'People can change’: Families celebrate reunion after foster care | KPLU News for Seattle and the Northwest:
Try telling that to NH DCYF and the Family Court System!
Close to 9,000 children were in foster care in Washington state last year, but the majority of these kids will eventually return home. Today, as part of Family Reunification Day, families are celebrating their reunions after overcoming obstacles that range from drug abuse to struggles with parenting skills.
Read More:
Exposing Child UN-Protective Services and the Deceitful Practices They Use to Rip Families Apart/Where Relative Placement is NOT an Option, as Stated by a DCYF Supervisor
Saturday, June 29, 2013
What Can Be Done to Fix US Child Protective Services
What Can Be Done to Fix US Child Protective Services:
ABOLISH IT!
It’s no secret that children in foster care programs often need extra support and academic assistance. There are also many well-documented disadvantages that burden kids in foster care. What fewer people are aware of is the achievement gap that many foster care kids experience throughout their lives.
ABOLISH IT!
It’s no secret that children in foster care programs often need extra support and academic assistance. There are also many well-documented disadvantages that burden kids in foster care. What fewer people are aware of is the achievement gap that many foster care kids experience throughout their lives.
Social worker suspended for 12 months after screaming 'baby murderers' outside couple's house and threatening to kill them
Social worker suspended for 12 months after screaming 'baby murderers' outside couple's house and threatening to kill them | Mail Online:
Joanna Burgess pleaded guilty to being part of a mob outside the house
She was heard to shout out threats to kill before a brick was thrown at the property
She was this suspended by the Health and Care Professionals Council
Read more:
Joanna Burgess pleaded guilty to being part of a mob outside the house
She was heard to shout out threats to kill before a brick was thrown at the property
She was this suspended by the Health and Care Professionals Council
Read more:
Rockland Family Court judge's son arrested on drug charges
Rockland Family Court judge's son arrested on drug charges | The Journal News | LoHud.com | lohud.com:
HAVERSTRAW — Complaints from neighbors led Haverstraw police to arrest the son of a Rockland Family Court judge on felony drug charges after a raid on his condominium.
Read More:
HAVERSTRAW — Complaints from neighbors led Haverstraw police to arrest the son of a Rockland Family Court judge on felony drug charges after a raid on his condominium.
Read More:
Friday, June 28, 2013
Maine attorney general dismayed over high court’s decision in Indian custody case
Maine attorney general dismayed over high court’s decision in Indian custody case — Nation — Bangor Daily News — BDN Maine:
AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine’s attorney general Friday expressed dismay over the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision earlier this week that will send a 3½-year-old girl named Veronica, now living with her Cherokee birth father in Oklahoma, back to the South Carolina home of her adoptive parents, who are not Indians.
AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine’s attorney general Friday expressed dismay over the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision earlier this week that will send a 3½-year-old girl named Veronica, now living with her Cherokee birth father in Oklahoma, back to the South Carolina home of her adoptive parents, who are not Indians.
Sen. Murphy under investigation for alleged sexual abuse of foster children
Sen. Murphy under investigation for alleged sexual abuse of foster children | Arizona Capitol Times:
Arizona Sen. Rick Murphy is under investigation for two cases of alleged sexual abuse of foster children in his home, according to police reports.
Read more:
Arizona Sen. Rick Murphy is under investigation for two cases of alleged sexual abuse of foster children in his home, according to police reports.
Read more:
Kids returned to mom after false drug arrest
The Investigators: Kids returned to mom after false drug arrest | 7online.com:
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MIDDLE VILLAGE, Queens (WABC) -- A Queens mother was reunited with her children taken away from her after she was hit with false drug charges.
Last week, Eyewitness News reported on how those criminal charges were dismissed, and now the family is back together.
Note: This doesn't happen in New Hampshire. Even when criminal charges are dropped, children are still NEVER returned. The DCYF worker's and CASA do everything as underhanded as they can to make sure the innocent parent never see's his/her child again!
The Child Protection Racket
The Child Protection Racket | Citizens Commission on Human Rights of St. Louis:
Child welfare in the state of Missouri comes under the state government’s Executive branch, Department of Social Services (DSS). The Missouri Constitution Article IV Section 37 states the guiding principle of the Department of Social Services quite simply as:
- “The health and general welfare of the people are matters of primary public concern; and to secure them there shall be established a department of social services in charge of a director appointed by the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, charged with promoting improved health and other social services to the citizens of the state as provided by law, and the general assembly may grant power with respect thereto to counties, cities or other political subdivisions of the state.”
- Read More:
Child abuse investigator told 'life in danger'
Child abuse investigator told 'life in danger' | The Australian:
A DETECTIVE working with a police strike force that has charged 11 priests with hundreds of child abuse offences was warned by a colleague that her life was in danger from the "Catholic mafia", an inquiry has heard.
A DETECTIVE working with a police strike force that has charged 11 priests with hundreds of child abuse offences was warned by a colleague that her life was in danger from the "Catholic mafia", an inquiry has heard.
Uphill Slog: Reforming DSHS to keep foster kids safe
Uphill Slog: Reforming DSHS to keep foster kids safe | Crosscut.com:
The stories break your heart. The state had placed Jessica Braam, who entered the foster care system at the age of two, in 15 different homes by the time she turned 12. T.O. lived in ten different homes between the ages of six months and three years. When he was two, he was needlessly separated from his brother. S.S. was placed with untrained foster parents who punished him by feeding him hot peppers and “twisting his nipples until they bled.” I.H. was raped by another foster child in the home she was sent to. K.J. was placed with a grandfather who lived in a van and was a known child molester.
