Family Rights News
Help! My grandchildren have been taken by cps
March 30, 2010
The title is an actual internet search by which somebody found the AFRA website today. We get quite a few grieving grandparents desperately looking for help. They usually find our How to Fight CPS page, which should serve their needs.
However, there are a few comments I would like to add. Here's the LAW about "kinship preference"
42 U.S.C. § 671 : US Code - Section 671: State plan for foster care and adoption assistance was amended in 1996-
COATS (AND WYDEN) AMENDMENT NO. 4909 (Senate - July 18, 1996)
[Page: S8227]
Mr. ROTH (for Mr. Coats, for himself and Mr. Wyden) proposed an amendment to the bill, S. 1956, supra; as follows:
At the end of chapter 7, of subtitle A, of title II, add the following:
SEC. . KINSHIP CARE.
Section 471(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)) is amended--
(1) by striking `and' at the end of paragraph (16);
(2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (17) and inserting `; and'; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
`(18) provides that States shall give preference to an adult relative over a non-related caregiver when determining a placement for a child, provided that the relative caregiver meets all relevant State child protection standards.
This amendment is now fully incorporated in the law, but I wanted to point out who sponsored it and when it was amended.
The current rendering of 42 U.S.C. § 671 : US Code - Section 671 states-
(19) provides that the State shall consider giving preference to an adult relative over a non-related caregiver when determining a placement for a child, provided that the relative caregiver meets all relevant State child protection standards;
That's the law. I don't know when the word "consider" was sneaked in. However, many states have no intention of observing this law. That's exactly why you should memorize it.
Now what about the second part- "...provided that the relative caregiver meets all relevant State child protection standards"?
Here is where you have to quit playing "Winston" in "1984". YOU have to ask "What do I need to do to meet the State child protection standards?"
If the CPS agent wants to be coy with you, put the ONUS ON HER- "What do YOU need to do to HELP ME qualify?"
The #1 rule is- DOCUMENT everything said and done. Keep meticulous records of who said what, when. Keep any correspondence to and from the agencies.
Grandparents (and aunts, uncles and cousins) are nearly ALWAYS the best place for kids to be.
With the passage of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act in October 2008, Federal resources are supposed to be available to assist children who leave foster care for legal guardianships with family members.
Use this information wisely to keep YOUR relatives with family instead of going to stranger care.
COMMENTon this story
"Better be wise by the misfortunes of others than by your own." --Aesop (c. 550 B.C.) legendary Greek fabulist
If CPS hasn't attacked YOUR FAMILY yet, see If you are ever approached by anyone from social services.... and WHEN THEY COME AFTER YOU
Learn as much as you can, as fast as you can at "How To Fight CPS"-
http://familyrights.us/how_to/fight_cps.html
Get YOUR VERSION OF HISTORY ON THE RECORD with your Sworn Affidavit-
http://familyrights.us/bin/FORMS/sworn_affidavit.html
Leonard Henderson, co-founder
American Family Rights Association
http://familyrights.us
"Until Every Child Comes Home" ©
"The Voice of America's Families" ©
Have you seen AFRA News Today?
http://familyrights.us/news
I am not a lawyer and I do not pretend to give legal advice. If you need legal advice, see AFRA's Lawyer Friends who certainly are not pretenders (http://familyrights.us/info/law) I merely relate the things I learned in the past that seemed to work in my own case or things that others have related to me that worked in their cases. I provide information for free and do not expect to receive any form of payment or reward on this side of heaven. Therefore, DO NOT rely on this information as legal advice. Real Legal advice would come from a real lawyer who hates CPS and prepares a VIGOROUS DEFENSE against a negative (proving nothing happened) instead an ATTORNEY (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/attorn) talking you into a plea bargain (http://familyrights.us/bin/The_Problem_with_Plea_Bargaining.htm)
http://familyrights.newscred.com/editorials/1413/help-my-grandchildren-have-been-taken-by-cps
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
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Hush Little Baby Don't You Cry-For Trinity
Song For Trinity From Mommy
Hush little baby don't you cry,
and please don't do that thing with your eye.
Your feet are big & your toes are long,
I made up these words cuz I don't know this song.
You poop every morning at the same time,
being that cute shuld be a crime.
You pee on the floor like a little dog,
pees ok but not a log.
7 weeks old, already growing teeth,
when u grow up please don't cause me grief.
That pouty lip, & all that drool,
I'm already scared 2 send you 2 school.
Those big blue eyes & that pretty smile,
please stay a baby....if even just for awhile.....
