dropped in criminal court, will you enforce the court to return the children?
44. Will you enforce the right’s of Parent’s and families and their constitutional right’s in the upbringing of their children?
45. Will you put and end to the drugging of our children?
46. Will you hold Judges, Marital Master’s and Gal’s accountable for their actions toward families?
47. Will you rectify the removal and illegal adoptions of our children and grandchildren?
48. Will you enforce court-appointed CUSTODY Lawyer’s, NOT Real Estate and other Lawyer’s for these cases?
49. Will you enforce the parent’s right’s to their files and transcript’s, etc?
50. Will you change the Family Court’s “preponderance of evidence” to Burden of Proof”?
51. Will you initiate Open Court’s for abuse and neglect cases?
52. Will you afford Parent’s the right of presenting NEW evidence which proves innocence, at ANY time, as afforded by convicted criminal’s?
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
FACTS ABOUT FOSTER CARE CHILDREN ABUSED WITH PSYCHOTROPIC DRUGS
http://www.cchrstl.org/documents/facts_about_foster_care_children.pdf
FACTS ABOUT FOSTER CARE CHILDREN
ABUSED WITH PSYCHOTROPIC DRUGS
Citizens Commission on Human Rights
6616 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA. USA 90028
Telephone: (323) 467-4242
Fax: (323) 467-3720
E-mail: contact@cchr.org
www.cchr.orgFACTS ABOUT FOSTER CARE CHILDREN ABUSED WITH PSYCHOTROPIC DRUGS
2
Whether under the care of Child Protective Services, Departments of Family and Child Services, or
Youth Welfare Offices, foster children—often removed from family homes because of abuse—are furthered
abused when they are prescribed psychotropic (mind-altering) drugs. Some US states report that more than
60% of foster children are prescribed mood-altering drugs (at a rate 300% above the national average).
Already troubled over their circumstances, these children are drugged for emotional and behavioral issues,
sometimes with tragic outcome.
Take, for example, 7-year-old Gabriel Meyers, who didn’t want soup for lunch one Thursday in April
2009. He was sent to his room after he threw away his soup, kicking his toys around and threatening to
kill himself. Around 1 p.m., police responded to a frantic call and found Gabriel had hanged himself.
He’d been prescribed a cocktail of psychiatric drugs, including an antidepressant that the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) warned could lead to children committing suicide.1
Psychiatrists prescribed 93% of the psychotropic medication dispensed to foster youths, according to a
2008 study.2
• In Australia, one in four foster children was taking psychotropic drugs, and in residential homes,
where children live in small groups supervised by social workers, the rate of drug use is 50%. Foster children
are being medicated with psychotropic drugs at 10 times the rate of other children. 3
• In Ontario, Canada, psychotropic drugs are prescribed to nearly half of the state wards accounting for
drug prescriptions at a rate three times that of children in the general population.4
• In 2007, in Texas $37.9 million was spent on psychiatric drugs for foster children.5 Pharmaceutical
companies have played a major role in encouraging their increased use on foster care clients. They participate
in aggressive marketing, and conduct misleading research about efficacy and safety.6
• The United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances 1971 requires governments to protect
children, including those in foster care from excessive and unwarranted exposure to psychotropic drugs.
Psychotropic drugs can be prescribed only for medical purposes, yet foster care youth are routinely prescribed
drugs for behavioral control.
1“Psychotropic Drug Abuse in Foster Care Costs Government Billions,” Politics Daily, 17 June 2010.
2 Julie Zito, “Psychotropic Medication Patterns Among Youth in Foster Care,” Pediatrics, Vol. 121, No. 1, Jan. 2008, pp. e157-e163.
3 Caroline Overington, “Foster kids medicated for ‘mental health,’” The Australian, 4 Nov. 2008.
4 “Nearly half of children in [Canadian] Crown care are medicated,” Globe and Mail, 9 June 2007.
5 Evelyn Pringle, “Psychiatric Drugging of Children Intolerable-Betrayal of Innocence,” Lawyers and Settlements.com, 8 Mar. 2009.
6 Op. cit. Politics Daily.FACTS ABOUT FOSTER CARE CHILDREN ABUSED WITH PSYCHOTROPIC DRUGS CITIZENS COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
3
Angela Olivia Burton, “They Use it Like Candy’ - How the Prescription of Psychotropic Drugs to State-Involved Children Violates International Law,” Social Science Research Network, 3
Apr. 2010,
Carol Marbin Miller, “Mind-altering drugs given to some babies in DCF’s care,” Miami Herald, 17 Sept. 2002.
Caroline Overington, “ONE in four children who have been removed from the care of their parents and placed in foster homes are being heavily medicated to control their emotions and
behaviour,” The Australian, 3 Nov. 2008.
Angela Olivia Burton, “They Use it Like Candy’ - How the Prescription of Psychotropic Drugs to State-Involved Children Violates International Law,” Social Science Research Network, 3
Apr. 2010,
Eileen FitzGerald, “”Growing numbers of children on medication,” NewsTimes, 7 June, 2010.
Vera Sherav, “America’s Over-Medicated Children,” AARP, June, 2005
Bob Jacobs, psychologist, Advocacy Center for Persons with Disabilities, Inc, “Legal Strategies to Challenge Chemical Restraint of Children in Foster Care A Resource for Child Advocates in
Florida.”
“Florida to FDA: No Foster Care Kids in Psychotropic Trials,” Pharmalot, 19 July 2010.
Speaking Out
• ”This is child abuse on a grand scale.” — Richard Wexler, head of the Virginia-based National
Coalition for Child Protection Reform.
• “We call it the chemical straitjacket.” — Denise Crisp, President of the New South Wales, Australia,
Foster Care Association.
• “Children in state foster care systems and juvenile prisons are particularly at risk of overmedication
with psychotropic drugs…and under conditions that constitute egregious [extremely bad] departures from
sound medical practice.” — Angela Olivia Burton from CUNY School of Law.
• “All kids in foster care have some story of trauma, like abuse or neglect, so we need to ask the
question, ‘How are we dealing with trauma?’” Further, “The fact is that medication does not treat a disorder, it
treats the symptoms of the manifestation….” — Charles Manos, School psychologist.
• “We’re taking away their future…By blunting their emotion, we take away children’s ability to relate to
people, to trust, love, to care for others or to put themselves in another person’s shoes to see how it feels.” —
Neuropsychologist who examined Texas records of children under state care.
• “Child advocates should illuminate that no alternatives were first tried and/or that the treating
physician has given the prescription(s) without knowing if less invasive interventions were attempted.”
Guardians must “ensure that psychotropic drugs are not administered improperly to children in foster care as
a means of chemical restraint.” — Bob Jacobs from the Advocacy Center for Persons with Disabilities, Inc.
• In 2010, Florida’s Department of Children and Families prohibited foster care children being enrolled
in clinical trials for psychotropic drugs. Foster care parents and guardians in any state or country should
object to any child under their care being part of a clinical drug experiment.
FACTS ABOUT FOSTER CARE CHILDREN
ABUSED WITH PSYCHOTROPIC DRUGS
Citizens Commission on Human Rights
6616 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA. USA 90028
Telephone: (323) 467-4242
Fax: (323) 467-3720
E-mail: contact@cchr.org
www.cchr.orgFACTS ABOUT FOSTER CARE CHILDREN ABUSED WITH PSYCHOTROPIC DRUGS
2
Whether under the care of Child Protective Services, Departments of Family and Child Services, or
Youth Welfare Offices, foster children—often removed from family homes because of abuse—are furthered
abused when they are prescribed psychotropic (mind-altering) drugs. Some US states report that more than
60% of foster children are prescribed mood-altering drugs (at a rate 300% above the national average).
Already troubled over their circumstances, these children are drugged for emotional and behavioral issues,
sometimes with tragic outcome.
Take, for example, 7-year-old Gabriel Meyers, who didn’t want soup for lunch one Thursday in April
2009. He was sent to his room after he threw away his soup, kicking his toys around and threatening to
kill himself. Around 1 p.m., police responded to a frantic call and found Gabriel had hanged himself.
He’d been prescribed a cocktail of psychiatric drugs, including an antidepressant that the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) warned could lead to children committing suicide.1
Psychiatrists prescribed 93% of the psychotropic medication dispensed to foster youths, according to a
2008 study.2
• In Australia, one in four foster children was taking psychotropic drugs, and in residential homes,
where children live in small groups supervised by social workers, the rate of drug use is 50%. Foster children
are being medicated with psychotropic drugs at 10 times the rate of other children. 3
• In Ontario, Canada, psychotropic drugs are prescribed to nearly half of the state wards accounting for
drug prescriptions at a rate three times that of children in the general population.4
• In 2007, in Texas $37.9 million was spent on psychiatric drugs for foster children.5 Pharmaceutical
companies have played a major role in encouraging their increased use on foster care clients. They participate
in aggressive marketing, and conduct misleading research about efficacy and safety.6
• The United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances 1971 requires governments to protect
children, including those in foster care from excessive and unwarranted exposure to psychotropic drugs.
Psychotropic drugs can be prescribed only for medical purposes, yet foster care youth are routinely prescribed
drugs for behavioral control.
1“Psychotropic Drug Abuse in Foster Care Costs Government Billions,” Politics Daily, 17 June 2010.
2 Julie Zito, “Psychotropic Medication Patterns Among Youth in Foster Care,” Pediatrics, Vol. 121, No. 1, Jan. 2008, pp. e157-e163.
3 Caroline Overington, “Foster kids medicated for ‘mental health,’” The Australian, 4 Nov. 2008.
4 “Nearly half of children in [Canadian] Crown care are medicated,” Globe and Mail, 9 June 2007.
5 Evelyn Pringle, “Psychiatric Drugging of Children Intolerable-Betrayal of Innocence,” Lawyers and Settlements.com, 8 Mar. 2009.
6 Op. cit. Politics Daily.FACTS ABOUT FOSTER CARE CHILDREN ABUSED WITH PSYCHOTROPIC DRUGS CITIZENS COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
3
Angela Olivia Burton, “They Use it Like Candy’ - How the Prescription of Psychotropic Drugs to State-Involved Children Violates International Law,” Social Science Research Network, 3
Apr. 2010,
Carol Marbin Miller, “Mind-altering drugs given to some babies in DCF’s care,” Miami Herald, 17 Sept. 2002.
Caroline Overington, “ONE in four children who have been removed from the care of their parents and placed in foster homes are being heavily medicated to control their emotions and
behaviour,” The Australian, 3 Nov. 2008.
Angela Olivia Burton, “They Use it Like Candy’ - How the Prescription of Psychotropic Drugs to State-Involved Children Violates International Law,” Social Science Research Network, 3
Apr. 2010,
Eileen FitzGerald, “”Growing numbers of children on medication,” NewsTimes, 7 June, 2010.
Vera Sherav, “America’s Over-Medicated Children,” AARP, June, 2005
Bob Jacobs, psychologist, Advocacy Center for Persons with Disabilities, Inc, “Legal Strategies to Challenge Chemical Restraint of Children in Foster Care A Resource for Child Advocates in
Florida.”
“Florida to FDA: No Foster Care Kids in Psychotropic Trials,” Pharmalot, 19 July 2010.
Speaking Out
• ”This is child abuse on a grand scale.” — Richard Wexler, head of the Virginia-based National
Coalition for Child Protection Reform.
• “We call it the chemical straitjacket.” — Denise Crisp, President of the New South Wales, Australia,
Foster Care Association.
• “Children in state foster care systems and juvenile prisons are particularly at risk of overmedication
with psychotropic drugs…and under conditions that constitute egregious [extremely bad] departures from
sound medical practice.” — Angela Olivia Burton from CUNY School of Law.
• “All kids in foster care have some story of trauma, like abuse or neglect, so we need to ask the
question, ‘How are we dealing with trauma?’” Further, “The fact is that medication does not treat a disorder, it
treats the symptoms of the manifestation….” — Charles Manos, School psychologist.
• “We’re taking away their future…By blunting their emotion, we take away children’s ability to relate to
people, to trust, love, to care for others or to put themselves in another person’s shoes to see how it feels.” —
Neuropsychologist who examined Texas records of children under state care.
• “Child advocates should illuminate that no alternatives were first tried and/or that the treating
physician has given the prescription(s) without knowing if less invasive interventions were attempted.”
Guardians must “ensure that psychotropic drugs are not administered improperly to children in foster care as
a means of chemical restraint.” — Bob Jacobs from the Advocacy Center for Persons with Disabilities, Inc.
• In 2010, Florida’s Department of Children and Families prohibited foster care children being enrolled
in clinical trials for psychotropic drugs. Foster care parents and guardians in any state or country should
object to any child under their care being part of a clinical drug experiment.
FACTS ABOUT FOSTER CARE CHILDREN ABUSED WITH PSYCHOTROPIC DRUGS
FACTS ABOUT FOSTER CARE CHILDREN
ABUSED WITH PSYCHOTROPIC DRUGS
Citizens Commission on Human Rights
6616 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA. USA 90028
Telephone: (323) 467-4242
Fax: (323) 467-3720
E-mail: contact@cchr.org
www.cchr.orgFACTS ABOUT FOSTER CARE CHILDREN ABUSED WITH PSYCHOTROPIC DRUGS
2
Whether under the care of Child Protective Services, Departments of Family and Child Services, or
Youth Welfare Offices, foster children—often removed from family homes because of abuse—are furthered
abused when they are prescribed psychotropic (mind-altering) drugs. Some US states report that more than
60% of foster children are prescribed mood-altering drugs (at a rate 300% above the national average).
Already troubled over their circumstances, these children are drugged for emotional and behavioral issues,
sometimes with tragic outcome.
Take, for example, 7-year-old Gabriel Meyers, who didn’t want soup for lunch one Thursday in April
2009. He was sent to his room after he threw away his soup, kicking his toys around and threatening to
kill himself. Around 1 p.m., police responded to a frantic call and found Gabriel had hanged himself.
He’d been prescribed a cocktail of psychiatric drugs, including an antidepressant that the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) warned could lead to children committing suicide.1
Psychiatrists prescribed 93% of the psychotropic medication dispensed to foster youths, according to a
2008 study.2
• In Australia, one in four foster children was taking psychotropic drugs, and in residential homes,
where children live in small groups supervised by social workers, the rate of drug use is 50%. Foster children
are being medicated with psychotropic drugs at 10 times the rate of other children. 3
• In Ontario, Canada, psychotropic drugs are prescribed to nearly half of the state wards accounting for
drug prescriptions at a rate three times that of children in the general population.4
• In 2007, in Texas $37.9 million was spent on psychiatric drugs for foster children.5 Pharmaceutical
companies have played a major role in encouraging their increased use on foster care clients. They participate
in aggressive marketing, and conduct misleading research about efficacy and safety.6
• The United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances 1971 requires governments to protect
children, including those in foster care from excessive and unwarranted exposure to psychotropic drugs.
Psychotropic drugs can be prescribed only for medical purposes, yet foster care youth are routinely prescribed
drugs for behavioral control.
1“Psychotropic Drug Abuse in Foster Care Costs Government Billions,” Politics Daily, 17 June 2010.
2 Julie Zito, “Psychotropic Medication Patterns Among Youth in Foster Care,” Pediatrics, Vol. 121, No. 1, Jan. 2008, pp. e157-e163.
3 Caroline Overington, “Foster kids medicated for ‘mental health,’” The Australian, 4 Nov. 2008.
4 “Nearly half of children in [Canadian] Crown care are medicated,” Globe and Mail, 9 June 2007.
5 Evelyn Pringle, “Psychiatric Drugging of Children Intolerable-Betrayal of Innocence,” Lawyers and Settlements.com, 8 Mar. 2009.
6 Op. cit. Politics Daily.FACTS ABOUT FOSTER CARE CHILDREN ABUSED WITH PSYCHOTROPIC DRUGS CITIZENS COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
3
Angela Olivia Burton, “They Use it Like Candy’ - How the Prescription of Psychotropic Drugs to State-Involved Children Violates International Law,” Social Science Research Network, 3
Apr. 2010,
Carol Marbin Miller, “Mind-altering drugs given to some babies in DCF’s care,” Miami Herald, 17 Sept. 2002.
Caroline Overington, “ONE in four children who have been removed from the care of their parents and placed in foster homes are being heavily medicated to control their emotions and
behaviour,” The Australian, 3 Nov. 2008.
Angela Olivia Burton, “They Use it Like Candy’ - How the Prescription of Psychotropic Drugs to State-Involved Children Violates International Law,” Social Science Research Network, 3
Apr. 2010,
Eileen FitzGerald, “”Growing numbers of children on medication,” NewsTimes, 7 June, 2010.
Vera Sherav, “America’s Over-Medicated Children,” AARP, June, 2005
Bob Jacobs, psychologist, Advocacy Center for Persons with Disabilities, Inc, “Legal Strategies to Challenge Chemical Restraint of Children in Foster Care A Resource for Child Advocates in
Florida.”
