Subject: Upcoming Public Sessions with the Legislature
Hi All:
It has come to my attention that the Child and Family Law Committee will be hosting a series of public sessions throughout New Hampshire to hear about the public's concerns regarding the Family Courts. The first couple of sessions have been announced today via the Legislative Calendar. I believe more will be added, but wanted to make sure that you knew about them and if interested and available, could participate. The list is below.
One way for change to happen is to get involved. This is an excellent way of sharing your thoughts for how things should be, what needs to be changed and how the Child and Family Law Committee can incorporate these changes with upcoming legislative bills.
Hope you can attend. If not, you can always send your ideas to the Child and Family Law Committee via their e-mail address:
CFL@leg.state. nh.us
Please let us know if you attend and what was discussed! Thank you for your participation! Enjoy your weekend.
New Hampshire House of Representatives, Children and Family Law Committee, Public Listening Sessions- May, 2010: In partnership with the state child protection and child support agencies the House Children and Family Law Committee hopes to learn from the public as to how the resources available are being utilized to result in the most positive outcomes for children and their families in New Hampshire. At this time, the sessions will be held according to the following schedule:
Tuesday, May 11 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at the Laconia Middle School
Thursday, May 13 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at the River Valley Community College in Claremont
Tuesday, May 18 from 3:00-5:00 p.m. at the White Mountain Community College in Berlin
The primary purpose of these public listening sessions is to provide an opportunity for the public to participate in the Legislative process, in particular that of the Children and Family Law Committee of the NH House of Representatives. Information gathered at these meetings may be used to develop future legislation intended to improve our state’s services to children and their families.
Rep. Mary Stuart Gile.
Eileen Cipnick, EJD, NCPM
BS KIDS
www.bskids.net
bskidsco@yahoo. com
I was also told, in the fall of 2010 there will be sessions held in Rochester, Concord and Nashua where we will all be able to speak up as to how the resources available are being utilized to result in the most positive outcomes for children and their families in New Hampshire. Everyone need's to attend these session's. We need to show the NH Children and Family Law Committee that the resources available are not being utilized to result in positive outcomes for our children and families. We need to show that these resources are tearing our families apart, needlessly. We need to show that these resources are only benefiting DCYF and the family courts and are causing more harm than good to NH families. We will show what changes need to be made to benefit our children and families. Hopefully, our State Legislature will listen and take our ideas and thoughts into consideration and make the changes needed to preserve the families of NH.
Please plan on attending these sessions in your area. As soon as I get the dates for Concord, Rochester and Nashua, I will pass them along. It is up to all of us to get involved. This is OUR chance to change the way DCYF and the Family Court's work against families. A change which we all know is well overdue!
Thank you, Dot
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
Monday, May 17, 2010
Suicide Among Youth Within Residential Group Facilities and Single Family Foster Homes
Suicide Among Youth Within Residential Group Facilities and Single Family Foster Homes
Recent years, researchers admit high rates of suicides among youth within the foster care system. Researchers explain that suicides are caused by social and emotional conditions rather than a mental disease. Furthermore, it is often associated with hundreds of suicides and suicide attempts. “Researchers discovered attention problems and aggressive or delinquent behavior in 40 per cent of children aged five to 17 who were in home-based foster care, up to eight times more than in the general school-age population” (Gough 2007). Though the statistics vary extensively, it is generally believed that some 18 percent of patients with psychological problems finally do kill themselves, and illnesses may be associated with approximately 50 percent of all suicides (Youth Suicide Fact Sheet 2009). The data show, that miserable youth teenagers do not always kill themselves. Symptoms of psychological distress serve as a strong warning signal. They are a good indicator that someone is a potential suicide, especially if he or she has tried suicide before, and it is important to know about psychological distress if researchers are to understand suicidal behavior.
The book Children in Foster Care by J.G., Barber and P. H. Delfabbro provides a wide-ranging description of foster care environment and singles out possible causes of suicides. Researchers know that distressed teenagers, young and old, simply do not feel good about themselves. In foster care homes, they feel helpless, unable to lift themselves out of whatever it is that pull them down, be it the death of a friend, the stress of a work or schoolwork, or opportunities lost. Distressed teenagers may also be plagued with a sense of despair, a feeling that they’ve run out of luck, that no matter what these teens do it will turn out badly. Finally, despair sets in, that dreadful feeling that no decisions whatsoever exist. Fascinated in such a research of futility, and convinced that no one cares or can help, some deeply depressed teenagers understandably, very much, choose the one quick way of putting an end to all the misery, suicide. The researchers who work with teenagers in a community center describe the role that despair plays in a youthful suicide. Just a glance at the suicide notes teenagers often leave, or the poems and diary entries they write before taking their lives, tells us how painful, all-encompassing, and overwhelming despair is in those who kill themselves.
The research study provided by J. Ciffone (2007) Suicide Prevention describes the major causes of suicides among young teenagers in residential group facilities and possible ways of prevention. They are often only precipitating reasons, contributing issues, things that pushed susceptible teenagers over the edge. In examining why teenagers become depressed and why teenagers kill themselves, researchers cannot look for simple research. “The roots of psychological distress lie buried deep, and so, too, do the roots of desperate behavior/” (Ciffone 2007, p. 43). This does not mean that researchers can ignore the outside forces that at times crowd a person beyond his or her ability to cope. Nor can researchers ignore what goes on in our psyches — the mental or psychological structure that makes us what researchers are and forces us to behave in certain ways. hurtful life events, poverty, alienation, lack of a solid tie to guardians, pressure from a guardian on a teenager for that teenager to be more than he or she can or wants to be, and the enormous gaps between what a teenager wants and what he or she actually is or becomes — all of these things may be closely connected with psychological distress and with suicide. Consider an young man — and the elderly are especially prone to suicide who has come down physically but not psychologically. The guardians in single families in foster care tries to find work, but in a society that favors youth and energy — not to mention companies’ delight in being able to pay a younger person less because he or she lacks experience and is eager to learn — he is unable to do so. The man becomes more and more aware of his age and of the limited number of months he has left, and he becomes very depressed.
The research The First Four Months in a New Foster Placement by J.G., Barber and P. H. Delfabbro (2003) describes problems and factors of high suicide rates among youth in residential group facilities. The same pattern can affect a much younger individual who faces a traumatic life change, or whose goals are thwarted. For some teenagers, a decision by guardians to move the entire family far away from the friends because of a new work can trigger a depressive episode. Some psychiatrists see psychological distress of that sort and the kind that affected the older man as situational troubles, or problems in living. Some of the psychological distress may be short-lived and gentle, others may last a long time and interfere with a person’s daily, normal activities. Once more, be aware that not everybody who kills himself is depressed, and that many teenagers who are depressed do not take their lives. In the next few pages, some of the deeper origins of psychological distress, and how these may be related to suicide, will be examined.
In contrast to previous studies, Browne (2002) states that children in single family foster homes are more apt to commit suicides because of emotional and financial reasons. Because emotional upsets like psychological distress often appear abruptly, and sometimes disappear just as quickly and because they frequently appear in several members of a family, most researchers today believe that intelligence is responsible, and that those imbalances are almost certainly inherited. Supporters of this view hold that if a person has such a chemical makeup, the ordinary hurtful life events that make many of us mildly depressed can perhaps touch off a major clinical psychological distress. “Severely depressed teenagers who attempted suicide while they investigate participants in one study of psychological distress excreted radically increased amounts of this hormone in their urine just before they tried to kill themselves” (Browne 2002, p. 22). Then, half of another group of depressed teens in the study — all with suicidal signs — researchers found to have high levels in the amounts of hormone found in their blood; more important, three patients who succeeded in killing themselves, and two who nearly did so, had high levels of the hormone prior to suicide or attempted suicide.