Sent to me From Trinity's Mommy
CPS Hostage Speaks Out
CPS Hostage Speaks Out
March 26, 2010 yvonnemason
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWaxglL0Wb8
http://protectingourchildrenfrombeingsold.wordpress.com/2010/03/26/cps-hostage-speaks-out/
March 26, 2010 yvonnemason
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWaxglL0Wb8
http://protectingourchildrenfrombeingsold.wordpress.com/2010/03/26/cps-hostage-speaks-out/
Death of Sen. Nancy Schaefer - What the media won't tell you.
MONDAY, MARCH 29, 2010
Death of Sen. Nancy Schaefer - What the media won't tell you.
From a Facebook note by Julie Kempson:
From Garland Favorito
Note to VoterGA Supporters:
Normally my communications have been limited to subjects about our electronic voting method, ballot access for candidates and elections related investigations. I feel led to make an exception and bring to your attention another non partisan subject: The high profile investigation that has been initiated into Friday’s death of a former Georgia state senator.
Garland
http://conservativestateproject.blogspot.com/2010/03/death-of-sen-nancy-schaefer-what-media.html
Saturday March 27, 2010
On Friday, former Senator Nancy Schaefer and her husband were found dead in their home in Habersham County. Even before a GBI investigation could be initiated, media outlets began pronouncing that their death was a “murder-suicide” and shut off most public comment posting on their web sites. The “murder suicide” theory implies that Sen. Schaefer’s husband shot her and then killed himself (or vice versa). Both Habersham County and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation began investigating the case as a “murder suicide” rather than the more obvious “murder made to look like suicide”. Like so many people, I have known former Sen. Nancy Schaefer for 15 years and spoken to several people who know her better than I do. They believe that the “murder suicide” theory is highly unlikely for any one of the following reasons:
1. It is totally against Nancy Schaefer’s consistently strong commitment to the sanctity of life principles that she has fought so valiantly to uphold;
2. Nancy and her husband, Bruce, have five children and more than a dozen grandchildren who they would not choose to leave behind so abruptly;
3. Bruce’s problem with cancer was corrected and under control so there was no reason to end his life as one senator tried to imply;
4. Nancy or Bruce would not likely agree to commit such an act that violates the fundamental principles of their Christian faith;
5. Bruce was retired and the couple did not appear to be in any type of dire financial crisis that would lead them to commit such acts;
6. Bruce and Nancy knew that her sister who had Alzheimer’s disease needed her to help take care of her;
7. Friends who knew the couple best state that Bruce would simply not have the capability to kill his wife;
8. Nancy was dedicated, as a national leader, to help needy people overcome abuse within Child Protective Services organizations;
9. Nancy was actively exposing corruption within the Department of Family & Child Services (DFCS) including actions by the DFCS director in the county where she lived.
10. Nancy knew that she was needed in the fight against child sex slave trafficking in Atlanta which has one of the highest activity rates in the country;
11. Bruce was highly supportive of Nancy’s work for decades and would have little or no reason to suddenly try to kill her at such a critical juncture in her career.
Specifically in Georgia, former Senator Nancy Schaefer had found during the last few years that:
· DFCS in Georgia housed children in a foster home with a known pedophile who molested the children.
· DFCS in Habersham County failed to remove six children from a home where they are being abused and tortured.
· DFCS in Georgia turned two girls over to a California father who had a pornographic video business.
A report that Nancy Schaefer produced on these remarkable cases can be found here:
http://fightcps.com/2008/02/29/report-of-georgia-senator-nancy-schaefer-on-cps-corruption/
Nancy Schaefer was also interviewed extensively by talk show host Alex Jones about corruption in Child Protection Services nationally. A multi-part series of her interview and an Eagle Forum presentation can be found on You Tube here:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=nancy+schaefer&search_type=&aq=f
In addition, Senator Schaefer led opposition to HB582 and SB304, two bills introduced by fellow Republicans that would have likely resulted in increasing child sex slave trafficking. These bills would have made it legal for teenagers to participate in certain illicit acts. The bills effectively removed the legal authority that police now have to pick teenagers up and get them into protective custody so that they can no longer be pimped for those acts.
As President of Georgia Eagle Forum, Nancy Schaefer planned to be in Alabama this weekend for an Eagle Forum convention. Instead she chose to stay in Georgia to develop new information that would have further exposed corruption in DFCS and beyond. Many Eagle forum members who were close to Sen. Schaefer were aware of her courageous efforts. None of them believe that either she or her husband was involved in any type of suicide.