“Florida to FDA: No Foster Care Kids in Psychotropic Trials,” Pharmalot, 19 July 2010.
Speaking Out
• ”This is child abuse on a grand scale.” — Richard Wexler, head of the Virginia-based National
Coalition for Child Protection Reform.
• “We call it the chemical straitjacket.” — Denise Crisp, President of the New South Wales, Australia,
Foster Care Association.
• “Children in state foster care systems and juvenile prisons are particularly at risk of overmedication
with psychotropic drugs…and under conditions that constitute egregious [extremely bad] departures from
sound medical practice.” — Angela Olivia Burton from CUNY School of Law.
• “All kids in foster care have some story of trauma, like abuse or neglect, so we need to ask the
question, ‘How are we dealing with trauma?’” Further, “The fact is that medication does not treat a disorder, it
treats the symptoms of the manifestation….” — Charles Manos, School psychologist.
• “We’re taking away their future…By blunting their emotion, we take away children’s ability to relate to
people, to trust, love, to care for others or to put themselves in another person’s shoes to see how it feels.” —
Neuropsychologist who examined Texas records of children under state care.
• “Child advocates should illuminate that no alternatives were first tried and/or that the treating
physician has given the prescription(s) without knowing if less invasive interventions were attempted.”
Guardians must “ensure that psychotropic drugs are not administered improperly to children in foster care as
a means of chemical restraint.” — Bob Jacobs from the Advocacy Center for Persons with Disabilities, Inc.
• In 2010, Florida’s Department of Children and Families prohibited foster care children being enrolled
in clinical trials for psychotropic drugs. Foster care parents and guardians in any state or country should
object to any child under their care being part of a clinical drug experiment.
ABUSED WITH PSYCHOTROPIC DRUGS
Citizens Commission on Human Rights
6616 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA. USA 90028
Telephone: (323) 467-4242
Fax: (323) 467-3720
E-mail: contact@cchr.org
www.cchr.orgFACTS ABOUT FOSTER CARE CHILDREN ABUSED WITH PSYCHOTROPIC DRUGS
2
Whether under the care of Child Protective Services, Departments of Family and Child Services, or
Youth Welfare Offices, foster children—often removed from family homes because of abuse—are furthered
abused when they are prescribed psychotropic (mind-altering) drugs. Some US states report that more than
60% of foster children are prescribed mood-altering drugs (at a rate 300% above the national average).
Already troubled over their circumstances, these children are drugged for emotional and behavioral issues,
sometimes with tragic outcome.
Take, for example, 7-year-old Gabriel Meyers, who didn’t want soup for lunch one Thursday in April
2009. He was sent to his room after he threw away his soup, kicking his toys around and threatening to
kill himself. Around 1 p.m., police responded to a frantic call and found Gabriel had hanged himself.
He’d been prescribed a cocktail of psychiatric drugs, including an antidepressant that the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) warned could lead to children committing suicide.1
Psychiatrists prescribed 93% of the psychotropic medication dispensed to foster youths, according to a
2008 study.2
• In Australia, one in four foster children was taking psychotropic drugs, and in residential homes,
where children live in small groups supervised by social workers, the rate of drug use is 50%. Foster children
are being medicated with psychotropic drugs at 10 times the rate of other children. 3
• In Ontario, Canada, psychotropic drugs are prescribed to nearly half of the state wards accounting for
drug prescriptions at a rate three times that of children in the general population.4
• In 2007, in Texas $37.9 million was spent on psychiatric drugs for foster children.5 Pharmaceutical
companies have played a major role in encouraging their increased use on foster care clients. They participate
in aggressive marketing, and conduct misleading research about efficacy and safety.6
• The United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances 1971 requires governments to protect
children, including those in foster care from excessive and unwarranted exposure to psychotropic drugs.
Psychotropic drugs can be prescribed only for medical purposes, yet foster care youth are routinely prescribed
drugs for behavioral control.
1“Psychotropic Drug Abuse in Foster Care Costs Government Billions,” Politics Daily, 17 June 2010.
2 Julie Zito, “Psychotropic Medication Patterns Among Youth in Foster Care,” Pediatrics, Vol. 121, No. 1, Jan. 2008, pp. e157-e163.
3 Caroline Overington, “Foster kids medicated for ‘mental health,’” The Australian, 4 Nov. 2008.
4 “Nearly half of children in [Canadian] Crown care are medicated,” Globe and Mail, 9 June 2007.
5 Evelyn Pringle, “Psychiatric Drugging of Children Intolerable-Betrayal of Innocence,” Lawyers and Settlements.com, 8 Mar. 2009.
6 Op. cit. Politics Daily.FACTS ABOUT FOSTER CARE CHILDREN ABUSED WITH PSYCHOTROPIC DRUGS CITIZENS COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
3
Angela Olivia Burton, “They Use it Like Candy’ - How the Prescription of Psychotropic Drugs to State-Involved Children Violates International Law,” Social Science Research Network, 3
Apr. 2010,
Carol Marbin Miller, “Mind-altering drugs given to some babies in DCF’s care,” Miami Herald, 17 Sept. 2002.
Caroline Overington, “ONE in four children who have been removed from the care of their parents and placed in foster homes are being heavily medicated to control their emotions and
behaviour,” The Australian, 3 Nov. 2008.
Angela Olivia Burton, “They Use it Like Candy’ - How the Prescription of Psychotropic Drugs to State-Involved Children Violates International Law,” Social Science Research Network, 3
Apr. 2010,
Eileen FitzGerald, “”Growing numbers of children on medication,” NewsTimes, 7 June, 2010.
Vera Sherav, “America’s Over-Medicated Children,” AARP, June, 2005
Bob Jacobs, psychologist, Advocacy Center for Persons with Disabilities, Inc, “Legal Strategies to Challenge Chemical Restraint of Children in Foster Care A Resource for Child Advocates in
Florida.”
“Florida to FDA: No Foster Care Kids in Psychotropic Trials,” Pharmalot, 19 July 2010.
Speaking Out
• ”This is child abuse on a grand scale.” — Richard Wexler, head of the Virginia-based National
Coalition for Child Protection Reform.
• “We call it the chemical straitjacket.” — Denise Crisp, President of the New South Wales, Australia,
Foster Care Association.
• “Children in state foster care systems and juvenile prisons are particularly at risk of overmedication
with psychotropic drugs…and under conditions that constitute egregious [extremely bad] departures from
sound medical practice.” — Angela Olivia Burton from CUNY School of Law.
• “All kids in foster care have some story of trauma, like abuse or neglect, so we need to ask the
question, ‘How are we dealing with trauma?’” Further, “The fact is that medication does not treat a disorder, it
treats the symptoms of the manifestation….” — Charles Manos, School psychologist.
• “We’re taking away their future…By blunting their emotion, we take away children’s ability to relate to
people, to trust, love, to care for others or to put themselves in another person’s shoes to see how it feels.” —
Neuropsychologist who examined Texas records of children under state care.
• “Child advocates should illuminate that no alternatives were first tried and/or that the treating
physician has given the prescription(s) without knowing if less invasive interventions were attempted.”
Guardians must “ensure that psychotropic drugs are not administered improperly to children in foster care as
a means of chemical restraint.” — Bob Jacobs from the Advocacy Center for Persons with Disabilities, Inc.
• In 2010, Florida’s Department of Children and Families prohibited foster care children being enrolled
in clinical trials for psychotropic drugs. Foster care parents and guardians in any state or country should
object to any child under their care being part of a clinical drug experiment.
Gov Abuse Nationwide Protest August 12, 2011-Please Join US!
A Nationwide protest against the abuse of Families is scheduled for August 12,2011.
Please join us in our fight against the abuse of ALL families. Your family could be next!
Check out the Gov Abuse web-site at govabuse.org for a protest near you.
The protest will take place outside of the County Family courthouses throughout ALL states.
Please join us and help to put a stop to the government abuse of our families!
OFFICIAL WEBSITE
National Family Rights Protest
“Government Abuse IS Child Abuse for Profit”
When: Friday, August 12, 2011
Where: See State/PLC tab for your area
Who: United States- Child/Family Rights Groups
Why:“We the People”
are no longer tolerating;
· Unjust Laws
· TAXPAYER dollars (billions) used to separate, and financially demolish families.
We the People” demand reformation of:
· OUR FAMILY COURT SYSTEMS including:
· Assigned Judges- (must be abolished)
· Court Appointed Guardian-ad-litem
(must be abolished-severely limited at a minimum)
· Family courts / records must be made public
· Court Gag orders are a violation of 1st amendment
· Adoption incentive payments (must be abolished)
Re; Adoption / Safe Families Act 1997
Every effort must be made for children to stay with Grandparents / family members instead of foster care.
· Grandparents / family must have visitation rights without current criminal treatment
· Families must be given assistance instead of removing their
Children example; removal due to gas shut-off
· Parents must be restored freedoms to raise their children
· Immediate access in all cases for children’s records
· Option to have a Jury, when requested in family courts
We the People” demand reformation of:
OUR FAMILY COURT SYSTEM including:
Assigned Judges- must be abolished
· We are stripped of our right to elect public servants (judges)
· Assigned judges cannot be voted out of office as they are ‘assigned’ to hear cases after pretending to retire.
· They have zero incentive to administer justice or follow law or legal procedures because they cannot be voted out of office after they ‘retire’ THEREFORE, we have been stripped of our legal right to elect (vote) for our judges
· Assigned judges are ‘DOUBLE-DIPPING’. Pretend to ‘retire’
but are assigned to family court cases, collecting approx; $485.00 per ‘day’ while collecting their retirement pay- all paid by taxpayers
· Court appointed guardian-ad-litem / advocate for child / lawyer for child
· Child Protective Services aka; CPS/ DHS / DFS/DSS/Foster Care and Adoption Services
Please join us in our fight against the abuse of ALL families. Your family could be next!
Check out the Gov Abuse web-site at govabuse.org for a protest near you.
The protest will take place outside of the County Family courthouses throughout ALL states.
Please join us and help to put a stop to the government abuse of our families!
OFFICIAL WEBSITE
National Family Rights Protest
“Government Abuse IS Child Abuse for Profit”
When: Friday, August 12, 2011
Where: See State/PLC tab for your area
Who: United States- Child/Family Rights Groups
Why:“We the People”
are no longer tolerating;
· Unjust Laws
· TAXPAYER dollars (billions) used to separate, and financially demolish families.
We the People” demand reformation of:
· OUR FAMILY COURT SYSTEMS including:
· Assigned Judges- (must be abolished)
· Court Appointed Guardian-ad-litem
(must be abolished-severely limited at a minimum)
· Family courts / records must be made public
· Court Gag orders are a violation of 1st amendment
· Adoption incentive payments (must be abolished)
Re; Adoption / Safe Families Act 1997
Every effort must be made for children to stay with Grandparents / family members instead of foster care.
· Grandparents / family must have visitation rights without current criminal treatment
· Families must be given assistance instead of removing their
Children example; removal due to gas shut-off
· Parents must be restored freedoms to raise their children
· Immediate access in all cases for children’s records
· Option to have a Jury, when requested in family courts
We the People” demand reformation of:
OUR FAMILY COURT SYSTEM including:
Assigned Judges- must be abolished
· We are stripped of our right to elect public servants (judges)
· Assigned judges cannot be voted out of office as they are ‘assigned’ to hear cases after pretending to retire.
· They have zero incentive to administer justice or follow law or legal procedures because they cannot be voted out of office after they ‘retire’ THEREFORE, we have been stripped of our legal right to elect (vote) for our judges
· Assigned judges are ‘DOUBLE-DIPPING’. Pretend to ‘retire’
but are assigned to family court cases, collecting approx; $485.00 per ‘day’ while collecting their retirement pay- all paid by taxpayers
· Court appointed guardian-ad-litem / advocate for child / lawyer for child
· Child Protective Services aka; CPS/ DHS / DFS/DSS/Foster Care and Adoption Services
Mercury Leaves Its Mark: Autism, Cancer & Neurodegenerative Disease Part 3
Mercury Leaves Its Mark: Autism, Cancer & Neurodegenerative Disease Part 3 - AGE OF AUTISM
This is a continuing look at a hypothesis, using pertinent pieces of evidence-based research, that connects autism and other neurodegenerative disorders to mercury and also to cancer. Read Part 2 and Part 1. Here is such a study related to mercury and breast cancer:
"Methyl mercury influences growth-related signaling in MCF-7 breast cancer cells" (Pubmed)
This is a continuing look at a hypothesis, using pertinent pieces of evidence-based research, that connects autism and other neurodegenerative disorders to mercury and also to cancer. Read Part 2 and Part 1. Here is such a study related to mercury and breast cancer:
"Methyl mercury influences growth-related signaling in MCF-7 breast cancer cells" (Pubmed)
Case Finds CPS social workers are not entitled to absolute immunity for investigatory conduct!
The case finds that CPS social workers are not entitled to absolute immunity for investigatory conduct! « Fight Corrupted Family Courts and CPS
n January 2008 the law office of Robert Powell won its appeal to the California 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The case finds that CPS social workers are not entitled to absolute immunity for investigatory conduct – particularly when they fabricate evidence, misrepresent evidence, and withhold exculpatory evidence. This California Appeal is a step in the direction of parental rights in their CPS cases.Click HERE
http://www.rrpassociates.com/resources/images/Powell%20-%20Beltran%20Appeal%20Jan%202008.pdf
to read the opinion.
http://www.rrpassociates.com/cps_defense.html
n January 2008 the law office of Robert Powell won its appeal to the California 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The case finds that CPS social workers are not entitled to absolute immunity for investigatory conduct – particularly when they fabricate evidence, misrepresent evidence, and withhold exculpatory evidence. This California Appeal is a step in the direction of parental rights in their CPS cases.Click HERE
http://www.rrpassociates.com/resources/images/Powell%20-%20Beltran%20Appeal%20Jan%202008.pdf
to read the opinion.
http://www.rrpassociates.com/cps_defense.html
Monday, June 27, 2011
Joseph Kenan Psychiatrist & President of the American Society for Adolescent Psychiatry Busted for Lewd Facebook Photos
Joseph Kenan
A prominent Beverly Hills psychiatrist who has helped decide hundreds of child-custody disputes was thrown off one recent case and has been challenged in at least two others after posting lewd photos of himself on Facebook and allegedly promoting illegal drug use, unprotected sex and male prostitution.
A prominent Beverly Hills psychiatrist who has helped decide hundreds of child-custody disputes was thrown off one recent case and has been challenged in at least two others after posting lewd photos of himself on Facebook and allegedly promoting illegal drug use, unprotected sex and male prostitution.
Foster Stranger's Harmed and Murdered OR Allegedly Harmed and Murdered by Their Foster children
Foster Stranger AND Adoptive Stranger's Harmed and Murdered OR Allegedly Harmed and Murdered by Foster children, will be listed in this post. It will be constantly updated with names:
Dawn McKenzie, 34-Hamiliton Scotland-Killed by 13 year old Foster child-June 2011
Evelyn Miranda, 53-San Patricio, N.M. Murdered by 2, 15 yr. old Foster children-June 2011
Janet Tinoco and her family-Orange County,Fla. poisoned by 13 Yr. old adopted daughter-Oct.2010
Robert and Barbara Parker-Woodward, Okla.-attacked and shot by 15&16 yr.foster children-Oct.2009
Mary Clark 38, and her mother-in-law, Gail Clark 66,Tennessee-Murdered by a 16 and 17 year old foster children-Jan. 2008
John and Susan Sutton, Florida-attempted murder by adopted son Christopher on Aug. 22, 2004
Dawn McKenzie, 34-Hamiliton Scotland-Killed by 13 year old Foster child-June 2011
Evelyn Miranda, 53-San Patricio, N.M. Murdered by 2, 15 yr. old Foster children-June 2011
Janet Tinoco and her family-Orange County,Fla. poisoned by 13 Yr. old adopted daughter-Oct.2010
Robert and Barbara Parker-Woodward, Okla.-attacked and shot by 15&16 yr.foster children-Oct.2009
Mary Clark 38, and her mother-in-law, Gail Clark 66,Tennessee-Murdered by a 16 and 17 year old foster children-Jan. 2008
John and Susan Sutton, Florida-attempted murder by adopted son Christopher on Aug. 22, 2004
Foster parent death shocks community
Foster parent death shocks community - Herald Scotland | News | Home News
27 Jun 2011
NEIGHBOURS of a woman who gave up her job to become a foster parent have spoken of their shock and sadness at her death.
Dawn McKenzie, 34, was discovered by a neighbour badly injured at her second-floor flat on Friday night.
A boy aged 13 has been arrested in connection with the death and is due to appear at Hamilton Sheriff Court today.
Ms McKenzie was found at Deveron Crescent in Hillhouse in Hamilton – where she lived with her husband, Bryan Byrne.
27 Jun 2011
NEIGHBOURS of a woman who gave up her job to become a foster parent have spoken of their shock and sadness at her death.
