Was The Death of former Georgia State Senator Nancy Schaefer By the Hand of Her Husband?
From The Constitution Party Florida
The recent death of Nancy Scheafer, former Georgia State Senator, and, most recently, President of the Georgia Eagle Forum of Georgia has stirred some serious controversy. As a state senator, Nancy had become aware of extensive use of the Georgia Child Protection Services to kidnap children for profit, sexual exploitation, and, perhaps, other forms of abuse.
When she tried to get this problem exposed and addressed through the Georgia legislature, her fellow legislators acted to silence her efforts and, as promptly as possible, cause her to be defeated in her third term re-election effort. Undeterred and understanding the gravity of this unpublicized epidemic and the deep damage it was doing to children and families and our country, Nancy became President of the Georgia Eagle Forum and continued her efforts to get this issue addressed.
Because she was the only prominent advocate for this cause, families from all over Georgia came to her with the stories and evidence of the nightmares they had been going through, while agonizing that they could get no one but her to listen. She was in possession of damaging and dispositive information associated with prominent people in Georgia who had participated in and “benefited”, in one or another, from the activities of this “human trafficking” operation. If you understand the history of this kind of thing, you will recognize that she would have had enough information to put “important people” in jail.
On Thursday, March 26, it was reported that Nancy (73) and her husband Bruce (74) were found dead in their bed, her having been shot in the back while asleep, and he having been shot in the chest, and that there was a gun lying near him. Also found in the home was a four page “suicide letter”, purportedly from Bruce Shaefer.
In that context, here is what the law enforcement authorities disseminated through the media:
The first statement issued said that it was likely that the deaths were effected by Bruce Schaefer as part of a suicide pact with his wife, resulting from their mutual despondency over the terminal state of Mr. Shaefer’s his supposed cancer condition, and that they they were such a close loving couple that Nancy did not want to be separated from her husband by his death. Without going into great detail, anyone who understands the nature, mindset and worldview of someone like Nancy Schaefer, would have recognized that theory as being pure poppycock. And why would the investigators’ release such a statement without strong confirming information? In fact, this theory was quickly determined to be totally bogus, because, as an autopsy revealed, Mr. Schaefer had no terminal illness whatsoever.
The next theory proposed was that they had financial problems which caused Mr. Schaefer to kill his wife and himself, apparently without her consent. No murder-suicide pact here, just his independent action. But is there evidence that this financial condition so severe that this loving husband would kill his wife on his own initiative? They lived in the same community with their daughter who visited them every other day. Apparently she did not know about this very desperate state of financial affairs. These people were conservatives, and, although not a certainty, not likely to participate in financial speculation. (By the way, nothing I have seen so far states what his life’s work was.)
So what evidence did authorities have to speculate that financial problems were at the root of Mr. Schaefer’s purported actions. The answer is NONE. However, the language used by Habersham County Sheriff Joey Terrell and reported by the Atlanta Journal & Constitution implies vaguely that the evidence for financial destitution MIGHT be found in the aforementioned four page letter or in letters supposedly left for his children. However, what the Sheriff is really said is that they found nothing in the letter about financial problems, but that they are going to continue to look for it. Look at this peculiar statement from the AJ&C:
There may be indications that finances played a role in the case, Terrell said, but nothing he has seen so far establishes a clear motive.
“The evidence might be in the letters. It might not,” he said. “We might not ever know.”
Folks, how hard is to read a four page letter and determine if the writer was upset over financial matters? If THAT was the reason for what he purportedly did, wouldn’t it “stick our like a sore thumb”? Is this a bad reflection on the competence of the Georgia education system? What do they plan to do, use a magnifying glass to look for secret writing somewhere on the page? BOTTOM LINE: They have no motive for Bruce Shaefer to have “pulled the trigger” even once, not to mention twice.
So, who would have had solid motives? The obvious answer is government officials with whom Nancy Shaefer was very familiar. Who in public office in Georgia might not have known who Nancy was and what she was working on? Not many. But will the “investigators” turn their attention in that direction? It is commentary on the state of affairs in America that it would a miracle for the criminal justice to actually direct its attention to the most likely place evidence motivating the crime could be found. If we the people can’t change this, we have NO HOPE.
P.S., The newspaper stories do not mention the most relevant fact: namely that she had been working for years on the subject of “human trafficking” in the form of child abduction by the Georgia Child Protection agency.
http://www.cpflorida.com/blog/?p=208
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
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Baby still in state care after case against parents was dropped
Baby still in state care after case against parents was dropped
(Sounds familiar. It happens in Nashua, NH all the time. Criminal charges are dropped and the children are still never returned.)