The same findings researchers made by Ponte and Gillan (2005) who stated that single family foster care environment is dangerous for young teenagers as they feel helpless and insecure in such families. The social issues discussed in this study are a collection of the life and relationships of human beings in a society. “Although legal recognition of households would certainly drive benefits protection forward, it is unlikely to occur in the current divisive political climate” (Ponte and Gillan 2005, p. 43). Most of the time, that grouping is a winning one that makes for fairly happy and comfortable individuals, teenagers who work and dream of the future. But sometimes the mixture goes bad and an individual comes under the sway of the bad influences of society, influences that make life empty for many teenagers. Selfishness is the habit of valuing only the issues that are of interest to oneself; at times, it can be called selfishness. The selfish person may be someone who has few ties, to all of the issues that give us support and a sense of belonging and distribution — family, a club, a local organization, a church. Because such teenagers avoid contact with peers, they begin to depend a lot on themselves for gratification and support, and as a result they often grow very lonely and prone to suicide. The selfish individual, , does not always intentionally seek isolation. Many teenagers have isolation thrust upon them, and they are forced to fend for themselves.
Sinclair et al (2005) describes the problems of residential group facilities and possible difficulties faced by guidance’s. The researchers state that suicide is higher among single teenagers than among the married; it is high, too, among the divorced, the persons, and the elderly who live alone; among those who live in the isolation of apartment buildings, locked behind a door that looks the same as all the others on a corridor, in a faceless building that is identical to all the others on the street. In all these buildings the occupants rarely ever have more than an associate with the neighbors. Another example of how a selfish environment can contribute to suicide is found among young blacks who are driven to search for death. For years it was assumed that” suicidal actions was not common among blacks, that self-destruction was primarily a white phenomenon, a white person’s way of dealing with “white only” difficulties” (Sinclair et al 2005, p. 77).
History quite teems with instances of suicide that arose either from a deep and genuine individual choice to place oneself second, or because the public might have had certain strict set of laws that demanded such selfless behavior. There have been people who volunteered for a dangerous task that meant certain death for them. They believed that their task might win a battle and save many other lives. There are some people who research for deaths by taking the place of others who had been condemned to die. “A similar position occurs in the classic lifeboat scenario of fiction and real life, in which one of those cast adrift in an overloaded boat offers to slip into the water to lighten the load and, presumably, help the others survive” (Barber and Delfabbro 2003, p. 73). Many other community conditions may be responsible for suicide. Some of them may fit into three categories, others may be closely related or variations, and still others will seem to partly cover into the psychological factors. The researcher has suggested that alcoholism, unemployment, cutbacks in social services, and academic competition contribute to the many suicides that occur among youths that the ages of fifteen and twenty four by encouraging widespread psychological distress and loss of self-esteem. Guardians may be at fault, though accidentally. Under stress themselves, because of divorce or job loss, they often find themselves unable to help troubled children. They may be unaware or even embarrassed that their children are considering suicide. Perhaps they simply do not know where to get help.
Reser, J. P (2004) and Smith D. K. (2004) find that while abuse is often of a physical nature, there are other forms of abuse that society can inflict upon us. There are so many of these that it is difficult to categorize them, let alone list them. Consider, the sort of abuse that girls are sometimes subjected to in the workplace, male bigotry. This term refers to the notion among some men that, simply put, women aren’t as capable as men, and that they should be “kept in their place,” which usually means at home taking care of the children or, if they are working, in jobs that are either less important than a man’s or, if they are as important, that pay far wages. Happily, such primitive attitudes are beginning to disappear, but there are still numerous pockets of resistance. “Indigenous youth suicide prevention/life promotion programs and community initiatives across Australia as failures” (Reser 2004, p. 54). That kind of force results when society ignores a person. There is another kind of force, just the opposite, in fact. It can come from society and its members paying too much attention to teenagers. Probably the most notable model of that, insofar as suicide is concerned, has to do with the pressure of school. It is true that students have always been stressed; stress is to be expected from any attempt that makes demands, sets deadlines, and stipulates a goal that requires work to reach. But, times have changed, and the psychological problems stresses of the past are easier, for the most part, to deal with. Many years ago, many young people concentrated on education for its own sake; today, the emphasis is on occupation, quite often for positions in high-tech industry, a big business that is fiercely competitive and full of exciting tales of bright young electronics wizards who are millionaires before they reach the age of thirty. When a person does commit suicide, it is not always during a stressful exam period, as is popularly assumed.
Statistical results taken from Youth Suicide Fact Sheet (2009) allow to say that suicide rates in single families in foster care is higher because of lack of emotional support and financial problems faced by single guardians. As in the United States, the pressure to achieve comes from both community and guardians. That unique spirit, of course, influences guardians and children, and it is not difficult to see how from time to time the sense of urgency builds so high that a person cannot take it any longer. A young person may be distraught if he or she does not make it into a “good” school, and the decision to commit suicide may be, in the minds of some, the admirable way out, a way to wipe away the disgrace of failure. A youth may not get the right job after graduation, or may not be promoted fast enough; those issues, can cause distress serious enough to force some persons to kill themselves. The stress that is heaped upon young people in these countries generally stems from the extremely high expectations that guardians often have for their children. The reasons for the high potential are not clear, but it has been suggested. Sometimes, anxiety contributes to physical ailments, like illness, other times to such psychological problems as anorexia nervosa, a severe eating disorder characterized by self-starvation that can result in death. In considering the way social circumstances contribute to suicidal behavior, one cannot neglect a form of pressure — call it, rather, an influence — that has been talked about quite a bit these days. The influence goes by many: modeling, contagiousness, or suicide by fake. Young children may choose a method of killing themselves that leaves only a small opportunity for rescue. They may have gotten the thought of dying without realizing its full impact, from something as easy as a television cartoon that depicts a hero bounding back after a devastating fall.
In sum, the literature review shows that youth are usually aware of the finality of death. This is an imperative consideration, because there have been rashes of suicide in a number of societies over the past few years. They have even been called epidemics, and a growing number of researchers are trying to decide whether another social phenomenon — a contagious effect — has been driving teens to take their lives. Some researchers make generalizations without too much difficulty. Most researchers tend to agree that if there is such an experience as youth suicide, it almost certainly occurs in teenagers who have suicidal inclinations. Those who argue that suicide is infectious point out that relatives or close acquaintances of a suicide are at high risk of killing themselves, as are psychologically distressed people who are exposed to a suicide. They must be asked unemotionally and objectively if you are to get a better handle on why so many teenagers have killed themselves. It is tempting to look for simple research. For years, researchers have even been suggesting that the frequency of suicide changes with the days of the research and month. Issues like them are asked regularly by researchers and psychiatrists who are questioning the reasons behind suicides and suicide attempts. Idea about these questions may result in some precious insights that bear on the motives of teenagers who try to kill themselves or who succeed. Keep in mind, too, that what a suicidal teenager seems to be fleeing in life, what he relates as the difficulty, may be only part of the story. Thought needs to be given to suicidal teenagers’ attitudes toward life and wellbeing, their emotional state, their personalities, their families, and friends before a suicide attempt can be drawn.
References
Barber, J.G., Delfabbro, P. H. Children in Foster Care. Routledge, 2003.
Barber, J.G., Delfabbro, P. H. (2003). The First Four Months in a New Foster Placement: Psychosocial Adjustment, Parental Contact and Placement Disruption. Journal of Sociology & Social Researcherslfare 30 (1), 43.
Ciffone, J. (2007). Suicide Prevention: An Analysis and Replication of a Curriculum-Based High School Program. Social Work 52 (1), 43.
Gough, D. More pain for foster care kids. Retrieved 05 February 2009 from
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/more-pain-for-foster-care- kids/2007/02/24/1171734074121.html
Sinclair, J., Baker, C., Wilson, K., Foster Children: Where They Go and How They
Get on. Jessica Kingsley, 2005.
Browne, D. (2002). Coping Alone: Examining the Prospects of Adolescent Victims of
Child Abuse Placed in Foster Care. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 31 (1), 57.
Ponte, L. M., Gillan, J.L.(2005). From Our Family to Yours: Rethinking the
“Beneficial Family” and Marriage-Centric Corporate Benefit Programs. Columbia Journal of Gender and Law 14 (1), 43.
Reser, J. P. (2004). What Does It Mean to Say That Aboriginal Suicide Is Different?
Differing Cultures, Accounts and Idioms of Distress in the Context of Indigenous Youth Suicide. Australian Aboriginal Studies, 1(1), 54. .
Smith, D. K. (2004). Risk, Reinforcement Retention in Treatment, and Reoffending
for Boys and Girls in Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 12 (1), 38.
