Unbiased Reporting

What I post on this Blog does not mean I agree with the articles or disagree. I call it Unbiased Reporting!

Isabella Brooke Knightly and Austin Gamez-Knightly

Isabella Brooke Knightly and Austin Gamez-Knightly
In Memory of my Loving Husband, William F. Knightly Jr. Murdered by ILLEGAL Palliative Care at a Nashua, NH Hospital

Saturday, July 17, 2010

I Was a Foster Kid-A blog I just found

I YELLED. For Me, For Foster Kids, For Those That Can’t.

I yelled at Dr. Val. And I yelled some more. And I yelled some more.
I yelled about her and I yelled that she sucks.
I yelled that she hurt my feelings.
I yelled about my dog, who is still really sick and barely eating.
I yelled that I want a mom and a dad, who could help me with my dog or anything I struggle with.
I yelled about growing up in foster care.
I yelled about being alone.

Please check out this blog. It's very enlightening!

http://looneytunes09.wordpress.com/

No More ADHD



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgexCUFDOQc&feature=channel

Congressman Ron Paul's bill—The Parental Consent Act



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ft1RDGVq2LA&feature=player_embedded

State settles suit over boy's death for $2.1 million

State settles suit over boy's death for $2.1 million
The state has agreed to pay $2.1 million to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the father of a 3-year-old boy who was beaten to death by his stepfather despite complaints to Child Protective Services.

By Jill Kimball
Seattle Times staff reporter
The state on Friday agreed to pay $2.1 million to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the father of a 3-year-old boy who was beaten to death by his stepfather despite complaints to Child Protective Services.

The boy's father, Michael Ravenell, claimed in the lawsuit that Child Protective Services failed to follow up on his warnings that the child was in danger.

About a month before the death of Michael Kekoa Ravenell, the child's father reported his suspicions of abuse to the Department of Social and Human Services (DSHS), which oversees Child Protective Services.

He told DSHS he suspected Michael's stepfather, Noah Thomas, had abused the boy after finding bruises on his son's arm.

Thomas later admitted to police that on May 28, 2008, he punched, choked and threw his stepson against the wall and against a metal bed frame.

Thomas said he was frustrated that Michael would not eat his cereal.

By the time a doctor saw Michael at the hospital, he was dead from blunt-force trauma and swelling of the brain.

DSHS said the social worker in charge of the case did not alert police or investigate the abuse claims — something they are required to do after abuse is reported — due to inadequate training.

The social worker also did not run Thomas' name through the department's computer to check his criminal history, which included multiple felony arrests on child-abuse charges.

In 2009, Thomas pleaded guilty to homicide by abuse and is serving a 50-year prison sentence.

Ivory Wong, the boy's mother, did not face criminal charges but was a co-defendant in the civil case.

DSHS spokeswoman Sherry Hill said the social worker in charge of the case was new and had taken on 30 cases — more than twice the maximum amount social workers are supposed to oversee.



At the time of his death, Michael was the fifth child in six months to die under the watch of the Tacoma office of Child Protective Services and the 18th to have died under the watch of CPS in the past five years.

Hill said Child Protective Services has improved its operations in light of the recent child deaths, now taking more care to evaluate parents and other adults in children's lives.

The settlement will be divided among Michael's father, his younger sister and an estate set up in his name.

Jill Kimball: 206-464-2136 or jkimball@seattletimes.com

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012376827_dshslawsuit17m.html

Former foster son testifies about 'tickling' by Salinas man

Former foster son testifies about 'tickling' by Salinas man

By VIRGINIA HENNESSEY
Herald Salinas Bureau
Posted: 07/16/2010 05:49:53 AM PDT
Updated: 07/16/2010 05:49:54 AM PDT

An 11-year-old boy Thursday unflinchingly faced the adoptive father he says molested him and his younger brother after they came to him as foster children.
The boy, who was removed from the home of his biological mother because of a prior molestation, said he first enjoyed living with Brett Passineau and his wife. There was a big backyard and toys to play with, he said.

But on a father-sons camping trip in 2005, Passineau initiated "the tickle game," he said.

Identified as Caleb, the boy has assumed a new name and lives in another county with his aunt and brother.

Leaning forward to speak directly into the microphone, the slender boy said Passineau initiated the mutual touching game on multiple occasions, sometimes focusing more on his brother.

That, he told prosecutor Gary Thelander, made him "kind of jealous, because I liked doing it, but I don't like it now."

Passineau, 48, is charged with eight felony counts of committing lewd acts with the boys, who were 6 and 4 at the time. He faces a sentence of 30 years to life in prison if convicted of all charges.

Salinas police began investigating the case in 2005, after the boys' aunt, who is now their legal guardian, reported that the boys told her about the molestations. The children lived with her after they were removed from their mother's home, but she released them to foster care because of health problems.

In his opening statement to the jury early Thursday, defense attorney Eugene Martinez

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said the boys had been talking about their prior molestations. He asserted that the aunt, who was allowed regular visitation, made a false, delayed report to police to prevent Passineau and his wife from moving the children to a ranch they bought in Oregon.
As a result of the charges, Martinez told jurors, his client lost the children, the ranch in Oregon, his marriage and a successful business. His Salinas home is nearing foreclosure, he said.

Martinez will continue the cross-examination of Caleb this morning, but has been prohibited from questioning him, or anyone else, about the prior molestations.

Under an agreement between Martinez and Thelander, the jury was told only that the crimes occurred.

Virginia Hennessey can be reached at 753-6751 or vhennessey@montereyherald.com.

http://www.montereyherald.com/local/ci_15531219?nclick_check=1

Ex-DCF Worker Charged With 2 Felonies FDLE: Child Protective Investigator Falsified Records, Led To Child's Abuse

Ex-DCF Worker Charged With 2 Felonies
FDLE: Child Protective Investigator Falsified Records, Led To Child's Abuse

POSTED: Friday, July 16, 2010
UPDATED: 4:29 pm EDT July 16, 2010


JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A former child protective investigator for the Florida Department of Children and Families' Jacksonville office was arrested Friday on two felony charges, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

http://www.news4jax.com/news/24285141/detail.html