City of Madison Secures Federal Funds to Keep Families in Homes
Family Unification Program Dollars to Help 50 Additional Families
Posted Thursday, August 12, 2010 --- 10:44 a.m.
Release from Office of the Mayor:
City of Madison Secures Federal Funds to Keep Families in Homes
Family Unification Program Dollars to Help 50 Additional Families
Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and Madison’s Community Development Authority (CDA) announced today that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded Madison almost $350,000 for 50 new housing vouchers to keep local families together in their homes.
Forty-two agencies received funding nationwide this year. Madison was one of only 4 agencies selected for funding in both 2009 and 2010. In August of 2009, Madison and Dane County received 100 vouchers.
“In the challenging economic climate we face, this additional federal funding will keep 50 more families together in quality housing,” Mayor Dave Cieslewicz said. “I want to thank HUD for this important funding to help local families in need.”
The Family Unification Program vouchers are part of $20 million in federal funding to support partnerships between public housing agencies and local child welfare agencies to reunite 5,000 children with their parents and provide affordable housing and support to 750 young people leaving foster care. Returning these children home from foster care will save over $140 million in federal child welfare expenditures.
Locally, the vouchers will be used to provide housing assistance to 50 area families and youth aging out of the foster care system. The city will work with Dane County Human Services to distribute vouchers to families whose children have been placed in out-of-home care or are at risk of being removed primarily because of housing challenges.
“Dane County is proud to partner with the city to apply for these dollars and help identify families most in need of this help,” County Executive Kathleen Falk said. “Working together, our efforts will help more families keep roofs over their heads during this economic downturn.”
“Finding and keeping affordable housing is a challenge for many parents and this lack of stability can result in breaking up families and placing children in foster care. The FUP program provides these families and youth aging out of foster care with the services they need,” said Tom Conrad, City Housing Assistance Program Supervisor.
http://www.nbc15.com/newsyoucanuse/headlines/100536074.html
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
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Couple Charged In Brutal Child Abuse Case of Adopted Child
Couple Charged In Brutal Child Abuse Case
Posted: 11:59 am EDT August 12, 2010
Updated: 12:49 pm EDT August 12, 2010
ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. -- A married couple was arrested in Seminole County in a disturbing case of child abuse. Investigators say at least one young child was tortured inside an Altamonte Springs home along West Citrus Avenue (see map) before being removed by investigators Wednesday and neighbors say the couple may have just recently adopted the child.
http://pulpnews.com/c/i.php?id=1282634181
Posted: 11:59 am EDT August 12, 2010
Updated: 12:49 pm EDT August 12, 2010
ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. -- A married couple was arrested in Seminole County in a disturbing case of child abuse. Investigators say at least one young child was tortured inside an Altamonte Springs home along West Citrus Avenue (see map) before being removed by investigators Wednesday and neighbors say the couple may have just recently adopted the child.
http://pulpnews.com/c/i.php?id=1282634181
Your child's personal information for sale
http://legallykidnapped.blogspot.com/2010/08/your-childs-personal-information-for.html
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Mike Farris' Must-Read Strategic Plan for Parental Rights
Mike Farris' Must-Read Strategic Plan
Dear Friend of Parental Rights,
Government intrusion has gotten bolder in recent years. You may recall that a father in Tennessee last year took his 13-year-old son to the doctor, and granted permission for the doctor to test his son for drug use. Yet, when the tests came back, the doctor refused to give the father the results, insisting he must have the son's permission to disclose that information. He cited federal HIPPA regulations as his reason for ignoring the parent's rights.
And the intrusion is likely to get worse. Several articles and a brand new book written by 20 American law professors urge the banning of all private and home schools in the U.S. in order to protect children from religious indoctrination by their parents. "Perhaps the more appropriate suggestion for our current educational dilemma is that public education should be mandatory and universal...." (Martha Albertson Fineman, What Is Right for Children?, page 237) “If the core principle in a parent's belief system is that there is only one immutable truth...many educational topics will be off limits. Such 'private truths' have no place in the public arena, including the public schools.” (Catherine J. Ross, “Fundamentalist Challenges to Core Democratic Values: Exit and Homeschooling”, page 8)
But we are not without hope. In fact, we are encouraged that we can halt this invasion of our families.