Youth Suicide Fact Sheet (2009). Retrieved 05 February 2009 from
http://www.safeyouth.org/scripts/facts/suicide.asp
http://methadonetreatmentfor.com/7549/suicide-among-youth-within-residential-group-facilities-and-single-family-foster-homes/
Recent years, researchers admit high rates of suicides among youth within the foster care system. Researchers explain that suicides are caused by social and emotional conditions rather than a mental disease. Furthermore, it is often associated with hundreds of suicides and suicide attempts. “Researchers discovered attention problems and aggressive or delinquent behavior in 40 per cent of children aged five to 17 who were in home-based foster care, up to eight times more than in the general school-age population” (Gough 2007). Though the statistics vary extensively, it is generally believed that some 18 percent of patients with psychological problems finally do kill themselves, and illnesses may be associated with approximately 50 percent of all suicides (Youth Suicide Fact Sheet 2009). The data show, that miserable youth teenagers do not always kill themselves. Symptoms of psychological distress serve as a strong warning signal. They are a good indicator that someone is a potential suicide, especially if he or she has tried suicide before, and it is important to know about psychological distress if researchers are to understand suicidal behavior.
The book Children in Foster Care by J.G., Barber and P. H. Delfabbro provides a wide-ranging description of foster care environment and singles out possible causes of suicides. Researchers know that distressed teenagers, young and old, simply do not feel good about themselves. In foster care homes, they feel helpless, unable to lift themselves out of whatever it is that pull them down, be it the death of a friend, the stress of a work or schoolwork, or opportunities lost. Distressed teenagers may also be plagued with a sense of despair, a feeling that they’ve run out of luck, that no matter what these teens do it will turn out badly. Finally, despair sets in, that dreadful feeling that no decisions whatsoever exist. Fascinated in such a research of futility, and convinced that no one cares or can help, some deeply depressed teenagers understandably, very much, choose the one quick way of putting an end to all the misery, suicide. The researchers who work with teenagers in a community center describe the role that despair plays in a youthful suicide. Just a glance at the suicide notes teenagers often leave, or the poems and diary entries they write before taking their lives, tells us how painful, all-encompassing, and overwhelming despair is in those who kill themselves.
The research study provided by J. Ciffone (2007) Suicide Prevention describes the major causes of suicides among young teenagers in residential group facilities and possible ways of prevention. They are often only precipitating reasons, contributing issues, things that pushed susceptible teenagers over the edge. In examining why teenagers become depressed and why teenagers kill themselves, researchers cannot look for simple research. “The roots of psychological distress lie buried deep, and so, too, do the roots of desperate behavior/” (Ciffone 2007, p. 43). This does not mean that researchers can ignore the outside forces that at times crowd a person beyond his or her ability to cope. Nor can researchers ignore what goes on in our psyches — the mental or psychological structure that makes us what researchers are and forces us to behave in certain ways. hurtful life events, poverty, alienation, lack of a solid tie to guardians, pressure from a guardian on a teenager for that teenager to be more than he or she can or wants to be, and the enormous gaps between what a teenager wants and what he or she actually is or becomes — all of these things may be closely connected with psychological distress and with suicide. Consider an young man — and the elderly are especially prone to suicide who has come down physically but not psychologically. The guardians in single families in foster care tries to find work, but in a society that favors youth and energy — not to mention companies’ delight in being able to pay a younger person less because he or she lacks experience and is eager to learn — he is unable to do so. The man becomes more and more aware of his age and of the limited number of months he has left, and he becomes very depressed.
The research The First Four Months in a New Foster Placement by J.G., Barber and P. H. Delfabbro (2003) describes problems and factors of high suicide rates among youth in residential group facilities. The same pattern can affect a much younger individual who faces a traumatic life change, or whose goals are thwarted. For some teenagers, a decision by guardians to move the entire family far away from the friends because of a new work can trigger a depressive episode. Some psychiatrists see psychological distress of that sort and the kind that affected the older man as situational troubles, or problems in living. Some of the psychological distress may be short-lived and gentle, others may last a long time and interfere with a person’s daily, normal activities. Once more, be aware that not everybody who kills himself is depressed, and that many teenagers who are depressed do not take their lives. In the next few pages, some of the deeper origins of psychological distress, and how these may be related to suicide, will be examined.
In contrast to previous studies, Browne (2002) states that children in single family foster homes are more apt to commit suicides because of emotional and financial reasons. Because emotional upsets like psychological distress often appear abruptly, and sometimes disappear just as quickly and because they frequently appear in several members of a family, most researchers today believe that intelligence is responsible, and that those imbalances are almost certainly inherited. Supporters of this view hold that if a person has such a chemical makeup, the ordinary hurtful life events that make many of us mildly depressed can perhaps touch off a major clinical psychological distress. “Severely depressed teenagers who attempted suicide while they investigate participants in one study of psychological distress excreted radically increased amounts of this hormone in their urine just before they tried to kill themselves” (Browne 2002, p. 22). Then, half of another group of depressed teens in the study — all with suicidal signs — researchers found to have high levels in the amounts of hormone found in their blood; more important, three patients who succeeded in killing themselves, and two who nearly did so, had high levels of the hormone prior to suicide or attempted suicide.
The same findings researchers made by Ponte and Gillan (2005) who stated that single family foster care environment is dangerous for young teenagers as they feel helpless and insecure in such families. The social issues discussed in this study are a collection of the life and relationships of human beings in a society. “Although legal recognition of households would certainly drive benefits protection forward, it is unlikely to occur in the current divisive political climate” (Ponte and Gillan 2005, p. 43). Most of the time, that grouping is a winning one that makes for fairly happy and comfortable individuals, teenagers who work and dream of the future. But sometimes the mixture goes bad and an individual comes under the sway of the bad influences of society, influences that make life empty for many teenagers. Selfishness is the habit of valuing only the issues that are of interest to oneself; at times, it can be called selfishness. The selfish person may be someone who has few ties, to all of the issues that give us support and a sense of belonging and distribution — family, a club, a local organization, a church. Because such teenagers avoid contact with peers, they begin to depend a lot on themselves for gratification and support, and as a result they often grow very lonely and prone to suicide. The selfish individual, , does not always intentionally seek isolation. Many teenagers have isolation thrust upon them, and they are forced to fend for themselves.
Sinclair et al (2005) describes the problems of residential group facilities and possible difficulties faced by guidance’s. The researchers state that suicide is higher among single teenagers than among the married; it is high, too, among the divorced, the persons, and the elderly who live alone; among those who live in the isolation of apartment buildings, locked behind a door that looks the same as all the others on a corridor, in a faceless building that is identical to all the others on the street. In all these buildings the occupants rarely ever have more than an associate with the neighbors. Another example of how a selfish environment can contribute to suicide is found among young blacks who are driven to search for death. For years it was assumed that” suicidal actions was not common among blacks, that self-destruction was primarily a white phenomenon, a white person’s way of dealing with “white only” difficulties” (Sinclair et al 2005, p. 77).
History quite teems with instances of suicide that arose either from a deep and genuine individual choice to place oneself second, or because the public might have had certain strict set of laws that demanded such selfless behavior. There have been people who volunteered for a dangerous task that meant certain death for them. They believed that their task might win a battle and save many other lives. There are some people who research for deaths by taking the place of others who had been condemned to die. “A similar position occurs in the classic lifeboat scenario of fiction and real life, in which one of those cast adrift in an overloaded boat offers to slip into the water to lighten the load and, presumably, help the others survive” (Barber and Delfabbro 2003, p. 73). Many other community conditions may be responsible for suicide. Some of them may fit into three categories, others may be closely related or variations, and still others will seem to partly cover into the psychological factors. The researcher has suggested that alcoholism, unemployment, cutbacks in social services, and academic competition contribute to the many suicides that occur among youths that the ages of fifteen and twenty four by encouraging widespread psychological distress and loss of self-esteem. Guardians may be at fault, though accidentally. Under stress themselves, because of divorce or job loss, they often find themselves unable to help troubled children. They may be unaware or even embarrassed that their children are considering suicide. Perhaps they simply do not know where to get help.