Dawn McKenzie, 34, was discovered by a neighbour badly injured at her second-floor flat on Friday night.
A boy aged 13 has been arrested in connection with the death and is due to appear at Hamilton Sheriff Court today.
Ms McKenzie was found at Deveron Crescent in Hillhouse in Hamilton – where she lived with her husband, Bryan Byrne.
CPS Didn’t Call the Father; His Child was Killed-No Surprise In New Hampshire!
CPS Didn’t Call the Father; His Child was Killed « Fathers & Families
I’ve written before about the Urban Institute study that shows that, when they’re thinking of taking a child from its mother, or have done so, child welfare agencies routinely ignore the father as a possible placement. Instead they go straight to foster care to meet the child’s needs. The Urban Institute found that, even though they know the identity of the father in over 85% of cases, he’s contacted in fewer than half.
Not only is the Father NOT contacted, his right's to his child are NEVER terminated and his child is ILLEGALLY adopted out by less than honest Judges. This is how the Judicial system in New Hampshire work's any way. The infamous Probate Judge Patten terminates the right's of fictitious men, when he is well aware these men are NOT the father's, making it that much quicker to illegally adopt out these children. All information on father's is given, yet they are still NEVER contacted.
In Nashua, NH alone I am aware of three such cases. Two of the mother's are family member's and the other is an aquaintence. I'm sure there are many more.
I’ve written before about the Urban Institute study that shows that, when they’re thinking of taking a child from its mother, or have done so, child welfare agencies routinely ignore the father as a possible placement. Instead they go straight to foster care to meet the child’s needs. The Urban Institute found that, even though they know the identity of the father in over 85% of cases, he’s contacted in fewer than half.
Not only is the Father NOT contacted, his right's to his child are NEVER terminated and his child is ILLEGALLY adopted out by less than honest Judges. This is how the Judicial system in New Hampshire work's any way. The infamous Probate Judge Patten terminates the right's of fictitious men, when he is well aware these men are NOT the father's, making it that much quicker to illegally adopt out these children. All information on father's is given, yet they are still NEVER contacted.
In Nashua, NH alone I am aware of three such cases. Two of the mother's are family member's and the other is an aquaintence. I'm sure there are many more.
US lesbian child custody fight becomes battle over God's law vs. man's
US lesbian child custody fight becomes battle over God's law vs. man's - 6/27/2011 5:39:33 AM | Newser
She broke up with former partner Janet Jenkins, renounced homosexuality and became an evangelical Christian before disappearing in 2009 with the daughter she had with Jenkins.
Now, what started as a custody battle over little Isabella Miller-Jenkins has turned into a global manhunt, with indications that Mennonite pastors and other faith-based supporters may have helped hide the two in Nicaragua and are now coming to the aid of a missionary the FBI says helped Miller.
Eager to keep the girl away from Jenkins and what they consider a dangerous and immoral lifestyle, they liken their roles to that of underground helpers aiding runaway slaves.
She broke up with former partner Janet Jenkins, renounced homosexuality and became an evangelical Christian before disappearing in 2009 with the daughter she had with Jenkins.
Now, what started as a custody battle over little Isabella Miller-Jenkins has turned into a global manhunt, with indications that Mennonite pastors and other faith-based supporters may have helped hide the two in Nicaragua and are now coming to the aid of a missionary the FBI says helped Miller.
Eager to keep the girl away from Jenkins and what they consider a dangerous and immoral lifestyle, they liken their roles to that of underground helpers aiding runaway slaves.
Thomas Ball-NH-Suicide note still leaves questions
Suicide note still leaves questions - NashuaTelegraph.com
When someone takes his or her own life, loved ones are often left wondering why. Recently, when a man chose to publicly display his suicide and note, he not only shared his death with the world, he shared the reasons why.
And yet we're still left with questions.
Two weeks ago, Thomas Ball, of Holden, Mass., doused himself with gasoline and set himself on fire in front of the Cheshire County courthouse in Keene. In a 15-page letter sent to The Keene Sentinel, he explained the reasons for his actions.
When someone takes his or her own life, loved ones are often left wondering why. Recently, when a man chose to publicly display his suicide and note, he not only shared his death with the world, he shared the reasons why.
And yet we're still left with questions.
Two weeks ago, Thomas Ball, of Holden, Mass., doused himself with gasoline and set himself on fire in front of the Cheshire County courthouse in Keene. In a 15-page letter sent to The Keene Sentinel, he explained the reasons for his actions.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
CPS Troll Denies Foster care HELL-77 and whatever and anonymouse — FUCK OFF
77 and whatever and anonymouse — FUCK OFF « I Was A Foster Kid
YOU ARE WRONG and COMPLETELY MISINFORMED
Instead of using multiple names, why not use your true self — cowards hide behind multiple internet IDs…
For someone with a “master’s degree” you know nothing…..
For someone who “works in the system” you know nothing…
For someone who claims to have “aged-out” you know nothing…
Now…Click on the green links to learn something…..
YOU ARE WRONG and COMPLETELY MISINFORMED
Instead of using multiple names, why not use your true self — cowards hide behind multiple internet IDs…
For someone with a “master’s degree” you know nothing…..
For someone who “works in the system” you know nothing…
For someone who claims to have “aged-out” you know nothing…
Now…Click on the green links to learn something…..
'It knew this child was in danger': After three years, DCFS reveals account of boy's death
'It knew this child was in danger': After three years, DCFS reveals account of boy's death - .Crime & Controversy - bnd.com
It took three years for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services to release to the public its account of Joseph Schoolfield's death.
That 11-page report, condensed from hundreds of pages of the case file, was met with disappointment by a national child-protection advocate and by one of the legislators who sponsored a bill calling for the release of DCFS records when a child dies or is seriously injured while under the department's care.
It took three years for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services to release to the public its account of Joseph Schoolfield's death.
That 11-page report, condensed from hundreds of pages of the case file, was met with disappointment by a national child-protection advocate and by one of the legislators who sponsored a bill calling for the release of DCFS records when a child dies or is seriously injured while under the department's care.
Prostitutes in Colombia unite against child abuse
Prostitutes in Colombia unite against child abuse - FOCUS Information Agency
Cartagena. Prostitutes have united in Colombia's port city and popular tourist destination, Cartagena, with the hopes of protecting children from an international network of pimps and sexual predators, AFP reports.
Cartagena. Prostitutes have united in Colombia's port city and popular tourist destination, Cartagena, with the hopes of protecting children from an international network of pimps and sexual predators, AFP reports.
Russian native in Memphis fights for American dream after 'bad adoption'
Russian native in Memphis fights for American dream after 'bad adoption' » The Commercial Appeal
After a doomed adoption by a Cordova couple 11 years ago, Elena Mordvina, 21, now has her own son, Mario, 2. Mordvina, who has added a "Y" to her name to return it to the original Russian version, Yelena, takes her GED exam on Monday.
After a doomed adoption by a Cordova couple 11 years ago, Elena Mordvina, 21, now has her own son, Mario, 2. Mordvina, who has added a "Y" to her name to return it to the original Russian version, Yelena, takes her GED exam on Monday.
Warning on foster care costs
Warning on foster care costs
THE average cost of placing vulnerable children in foster care run by charities and children's welfare groups is four times more than out-of-home care run by DOCS, an analysis of the government's figures reveals.
THE average cost of placing vulnerable children in foster care run by charities and children's welfare groups is four times more than out-of-home care run by DOCS, an analysis of the government's figures reveals.
A long road to a safe place: Children in state-licensed residential programs still face risk of injury
A long road to a safe place: Children in state-licensed residential programs still face risk of injury
Something as simple as a dispute about a piece of cake or as ugly as a trash can planted on a spitting child's head can lead to confrontation, injury and trauma for children in state-licensed facilities.
Something as simple as a dispute about a piece of cake or as ugly as a trash can planted on a spitting child's head can lead to confrontation, injury and trauma for children in state-licensed facilities.
Twisted ethics of an expert witness
Local News | Seattle Times special report: Twisted ethics of an expert witness | Seattle Times Newspaper
Stuart Greenberg was at the top of his profession: a renowned forensic psychologist who in court could determine which parent got custody of a child, or whether a jury believed a claim of sexual assault. Trouble is, he built his career on hypocrisy and lies, and as a result, he destroyed lives, including his own.
Stuart Greenberg was at the top of his profession: a renowned forensic psychologist who in court could determine which parent got custody of a child, or whether a jury believed a claim of sexual assault. Trouble is, he built his career on hypocrisy and lies, and as a result, he destroyed lives, including his own.
Foster Care Statistics
Foster Care Statistics | Sandals Church Blog
Posted on May 3, 2011
Martha Villalobos, head of Sandals’ Foster Care ministry, Abundant Love, shared current statistics on foster-related statistics in America. Please read over these statistics and ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance in praying for children who are in need of a safe and loving home.
Over 500,000 children in foster care in the in the U.S.A.; 58,000 in California; and 7,500 in Inland area.
80% of children are removed from their home due to neglect, 11% due to abuse, and 3.5% due to sexual abuse.
In California infants entered foster care at 3 or more times the rate of any other group.
5 children are killed every day in America due to abuse.
The greatest cause of death in small children is child abuse.
One year after entering foster care 52% were still in care.
African and Native American children consistently have the highest rates of foster care entry.
Only 46% of foster youth will graduate high school and less then 1% college.
30,000 foster youth will age out this year at 18, up from 26,000 last year, within one and a half years 93% of those youth will be homeless, in prison or die.
Child abuse is the most common cause of brain injury in children under one year of age, the number one reason a baby is shaken is inconsolable crying.
Parents abusing drugs or alcohol are at higher risk of abusing or neglecting their children.
Child abuse and neglect affect children of all ages, races, and incomes.
Children under the age of two years of age are at the greatest risk of abuse.
In Riverside County we do not have enough safe, loving, foster children available for kids that need placement, they end up being sent out of the area.
Children in foster care that are older then 7 years old or are in a sibling group, or are children of color are much harder to find adoptive homes.
over 1,000 children in the U.S. are waiting to find an adoptive home, many of those will not and end up aging out of the system at 18.
Posted on May 3, 2011
Martha Villalobos, head of Sandals’ Foster Care ministry, Abundant Love, shared current statistics on foster-related statistics in America. Please read over these statistics and ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance in praying for children who are in need of a safe and loving home.
Over 500,000 children in foster care in the in the U.S.A.; 58,000 in California; and 7,500 in Inland area.
80% of children are removed from their home due to neglect, 11% due to abuse, and 3.5% due to sexual abuse.
In California infants entered foster care at 3 or more times the rate of any other group.
5 children are killed every day in America due to abuse.
The greatest cause of death in small children is child abuse.
One year after entering foster care 52% were still in care.
African and Native American children consistently have the highest rates of foster care entry.
Only 46% of foster youth will graduate high school and less then 1% college.
30,000 foster youth will age out this year at 18, up from 26,000 last year, within one and a half years 93% of those youth will be homeless, in prison or die.
Child abuse is the most common cause of brain injury in children under one year of age, the number one reason a baby is shaken is inconsolable crying.
Parents abusing drugs or alcohol are at higher risk of abusing or neglecting their children.
Child abuse and neglect affect children of all ages, races, and incomes.
Children under the age of two years of age are at the greatest risk of abuse.
In Riverside County we do not have enough safe, loving, foster children available for kids that need placement, they end up being sent out of the area.
Children in foster care that are older then 7 years old or are in a sibling group, or are children of color are much harder to find adoptive homes.
over 1,000 children in the U.S. are waiting to find an adoptive home, many of those will not and end up aging out of the system at 18.
Foster care And it's Negative Effects
Foster care - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Foster child" redirects here. For the 1989 film, see Foster Child.
This article is about the modern child welfare system. For the social practice of children being raised by families not their own, see Fosterage.
Foster care is the term used for a system in which a minor who has been made a ward is placed in the private home of a state certified caregiver referred to as a "foster parent".
The state via the family court and child protection agency stand in loco parentis to the minor, making all legal decisions while the foster parent is responsible for the day to day care of said minor. The foster parent is remunerated by the state for their services.
Foster care is intended to be a short term situation until a permanent placement can be made:[1]
Reunification with the biological parent(s)
When it is deemed in the child's best interest. This is generally the first choice.
Adoption
Preferably by a biological family member such as an aunt or grandparent.
If no biological family member is willing or able to adopt, the next preference is for the child to be adopted by the foster parents or by someone else involved in the child's life (such as a teacher or coach). This is to maintain continuity in the child's life.
If neither above option are available, the child may be adopted by someone who is a stranger to the child.
Permanent transfer of guardianship
If none of these options are viable the plan for the minor may enter OPPLA (Other Planned Permanent Living Arrangement). This option allows the child to stay in custody of the state and the child can stay placed in a foster home, with a relative or an Independent Living Center or long term care facility (for children with development disabilities, physical disabilities or mental disabilities).
Contents
1 Foster care placement
1.1 Regulation, administration, and oversight
1.1.1 Funding and system incentives
2 United States
2.1 Foster care legislation since 1990
2.1.1 Constitutional issues
3 Australia
3.1 Current policy
4 The negative effects of foster care
4.1 Neurodevelopment
4.2 Epigenetic effects of environment
4.3 Post traumatic stress disorder
4.4 Eating disorders
4.5 Disorganized attachment
4.6 Child abuse
4.7 Poverty and homelessness
4.8 Suicide-death rate
5 Poor academic prospects
6 State abuses in the United States
6.1 Drug testing
6.2 Unnecessary/over medication
6.3 Sexual abuse and negligence
7 The lost children (Australia)
8 Therapeutic intervention
8.1 Neuroplasticity
9 Foster care In popular culture
10 See also
11 References
12 Further reading
13 External links
[edit]Foster care placement
547,415 children were in publicly supported foster care in the United States in September 2000.[2] In 2009, there were 423,773 children in foster care, a drop of about 20% in a decade.[3]
In 2009, there were about 123,000 children ready for adoptive families in the nations foster care systems.[4] African American children represented 41% of children in foster care, white children represented 40% and Hispanic children represented 15% in the year 2000.[2]
Children may enter foster care via voluntary or involuntary means. Voluntary placement may occur when a biological parent or lawful guardian is unable or unwilling to care for a child. Involuntary placement occurs when a child is removed from their biological parent or lawful guardian due to the risk or actual occurrence of physical or psychological harm. In the US, most children enter foster care due to neglect.[5]
[edit]Regulation, administration, and oversight
The policies regarding foster care as well as the criteria to be met in order to become a foster parent vary according to legal jurisdiction.
In the United States, foster home licensing requirements vary from state to state but are generally overseen by each state's Department of Social Services or Human Services. In some states, counties have this responsibility. Each state's services are monitored by the federal Department of Health and Human Services through reviews such as Child and Family Services Reviews, Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility Reviews, Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System and Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System Assessment Reviews.[6]
The foster parent licensing process is often similar to the process to become licensed to adopt. It requires preparation classes as well as an application process. The application varies but may include: a minimum age, verification that your income allows you to meet your expenses, a criminal record check at local, state and federal levels including finger printing and no prior record of child abuse or neglect; a reference from a doctor to ensure that all household members are free from diseases that a child could catch and in sufficient health to parent a child and; letters of reference from an employer and others who know them.
Children found to be unable to function in a foster home may be placed in Residential Treatment Centers (RTCs) or other such group homes. In theory, the focus of treatment in such facilities is to prepare the child for a return to a foster home, to an adoptive home, or to the birth parents when applicable. But two major reviews of the scholarly literature have questioned these facilities' effectiveness.[7] There are some children in foster care who are difficult to place in permanent homes through the normal adoption process. These children are often said to require “special-needs adoption.” In this context, "special needs" can include situations where children have specific chronic medical problems, mental health issues, behavioral problems, and learning disabilities. In some cases, sibling groups, and older children qualify as "special needs."[8] Governments offer a variety of incentives and services to facilitate this class of adoptions.[9]
[edit]Funding and system incentives
A law passed by Congress in 1961 allowed AFDC (welfare) payments to pay for foster care which was previously made only to children in their own homes. This made aided funding foster care for states and localities, facilitating rapid growth. In some cases, the state of Texas paid mental treatment centers as much as $101,105 a year per child. Observers of the growth trend note that a county will only continue to receive funding while it keeps the child in its care. This may create a "perverse financial incentive" to place and retain children in foster care rather than leave them with their parents, and incentives are sometimes set up for maximum intervention. A National Coalition for Child Protection Reform issue paper states "children often are removed from their families `prematurely or unnecessarily' because federal aid formulas give states `a strong financial incentive' to do so rather than provide services to keep families together."[10]
Findings of a grand jury investigation in Santa Clara, California[11]:
The Grand Jury heard from staff members of the DFCS and others outside the department that the department puts too much money into "back-end services," i.e., therapists and attorneys, and not enough money into "front-end" or basic services. The county does not receive as much in federal funds for "front-end" services, which could help solve the problems causing family inadequacies, as it receives for out-of-home placements or foster care services. In other words, the Agency benefits, financially, from placing children in foster homes.
