Congressional Research Service
Report 97-590
CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT AND VISITATION:
SHOULD THERE BE A FEDERAL CONNECTION?
Carmen D. Solomon-Fears, Education and Public Welfare Division
Updated June 20, 2000
Abstract.
From time to time, the issue arises of whether the federal Child Support Enforcement (CSE)program should be actively involved in enforcing visitation rights. Both federal and state policymakers agree that denial of visitation rights should not be considered a reason for stopping child support payments.
AVAILABLE HERE — and I’m going to add it to my bloglinks. It’s ONLY 7 pages long, and provides a summary background of HOW the Federal Government got to be “in the family way.” The rationale was TANF/Welfare. That was the chink in the door.
The question arises, in my mind at least — what major institutions and practices in this nation are creating the welfare population to start with? The 2 largest areas of expenditure in the government are two agencies: 1. Health and Human Service, and 2. Education. The others, are smaller. Go to at least usaspending.gov and look at the pie chart, and take a look. Why are the courts and the child support agencies in the business of education, at which the educational system is already failing, clearly?
http://stuff.mit.edu/afs/sipb/contrib/wikileaks-crs/wikileaks-crs-reports/97-590.pdf
Recommended reading for the uninitiated, for example:
Is the Federal Government Becoming Too Intrusive in Family Law Policy?[[Ya-THINK? Just perhaps MAYBE? This shows the rationale...]]
Congress does not have general authority to pass laws dealing with family law issues,
unless there is a connection or “nexus” between such legislation and one of the areas in
which it is authorized to act. In the case of the CSE program, the federal nexus is the
H.R. 3073, the Fathers Count Act of 1999, would provide $140 million in grants over four years
to public and private entities to achieve three purposes: (1) promote marriage, (2) promote
successful parenting, and (3) help noncustodial parent improve their economic status. H.R. 3073
was passed by the House on November 10, 1999, but has not been acted on by the Senate. H.R.
4469, the Child Support Distribution Act of 2000, introduced on May 16, 2000 also includes many
of the provisions related to fatherhood that are contained in H.R. 3073. One of the goals of the
proposed fatherhood grant program is to increase the parental involvement (social, emotional,
psychological, and financial) of noncustodial parents in the lives of their children.
Here’s a little more history, from the same woman who did this report:
http://waysandmeans.house.gov/legacy.asp?file=legacy/humres/105cong/3-20-97/3-20fear.htm
Always watch the footnotes. Here are the footnotes from this featured report of June 2000. I am sorry, I do not have the time to reformat them to eliminate extra spaces. I am compromised in internet access these days, and working on a foreign (to me) system.
If you are good at browsing/skimming — you’ll see some of the “players” in this system, the logic behind it, and the linguistic slippage (frequent) between the words “noncustodial parents” and “fathers,” which is what is really meant by that. Noncustodial mothers are basically up ___ creek many times, when it comes to enforcing visitation, with help from these funds.
MY LAPTOP WAS STOLEN! In other words.. . . . . . . .
CRS Report 84-796 EPW, The Child Support Enforcement Amendments of 1984, Margaret
Malone. p. 10.
2 University of Wisconsin-Madison. Institute for Research on Poverty. Focus, Volume 21,
Number 1, Spring 2000. Child support and child access: Experiences of divorced and nonmarital
families by Judith Seltzer. p. 54-57. See also: Urban Institute. To What Extent Do Childrenby Elaine Sorensen and Chava Zibman. Discussion Papers, 99-11.
Benefit From Child Support?
January 2000.
3 Children benefit from fathers’ involvement–New studies examine men’s role in the family. June
16, 2000. [http://www.cnn.com/2000/HEALTH/children/06/16/father.studies/index.html] See also:
What Do Fathers Contribute to Children’s Well-Being?
Meaning of Father Involvement for Children by Tamara Hale
4 H.R. 3073, the Fathers Count Act of 1999, would provide $140 million in grants over four years
to public and private entities to achieve three purposes: (1) promote marriage, (2) promote
successful parenting, and (3) help noncustodial parent improve their economic status. H.R. 3073
was passed by the House on November 10, 1999, but has not been acted on by the Senate. H.R.
4469, the Child Support Distribution Act of 2000, introduced on May 16, 2000 also includes many
of the provisions related to fatherhood that are contained in H.R. 3073. One of the goals of the
proposed fatherhood grant program is to increase the parental involvement (social, emotional,
psychological, and financial) of noncustodial parents in the lives of their children.
by Suzanne Le Menestrel and The. Child Trends Research Brief.
Which IS it? Fathers? or “Parents”? I’ll give you a basic translation guide. When the word “parents” is used in documentation like this, it translates in practice to FATHERS. Go find the word “mothers” in this document, if you can, or as applied to a noncustodial “parent.” But mothers are increasingly becoming “noncustodial” themselves, in part because of these acts.
5 U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. Office of Child Support Enforcement. SummariesWashington, May 1986. p. xiiixiv.
of Reports by State Commissions on Child Support Enforcement.
6 Horowitz, Robert, and G. Diane Dodson. Child Support, Custody, and Visitation: A Report toAmerican Bar Association, July 1985. p. 3-8.
State Child Support Commissions.
7 Evaluation of the Child Access Demonstration Projects–Report to Congress. Prepared by
(continued…)
Pearson, Jessica, Nancy Thoennes, David Price, and Robert Williams for the Office of Child
Support Enforcement, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. July 1996. p. 2.
8 The FPLS can access data from the Social Security Administration, Internal Revenue Service and
other federal agencies, and the state Employment Security Agencies. The FPLS provides social
security numbers, addresses, employer information, wage and income information, and information
on assets and debts to state and local CSE agencies to establish and enforce child support orders.
The FPLS conducts weekly or biweekly matches with most of the agencies. Each agency runs the
cases against its data base and the names and social security numbers that match are returned to
the FPLS and via the FPLS to the requesting state or local CSE office. Upon request, the
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary must provide to an “authorized
person” (i.e., an employee or attorney of a CSE agency, a court with jurisdiction over the parties
involved, the custodial parent, etc.) the most recent address and place of employment of any absent
parent if the information is contained in the records of HHS, or can be obtained from any other
department or agency of the United States or of any state. The FPLS also can be used in
connection with the enforcement or determination of child custody and in cases of parental
kidnaping.[misspelled..]]