It is particularly ironic that the Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC) chose to quote State Sen. Don Thomas in their March 26 article about Sen. Schaefer’s death. The AJC portrayed him as a friend of the couple even though he lives on the other side of the state from the Schaefer family and was diametrically opposed to many of their core beliefs. Sen. Thomas, the Chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee, immediately propagated and expanded the “murder-suicide” theory without any first-hand knowledge or evidence. That is very disturbing considering it is his committee that should have been helping to clean up the corruption at DFCS. Activists supporting Sen. Schaefer explained that he constantly advocated increased power and authority for DFCS in spite of the evidence showing the organization was misusing that authority.
With Nancy Shafer no longer on the scene the question may be raised as to how best to continue her legacy. I believe that she would want conservatives, progressives, libertarians, constitutionalists as well as grass roots Democrats and Republicans throughout Georgia to unite and work to rectify the corruption in DFCS and eliminate child sex slave trafficking in Georgia.
PERMISSION TO REPRINT GRANTED
Garland
Death of Sen. Nancy Schaefer - What the media won't tell you.
From a Facebook note by Julie Kempson:
From Garland Favorito
Note to VoterGA Supporters:
Normally my communications have been limited to subjects about our electronic voting method, ballot access for candidates and elections related investigations. I feel led to make an exception and bring to your attention another non partisan subject: The high profile investigation that has been initiated into Friday’s death of a former Georgia state senator.
Garland
http://conservativestateproject.blogspot.com/2010/03/death-of-sen-nancy-schaefer-what-media.html
Saturday March 27, 2010
On Friday, former Senator Nancy Schaefer and her husband were found dead in their home in Habersham County. Even before a GBI investigation could be initiated, media outlets began pronouncing that their death was a “murder-suicide” and shut off most public comment posting on their web sites. The “murder suicide” theory implies that Sen. Schaefer’s husband shot her and then killed himself (or vice versa). Both Habersham County and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation began investigating the case as a “murder suicide” rather than the more obvious “murder made to look like suicide”. Like so many people, I have known former Sen. Nancy Schaefer for 15 years and spoken to several people who know her better than I do. They believe that the “murder suicide” theory is highly unlikely for any one of the following reasons:
1. It is totally against Nancy Schaefer’s consistently strong commitment to the sanctity of life principles that she has fought so valiantly to uphold;
2. Nancy and her husband, Bruce, have five children and more than a dozen grandchildren who they would not choose to leave behind so abruptly;
3. Bruce’s problem with cancer was corrected and under control so there was no reason to end his life as one senator tried to imply;
4. Nancy or Bruce would not likely agree to commit such an act that violates the fundamental principles of their Christian faith;
5. Bruce was retired and the couple did not appear to be in any type of dire financial crisis that would lead them to commit such acts;
6. Bruce and Nancy knew that her sister who had Alzheimer’s disease needed her to help take care of her;
7. Friends who knew the couple best state that Bruce would simply not have the capability to kill his wife;
8. Nancy was dedicated, as a national leader, to help needy people overcome abuse within Child Protective Services organizations;
9. Nancy was actively exposing corruption within the Department of Family & Child Services (DFCS) including actions by the DFCS director in the county where she lived.
10. Nancy knew that she was needed in the fight against child sex slave trafficking in Atlanta which has one of the highest activity rates in the country;
11. Bruce was highly supportive of Nancy’s work for decades and would have little or no reason to suddenly try to kill her at such a critical juncture in her career.
Specifically in Georgia, former Senator Nancy Schaefer had found during the last few years that:
· DFCS in Georgia housed children in a foster home with a known pedophile who molested the children.
· DFCS in Habersham County failed to remove six children from a home where they are being abused and tortured.
· DFCS in Georgia turned two girls over to a California father who had a pornographic video business.
A report that Nancy Schaefer produced on these remarkable cases can be found here:
http://fightcps.com/2008/02/29/report-of-georgia-senator-nancy-schaefer-on-cps-corruption/
Nancy Schaefer was also interviewed extensively by talk show host Alex Jones about corruption in Child Protection Services nationally. A multi-part series of her interview and an Eagle Forum presentation can be found on You Tube here:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=nancy+schaefer&search_type=&aq=f
In addition, Senator Schaefer led opposition to HB582 and SB304, two bills introduced by fellow Republicans that would have likely resulted in increasing child sex slave trafficking. These bills would have made it legal for teenagers to participate in certain illicit acts. The bills effectively removed the legal authority that police now have to pick teenagers up and get them into protective custody so that they can no longer be pimped for those acts.