[edit]United States
[edit]Foster care legislation since 1990
Average length of stay in foster care in the U.S.
In 1997, the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) was passed.[12] This reduced the time children are allowed to remain in foster care before being available for adoption. The new law requires state child welfare agencies to identify cases where "aggravated circumstances" make permanent separation of child from the birth family the best option for the safety and well-being of the child. One of the main components of ASFA is the imposition of stricter time limits on reunification efforts. Proponents of ASFA claimed that before the law was passed, the lack of such legislation was the reason it was common for children to languish in care for years with no permanent living situation identified.
Opponents of ASFA argued that the real reason children languished in foster care was that too many were taken needlessly from their parents in the first place. Since ASFA did not address this, opponents said, it would not accomplish its goals, and would only slow a decline in the foster care population that should have occurred anyway because of a decline in reported child abuse.[13]
Ten years after ASFA became law, the number of children in foster care on any given day has been about 7,000 fewer than when ASFA was passed[14]
The Foster Care Independence Act of 1999, helps foster youth who are aging out of care to achieve self-sufficiency. The U.S. government has also funded the Education and Training Voucher Program in recent years in order to help youth who age out of care to obtain college or vocational training at a free or reduced cost. Chafee and ETV money is administered by each state as they see fit.
The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 is the most recent piece of major federal legislation addressing the foster care system. This bill extended various benefits and funding for foster children between the age of 18 and 21 and for Indian children in tribal areas. The legislation also strengthens requirements for states in their treatment of siblings and introduces mechanisms to provide financial incentives for guardianship and adoption.[15][16]
[edit]Constitutional issues
In May 2007, the United States 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found in ROGERS v. COUNTY OF SAN JOAQUIN, No. 05-16071[17] that a CPS social worker who removed children from their natural parents into foster care without obtaining judicial authorization, was acting without due process and without exigency (emergency conditions) violated the 14th Amendment and Title 42 United State Code Section 1983. The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution says that a state may not make a law that abridges "... the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States" and no state may "deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." Title 42 United States Code Section 1983[18] states that citizens can sue in federal courts any person that acting under a color of law to deprive the citizens of their civil rights under the pretext of a regulation of a state.[19]
In case of Santosky v. Kramer, 455 US 745, Supreme Court reviewed a case when Department of Social Services removed two younger children from their natural parents only because the parents had been previously found negligent toward their oldest daughter.[20] When the third child was only three days old, DSS transferred him to a foster home on the ground that immediate removal was necessary to avoid imminent danger to his life or health. The Supreme Court vacated previous judgment and stated: "Before a State may sever completely and irrevocably the rights of parents in their natural child, due process requires that the State support its allegations by at least clear and convincing evidence. <..> But until the State proves parental unfitness, the child and his parents share a vital interest in preventing erroneous termination of their natural relationship".[20]
Also District of Columbia Court of Appeals conclude that the lower trial court erred in rejecting the relative custodial arrangement selected by the natural mother who tried to preserve her relationship with the child.[21] The previous judgment granting the foster mother's adoption petition was reversed, and the case remanded to the trial court to vacate the orders granting adoption and denying custody, and to enter an order granting custody to the child's relative.[21]
[edit]Australia
Home-based care, which includes foster care, is provided to children who are in need of care and protection. Children and young people are provided with alternative accommodation while they are unable to live with their parents. As well as foster care, this can include placements with relatives or kin, and residential care. In most cases, children in home-based care are also on a care and protection order.[22]
In some cases children are placed in home-based care following a child protection substantiation and where they are found to be in need of a safer and more stable environment. In other situations parents may be incapable of providing adequate care for the child, or accommodation may be needed during times of family conflict or crisis.[22] In the significant number of cases substance abuse is a major contributing factor.
Respite care is a type of foster care that is used to provide short-term (and often regular) accommodation for children whose parents are ill or unable to care for them on a temporary basis.[22] It is also used to provide a break for the parent or primary carer to hopefully decrease the chances of the situation escalating to one which would lead to the removal of the child(ren).
As with the majority of child protection services, states and territories are responsible for funding home-based care. Non-government organizations are widely used, however, to provide these services.[22]
[edit]Current policy
There is strong emphasis in current Australian policy and practice to keep children with their families wherever possible. In the event that children are placed in home-based care, every effort is made to reunite children with their families wherever possible.[22]
In the case of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in particular, but not exclusively, placing the child within the wider family or community is preferred[22] This is consistent with the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle.[23]
[edit]The negative effects of foster care
Individuals who were in foster care experience higher rates of physical and psychiatric morbidity than the general population.[24] In a study of adults who were in foster care in Oregon and Washington state, they were found to have double the incidence of depression, 20% as compared to 10% and were found to have a higher rate of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than combat veterans with 25% of those studied having PTSD. Children in foster care have a higher probability of having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and deficits in executive functioning, anxiety as well other developmental problems.[25][26][27][28] These children experience higher degrees of incarceration, poverty, homelessness, and suicide. Recent studies in the U.S., suggests that, foster care placements are more detrimental to children than remaining in a troubled home.[29][30][31]
[edit]Neurodevelopment
Foster care has been shown in various studies to have deleterious consequences on the physical health and mental wellbeing of those who were in foster care. Many children enter foster care at a very young age, a period where the development of mental and psychological processes are at one of their critical peaks. The human brain doesn't fully develop until approximately the age of twenty, and one of the most critical periods of brain development occurs in the first 3–4 years. The processes that govern the development of personality traits, stress response and cognitive skills are formed during this period. The developing brain is directly influenced by negative environmental factors including lack of stimulation due to emotional neglect, poor nutrition, exposure to violence in the home environment and child abuse.[citation needed]
Negative environmental influences have a direct effect on all areas of neurodevelopment: neurogenesis (creation of new neurons), apoptosis (death and reabsorption of neurons), migration (of neurons to different regions of the brain), synaptogenesis (creation of synapses), synaptic sculpturing (determining the make-up of the synapse), arborization (the growth of dendritic connections , myelinzation (protective covering of neurons), and an enlargement of the brain's ventricles, which can cause cortical atrophy.[citation needed]
Most of the processes involved in healthy neurodevelopment are predicated upon the establishment of close nurturing relationships and environmental stimulation. Foster children have elevated levels of cortisol, a stress hormone in comparison to children raised by their biological parents. Elevated cortisol levels can compromise the immune system. (Harden BJ, 2004).[32] Negative environmental influences during this critical period of brain development can have lifelong consequences.[33][34][35][36]
[edit]Epigenetic effects of environment
Gene expression can be affected by the environment through epigenetic mechanisms. Negative environmental influences, such as maternal deprivation, child abuse and stress[37][38] have been shown to have a profound effect on gene expression, including transgenerational epigenetic effects in which physiological and behavioral (intellectual) transfer of information across generations-not-yet-conceived is effected. In the Överkalix study in Sweden, the effects of epigentic inheritance were shown to have a direct correlation to the environmental influences faced by the parents and grandparents.[39] Many physiological and behavioral characteristics ascribed to Mendelian inheritance are due in fact to transgenerational epigenetic inheritance. The implications in terms of foster care and the cost to society as a whole is that the stress, deprivation and other negative environmetal factors many foster children are subjected to has a detrimental effect not only their physical, emotional and cognitive well-being, but that the damage can transcend generations.[40][41][42]
In studies of the adult offspring of Holocaust survivors, parental PTSD was a risk factor for the development of PTSD in adult offspring in comparison to those whose parents went through the Holocaust without developing PTSD. The offspring of survivors with PTSD had lower levels of urinary cortisol excretion, salivary cortisol and enhanced plasma cortisol suppression in response to low dose dexamethasone administration than offspring of survivors without PTSD. Low cortisol levels are associated with parental, particularly maternal, PTSD. This is in contrast to the normal stress response in which cortisol levels are elevated after exposure to a stressor. The results of the study point to the involvement of epigenetic mechanisms.[43][44]
Epigenetic Effects of Abuse
"In addition, the effects of abuse may extend beyond the immediate victim into subsequent generations as a consequence of epigenetic effects transmitted directly to offspring and/or behavioral changes in affected individuals. (Neighh GN et al. 2009)[45]
It has been suggested in various studies that the deleterious epigentic effects may be somewhat ameliorated through pharmacological manipulations in adulthood via the administration of nerve growth factor-inducible protein A,[46] and through the inhibition of a class of enzymes known as the histone deacetylases (HDACs). "HDAC inhibitors (HDACIs) such as Trichostatin A (TSA); "TSA can be used to alter gene expression by interfering with the removal of acetyl groups from histones", and L-methionine an essential amino acid, have been developed for the treatment of a variety of malignancies and neurodegenerative disorders. Drug combination approaches have also shown promise for the treatment of mood disorders including bipolar disorder, anxiety and depression."[47][48]
[edit]Post traumatic stress disorder
Regions of the brain associated with stress and post traumatic stress disorder[49]
Children in foster care have a higher incidence of Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).In one study (Dubner and Motta, 1999)[50] 60% of children in foster care who had experienced sexual abuse had PTSD, and 42% of those who had been physically abused fulfilled the PTSD criteria. PTSD was also found in 18% of the children who were not abused. These children may have developed PTSD due to witnessing violence in the home. (Marsenich, 2002).
In a study conducted in Oregon and Washington state, the rate of PTSD in adults who were in foster care for one year between the ages of 14-18 was found to be higher than that of combat veterans, with 25 percent of those in the study meeting the diagnostic criteria as compared to 12-13 percent of Iraq war veterans and 15 percent of Vietnam war veterans, and a rate of 4% in the general population. The recovery rate for foster home alumni was 28.2% as opposed to 47% in the general population.
"More than half the study participants reported clinical levels of mental illness, compared to less than a quarter of the general population".[51][52]
[edit]Eating disorders
Foster children are at increased risk for a variety of eating disorders, in comparison to the general population.
Obesity children in foster care are more prone to becoming overweight and obese, and in a study done in the United Kingdom, 35% of foster children experienced an increase in Body Mass Index (BMI) once in care.[53]
Hyperphagic Short Stature syndrome (HSS) is a condition characterized by short stature due to insufficient growth hormone production, an excessive appetite (hyperphagia) and mild learning disabilities. While it is believed to have genetic component, HSS is triggered by being exposed to an environment of high psychosocial stress; it is not uncommon in children in foster homes or other stressful environments. HSS improves upon removal from the stressful environment.[54][55][56]
Food Maintenance Syndrome is characterized by a set of aberrant eating behaviors of children in foster care. It is "a pattern of excessive eating and food acquisition and maintenance behaviors without concurrent obesity"; it resembles "the behavioral correlates of Hyperphagic Short Stature". It is hypothesised that this syndrome is triggered by the stress and maltreatment foster children are subjected to, it was prevalent amongst 25 percent of the study group in New Zealand.[26]
Bulimia Nervosa is seven times more prevalent among former foster children than in the general population.[57]
[edit]Disorganized attachment
A study by Dante Cicchetti found that 80% of abused and maltreated infants in his study exhibited symptoms of disorganized attachment.[58][59] Children with histories of maltreatment, such as physical and psychological neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse, are at risk of developing psychiatric problems.[60][61][62][63] These children may be described as experiencing trauma as the result of abuse or neglect, inflicted by a primary caregiver, which disrupts the normal development of secure attachment. Such children are at risk of developing a disorganized attachment.[62][64][65] Disorganized attachment is associated with a number of developmental problems, including dissociative symptoms,[66] as well as depressive, anxiety, and acting-out symptoms.[67][68]
[edit]Child abuse
Children in foster care experience high rates of child abuse, emotional deprivation, and physical neglect. In one study in the United Kingdom "foster children were 7-8 times, and children in residential care 6 times more likely to be assessed by a pediatrician for abuse than a child in the general population".[69]
[edit]Poverty and homelessness
New York street children; 1890
Nearly half of foster kids in the U.S. become homeless when they turn 18.[70][71] "One of every 10 foster children stays in foster care longer than seven years, and each year about 15,000 reach the age of majority and leave foster care without a permanent family—many to join the ranks of the homeless or to commit crimes and be imprisoned.[72][73]
Three out of 10 of the United States homeless are former foster children.[74] According to the results of the Casey Family Study of Foster Care Alumni, up to 80 percent are doing poorly—with a quarter to a third of former foster children at or below the poverty line, three times the national poverty rate.[75] Very frequently, people who are homeless had multiple placements as children: some were in foster care, but others experienced "unofficial" placements in the homes of family or friends.
Individuals with a history foster care tend to become homeless at an earlier age than those who were not in foster care and Caucasians who become homeless are more likely to have a history of foster care than Hispanics or African Americans[citation needed]. The length of time a person remains homeless is prolonged in indiviuals who were in foster care.[76]
[edit]Suicide-death rate
Children in foster care are at a greater risk of suicide,[77] the increased risk of suicide is still prevalent after leaving foster care and occurs at a higher rate than the general population. In a study of Texas youths who aged out of the system 23 percent had a history of suicide attempts.[78]
A Swedish study utilizing the data of almost one million people including 22,305 former foster children who had been in care prior to their teens, concluded:
Former child welfare clients were in year of birth and sex standardised risk ratios (RRs) four to five times more likely than peers in the general population to have been hospitalised for suicide attempts....Individuals who had been in long-term foster care tended to have the most dismal outcome...former child welfare/protection clients should be considered a high-risk group for suicide attempts and severe psychiatric morbidity.[79]
Death rate
Children in foster care have an overall higher mortality rate than children in the general population.[80] A study conducted in Finland among current and former foster children up to age 24 found a higher mortality rate due to substance abuse, accidents, suicide and illness. The deaths due to illness were attributed to an increased incidence of acute and chronic medical conditions and developmental delays among children in foster care.[81]
[edit]Poor academic prospects
Educational outcomes of ex-foster children in the Northwest Alumni Study;
56% completed high school compared to 82% of the general population, although an additional 29% of former foster children received a G.E.D. compared to an additional 5% of the general population.
42.7% completed some education beyond high school.
20.6% completed any degree or certificate beyond high school
16.1% completed a vocational degree; 21.9% for those over 25.
1.8% complete a bachelors degree , 2.7% for over 25, the completion rate for the general population in the same age group is 24%, a sizable difference.
Foster care has been proven in innumerable studies to not be conducive to academic performance. In a study conducted in Philadelphia by Johns Hopkins University it was found that; among high school students who are in foster care, have been abused and neglected, or receive out of home placement by the courts, the probability of dropping out of school is greater than 75%.[82]
[edit]State abuses in the United States
[edit]Drug testing
Throughout the 1990s, experimental HIV drugs were tested on HIV-positive foster children at Incarnation Children’s Center in Harlem. The agency has also been accused of racism, some comparing the trials to the Tuskegee syphilis experiment, as 98 percent of children in foster care in New York City belong to ethnic minorities.[83]
[edit]Unnecessary/over medication
Studies"[84] have revealed that youth in foster care covered by Medicaid insurance receive psychotropic medication at a rate that was 3 times higher than that of Medicaid-insured youth who qualify by low family income. In a review (September 2003 to August 2004) of the medical records of 32,135 Texas foster care 0–19 years-old, 12,189 were prescribed psychotropic medication, resulting in an annual prevalence of 37.9% of these children being prescribed medication. 41.3% received 3 different classes of these drugs during July 2004, and 15.9% received 4 different classes. The most frequently used medications were antidepressants (56.8%), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder drugs (55.9%), and antipsychotic agents (53.2%).