Reser, J. P (2004) and Smith D. K. (2004) find that while abuse is often of a physical nature, there are other forms of abuse that society can inflict upon us. There are so many of these that it is difficult to categorize them, let alone list them. Consider, the sort of abuse that girls are sometimes subjected to in the workplace, male bigotry. This term refers to the notion among some men that, simply put, women aren’t as capable as men, and that they should be “kept in their place,” which usually means at home taking care of the children or, if they are working, in jobs that are either less important than a man’s or, if they are as important, that pay far wages. Happily, such primitive attitudes are beginning to disappear, but there are still numerous pockets of resistance. “Indigenous youth suicide prevention/life promotion programs and community initiatives across Australia as failures” (Reser 2004, p. 54). That kind of force results when society ignores a person. There is another kind of force, just the opposite, in fact. It can come from society and its members paying too much attention to teenagers. Probably the most notable model of that, insofar as suicide is concerned, has to do with the pressure of school. It is true that students have always been stressed; stress is to be expected from any attempt that makes demands, sets deadlines, and stipulates a goal that requires work to reach. But, times have changed, and the psychological problems stresses of the past are easier, for the most part, to deal with. Many years ago, many young people concentrated on education for its own sake; today, the emphasis is on occupation, quite often for positions in high-tech industry, a big business that is fiercely competitive and full of exciting tales of bright young electronics wizards who are millionaires before they reach the age of thirty. When a person does commit suicide, it is not always during a stressful exam period, as is popularly assumed.
Statistical results taken from Youth Suicide Fact Sheet (2009) allow to say that suicide rates in single families in foster care is higher because of lack of emotional support and financial problems faced by single guardians. As in the United States, the pressure to achieve comes from both community and guardians. That unique spirit, of course, influences guardians and children, and it is not difficult to see how from time to time the sense of urgency builds so high that a person cannot take it any longer. A young person may be distraught if he or she does not make it into a “good” school, and the decision to commit suicide may be, in the minds of some, the admirable way out, a way to wipe away the disgrace of failure. A youth may not get the right job after graduation, or may not be promoted fast enough; those issues, can cause distress serious enough to force some persons to kill themselves. The stress that is heaped upon young people in these countries generally stems from the extremely high expectations that guardians often have for their children. The reasons for the high potential are not clear, but it has been suggested. Sometimes, anxiety contributes to physical ailments, like illness, other times to such psychological problems as anorexia nervosa, a severe eating disorder characterized by self-starvation that can result in death. In considering the way social circumstances contribute to suicidal behavior, one cannot neglect a form of pressure — call it, rather, an influence — that has been talked about quite a bit these days. The influence goes by many: modeling, contagiousness, or suicide by fake. Young children may choose a method of killing themselves that leaves only a small opportunity for rescue. They may have gotten the thought of dying without realizing its full impact, from something as easy as a television cartoon that depicts a hero bounding back after a devastating fall.
In sum, the literature review shows that youth are usually aware of the finality of death. This is an imperative consideration, because there have been rashes of suicide in a number of societies over the past few years. They have even been called epidemics, and a growing number of researchers are trying to decide whether another social phenomenon — a contagious effect — has been driving teens to take their lives. Some researchers make generalizations without too much difficulty. Most researchers tend to agree that if there is such an experience as youth suicide, it almost certainly occurs in teenagers who have suicidal inclinations. Those who argue that suicide is infectious point out that relatives or close acquaintances of a suicide are at high risk of killing themselves, as are psychologically distressed people who are exposed to a suicide. They must be asked unemotionally and objectively if you are to get a better handle on why so many teenagers have killed themselves. It is tempting to look for simple research. For years, researchers have even been suggesting that the frequency of suicide changes with the days of the research and month. Issues like them are asked regularly by researchers and psychiatrists who are questioning the reasons behind suicides and suicide attempts. Idea about these questions may result in some precious insights that bear on the motives of teenagers who try to kill themselves or who succeed. Keep in mind, too, that what a suicidal teenager seems to be fleeing in life, what he relates as the difficulty, may be only part of the story. Thought needs to be given to suicidal teenagers’ attitudes toward life and wellbeing, their emotional state, their personalities, their families, and friends before a suicide attempt can be drawn.
References
Barber, J.G., Delfabbro, P. H. Children in Foster Care. Routledge, 2003.
Barber, J.G., Delfabbro, P. H. (2003). The First Four Months in a New Foster Placement: Psychosocial Adjustment, Parental Contact and Placement Disruption. Journal of Sociology & Social Researcherslfare 30 (1), 43.
Ciffone, J. (2007). Suicide Prevention: An Analysis and Replication of a Curriculum-Based High School Program. Social Work 52 (1), 43.
Gough, D. More pain for foster care kids. Retrieved 05 February 2009 from
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/more-pain-for-foster-care- kids/2007/02/24/1171734074121.html
Sinclair, J., Baker, C., Wilson, K., Foster Children: Where They Go and How They
Get on. Jessica Kingsley, 2005.
Browne, D. (2002). Coping Alone: Examining the Prospects of Adolescent Victims of
Child Abuse Placed in Foster Care. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 31 (1), 57.
Ponte, L. M., Gillan, J.L.(2005). From Our Family to Yours: Rethinking the
“Beneficial Family” and Marriage-Centric Corporate Benefit Programs. Columbia Journal of Gender and Law 14 (1), 43.
Reser, J. P. (2004). What Does It Mean to Say That Aboriginal Suicide Is Different?
Differing Cultures, Accounts and Idioms of Distress in the Context of Indigenous Youth Suicide. Australian Aboriginal Studies, 1(1), 54. .
Smith, D. K. (2004). Risk, Reinforcement Retention in Treatment, and Reoffending
for Boys and Girls in Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 12 (1), 38.
Youth Suicide Fact Sheet (2009). Retrieved 05 February 2009 from
http://www.safeyouth.org/scripts/facts/suicide.asp
http://methadonetreatmentfor.com/7549/suicide-among-youth-within-residential-group-facilities-and-single-family-foster-homes/
Skirting the system is risky with children
Skirting the system is risky with children
Staff Writer
Posted: 05/09/2010 12:00:00 AM MDT
Children are a precious resource, and how we teach and cultivate them has a direct influence on the adults they become. Love and respect a child, and that child will grow to love and respect others.
State regulations telling us how to raise a child is not something most parents care to hear about. State regulations ensuring the safety of children placed in the homes of strangers for foster care is another matter.
The issue came to light when a Daily Times special report published May 3 revealed problems with lack of accountability surrounding a confessed child abuser and foster parent accused of nearly 100 sexual assault counts against children over the past decade.
Foster parents screened by state and local agencies tasked with such a mission undergo close reviews and constant checks before being allowed to help care for foster children placed in their care. Most of these foster parents are true heroes genuinely concerned and interested in the wellbeing of children.
Others, as we know, become predators despite all caution taken to prevent it.
The ongoing case involving Todd Mortensen and the charges against him in Farmington serves as an example of the risks involved when private adoptions or foster care occur outside of any established or respected regulatory entity. While citizens often balk at the thought of regulation, zero accountability can be worse.
Mortensen, facing charges of criminal sexual penetration against a foster daughter, continued his
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foster role after having more than 80 counts of sex-crime charges dropped in 2005 and despite not being licensed as a foster care worker with the state Children, Youth and Families Department since the early 1990s. He confessed April 1 to six counts of criminal sexual contact against a
12-year-old girl living in his home as a foster daughter. Two counts of criminal sexual penetration against the same girl were added to the list of charges April 5.
Sources claim that as many as 50 children were fostered in the Mortensen home over the years since the time Mortensen last was licensed and cleared to do so by the state. It is admirable to see families and private homes ready to help families who need it. It is deplorable when such a situation turns to abuse.
Whether with the church, with the state, with a local nonprofit agency specializing in children's care or with some type of credible sponsor; somehow, accountability must be assured when it comes to child care and foster homes.
Going without such oversight, guidance or assurance simply is too risky to allow for the sake of the children.
http://www.daily-times.com/farmington-opinion/ci_15048532
Staff Writer
Posted: 05/09/2010 12:00:00 AM MDT
Children are a precious resource, and how we teach and cultivate them has a direct influence on the adults they become. Love and respect a child, and that child will grow to love and respect others.