The stories break your heart. The state had placed Jessica Braam, who entered the foster care system at the age of two, in 15 different homes by the time she turned 12. T.O. lived in ten different homes between the ages of six months and three years. When he was two, he was needlessly separated from his brother. S.S. was placed with untrained foster parents who punished him by feeding him hot peppers and “twisting his nipples until they bled.” I.H. was raped by another foster child in the home she was sent to. K.J. was placed with a grandfather who lived in a van and was a known child molester.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Make Plans Now for False Allegations Awareness Month
E-lert: Make Plans Now for False Allegations Awareness Month » SAVE: Stop Abusive and Violent Environments:
Dear Friends,
June is False Allegations Awareness Month, and this year’s theme is “Hold False-Accusers Accountable.” We have put together a list of activities to help you educate others on false allegations of abuse.
First, educate yourself with our hand-out “False Allegations by the Numbers.” Then ask your local newspaper or radio station to cover the issue.
Read More:
When tragedy strikes, CPS protects itself
When tragedy strikes, CPS protects itself - San Antonio Express-News:
It's fitting, really, that Child Protective Services refuses to discuss the Sarah Brasse case.
The beleaguered agency ignored numerous signs of neglect, allowing Sarah to die alone in her bed of acute appendicitis. That was in 2009, and Sarah was 8 years old. Why give it attention now?
Read More:
Child Protective Services drops controversial case
Child Protective Services drops controversial case:
Abruptly, and shortly after an audit was announced for California’s Child Protective Services, the agency has completed its controversial investigation into one family’s actions, and confirmed there will be no more monitoring.
Read more:
Abruptly, and shortly after an audit was announced for California’s Child Protective Services, the agency has completed its controversial investigation into one family’s actions, and confirmed there will be no more monitoring.
Read more:
Family Reunification Day celebrates children's return home
Family Reunification Day celebrates children's return home:
Still NO Family Reunification Day in New Hampshire-Could it be because families still aren't reunified in NH, only Destroyed?
Still NO Family Reunification Day in New Hampshire-Could it be because families still aren't reunified in NH, only Destroyed?
Family Reunification Day celebrates children's return home
Nina Caso and her daughter Isabella, recently reunified after Nina's successful completion of Family Treatment Court, will be among the families celebrating Family Reunification Day June 28 in Seattle.
Foster Care Mother Arrested: Family Still Searching for Answers behind Child's Death
Foster Care Mother Arrested: Family Still Searching for Answers behind Child's Death:
LIVINGSTON COUNTY - A local woman, charged with first degree murder in the death of a four year old girl, is in court Monday.
Police arrested 29 year old Heather Lamie who served as a foster care mother.
Read More:
LIVINGSTON COUNTY - A local woman, charged with first degree murder in the death of a four year old girl, is in court Monday.
Police arrested 29 year old Heather Lamie who served as a foster care mother.
Read More:
Judge Threatens To Jail DCS Employee
Judge Threatens To Jail DCS Employee | WREG.com:
(Nashville) A court hearing in the battle over child fatality records took a different turn Wednesday morning.The Tennessee Department of Children’s Services was slated to release the third set of records to the media coalition related to children who died in its care.
In wake of four child deaths, Gov. Scott stands by DCF chief
In wake of four child deaths, Gov. Scott stands by DCF chief | Naked Politics:
Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday said he supports child welfare secretary David Wilkins, following the fourth case in the past six weeks of the death of a child who had drawn the interest of administrators in the agency headed by Wilkins, the Department of Children and Families.
Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2013/06/in-wake-of-childs-death-gov-scott-stands-by-dcf-chief.html#storylink=cpy
Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday said he supports child welfare secretary David Wilkins, following the fourth case in the past six weeks of the death of a child who had drawn the interest of administrators in the agency headed by Wilkins, the Department of Children and Families.
Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2013/06/in-wake-of-childs-death-gov-scott-stands-by-dcf-chief.html#storylink=cpy
Cherish's father says he fought for custody for 6 years; Report recommended father take custody
Cherish's father says he fought for custody for 6 years; Report recommended father take custody | firstcoastnews.com:
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Cherish Perrywinkle's parents fought for her custody for six years, according to court documents. A custody evaluation report from 2010 recommended Cherish's father Billy Jarreau take custody of the child, but a judge's decision ultimately overruled that recommendation.
Read More:
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Cherish Perrywinkle's parents fought for her custody for six years, according to court documents. A custody evaluation report from 2010 recommended Cherish's father Billy Jarreau take custody of the child, but a judge's decision ultimately overruled that recommendation.
Read More:
Cherish-Child's custody battle
Fighting for custody for 6 years. Hear what a local attorney says was "unusual" about the battle for 8-year-old Cherish.
Mother: Slain child shouldn't have been in caregiver's home
Mother: Slain child shouldn't have been in caregiver's home | Shreveporttimes | shreveporttimes.com:
Gashes on her cheeks, chin and head. That’s what Debbie Muskelly recalls seeing when she viewed the body of her 3-year-old daughter Monday at Winnfield Funeral Home in Shreveport.
Gashes on her cheeks, chin and head. That’s what Debbie Muskelly recalls seeing when she viewed the body of her 3-year-old daughter Monday at Winnfield Funeral Home in Shreveport.
Family Court, make it a Federal Case
Family Court, make it a Federal Case | wethefamilies:
What would you do?