St. George » Infant was taken after police said photos showed sexual abuse; father will be deported.
By Brooke Adams
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 03/29/2010 10:03:38 PM MDT
An infant remains in state custody and his parents in jail as attorneys try to sort out a tangled case that began when a couple was wrongly accused of sexual abuse.
"The problem we've got is one of those bureaucratic nightmares because they are alleged to be undocumented," said Alan D. Boyack, an attorney representing the baby's mother.
Two 5th District Court judges dismissed sexual abuse charges Monday filed against Sergio Diaz-Palomino, 34, and Alma Vasquez, 22, after prosecutors determined photographs given to police by a local film processing lab showed nothing more than "traditional family photos of a proud father with his son."
In the series of photos, Diaz-Palomino is affectionately posing with his naked 9-month-old son, Alex Uril Vasquez, and kissing him on various body parts -- head, forehead, arm, ear. One image shows the father kissing the infant's bottom and another appears to show him kissing the baby's genitals.
But Ryan J. Shaum, a Washington County deputy attorney, said there was no evidence the scenes depicted sexual molestation or any intent to harm the child and a medical exam showed no evidence of sexual abuse.
Diaz-Palomino told a police investigator that he was "proud to have a son and was sending the photos to family in Mexico," according to the charging document.
But the couple's immigration status and child-welfare policies could make getting their son back difficult, Boyack said.
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"Immigration has a hold on their custody, a legal hold, that the state can do nothing about even if the state wanted to," the attorney said. "I am trying work with immigration to see if, after the [child-welfare] case is completed, what if anything we can do to prevent the miscarriage of the child being separated from the parents."
Patti Vanwagoner, a spokeswoman for the Division of Child and Family Services, said she could not comment specifically on the Vasquez case.
But in general, dismissal of criminal charges does not necessarily end a child-welfare case, she said.
"We have a lot of situations where parents aren't formally charged," she said.
DCFS must determine whether a child is safe with his or her parents and then work toward reunification, which has to be ordered by a judge, she said.
In cases where parents of a child in state custody are deported, DCFS works with the Mexican consulate to see "if a child would be safe with relatives, if at all possible," Van Wagoner said.
A cousin said Diaz-Palomino has been in the U.S. for 10 years and was working at Red Robin restaurant in St. George.
Because of a previous deportation order, Diaz-Palomino is likely to be deported, said Georgina Coon, an advocate with the La Raz/PAC, a Latino advocacy organization.
But she hopes Vasquez, who was arrested and jailed a week ago, will be released Tuesday on bond and allowed to reunite with her son. Vasquez has been in the U.S. for three years and works at a Motel 6.
"She has been crying a lot. I told her that we are doing everything we can to get her out of jail. The state has nothing to keep that baby," Coon said.
http://www.sltrib.com/News/ci_14780588
(Sounds familiar. It happens in Nashua, NH all the time. Criminal charges are dropped and the children are still never returned.)
St. George » Infant was taken after police said photos showed sexual abuse; father will be deported.
By Brooke Adams
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 03/29/2010 10:03:38 PM MDT
An infant remains in state custody and his parents in jail as attorneys try to sort out a tangled case that began when a couple was wrongly accused of sexual abuse.
"The problem we've got is one of those bureaucratic nightmares because they are alleged to be undocumented," said Alan D. Boyack, an attorney representing the baby's mother.
Two 5th District Court judges dismissed sexual abuse charges Monday filed against Sergio Diaz-Palomino, 34, and Alma Vasquez, 22, after prosecutors determined photographs given to police by a local film processing lab showed nothing more than "traditional family photos of a proud father with his son."
In the series of photos, Diaz-Palomino is affectionately posing with his naked 9-month-old son, Alex Uril Vasquez, and kissing him on various body parts -- head, forehead, arm, ear. One image shows the father kissing the infant's bottom and another appears to show him kissing the baby's genitals.
But Ryan J. Shaum, a Washington County deputy attorney, said there was no evidence the scenes depicted sexual molestation or any intent to harm the child and a medical exam showed no evidence of sexual abuse.
Diaz-Palomino told a police investigator that he was "proud to have a son and was sending the photos to family in Mexico," according to the charging document.
But the couple's immigration status and child-welfare policies could make getting their son back difficult, Boyack said.
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"Immigration has a hold on their custody, a legal hold, that the state can do nothing about even if the state wanted to," the attorney said. "I am trying work with immigration to see if, after the [child-welfare] case is completed, what if anything we can do to prevent the miscarriage of the child being separated from the parents."