Over the last two years, we have gained 140 cosponsors of the Parental Rights Amendment in the U.S. House of Representatives, and 7 in the U.S. Senate, plus 31 senators opposing the UN's Convention on the Rights of the Child through S.R. 519. We have made this tremendous progress with a relatively small list of petition signers for two reasons: first, we have some amazing allied organizations partnering with us to get this done. Second, you didn't just sign a petition and leave it alone. You signed up to call or write your lawmakers, and you have remained faithful to take action when my staff and I have asked it of you.
Together, we have done an amazing amount for such a small organization, but there is still a lot we need to do. We will have to ramp up our efforts if we are to succeed.
The Plan
My staff and I are ready to lead a charge on Washington in the next few months to push the Parental Rights Amendment past its first hurdle: we intend to pass the Parental Rights Amendment in the U.S. House early in the next session of Congress! We believe that a door will open when there is a change in the leadership of the House.
First, we want to secure a majority of the House (218 congressmen) as cosponsors of the Amendment. Then, we urge the leadership of the House to schedule the PRA for a vote (we need 290 "yes" votes).
At that point in time, we will need the biggest possible team of citizens urging their elected representatives to vote Yes to protect parental rights. The voice of American voters at that stage will be at its most critical. We will need all friends of parental rights in this nation to call Congress and to urge others to do so, too. If our people will speak up, the politics are clear: We will win.
Once the House passes the Amendment, we will be able to focus all our resources and efforts on the Senate. However, we will need a much larger grassroots army to see success.
Let me be frank about this. There is a natural tendency of people to say, "I will get involved when it matters." They erroneously believe that the only time it matters is when the final vote is being taken.
This is simply not true.
It is because we have had a good start in public participation that we have 140 co-sponsors in the House. If we double our public participation, we will probably get to about 180 co-sponsors. If we triple our public participation, we can reach the 218 co-sponsors we need.
If we don't get to 218 co-sponsors, the House leadership--even if it changes--will not want to schedule a final vote on the floor.
We have to build a foundation before we can build the walls.
This kind of effort requires people who are foresighted and are willing to work hard in the early stages of the process. You have been that kind of person, and I am asking you to take the time in the next few days to help us recruit people who can help us move this process to the next level.
I believe we need to double our support base by Election Day just to be ready for this coming drive in the House.
We want to give you good tools to help you recruit your friends, neighbors, co-workers, and relatives.
We are going to begin sending you emails (usually once a week) that you can pass on to others, beginning with an email tomorrow. Please be ready to open that and pass it on. (And if you contact us to take action as outlined below, we'll give you immediate access to that first email -- today!)
Here is what else you can do to help:
Action Items
1. Forward ParentalRights.org emails to your friends all over the country and re-post them to your Facebook, Twitter, or other account. (To do this, click "View this email online" at the bottom of the email, then click the "Share" button on the online version.)
2. Volunteer to reach 80 more petition signers in your congressional district, or to enlist 5 others who can each reach 80. To sign up or for more details, contact Jonathan at 540-751-1240 or jonathan@parentalrights.org.
3. Sign up for an online seminar that will better equip you to share the Parental Rights Amendment with your friends and neighbors. To sign up or for more details, call Jason at 540-751-1241, or email jason@parentalrights.org.
The Supreme Court is changing. It is very likely to completely reverse the traditional doctrine of parental rights sometime in the next decade. We have just added a new advocate for international law to the membership of the Court. We have to act before it is too late.
Together, we can see that the next Congress will adopt the Parental Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and propose it to the states for ratification. If we work and God blesses, this will happen. Will you help us get the job done?
Michael Farris, J.D.
President
Join the Network
Click here to sign up for this weekly news-letter or action alerts if this email was for-warded to you.
Amendment Cosponsors
To date we have 140 cosponsors in the U.S. House and 7 cosponsors in the U.S. Senate.
Become a Member
Your gift of $35 will support our on-going efforts, and you'll receive a Membership Kit to share the word with your friends.
View This Email Online
In case there are updates or you have trouble viewing this properly, you can view it online here.