Parents Increasingly Turning to Federal Courts for Civil Rights Protections
by Raemike April 21, 2013
Imagine you are in a divorce. You’ve been a dedicated parent and you aren’t a convicted felon or being accused of a crime. Now imagine walking into a local court for a procedural hearing and in a single decree your children are banned from seeing you, speaking to you or communicating in any way based solely on hearsay and allegation. Nothing’s been proven, no due process has occurred to prove anything yet a capricious judge has made a snap decision that changes the rest of your life and your children’s. What would you do?
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Corruption Risk Report Card-NH Rates 35th
Click here for Report: Corruption Risk Report Card-NH Rates 35th
Overall grade: | D |
Click a category to see detailed scores and notes.
2012 a year of 'setbacks' for DCS, report says
2012 a year of 'setbacks' for DCS, report says | The Tennessean | tennessean.com:
The Department of Children’s Services experienced “real setbacks” and “disappointing” progress in 2012, according to a new report filed in federal court Monday.
The Department of Children’s Services experienced “real setbacks” and “disappointing” progress in 2012, according to a new report filed in federal court Monday.
Harsh Realities of Child Abuse and Foster Care Revealed in New Novel
Harsh Realities of Child Abuse and Foster Care Revealed in New Novel - Press Release - Digital Journal:
From Mykisha Mac, author of The Love of a Good Man, comes the first of an edgy, sci-fi series. Introducing Star IV is an other-worldly fantasy book that takes real, controversial issues for its compelling plot, leaving sci-fi readers and young adults with a powerful story with an equally powerful message. While revolving around the theme of self-love and confidence, Mac’s book also sheds light on issues such as child abuse, foster care systems throughout the world, infant loss, miscarriage, and bullying.
Read more:
From Mykisha Mac, author of The Love of a Good Man, comes the first of an edgy, sci-fi series. Introducing Star IV is an other-worldly fantasy book that takes real, controversial issues for its compelling plot, leaving sci-fi readers and young adults with a powerful story with an equally powerful message. While revolving around the theme of self-love and confidence, Mac’s book also sheds light on issues such as child abuse, foster care systems throughout the world, infant loss, miscarriage, and bullying.
Read more:
Lawsuits: Agency ignored sex abuse by foster parent
Lawsuits: Agency ignored sex abuse by foster parent | Statesman Journal | statesmanjournal.com:
DHS also accused of failing to vet foster family
The families of eleven infants and toddlers placed in foster care with a Salem man are suing Oregon’s Department of Human Services, alleging the agency failed to vet the family and ignored signs of sexual abuse.
Breaking the vicious cycle of foster care
Breaking the vicious cycle of foster care - latimes.com:
A state Senate bill aims to teach foster children about pregnancy prevention and help those who do get pregnant. But it's only a first step.
A state Senate bill aims to teach foster children about pregnancy prevention and help those who do get pregnant. But it's only a first step.
Study: One in five U.S. children have mental disorder
Study: One in five U.S. children have mental disorder
As many as one in five children in the United States suffer from a mental disorder in a given year, according to national data recently compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Chief Baker comments on the "Baby Veronica" decision from the Supreme Court
Chief Baker is correct. Veronica belongs with her REAL family.The Supreme Court decision is wrong.They are trying to take Veronica from her family, corrupt Family Court's practice this same abuse against ALL families. Children with Native American heritage are stolen from their families and placed in State chosen homes. When will the Law's concerning children with Native American heritage be abided by? When will the Law's concerning ALL families and their children be abided by for that matter?
"Let Me in or I'll Take Your Kids"
HSLDA | "Let Me in or I'll Take Your Kids":
Last week HSLDA filed the last brief in the Loudermilk case in the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Two months after an anonymous tipster reported that the inside of John and Tiffany Loudermilks’ home had exposed wiring and was missing stair rails, two social workers and six sheriff’s deputies showed up on the Loudermilks’ doorstep.
Read More:
The Dilemma Recuse or Transfer
Legally Accessible - Not so much: The Dilemma Recuse or Transfer:
The Civil Suit
Motion for Reconsideration based on very obvious fact over looked.
Motion to Recuse Dalianis & Entire NH Supreme Ct.; this is also why the Legislative branch got rid of the Marital Master program; Judge shopping as shown here can seriously impact the distribution of Justice when no one can hear the case.
Furthermore, the above led to research that shows the NH Supreme Ct. clearly refused to uphold the legislative intent as found in thisAdministrative Order 2012-08; due to the fact that when Alice Love retired she should have been on her merry way out the door.
Read More:
The Civil Suit
Motion for Reconsideration based on very obvious fact over looked.
Motion to Recuse Dalianis & Entire NH Supreme Ct.; this is also why the Legislative branch got rid of the Marital Master program; Judge shopping as shown here can seriously impact the distribution of Justice when no one can hear the case.
Furthermore, the above led to research that shows the NH Supreme Ct. clearly refused to uphold the legislative intent as found in thisAdministrative Order 2012-08; due to the fact that when Alice Love retired she should have been on her merry way out the door.
Read More:
Supreme Court rules against Indian father, limits Indian Child Welfare Act
[Birth Mother] First Mother Forum: Supreme Court rules against Indian father, limits Indian Child Welfare Act:
Note: "The court did think it important to note that they were at the birth, and Matt Capobianco cut the cord, a practice we find reprehensible as it creates an atmosphere of consent to the adoption when the mother is in the throes of having just given birth."
So what does this statement say for Grandparents such as myself? Shouldn't I then have been allowed placement of my Granddaughter Isabella, whom I helped deliver and also cut her cord, not to mention I took care of her Mother throughout her extremely high risk pregnancy, whereas the Health center she went to did nothing to make sure Isabella was born alive and healthy? I was the one who made sure Mother and child were taken care of and where did it get me or Isabella for the matter? Separated at birth by a greedy corrupt system!