9 P.L. 105-33, the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, which was signed into law on August 5, 1997
includes safeguards that prohibit the FPLS from providing information on the whereabouts of the
custodial parent (and child or children) in cases where there is reasonable evidence of violence or
abuse and a possibility that disclosure of information could be harmful to the custodial parent or child.
10 In September 1997, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin
Islands were awarded access and visitation grants. In 1998 and 1999, all states and jurisdictions,
except for Guam (which didn’t apply for one), received an access/visitation grant.
11 State Child Access and Visitation Programs: A Preliminary Report Fiscal Year 1997 Funding.
American Institutes for Research. Prepared for Office of Child Support Enforcement, Department
of Health and Human Services. 1999.
12 Some analysts argue that like the courts, the federal government would be ineffective in enforcing
visitation and custody rights unless it adopted measures that would adversely affect children and
be inconsistent with former federal policy (e.g., reduce child support payments if it is proved that
the custodial parent is preventing the noncustodial parent from visiting the child.
13 Evaluation of the Child Access Demonstration Projects–Report to Congress. Prepared by
Pearson, Jessica, Nancy Thoennes, David Price, and Robert Williams for the Office of Child Support Enforcement, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. July 1996. p. ix.
14 Monthly Labor Review, June 1992. Interrelation of child support, visitation, and hours of work,
Veum, Jonathan R. p. 45-47.
Here’s another tidbit:
Should the Federal Government Promote Access/Visitation Rights?
fathers’ rights groups argue that by being solely concerned about increasing child support
collections, the federal government is limiting its approaches to access/visitation issues.
According to the child access project evaluations, relatively few noncustodial parents
(18%) attributed their access problems to disputes about child support, while this was
mentioned by about half of custodial parents (48%). Generally, noncustodial parents cited
economic factors such as low wages, unemployment, or job instability as reasons for
nonpayment as opposed to access or visitation disputes.
Many13There is some evidence that indicates that among fathers who visit their children,
fathers who do not pay their child support are more likely to have frequent contact with
their children (many on a daily basis) than fathers who pay their child support.
fathers’ rights groups would argue that spending time with one’s children (especially on a daily basis) should be counted in terms of reducing that father’s financial obligation.
14 Monthly Labor Review,
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
Saturday, December 5, 2009
U.S. Department of Human Services Office of Inspector General Semiannual Report to Congress April 1
Semi Annual Report to Congress-April 1, 2009 to September 30, 2009
For fiscal year (FY) 2009, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) reported savings and expected recoveries of $20.97 billion: $16.48 billion in implemented recommendations to put funds to better use; $492 million in audit receivables; and $4 billion in investigative receivables, which includes $1 billion in non-HHS receivables resulting from OIG work (e.g., the States’ share of Medicaid restitution).
http://www.scribd.com/doc/23661560/U-S-Department-of-Human-Services-Office-of-Inspector-General-Semiannual-Report-to-Congress-Apri-1-2009-September-30-2009
For fiscal year (FY) 2009, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) reported savings and expected recoveries of $20.97 billion: $16.48 billion in implemented recommendations to put funds to better use; $492 million in audit receivables; and $4 billion in investigative receivables, which includes $1 billion in non-HHS receivables resulting from OIG work (e.g., the States’ share of Medicaid restitution).
http://www.scribd.com/doc/23661560/U-S-Department-of-Human-Services-Office-of-Inspector-General-Semiannual-Report-to-Congress-Apri-1-2009-September-30-2009
Human Rights Violations
submitted by Patsy Leblanc
Submitted Thursday, December 03, 2009
Patsy Leblanc
kursh
The United States is the worlds biggest violator of human rights, since the Germans.
How and why do I say this? Any time senators pass laws that allow a person's children to be removed from a home, with out due cause, it is a human rights violation. When child protective services can enter your home, remove your children, and not allow the parents to see them, it is a human rights violation. When child protective services can have your child placed on mind altering drugs, it's a human rights violation. When a school wants your child placed on medication, because they will receive funds from the drug maker. It's a human rights violation. When the person that decides your child's future has little more that a high school diploma, it's a human rights violation.
All of this takes me back to Nazi Germany, when families were torn a part in the middle of the night, by SS officers.
No one wants to believe this is happening in this country. Most certainly not in the land of the free.
Since the passage of the Mondale Act in 1974, families have been torn apart, children have been seized, adopted, never to see their parents again.
Anyone can say you are abusing your child, and they will be picked up.
Children are being snatched from loving homes every day, because of this system.
When a child is picked up, CPS is going to receive over 200.000 dollars, which will be divided between specific case worker, counselors, and foster parents.
these children are placed with specific foster parents, because they are to be brain-washed, and taught how to behave, all of this is done in preperation for them receiving mental care. Eventually they will receive mind-altering drugs.
When a foster parent cares for a child classified as having "behavior problems", the parent receives more compensation. If that child is actually sent to a hospital. they are classified as being "institutionalized", the pay more than doubles.
Parents that try to fight this abuse, find themselves up against a brick wall, because people believe the state is always right, and you must be a "bad person".
If your child is in custody for 18 months, they can put them up for adoption. Don't think someone new will adopt your child, because, that won't happen. They knew who wanted your child, before they were picked up.
The counselors, case workers, CASA, and GAL, all work to gain your child's confidence, and they are coached in what to say, but remember, you can't see your child.
If a school hotlines you, they will get money from the drug company, and payments go to the teachers union.
Usuall, there are specific teachers in schools that work directly with Child Protective Services, these teachers have children identified for the worker, they put a plan in motion to set the parents up. The CPS officer will hot-line you, all of this is done to build a case.
If you know of a child that is being abused, or harmed in any way, try hot-lining the parent. You will probably never have a response to your tip, because the system is not equipped to deal with children in a real crisis. This is most unfortunate, because there a thousands of children that need help.