"Concomitant psychotropic medication treatment is frequent for youth in foster care and lacks substantive evidence as to its effectiveness and safety".[84]
– Psychotropic medication patterns among youth in foster care., Pediatrics 2008
Psychiatrists prescribed 93% of the psychotropic medication, and it was noted in the review of these cases that the use of expensive, brand name, patent protected medication was prevalent. In the case of SSRIs the use of the most expensive medications was noted to be 74%, in the general market only 28% are for brand name SSRI's vs generics. The average out-of-pocket expense per prescription was $34.75 for generics and $90.17 for branded products, a $55.42, difference.[85]
[edit]Sexual abuse and negligence
One study by Johns Hopkins University found that the rate of sexual abuse within the foster-care system is more than four times as high as in the general population; in group homes, the rate of sexual abuse is more than 28 times that of the general population.[86][87] An Indiana study found three times more physical abuse and twice the rate of sexual abuse in foster homes than in the general population.[87] A study of foster children in Oregon and Washington State found that nearly one third reported being abused by a foster parent or another adult in a foster home.[88] These statistics do not speak to the situation these children are coming from, but it does show the very large problem of child-on-child sexual abuse within the system. There have been several notable lawsits concerning sexual abuse and negligence that caused review of the foster care system in some states:
In 2010, an ex-foster child was awarded $30 million by jury trial in California (Santa Clara County) for sexual abuse damages that happened to him in his foster home from 1995 to 1999.[89][90] The foster parent, John Jackson, was licensed by the state, despite the fact that he abused his own wife and son, overdosed on drugs and was arrested for drunken driving. In 2006, Jackson was convicted in Santa Clara County of nine counts of lewd or lascivious acts on a child by force, violence, duress, menace and fear, and seven counts of lewd or lascivious acts on a child under 14, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office.[89] The sex acts he forced the children in his foster care to perform sent him to prison for 220 years. Later in 2010, Giarretto Institute, the private foster family agency responsible for licensing and monitoring Jackson's foster home and others, also was found to be negligent and liable for 75 percent of the abuse that was inflicted on the victim, and Jackson himself was liable for the rest.[89]
In 2009, Oregon Department of Human Services agreed to pay $2 million into a fund for the future care of twins who were allegedly abused by their foster parents; this was the largest such settlement in the agency's history.[91] According to the civil rights suit filed on request of twins' adoptive mother in December 2007 in U.S. Federal Court, the children were kept in makeshift cages—cribs covered with chicken wire secured by duct tape—in a darkened bedroom known as "the dungeon." The brother and sister often went without food, water or human touch. The boy, who had a shunt put into his head at birth to drain fluid, didn't receive medical attention, so when police rescued the twins he was nearly comatose. The same foster family previously took into their care hundreds of other children over nearly four decades.[92] DHS said the foster parents deceived child welfare workers during the checkup visits.[91]
Several lawsuits were brought in 2008 against the Florida Department of Children & Families (DCF), accusing it of mishandling reports that Thomas Ferrara, 79, a foster parent, was molesting young girls.[93][94] The suits claimed that even though there were records of sexual misconduct allegations against Ferrara in 1992, 1996, and 1999, the DCF continued to place foster children with Ferrara and his then-wife until 2000.[93] Ferrara was arrested in 2001, after a 9-year-old girl told detectives he regularly molested her over two years and threatened to hurt her mother if she told anyone. Records show that Ferrara had as many as 400 children go through his home during his 16 years as a licensed foster parent (from 1984 to 2000).[93] Officials stated that the lawsuits over Ferrara ended up costing the DCF almost $2.26 million.[94] Similary, in 2007 Florida's DCF paid $1.2 million to settle a lawsuit that alleged DCF ignored complaints that another mentally disabled Immokalee girl was being raped by her foster father, Bonifacio Velazquez, until the 15-year-old gave birth to a child.[95][96][97]
In a class action lawsuit Charlie and Nadine H. v. McGreevey[98] was filed in federal court by "Children’s Rights" New York organization on behalf of children in the custody of the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS).[99][100] The complaint alleged violations of the childrens' constitutional rights and their rights under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, Early Periodic Screening Diagnosis and Treatment, 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Multiethnic Placement Act (MEPA).[101] In July 2002, the federal court granted plaintiffs’ experts access to 500 children’s case files, allowing plaintiffs to collect information concerning harm to children in foster care through a case record review.[99] These files revealed numerous cases in which foster children were abused, and DYFS failed to take proper action. On June 9, 2004, the child welfare panel appointed by the parties approved the NJ State’s Reform Plan. The court accepted the plan on June 17, 2004.[100] The same organization also filed similar lawsuits against several other states in recent years that caused some of the states to start child welfare reforms.[102]
[edit]The lost children (Australia)
Children of the United Kingdom's Children's Migrant Programme
An estimated 150,000 British children were sent to overseas colonies and countries in the commonwealth such as Australia. This practice was in effect from the beginning of the nineteenth century until 1967. Many of these children were sent to orphanages, foster homes and religious institutions, where they were used as a free source of labor and many were severely abused and neglected. These children were classified as orphans although most were not. In the period after World War II the policy was dubbed the "Child Migrants Programme". The prime consideration was money as it was cheaper to care for children in commonwealth countries than it was in the United Kingdom. At least 10,000 children, some as young as 3, were shipped to Australia after the war,[103][104] most to join the ranks of the "Forgotten Australians", the term given for those who experienced care in foster homes and institutions in the 20th century. Among these Forgotten Australians were members of the "Stolen Generation", the children of Australian Aborigines, forcibly removed from their homes and raised in white institutions. In 2008 Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd apologised to the approximately 500,000 "forgotten Australians" and in 2010 British Prime Minister Gordon Brown issued a similar apology to those who were victimised by the Child Migrants Programme.[105][106][107]
[edit]Therapeutic intervention
The negative physical, psychological, cognitive and epigenetic effects of foster care have been established in innumerable studies in various countries. The Casey Family Programs Northwest Foster Care Alumni Study was a fairly extensive study into various aspects of the psychosocial effects of foster care noted that 80% of ex-foster children are doing "poorly".
[edit]Neuroplasticity
The human brain however has been shown to have a fair degree of neuroplasticity.[108][109][110] Adult neurogenesis has been shown to be an ongoing process.[111]
"... all those experiences are of much significance which show how the judgment of the senses may be modified by experience and by training derived under various circumstances, and may be adapted to the new conditions..." - Hermann von Helmholtz, 1866
While having a background in foster homes—especially in instances of sexual abuse—can be the precipitating factor in a wide variety of psychological and cognitive deficits such as ADHD,[112] and PTSD,[50][113] it may also serve to obfuscate the true cause of underlying issues. The foster care experience may have nothing to do with the symptoms, or on the other hand, the symptoms may be exacerbated by having a history of foster care and the attendant abuses.
Children in the child welfare system have often experienced significant and repeated traumas. Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy is one of the approaches that has been used to treat the resulting trauma and attachment difficulties caused by chronic early maltreatment within a care-giving relationship.[114][115][116]
[edit]Foster care In popular culture
Fictional characters
In the Fox television show, Bones, forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan (played by Emily Deschanel) grew up in foster care when her parents went missing.[117]
ABC's Secret Life of the American Teenager's Ricky (played by Dareen Kagasoff) is in foster care.[118]
Famous former foster children
Allison Anders, writer and director
Alonzo Mourning, NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 1999 & 2000 and seven-time NBA All-Star
Anthony DiCosmo, Football player
Eriq La Salle, actor
Esai Morales, actor
Victoria Rowell, dancer[119]
See also
Adoption and Safe Families Act
Attachment theory
Child Welfare
Crown ward
Complex post-traumatic stress disorder
Dyadic developmental psychotherapy
Foster care adoption
Legal guardian
Grandfamilies
Reactive attachment disorder
Residential education
Aging out
Fosterage
Social work
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Foster child" redirects here. For the 1989 film, see Foster Child.
This article is about the modern child welfare system. For the social practice of children being raised by families not their own, see Fosterage.
Foster care is the term used for a system in which a minor who has been made a ward is placed in the private home of a state certified caregiver referred to as a "foster parent".
The state via the family court and child protection agency stand in loco parentis to the minor, making all legal decisions while the foster parent is responsible for the day to day care of said minor. The foster parent is remunerated by the state for their services.
Foster care is intended to be a short term situation until a permanent placement can be made:[1]
Reunification with the biological parent(s)
When it is deemed in the child's best interest. This is generally the first choice.
Adoption
Preferably by a biological family member such as an aunt or grandparent.
If no biological family member is willing or able to adopt, the next preference is for the child to be adopted by the foster parents or by someone else involved in the child's life (such as a teacher or coach). This is to maintain continuity in the child's life.
If neither above option are available, the child may be adopted by someone who is a stranger to the child.
Permanent transfer of guardianship
If none of these options are viable the plan for the minor may enter OPPLA (Other Planned Permanent Living Arrangement). This option allows the child to stay in custody of the state and the child can stay placed in a foster home, with a relative or an Independent Living Center or long term care facility (for children with development disabilities, physical disabilities or mental disabilities).
Contents
1 Foster care placement
1.1 Regulation, administration, and oversight
1.1.1 Funding and system incentives
2 United States
2.1 Foster care legislation since 1990
2.1.1 Constitutional issues
3 Australia
3.1 Current policy
4 The negative effects of foster care
4.1 Neurodevelopment
4.2 Epigenetic effects of environment
4.3 Post traumatic stress disorder
4.4 Eating disorders
4.5 Disorganized attachment
4.6 Child abuse
4.7 Poverty and homelessness
4.8 Suicide-death rate
5 Poor academic prospects
6 State abuses in the United States
6.1 Drug testing
6.2 Unnecessary/over medication
6.3 Sexual abuse and negligence
7 The lost children (Australia)
8 Therapeutic intervention
8.1 Neuroplasticity
9 Foster care In popular culture
10 See also
11 References
12 Further reading
13 External links
[edit]Foster care placement
547,415 children were in publicly supported foster care in the United States in September 2000.[2] In 2009, there were 423,773 children in foster care, a drop of about 20% in a decade.[3]
In 2009, there were about 123,000 children ready for adoptive families in the nations foster care systems.[4] African American children represented 41% of children in foster care, white children represented 40% and Hispanic children represented 15% in the year 2000.[2]
Children may enter foster care via voluntary or involuntary means. Voluntary placement may occur when a biological parent or lawful guardian is unable or unwilling to care for a child. Involuntary placement occurs when a child is removed from their biological parent or lawful guardian due to the risk or actual occurrence of physical or psychological harm. In the US, most children enter foster care due to neglect.[5]
[edit]Regulation, administration, and oversight
The policies regarding foster care as well as the criteria to be met in order to become a foster parent vary according to legal jurisdiction.
In the United States, foster home licensing requirements vary from state to state but are generally overseen by each state's Department of Social Services or Human Services. In some states, counties have this responsibility. Each state's services are monitored by the federal Department of Health and Human Services through reviews such as Child and Family Services Reviews, Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility Reviews, Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System and Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System Assessment Reviews.[6]
The foster parent licensing process is often similar to the process to become licensed to adopt. It requires preparation classes as well as an application process. The application varies but may include: a minimum age, verification that your income allows you to meet your expenses, a criminal record check at local, state and federal levels including finger printing and no prior record of child abuse or neglect; a reference from a doctor to ensure that all household members are free from diseases that a child could catch and in sufficient health to parent a child and; letters of reference from an employer and others who know them.
Children found to be unable to function in a foster home may be placed in Residential Treatment Centers (RTCs) or other such group homes. In theory, the focus of treatment in such facilities is to prepare the child for a return to a foster home, to an adoptive home, or to the birth parents when applicable. But two major reviews of the scholarly literature have questioned these facilities' effectiveness.[7] There are some children in foster care who are difficult to place in permanent homes through the normal adoption process. These children are often said to require “special-needs adoption.” In this context, "special needs" can include situations where children have specific chronic medical problems, mental health issues, behavioral problems, and learning disabilities. In some cases, sibling groups, and older children qualify as "special needs."[8] Governments offer a variety of incentives and services to facilitate this class of adoptions.[9]
[edit]Funding and system incentives
A law passed by Congress in 1961 allowed AFDC (welfare) payments to pay for foster care which was previously made only to children in their own homes. This made aided funding foster care for states and localities, facilitating rapid growth. In some cases, the state of Texas paid mental treatment centers as much as $101,105 a year per child. Observers of the growth trend note that a county will only continue to receive funding while it keeps the child in its care. This may create a "perverse financial incentive" to place and retain children in foster care rather than leave them with their parents, and incentives are sometimes set up for maximum intervention. A National Coalition for Child Protection Reform issue paper states "children often are removed from their families `prematurely or unnecessarily' because federal aid formulas give states `a strong financial incentive' to do so rather than provide services to keep families together."[10]
Findings of a grand jury investigation in Santa Clara, California[11]:
The Grand Jury heard from staff members of the DFCS and others outside the department that the department puts too much money into "back-end services," i.e., therapists and attorneys, and not enough money into "front-end" or basic services. The county does not receive as much in federal funds for "front-end" services, which could help solve the problems causing family inadequacies, as it receives for out-of-home placements or foster care services. In other words, the Agency benefits, financially, from placing children in foster homes.
[edit]United States
[edit]Foster care legislation since 1990
Average length of stay in foster care in the U.S.
In 1997, the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) was passed.[12] This reduced the time children are allowed to remain in foster care before being available for adoption. The new law requires state child welfare agencies to identify cases where "aggravated circumstances" make permanent separation of child from the birth family the best option for the safety and well-being of the child. One of the main components of ASFA is the imposition of stricter time limits on reunification efforts. Proponents of ASFA claimed that before the law was passed, the lack of such legislation was the reason it was common for children to languish in care for years with no permanent living situation identified.
Opponents of ASFA argued that the real reason children languished in foster care was that too many were taken needlessly from their parents in the first place. Since ASFA did not address this, opponents said, it would not accomplish its goals, and would only slow a decline in the foster care population that should have occurred anyway because of a decline in reported child abuse.[13]
Ten years after ASFA became law, the number of children in foster care on any given day has been about 7,000 fewer than when ASFA was passed[14]
The Foster Care Independence Act of 1999, helps foster youth who are aging out of care to achieve self-sufficiency. The U.S. government has also funded the Education and Training Voucher Program in recent years in order to help youth who age out of care to obtain college or vocational training at a free or reduced cost. Chafee and ETV money is administered by each state as they see fit.
The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 is the most recent piece of major federal legislation addressing the foster care system. This bill extended various benefits and funding for foster children between the age of 18 and 21 and for Indian children in tribal areas. The legislation also strengthens requirements for states in their treatment of siblings and introduces mechanisms to provide financial incentives for guardianship and adoption.[15][16]
[edit]Constitutional issues
In May 2007, the United States 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found in ROGERS v. COUNTY OF SAN JOAQUIN, No. 05-16071[17] that a CPS social worker who removed children from their natural parents into foster care without obtaining judicial authorization, was acting without due process and without exigency (emergency conditions) violated the 14th Amendment and Title 42 United State Code Section 1983. The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution says that a state may not make a law that abridges "... the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States" and no state may "deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." Title 42 United States Code Section 1983[18] states that citizens can sue in federal courts any person that acting under a color of law to deprive the citizens of their civil rights under the pretext of a regulation of a state.[19]
In case of Santosky v. Kramer, 455 US 745, Supreme Court reviewed a case when Department of Social Services removed two younger children from their natural parents only because the parents had been previously found negligent toward their oldest daughter.[20] When the third child was only three days old, DSS transferred him to a foster home on the ground that immediate removal was necessary to avoid imminent danger to his life or health. The Supreme Court vacated previous judgment and stated: "Before a State may sever completely and irrevocably the rights of parents in their natural child, due process requires that the State support its allegations by at least clear and convincing evidence. <..> But until the State proves parental unfitness, the child and his parents share a vital interest in preventing erroneous termination of their natural relationship".[20]
Also District of Columbia Court of Appeals conclude that the lower trial court erred in rejecting the relative custodial arrangement selected by the natural mother who tried to preserve her relationship with the child.[21] The previous judgment granting the foster mother's adoption petition was reversed, and the case remanded to the trial court to vacate the orders granting adoption and denying custody, and to enter an order granting custody to the child's relative.[21]
[edit]Australia
Home-based care, which includes foster care, is provided to children who are in need of care and protection. Children and young people are provided with alternative accommodation while they are unable to live with their parents. As well as foster care, this can include placements with relatives or kin, and residential care. In most cases, children in home-based care are also on a care and protection order.[22]
In some cases children are placed in home-based care following a child protection substantiation and where they are found to be in need of a safer and more stable environment. In other situations parents may be incapable of providing adequate care for the child, or accommodation may be needed during times of family conflict or crisis.[22] In the significant number of cases substance abuse is a major contributing factor.
Respite care is a type of foster care that is used to provide short-term (and often regular) accommodation for children whose parents are ill or unable to care for them on a temporary basis.[22] It is also used to provide a break for the parent or primary carer to hopefully decrease the chances of the situation escalating to one which would lead to the removal of the child(ren).