P.O. Box 1090 Purcellville, VA 20134 * (540)-751-1200 * info@parentalrights.org
Dear Friend of Parental Rights,
Government intrusion has gotten bolder in recent years. You may recall that a father in Tennessee last year took his 13-year-old son to the doctor, and granted permission for the doctor to test his son for drug use. Yet, when the tests came back, the doctor refused to give the father the results, insisting he must have the son's permission to disclose that information. He cited federal HIPPA regulations as his reason for ignoring the parent's rights.
And the intrusion is likely to get worse. Several articles and a brand new book written by 20 American law professors urge the banning of all private and home schools in the U.S. in order to protect children from religious indoctrination by their parents. "Perhaps the more appropriate suggestion for our current educational dilemma is that public education should be mandatory and universal...." (Martha Albertson Fineman, What Is Right for Children?, page 237) “If the core principle in a parent's belief system is that there is only one immutable truth...many educational topics will be off limits. Such 'private truths' have no place in the public arena, including the public schools.” (Catherine J. Ross, “Fundamentalist Challenges to Core Democratic Values: Exit and Homeschooling”, page 8)
But we are not without hope. In fact, we are encouraged that we can halt this invasion of our families.
Over the last two years, we have gained 140 cosponsors of the Parental Rights Amendment in the U.S. House of Representatives, and 7 in the U.S. Senate, plus 31 senators opposing the UN's Convention on the Rights of the Child through S.R. 519. We have made this tremendous progress with a relatively small list of petition signers for two reasons: first, we have some amazing allied organizations partnering with us to get this done. Second, you didn't just sign a petition and leave it alone. You signed up to call or write your lawmakers, and you have remained faithful to take action when my staff and I have asked it of you.
Together, we have done an amazing amount for such a small organization, but there is still a lot we need to do. We will have to ramp up our efforts if we are to succeed.
The Plan
My staff and I are ready to lead a charge on Washington in the next few months to push the Parental Rights Amendment past its first hurdle: we intend to pass the Parental Rights Amendment in the U.S. House early in the next session of Congress! We believe that a door will open when there is a change in the leadership of the House.
First, we want to secure a majority of the House (218 congressmen) as cosponsors of the Amendment. Then, we urge the leadership of the House to schedule the PRA for a vote (we need 290 "yes" votes).
At that point in time, we will need the biggest possible team of citizens urging their elected representatives to vote Yes to protect parental rights. The voice of American voters at that stage will be at its most critical. We will need all friends of parental rights in this nation to call Congress and to urge others to do so, too. If our people will speak up, the politics are clear: We will win.
Once the House passes the Amendment, we will be able to focus all our resources and efforts on the Senate. However, we will need a much larger grassroots army to see success.
Let me be frank about this. There is a natural tendency of people to say, "I will get involved when it matters." They erroneously believe that the only time it matters is when the final vote is being taken.
This is simply not true.
It is because we have had a good start in public participation that we have 140 co-sponsors in the House. If we double our public participation, we will probably get to about 180 co-sponsors. If we triple our public participation, we can reach the 218 co-sponsors we need.
If we don't get to 218 co-sponsors, the House leadership--even if it changes--will not want to schedule a final vote on the floor.
We have to build a foundation before we can build the walls.
This kind of effort requires people who are foresighted and are willing to work hard in the early stages of the process. You have been that kind of person, and I am asking you to take the time in the next few days to help us recruit people who can help us move this process to the next level.
I believe we need to double our support base by Election Day just to be ready for this coming drive in the House.
We want to give you good tools to help you recruit your friends, neighbors, co-workers, and relatives.
We are going to begin sending you emails (usually once a week) that you can pass on to others, beginning with an email tomorrow. Please be ready to open that and pass it on. (And if you contact us to take action as outlined below, we'll give you immediate access to that first email -- today!)
Here is what else you can do to help:
Action Items
1. Forward ParentalRights.org emails to your friends all over the country and re-post them to your Facebook, Twitter, or other account. (To do this, click "View this email online" at the bottom of the email, then click the "Share" button on the online version.)
2. Volunteer to reach 80 more petition signers in your congressional district, or to enlist 5 others who can each reach 80. To sign up or for more details, contact Jonathan at 540-751-1240 or jonathan@parentalrights.org.