If you have experienced any of these problems, you can visit the blog legally kidnapped, you will find links there to other sites. One person can't fight this alone, united we are strong.
http://searchwarp.com/swa558831-Human-Rights-Violations.htm
Submitted Thursday, December 03, 2009
Patsy Leblanc
kursh
The United States is the worlds biggest violator of human rights, since the Germans.
How and why do I say this? Any time senators pass laws that allow a person's children to be removed from a home, with out due cause, it is a human rights violation. When child protective services can enter your home, remove your children, and not allow the parents to see them, it is a human rights violation. When child protective services can have your child placed on mind altering drugs, it's a human rights violation. When a school wants your child placed on medication, because they will receive funds from the drug maker. It's a human rights violation. When the person that decides your child's future has little more that a high school diploma, it's a human rights violation.
All of this takes me back to Nazi Germany, when families were torn a part in the middle of the night, by SS officers.
No one wants to believe this is happening in this country. Most certainly not in the land of the free.
Since the passage of the Mondale Act in 1974, families have been torn apart, children have been seized, adopted, never to see their parents again.
Anyone can say you are abusing your child, and they will be picked up.
Children are being snatched from loving homes every day, because of this system.
When a child is picked up, CPS is going to receive over 200.000 dollars, which will be divided between specific case worker, counselors, and foster parents.
these children are placed with specific foster parents, because they are to be brain-washed, and taught how to behave, all of this is done in preperation for them receiving mental care. Eventually they will receive mind-altering drugs.
When a foster parent cares for a child classified as having "behavior problems", the parent receives more compensation. If that child is actually sent to a hospital. they are classified as being "institutionalized", the pay more than doubles.
Parents that try to fight this abuse, find themselves up against a brick wall, because people believe the state is always right, and you must be a "bad person".
If your child is in custody for 18 months, they can put them up for adoption. Don't think someone new will adopt your child, because, that won't happen. They knew who wanted your child, before they were picked up.
The counselors, case workers, CASA, and GAL, all work to gain your child's confidence, and they are coached in what to say, but remember, you can't see your child.
If a school hotlines you, they will get money from the drug company, and payments go to the teachers union.
Usuall, there are specific teachers in schools that work directly with Child Protective Services, these teachers have children identified for the worker, they put a plan in motion to set the parents up. The CPS officer will hot-line you, all of this is done to build a case.
If you know of a child that is being abused, or harmed in any way, try hot-lining the parent. You will probably never have a response to your tip, because the system is not equipped to deal with children in a real crisis. This is most unfortunate, because there a thousands of children that need help.
If you have experienced any of these problems, you can visit the blog legally kidnapped, you will find links there to other sites. One person can't fight this alone, united we are strong.
http://searchwarp.com/swa558831-Human-Rights-Violations.htm
Lawyer Accused of Assault on DHHS Worker
Please go to the link at the bottom of the page and comment.
By JULIE SHAW
Philadelphia Daily News
shawj@phillynews.com 215-854-2592
A lawyer was hauled out of a Family Court building in handcuffs earlier this week after a social worker accused him of elbowing her in the ribs after he sat down next to her.
Peter Quinn, 53, was charged with aggravated assault and related offenses in the incident, which occurred Tuesday while the two were waiting for a case to be heard in Courtroom K at 1801 Vine St.
After being led out of the building, he was held in a police holding cell for about 15 hours before being released, he said.
Department of Human Services social worker Tamika Cintron, 36, contended that Quinn elbowed her and called her offensive names, according to a police report and DHS Commissioner Anne Marie Ambrose. Ambrose said that Cintron did not know why Quinn elbowed her.
Quinn, in a phone interview yesterday, denied the allegations.
Cintron did not return a phone call for comment.
On Tuesday morning, the two were in the waiting room on a dependency case in which Quinn was representing a parent. Cintron was there to testify in her role as DHS social worker. Cintron was sitting down.
According to a police report, Quinn sat down and threw Cintron's jacket to the side, then elbowed her in the left side of the ribs. Cintron then stood up and said to Quinn: "What the hell is wrong with you?"
Cintron said Quinn then got up and called her a "bitch." She then went to Courtroom K to get away from Quinn and Quinn tried to follow her into the room but was stopped at the door by court officers, according to the report.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/20091204_Lawyer_accused_of_assault_on_DHS_worker.html
One observer who was in the court area said yesterday that he saw Cintron by the door yelling, "He hit me! He hit me!" referring to Quinn. The observer said Cintron was "visibly shaken and crying."
Ambrose yesterday called Cintron an "excellent social worker."
City records show that Cintron began working at DHS about two years ago. Ambrose said that Cintron characterized the incident as an "unprovoked attack."
Quinn said that during his approximately 18 years of handling dependency cases "nobody ever accused me of this stuff."
He said that when he went to sit down in the empty seat, he did not initially know Cintron was next to him. He said that the sleeve of her jacket was on his seat and that he moved it toward her seat.
That "pissed her off," he said, contending that she then said to him: "What the f--- are you doing?"
He contended that she elbowed him, then got up and started yelling in the hallway, which separates the waiting area from Courtroom K.
An aggravated-assault charge is routinely lodged when an alleged victim is a member of a protected class, including that of a social worker. Quinn was also charged with simple assault and reckless endangerment.
Sources who know Quinn professionally yesterday described him as argumentative.
One source who works in Family Court said that Quinn "has had difficulties in dealing with people on a daily basis." Another source called Quinn "crazy" and said that "lots of people" have had confrontations with him.
When asked about these comments, Quinn said: "I don't think that's true."
Ambrose said she was not aware of any other recent case of a social worker reportedly being attacked while in court. DHS records show there have been 17 reports of social workers' being injured while out in the field since social worker Danelle Cooper was beaten by Sharonda Sowell in North Philly in fall 2007.
(Maybe they should find a new line of work!)
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/20091204_Lawyer_accused_of_assault_on_DHS_worker.html
By JULIE SHAW
Philadelphia Daily News
shawj@phillynews.com 215-854-2592
A lawyer was hauled out of a Family Court building in handcuffs earlier this week after a social worker accused him of elbowing her in the ribs after he sat down next to her.
Peter Quinn, 53, was charged with aggravated assault and related offenses in the incident, which occurred Tuesday while the two were waiting for a case to be heard in Courtroom K at 1801 Vine St.