As President of Georgia Eagle Forum, Nancy Schaefer planned to be in Alabama this weekend for an Eagle Forum convention. Instead she chose to stay in Georgia to develop new information that would have further exposed corruption in DFCS and beyond. Many Eagle forum members who were close to Sen. Schaefer were aware of her courageous efforts. None of them believe that either she or her husband was involved in any type of suicide.
It is particularly ironic that the Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC) chose to quote State Sen. Don Thomas in their March 26 article about Sen. Schaefer’s death. The AJC portrayed him as a friend of the couple even though he lives on the other side of the state from the Schaefer family and was diametrically opposed to many of their core beliefs. Sen. Thomas, the Chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee, immediately propagated and expanded the “murder-suicide” theory without any first-hand knowledge or evidence. That is very disturbing considering it is his committee that should have been helping to clean up the corruption at DFCS. Activists supporting Sen. Schaefer explained that he constantly advocated increased power and authority for DFCS in spite of the evidence showing the organization was misusing that authority.
With Nancy Shafer no longer on the scene the question may be raised as to how best to continue her legacy. I believe that she would want conservatives, progressives, libertarians, constitutionalists as well as grass roots Democrats and Republicans throughout Georgia to unite and work to rectify the corruption in DFCS and eliminate child sex slave trafficking in Georgia.
PERMISSION TO REPRINT GRANTED
Garland
DCF Worker Accused Of Killing Foster Child Found Not Guilty
http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-dcf-suzanne-listro-not-guilty-0329,0,5350064.story
DCF Worker Accused Of Killing Foster Child Found Not Guilty
Connecticut Department of Children and Families employee Suzanne Listro stands at her arraignment in Superior Court in Rockville, Conn., Thursday, July 17, 2008 in this frame grab from WFSB-TV Hartford. Listro was charged with manslaughter in connection with the death of a 7-month-old foster child in May, 2008. ((AP Photo/WFSB-TV) / July 17, 2008)
Related
Suzanne Listro
Closing Statements Made In Death Of 7-Month-Old
Listro's Defense Targets 'Syndrome'
Stories
Chief Medical Examiner Testifies In Listro Manslaughter Trial
Topics
Justice System
Crimes
Murder
See more topics »
The Hartford Courant
2:54 p.m. EDT, March 29, 2010
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TOLLAND - A judge this afternoon found Suzanne Listro, a foster mother, not guilty of manslaughter in connection with the death of her 7-month-old foster child who died nearly two years ago.
Judge William Bright Jr. also found her not guilty of risk of injury to a minor.
"I'm not saying this was an accident. I don't know," the judge said. "I cannot say without a reasonable doubt that Ms. Listro inflicted the injuries upon Michael Brown Jr."
Brown died May 19, 2008 of blunt traumatic head injury. Listro had been accused of killing the child by violently shaking him.
Listro, 44, has said the boy died after falling from her bed.
Prosecutors in the case declined to comment Monday.
— Staff Reports
DCF Worker Accused Of Killing Foster Child Found Not Guilty
Connecticut Department of Children and Families employee Suzanne Listro stands at her arraignment in Superior Court in Rockville, Conn., Thursday, July 17, 2008 in this frame grab from WFSB-TV Hartford. Listro was charged with manslaughter in connection with the death of a 7-month-old foster child in May, 2008. ((AP Photo/WFSB-TV) / July 17, 2008)
Related
Suzanne Listro
Closing Statements Made In Death Of 7-Month-Old
Listro's Defense Targets 'Syndrome'
Stories
Chief Medical Examiner Testifies In Listro Manslaughter Trial
Topics
Justice System
Crimes
Murder
See more topics »
The Hartford Courant
2:54 p.m. EDT, March 29, 2010
E-mailPrint
Share
Text Size
TOLLAND - A judge this afternoon found Suzanne Listro, a foster mother, not guilty of manslaughter in connection with the death of her 7-month-old foster child who died nearly two years ago.
Judge William Bright Jr. also found her not guilty of risk of injury to a minor.
"I'm not saying this was an accident. I don't know," the judge said. "I cannot say without a reasonable doubt that Ms. Listro inflicted the injuries upon Michael Brown Jr."
Brown died May 19, 2008 of blunt traumatic head injury. Listro had been accused of killing the child by violently shaking him.
Listro, 44, has said the boy died after falling from her bed.