State regulations telling us how to raise a child is not something most parents care to hear about. State regulations ensuring the safety of children placed in the homes of strangers for foster care is another matter.
The issue came to light when a Daily Times special report published May 3 revealed problems with lack of accountability surrounding a confessed child abuser and foster parent accused of nearly 100 sexual assault counts against children over the past decade.
Foster parents screened by state and local agencies tasked with such a mission undergo close reviews and constant checks before being allowed to help care for foster children placed in their care. Most of these foster parents are true heroes genuinely concerned and interested in the wellbeing of children.
Others, as we know, become predators despite all caution taken to prevent it.
The ongoing case involving Todd Mortensen and the charges against him in Farmington serves as an example of the risks involved when private adoptions or foster care occur outside of any established or respected regulatory entity. While citizens often balk at the thought of regulation, zero accountability can be worse.
Mortensen, facing charges of criminal sexual penetration against a foster daughter, continued his
Advertisement
foster role after having more than 80 counts of sex-crime charges dropped in 2005 and despite not being licensed as a foster care worker with the state Children, Youth and Families Department since the early 1990s. He confessed April 1 to six counts of criminal sexual contact against a
12-year-old girl living in his home as a foster daughter. Two counts of criminal sexual penetration against the same girl were added to the list of charges April 5.
Sources claim that as many as 50 children were fostered in the Mortensen home over the years since the time Mortensen last was licensed and cleared to do so by the state. It is admirable to see families and private homes ready to help families who need it. It is deplorable when such a situation turns to abuse.
Whether with the church, with the state, with a local nonprofit agency specializing in children's care or with some type of credible sponsor; somehow, accountability must be assured when it comes to child care and foster homes.
Going without such oversight, guidance or assurance simply is too risky to allow for the sake of the children.
http://www.daily-times.com/farmington-opinion/ci_15048532
IN-DEPTH: THE FIGHT FOR THE CHILDREN - FROM THE FAMILIES TO THE DEPARTMENT CHARGED WITH KEEPING THEM SAFE
IN-DEPTH: THE FIGHT FOR THE CHILDREN - FROM THE FAMILIES TO THE DEPARTMENT CHARGED WITH KEEPING THEM SAFE
By KFBB News Team
Story Published: May 16, 2010 at 11:28 PM MDT
Story Updated: May 16, 2010 at 11:43 PM MDT
In the state of Montana, Child and Family Services is the state agency charged with Child Protective Services. When allegations of child abuse are made, they are the ones to intervene.
MULTIMEDIA
WATCH THE VIDEO
But some families say the department may be doing more harm than good.
The website fightcps.com declares that Child Protective Services have “devastated and destroyed hundreds of thousands of families in America during the last thirty years” – and outlines accounts from families across the nation of alleged mishandling of cases involving their children.
Here in Cascade County, some families say it’s time to put an end to the wrongdoing they have gone through as a result of Child and Family Services.
While at the same time, the department struggles to carry out their mission - what they call walking the fine line between keeping children safe and families strong.
Mike Dunnington… Doug Laverdure... and Nicole Marks.
Their stories are different - yet somehow the same.
“Everyday I think about her. Everyday. There is not a day that goes by,” says Marks.
“It’s just crazy how they can just destroy somebody and just take everything that they love,” comments Laverdure.
“This is local in Montana but it’s happening all over the country,” adds Dunnington.
Mike Dunnington says his nightmare began in the spring of 2008.
That’s when his ex-girlfriend –recently released from rehab for a drug problem – who Dunnington says hadn’t been involved in their lives for years – accused him of molesting their 6 year old daughter.
“It devastated me. I mean, I was in complete shock."
Dunnington says he decided to turn to Child and Family Services for help. But before he had the chance, he says his ex went to the department, claiming the child had disclosed that her father had sexually abused her.
The 6 year old was immediately removed from her father’s care.
“I started noticing right away, from the very first comments of the social worker – rather than using the terms “alleged” and things like that, you know, where she had told me that she just knew I was guilty – that there was very little chance that any of this was going to be fair or unbiased,” he recalls.
When the case later went to court – two interesting pieces of information were uncovered.
Those close to this case say the little girl told her foster parents that her mother had yelled, screamed, pulled her daughter’s hair and threatened to put her in “kiddie jail” if she did not go along with the abuse allegations against her father.
And two – that during forensic interviewing and on several other occasions – the child named her step brother as her abuser. Court records indicate he was recently sentenced with endangering the welfare of another child – and may have more serious charges on the way.
“Department of Family Services took the easy way out with this, without investigating other option. Without paying attention to any outside thing. They were convinced that I’m the dad, I did it and they’re gonna prove that. They manipulated evidence. They ignored evidence to the contrary.”
Since then, Dunnington has been fighting the system.
And he’s not alone.
“DFS has come at me approximately 10, 11, 12 times.”
For the past five years, Doug Laverdure – a father of 12 - has fought what he says are false allegations of abuse against his children.
His case made it as far as the State Supreme Court.
He has beaten those allegations every time.
“Doctors reports plainly states that there was nothing to happen to these children. The detectives I was interviewed by did not pursue any charges because there was no charges to be found.”
Ironically, while Doug’s children were removed from his care, Child and Family Services temporarily placed other children in the home - knowing he was living there.
“If I was such a bad person, why would DFS turn around and put more kids in our care?”
Nicole Marks and her fiancé Shane McClure never had the chance to be parents.
“I wanted that chance to be able to prove to the world that we could be good parents and they just ripped it out from beneath me,” says McClure.
They say Child and Family Services took their baby girl right out of the delivery room - and placed her in foster care.
“They thought she was in danger just because me and my fiancé had mental illnesses. I had not done nothing wrong. I was actually quite straightened out. I had my life together. I go to my therapy sessions as I’m supposed to. I see my psychologist as I’m supposed to. I’ve done everything I’m supposed to,” Marks explains.
Adds McClure, “We did the whole entire treatment plan and more. But when it got to the point of finishing – we got it completely done and then they basically said you have no choice, you need to relinquish or we’ll terminate your rights and you’ll never have children again."
Cory Costello of Child and Family Services says while privacy laws prevent them from discussing individual cases, the mission of their department is to keep children safe and families strong.
“Child and Family Services has a serious responsibility and that responsibility is to do a very thorough investigation into allegations of abuse and neglect. Hindsight is always 20/20 – in anything anybody does anywhere. You can always look back at a case and see that we could have done something differently.”
She says foster numbers are down - and that not returning a child to the home is rare.
“The two things I hear from the community crowd is, ‘why did you remove those kids,’ and right behind that question is ‘why didn’t you remove those kids?’ And so, it’s kind of a no win situation.”
Costello adds, “If I could do anything for the perception of the community and for the families that we get involved with is to not be afraid of us. To work with us. We want to be there to help. We want to make a difference for the family and for the children and that’s our objective.”
Costello also reports that the most recent evaluations for 2002 to 2008 showed “substantial improvements” within the department.
http://www.kfbb.com/news/local/93899614.html
By KFBB News Team
Story Published: May 16, 2010 at 11:28 PM MDT
Story Updated: May 16, 2010 at 11:43 PM MDT
In the state of Montana, Child and Family Services is the state agency charged with Child Protective Services. When allegations of child abuse are made, they are the ones to intervene.
MULTIMEDIA
WATCH THE VIDEO
But some families say the department may be doing more harm than good.
The website fightcps.com declares that Child Protective Services have “devastated and destroyed hundreds of thousands of families in America during the last thirty years” – and outlines accounts from families across the nation of alleged mishandling of cases involving their children.
Here in Cascade County, some families say it’s time to put an end to the wrongdoing they have gone through as a result of Child and Family Services.
While at the same time, the department struggles to carry out their mission - what they call walking the fine line between keeping children safe and families strong.
Mike Dunnington… Doug Laverdure... and Nicole Marks.
Their stories are different - yet somehow the same.
“Everyday I think about her. Everyday. There is not a day that goes by,” says Marks.
“It’s just crazy how they can just destroy somebody and just take everything that they love,” comments Laverdure.
“This is local in Montana but it’s happening all over the country,” adds Dunnington.