Patti Vanwagoner, a spokeswoman for the Division of Child and Family Services, said she could not comment specifically on the Vasquez case.
But in general, dismissal of criminal charges does not necessarily end a child-welfare case, she said.
"We have a lot of situations where parents aren't formally charged," she said.
DCFS must determine whether a child is safe with his or her parents and then work toward reunification, which has to be ordered by a judge, she said.
In cases where parents of a child in state custody are deported, DCFS works with the Mexican consulate to see "if a child would be safe with relatives, if at all possible," Van Wagoner said.
A cousin said Diaz-Palomino has been in the U.S. for 10 years and was working at Red Robin restaurant in St. George.
Because of a previous deportation order, Diaz-Palomino is likely to be deported, said Georgina Coon, an advocate with the La Raz/PAC, a Latino advocacy organization.
But she hopes Vasquez, who was arrested and jailed a week ago, will be released Tuesday on bond and allowed to reunite with her son. Vasquez has been in the U.S. for three years and works at a Motel 6.
"She has been crying a lot. I told her that we are doing everything we can to get her out of jail. The state has nothing to keep that baby," Coon said.
http://www.sltrib.com/News/ci_14780588
Local judge favors open court pilot program
Local judge favors open court pilot program
Rep Moore's bill would allow public access to family court
By BOB WHITE
bwhite@thenewsenterprise.com
When 9th Circuit Judge M. Brent Hall came to Hardin County's second Family Court bench, he opposed public access to the dependency, neglect and abuse docket, or any other proceedings involving juveniles.
That was two years ago. Then, he said he worried juveniles could be negatively impacted by their, often sensitive, family matters becoming subject to public scrutiny.
Hall’s view from the bench has changed from the stance he took as an attorney working in Family Court.
Hall said that since taking the bench, he has learned that lawmakers and the public will remain ignorant of what problems exist within Kentucky’s child protection and permanency system so long as it remains behind closed doors.
Hall now supports the opening of Family Court to public eyes and ears so much that he’s requested his division participate in a pilot program to do just that under House Bill 407.
Sponsored by 26th District Representative Tim Moore, HB 407 proposes a pilot to allow limited public access to family courts in seven of Kentucky’s judicial circuits.
Moore said he proposed the bill after several people with young relatives being processed within the Family Court system indicated to him “that they’d been shut out of the process.”
“I understand that we need balance in the system, but I also understand that families need information as they and their children try to go through family court,” Moore said in a message. “I’m trying to do what's best for Kentucky kids and their families. That's what it's all about.”
Opening family courts could impact many throughout Kentucky.
According to data provided by Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services in late 2009, about 7,000 children annually are cared for by the state or foster families after being removed from their biological parents for various reasons.
Hall said, however, that those state statistics do not reflect another 10,000 Kentucky children being cared for by relatives – a practice known as kinship care – after being removed from their biological parents.
The data shows that about 17,000 Kentucky children have been processed by family court systems in just Kentucky in recent years.
The justice system’s involvement in family lives is costly, according to Hall, who said many people do not, and cannot understand just how costly it can be for the state to raise children removed from families.
Daily costs, depending on the services a child needs, range between $30 and $200 per child, Hall said.
Other aspects of family court, such as the adversarial stances different agencies take on — laying blame on their counterparts — and the justice system’s inability to access pertinent data and statistics that’s available to social workers and the agencies in charge of them, also could be made apparent to the public by opening family courts.
An open door to juvenile proceedings in family courts may shed light on disturbing problems, Hall said, but it also could lend itself to finding solutions that, in the end, would help Kentucky children and their families get what they need to lead productive and healthy lives.
Family courts are currently off limits to news media and all others not party to a specific case.
The bill passed the House March 1 with an 87-10 vote. It’s now in the Senate Judiciary Committee for review.
A summary of HB 407 as sponsored by Representatives T. Moore, S. Westrom and T. Burch:
An act relating to the Court of Justice.
Create new sections of KRS Chapter 21A relating to the Supreme Court to request the Supreme Court to create a pilot project for a limited opening of courts in three to seven jurisdictions when handling dependency, needy, neglect, and abuse cases involving children and termination of parental rights, set parameters, and require reporting to the Legislative Research Commission and the Interim Joint Committees on Health and Welfare and Judiciary; create a new section of KRS Chapter 610 relating to juvenile procedure to permit pilot project courts to open proceedings which otherwise would be closed.