Showing a clear disdain for the rights of biological parents--and a preference for the legal rights of adoptive parents--the Supreme Court today voted 5-4 in favor of granting custody of a three-year-old girl with Native American blood to the non-Indian couple who had adopted her, Matt and Melanie Capobianco of South Carolina. Now the case will head back to South Carolina family courts, which will determine where she will live and who will raise her. The girl, named Veronica, has been living with her biological father, Dusten Brown, in Nowata, Oklahoma, since December of 2011, but spent the first 21 months of her life with the Capobiancos.
The decision in Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl* is both bad policy and bad law. The Court, in overturning a decision of the South Carolina Supreme Court, held that the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) did not prevent Matt and Melanie Capobianco from adopting Dusten Brown's daughter Veronica, because--although he was a tribal member--he had never had custody of his daughter, and thus the ICWA did not apply to him. Justice Samuel Alito wrote
the opinion, and was joined by adoptive father Chief Justice John Roberts, associate justices Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, and Stephen Beyer. The ever off-base Justice Thomas even went farther declaring the entire ICWA was unconstitutional because, he claimed, Congress never had authority to enact it in the first place. Child custody and adoption were matters solely of state laws. Justice Antonin Scalia, who has sided with the rights of natural parents before, joined with the liberal justices in the dissenting opinion.
'POTENTIALLY DEVASTATING TO TRIBAL AUTHORITY'
The case is considered one of the most important Indian legal battles of the last generation, and the implications it may have on the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act are potentially devastating to tribal authority, according to Chrissi Nimmo, the counsel of record for the Cherokee Nation. In April she told the Indian Country Today Media Network that striking down the biological father's rights in this case “would undo [over] 35 years of work on the Indian Child Welfare Act. Any adverse decision would impact every tribe in the country.”
Justice Sonia Sotomayer wrote in dissenting opinion that the justices cherry-picked from the ICWA to reach its result, substituting "its own policy views for Congress." In addition to Scalia, she was joined by Justices Ruth Bader Gingsberg, and Elena Kagan. Alito employed a "textually strained and illogical reading of the statute," she wrote.
The fact of the case are simple. Brown and Veronica's mother, Christina Maldonado, were living in Oklahoma and were engaged. When Brown, who was in the Army at the time, learned Maldonado was pregnant, he wanted to move up the date of their marriage; instead, she broke off the engagement. He did not provide financial support during the pregnancy after she ended their engagement. Without informing Brown, she had agreed to pre-adoptive placement with the Capobiancos. Believing Maldonado, who is not Native American, planned to raise their daughter, he relinquished his parental rights in a text message.
After the girl was born in September of 2009, the Capobianco's took her to their home in South Carolina, and commenced adoption proceedings. When the girl was four months old, the Capobianco's attorney presented Brown with a consent form in a parking lot, just days before he was to be deployed to Iraq. He signed it. However, the very next day, he contacted a lawyer to seek custody of his daughter, later claiming the lawyer who presented the paper to him did not make it clear what the document was. The South Carolina trial court found his rights under the ICWA were violated, denied the Capobianco's adoption petition and awarded custody to Brown. On December 31, 2011, Veronica went to live with Brown. When the South Carolina Supreme Court affirmed the trial court's decision, the Capobianco's took their fight to the Supreme Court.
In his opinion for the majority, Justice Alito used the all-too-familiar language used when denying natural parents their rights: The South Carolina Supreme Court held certain provisions of the federal Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 required her to be "taken, at age 27 months, from the only parents she had ever known and handled over to her biological father...who had no prior contact with the child."
COMPOUNDING THE ANGUISH FOR VERONICA
The majority glided over the fact that Brown attempted to gain custody when Veronica was four months old; the delay in his being granted it until she was 27 months old was the doing of the would-be adopters, the Capobiancos. The court did think it important to note that they were at the birth, and Matt Capobianco cut the cord, a practice we find reprehensible as it creates an atmosphere of consent to the adoption when the mother is in the throes of having just given birth.
Veronica went to live with her father in December, 2011. As Justice Sotomayer pointed out in her dissent: "Baby Girl has now lived with he father for 18 months. However difficult it must have been for her to leave Adoptive Couple's home when she was just over two years old, it will equally devastating now if, at the age of 3 1/2, she is again removed from her home and sent to live halfway across the country. Such a fate is not foreordained, of course. But it can be said with certainty that the anguish this case has caused will only be compounded by today's decision."
The court's pro-adoption bias is also apparent in its concluding paragraph, where it raised the familiar specter that if the father prevailed, "many prospective adoptive parents would surely pause before adopting any child which might possibly qualify as an Indian under the ICWA." As Justice Sotomayor noted in her dissent, that is the central purpose of the ICWA: "'to promote the stability and security of Indian...families...in part, by countering the trend of placing 'an alarmingly high percentage of [Indian] children...in non-Indian foster and adoptive homes and institutions.'"
The Court sent the case back to the South Carolina Supreme Court to figure out what to do next. While the Supreme Court held that Brown had no rights under the ICWA, it did not extinguish the rights of other family members under the Act, who could sue for the right to adopt her. Justice Sotomeyer noted: "that the majority does not and cannot not foreclose the possibility that...Baby Girl's paternal grandparents or other members of the Cherokee Nation may formally petition for adoption of Baby Girl. If these parties do so...they will then be entitled to consideration under the [Act]."