After being led out of the building, he was held in a police holding cell for about 15 hours before being released, he said.
Department of Human Services social worker Tamika Cintron, 36, contended that Quinn elbowed her and called her offensive names, according to a police report and DHS Commissioner Anne Marie Ambrose. Ambrose said that Cintron did not know why Quinn elbowed her.
Quinn, in a phone interview yesterday, denied the allegations.
Cintron did not return a phone call for comment.
On Tuesday morning, the two were in the waiting room on a dependency case in which Quinn was representing a parent. Cintron was there to testify in her role as DHS social worker. Cintron was sitting down.
According to a police report, Quinn sat down and threw Cintron's jacket to the side, then elbowed her in the left side of the ribs. Cintron then stood up and said to Quinn: "What the hell is wrong with you?"
Cintron said Quinn then got up and called her a "bitch." She then went to Courtroom K to get away from Quinn and Quinn tried to follow her into the room but was stopped at the door by court officers, according to the report.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/20091204_Lawyer_accused_of_assault_on_DHS_worker.html
One observer who was in the court area said yesterday that he saw Cintron by the door yelling, "He hit me! He hit me!" referring to Quinn. The observer said Cintron was "visibly shaken and crying."
Ambrose yesterday called Cintron an "excellent social worker."
City records show that Cintron began working at DHS about two years ago. Ambrose said that Cintron characterized the incident as an "unprovoked attack."
Quinn said that during his approximately 18 years of handling dependency cases "nobody ever accused me of this stuff."
He said that when he went to sit down in the empty seat, he did not initially know Cintron was next to him. He said that the sleeve of her jacket was on his seat and that he moved it toward her seat.
That "pissed her off," he said, contending that she then said to him: "What the f--- are you doing?"
He contended that she elbowed him, then got up and started yelling in the hallway, which separates the waiting area from Courtroom K.
An aggravated-assault charge is routinely lodged when an alleged victim is a member of a protected class, including that of a social worker. Quinn was also charged with simple assault and reckless endangerment.
Sources who know Quinn professionally yesterday described him as argumentative.
One source who works in Family Court said that Quinn "has had difficulties in dealing with people on a daily basis." Another source called Quinn "crazy" and said that "lots of people" have had confrontations with him.
When asked about these comments, Quinn said: "I don't think that's true."
Ambrose said she was not aware of any other recent case of a social worker reportedly being attacked while in court. DHS records show there have been 17 reports of social workers' being injured while out in the field since social worker Danelle Cooper was beaten by Sharonda Sowell in North Philly in fall 2007.
(Maybe they should find a new line of work!)
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/20091204_Lawyer_accused_of_assault_on_DHS_worker.html
What are My Rights With CPS/DCYF?
Examiner Bio What are my rights with CPS?
November 25, 4:15 PMFamily Rights ExaminerLeonard Henderson
Get alerts when there is a new article from the Family Rights Examiner
As I have said several times, I learn a lot from checking our web stats at the AFRA website to see what people are looking for, and if they found it. When I see an interesting series or pattern of search criteria, I try to do something to help those people find the answer to their question.
Lately, I am seeing several queries along the line of What are my rights with CPS?"
I asked the same question myself in 1999. The answer I got from the nasty CPS witch was a bunch of sickening threats of the terrible things she would do to me if I didn't "cooperate".
So what does their actual Policy say?
Back in those days, Oregon CPS offices manually compiled their Policies Manual in huge 8" thick binders. Each new directive sheet from HQ came in the mail. At the top right corner of each page is an indexing number to indicate where this page should be inserted into the binder. Getting a hard copy of this manual was impossible.
Fortunately, Oregon CPS had recently put the materials ONLINE. Still, it wasn't really publicly available. It was buried in their WAN system. Lucky for me at the time, it wasn't behind a wall of password security. So I downloaded every page and assembled my own digitized version.
That's no longer a problem. Every state (so far as I know) puts their CPS Policy Manuals online, available to anybody with the interest in reading them.
Back to the question What are my rights with CPS?", what I found was DUMB-FOUNDING. I thought there would be lots said about Constitutional Rights, Miranda Rights, Federal and State law CPS was required to observe.
Here's what I found-
NUMBER: I-A.1
POLICY - CLIENT RIGHTS
Discrimination Prohibited. No individual shall, on the grounds of race, national origin, religion, martial status, gender, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, political affiliation, language or disability be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under programs and activities for which the Department of Human Services has responsibility. This same policy of non-discrimination is equally applicable to all department contractors, grantees, agents and providers of services funded in whole or in part with federal funds
Isn't that sweet? Everybody has the RIGHT to receive CPS "services"!
If you read on down through, you will find them referring to the above as "Civil Rights".
Please allow me to point out that "Civil Rights" are NOT the same thing as CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS.
What does the entire Oregon Policy Manual say about Constitutional Rights?
NUMBER: I-A.5.2
(4) The Department, subject to the approval of the Attorney General, has authorized its employees to represent the Department in these contested cases.
(5) A Department employee acting as the Department's representative may not make legal argument on behalf of the Department.
(a) "Legal argument" includes argument on:
(A) The jurisdiction of the Department to hear the contested case;
(B) The constitutionality of a statute or administrative rule or the application of a constitutional requirement to the Department;
What does that mean? I don't know. Doesn't look good to me.
I do know they care nothing about THIS LAW-
ORS418.010 - "Children not to be taken charge of when parents object. Nothing in ORS 418.005 shall be construed as authorizing any state official, agent or representative, in carrying out any of the provisions of that section, to take charge of any child over the objection of either of the parents of such child..."
So the answer to the question What are my rights with CPS?"
Certainly not your Constitutional Rights or Miranda Rights. It's pretty much UP TO YOU to KNOW and DEFEND YOUR RIGHTS. Use them or Lose them.