Bob White can be reached at (270) 505-1750.
http://www.thenewsenterprise.com/cgi-bin/c2.cgi?053+article+News.Local+20100329095105053053003
Rep Moore's bill would allow public access to family court
By BOB WHITE
bwhite@thenewsenterprise.com
When 9th Circuit Judge M. Brent Hall came to Hardin County's second Family Court bench, he opposed public access to the dependency, neglect and abuse docket, or any other proceedings involving juveniles.
That was two years ago. Then, he said he worried juveniles could be negatively impacted by their, often sensitive, family matters becoming subject to public scrutiny.
Hall’s view from the bench has changed from the stance he took as an attorney working in Family Court.
Hall said that since taking the bench, he has learned that lawmakers and the public will remain ignorant of what problems exist within Kentucky’s child protection and permanency system so long as it remains behind closed doors.
Hall now supports the opening of Family Court to public eyes and ears so much that he’s requested his division participate in a pilot program to do just that under House Bill 407.
Sponsored by 26th District Representative Tim Moore, HB 407 proposes a pilot to allow limited public access to family courts in seven of Kentucky’s judicial circuits.
Moore said he proposed the bill after several people with young relatives being processed within the Family Court system indicated to him “that they’d been shut out of the process.”
“I understand that we need balance in the system, but I also understand that families need information as they and their children try to go through family court,” Moore said in a message. “I’m trying to do what's best for Kentucky kids and their families. That's what it's all about.”
Opening family courts could impact many throughout Kentucky.
According to data provided by Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services in late 2009, about 7,000 children annually are cared for by the state or foster families after being removed from their biological parents for various reasons.
Hall said, however, that those state statistics do not reflect another 10,000 Kentucky children being cared for by relatives – a practice known as kinship care – after being removed from their biological parents.
The data shows that about 17,000 Kentucky children have been processed by family court systems in just Kentucky in recent years.
The justice system’s involvement in family lives is costly, according to Hall, who said many people do not, and cannot understand just how costly it can be for the state to raise children removed from families.
Daily costs, depending on the services a child needs, range between $30 and $200 per child, Hall said.
Other aspects of family court, such as the adversarial stances different agencies take on — laying blame on their counterparts — and the justice system’s inability to access pertinent data and statistics that’s available to social workers and the agencies in charge of them, also could be made apparent to the public by opening family courts.
An open door to juvenile proceedings in family courts may shed light on disturbing problems, Hall said, but it also could lend itself to finding solutions that, in the end, would help Kentucky children and their families get what they need to lead productive and healthy lives.
Family courts are currently off limits to news media and all others not party to a specific case.
The bill passed the House March 1 with an 87-10 vote. It’s now in the Senate Judiciary Committee for review.
A summary of HB 407 as sponsored by Representatives T. Moore, S. Westrom and T. Burch:
An act relating to the Court of Justice.
Create new sections of KRS Chapter 21A relating to the Supreme Court to request the Supreme Court to create a pilot project for a limited opening of courts in three to seven jurisdictions when handling dependency, needy, neglect, and abuse cases involving children and termination of parental rights, set parameters, and require reporting to the Legislative Research Commission and the Interim Joint Committees on Health and Welfare and Judiciary; create a new section of KRS Chapter 610 relating to juvenile procedure to permit pilot project courts to open proceedings which otherwise would be closed.
Bob White can be reached at (270) 505-1750.
http://www.thenewsenterprise.com/cgi-bin/c2.cgi?053+article+News.Local+20100329095105053053003
NYS appellate court agrees with dad's petition to halt adoption proceedings without his permission
NYS appellate court agrees with dad's petition to halt adoption proceedings without his permission
(In NH fictitious father's rights are terminated, compliments of DCYF. When the real father's come forward, they are denied paternity tests and custody, told they have No Standing. Then the illegal adoptions occur.)
March 30, 6:01 AMAlbany CPS and Family Court ExaminerDaniel Weaver
The Supreme Court of the State of New York, Appellate Division, Fourth Judicial Department in the Matter of Nicole J. has reversed an order by Monroe County Family Court Judge, John J. Rivoli, which dispensed with the consent of Nicole's biological father and allowed her adoption to go forward.
The father's attorney made his first appearance in Monroe County Family Court on December 1, 2008 on behalf of the father, only to be told that a hearing would be held the next day. He requested an adjournment until January 12, 2009 because he wa unaware that a hearing was scheduled for the next day. The judge denied his request and proceeded with the hearing.