3. Sign up for an online seminar that will better equip you to share the Parental Rights Amendment with your friends and neighbors. To sign up or for more details, call Jason at 540-751-1241, or email jason@parentalrights.org.
The Supreme Court is changing. It is very likely to completely reverse the traditional doctrine of parental rights sometime in the next decade. We have just added a new advocate for international law to the membership of the Court. We have to act before it is too late.
Together, we can see that the next Congress will adopt the Parental Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and propose it to the states for ratification. If we work and God blesses, this will happen. Will you help us get the job done?
Michael Farris, J.D.
President
Join the Network
Click here to sign up for this weekly news-letter or action alerts if this email was for-warded to you.
Amendment Cosponsors
To date we have 140 cosponsors in the U.S. House and 7 cosponsors in the U.S. Senate.
Become a Member
Your gift of $35 will support our on-going efforts, and you'll receive a Membership Kit to share the word with your friends.
View This Email Online
In case there are updates or you have trouble viewing this properly, you can view it online here.
P.O. Box 1090 Purcellville, VA 20134 * (540)-751-1200 * info@parentalrights.org
Fatality inquiry suggests special training for foster parents
Fatality inquiry suggests special training for foster parents
By FRANK LANDRY, LEGISLATURE BUREAU
Last Updated: August 11, 2010 3:46pm
Foster parents should receive specialized training on Shaken Infant Syndrome and undergo more in-depth criminal background checks, recommends a fatality inquiry report.
This comes nearly two years after an inquiry into the 2005 death of a 13-month-old child who died in foster care.
The infant is identified in the report only by his initials, CJM.
He was placed in foster care in September 2005 over concerns of his biological mother's drug use, says the report.
The unnamed foster parents had already adopted one of the boy's siblings and were fostering another.
CJM was admitted to the University of Alberta hospital roughly two months later and died the following day.
Click here to read the fatality inquiry report.
The foster dad claimed the infant had a seizure, but an investigation concluded his injuries were consistent with Shaken Infant Syndrome, says the report.
It notes the foster parents felt pressured to take the child because they were caring for his siblings.
The report also says the foster father had a criminal history, including convictions in 1981 for possession of stolen property.
In 1987, he was convicted of two charges of assault causing bodily harm.
"He claimed that he had found his wife in bed with another man whom he hit," says the report.
"Such behaviour was unusual for him and he felt badly."
The information was documented in 2004 as part of a background check when the family was adopting one of the older siblings. It was not updated when CJM moved into the home, says the report.
During the inquiry, social worker Marlaine Sitch testified she relied on information given to her by the man "in determining whether any further inquiry was necessary."
The foster dad "did not disclose that in relation to the assault causing bodily harm convictions he had originally been charged with attempted murder," says the report.
"Had that been revealed, Ms. Sitch testified that she would have approached the case worker to obtain guidance."
A psychological assessment could have been recommended as a result, says the report.
It also notes privacy legislation limits the ability of Children and Youth Services staff to access police files on a prospective foster parent.
While criminal convictions can be accessed, the records don't necessarily contain information on the circumstances around the offence or whether the original charges differed, says the report.
The inquiry report makes 11 recommendations, including changing provincial law to make it easier to access police files on those applying to be foster parents.
It also calls for foster parents to undergo training on Shaken Infant Syndrome.
While foster parents must undergo hours of training, there isn't a specific course that deals exclusively with that subject, confirmed Stuart Elson, a spokesman for Children and Youth Services.
He said all the recommendations will be looked at.
There have been several changes already made since the 2005 incident, Elson said.
frank.landry@sunmedia.ca
http://www.edmontonsun.com/news/alberta/2010/08/11/14992261.html
By FRANK LANDRY, LEGISLATURE BUREAU
Last Updated: August 11, 2010 3:46pm
Foster parents should receive specialized training on Shaken Infant Syndrome and undergo more in-depth criminal background checks, recommends a fatality inquiry report.
This comes nearly two years after an inquiry into the 2005 death of a 13-month-old child who died in foster care.
The infant is identified in the report only by his initials, CJM.