SCALIA: DECISION DEMEANS THE RIGHTS OF PARENTHOOD
The South Carolina Supreme Court will send the case back to the trial court which will make a decision on whether to allow the Capobianco's to adopt Veronica. The trial court's decision may be appealed to the South Carolina Supreme Court and possibly to the US Supreme Court. In other words, the case may not be resolved for years and in the meantime, Veronica may remain with her father.
Although Justice Scalia and we at FMF do not see eye to eye on many things, we wish to cheer his addendum to Justice Sotomayor's opinion. He eloquently and clearly defends the right of parents to raise their own children:
"While I am at it, I will add one thought. The Court's opinion, it seems to me, needlessly demeans the rights of parenthood. It has been the constant practice of the common law to respect the entitlement of those who bring a child into the world to raise that child. We do not inquire whether leaving a child with his parents is 'in the best interest of the child.' It sometimes is not; he would be better of raised by someone else. But parents have their rights, no less than children do. This father wants to raise his daughter, and the statute amply protects his right to so do. There is no reason in law or policy to dilute that protection." --jane and lorraine
_____________________________
SOURCES
Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl
*The Court does not name the parties, referring to Dusten Brown as "the biological father," his daughter as "Baby Girl," and the would be adoptive parents Matt and Melanie Capobianco as "adoptive Couple."
Supreme Court Rules 5-4 In Favor of Capobiancos in Baby Veronica Case
Supreme Court: Baby Girl Not Required To Go To Indian Biological Father Dusten Brown
FROM FMF:
A father's right to raise his own daughter hinges on 'Indian' act
Returning a child to her father is the right decision
Can the media get adoption right?
Note: "The court did think it important to note that they were at the birth, and Matt Capobianco cut the cord, a practice we find reprehensible as it creates an atmosphere of consent to the adoption when the mother is in the throes of having just given birth."
So what does this statement say for Grandparents such as myself? Shouldn't I then have been allowed placement of my Granddaughter Isabella, whom I helped deliver and also cut her cord, not to mention I took care of her Mother throughout her extremely high risk pregnancy, whereas the Health center she went to did nothing to make sure Isabella was born alive and healthy? I was the one who made sure Mother and child were taken care of and where did it get me or Isabella for the matter? Separated at birth by a greedy corrupt system!
Showing a clear disdain for the rights of biological parents--and a preference for the legal rights of adoptive parents--the Supreme Court today voted 5-4 in favor of granting custody of a three-year-old girl with Native American blood to the non-Indian couple who had adopted her, Matt and Melanie Capobianco of South Carolina. Now the case will head back to South Carolina family courts, which will determine where she will live and who will raise her. The girl, named Veronica, has been living with her biological father, Dusten Brown, in Nowata, Oklahoma, since December of 2011, but spent the first 21 months of her life with the Capobiancos.
The decision in Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl* is both bad policy and bad law. The Court, in overturning a decision of the South Carolina Supreme Court, held that the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) did not prevent Matt and Melanie Capobianco from adopting Dusten Brown's daughter Veronica, because--although he was a tribal member--he had never had custody of his daughter, and thus the ICWA did not apply to him. Justice Samuel Alito wrote
the opinion, and was joined by adoptive father Chief Justice John Roberts, associate justices Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, and Stephen Beyer. The ever off-base Justice Thomas even went farther declaring the entire ICWA was unconstitutional because, he claimed, Congress never had authority to enact it in the first place. Child custody and adoption were matters solely of state laws. Justice Antonin Scalia, who has sided with the rights of natural parents before, joined with the liberal justices in the dissenting opinion.
The case is considered one of the most important Indian legal battles of the last generation, and the implications it may have on the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act are potentially devastating to tribal authority, according to Chrissi Nimmo, the counsel of record for the Cherokee Nation. In April she told the Indian Country Today Media Network that striking down the biological father's rights in this case “would undo [over] 35 years of work on the Indian Child Welfare Act. Any adverse decision would impact every tribe in the country.”
Justice Sonia Sotomayer wrote in dissenting opinion that the justices cherry-picked from the ICWA to reach its result, substituting "its own policy views for Congress." In addition to Scalia, she was joined by Justices Ruth Bader Gingsberg, and Elena Kagan. Alito employed a "textually strained and illogical reading of the statute," she wrote.
The fact of the case are simple. Brown and Veronica's mother, Christina Maldonado, were living in Oklahoma and were engaged. When Brown, who was in the Army at the time, learned Maldonado was pregnant, he wanted to move up the date of their marriage; instead, she broke off the engagement. He did not provide financial support during the pregnancy after she ended their engagement. Without informing Brown, she had agreed to pre-adoptive placement with the Capobiancos. Believing Maldonado, who is not Native American, planned to raise their daughter, he relinquished his parental rights in a text message.
In his opinion for the majority, Justice Alito used the all-too-familiar language used when denying natural parents their rights: The South Carolina Supreme Court held certain provisions of the federal Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 required her to be "taken, at age 27 months, from the only parents she had ever known and handled over to her biological father...who had no prior contact with the child."
COMPOUNDING THE ANGUISH FOR VERONICA
The majority glided over the fact that Brown attempted to gain custody when Veronica was four months old; the delay in his being granted it until she was 27 months old was the doing of the would-be adopters, the Capobiancos. The court did think it important to note that they were at the birth, and Matt Capobianco cut the cord, a practice we find reprehensible as it creates an atmosphere of consent to the adoption when the mother is in the throes of having just given birth.