"The privilege against self-incrimination is neither accorded to the passive resistant, nor to the person who is ignorant of his rights, nor to one indifferent thereto. It is a FIGHTING clause. It's benefits can be retained only by sustained COMBAT. It cannot be claimed by attorney or solicitor. It is valid only when insisted upon by a BELLIGERENT claimant in person." McAlister vs. Henkel, 201 U.S. 90, 26 S.Ct. 385, 50 L. Ed. 671; Commonwealth vs. Shaw, 4 Cush. 594, 50 Am.Dec. 813; Orum vs. State, 38 Ohio App. 171, 175 N.E. 876. The one who is persuaded by honeyed words or moral persuasion to testify or produce documents rather than make a last ditch stand, simply loses the protection. . . . He must refuse to answer or produce, and test the matter in contempt proceedings, or by habeas corpus."
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-26520-Family-Rights-Examiner~y2009m11d25-What-are-my-rights-with-CPS
November 25, 4:15 PMFamily Rights ExaminerLeonard Henderson
Get alerts when there is a new article from the Family Rights Examiner
As I have said several times, I learn a lot from checking our web stats at the AFRA website to see what people are looking for, and if they found it. When I see an interesting series or pattern of search criteria, I try to do something to help those people find the answer to their question.
Lately, I am seeing several queries along the line of What are my rights with CPS?"
I asked the same question myself in 1999. The answer I got from the nasty CPS witch was a bunch of sickening threats of the terrible things she would do to me if I didn't "cooperate".
So what does their actual Policy say?
Back in those days, Oregon CPS offices manually compiled their Policies Manual in huge 8" thick binders. Each new directive sheet from HQ came in the mail. At the top right corner of each page is an indexing number to indicate where this page should be inserted into the binder. Getting a hard copy of this manual was impossible.
Fortunately, Oregon CPS had recently put the materials ONLINE. Still, it wasn't really publicly available. It was buried in their WAN system. Lucky for me at the time, it wasn't behind a wall of password security. So I downloaded every page and assembled my own digitized version.
That's no longer a problem. Every state (so far as I know) puts their CPS Policy Manuals online, available to anybody with the interest in reading them.
Back to the question What are my rights with CPS?", what I found was DUMB-FOUNDING. I thought there would be lots said about Constitutional Rights, Miranda Rights, Federal and State law CPS was required to observe.
Here's what I found-
NUMBER: I-A.1
POLICY - CLIENT RIGHTS
Discrimination Prohibited. No individual shall, on the grounds of race, national origin, religion, martial status, gender, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, political affiliation, language or disability be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under programs and activities for which the Department of Human Services has responsibility. This same policy of non-discrimination is equally applicable to all department contractors, grantees, agents and providers of services funded in whole or in part with federal funds
Isn't that sweet? Everybody has the RIGHT to receive CPS "services"!
If you read on down through, you will find them referring to the above as "Civil Rights".
Please allow me to point out that "Civil Rights" are NOT the same thing as CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS.
What does the entire Oregon Policy Manual say about Constitutional Rights?
NUMBER: I-A.5.2
(4) The Department, subject to the approval of the Attorney General, has authorized its employees to represent the Department in these contested cases.
(5) A Department employee acting as the Department's representative may not make legal argument on behalf of the Department.
(a) "Legal argument" includes argument on:
(A) The jurisdiction of the Department to hear the contested case;
(B) The constitutionality of a statute or administrative rule or the application of a constitutional requirement to the Department;
What does that mean? I don't know. Doesn't look good to me.
I do know they care nothing about THIS LAW-
ORS418.010 - "Children not to be taken charge of when parents object. Nothing in ORS 418.005 shall be construed as authorizing any state official, agent or representative, in carrying out any of the provisions of that section, to take charge of any child over the objection of either of the parents of such child..."
So the answer to the question What are my rights with CPS?"
Certainly not your Constitutional Rights or Miranda Rights. It's pretty much UP TO YOU to KNOW and DEFEND YOUR RIGHTS. Use them or Lose them.
"The privilege against self-incrimination is neither accorded to the passive resistant, nor to the person who is ignorant of his rights, nor to one indifferent thereto. It is a FIGHTING clause. It's benefits can be retained only by sustained COMBAT. It cannot be claimed by attorney or solicitor. It is valid only when insisted upon by a BELLIGERENT claimant in person." McAlister vs. Henkel, 201 U.S. 90, 26 S.Ct. 385, 50 L. Ed. 671; Commonwealth vs. Shaw, 4 Cush. 594, 50 Am.Dec. 813; Orum vs. State, 38 Ohio App. 171, 175 N.E. 876. The one who is persuaded by honeyed words or moral persuasion to testify or produce documents rather than make a last ditch stand, simply loses the protection. . . . He must refuse to answer or produce, and test the matter in contempt proceedings, or by habeas corpus."
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-26520-Family-Rights-Examiner~y2009m11d25-What-are-my-rights-with-CPS
When DCYF/CPS Comes After You-17 Helpful Tips on How to Protect Your Family
When They Come After You
17 Helpful Tips on how to protect your family
When the Child Protective Service comes to your door, take it seriously. Never think that it can't happen to you because you're a good parent. It can, and has happened to millions of good parents.
Being a good parent is an aberration to a DHS, CPS, and DCFS agent. They're taught that all parents are "potential" child abusers and that if any of the symptoms are present, it's better to "err on the side of caution" and take the children. They're also taught to do anything, say anything, lie, con, and swindle to get into the house to question the children and the parents.
Follow these tips to help tip the scales of justice in your favor...
1.Be polite, even if you're incensed: Their insufferable, insidious, condescending attitude will make you angry. It is designed to do so to allow them to write in their report: "Subject exhibits latent violence and is uncooperative." Strike one. That is part of the scam.
2.Don't allow them into your home without a proper warrant: They will lie, intimidate, and attempt to con their way into your home, but don't allow it. Unless they have a properly issued warrant, signed by a judge, based on sworn testimony by a named person, they have no right to enter your home -- unless they can pony up a possible danger to the child. Be polite while refusing entry. There's nothing a DHS/CPS/DCFS worker likes more than for you to show anger and, especially, curse them.
They are usually accompanied by policemen, some of whom will push their way in. If this happens, you may sue each person involved personally, (police officers and all authority figures are personally liable for damages when they exceed their lawful authority and exceeding their authority is not protected by the Good Samaritan laws) not for charging you, but for forcing his or her way in.
Don't get beat up trying to stop them in this case. Sue them later. You will probably need the money later.