He was placed in foster care in September 2005 over concerns of his biological mother's drug use, says the report.
The unnamed foster parents had already adopted one of the boy's siblings and were fostering another.
CJM was admitted to the University of Alberta hospital roughly two months later and died the following day.
Click here to read the fatality inquiry report.
The foster dad claimed the infant had a seizure, but an investigation concluded his injuries were consistent with Shaken Infant Syndrome, says the report.
It notes the foster parents felt pressured to take the child because they were caring for his siblings.
The report also says the foster father had a criminal history, including convictions in 1981 for possession of stolen property.
In 1987, he was convicted of two charges of assault causing bodily harm.
"He claimed that he had found his wife in bed with another man whom he hit," says the report.
"Such behaviour was unusual for him and he felt badly."
The information was documented in 2004 as part of a background check when the family was adopting one of the older siblings. It was not updated when CJM moved into the home, says the report.
During the inquiry, social worker Marlaine Sitch testified she relied on information given to her by the man "in determining whether any further inquiry was necessary."
The foster dad "did not disclose that in relation to the assault causing bodily harm convictions he had originally been charged with attempted murder," says the report.
"Had that been revealed, Ms. Sitch testified that she would have approached the case worker to obtain guidance."
A psychological assessment could have been recommended as a result, says the report.
It also notes privacy legislation limits the ability of Children and Youth Services staff to access police files on a prospective foster parent.
While criminal convictions can be accessed, the records don't necessarily contain information on the circumstances around the offence or whether the original charges differed, says the report.
The inquiry report makes 11 recommendations, including changing provincial law to make it easier to access police files on those applying to be foster parents.
It also calls for foster parents to undergo training on Shaken Infant Syndrome.
While foster parents must undergo hours of training, there isn't a specific course that deals exclusively with that subject, confirmed Stuart Elson, a spokesman for Children and Youth Services.
He said all the recommendations will be looked at.
There have been several changes already made since the 2005 incident, Elson said.
frank.landry@sunmedia.ca
http://www.edmontonsun.com/news/alberta/2010/08/11/14992261.html
Orcutt foster parent, nephew, arrested for child abuse
Orcutt foster parent, nephew, arrested for child abuse
Staff report | Posted: Wednesday, August 11, 2010 3:20 pm |
Bertha Mae Savoy
A licensed foster parent from Orcutt and her nephew have been arrested by Santa Barbara County Sheriff's deputies on multiple counts of felony child abuse after an investigation found that children in their care were beaten with plastic hangars, denied food and shelter and at times forced to sleep outside on concrete in the backyard.
Bertha Mae Savoy, 71, and Duane Patrick James, 38, were booked into the county jail on June 30
To read the rest of this article go to:
http://www.lompocrecord.com/news/local/article_e54b4a62-a596-11df-956d-001cc4c002e0.html
Staff report | Posted: Wednesday, August 11, 2010 3:20 pm |
Bertha Mae Savoy
A licensed foster parent from Orcutt and her nephew have been arrested by Santa Barbara County Sheriff's deputies on multiple counts of felony child abuse after an investigation found that children in their care were beaten with plastic hangars, denied food and shelter and at times forced to sleep outside on concrete in the backyard.
Bertha Mae Savoy, 71, and Duane Patrick James, 38, were booked into the county jail on June 30
To read the rest of this article go to:
http://www.lompocrecord.com/news/local/article_e54b4a62-a596-11df-956d-001cc4c002e0.html
CPS reform Petition-Please Sign!!!!!
CPS reform
Sign the Petition : 5,304 Letters and Emails Sent So Far
Go to:http://www.rallycongress.com/fight-cps/1448/cps/ to sign this petition
Nationwide, there are State run agencies who are supposed to be protecting abused children in dangerous situations. Each State has many different titles for them. All of them are main stapled as CPS (Child Protective Services). For example, in Texas they're known as DFPS. (Department of Family and Protective Services)
While there is an important need to find abused children and to protect them, the current system is only finding a small percentage of those truly abused children. The rest of their statistics that guarantee a high departmental income are from families who never abused their children. Where they get this income and the sources of information will be posted after the next paragraph.