Prosecutors in the case declined to comment Monday.
— Staff Reports
The Power of Words - Foster Care Providers
The Power of Words - Foster Care Providers
Written by Brenda Alexander-CPS-A System Out Of Control
Posted: 28 Mar 2010 10:22 PM PDT
It seems a small thing, saying foster mother or father but to the biological parent whose children have been stolen by CPS, it is huge. We either carried these children for 9 months, gave birth, raised and nurtured them or, in the case of a father, he helped to create this remarkable human being. By virtue of that alone, you are a mother or father. Regardless of what CPS tells you or your children, YOU are their mother or father. You are they're parent.
Foster care providers are just that...they are supposed to provide interim care until the real parents are finally able to regain custody of their children. Only in extreme cases of abuse and neglect should a child ever be placed up for adoption out of the foster care system. Yet thousands of parental rights are terminated every single day in this country because stealing children and selling them to adopters are the norm these days. The federal government gives the states millions of dollars each year, earned off the backs of your children. They get money from the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA); Title IV-E funding; Medicaid and Medicaid fraud; child support from the biological parents, SSI and disability. The more "special needs" labels you can paste on the child, the more money the state gets.
Also, it use to be that when a foster care provider adopted a child, the money stopped pouring in. Oh, that's not the way it is now. Foster care providers continue to get money each month (between $600 and $900 per child/per month) until they reach 18. It's interesting to me that we're now hearing of all these homeless 18 year olds that the states are trying to help because they were kicked out of their "foster" home the day they turned 18. Now the government is saying they'll continue to give them money up to the age of 21 IF they are allowed to stay in the foster home!
Let me ask you an honest question. How many biological parents do you personally know who have kicked their 18 year old child out of the home without a job, money, place to go, etc? Me? I don't know of any but that's just me. Do you think it might have something to do with the fact that all this "love" that fosters talk about (saying stupid stuff like "I do it because I LOVE the children") is really the love of money? They want that 18 year old gone so they can make room for their next little nest egg.
So please, when you write articles, emails, letters to government officials, etc., use the term "foster care provider" rather than "foster parents." They haven't earned that right. When it stops being about the money then maybe they'll deserve the other word but until them, don't give them more power than they already have.
Note from unhappygrammy:I personally call them foster "stranger's", because that's all they are is stranger's to our illegally stolen children. Only strangers would hold our children hostage for CPS/DCYF.
Written by Brenda Alexander-CPS-A System Out Of Control
Posted: 28 Mar 2010 10:22 PM PDT
It seems a small thing, saying foster mother or father but to the biological parent whose children have been stolen by CPS, it is huge. We either carried these children for 9 months, gave birth, raised and nurtured them or, in the case of a father, he helped to create this remarkable human being. By virtue of that alone, you are a mother or father. Regardless of what CPS tells you or your children, YOU are their mother or father. You are they're parent.
Foster care providers are just that...they are supposed to provide interim care until the real parents are finally able to regain custody of their children. Only in extreme cases of abuse and neglect should a child ever be placed up for adoption out of the foster care system. Yet thousands of parental rights are terminated every single day in this country because stealing children and selling them to adopters are the norm these days. The federal government gives the states millions of dollars each year, earned off the backs of your children. They get money from the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA); Title IV-E funding; Medicaid and Medicaid fraud; child support from the biological parents, SSI and disability. The more "special needs" labels you can paste on the child, the more money the state gets.
Also, it use to be that when a foster care provider adopted a child, the money stopped pouring in. Oh, that's not the way it is now. Foster care providers continue to get money each month (between $600 and $900 per child/per month) until they reach 18. It's interesting to me that we're now hearing of all these homeless 18 year olds that the states are trying to help because they were kicked out of their "foster" home the day they turned 18. Now the government is saying they'll continue to give them money up to the age of 21 IF they are allowed to stay in the foster home!
Let me ask you an honest question. How many biological parents do you personally know who have kicked their 18 year old child out of the home without a job, money, place to go, etc? Me? I don't know of any but that's just me. Do you think it might have something to do with the fact that all this "love" that fosters talk about (saying stupid stuff like "I do it because I LOVE the children") is really the love of money? They want that 18 year old gone so they can make room for their next little nest egg.
So please, when you write articles, emails, letters to government officials, etc., use the term "foster care provider" rather than "foster parents." They haven't earned that right. When it stops being about the money then maybe they'll deserve the other word but until them, don't give them more power than they already have.