As with the majority of child protection services, states and territories are responsible for funding home-based care. Non-government organizations are widely used, however, to provide these services.[22]
[edit]Current policy
There is strong emphasis in current Australian policy and practice to keep children with their families wherever possible. In the event that children are placed in home-based care, every effort is made to reunite children with their families wherever possible.[22]
In the case of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in particular, but not exclusively, placing the child within the wider family or community is preferred[22] This is consistent with the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle.[23]
[edit]The negative effects of foster care
Individuals who were in foster care experience higher rates of physical and psychiatric morbidity than the general population.[24] In a study of adults who were in foster care in Oregon and Washington state, they were found to have double the incidence of depression, 20% as compared to 10% and were found to have a higher rate of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than combat veterans with 25% of those studied having PTSD. Children in foster care have a higher probability of having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and deficits in executive functioning, anxiety as well other developmental problems.[25][26][27][28] These children experience higher degrees of incarceration, poverty, homelessness, and suicide. Recent studies in the U.S., suggests that, foster care placements are more detrimental to children than remaining in a troubled home.[29][30][31]
[edit]Neurodevelopment
Foster care has been shown in various studies to have deleterious consequences on the physical health and mental wellbeing of those who were in foster care. Many children enter foster care at a very young age, a period where the development of mental and psychological processes are at one of their critical peaks. The human brain doesn't fully develop until approximately the age of twenty, and one of the most critical periods of brain development occurs in the first 3–4 years. The processes that govern the development of personality traits, stress response and cognitive skills are formed during this period. The developing brain is directly influenced by negative environmental factors including lack of stimulation due to emotional neglect, poor nutrition, exposure to violence in the home environment and child abuse.[citation needed]
Negative environmental influences have a direct effect on all areas of neurodevelopment: neurogenesis (creation of new neurons), apoptosis (death and reabsorption of neurons), migration (of neurons to different regions of the brain), synaptogenesis (creation of synapses), synaptic sculpturing (determining the make-up of the synapse), arborization (the growth of dendritic connections , myelinzation (protective covering of neurons), and an enlargement of the brain's ventricles, which can cause cortical atrophy.[citation needed]
Most of the processes involved in healthy neurodevelopment are predicated upon the establishment of close nurturing relationships and environmental stimulation. Foster children have elevated levels of cortisol, a stress hormone in comparison to children raised by their biological parents. Elevated cortisol levels can compromise the immune system. (Harden BJ, 2004).[32] Negative environmental influences during this critical period of brain development can have lifelong consequences.[33][34][35][36]
[edit]Epigenetic effects of environment
Gene expression can be affected by the environment through epigenetic mechanisms. Negative environmental influences, such as maternal deprivation, child abuse and stress[37][38] have been shown to have a profound effect on gene expression, including transgenerational epigenetic effects in which physiological and behavioral (intellectual) transfer of information across generations-not-yet-conceived is effected. In the Överkalix study in Sweden, the effects of epigentic inheritance were shown to have a direct correlation to the environmental influences faced by the parents and grandparents.[39] Many physiological and behavioral characteristics ascribed to Mendelian inheritance are due in fact to transgenerational epigenetic inheritance. The implications in terms of foster care and the cost to society as a whole is that the stress, deprivation and other negative environmetal factors many foster children are subjected to has a detrimental effect not only their physical, emotional and cognitive well-being, but that the damage can transcend generations.[40][41][42]
In studies of the adult offspring of Holocaust survivors, parental PTSD was a risk factor for the development of PTSD in adult offspring in comparison to those whose parents went through the Holocaust without developing PTSD. The offspring of survivors with PTSD had lower levels of urinary cortisol excretion, salivary cortisol and enhanced plasma cortisol suppression in response to low dose dexamethasone administration than offspring of survivors without PTSD. Low cortisol levels are associated with parental, particularly maternal, PTSD. This is in contrast to the normal stress response in which cortisol levels are elevated after exposure to a stressor. The results of the study point to the involvement of epigenetic mechanisms.[43][44]
Epigenetic Effects of Abuse
"In addition, the effects of abuse may extend beyond the immediate victim into subsequent generations as a consequence of epigenetic effects transmitted directly to offspring and/or behavioral changes in affected individuals. (Neighh GN et al. 2009)[45]
It has been suggested in various studies that the deleterious epigentic effects may be somewhat ameliorated through pharmacological manipulations in adulthood via the administration of nerve growth factor-inducible protein A,[46] and through the inhibition of a class of enzymes known as the histone deacetylases (HDACs). "HDAC inhibitors (HDACIs) such as Trichostatin A (TSA); "TSA can be used to alter gene expression by interfering with the removal of acetyl groups from histones", and L-methionine an essential amino acid, have been developed for the treatment of a variety of malignancies and neurodegenerative disorders. Drug combination approaches have also shown promise for the treatment of mood disorders including bipolar disorder, anxiety and depression."[47][48]
[edit]Post traumatic stress disorder
Regions of the brain associated with stress and post traumatic stress disorder[49]
Children in foster care have a higher incidence of Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).In one study (Dubner and Motta, 1999)[50] 60% of children in foster care who had experienced sexual abuse had PTSD, and 42% of those who had been physically abused fulfilled the PTSD criteria. PTSD was also found in 18% of the children who were not abused. These children may have developed PTSD due to witnessing violence in the home. (Marsenich, 2002).
In a study conducted in Oregon and Washington state, the rate of PTSD in adults who were in foster care for one year between the ages of 14-18 was found to be higher than that of combat veterans, with 25 percent of those in the study meeting the diagnostic criteria as compared to 12-13 percent of Iraq war veterans and 15 percent of Vietnam war veterans, and a rate of 4% in the general population. The recovery rate for foster home alumni was 28.2% as opposed to 47% in the general population.
"More than half the study participants reported clinical levels of mental illness, compared to less than a quarter of the general population".[51][52]
[edit]Eating disorders
Foster children are at increased risk for a variety of eating disorders, in comparison to the general population.
Obesity children in foster care are more prone to becoming overweight and obese, and in a study done in the United Kingdom, 35% of foster children experienced an increase in Body Mass Index (BMI) once in care.[53]
Hyperphagic Short Stature syndrome (HSS) is a condition characterized by short stature due to insufficient growth hormone production, an excessive appetite (hyperphagia) and mild learning disabilities. While it is believed to have genetic component, HSS is triggered by being exposed to an environment of high psychosocial stress; it is not uncommon in children in foster homes or other stressful environments. HSS improves upon removal from the stressful environment.[54][55][56]
Food Maintenance Syndrome is characterized by a set of aberrant eating behaviors of children in foster care. It is "a pattern of excessive eating and food acquisition and maintenance behaviors without concurrent obesity"; it resembles "the behavioral correlates of Hyperphagic Short Stature". It is hypothesised that this syndrome is triggered by the stress and maltreatment foster children are subjected to, it was prevalent amongst 25 percent of the study group in New Zealand.[26]
Bulimia Nervosa is seven times more prevalent among former foster children than in the general population.[57]
[edit]Disorganized attachment
A study by Dante Cicchetti found that 80% of abused and maltreated infants in his study exhibited symptoms of disorganized attachment.[58][59] Children with histories of maltreatment, such as physical and psychological neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse, are at risk of developing psychiatric problems.[60][61][62][63] These children may be described as experiencing trauma as the result of abuse or neglect, inflicted by a primary caregiver, which disrupts the normal development of secure attachment. Such children are at risk of developing a disorganized attachment.[62][64][65] Disorganized attachment is associated with a number of developmental problems, including dissociative symptoms,[66] as well as depressive, anxiety, and acting-out symptoms.[67][68]
[edit]Child abuse
Children in foster care experience high rates of child abuse, emotional deprivation, and physical neglect. In one study in the United Kingdom "foster children were 7-8 times, and children in residential care 6 times more likely to be assessed by a pediatrician for abuse than a child in the general population".[69]
[edit]Poverty and homelessness
New York street children; 1890
Nearly half of foster kids in the U.S. become homeless when they turn 18.[70][71] "One of every 10 foster children stays in foster care longer than seven years, and each year about 15,000 reach the age of majority and leave foster care without a permanent family—many to join the ranks of the homeless or to commit crimes and be imprisoned.[72][73]
Three out of 10 of the United States homeless are former foster children.[74] According to the results of the Casey Family Study of Foster Care Alumni, up to 80 percent are doing poorly—with a quarter to a third of former foster children at or below the poverty line, three times the national poverty rate.[75] Very frequently, people who are homeless had multiple placements as children: some were in foster care, but others experienced "unofficial" placements in the homes of family or friends.
Individuals with a history foster care tend to become homeless at an earlier age than those who were not in foster care and Caucasians who become homeless are more likely to have a history of foster care than Hispanics or African Americans[citation needed]. The length of time a person remains homeless is prolonged in indiviuals who were in foster care.[76]
[edit]Suicide-death rate
Children in foster care are at a greater risk of suicide,[77] the increased risk of suicide is still prevalent after leaving foster care and occurs at a higher rate than the general population. In a study of Texas youths who aged out of the system 23 percent had a history of suicide attempts.[78]
A Swedish study utilizing the data of almost one million people including 22,305 former foster children who had been in care prior to their teens, concluded:
Former child welfare clients were in year of birth and sex standardised risk ratios (RRs) four to five times more likely than peers in the general population to have been hospitalised for suicide attempts....Individuals who had been in long-term foster care tended to have the most dismal outcome...former child welfare/protection clients should be considered a high-risk group for suicide attempts and severe psychiatric morbidity.[79]
Death rate
Children in foster care have an overall higher mortality rate than children in the general population.[80] A study conducted in Finland among current and former foster children up to age 24 found a higher mortality rate due to substance abuse, accidents, suicide and illness. The deaths due to illness were attributed to an increased incidence of acute and chronic medical conditions and developmental delays among children in foster care.[81]
[edit]Poor academic prospects
Educational outcomes of ex-foster children in the Northwest Alumni Study;
56% completed high school compared to 82% of the general population, although an additional 29% of former foster children received a G.E.D. compared to an additional 5% of the general population.
42.7% completed some education beyond high school.
20.6% completed any degree or certificate beyond high school
16.1% completed a vocational degree; 21.9% for those over 25.
1.8% complete a bachelors degree , 2.7% for over 25, the completion rate for the general population in the same age group is 24%, a sizable difference.
Foster care has been proven in innumerable studies to not be conducive to academic performance. In a study conducted in Philadelphia by Johns Hopkins University it was found that; among high school students who are in foster care, have been abused and neglected, or receive out of home placement by the courts, the probability of dropping out of school is greater than 75%.[82]
[edit]State abuses in the United States
[edit]Drug testing
Throughout the 1990s, experimental HIV drugs were tested on HIV-positive foster children at Incarnation Children’s Center in Harlem. The agency has also been accused of racism, some comparing the trials to the Tuskegee syphilis experiment, as 98 percent of children in foster care in New York City belong to ethnic minorities.[83]
[edit]Unnecessary/over medication
Studies"[84] have revealed that youth in foster care covered by Medicaid insurance receive psychotropic medication at a rate that was 3 times higher than that of Medicaid-insured youth who qualify by low family income. In a review (September 2003 to August 2004) of the medical records of 32,135 Texas foster care 0–19 years-old, 12,189 were prescribed psychotropic medication, resulting in an annual prevalence of 37.9% of these children being prescribed medication. 41.3% received 3 different classes of these drugs during July 2004, and 15.9% received 4 different classes. The most frequently used medications were antidepressants (56.8%), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder drugs (55.9%), and antipsychotic agents (53.2%).
"Concomitant psychotropic medication treatment is frequent for youth in foster care and lacks substantive evidence as to its effectiveness and safety".[84]
– Psychotropic medication patterns among youth in foster care., Pediatrics 2008
Psychiatrists prescribed 93% of the psychotropic medication, and it was noted in the review of these cases that the use of expensive, brand name, patent protected medication was prevalent. In the case of SSRIs the use of the most expensive medications was noted to be 74%, in the general market only 28% are for brand name SSRI's vs generics. The average out-of-pocket expense per prescription was $34.75 for generics and $90.17 for branded products, a $55.42, difference.[85]
[edit]Sexual abuse and negligence
One study by Johns Hopkins University found that the rate of sexual abuse within the foster-care system is more than four times as high as in the general population; in group homes, the rate of sexual abuse is more than 28 times that of the general population.[86][87] An Indiana study found three times more physical abuse and twice the rate of sexual abuse in foster homes than in the general population.[87] A study of foster children in Oregon and Washington State found that nearly one third reported being abused by a foster parent or another adult in a foster home.[88] These statistics do not speak to the situation these children are coming from, but it does show the very large problem of child-on-child sexual abuse within the system. There have been several notable lawsits concerning sexual abuse and negligence that caused review of the foster care system in some states:
In 2010, an ex-foster child was awarded $30 million by jury trial in California (Santa Clara County) for sexual abuse damages that happened to him in his foster home from 1995 to 1999.[89][90] The foster parent, John Jackson, was licensed by the state, despite the fact that he abused his own wife and son, overdosed on drugs and was arrested for drunken driving. In 2006, Jackson was convicted in Santa Clara County of nine counts of lewd or lascivious acts on a child by force, violence, duress, menace and fear, and seven counts of lewd or lascivious acts on a child under 14, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office.[89] The sex acts he forced the children in his foster care to perform sent him to prison for 220 years. Later in 2010, Giarretto Institute, the private foster family agency responsible for licensing and monitoring Jackson's foster home and others, also was found to be negligent and liable for 75 percent of the abuse that was inflicted on the victim, and Jackson himself was liable for the rest.[89]
In 2009, Oregon Department of Human Services agreed to pay $2 million into a fund for the future care of twins who were allegedly abused by their foster parents; this was the largest such settlement in the agency's history.[91] According to the civil rights suit filed on request of twins' adoptive mother in December 2007 in U.S. Federal Court, the children were kept in makeshift cages—cribs covered with chicken wire secured by duct tape—in a darkened bedroom known as "the dungeon." The brother and sister often went without food, water or human touch. The boy, who had a shunt put into his head at birth to drain fluid, didn't receive medical attention, so when police rescued the twins he was nearly comatose. The same foster family previously took into their care hundreds of other children over nearly four decades.[92] DHS said the foster parents deceived child welfare workers during the checkup visits.[91]
Several lawsuits were brought in 2008 against the Florida Department of Children & Families (DCF), accusing it of mishandling reports that Thomas Ferrara, 79, a foster parent, was molesting young girls.[93][94] The suits claimed that even though there were records of sexual misconduct allegations against Ferrara in 1992, 1996, and 1999, the DCF continued to place foster children with Ferrara and his then-wife until 2000.[93] Ferrara was arrested in 2001, after a 9-year-old girl told detectives he regularly molested her over two years and threatened to hurt her mother if she told anyone. Records show that Ferrara had as many as 400 children go through his home during his 16 years as a licensed foster parent (from 1984 to 2000).[93] Officials stated that the lawsuits over Ferrara ended up costing the DCF almost $2.26 million.[94] Similary, in 2007 Florida's DCF paid $1.2 million to settle a lawsuit that alleged DCF ignored complaints that another mentally disabled Immokalee girl was being raped by her foster father, Bonifacio Velazquez, until the 15-year-old gave birth to a child.[95][96][97]
In a class action lawsuit Charlie and Nadine H. v. McGreevey[98] was filed in federal court by "Children’s Rights" New York organization on behalf of children in the custody of the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS).[99][100] The complaint alleged violations of the childrens' constitutional rights and their rights under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, Early Periodic Screening Diagnosis and Treatment, 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Multiethnic Placement Act (MEPA).[101] In July 2002, the federal court granted plaintiffs’ experts access to 500 children’s case files, allowing plaintiffs to collect information concerning harm to children in foster care through a case record review.[99] These files revealed numerous cases in which foster children were abused, and DYFS failed to take proper action. On June 9, 2004, the child welfare panel appointed by the parties approved the NJ State’s Reform Plan. The court accepted the plan on June 17, 2004.[100] The same organization also filed similar lawsuits against several other states in recent years that caused some of the states to start child welfare reforms.[102]
[edit]The lost children (Australia)
Children of the United Kingdom's Children's Migrant Programme
An estimated 150,000 British children were sent to overseas colonies and countries in the commonwealth such as Australia. This practice was in effect from the beginning of the nineteenth century until 1967. Many of these children were sent to orphanages, foster homes and religious institutions, where they were used as a free source of labor and many were severely abused and neglected. These children were classified as orphans although most were not. In the period after World War II the policy was dubbed the "Child Migrants Programme". The prime consideration was money as it was cheaper to care for children in commonwealth countries than it was in the United Kingdom. At least 10,000 children, some as young as 3, were shipped to Australia after the war,[103][104] most to join the ranks of the "Forgotten Australians", the term given for those who experienced care in foster homes and institutions in the 20th century. Among these Forgotten Australians were members of the "Stolen Generation", the children of Australian Aborigines, forcibly removed from their homes and raised in white institutions. In 2008 Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd apologised to the approximately 500,000 "forgotten Australians" and in 2010 British Prime Minister Gordon Brown issued a similar apology to those who were victimised by the Child Migrants Programme.[105][106][107]
[edit]Therapeutic intervention
The negative physical, psychological, cognitive and epigenetic effects of foster care have been established in innumerable studies in various countries. The Casey Family Programs Northwest Foster Care Alumni Study was a fairly extensive study into various aspects of the psychosocial effects of foster care noted that 80% of ex-foster children are doing "poorly".
[edit]Neuroplasticity
The human brain however has been shown to have a fair degree of neuroplasticity.[108][109][110] Adult neurogenesis has been shown to be an ongoing process.[111]
"... all those experiences are of much significance which show how the judgment of the senses may be modified by experience and by training derived under various circumstances, and may be adapted to the new conditions..." - Hermann von Helmholtz, 1866
While having a background in foster homes—especially in instances of sexual abuse—can be the precipitating factor in a wide variety of psychological and cognitive deficits such as ADHD,[112] and PTSD,[50][113] it may also serve to obfuscate the true cause of underlying issues. The foster care experience may have nothing to do with the symptoms, or on the other hand, the symptoms may be exacerbated by having a history of foster care and the attendant abuses.