I am not calling for an abolishment of CPS. What I am petitioning for is an overhaul and restructure to bring them in line with lawful investigation practices, to maintain Constitutional Rights and proper training for Agents who never had children, and psychological evaluations to find and replace the Agents who were themselves abused as Children and see abuse in every home regardless of the situation. This is not, I repeat, not a rare occurrence. I will supply statistics to support this and how this has escalated. I will also supply the sources.
Departmental income has become more important to CPS and their offices than actually finding abused children and protecting them. Each and every time they remove a child from the home, they get paid from the Federal Government. Here they are:
1. Public Law 93-247 known as the Mondale Act of 1974.
2. Public Law 96-272 known as the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980
3. Social Security Title IV-E funds.
The ASFA- Public Law 105-89 known as American Safe Families Act of 1997 is one of the most horrific laws on the books today. While it sounds nice in the title, when you get through the legal jargon, what this means is so wrong. If you ever had a child removed from your house by CPS, even UNFOUNDED and you are innocent, they will take that child in minutes after the child is born! Babies are highly adoptable and the Federal Government pays out $6,000 to the CPS office who conducts the legal kidnapping and gets them adopted quickly without regards to the biological Mother and her family. Since she was investigated once, they do this in the "best interests of the child" as she is a "potential" abuser.
The largest targeted type of families are folks with low incomes, children on SSI and are minorities. If you even have one of those three issues, you are a target for CPS to illegally investigate you. While these things are a surefire magnet, they have been known to do illegal investigations against families if they were reported falsely with malicious intent. Example is an ex-wife wants to get even with her ex-husband and his new family, she could report them and put them through Hell.
Why are the reasons CPS Agents actually find so little true abuse?
1. Agents who never had children and don't understand that a few toys in the corner of the room is not a hazardous mess.
2. Agents are not trained in real evidence recognition. In fact, no Agent in CPS has any training in evidence, the Constitution or criminal justice. They are given anywhere from 3 to 6 months of training, being taught that it is ok to break into a Home without probable cause or exigent circumstances.
3. Agents are trained to use subjective speculation and not objective factual reporting.
4. The Agents do not get psychological evaluations. A number of Agents who were abused as a child themselves see abuse in every home they go into, even if it's not there.
5. Most States do not require Agents to have a degree in Social Sciences. Any degree will do, doesn't even have to be related to the field.
6. The Agency has no checks and balances. A field Agent can lie to a judge or police officer with absolutely no proof and have it entered as factual evidence in a court of law!
7. Agents are trained to believe they are immune from the authority of the First Amendment, Fourth Amendment, Fifth Amendment, Sixth Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment. They violate this in every investigation done nationwide.
Here are the statistics and sources to support these facts:
Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the United States. These numbers come from The National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect (NCCAN) in Washington.
CPS- Physical Abuse (160) Sexual Abuse (112) Neglect (410) Medical Neglect (14) Fatalities (6.4)
Parents- Physical Abuse (59) Sexual Abuse (13) Neglect (241) Medical Neglect (12) Fatalities (1.5)
As you can see, children are abused far more in care than at home. The calculated average is for every 1 abused child removed from an abusive home, there are 17 unabused children removed from loving non-offending homes nationwide.
Constitutional Violations and Court Rulings that CPS Ignores to this very day!
1. It's unconstitutional for CPS to conduct an investigation and interview a child on private property without exigent circumstances or probable cause. - Doe et al, v. Heck et al (No. 01-3648, 2003 US App. Lexis 7144)
2. All CPS workers in the United States are subject to the 4th and 14th Amendment - Walsh v. Erie County Dept. of Job and Family Services, 3:01-cv-7588
3. Police officers and social workers are not immune for coercing or forcing entry into a person's home without a search warrant. Calabretta v. Floyd (9th Cir. 1999)
4. The mere possibility of danger does not constitute an emergency or exigent circumstance that would justify a forced warrantless entry and a warrantless seizure of a child. Hurlman v. Rice (2nd Cir. 1991)
5. Police officer and social worker may not conduct a warrantless search or seizure in a suspected child abuse case absent exigent circumstances. Defendants must have reason to believe that life or limb is in immediate jeopardy and that the intrusion is reasonable necessary to alleviate the threat. Searches and seizures in investigation of a child neglect or child abuse case at a home are governed by the same principles as other searches and seizures at a home. Goodv. Dauphin County Social Services (3rd Cir. 1989)
6. The Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures extends beyond criminal investigations and includes conduct by social workers in the context of a child neglect/abuse investigation. Lenz v. Winburn (11th Cir. 1995)
7. Making false statements made to obtain a warrant, when the false statements were necessary to the finding of probable cause on which the warrant was based, violates the Fourth Amendment's warrant requirement. Aponte Matos v. Toledo Davilla (1st Cir. 1998)
What can be done to change this for a better, more healthy Child Protection System?