In reversing Judge Rivoli's order, the appellate court said that the family court abused its discretion in denying the request for adjournment. The court went on to state:
"There is no evidence in the record that the father had notice that the hearing was scheduled to occur on December 1, 2008. Moreover, the record establishes that the proceedings were not protracted, that this was the father's first request for an adjournment and, indeed, that the court had adjourned proceedings concerning the child's biological mother to the precise adjournment date sought by the father. Under these circumstances, we conclude that the court should have granted the request of the father's attorney for an adjournment to enable the father to prepare for the hearing (see generally Matter of Stephen L., 2 AD3d 1229, 1231). We therefore reverse the order and remit the matter to Family Court for a new hearing."
For more info: Read more articles by Dan Weaver on family court, custody, child protective services, parental rights and other allied topics.
http://www.examiner.com/x-14537-Albany-CPS-and-Family-Court-Examiner~y2010m3d30-NYS-appellate-court-agrees-with-dads-petition-to-halt-adoption-proceedings-without-his-permission?cid=examiner-email
(In NH fictitious father's rights are terminated, compliments of DCYF. When the real father's come forward, they are denied paternity tests and custody, told they have No Standing. Then the illegal adoptions occur.)
March 30, 6:01 AMAlbany CPS and Family Court ExaminerDaniel Weaver
The Supreme Court of the State of New York, Appellate Division, Fourth Judicial Department in the Matter of Nicole J. has reversed an order by Monroe County Family Court Judge, John J. Rivoli, which dispensed with the consent of Nicole's biological father and allowed her adoption to go forward.
The father's attorney made his first appearance in Monroe County Family Court on December 1, 2008 on behalf of the father, only to be told that a hearing would be held the next day. He requested an adjournment until January 12, 2009 because he wa unaware that a hearing was scheduled for the next day. The judge denied his request and proceeded with the hearing.
In reversing Judge Rivoli's order, the appellate court said that the family court abused its discretion in denying the request for adjournment. The court went on to state:
"There is no evidence in the record that the father had notice that the hearing was scheduled to occur on December 1, 2008. Moreover, the record establishes that the proceedings were not protracted, that this was the father's first request for an adjournment and, indeed, that the court had adjourned proceedings concerning the child's biological mother to the precise adjournment date sought by the father. Under these circumstances, we conclude that the court should have granted the request of the father's attorney for an adjournment to enable the father to prepare for the hearing (see generally Matter of Stephen L., 2 AD3d 1229, 1231). We therefore reverse the order and remit the matter to Family Court for a new hearing."
For more info: Read more articles by Dan Weaver on family court, custody, child protective services, parental rights and other allied topics.
http://www.examiner.com/x-14537-Albany-CPS-and-Family-Court-Examiner~y2010m3d30-NYS-appellate-court-agrees-with-dads-petition-to-halt-adoption-proceedings-without-his-permission?cid=examiner-email
L.A. County supervisors terminate relationship with foster care agency
L.A. County supervisors terminate relationship with foster care agency [Updated]
March 30, 2010 | 2:07 pm
Los Angeles County supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to terminate their relationship with the troubled foster care agency that placed a 2-year-old girl with a woman who is now under investigation in connection with her death.
United Care, which oversaw 88 homes with 216 foster children under contract with the county, had been repeatedly cited in recent years after caregivers choked, hit or whipped their charges with a belt. In 2007, a foster child drowned while swimming unsupervised in a pool.
Craig Woods, United’s executive director, said the citation record obscured his agency’s strengths and urged the county to conduct a fuller investigation before severing ties.
“Terminating United Care’s contract will not accomplish what is needed to reform the system,” he said. “United Care has a stellar 21-year track record of partnership with the county.”
The foster mother, Kiana Barker, 30, and her boyfriend, James Julian, 38, were arrested earlier this month on suspicion of murder in connection with Viola Vancielf's death, according to Los Angeles police records. They were released two days later, with no charges filed.
Police are continuing to investigate the couple. Barker, a resident of South Los Angeles, told investigators Viola was trapped in a bed frame when she accidentally struck the child with a hammer while trying to free her, according to coroner's records.
Viola had multiple bruises on her body, records show. The county coroner deemed the death a homicide. During supervisors’ questioning of Woods and their deliberations about whether to terminate United, new details emerged about the missed warning signs that preceded the death.
Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said his vote to terminate United was at least partially supported by Woods' admission that the agency’s social workers made errors during visits to the Barker home. According to Yaroslavsky, they did not report that many of the home’s rooms were padlocked shut and there were video cameras in most of the rooms and corridors.