Mike Dunnington says his nightmare began in the spring of 2008.
That’s when his ex-girlfriend –recently released from rehab for a drug problem – who Dunnington says hadn’t been involved in their lives for years – accused him of molesting their 6 year old daughter.
“It devastated me. I mean, I was in complete shock."
Dunnington says he decided to turn to Child and Family Services for help. But before he had the chance, he says his ex went to the department, claiming the child had disclosed that her father had sexually abused her.
The 6 year old was immediately removed from her father’s care.
“I started noticing right away, from the very first comments of the social worker – rather than using the terms “alleged” and things like that, you know, where she had told me that she just knew I was guilty – that there was very little chance that any of this was going to be fair or unbiased,” he recalls.
When the case later went to court – two interesting pieces of information were uncovered.
Those close to this case say the little girl told her foster parents that her mother had yelled, screamed, pulled her daughter’s hair and threatened to put her in “kiddie jail” if she did not go along with the abuse allegations against her father.
And two – that during forensic interviewing and on several other occasions – the child named her step brother as her abuser. Court records indicate he was recently sentenced with endangering the welfare of another child – and may have more serious charges on the way.
“Department of Family Services took the easy way out with this, without investigating other option. Without paying attention to any outside thing. They were convinced that I’m the dad, I did it and they’re gonna prove that. They manipulated evidence. They ignored evidence to the contrary.”
Since then, Dunnington has been fighting the system.
And he’s not alone.
“DFS has come at me approximately 10, 11, 12 times.”
For the past five years, Doug Laverdure – a father of 12 - has fought what he says are false allegations of abuse against his children.
His case made it as far as the State Supreme Court.
He has beaten those allegations every time.
“Doctors reports plainly states that there was nothing to happen to these children. The detectives I was interviewed by did not pursue any charges because there was no charges to be found.”
Ironically, while Doug’s children were removed from his care, Child and Family Services temporarily placed other children in the home - knowing he was living there.
“If I was such a bad person, why would DFS turn around and put more kids in our care?”
Nicole Marks and her fiancé Shane McClure never had the chance to be parents.
“I wanted that chance to be able to prove to the world that we could be good parents and they just ripped it out from beneath me,” says McClure.
They say Child and Family Services took their baby girl right out of the delivery room - and placed her in foster care.
“They thought she was in danger just because me and my fiancé had mental illnesses. I had not done nothing wrong. I was actually quite straightened out. I had my life together. I go to my therapy sessions as I’m supposed to. I see my psychologist as I’m supposed to. I’ve done everything I’m supposed to,” Marks explains.
Adds McClure, “We did the whole entire treatment plan and more. But when it got to the point of finishing – we got it completely done and then they basically said you have no choice, you need to relinquish or we’ll terminate your rights and you’ll never have children again."
Cory Costello of Child and Family Services says while privacy laws prevent them from discussing individual cases, the mission of their department is to keep children safe and families strong.
“Child and Family Services has a serious responsibility and that responsibility is to do a very thorough investigation into allegations of abuse and neglect. Hindsight is always 20/20 – in anything anybody does anywhere. You can always look back at a case and see that we could have done something differently.”
She says foster numbers are down - and that not returning a child to the home is rare.
“The two things I hear from the community crowd is, ‘why did you remove those kids,’ and right behind that question is ‘why didn’t you remove those kids?’ And so, it’s kind of a no win situation.”
Costello adds, “If I could do anything for the perception of the community and for the families that we get involved with is to not be afraid of us. To work with us. We want to be there to help. We want to make a difference for the family and for the children and that’s our objective.”
Costello also reports that the most recent evaluations for 2002 to 2008 showed “substantial improvements” within the department.
http://www.kfbb.com/news/local/93899614.html
Child Abuse and CPS Part II "You Have No Idea"
Child Abuse and CPS Part II "You Have No Idea"
By FrankiesGirl6Yr
DSS and Child Protective Services
Part II
DSS has taken their already damaged reputation to the next level. But this time it goes much high then DSS’s carless social workers, lack of intervention, and staled procedures. It has become an organized business that brings in millions a years at the cost of human lives. Before I get into that let me step back to the lower men and women in this organization that are all too willing to follow sick demands and request of their superiors. I want start by informing you on who some of these people are (case / social workers), that are in charge of such fragile lives are.
Take a Moment to Remember All of these Precious Children who Felt Forgotten In Life
Long List of Unqualified Caseworkers
To narrow down a long laundry list of misfit and unfit employees that work for CPS, I will recognize 1 out of our 50 states. Texas, why this state? It honestly was a random pick, maybe because I lived here at one time, but there is no one reason; I could provide a laundry list of names for almost all fifty states.
It was reported that at least 370 of Texas caseworkers have been convicted of felonies. To a few that have earned the acknowledgements:
Cordellia Jones – Drug possession
Richard Landon – Prostitution and Indecent Exposure
Romanus Ike – Indecent Exposure in a public park, including a prior
David Mendonza – (Supervisor) Assault with intent of bodily harm, Violating a restraining order.
Some of the case workers are abusers themselves:
Alvita Johnson, 50, A Nacogdoches, Texas CPS caseworker, was arrested for abusing three
foster children in her care. Charges against Johnson included; injury to a child
and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The children involved were ages
10, 12, and 15 at the time.
Most of the caseworkers have been employed with CPS for over a decade. Also, most were charged for their crime during their employment and are still employed by CPS today.
These People Make the Decisions
There is no reason to continue listing names; all hold serious felonies close to the nature of the ones listed. Please understand that these men and women are in charge of making decisions such as placement of children and the evaluation, as well as approval of foster families. They testify in court, decide who is being abused, who has their children taken, if the abuse is severe enough to remove a child from biological parents or foster care, they decide when to place a child back with the abusive family Quick Note: (Rarely does an incident of child abuse happen in isolation.) and they are the only ones that have direct contact with families and foster care in between court hearing. These are the only people children can rely on to interfere with their abuse.
Are You Really Aware of the Number of Children Dying in CPS Care?
Now don’t get me wrong, I am not saying all convicted felons are repeat offenders, only 70%. Obviously these caseworkers have made repeated mistakes and displayed poor judgment, their record proves this. So how is it that they are give full authority and rule over so many families and fragile children?
Is this why 1,000 children a year die in the care of Child Protective Services?
When I say under the care this means;
· Placed back with their bio. parents, but are still under the care of CPS.
· Placed in foster care or a group home.
· Placed with unfit family members.
I am going to concentrate on foster care, due to there are 6X more children that die in this placement, than any other. When I say under the care of CPS, I mean the caseworkers decision to place a child back or into harm’s way.
Most of these children were taken out of a bad situation by CPS and placed in a worse environment where they were sentences to death. The leading cause of death in these situations are through physical abuse and neglect. To put this issue bluntly and bring the realization of the severity,
In 1 year, 1,000 American Children (almost all healthy upon arriving in CPS care) were either;
· Strangled by hands and belts
· Suffocated by plastic bags and pillows
· Drowned in urine and tub water
· Burned
· Kicked with steal toe boots
· Punched
· Beaton with objects; broom sticks, leather belts, cast iron pans, brass knuckles
· Starved
· Locked in a small closet for weeks
· Dehydration
About Each Story Below and CPS
There are 4 video's below. They take the flashing faces from above and put a story with them. If you are easily disturbed, I would limit the view to only 1 video, if any at all.Although these videos are not visualy graphic, they summarize the short lives of these children and what they had to endure. The abuse was all committed by biological parents or step-parents. It is almost never publisised if a child dies in foster care, expecially if there are no concerned biological parents.
CPS went to baby Peter's House 30x and never took him. Baby Kelsey was still under protection of CPS although living with her mother. Little Sarah's father asked if she could stay with him for a little while, he wouldn't bring her back and CPS saw no reason for her to be removed. Baby Riley, although she had disapered and CPS was called by neighbors, they never responded.
Baby Kelsey's Story.....*Warning* these are True Stories and my be considered to graphic and shocking for some...
Baby Riley's Story........*Warning* this is a True Story and my be considered to
graphic and shocking for some...
Summer Phelps Story....*Warning* this is a True Story and my be considered to graphic and shocking for some...