I. Child Abuse is a Crime, not a touchy feely civil complaint and should be investigated as a crime.
II. Have the abuse allegations investigated by a Detective or Police Officer, who are trained for this as a career, whereas CPS workers are not. All investigations are joint ones with said Officers of the Law and with warrants properly issues under probable cause.
III. Re-train Agents to respect and obey the laws of the Constitution of the United States. If a family is guilty of abuse, a legal investigation will find it.
IV. Repeal the Mondale Act, Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act, Title IV-E rewards to CPS from Social Security and the American Safe Families Act. Remember, they are not what the title sounds like and has been the root core of many loving homes losing their children to a system that will abuse them.
V. Make CPS legally investigate those who sign up to be foster parents. They do not do this today, and many foster parent who want the money for fostering them are actually child abusers who never get caught!
VI. All interviews to be audio and video recorded just like it happens with the police!
VII. Hold CPS Agents and foster parents and the records keeper responsible for every child who vanishes or dies in their care for their location.
VIII. Also investigate the person or persons reporting the abuse, and if done maliciously with intent to disrupt a family, prosecute the reporter to the fullest extent of the Law regarding making false claims to Government Agencies to affect an unnecessary and costly investigation.
IX. Abuse is a Crime, guarantee the accused retain their right to face their accusers in a court of law. As the system currently is, this is not done.
X. The Children are to be tracked on a weekly basis, so no more children vanish in the system.
XI. If a disabled, mentally retarded or sick Child is put into Foster Care, the Child's current Physician will need to provide a copy of the diagnosis and treatment, and medications, if any, will be provided as prescribed by the Physician. All appointments must be kept while in Foster Care. Any violations without a very good reason will result in the Foster Parents losing their certification for Foster Care.
XII. If a Foster Child dies while in Foster Care, there will be an Investigation by the FBI and all parties responsible for the Death of a Child will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
XIII. There will be a National Database where all known abusers are recorded and can be accessed by Law Enforcement. Everyone who is found not guilty won't have their Convictions and Abuse Reports listed. It will be illegal to keep records of any sort on innocent individuals or families. If they are convicted in a court of law by a jury of their peers, then the report of abuse they are guilty of will be the only report listed.
Currently, none of this is done, and innocent families who are not guilty of anything are losing their Children based on the word of others where there is no burden of proof for Prosecution, for the sake of getting Federal Funds for tens of thousands of dollars. The few truly abused children are ending up in a system where they are worse off than where they came from, even to the extent of being killed. Also, the innocent children who are never abused are also killed.
Injustice against one American is injustice against all Americans. Help us put the Justice back into Child Protective Services and get them focused on finding and saving abused children. It's time we removed them from the profitable business of tearing loving non-offending families apart.
Sign the Petition : 5,304 Letters and Emails Sent So Far
Go to:http://www.rallycongress.com/fight-cps/1448/cps/ to sign this petition
Nationwide, there are State run agencies who are supposed to be protecting abused children in dangerous situations. Each State has many different titles for them. All of them are main stapled as CPS (Child Protective Services). For example, in Texas they're known as DFPS. (Department of Family and Protective Services)
While there is an important need to find abused children and to protect them, the current system is only finding a small percentage of those truly abused children. The rest of their statistics that guarantee a high departmental income are from families who never abused their children. Where they get this income and the sources of information will be posted after the next paragraph.