Remember, case law has held that if you invite them into your home, you give up your right to be safe from search and seizure. Don't let them in! Make them force it.
3.Don't sign anything: They will try to get you to sign papers, "just to get this sorted out, don'tcha know," but don't fall into their trap. The only reason for you to have to sign anything is for you to sign away your rights. Politely refuse to sign anything until your attorney has seen it and advises you to do so. And suspect your attorney's advice if DHS, CPS, or DCFS recommended him.
4.Don't answer any questions without (your) lawyer being present: DHS, CPS, and DCFS workers will take this as an indication of guilt, but that's OK. They twist everything you do or say into an indication of guilt in their minds. But if you allow them to ask you questions without a lawyer present, you've given up your right to remain silent.
5.Do allow them to see the children through the window to assure them they're OK: To reduce the possibility that they'll testify that you kept them from seeing the children because they were abused, bring the children to a front window and let them see them.
6.Do take the children to your own doctor as soon as possible: The next thing to do is take the children to your own doctor and have them examined to show that no abuse, sexual or otherwise, has occurred. Then have the doctor write a report on his findings and give a copy of it to the DHS, CPS or DCFS worker. If they have decided to charge you anyway, they will reject it and insist on their own examination, which, once they have taken the children they may do, and you can't stop it. But your original doctor's examination can be an effective counterpoint if their doctor says abuse has occurred, which they often do. They know who pays them for the right finding.
7.Don't believe anything they tell you: DHS, CPS, and DCFS workers are trained in all the best ways to con and scam you into doing what they want you to do. They're experts at it. Their training spends a lot more time on this than it does on what actually constitutes child abuse. They're subjected to months, even years of conditioning and brainwashing themselves, disguised as training. Many are not even aware they're running a con on you.
They think what they do is necessary to get child abusers off the street. Many are good people who really do care about the welfare of the children. It is the people in charge who have the ulterior motive to take complete control over your children for their nefarious purposes. But the result is the same. They lie.
8.Don't allow unsupervised interviews with the children: Unsupervised interviews with your children are little more than conditioning sessions where DHS, CPS or DCFS workers and their captive counselors use questioning methods that would not be allowed to be used against a murderer, much less against a frightened and impressionable child.
Your children just aren't prepared to withstand such leading questioning, which is designed to get something on you. They con them into believing that you're already in big trouble, and you can be saved if the children will just say you did something so they can go home.
After children have been taken, there's nothing you can do to stop these unsupervised interviews that will take place over a period of months, even years, until your children may finally break down and tell them what they want to hear, just to make it stop. But if you stop them from doing it in the beginning, there is a chance that charges will never be filed and they will not be taken from you.
9.Don't allow them to physically examine the child without your presence, or your lawyer's presence: Never allow them uncontrolled access to your children as long as they are in your custody. If a court orders a physical examination (while you still have custody), insist on either being present yourself, or have your attorney present to protect your, and your children's interests In addition, you should try to videotape all sessions or get a court order forcing them to do so, with copies to be available to you.
10.Don't allow them to come to your home later for an interview: Allowing them to enter later also forfeits your right to be safe from search and seizure. And you can be sure that a sharp-eyed DHS, CPS, or DCFS worker will be able to find something they can twist to incriminate you. If interviews are required, insist that they be at the DHS, CPS, or DCFS office, or better still, at your attorney's office (that way they can't just take them while you're there).
11.Tape record all conversations with DHS, CPS, or DCFS workers and others involved: To keep an accurate record of events, plus to have proof of any threats made by DHS, CPS, or DCFS workers or counselors, always tape record all conversations with them, either in person or by phone (there's an inexpensive attachment for your phone available at any electronics store, or Radio Shack).
Some states restrict your right to tape conversations, so check your state laws. In states that allow secret taping if one of the parties to the tape knows, you can either let them know they're being taped, or not, at your wish. But in states where notification is required, you should place the tape recorder in full view in personal interviews, and make it a point to advise them they're being taped at the beginning of every phone call. In this day and age, where there's almost a videotape camera in every home, videotapes of proceedings can also help. Make a record. Then they can't deny their violation of your rights (Personally, I would make sure they knew they were being taped, even if the law doesn't require it).
12.Keep a journal: The same applies to keeping a journal. If you keep a detailed chronological (day-to-day) journal of events, showing dates, times, quotes, reference to audiotapes and videotapes, etc., they won't be able to get away with lying when they say they notified you of a hearing when they didn't. The very existence of such a journal (and you should definitely let them know you're keeping it) will tend to keep them somewhat more honest, or at least make it more difficult for them to scam you.
13.Never accept a plea bargain if you're innocent: One of their basic patterns is to pile charge upon charge, knowing they can't make most of them stick, including the ones they hope will stick, so they can tell you all about all the long years your children will spend in foster care if you don't accept the plea bargain they're offering you.
One of their best-used lines is that "if you just confess you will get your children back sooner." It's a tired old con, people. If they had any kind of a strong case, you'd never see them until it was court time.
I don't care how good their plea bargain sounds, if you're innocent, don't fall for it. That's how they get most of the convictions they do get of innocent people. They make it look as bad as possible, then get you to plead guilty, which involves an admission of guilt. or plead no contest, which allows them to still treat you as guilty.
14.Hire a private investigator if you can afford it: I know that most of the people they go after are the poor. They're easier targets. But one of the factors they forget as they move up the ladder and start charging more and more middle-class people is that these people aren't nearly as likely to buy their con.
They are much more resistant to being intimidated because they aren't government wards. And they have more money for such things as lawyers and private investigators. If you do, by all means hire one to investigate everybody involved, especially the worker, the counselors (especially the counselors), the guardian ad litem, the foster parents who have your child, etc. You'll be surprised how much evidence of naked bias you'll find in such an investigation. It's legal, and it's your right. If you find something, by all means use it.
15.Don't willingly surrender the children: Don't ever willingly surrender the children. To do so gives them the whip hand. Anything you can do to keep the children out of their hands stops them from being able to hold them for ransom (your hopping thru hoops).