Children in the child welfare system have often experienced significant and repeated traumas. Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy is one of the approaches that has been used to treat the resulting trauma and attachment difficulties caused by chronic early maltreatment within a care-giving relationship.[114][115][116]
[edit]Foster care In popular culture
Fictional characters
In the Fox television show, Bones, forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan (played by Emily Deschanel) grew up in foster care when her parents went missing.[117]
ABC's Secret Life of the American Teenager's Ricky (played by Dareen Kagasoff) is in foster care.[118]
Famous former foster children
Allison Anders, writer and director
Alonzo Mourning, NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 1999 & 2000 and seven-time NBA All-Star
Anthony DiCosmo, Football player
Eriq La Salle, actor
Esai Morales, actor
Victoria Rowell, dancer[119]
See also
Adoption and Safe Families Act
Attachment theory
Child Welfare
Crown ward
Complex post-traumatic stress disorder
Dyadic developmental psychotherapy
Foster care adoption
Legal guardian
Grandfamilies
Reactive attachment disorder
Residential education
Aging out
Fosterage
Social work
How Many Foster Stranger's And Adoptive Stranger's Have Been Harmed by Foster/Adopted Children?
How Many Foster Stranger's And Adoptive Stranger's Have Been Harmed by Foster/Adopted Children?
Lately, there have been many articles written on Foster and Adopted children assaulting and many times killing the stranger's who were chosen to raise them. And it isn't just the adult's being harmed. The biological children of the Foster and Adoptive stranger's are also being harmed, sexually abused, assaulted and even murdered. There have also been articles on Foster children returning to their Foster homes after aging out of the system, killing the Foster stranger's who raised them.
Many of these children don't belong in foster care. Many have been taken from their families due to false allegation's of abuse and neglect. These children are now so angry, they take out their anger on the closest person or object within reach. Beware, it could be you or even your child. The dishonesty of CPS/DCYF leaves much to be desired. All they want is somewhere to place these children, so the federal funding start's rolling in, never thinking about the best interest's of the child or the Foster stranger they suck in. The quicker the better.
Do any of you really believe CPS/DCYF will tell you just how traumatized these children are? Do you honestly believe CPS/DCYF is telling you the whole story? The REAL story? Think again. They don't care about you or the children they have stolen. They drug them and just make them worse.
Many of you are putting your's and your family's lives at stake. The children you take in for CPS/DCYF are ANGRY, and with good reason. They have lost everything they know and have grown to love. Their entire family! Do you want to put your own family in harm's way, believing you are helping a child in need, when all you are doing is helping CPS screw over another child and his family? ALL for federal funding?
To the Foster Stranger's AND Adoptive Stranger's who have been harmed, sexually abused and murdered, who have suffered at the hand's of these angry foster children, I am extremely sorry. I am even more sorry that you were suckered in by CPS/DCYF and the Court's, not really knowing anything about these children.
Does anyone have the statistic's on the number of foster children/adoptive children who have committed assault, sexual abuse and even murder of the Foster stranger's and/or their biological children, traumatized by the state?
This is something that definitely need's to be researched. If anyone can help with these statistic's, I would greatly appreciate it. No-one need's to be harmed because of CPS's deceitful practices.
Lately, there have been many articles written on Foster and Adopted children assaulting and many times killing the stranger's who were chosen to raise them. And it isn't just the adult's being harmed. The biological children of the Foster and Adoptive stranger's are also being harmed, sexually abused, assaulted and even murdered. There have also been articles on Foster children returning to their Foster homes after aging out of the system, killing the Foster stranger's who raised them.
Many of these children don't belong in foster care. Many have been taken from their families due to false allegation's of abuse and neglect. These children are now so angry, they take out their anger on the closest person or object within reach. Beware, it could be you or even your child. The dishonesty of CPS/DCYF leaves much to be desired. All they want is somewhere to place these children, so the federal funding start's rolling in, never thinking about the best interest's of the child or the Foster stranger they suck in. The quicker the better.
Do any of you really believe CPS/DCYF will tell you just how traumatized these children are? Do you honestly believe CPS/DCYF is telling you the whole story? The REAL story? Think again. They don't care about you or the children they have stolen. They drug them and just make them worse.
Many of you are putting your's and your family's lives at stake. The children you take in for CPS/DCYF are ANGRY, and with good reason. They have lost everything they know and have grown to love. Their entire family! Do you want to put your own family in harm's way, believing you are helping a child in need, when all you are doing is helping CPS screw over another child and his family? ALL for federal funding?
To the Foster Stranger's AND Adoptive Stranger's who have been harmed, sexually abused and murdered, who have suffered at the hand's of these angry foster children, I am extremely sorry. I am even more sorry that you were suckered in by CPS/DCYF and the Court's, not really knowing anything about these children.
Does anyone have the statistic's on the number of foster children/adoptive children who have committed assault, sexual abuse and even murder of the Foster stranger's and/or their biological children, traumatized by the state?
This is something that definitely need's to be researched. If anyone can help with these statistic's, I would greatly appreciate it. No-one need's to be harmed because of CPS's deceitful practices.
Submitted by Lori-A Grandmother's Letter to Legally Kidnapped
Submitted by Lori
Note From unhappygrammy,
This is a letter from a Grandmother, submitted to Legally Kidnapped, that I felt I needed to post on my blog. I feel the pain of this Grandmother, as I and my husband have been treated with the same disdain as this Grandmother, in our fight for our grandchildren, Austin and Isabella.
We were also lied about. I also took Foster care classes, but was denied a License by Nashua, NH Supervisor Tracey Gubbins, "because I am uncooperative with DCYF." Would you be cooperative after being slandered? How about if you were told that if you went along with DCYFs lies regarding your daughter's, you would have gotten your grandchildren, even though your daughter's were PROVEN innocent, yet their children were still held hostage by the state of NH ALL for the ALMIGHTY $$$$$$$$ AND then illegally adopted out to stranger's by a corrupt Probate Judge?
Was it fair or in any way humane to drug my 6 year old grandson to stop him from begging to be with us? To stop him from AGAIN, trying to commit suicide? By filling my grandson with the HATRED so many of us feel after Destroying our once happy families? Should a six year old be put through anything so horrendous? Should anyone be put through anything so horrendous?
Definitely NOT. Not in a Country that prides itself in compassion and humanity. Compassion and humanity for the people of other countries, but NOT it's own!
Is MONEY really ALL that matter's?
Submitted by Lori
I am a Grandmother and a defendant being prosecuted in Muskegon County, MI for the crime of wanting to bring my grandchildren home. Although it is not a crime to ask for guardianship of your grandchildren the state will pay a prosecutor to take away the rights of grandparents and other family members keeping children in foster care and then adopting them out.
I have to ask myself, why is the government of the country I am citizen of and pay taxes to prosecuting me? I have committed no crime nor have I been accused of a crime.
I was given 3 reasons by DHS several months after the children were removed why they would not place them with me. 1. I was living in a 2 bedroom apartment and there were 4 children. 2. I was working part time and I would need to be working full time in order to support them. 3. Moving them out of state would interfere with reunification efforts. There was no mention of becoming a foster parent although I learned later that it was a requirement as well. I have done everything required of me. I moved to larger home to accommodate the children indeed I bought a 5 bedroom 3 bath home. I was able to secure full time a hours in the emergency room at the hospital that I am employed at as a registered nurse. The mother of the children has said she would like the children to live with me. I became a licensed foster care provider.
No efforts were ever made to place the children with me even though reasonable efforts are required to be made. However extraordinary efforts were made to keep the children from me. I was denied phone calls and visits with the children and gifts I sent the children were returned. When I was finally able to get phone calls the children expressed their desire to live with me they were yelled at by the case worker and later told me they were punished for saying that. The children were told terrible things about me and what would happen to them if they came to live with me. When I was able to get a visit I brought family photos which were torn from my grandson’s hands while he was crying no no they’re mine. It’s horrible to have to watch your grandchildren be treated in this manner by those who are supposed to be protecting them but are really violating them.
I have in my hand the closing argument from the prosecuting attorney it is filled with lies and misrepresentations. There is evidence and testimony submitted that proves these statements are lies yet he has no qualms about submitting these lies to the court in a written argument.
Whatever you think of foster care and adoption, keep in mind that it should be about finding a home for a child who needs one rather than about finding a child for a family that wants one. When those two situations coincide, adoption is a wonderful option. But when an existing family is torn apart needlessly in order to create an adoptive family, it’s cruel.
May is the month foster care is celebrated. While you’re celebrating and recruiting foster families be sure to look at the statistics on terminations, reunifications and adoptions. Also look at the statistics of children who have been abused and died while in care and keep in mind how many loving family members such as myself are being prosecuted and denied access to their own family. Think of the children who have been traumatized by their removal when many could have remained with their families given a minimal amount of help. Think of the children who are not being adopted and are left in care until they age out of the system, whom have grown up with no permanent home and moreover with proof in their minds that no one wants them or loves them. Much of the burden on the foster care system could be lifted if they would just try to help parents and allow children to be placed with family.
Note From unhappygrammy,
This is a letter from a Grandmother, submitted to Legally Kidnapped, that I felt I needed to post on my blog. I feel the pain of this Grandmother, as I and my husband have been treated with the same disdain as this Grandmother, in our fight for our grandchildren, Austin and Isabella.
We were also lied about. I also took Foster care classes, but was denied a License by Nashua, NH Supervisor Tracey Gubbins, "because I am uncooperative with DCYF." Would you be cooperative after being slandered? How about if you were told that if you went along with DCYFs lies regarding your daughter's, you would have gotten your grandchildren, even though your daughter's were PROVEN innocent, yet their children were still held hostage by the state of NH ALL for the ALMIGHTY $$$$$$$$ AND then illegally adopted out to stranger's by a corrupt Probate Judge?
Was it fair or in any way humane to drug my 6 year old grandson to stop him from begging to be with us? To stop him from AGAIN, trying to commit suicide? By filling my grandson with the HATRED so many of us feel after Destroying our once happy families? Should a six year old be put through anything so horrendous? Should anyone be put through anything so horrendous?
Definitely NOT. Not in a Country that prides itself in compassion and humanity. Compassion and humanity for the people of other countries, but NOT it's own!
Is MONEY really ALL that matter's?
Submitted by Lori
I am a Grandmother and a defendant being prosecuted in Muskegon County, MI for the crime of wanting to bring my grandchildren home. Although it is not a crime to ask for guardianship of your grandchildren the state will pay a prosecutor to take away the rights of grandparents and other family members keeping children in foster care and then adopting them out.
I have to ask myself, why is the government of the country I am citizen of and pay taxes to prosecuting me? I have committed no crime nor have I been accused of a crime.
I was given 3 reasons by DHS several months after the children were removed why they would not place them with me. 1. I was living in a 2 bedroom apartment and there were 4 children. 2. I was working part time and I would need to be working full time in order to support them. 3. Moving them out of state would interfere with reunification efforts. There was no mention of becoming a foster parent although I learned later that it was a requirement as well. I have done everything required of me. I moved to larger home to accommodate the children indeed I bought a 5 bedroom 3 bath home. I was able to secure full time a hours in the emergency room at the hospital that I am employed at as a registered nurse. The mother of the children has said she would like the children to live with me. I became a licensed foster care provider.
No efforts were ever made to place the children with me even though reasonable efforts are required to be made. However extraordinary efforts were made to keep the children from me. I was denied phone calls and visits with the children and gifts I sent the children were returned. When I was finally able to get phone calls the children expressed their desire to live with me they were yelled at by the case worker and later told me they were punished for saying that. The children were told terrible things about me and what would happen to them if they came to live with me. When I was able to get a visit I brought family photos which were torn from my grandson’s hands while he was crying no no they’re mine. It’s horrible to have to watch your grandchildren be treated in this manner by those who are supposed to be protecting them but are really violating them.
I have in my hand the closing argument from the prosecuting attorney it is filled with lies and misrepresentations. There is evidence and testimony submitted that proves these statements are lies yet he has no qualms about submitting these lies to the court in a written argument.
Whatever you think of foster care and adoption, keep in mind that it should be about finding a home for a child who needs one rather than about finding a child for a family that wants one. When those two situations coincide, adoption is a wonderful option. But when an existing family is torn apart needlessly in order to create an adoptive family, it’s cruel.
May is the month foster care is celebrated. While you’re celebrating and recruiting foster families be sure to look at the statistics on terminations, reunifications and adoptions. Also look at the statistics of children who have been abused and died while in care and keep in mind how many loving family members such as myself are being prosecuted and denied access to their own family. Think of the children who have been traumatized by their removal when many could have remained with their families given a minimal amount of help. Think of the children who are not being adopted and are left in care until they age out of the system, whom have grown up with no permanent home and moreover with proof in their minds that no one wants them or loves them. Much of the burden on the foster care system could be lifted if they would just try to help parents and allow children to be placed with family.
Boy, 13, held over foster carer killing
Express.co.uk - Home of the Daily and Sunday Express | UK News :: Boy, 13, held over foster carer killing
A TEENAGER was in custody last night after the brutal murder of a nursery school manageress who recently gave up her career to dedicate her life to fostering.
A TEENAGER was in custody last night after the brutal murder of a nursery school manageress who recently gave up her career to dedicate her life to fostering.
HELP Needed by Sunday Night on Potential Landmark Ruling in Judicial Corruption Fight
HELP Needed by Sunday Night on Potential Landmark Ruling in Judicial Corruption Fight
This is an urgent plea for assistance from those who care about the fight against judicial corruption.
I am seeking any legal research help that anyone can provide by Sunday evening, June 26, 2011.
We have an opportunity to get a court ruling here in Georgia that will pave the way for federal judges to be prosecuted for their corrupt criminal acts!
Can you research state law or contact anyone who knows how to? Or can you contact an attorney friend or law student or paralegal who would help you for free?
I conduct legal research all the time, but my experience is almost all in the federal court. My federal searches using www.versuslaw.com are not coming up with anything relevant on my issues.
Here’s the scoop. I have sued 58 federal judges, judicial employees, and the local Fulton County District Attorney in Fulton County Georgia Superior Court. Here is the Verified Complaint. I have filed a Georgia RICO action -- racketeering and corruption statute in GEORGIA, not federal RICO. My claims are totally state court causes of action, including perjury, subornation of perjury, and obstruction of justice. I used only state court causes of action as part of my precautions for keeping the case in state court. I specifically sued the judges as individuals in individual capacity, not in their official capacities as judges.
The bad guys (the federal judges) will try to remove the case to federal court (as they have done to me before) where they can continue their corruption and make the case go away. That way, the corrupt judges avoid prosecution, conviction, prison, and impeachment.
If you aren't familiar with "removal," it's laws that allow anyone to remove a case from a state or local court to a federal court. The case isn't supposed to remain in the federal court if it was improperly removed, but the corrupt federal judges simply do as they do most of the time and ignore the law because they could go to prison if they allow themselves to be tried in the local/state court. This is a matter that is appropriate for state court, not federal court.
In Fulton County Georgia Superior Court, I believe I can reach a jury in an unprecedented case that could blow the lid sky high on judicial corruption in all of our federal courts. So, we all desperately need for me to prevail in blocking the removal.
The removal statutes that the federal judges are trying to use is 28 U.S.C. 1442 (a)(1) and 28 U.S.C. 1442 (a)(3). See http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/28/1442.html
Here is what the bad guys filed with their Notice of Removal in a similar case that I filed a few weeks ago -- Notice of Removal. They will file this or something very similar, so our goal is to beat them to the punch.
In Georgia, a Notice of Removal is invalid if (a) all the parties have not been served, and (b) if there is not unanimity in the Defendants requesting removal. In my case, the bad guys will not be able to comply with either of these requirements. I have deliberately not served most of the Defendants yet, and there are at least three Defendants who will not go along with the removal.
The trick is to find some cases in any state anywhere that give the non-federal judge the ability to issue a Temporary Restraining Order that will prohibit the federal defendants from filing a Notice of Removal. (The Notice of Removal will be illegal, but the federal statute puts the issue in the hands of the federal judges where they will ignore the law and screw you. That’s why we have to come up with any decision anywhere that will give a judge a case to lean on to encourage him to issue a TRO.)
Can you help?
Research 28 U.S.C. 1442 in your state. Research “Notice of Removal.” Research “remand” (which is what happens when a federal court send it back to the local court.) Research things that I know nothing about. Our goal here is to come up with one or more cases where a court has pre-empted the filing of a notice of removal by issuing a TRO. In my case, the bad guys have already filed three illegal notices of removal, so perhaps their proven track record of doing this may give us something else to research as to TROs.
If you have any questions, email me at bill@LawlessAmerica.com or call me at 770-578-1094.
Update, Saturday 10:45 am:
I am overwhelmed by the number of people who have responded to help! I cannot thank you enough. Please keep helping. I haven't been able to read a fraction of what has been provided, so I don't know if we have magic yet, so let's all keep looking.
William M. Windsor
This is an urgent plea for assistance from those who care about the fight against judicial corruption.