Note from unhappygrammy:I personally call them foster "stranger's", because that's all they are is stranger's to our illegally stolen children. Only strangers would hold our children hostage for CPS/DCYF.
Foster mom gets probation in infant's death
Foster mom gets probation in infant's death
ShareThis PrintE-mail
By Larry Hartstein
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A foster mom who left a 9-month-old girl in a closed minivan, where the infant died of heat stroke, has been sentenced to probation, a fine and a community service.
More Atlanta area news »
Highs to hit 80 by Friday
Man shot to death outside Atlanta club
Cops: Man stabbed, house burned
Face-lift for Stone Mountain
Top news around the Web
Wendy Osborne, 31, received 12 months' probation and a $1,000 fine and was ordered to complete 200 hours of community service after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter, a misdemeanor.
"There is no way the court can lessen the anger and frustration of those who loved the child," Judge Bob Adamson said at last week's sentencing in Jackson County Superior Court, according to the Braselton News. "This act is at the highest level of criminality of a misdmeanor involuntary manslaughter charge. If not for the recommendation of the district attorney, the court would have considered [jail] time in this case."
Osborne told authorities she returned from a doctor's appointment about 2:30 p.m. Sept. 2, 2008, and took her two adopted 3-year-old girls into her Nicholson home. She forgot about the baby in the car seat.
Osborne said she fell asleep, waking around 5 p.m. Then she remembered the baby in the minivan. The girl, Jessica Marie Scovil, was pronounced dead by emergency personnel called to the scene.
Osborne told authorities she had been sick for several days and was taking medication, which might have contributed to her drowsiness.
The infant had been living with Osborne for five months. Her birth parents were on the verge of regaining custody at the time of Jessica's death, relatives told the court.
"I will never understand how anyone could leave a 9-month-old baby in a hot van to die," said Jessica's grandmother, Georgia Nicholas, according to the Braselton News.
Osborne and her husband, Chris, had fostered several children before Jessica. Osborne even helped train new foster parents.
Before sentencing, witnesses testified on Osborne's behalf.
"I can't imagine that any punishment you can give her can be worse than what she's already been through," said Osborne's pastor, the Rev. Kent Barry, according to the Athens Banner-Herald. "She deals with this every day. She still has her two [5-year-olds] to care for, and when she looks at them, she can't help but see Jessica."
http://www.ajc.com/news/foster-mom-gets-probation-414567.html
ShareThis PrintE-mail
By Larry Hartstein
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A foster mom who left a 9-month-old girl in a closed minivan, where the infant died of heat stroke, has been sentenced to probation, a fine and a community service.
More Atlanta area news »
Highs to hit 80 by Friday
Man shot to death outside Atlanta club
Cops: Man stabbed, house burned
Face-lift for Stone Mountain
Top news around the Web
Wendy Osborne, 31, received 12 months' probation and a $1,000 fine and was ordered to complete 200 hours of community service after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter, a misdemeanor.
"There is no way the court can lessen the anger and frustration of those who loved the child," Judge Bob Adamson said at last week's sentencing in Jackson County Superior Court, according to the Braselton News. "This act is at the highest level of criminality of a misdmeanor involuntary manslaughter charge. If not for the recommendation of the district attorney, the court would have considered [jail] time in this case."
Osborne told authorities she returned from a doctor's appointment about 2:30 p.m. Sept. 2, 2008, and took her two adopted 3-year-old girls into her Nicholson home. She forgot about the baby in the car seat.
Osborne said she fell asleep, waking around 5 p.m. Then she remembered the baby in the minivan. The girl, Jessica Marie Scovil, was pronounced dead by emergency personnel called to the scene.
Osborne told authorities she had been sick for several days and was taking medication, which might have contributed to her drowsiness.
The infant had been living with Osborne for five months. Her birth parents were on the verge of regaining custody at the time of Jessica's death, relatives told the court.
"I will never understand how anyone could leave a 9-month-old baby in a hot van to die," said Jessica's grandmother, Georgia Nicholas, according to the Braselton News.
Osborne and her husband, Chris, had fostered several children before Jessica. Osborne even helped train new foster parents.
Before sentencing, witnesses testified on Osborne's behalf.
"I can't imagine that any punishment you can give her can be worse than what she's already been through," said Osborne's pastor, the Rev. Kent Barry, according to the Athens Banner-Herald. "She deals with this every day. She still has her two [5-year-olds] to care for, and when she looks at them, she can't help but see Jessica."
http://www.ajc.com/news/foster-mom-gets-probation-414567.html
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