The purpose of the video cameras was not discussed. Additionally, Yaroslavsky said he was troubled that Barker was certified as a foster parent despite a criminal record. According to a Times review, Barker was convicted of felony theft in 2002.
The newspaper disclosed earlier that Barker also had been the subject of five child abuse complaints, including one substantiated case involving her biological child.
Julian had a record of armed robbery, but neither United Care nor the state regulator who licenses foster homes was aware he was living in the home, state records show.
Woods said his agency had been aware of Barker’s criminal record but did not believe it was a problem because she had obtained a decision from state regulators that it did not pose a danger.
“I would say that as many as half of the foster homes in Los Angeles County have a criminal background,” Woods said.
Supervisor Gloria Molina said she did not believe that number and would look into the matter. [Updated at 6:13 p.m.: A California Department of Social Services spokeswoman, Lizelda Lopez, said that only 4.67% of foster family agency parents have received an exemption for a crime that would otherwise bar them.]
Woods also faulted the county for missing the warning signs, saying the county was in the final stages of approving Barker to adopt Viola.
“Miss Barker was less than 30 days away from adopting this child. That adoption was being managed by DCFS,” Woods said. “That adoption home study is supposed to be a lot more extensive and intrusive than a foster home certification.”
-- Garrett Therolf at the L.A. County Hall of Administration
Read more in The Times' investigation: Innocents Betrayed
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/03/la-county-supervisors-terminate-relationship-with-foster-care-agency.html
March 30, 2010 | 2:07 pm
Los Angeles County supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to terminate their relationship with the troubled foster care agency that placed a 2-year-old girl with a woman who is now under investigation in connection with her death.
United Care, which oversaw 88 homes with 216 foster children under contract with the county, had been repeatedly cited in recent years after caregivers choked, hit or whipped their charges with a belt. In 2007, a foster child drowned while swimming unsupervised in a pool.
Craig Woods, United’s executive director, said the citation record obscured his agency’s strengths and urged the county to conduct a fuller investigation before severing ties.
“Terminating United Care’s contract will not accomplish what is needed to reform the system,” he said. “United Care has a stellar 21-year track record of partnership with the county.”
The foster mother, Kiana Barker, 30, and her boyfriend, James Julian, 38, were arrested earlier this month on suspicion of murder in connection with Viola Vancielf's death, according to Los Angeles police records. They were released two days later, with no charges filed.
Police are continuing to investigate the couple. Barker, a resident of South Los Angeles, told investigators Viola was trapped in a bed frame when she accidentally struck the child with a hammer while trying to free her, according to coroner's records.
Viola had multiple bruises on her body, records show. The county coroner deemed the death a homicide. During supervisors’ questioning of Woods and their deliberations about whether to terminate United, new details emerged about the missed warning signs that preceded the death.
Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said his vote to terminate United was at least partially supported by Woods' admission that the agency’s social workers made errors during visits to the Barker home. According to Yaroslavsky, they did not report that many of the home’s rooms were padlocked shut and there were video cameras in most of the rooms and corridors.
The purpose of the video cameras was not discussed. Additionally, Yaroslavsky said he was troubled that Barker was certified as a foster parent despite a criminal record. According to a Times review, Barker was convicted of felony theft in 2002.
The newspaper disclosed earlier that Barker also had been the subject of five child abuse complaints, including one substantiated case involving her biological child.
Julian had a record of armed robbery, but neither United Care nor the state regulator who licenses foster homes was aware he was living in the home, state records show.
Woods said his agency had been aware of Barker’s criminal record but did not believe it was a problem because she had obtained a decision from state regulators that it did not pose a danger.
“I would say that as many as half of the foster homes in Los Angeles County have a criminal background,” Woods said.
Supervisor Gloria Molina said she did not believe that number and would look into the matter. [Updated at 6:13 p.m.: A California Department of Social Services spokeswoman, Lizelda Lopez, said that only 4.67% of foster family agency parents have received an exemption for a crime that would otherwise bar them.]
Woods also faulted the county for missing the warning signs, saying the county was in the final stages of approving Barker to adopt Viola.
“Miss Barker was less than 30 days away from adopting this child. That adoption was being managed by DCFS,” Woods said. “That adoption home study is supposed to be a lot more extensive and intrusive than a foster home certification.”