Baby Peters Story.............*Warning* this is a True Story and my be considered to
graphic and shocking for some...
Their Autopsy's Reveal the Worst
Autopsy’s of some of these children
· Revealed their teeth in their abdomen
· Fractured skulls
· Spine split in two
· Several broken ribs
· 102 prior and current broken bones
· Children with cigarette burns, looking to be used as ash trays.
The reports go on and on to the point a sane mind can barely handle it. Please understand that 1,000 children have been reported. It does not include the other large numbers of children that have turned up missing under the care of Child Protective Services.
More Stats.
· A report of child abuse is made every ten seconds.
· Almost five children die every day as a result of child abuse. More than three out of four are under the age of 4.
It is estimated that between 60-85% of child fatalities due to maltreatment are not recorded as such on death certificates.
90% of child sexual abuse victims know the perpetrator in some way; 68% are abused by family members.
Learn about child abuse. Educate yourself by taking the Myths and Realities About Child Abuse Quiz
So why aren’t any of these social workers penalized for the deaths of these children due to there decision?
How is it that most Americans are unaware of thousands of missing and dying children in CPS care?
Why are laws that are capable of resolving this problem being shot down?
Why are there thousands of capable non-abusive parents having their children taken away and placed in danger?
http://hubpages.com/hub/Child-Abuse-and-CPS-Part-II-You-Have-No-Idea
By FrankiesGirl6Yr
DSS and Child Protective Services
Part II
DSS has taken their already damaged reputation to the next level. But this time it goes much high then DSS’s carless social workers, lack of intervention, and staled procedures. It has become an organized business that brings in millions a years at the cost of human lives. Before I get into that let me step back to the lower men and women in this organization that are all too willing to follow sick demands and request of their superiors. I want start by informing you on who some of these people are (case / social workers), that are in charge of such fragile lives are.
Take a Moment to Remember All of these Precious Children who Felt Forgotten In Life
Long List of Unqualified Caseworkers
To narrow down a long laundry list of misfit and unfit employees that work for CPS, I will recognize 1 out of our 50 states. Texas, why this state? It honestly was a random pick, maybe because I lived here at one time, but there is no one reason; I could provide a laundry list of names for almost all fifty states.
It was reported that at least 370 of Texas caseworkers have been convicted of felonies. To a few that have earned the acknowledgements:
Cordellia Jones – Drug possession
Richard Landon – Prostitution and Indecent Exposure
Romanus Ike – Indecent Exposure in a public park, including a prior
David Mendonza – (Supervisor) Assault with intent of bodily harm, Violating a restraining order.
Some of the case workers are abusers themselves:
Alvita Johnson, 50, A Nacogdoches, Texas CPS caseworker, was arrested for abusing three
foster children in her care. Charges against Johnson included; injury to a child
and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The children involved were ages
10, 12, and 15 at the time.
Most of the caseworkers have been employed with CPS for over a decade. Also, most were charged for their crime during their employment and are still employed by CPS today.
These People Make the Decisions
There is no reason to continue listing names; all hold serious felonies close to the nature of the ones listed. Please understand that these men and women are in charge of making decisions such as placement of children and the evaluation, as well as approval of foster families. They testify in court, decide who is being abused, who has their children taken, if the abuse is severe enough to remove a child from biological parents or foster care, they decide when to place a child back with the abusive family Quick Note: (Rarely does an incident of child abuse happen in isolation.) and they are the only ones that have direct contact with families and foster care in between court hearing. These are the only people children can rely on to interfere with their abuse.
Are You Really Aware of the Number of Children Dying in CPS Care?
Now don’t get me wrong, I am not saying all convicted felons are repeat offenders, only 70%. Obviously these caseworkers have made repeated mistakes and displayed poor judgment, their record proves this. So how is it that they are give full authority and rule over so many families and fragile children?
Is this why 1,000 children a year die in the care of Child Protective Services?
When I say under the care this means;
· Placed back with their bio. parents, but are still under the care of CPS.
· Placed in foster care or a group home.
· Placed with unfit family members.
I am going to concentrate on foster care, due to there are 6X more children that die in this placement, than any other. When I say under the care of CPS, I mean the caseworkers decision to place a child back or into harm’s way.
Most of these children were taken out of a bad situation by CPS and placed in a worse environment where they were sentences to death. The leading cause of death in these situations are through physical abuse and neglect. To put this issue bluntly and bring the realization of the severity,
In 1 year, 1,000 American Children (almost all healthy upon arriving in CPS care) were either;
· Strangled by hands and belts
· Suffocated by plastic bags and pillows
· Drowned in urine and tub water
· Burned
· Kicked with steal toe boots
· Punched
· Beaton with objects; broom sticks, leather belts, cast iron pans, brass knuckles
· Starved
· Locked in a small closet for weeks
· Dehydration
About Each Story Below and CPS
There are 4 video's below. They take the flashing faces from above and put a story with them. If you are easily disturbed, I would limit the view to only 1 video, if any at all.Although these videos are not visualy graphic, they summarize the short lives of these children and what they had to endure. The abuse was all committed by biological parents or step-parents. It is almost never publisised if a child dies in foster care, expecially if there are no concerned biological parents.
CPS went to baby Peter's House 30x and never took him. Baby Kelsey was still under protection of CPS although living with her mother. Little Sarah's father asked if she could stay with him for a little while, he wouldn't bring her back and CPS saw no reason for her to be removed. Baby Riley, although she had disapered and CPS was called by neighbors, they never responded.
Baby Kelsey's Story.....*Warning* these are True Stories and my be considered to graphic and shocking for some...
Baby Riley's Story........*Warning* this is a True Story and my be considered to
graphic and shocking for some...
Summer Phelps Story....*Warning* this is a True Story and my be considered to graphic and shocking for some...
Baby Peters Story.............*Warning* this is a True Story and my be considered to
graphic and shocking for some...
Their Autopsy's Reveal the Worst
Autopsy’s of some of these children
· Revealed their teeth in their abdomen
· Fractured skulls
· Spine split in two
· Several broken ribs
· 102 prior and current broken bones
· Children with cigarette burns, looking to be used as ash trays.
The reports go on and on to the point a sane mind can barely handle it. Please understand that 1,000 children have been reported. It does not include the other large numbers of children that have turned up missing under the care of Child Protective Services.
More Stats.
· A report of child abuse is made every ten seconds.
· Almost five children die every day as a result of child abuse. More than three out of four are under the age of 4.
It is estimated that between 60-85% of child fatalities due to maltreatment are not recorded as such on death certificates.
90% of child sexual abuse victims know the perpetrator in some way; 68% are abused by family members.
Learn about child abuse. Educate yourself by taking the Myths and Realities About Child Abuse Quiz
So why aren’t any of these social workers penalized for the deaths of these children due to there decision?
How is it that most Americans are unaware of thousands of missing and dying children in CPS care?
Why are laws that are capable of resolving this problem being shot down?
Why are there thousands of capable non-abusive parents having their children taken away and placed in danger?
http://hubpages.com/hub/Child-Abuse-and-CPS-Part-II-You-Have-No-Idea
Child Abuse and Child Protective Services Part I
Child Abuse and Child Protective Services Part I
By FrankiesGirl6Yr
unhappygrammy-This is a good article, but I do not agree with all of it. In NH parents are not given services while their child is kept in the home. It is true that truly abused children are still suffering in their homes due to the caseworker's concentrating on the falsely reported abuse of children.
Quick Intro.
I initially wrote this answer as a short assignment, doing minimal research on the subject. Since this short answer, I have done much research on child abuse and CPS. If you have not heard much about the business created out of CPS, my next page will shock you. Please be sure to read part II on this horrible controversy. These innocent children have already been through more than most adults, now, the government is using their disadvantage to create an income in a struggling economy…
CPS seemed to never be there, now they are everywhere. Taking children from capable parents in order to receive the bonus their owed according to the Adoption of Safe Family Act.
So Many Cases, So Little Accomplished
Department of Social Services, DSS also known as CPS, DHS, at one time, was an agency that was created to save the lives of children who were being abused by their biological parents, step-parents or other form of immediate family. Some of us today, naive in a since, steal believe this to be true. We are so quick to call the authorities when we witness a child being spanked, due to bad behavior. If only society were to stop directing their attention toward the oblivious disciplinary act in the supermarket, maybe a caution sign would go off in the presents of a child who is really being abused.