Veronica went to live with her father in December, 2011. As Justice Sotomayer pointed out in her dissent: "Baby Girl has now lived with he father for 18 months. However difficult it must have been for her to leave Adoptive Couple's home when she was just over two years old, it will equally devastating now if, at the age of 3 1/2, she is again removed from her home and sent to live halfway across the country. Such a fate is not foreordained, of course. But it can be said with certainty that the anguish this case has caused will only be compounded by today's decision."
The court's pro-adoption bias is also apparent in its concluding paragraph, where it raised the familiar specter that if the father prevailed, "many prospective adoptive parents would surely pause before adopting any child which might possibly qualify as an Indian under the ICWA." As Justice Sotomayor noted in her dissent, that is the central purpose of the ICWA: "'to promote the stability and security of Indian...families...in part, by countering the trend of placing 'an alarmingly high percentage of [Indian] children...in non-Indian foster and adoptive homes and institutions.'"
The Court sent the case back to the South Carolina Supreme Court to figure out what to do next. While the Supreme Court held that Brown had no rights under the ICWA, it did not extinguish the rights of other family members under the Act, who could sue for the right to adopt her. Justice Sotomeyer noted: "that the majority does not and cannot not foreclose the possibility that...Baby Girl's paternal grandparents or other members of the Cherokee Nation may formally petition for adoption of Baby Girl. If these parties do so...they will then be entitled to consideration under the [Act]."
SCALIA: DECISION DEMEANS THE RIGHTS OF PARENTHOOD
The South Carolina Supreme Court will send the case back to the trial court which will make a decision on whether to allow the Capobianco's to adopt Veronica. The trial court's decision may be appealed to the South Carolina Supreme Court and possibly to the US Supreme Court. In other words, the case may not be resolved for years and in the meantime, Veronica may remain with her father.
Although Justice Scalia and we at FMF do not see eye to eye on many things, we wish to cheer his addendum to Justice Sotomayor's opinion. He eloquently and clearly defends the right of parents to raise their own children:
"While I am at it, I will add one thought. The Court's opinion, it seems to me, needlessly demeans the rights of parenthood. It has been the constant practice of the common law to respect the entitlement of those who bring a child into the world to raise that child. We do not inquire whether leaving a child with his parents is 'in the best interest of the child.' It sometimes is not; he would be better of raised by someone else. But parents have their rights, no less than children do. This father wants to raise his daughter, and the statute amply protects his right to so do. There is no reason in law or policy to dilute that protection." --jane and lorraine
_____________________________
SOURCES
Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl
*The Court does not name the parties, referring to Dusten Brown as "the biological father," his daughter as "Baby Girl," and the would be adoptive parents Matt and Melanie Capobianco as "adoptive Couple."
Supreme Court Rules 5-4 In Favor of Capobiancos in Baby Veronica Case
Supreme Court: Baby Girl Not Required To Go To Indian Biological Father Dusten Brown
FROM FMF:
A father's right to raise his own daughter hinges on 'Indian' act
Returning a child to her father is the right decision
Can the media get adoption right?
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
The US Supreme Court issues a decision in ADOPTIVE COUPLE v. BABY GIRL ie. The Baby Veronica Case
The US Supreme Court issues a decision in ADOPTIVE COUPLE v. BABY GIRL ie. The Baby Veronica Case
Click here for Link
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
Syllabus
ADOPTIVE COUPLE v. BABY GIRL, A MINOR CHILD
UNDER THE AGE OF FOURTEEN YEARS, ET AL.
CERTIORARI TO THE SUPREME COURT OF SOUTH CAROLINA
Click here for Link
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
Syllabus
ADOPTIVE COUPLE v. BABY GIRL, A MINOR CHILD
UNDER THE AGE OF FOURTEEN YEARS, ET AL.
CERTIORARI TO THE SUPREME COURT OF SOUTH CAROLINA
Supreme Court rule for couple over baby girl's adoption
Supreme Court rule for couple over baby girl's adoption | Reuters:
So wrong on Every Level!
(Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out a lower court order requiring a South Carolina couple to turn over a young girl they had raised since birth to her biological father simply because he was an American Indian.
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So wrong on Every Level!
(Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out a lower court order requiring a South Carolina couple to turn over a young girl they had raised since birth to her biological father simply because he was an American Indian.
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Monday, June 24, 2013
CPS Employee Fired Following Investigation
CPS Employee Fired Following Investigation:
A former Child Protective Services supervisor has been fired. The agency continues to feel the impact from questions surrounding the investigation into the death of 22-month-old Tamryn Klapheke, who died last August from apparent neglect.
Gretchen Denny, a CPS resolution specialist and former supervisor, was dismissed late last week.
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A former Child Protective Services supervisor has been fired. The agency continues to feel the impact from questions surrounding the investigation into the death of 22-month-old Tamryn Klapheke, who died last August from apparent neglect.
Gretchen Denny, a CPS resolution specialist and former supervisor, was dismissed late last week.
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'Ideal foster parent' was secret paedophile who gave 'sex lessons' to three girls in his care
'Ideal foster parent' was secret paedophile who gave 'sex lessons' to three girls in his care | Mail Online:
A man seen as the 'ideal' foster parent by social services was a secret paedophile who sexually abused girls in his care for years.
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A man seen as the 'ideal' foster parent by social services was a secret paedophile who sexually abused girls in his care for years.
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Supreme Court set to rule in Indian Child Welfare Act case
Indianz.Com > Supreme Court set to rule in Indian Child Welfare Act case:
The U.S. Supreme Court met again this morning but did not release its highly-anticipated decision in Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, an Indian Child Welfare Act case
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The U.S. Supreme Court met again this morning but did not release its highly-anticipated decision in Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, an Indian Child Welfare Act case
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Where's the post-adoption support for traumatised children?