-- Garrett Therolf at the L.A. County Hall of Administration
Read more in The Times' investigation: Innocents Betrayed
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/03/la-county-supervisors-terminate-relationship-with-foster-care-agency.html
Proposal for DSM-5 to Include Parental Alienation Disorder
Proposal for DSM-5 to Include Parental Alienation Disorder
Written by: Cameron
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Use of Our Content (Reposting and Quoting)
March 31st, 2010
The American Psychiatric Association has published early draft of its proposed changes for DSM-5 (also known as DSM-V), an upcoming version of its mental health manual scheduled for 2013, at its website APA DSM-5 Development. While the draft version does not yet contain a definition of parental alienation syndrome or disorder, the APA has indicated that a group of mental health professionals including William Bernet, Wilfrid von Boch-Galhau, Amy J. L. Baker, and Stephen L. Morrison has submitted a document discussing how to include parental alienation in DSM-5 and ICD-11 (International Classification of Diseases, 11th Edition).
An abstract of their work is as well as complete versions are available at Parental Alienation, DSM-V, and ICD-11:
Parental alienation is an important phenomenon that mental health professionals should know about and thoroughly understand, especially those who work with children, adolescents, divorced adults, and adults whose parents divorced when they were children. We define parental alienation as a mental condition in which a child—usually one whose parents are engaged in a high-conflict divorce—allies himself or herself strongly with one parent (the preferred parent) and rejects a relationship with the other parent (the alienated parent) without legitimate justification. This process leads to a tragic outcome when the child and the alienated parent, who previously had a loving and mutually satisfying relationship, lose the nurture and joy of that relationship for many years and perhaps for their lifetimes. The authors of this article believe that parental alienation is not a minor aberration in the life of a family, but a serious mental condition. The child’s maladaptive behavior—refusal to see one of the parents—is driven by the false belief that the alienated parent is a dangerous or unworthy person. We estimate that 1% of children and adolescents in the U.S. experience parental alienation. When the phenomenon is properly recognized, this condition is preventable and treatable in many instances. There have been scores of research studies and hundreds of scholarly articles, chapters, and books regarding parental alienation. Although we have located professional publications from 27 countries on six continents, we agree that research should continue regarding this important mental condition that affects hundreds of thousands of children and their families. The time has come for the concept of parental alienation to be included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-V), and the International Classification of Diseases, Eleventh Edition (ICD-11).
Having personally seen multiple cases of moderate to severe parental alienation in children and adult children as well as alienation in progress of developing both in children in married families and those going through divorces, I’m convinced this is a serious problem for children of all ages from conflicted families. Including parental alienation as a mental health disorder in DSM-5 and ICD-11 would go a long way towards finally putting a stop to the political and social support for emotional child abuse via attempts to force parental alienation, a form of emotional abuse, to be ignored by way of abusive legislation.
Such ill-considered efforts to cover up this form of emotional abuse have been pursued by the National Organization of Women (NOW) and other organizations because significant numbers of their members are actively preventing their children from having good relationships with both of their parents. Recognizing parental alienation for what it is means acknowledging that these people are child abusers, something they obviously don’t want as they would prefer to continue abusing their children without accountability as they have been doing.
http://angiemedia.com/2010/03/31/proposal-for-dsm-5-to-include-parental-alienation-disorder/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+Angiemedia+(angiemedia)
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March 31st, 2010
The American Psychiatric Association has published early draft of its proposed changes for DSM-5 (also known as DSM-V), an upcoming version of its mental health manual scheduled for 2013, at its website APA DSM-5 Development. While the draft version does not yet contain a definition of parental alienation syndrome or disorder, the APA has indicated that a group of mental health professionals including William Bernet, Wilfrid von Boch-Galhau, Amy J. L. Baker, and Stephen L. Morrison has submitted a document discussing how to include parental alienation in DSM-5 and ICD-11 (International Classification of Diseases, 11th Edition).
An abstract of their work is as well as complete versions are available at Parental Alienation, DSM-V, and ICD-11:
Parental alienation is an important phenomenon that mental health professionals should know about and thoroughly understand, especially those who work with children, adolescents, divorced adults, and adults whose parents divorced when they were children. We define parental alienation as a mental condition in which a child—usually one whose parents are engaged in a high-conflict divorce—allies himself or herself strongly with one parent (the preferred parent) and rejects a relationship with the other parent (the alienated parent) without legitimate justification. This process leads to a tragic outcome when the child and the alienated parent, who previously had a loving and mutually satisfying relationship, lose the nurture and joy of that relationship for many years and perhaps for their lifetimes. The authors of this article believe that parental alienation is not a minor aberration in the life of a family, but a serious mental condition. The child’s maladaptive behavior—refusal to see one of the parents—is driven by the false belief that the alienated parent is a dangerous or unworthy person. We estimate that 1% of children and adolescents in the U.S. experience parental alienation. When the phenomenon is properly recognized, this condition is preventable and treatable in many instances. There have been scores of research studies and hundreds of scholarly articles, chapters, and books regarding parental alienation. Although we have located professional publications from 27 countries on six continents, we agree that research should continue regarding this important mental condition that affects hundreds of thousands of children and their families. The time has come for the concept of parental alienation to be included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-V), and the International Classification of Diseases, Eleventh Edition (ICD-11).