I understand that many do not agree with the method of spanking as discipline, I try to avoid it myself, but the hysteria and calls to DSS for such minute acts creates unnecessary work for the social worker, unnecessary problems in the family of the child who was spanked, and an increase of abuse or neglect for a child that is really suffering.
The definition of abuse: (only to note physical and neglect)
Physical abuse may involve profuse or continues, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating or otherwise causing physical harm to a child. It may be the result of a deliberate act, but could also be caused through the omission or failure to act to protect.
Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a child's basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child's health or development. It may involve failing to provide adequate food, shelter and clothing, or failing to ensure that a child gets appropriate medical care or treatment.
Being Removed from a Bad Place and Put into Worse
When Do They Step in?
In these cases DSS should be called to observe the matter. Otherwise, allow these case workers to try and decrees the massive amount of files on their desk. A non-urgent call “such as a butt spanking” adds more files to these case workers desk, the files on the bottom of the stack, maybe a child that is in desperate need of help and interference. Unfortunately, it is a horrible realization on how things work; treating a child as a file, but this is what Department of Social Services has become. It consists of a bunch of over worked, over whelmed and under paid social workers that have given up on making a difference. Now, don’t get me wrong I am sure that many entered into their position wanting to make a difference, but the goal has been lost in the massive amount and non-stop cases.
Department of Social Services has to deal with children in horrific situations on a daily basis. I believe that some are so tired and frustrated with the “guide lines” of not being able to do anything; they began to avoid the faces in the files and punch out paperwork as if working on an assembly line. Others have been working with child services for so long, nothing surprises them, or maybe it’s that the terrible abuses seen throughout the years, the absolute worse cases are compared to every case that is come upon. It takes a lot of physical wrong doing before DSS will actually step in and take a child. In fact sometimes too much abuse happens; the abusive parent is given chance after chance, allowing another one of our children to be lost due to the system.
Quick Documentary
You Stay Here While I Do the Proper Paperwork
There are also a lot of times, it's not that they don't want to take the child, they do, but the rules and regulations forced upon them leaves the worker with no choice. I've heard horror stories of children that have been left in a devastating situation, but it has to do with placement and paperwork. A child that is being abused likely does not have any other family except for the parents that are causing the abuse. If there were loving grandparents or family members, they would have most likely stepped in, dissolving the situation. This is why there are so many grandparents who are acting as parents right now. If there is not a family member available or whiling to except the responsibility, DSS then tries to correct the abuse while the child remains in the household. If the abuse is not corrected, the child will continues to remain in the home until the “proper paperwork” is filed and placement is found. This could take several weeks due to the amount of child abuse that is produced every day.
The standards have been lowered in the eyes of Social Services. The whole process is focused on rehabilitating the parents, rather than saving the child. Rehabilitation doesn't work for most convicts and it's not going to work for people who abuse their children, which are really one in the same. Not only do social services seem to no longer be on the child’s side, but either does society. It appears that society has a lower standard when it comes to children's human rights. If age was erased on a police incident report “let’s say they actually filled police reports for child abuse” and parents were brought in front of a judge on assault or intent to do bodily harm, they would receive a jail sentence rather than parenting classes.
Child Abuse and CPS Part II "You Have No Idea"
DSS has taken their already damaged reputation to the next level. But this time it goes much high then DSSs...
http://hubpages.com/hub/Child-Abuse-and-Child-Protective-Services-Part-I
By FrankiesGirl6Yr
unhappygrammy-This is a good article, but I do not agree with all of it. In NH parents are not given services while their child is kept in the home. It is true that truly abused children are still suffering in their homes due to the caseworker's concentrating on the falsely reported abuse of children.
Quick Intro.
I initially wrote this answer as a short assignment, doing minimal research on the subject. Since this short answer, I have done much research on child abuse and CPS. If you have not heard much about the business created out of CPS, my next page will shock you. Please be sure to read part II on this horrible controversy. These innocent children have already been through more than most adults, now, the government is using their disadvantage to create an income in a struggling economy…
CPS seemed to never be there, now they are everywhere. Taking children from capable parents in order to receive the bonus their owed according to the Adoption of Safe Family Act.
So Many Cases, So Little Accomplished
Department of Social Services, DSS also known as CPS, DHS, at one time, was an agency that was created to save the lives of children who were being abused by their biological parents, step-parents or other form of immediate family. Some of us today, naive in a since, steal believe this to be true. We are so quick to call the authorities when we witness a child being spanked, due to bad behavior. If only society were to stop directing their attention toward the oblivious disciplinary act in the supermarket, maybe a caution sign would go off in the presents of a child who is really being abused.
I understand that many do not agree with the method of spanking as discipline, I try to avoid it myself, but the hysteria and calls to DSS for such minute acts creates unnecessary work for the social worker, unnecessary problems in the family of the child who was spanked, and an increase of abuse or neglect for a child that is really suffering.
The definition of abuse: (only to note physical and neglect)
Physical abuse may involve profuse or continues, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating or otherwise causing physical harm to a child. It may be the result of a deliberate act, but could also be caused through the omission or failure to act to protect.
Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a child's basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child's health or development. It may involve failing to provide adequate food, shelter and clothing, or failing to ensure that a child gets appropriate medical care or treatment.
Being Removed from a Bad Place and Put into Worse
When Do They Step in?
In these cases DSS should be called to observe the matter. Otherwise, allow these case workers to try and decrees the massive amount of files on their desk. A non-urgent call “such as a butt spanking” adds more files to these case workers desk, the files on the bottom of the stack, maybe a child that is in desperate need of help and interference. Unfortunately, it is a horrible realization on how things work; treating a child as a file, but this is what Department of Social Services has become. It consists of a bunch of over worked, over whelmed and under paid social workers that have given up on making a difference. Now, don’t get me wrong I am sure that many entered into their position wanting to make a difference, but the goal has been lost in the massive amount and non-stop cases.
Department of Social Services has to deal with children in horrific situations on a daily basis. I believe that some are so tired and frustrated with the “guide lines” of not being able to do anything; they began to avoid the faces in the files and punch out paperwork as if working on an assembly line. Others have been working with child services for so long, nothing surprises them, or maybe it’s that the terrible abuses seen throughout the years, the absolute worse cases are compared to every case that is come upon. It takes a lot of physical wrong doing before DSS will actually step in and take a child. In fact sometimes too much abuse happens; the abusive parent is given chance after chance, allowing another one of our children to be lost due to the system.
Quick Documentary
You Stay Here While I Do the Proper Paperwork
There are also a lot of times, it's not that they don't want to take the child, they do, but the rules and regulations forced upon them leaves the worker with no choice. I've heard horror stories of children that have been left in a devastating situation, but it has to do with placement and paperwork. A child that is being abused likely does not have any other family except for the parents that are causing the abuse. If there were loving grandparents or family members, they would have most likely stepped in, dissolving the situation. This is why there are so many grandparents who are acting as parents right now. If there is not a family member available or whiling to except the responsibility, DSS then tries to correct the abuse while the child remains in the household. If the abuse is not corrected, the child will continues to remain in the home until the “proper paperwork” is filed and placement is found. This could take several weeks due to the amount of child abuse that is produced every day.
The standards have been lowered in the eyes of Social Services. The whole process is focused on rehabilitating the parents, rather than saving the child. Rehabilitation doesn't work for most convicts and it's not going to work for people who abuse their children, which are really one in the same. Not only do social services seem to no longer be on the child’s side, but either does society. It appears that society has a lower standard when it comes to children's human rights. If age was erased on a police incident report “let’s say they actually filled police reports for child abuse” and parents were brought in front of a judge on assault or intent to do bodily harm, they would receive a jail sentence rather than parenting classes.
Child Abuse and CPS Part II "You Have No Idea"
DSS has taken their already damaged reputation to the next level. But this time it goes much high then DSSs...
http://hubpages.com/hub/Child-Abuse-and-Child-Protective-Services-Part-I
Sunday, May 16, 2010
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