Where's the post-adoption support for traumatised children? | Social Care Network | Guardian Professional:
Adoptive families are put under huge strain when much-needed support is not made available. Louise Tickle reports
Adoptive families are put under huge strain when much-needed support is not made available. Louise Tickle reports
A New Bill Seeks to Increase the Penalties for Child Sex Trafficking in Connecticut
Breaking into Connecticut Law: A New Bill Seeks to Increase the Penalties for Child Sex Trafficking in Connecticut:
It is commonly understood that sex trafficking is a large problem in Southeast Asia and Western Europe, but unbeknownst to many, it is a huge issue in the United States as well. And it is a growing problem in Connecticut.
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It is commonly understood that sex trafficking is a large problem in Southeast Asia and Western Europe, but unbeknownst to many, it is a huge issue in the United States as well. And it is a growing problem in Connecticut.
Read More:
Sunday, June 23, 2013
What Does a FOUNDED Redress Petition in New Hampshire Mean?
What Does a FOUNDED Redress Petition in N.H. Mean?
Evidently, it doesn't mean much since the Democrats took over the N.H.House. They try to make us think they are FOR the People, when in fact they are far from it. They want to RUN the People and make us beholden to them. The Republicans/Tea Party Republicans are well aware they are working for us. We voted these people into office to work FOR us, Not against us. Since Terrie Norrelli is the Speaker of the House again, we the People lose. She is the person responsible for dis-banding the Redress Committee.
After making several trips to Concord, after going through thousands of document's, after supplying the Redress Committee with copy after copy of documents and after proving my granddaughter Isabella was stolen ILLEGALLY and adopted out ILLEGALLY, we still don't have her back. On the right side of my blog, the Founded Petition is posted.
Because we have a new Democratic Speaker and the majority in the House is Democrat, ALL of the Founded Petitions are sitting in limbo. Haven't we been through enough? Each and every one of us? We have proven our innocence. We have proven the fraud and deceitful practices used against us. We have proven the abuse bestowed upon us by the rogue Government Agency know as DCYF in NH and we have proven the abuses by the good ole boy's Family Court System. What more must we do to get Justice?
Isabella was stolen from her Mother under false pretenses. This was proven. Not only was she stolen from her Mother, she was stolen from her whole family. My family was SLANDERED by a lying DCYF Lawyer, to keep Isabella from her Family. Illegally gotten Federal Incentive money was more important to DCYF than keeping a child with her BIOLOGICAL Family. Choosing a barren couple who never had any children of their own, who didn't even meet residence requirement's for Foster care in NH, whose first question was "When will we be financially supplemented?" Is this what ALL Foster stranger's ask when a child is dropped off on their doorstep or do other's really care about the child?
Isabella will be 8 years old August 31st. We still haven't seen her. No visits, nothing, thank's to the Destroyer's of Children Youth and Families who are well known for slandering the relatives of the States stolen children. When do we get Justice?
After the Redress Petition was FOUNDED, we "thought" Isabella would be home by now. It sure would be nice to celebrate her Birthday with her. Eight years lost due to fraud by one of our own Government agencies. The people who are "Supposed" to be working for us. Our tax dollars paying the people who work against us. Paying these people to steal our children and grandchildren.
Mine and my entire family's life has done a complete 180 since Isabella was stolen. Year's of trying to get someone to look into the fraud and deceitful practices used against us. Year's of suffering and tears. A house remodeled for a little girl who never came home. A room full of baby girls clothes and furniture and everything else a baby needed. We waited so long for Isabella's return, the pain was unbearable. After three years we finally packed everything away, realizing the fraud within DCYF and the Family Court's in N.H. was too much for one Family to fight and win. The loss my family has suffered at the hands of a rogue Govt. agency, can never be forgiven nor forgotten.
We finally got a Legislature in that worked FOR the people and poof, we're back to square one. The next election will bring the Republican's back and hopefully our Founded Petitions will bring us the Justice we've waited so long for.
The fight goes on. We will never give up. DCYF and the Family Court corruption WILL be exposed. Isabella WILL come home.
Isabella, we love and miss you!
Evidently, it doesn't mean much since the Democrats took over the N.H.House. They try to make us think they are FOR the People, when in fact they are far from it. They want to RUN the People and make us beholden to them. The Republicans/Tea Party Republicans are well aware they are working for us. We voted these people into office to work FOR us, Not against us. Since Terrie Norrelli is the Speaker of the House again, we the People lose. She is the person responsible for dis-banding the Redress Committee.
After making several trips to Concord, after going through thousands of document's, after supplying the Redress Committee with copy after copy of documents and after proving my granddaughter Isabella was stolen ILLEGALLY and adopted out ILLEGALLY, we still don't have her back. On the right side of my blog, the Founded Petition is posted.
Because we have a new Democratic Speaker and the majority in the House is Democrat, ALL of the Founded Petitions are sitting in limbo. Haven't we been through enough? Each and every one of us? We have proven our innocence. We have proven the fraud and deceitful practices used against us. We have proven the abuse bestowed upon us by the rogue Government Agency know as DCYF in NH and we have proven the abuses by the good ole boy's Family Court System. What more must we do to get Justice?