16.Don't do anything that puts you under the control of DHS, CPS, or DCFS: Don't willingly move out of the home on DHS, CPS, or DCFS demand, or do anything that puts the family under DHS, CPS, or DCFS control (see don't sign anything, above). When they get control, they go wild.
17.Fight them, tooth and nail: Don't ever give up. One of my favorite pictures is of a heron that is trying to swallow a frog headfirst while the frog has his "hands" firmly around the heron's throat. That, for me, is the picture I want to convey to you.
Don't ever give up your quest to keep, or regain your children from these vicious and evil people who have a demonstrated anti-family bias. True, many DHS, CPS, or DCFS workers are honestly trying to do the best they can for the children, and there is still a lot of child abuse for them to work on. But their incessant pursuit of demonstrably innocent families takes money and manpower away from their ability to pursue other families.
And remember that it is safer to take a nonviolent persons children that a violent persons children (as they may get hurt with at violent persons house)
Editors Note: Obviously, this list has been added to -- or someone can't count. At any rate, please share this list with friends and family members. It is crucial that parents everywhere know and understand their rights.
17 Helpful Tips on how to protect your family
When the Child Protective Service comes to your door, take it seriously. Never think that it can't happen to you because you're a good parent. It can, and has happened to millions of good parents.
Being a good parent is an aberration to a DHS, CPS, and DCFS agent. They're taught that all parents are "potential" child abusers and that if any of the symptoms are present, it's better to "err on the side of caution" and take the children. They're also taught to do anything, say anything, lie, con, and swindle to get into the house to question the children and the parents.
Follow these tips to help tip the scales of justice in your favor...
1.Be polite, even if you're incensed: Their insufferable, insidious, condescending attitude will make you angry. It is designed to do so to allow them to write in their report: "Subject exhibits latent violence and is uncooperative." Strike one. That is part of the scam.
2.Don't allow them into your home without a proper warrant: They will lie, intimidate, and attempt to con their way into your home, but don't allow it. Unless they have a properly issued warrant, signed by a judge, based on sworn testimony by a named person, they have no right to enter your home -- unless they can pony up a possible danger to the child. Be polite while refusing entry. There's nothing a DHS/CPS/DCFS worker likes more than for you to show anger and, especially, curse them.
They are usually accompanied by policemen, some of whom will push their way in. If this happens, you may sue each person involved personally, (police officers and all authority figures are personally liable for damages when they exceed their lawful authority and exceeding their authority is not protected by the Good Samaritan laws) not for charging you, but for forcing his or her way in.
Don't get beat up trying to stop them in this case. Sue them later. You will probably need the money later.
Remember, case law has held that if you invite them into your home, you give up your right to be safe from search and seizure. Don't let them in! Make them force it.
3.Don't sign anything: They will try to get you to sign papers, "just to get this sorted out, don'tcha know," but don't fall into their trap. The only reason for you to have to sign anything is for you to sign away your rights. Politely refuse to sign anything until your attorney has seen it and advises you to do so. And suspect your attorney's advice if DHS, CPS, or DCFS recommended him.
4.Don't answer any questions without (your) lawyer being present: DHS, CPS, and DCFS workers will take this as an indication of guilt, but that's OK. They twist everything you do or say into an indication of guilt in their minds. But if you allow them to ask you questions without a lawyer present, you've given up your right to remain silent.
5.Do allow them to see the children through the window to assure them they're OK: To reduce the possibility that they'll testify that you kept them from seeing the children because they were abused, bring the children to a front window and let them see them.
6.Do take the children to your own doctor as soon as possible: The next thing to do is take the children to your own doctor and have them examined to show that no abuse, sexual or otherwise, has occurred. Then have the doctor write a report on his findings and give a copy of it to the DHS, CPS or DCFS worker. If they have decided to charge you anyway, they will reject it and insist on their own examination, which, once they have taken the children they may do, and you can't stop it. But your original doctor's examination can be an effective counterpoint if their doctor says abuse has occurred, which they often do. They know who pays them for the right finding.
7.Don't believe anything they tell you: DHS, CPS, and DCFS workers are trained in all the best ways to con and scam you into doing what they want you to do. They're experts at it. Their training spends a lot more time on this than it does on what actually constitutes child abuse. They're subjected to months, even years of conditioning and brainwashing themselves, disguised as training. Many are not even aware they're running a con on you.
They think what they do is necessary to get child abusers off the street. Many are good people who really do care about the welfare of the children. It is the people in charge who have the ulterior motive to take complete control over your children for their nefarious purposes. But the result is the same. They lie.
8.Don't allow unsupervised interviews with the children: Unsupervised interviews with your children are little more than conditioning sessions where DHS, CPS or DCFS workers and their captive counselors use questioning methods that would not be allowed to be used against a murderer, much less against a frightened and impressionable child.
Your children just aren't prepared to withstand such leading questioning, which is designed to get something on you. They con them into believing that you're already in big trouble, and you can be saved if the children will just say you did something so they can go home.
After children have been taken, there's nothing you can do to stop these unsupervised interviews that will take place over a period of months, even years, until your children may finally break down and tell them what they want to hear, just to make it stop. But if you stop them from doing it in the beginning, there is a chance that charges will never be filed and they will not be taken from you.
9.Don't allow them to physically examine the child without your presence, or your lawyer's presence: Never allow them uncontrolled access to your children as long as they are in your custody. If a court orders a physical examination (while you still have custody), insist on either being present yourself, or have your attorney present to protect your, and your children's interests In addition, you should try to videotape all sessions or get a court order forcing them to do so, with copies to be available to you.
10.Don't allow them to come to your home later for an interview: Allowing them to enter later also forfeits your right to be safe from search and seizure. And you can be sure that a sharp-eyed DHS, CPS, or DCFS worker will be able to find something they can twist to incriminate you. If interviews are required, insist that they be at the DHS, CPS, or DCFS office, or better still, at your attorney's office (that way they can't just take them while you're there).
11.Tape record all conversations with DHS, CPS, or DCFS workers and others involved: To keep an accurate record of events, plus to have proof of any threats made by DHS, CPS, or DCFS workers or counselors, always tape record all conversations with them, either in person or by phone (there's an inexpensive attachment for your phone available at any electronics store, or Radio Shack).