Having personally seen multiple cases of moderate to severe parental alienation in children and adult children as well as alienation in progress of developing both in children in married families and those going through divorces, I’m convinced this is a serious problem for children of all ages from conflicted families. Including parental alienation as a mental health disorder in DSM-5 and ICD-11 would go a long way towards finally putting a stop to the political and social support for emotional child abuse via attempts to force parental alienation, a form of emotional abuse, to be ignored by way of abusive legislation.
Such ill-considered efforts to cover up this form of emotional abuse have been pursued by the National Organization of Women (NOW) and other organizations because significant numbers of their members are actively preventing their children from having good relationships with both of their parents. Recognizing parental alienation for what it is means acknowledging that these people are child abusers, something they obviously don’t want as they would prefer to continue abusing their children without accountability as they have been doing.
http://angiemedia.com/2010/03/31/proposal-for-dsm-5-to-include-parental-alienation-disorder/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+Angiemedia+(angiemedia)
Preserving family saves agency money
BUTLER COUNTY CHILDREN SERVICES
Preserving family saves agency money
For each dollar spent keeping troubled families together, county saves $4.36 in foster placement costs.
By Josh Sweigart
Staff Writer
Saturday, December 27, 2008
HAMILTON — For every dollar spent keeping troubled families together, Butler County Children Services saves $4.36 in foster placement costs, according to Children Services Director Michael Fox.
Fox said this was the finding of an internal study of how much the agency spent supplementing families to keep them together compared to placing children in foster care from August through December.
In August, Children Services spent an average $22,843 a day with 369 children in foster homes and institutions at a cost between $50 and $250 each a day. With 309 children in foster placement on the average day in December, the cost had dropped an average $5,865 per day. During this period, the agency spent an average of $32,696 per month on paying family members to watch the children. This netted a savings of $143,282 per month. This has allowed Children Services to cut its budget by 12 percent, Fox said.
Fox has focused on family preservation as key to keeping children safe while reducing the agency's cost. The idea is simple: put children taken out of their homes with family members, and help them cover the additional cost of taking care of the child.
In addition to a cultural shift at the agency, this has been controversial, with some questioning government paying rent, utilities and vehicle payments for families on brink of collapse.
Fox praised the work of foster families as well, saying there will always be a need for them to help in particularly volatile situations. He said the children's safety always comes first.
"I just keep telling caseworkers, they are not ever to sacrifice the standards that we have of safety," Fox said.
http://www.oxfordpress.com/hp/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/12/27/hjn122708ChildServe.html
Preserving family saves agency money
For each dollar spent keeping troubled families together, county saves $4.36 in foster placement costs.
By Josh Sweigart
Staff Writer
Saturday, December 27, 2008
HAMILTON — For every dollar spent keeping troubled families together, Butler County Children Services saves $4.36 in foster placement costs, according to Children Services Director Michael Fox.
Fox said this was the finding of an internal study of how much the agency spent supplementing families to keep them together compared to placing children in foster care from August through December.
In August, Children Services spent an average $22,843 a day with 369 children in foster homes and institutions at a cost between $50 and $250 each a day. With 309 children in foster placement on the average day in December, the cost had dropped an average $5,865 per day. During this period, the agency spent an average of $32,696 per month on paying family members to watch the children. This netted a savings of $143,282 per month. This has allowed Children Services to cut its budget by 12 percent, Fox said.
Fox has focused on family preservation as key to keeping children safe while reducing the agency's cost. The idea is simple: put children taken out of their homes with family members, and help them cover the additional cost of taking care of the child.
In addition to a cultural shift at the agency, this has been controversial, with some questioning government paying rent, utilities and vehicle payments for families on brink of collapse.
Fox praised the work of foster families as well, saying there will always be a need for them to help in particularly volatile situations. He said the children's safety always comes first.
"I just keep telling caseworkers, they are not ever to sacrifice the standards that we have of safety," Fox said.
http://www.oxfordpress.com/hp/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/12/27/hjn122708ChildServe.html
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