Isabella was stolen from her Mother under false pretenses. This was proven. Not only was she stolen from her Mother, she was stolen from her whole family. My family was SLANDERED by a lying DCYF Lawyer, to keep Isabella from her Family. Illegally gotten Federal Incentive money was more important to DCYF than keeping a child with her BIOLOGICAL Family. Choosing a barren couple who never had any children of their own, who didn't even meet residence requirement's for Foster care in NH, whose first question was "When will we be financially supplemented?" Is this what ALL Foster stranger's ask when a child is dropped off on their doorstep or do other's really care about the child?
Isabella will be 8 years old August 31st. We still haven't seen her. No visits, nothing, thank's to the Destroyer's of Children Youth and Families who are well known for slandering the relatives of the States stolen children. When do we get Justice?
After the Redress Petition was FOUNDED, we "thought" Isabella would be home by now. It sure would be nice to celebrate her Birthday with her. Eight years lost due to fraud by one of our own Government agencies. The people who are "Supposed" to be working for us. Our tax dollars paying the people who work against us. Paying these people to steal our children and grandchildren.
Mine and my entire family's life has done a complete 180 since Isabella was stolen. Year's of trying to get someone to look into the fraud and deceitful practices used against us. Year's of suffering and tears. A house remodeled for a little girl who never came home. A room full of baby girls clothes and furniture and everything else a baby needed. We waited so long for Isabella's return, the pain was unbearable. After three years we finally packed everything away, realizing the fraud within DCYF and the Family Court's in N.H. was too much for one Family to fight and win. The loss my family has suffered at the hands of a rogue Govt. agency, can never be forgiven nor forgotten.
We finally got a Legislature in that worked FOR the people and poof, we're back to square one. The next election will bring the Republican's back and hopefully our Founded Petitions will bring us the Justice we've waited so long for.
The fight goes on. We will never give up. DCYF and the Family Court corruption WILL be exposed. Isabella WILL come home.
Isabella, we love and miss you!
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Government parenting advice is 'corrosive and harmful', report finds
Government parenting advice is 'corrosive and harmful', report finds - Telegraph: "Official Government a"
Official Government advice telling people how to bring young children up should be torn up because it is “corrosive and harmful” and can damage family life, a new academic report argue.
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Drugging School Children
Drugging School Children | Paradigm Accelerated Curriculum:
An amazing, destructive scenario is being played out in American institutions: homes, schools, and medical clinics. All three are cooperating in and facilitating the demise of rational behavior and emotional stability among youth, especially those who are/have been traumatized by various aspects or consequences of fatherlessness.
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An amazing, destructive scenario is being played out in American institutions: homes, schools, and medical clinics. All three are cooperating in and facilitating the demise of rational behavior and emotional stability among youth, especially those who are/have been traumatized by various aspects or consequences of fatherlessness.
Read More:
ADHD And The Birth Of Phony Disorders
ADHD And The Birth Of Phony Disorders : Easy Health Options®:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) claims in its “Mental Illness Surveillance Among U.S. Adults” fact sheet that nearly half of all U.S. adults will develop one mental illness during their lifetime. The CDC must be counting those who access its information expecting to get the truth, because anyone who believes the pabulum the CDC puts out must be mentally ill.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) claims in its “Mental Illness Surveillance Among U.S. Adults” fact sheet that nearly half of all U.S. adults will develop one mental illness during their lifetime. The CDC must be counting those who access its information expecting to get the truth, because anyone who believes the pabulum the CDC puts out must be mentally ill.
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Protesters demand reforms to Child Protective Services, county DCFS
Protesters demand reforms to Child Protective Services, county DCFS | abc7.com:
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LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The death of an 8-year-old boy has prompted an investigation into the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services. Friday, protesters met outside the headquarters, hoping the tragedy will spark changes within the department.
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allowscriptaccess="always" allownetworking="all" allowfullscreen="true" src="http://cdn.abclocal.go.com/static/flash/embeddedPlayer/swf/otvEmLoader.swf?version=fw1000&station=kabc§ion=&mediaId=9148140&parentId=9148139&cdnRoot=http://cdn.abclocal.go.com&webRoot=http://abclocal.go.com&configPath=/util/&site=">
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The death of an 8-year-old boy has prompted an investigation into the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services. Friday, protesters met outside the headquarters, hoping the tragedy will spark changes within the department.
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Children stolen by the state needlessly, causing utter misery in one of Britain's most disturbing scandals
Children stolen by the state | Mail Online:
Yesterday the Daily Mail reported that applications to take children into care in England have soared to an all-time record, for the first time topping 10,000 in just 12 months.
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Yesterday the Daily Mail reported that applications to take children into care in England have soared to an all-time record, for the first time topping 10,000 in just 12 months.
Read more:
Jail inmate, girlfriend accused of filing false child abuse report
An inmate at the St. Lucie County Jail and his girlfriend are accused of filing a false report of child abuse to prevent the inmate's son from moving out of town.
Foster mother facing murder charges in Livingston County
Foster mother facing murder charges in Livingston County:
PONTIAC — A foster mother was indicted Friday by a Livingston County grand jury on two counts of murder in the 2011 death of a 4-year-old Bloomington girl who was under her care.
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PONTIAC — A foster mother was indicted Friday by a Livingston County grand jury on two counts of murder in the 2011 death of a 4-year-old Bloomington girl who was under her care.
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The Govt. Brags About the Number of Stolen Children They Auction Off to Strangers
20,000 Foster Kids Adopted So Far Through Website - ABC News:
Federal officials say 20,000 foster children have been adopted after being listed on a national website that links adoptive families with kids.
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Federal officials say 20,000 foster children have been adopted after being listed on a national website that links adoptive families with kids.
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