Some states restrict your right to tape conversations, so check your state laws. In states that allow secret taping if one of the parties to the tape knows, you can either let them know they're being taped, or not, at your wish. But in states where notification is required, you should place the tape recorder in full view in personal interviews, and make it a point to advise them they're being taped at the beginning of every phone call. In this day and age, where there's almost a videotape camera in every home, videotapes of proceedings can also help. Make a record. Then they can't deny their violation of your rights (Personally, I would make sure they knew they were being taped, even if the law doesn't require it).
12.Keep a journal: The same applies to keeping a journal. If you keep a detailed chronological (day-to-day) journal of events, showing dates, times, quotes, reference to audiotapes and videotapes, etc., they won't be able to get away with lying when they say they notified you of a hearing when they didn't. The very existence of such a journal (and you should definitely let them know you're keeping it) will tend to keep them somewhat more honest, or at least make it more difficult for them to scam you.
13.Never accept a plea bargain if you're innocent: One of their basic patterns is to pile charge upon charge, knowing they can't make most of them stick, including the ones they hope will stick, so they can tell you all about all the long years your children will spend in foster care if you don't accept the plea bargain they're offering you.
One of their best-used lines is that "if you just confess you will get your children back sooner." It's a tired old con, people. If they had any kind of a strong case, you'd never see them until it was court time.
I don't care how good their plea bargain sounds, if you're innocent, don't fall for it. That's how they get most of the convictions they do get of innocent people. They make it look as bad as possible, then get you to plead guilty, which involves an admission of guilt. or plead no contest, which allows them to still treat you as guilty.
14.Hire a private investigator if you can afford it: I know that most of the people they go after are the poor. They're easier targets. But one of the factors they forget as they move up the ladder and start charging more and more middle-class people is that these people aren't nearly as likely to buy their con.
They are much more resistant to being intimidated because they aren't government wards. And they have more money for such things as lawyers and private investigators. If you do, by all means hire one to investigate everybody involved, especially the worker, the counselors (especially the counselors), the guardian ad litem, the foster parents who have your child, etc. You'll be surprised how much evidence of naked bias you'll find in such an investigation. It's legal, and it's your right. If you find something, by all means use it.
15.Don't willingly surrender the children: Don't ever willingly surrender the children. To do so gives them the whip hand. Anything you can do to keep the children out of their hands stops them from being able to hold them for ransom (your hopping thru hoops).
16.Don't do anything that puts you under the control of DHS, CPS, or DCFS: Don't willingly move out of the home on DHS, CPS, or DCFS demand, or do anything that puts the family under DHS, CPS, or DCFS control (see don't sign anything, above). When they get control, they go wild.
17.Fight them, tooth and nail: Don't ever give up. One of my favorite pictures is of a heron that is trying to swallow a frog headfirst while the frog has his "hands" firmly around the heron's throat. That, for me, is the picture I want to convey to you.
Don't ever give up your quest to keep, or regain your children from these vicious and evil people who have a demonstrated anti-family bias. True, many DHS, CPS, or DCFS workers are honestly trying to do the best they can for the children, and there is still a lot of child abuse for them to work on. But their incessant pursuit of demonstrably innocent families takes money and manpower away from their ability to pursue other families.
And remember that it is safer to take a nonviolent persons children that a violent persons children (as they may get hurt with at violent persons house)
Editors Note: Obviously, this list has been added to -- or someone can't count. At any rate, please share this list with friends and family members. It is crucial that parents everywhere know and understand their rights.
Childs Death was Anything but a Suicide
XOb (Child's Death was Anything but a Suicide)
By James R. Marsh on April 30, 2009 10:56 AM
From the Miami Herald:
Calling the death of Gabriel Myers a ''suicide'' lets his killers off the hook.
The 7-year-old was propelled by a vast conspiracy of abuse and neglect and malpractice. The boy only finished the job on April 15, when he locked himself in the bathroom of his Margate foster home and coiled a shower hose around his neck.
. . . .
The drugs, which come with a long and sobering list of possible side effects in children, have been doled out to troublesome kids to make them more manageable. Eli Lilly was fined $1.4 billion -- that's billion with a B -- in March for nefariously marketing the unauthorized use of Zyprexa for children, despite the known risks. A big chunk of those kids, like Gabriel, were foster kids, whose lives by definition were inflicted with the kind of trauma apt to cause unruly behavior.
. . . .
Foster kids were essentially guinea pigs in a vast, public-financed drug experiment.
. . . .
Absent a parent, a judge must give the OK for psychotropics. But the courts and case workers from the Department of Children & Families are all too overwhelmed by caseloads and beset by budget cuts to spend time contesting a doctor's judgment.
''No one was looking out for Gabriel.''
What Gabriel got, instead of real help, were powerful adult drugs laden with dangerous side effects. His cause of death was listed as suicide. It was just another misdiagnosis. When Qualified Immunity Protects
By James R. Marsh on April 30, 2009 10:56 AM
From the Miami Herald:
Calling the death of Gabriel Myers a ''suicide'' lets his killers off the hook.
The 7-year-old was propelled by a vast conspiracy of abuse and neglect and malpractice. The boy only finished the job on April 15, when he locked himself in the bathroom of his Margate foster home and coiled a shower hose around his neck.
. . . .
The drugs, which come with a long and sobering list of possible side effects in children, have been doled out to troublesome kids to make them more manageable. Eli Lilly was fined $1.4 billion -- that's billion with a B -- in March for nefariously marketing the unauthorized use of Zyprexa for children, despite the known risks. A big chunk of those kids, like Gabriel, were foster kids, whose lives by definition were inflicted with the kind of trauma apt to cause unruly behavior.
. . . .
Foster kids were essentially guinea pigs in a vast, public-financed drug experiment.
. . . .
Absent a parent, a judge must give the OK for psychotropics. But the courts and case workers from the Department of Children & Families are all too overwhelmed by caseloads and beset by budget cuts to spend time contesting a doctor's judgment.
''No one was looking out for Gabriel.''
What Gabriel got, instead of real help, were powerful adult drugs laden with dangerous side effects. His cause of death was listed as suicide. It was just another misdiagnosis. When Qualified Immunity Protects
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