I am seeking any legal research help that anyone can provide by Sunday evening, June 26, 2011.
We have an opportunity to get a court ruling here in Georgia that will pave the way for federal judges to be prosecuted for their corrupt criminal acts!
Can you research state law or contact anyone who knows how to? Or can you contact an attorney friend or law student or paralegal who would help you for free?
I conduct legal research all the time, but my experience is almost all in the federal court. My federal searches using www.versuslaw.com are not coming up with anything relevant on my issues.
Here’s the scoop. I have sued 58 federal judges, judicial employees, and the local Fulton County District Attorney in Fulton County Georgia Superior Court. Here is the Verified Complaint. I have filed a Georgia RICO action -- racketeering and corruption statute in GEORGIA, not federal RICO. My claims are totally state court causes of action, including perjury, subornation of perjury, and obstruction of justice. I used only state court causes of action as part of my precautions for keeping the case in state court. I specifically sued the judges as individuals in individual capacity, not in their official capacities as judges.
The bad guys (the federal judges) will try to remove the case to federal court (as they have done to me before) where they can continue their corruption and make the case go away. That way, the corrupt judges avoid prosecution, conviction, prison, and impeachment.
If you aren't familiar with "removal," it's laws that allow anyone to remove a case from a state or local court to a federal court. The case isn't supposed to remain in the federal court if it was improperly removed, but the corrupt federal judges simply do as they do most of the time and ignore the law because they could go to prison if they allow themselves to be tried in the local/state court. This is a matter that is appropriate for state court, not federal court.
In Fulton County Georgia Superior Court, I believe I can reach a jury in an unprecedented case that could blow the lid sky high on judicial corruption in all of our federal courts. So, we all desperately need for me to prevail in blocking the removal.
The removal statutes that the federal judges are trying to use is 28 U.S.C. 1442 (a)(1) and 28 U.S.C. 1442 (a)(3). See http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/28/1442.html
Here is what the bad guys filed with their Notice of Removal in a similar case that I filed a few weeks ago -- Notice of Removal. They will file this or something very similar, so our goal is to beat them to the punch.
In Georgia, a Notice of Removal is invalid if (a) all the parties have not been served, and (b) if there is not unanimity in the Defendants requesting removal. In my case, the bad guys will not be able to comply with either of these requirements. I have deliberately not served most of the Defendants yet, and there are at least three Defendants who will not go along with the removal.
The trick is to find some cases in any state anywhere that give the non-federal judge the ability to issue a Temporary Restraining Order that will prohibit the federal defendants from filing a Notice of Removal. (The Notice of Removal will be illegal, but the federal statute puts the issue in the hands of the federal judges where they will ignore the law and screw you. That’s why we have to come up with any decision anywhere that will give a judge a case to lean on to encourage him to issue a TRO.)
Can you help?
Research 28 U.S.C. 1442 in your state. Research “Notice of Removal.” Research “remand” (which is what happens when a federal court send it back to the local court.) Research things that I know nothing about. Our goal here is to come up with one or more cases where a court has pre-empted the filing of a notice of removal by issuing a TRO. In my case, the bad guys have already filed three illegal notices of removal, so perhaps their proven track record of doing this may give us something else to research as to TROs.
If you have any questions, email me at bill@LawlessAmerica.com or call me at 770-578-1094.
Update, Saturday 10:45 am:
I am overwhelmed by the number of people who have responded to help! I cannot thank you enough. Please keep helping. I haven't been able to read a fraction of what has been provided, so I don't know if we have magic yet, so let's all keep looking.
William M. Windsor
Saturday, June 25, 2011
The Constitution is DEAD in Family Court
The Constitution is DEAD in Family Court
AFRA EDITORIALS
By Leonard Henderson
June 25, 2011
The Constitution is DEAD in Family Court
...and it has been dead for a long time.
In the summer of 1999, when I was utterly confused why I was in trouble with CPS, it occurred to me to search the internet to see if other people were having similar problems with Oregon CPS.
That is how I found Will and Pamela Gaston's "A Voice for Children" website. They had been heavily involved in court cases for several years. I was absolutely SHOCKED at how lawless the Oregon courts were and the absolutely corrupt, insane decisions Gastons were getting.
Obviously the Constitution did not apply, nor did any actual laws either. CPS had a free hand to do whatever they wanted to. The courts would contrive any shitty "decision" necessary to defend the Status Quo and keep the agencies operating at their full, evil capacity. Everybody working in the system has a "get out of jail free" card. Right or wrong has nothing to do with it.
Watching how Pamela presented her cases to GET THE TRUTH ON THE RECORD was an extremely useful learning curve to me.
Along the line, it occurred to a bunch of us that we did not merely have a problem in our particular state- it was a nation-wide problem.
Not since the overthrow of the Weimar Republic have the leaders of a major democracy used their offices and the mass media to disseminate invective against millions of their own citizens. In fact it was Adolph Hitler who urged that “the state must declare the child to be the most precious treasure of the people” and who explained, in the words of Rabbi Daniel Lapin, that “as long as government is perceived as working for the benefit of children, the people happily will endure almost any curtailment of liberty.” Using children to tug on our heartstrings may be not only a weakness of the sentimental. It also may be a ploy by those cynical and unscrupulous enough to exploit children for their own purposes. This is likely to be remembered as one of the most diabolical perversions of governmental power in our history, a time when we allowed children to be used and abused by fast-talking government officials and paid for it with our families, our social order and our constitutional rights.-- STEPHEN BASKERVILLE (in about 2000)
As we explored around the country, we ran into numerous dynamic people who were dealing with CPS THE HARD WAY. We ended up getting together and started the American Family Rights Association for the exact reason to develop and promote defense against the lawless fascist CPS and their colluding psychiatric contractors.
As far as we know, no state in the United State requires CPS to operate within Constitutional constrictions, because child abuse allegations are Civil in nature, not Criminal. See What Happens in the FOG. So if you are accused of having dirty dishes or not enough groceries, you have no more rights than the Jews did in Germany in 1940.
Ever since the 1950's, there has been an ever-growing emphasis on "The Child" world-wide. This has basically evolved into stripping EVERYBODY of all rights, replaced with the "Best Interest of the Child" mantra, which says that the child has some sort of a weird new "Civil Right" to have government make all their decisions for them. See Best interest of the child- A new "Civil Right".
Three years ago, I heard the Obamination say some words that made the hair raise up on the back of my neck- "Negative Liberties"-
..."But, the Supreme Court never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth, and of more basic issues such as political and economic justice in society. To that extent, as radical as I think people try to characterize the Warren Court, it wasn't that radical. It didn't break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the founding fathers in the Constitution, at least as its been interpreted and Warren Court interpreted in the same way, that generally the Constitution is a charter of negative liberties. Says what the states can't do to you. Says what the Federal government can't do to you, but doesn't say what the Federal government or State government must do on your behalf, and that hasn't shifted and one of the, I think, tragedies of the civil rights movement was, um, because the civil rights movement became so court focused I think there was a tendency to lose track of the political and community organizing and activities on the ground that are able to put together the actual coalition of powers through which you bring about redistributive change"...
The look on my face November 5, 2008 When the Obamination said that, I nearly fell off my chair.
I screamed at my TV "What kind of weird twisted up communist NewSpeak shit is THAT??
A Constitutional Right is a "Negative Liberty"?"
He even explained it- "Says what the states can't do to you".
(Constitutional Right or Negative Liberty, if you are in family court, you are at the mercy
of a lawless judge, who can just make stuff up as he goes along)
And then Obama twisted his Constitution comment into a RACE issue too.
Which confuses me greatly, because CPS is kidnapping more black kids than any other race.
Are they Napoleon's pups to be a new Obama Army?
So now, here's the brand new TIME magazine for July, 2011-
I have known about this for a couple days now, and frankly it has really been burning my guts. I really don't want to have to admit that the Constitution has been progressively reduced to insignificance, and the system now pretty much does whatever it wants to without feeling any particular constraint from the Constitution.
I really cannot understand how the Lefties can have so much confidence in tossing out our legal system for a Kangaroo court or China Court. I guess they believe that it's fine as long as the POWER remains in their hands to rape and destroy families.
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." --John F. Kennedy, In a speech at the White House, 1962
We know from dealing with CPS and the family courts for so many years now, Constitutional Rights do not apply- practically ANYWHERE anymore.
That's why we developed our advice in using Sworn Declarations to Make the Record in Court. It's about the only non-violent thing left we can do.
The fact is, CPS people have been committing CONSTITUTIONAL violations and Federal Crimes against America's families (crimes that the Federal Statutes call for the Death Penalty).
Us old fashioned Americans are really, REALLY PISSED. They had better hope that WE stick with Constitutional constraints (there are a bunch of us ready for WAR) when we start dishing it back to them for their TREASON.
"Nothing whatever but the constitutional law, the political structure, of these United States protects any American from arbitrary seizure of his property and his person, from the Gestapo and the Storm Troops, from the concentration camp, the torture chamber, the revolver at the back of his neck in a cellar." -Rose Lane
Comment on this story
"Better be wise by the misfortunes of others than by your own." --Aesop (c. 550 B.C.) legendary Greek fabulist
If CPS hasn't attacked YOUR FAMILY yet, see If you are ever approached by anyone from social services.... and WHEN THEY COME AFTER YOU
Learn as much as you can, as fast as you can at How To Fight CPS
Get YOUR VERSION OF HISTORY ON THE RECORD with your Sworn Declaration
Leonard Henderson, co-founder
American Family Rights Association
http://familyrights.us
"Until Every Child Comes Home" ©
"The Voice of America's Families" ©
I am not a lawyer and I do not pretend to give legal advice. If you need legal advice, see AFRA's Lawyer Friends who certainly are not pretenders (http://familyrights.us/info/law) I merely relate the things I learned in the past that seemed to work in my own case or things that others have related to me that worked in their cases. I provide information for free and do not expect to receive any form of payment or reward on this side of heaven. Therefore, DO NOT rely on this information as legal advice. Real Legal advice would come from a real lawyer who hates CPS and prepares a VIGOROUS DEFENSE against a negative (proving nothing happened) instead of talking you into a plea bargain (http://familyrights.us/bin/The_Problem_with_Plea_Bargaining.htm)
AFRA Editorials are NOT copyrighted. Please feel free to forward widely. We are at 100% total complete WAR with CPS, not trying to be famous or important.
AFRA EDITORIALS
By Leonard Henderson
June 25, 2011
The Constitution is DEAD in Family Court
...and it has been dead for a long time.
In the summer of 1999, when I was utterly confused why I was in trouble with CPS, it occurred to me to search the internet to see if other people were having similar problems with Oregon CPS.
That is how I found Will and Pamela Gaston's "A Voice for Children" website. They had been heavily involved in court cases for several years. I was absolutely SHOCKED at how lawless the Oregon courts were and the absolutely corrupt, insane decisions Gastons were getting.
Obviously the Constitution did not apply, nor did any actual laws either. CPS had a free hand to do whatever they wanted to. The courts would contrive any shitty "decision" necessary to defend the Status Quo and keep the agencies operating at their full, evil capacity. Everybody working in the system has a "get out of jail free" card. Right or wrong has nothing to do with it.
Watching how Pamela presented her cases to GET THE TRUTH ON THE RECORD was an extremely useful learning curve to me.
Along the line, it occurred to a bunch of us that we did not merely have a problem in our particular state- it was a nation-wide problem.
Not since the overthrow of the Weimar Republic have the leaders of a major democracy used their offices and the mass media to disseminate invective against millions of their own citizens. In fact it was Adolph Hitler who urged that “the state must declare the child to be the most precious treasure of the people” and who explained, in the words of Rabbi Daniel Lapin, that “as long as government is perceived as working for the benefit of children, the people happily will endure almost any curtailment of liberty.” Using children to tug on our heartstrings may be not only a weakness of the sentimental. It also may be a ploy by those cynical and unscrupulous enough to exploit children for their own purposes. This is likely to be remembered as one of the most diabolical perversions of governmental power in our history, a time when we allowed children to be used and abused by fast-talking government officials and paid for it with our families, our social order and our constitutional rights.-- STEPHEN BASKERVILLE (in about 2000)
As we explored around the country, we ran into numerous dynamic people who were dealing with CPS THE HARD WAY. We ended up getting together and started the American Family Rights Association for the exact reason to develop and promote defense against the lawless fascist CPS and their colluding psychiatric contractors.
As far as we know, no state in the United State requires CPS to operate within Constitutional constrictions, because child abuse allegations are Civil in nature, not Criminal. See What Happens in the FOG. So if you are accused of having dirty dishes or not enough groceries, you have no more rights than the Jews did in Germany in 1940.
Ever since the 1950's, there has been an ever-growing emphasis on "The Child" world-wide. This has basically evolved into stripping EVERYBODY of all rights, replaced with the "Best Interest of the Child" mantra, which says that the child has some sort of a weird new "Civil Right" to have government make all their decisions for them. See Best interest of the child- A new "Civil Right".
Three years ago, I heard the Obamination say some words that made the hair raise up on the back of my neck- "Negative Liberties"-
..."But, the Supreme Court never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth, and of more basic issues such as political and economic justice in society. To that extent, as radical as I think people try to characterize the Warren Court, it wasn't that radical. It didn't break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the founding fathers in the Constitution, at least as its been interpreted and Warren Court interpreted in the same way, that generally the Constitution is a charter of negative liberties. Says what the states can't do to you. Says what the Federal government can't do to you, but doesn't say what the Federal government or State government must do on your behalf, and that hasn't shifted and one of the, I think, tragedies of the civil rights movement was, um, because the civil rights movement became so court focused I think there was a tendency to lose track of the political and community organizing and activities on the ground that are able to put together the actual coalition of powers through which you bring about redistributive change"...
The look on my face November 5, 2008 When the Obamination said that, I nearly fell off my chair.
I screamed at my TV "What kind of weird twisted up communist NewSpeak shit is THAT??
A Constitutional Right is a "Negative Liberty"?"
He even explained it- "Says what the states can't do to you".
(Constitutional Right or Negative Liberty, if you are in family court, you are at the mercy
of a lawless judge, who can just make stuff up as he goes along)
And then Obama twisted his Constitution comment into a RACE issue too.
Which confuses me greatly, because CPS is kidnapping more black kids than any other race.
Are they Napoleon's pups to be a new Obama Army?
So now, here's the brand new TIME magazine for July, 2011-
I have known about this for a couple days now, and frankly it has really been burning my guts. I really don't want to have to admit that the Constitution has been progressively reduced to insignificance, and the system now pretty much does whatever it wants to without feeling any particular constraint from the Constitution.
I really cannot understand how the Lefties can have so much confidence in tossing out our legal system for a Kangaroo court or China Court. I guess they believe that it's fine as long as the POWER remains in their hands to rape and destroy families.
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." --John F. Kennedy, In a speech at the White House, 1962
We know from dealing with CPS and the family courts for so many years now, Constitutional Rights do not apply- practically ANYWHERE anymore.
That's why we developed our advice in using Sworn Declarations to Make the Record in Court. It's about the only non-violent thing left we can do.
The fact is, CPS people have been committing CONSTITUTIONAL violations and Federal Crimes against America's families (crimes that the Federal Statutes call for the Death Penalty).
Us old fashioned Americans are really, REALLY PISSED. They had better hope that WE stick with Constitutional constraints (there are a bunch of us ready for WAR) when we start dishing it back to them for their TREASON.
"Nothing whatever but the constitutional law, the political structure, of these United States protects any American from arbitrary seizure of his property and his person, from the Gestapo and the Storm Troops, from the concentration camp, the torture chamber, the revolver at the back of his neck in a cellar." -Rose Lane
Comment on this story
"Better be wise by the misfortunes of others than by your own." --Aesop (c. 550 B.C.) legendary Greek fabulist
If CPS hasn't attacked YOUR FAMILY yet, see If you are ever approached by anyone from social services.... and WHEN THEY COME AFTER YOU
Learn as much as you can, as fast as you can at How To Fight CPS
Get YOUR VERSION OF HISTORY ON THE RECORD with your Sworn Declaration
Leonard Henderson, co-founder
American Family Rights Association
http://familyrights.us
"Until Every Child Comes Home" ©
"The Voice of America's Families" ©
I am not a lawyer and I do not pretend to give legal advice. If you need legal advice, see AFRA's Lawyer Friends who certainly are not pretenders (http://familyrights.us/info/law) I merely relate the things I learned in the past that seemed to work in my own case or things that others have related to me that worked in their cases. I provide information for free and do not expect to receive any form of payment or reward on this side of heaven. Therefore, DO NOT rely on this information as legal advice. Real Legal advice would come from a real lawyer who hates CPS and prepares a VIGOROUS DEFENSE against a negative (proving nothing happened) instead of talking you into a plea bargain (http://familyrights.us/bin/The_Problem_with_Plea_Bargaining.htm)
AFRA Editorials are NOT copyrighted. Please feel free to forward widely. We are at 100% total complete WAR with CPS, not trying to be famous or important.
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