I am not calling for an abolishment of CPS. What I am petitioning for is an overhaul and restructure to bring them in line with lawful investigation practices, to maintain Constitutional Rights and proper training for Agents who never had children, and psychological evaluations to find and replace the Agents who were themselves abused as Children and see abuse in every home regardless of the situation. This is not, I repeat, not a rare occurrence. I will supply statistics to support this and how this has escalated. I will also supply the sources.
Departmental income has become more important to CPS and their offices than actually finding abused children and protecting them. Each and every time they remove a child from the home, they get paid from the Federal Government. Here they are:
1. Public Law 93-247 known as the Mondale Act of 1974.
2. Public Law 96-272 known as the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980
3. Social Security Title IV-E funds.
The ASFA- Public Law 105-89 known as American Safe Families Act of 1997 is one of the most horrific laws on the books today. While it sounds nice in the title, when you get through the legal jargon, what this means is so wrong. If you ever had a child removed from your house by CPS, even UNFOUNDED and you are innocent, they will take that child in minutes after the child is born! Babies are highly adoptable and the Federal Government pays out $6,000 to the CPS office who conducts the legal kidnapping and gets them adopted quickly without regards to the biological Mother and her family. Since she was investigated once, they do this in the "best interests of the child" as she is a "potential" abuser.
The largest targeted type of families are folks with low incomes, children on SSI and are minorities. If you even have one of those three issues, you are a target for CPS to illegally investigate you. While these things are a surefire magnet, they have been known to do illegal investigations against families if they were reported falsely with malicious intent. Example is an ex-wife wants to get even with her ex-husband and his new family, she could report them and put them through Hell.
Why are the reasons CPS Agents actually find so little true abuse?
1. Agents who never had children and don't understand that a few toys in the corner of the room is not a hazardous mess.
2. Agents are not trained in real evidence recognition. In fact, no Agent in CPS has any training in evidence, the Constitution or criminal justice. They are given anywhere from 3 to 6 months of training, being taught that it is ok to break into a Home without probable cause or exigent circumstances.
3. Agents are trained to use subjective speculation and not objective factual reporting.
4. The Agents do not get psychological evaluations. A number of Agents who were abused as a child themselves see abuse in every home they go into, even if it's not there.
5. Most States do not require Agents to have a degree in Social Sciences. Any degree will do, doesn't even have to be related to the field.
6. The Agency has no checks and balances. A field Agent can lie to a judge or police officer with absolutely no proof and have it entered as factual evidence in a court of law!
7. Agents are trained to believe they are immune from the authority of the First Amendment, Fourth Amendment, Fifth Amendment, Sixth Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment. They violate this in every investigation done nationwide.
Here are the statistics and sources to support these facts:
Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the United States. These numbers come from The National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect (NCCAN) in Washington.
CPS- Physical Abuse (160) Sexual Abuse (112) Neglect (410) Medical Neglect (14) Fatalities (6.4)
Parents- Physical Abuse (59) Sexual Abuse (13) Neglect (241) Medical Neglect (12) Fatalities (1.5)
As you can see, children are abused far more in care than at home. The calculated average is for every 1 abused child removed from an abusive home, there are 17 unabused children removed from loving non-offending homes nationwide.
Constitutional Violations and Court Rulings that CPS Ignores to this very day!
1. It's unconstitutional for CPS to conduct an investigation and interview a child on private property without exigent circumstances or probable cause. - Doe et al, v. Heck et al (No. 01-3648, 2003 US App. Lexis 7144)
2. All CPS workers in the United States are subject to the 4th and 14th Amendment - Walsh v. Erie County Dept. of Job and Family Services, 3:01-cv-7588
3. Police officers and social workers are not immune for coercing or forcing entry into a person's home without a search warrant. Calabretta v. Floyd (9th Cir. 1999)
4. The mere possibility of danger does not constitute an emergency or exigent circumstance that would justify a forced warrantless entry and a warrantless seizure of a child. Hurlman v. Rice (2nd Cir. 1991)
5. Police officer and social worker may not conduct a warrantless search or seizure in a suspected child abuse case absent exigent circumstances. Defendants must have reason to believe that life or limb is in immediate jeopardy and that the intrusion is reasonable necessary to alleviate the threat. Searches and seizures in investigation of a child neglect or child abuse case at a home are governed by the same principles as other searches and seizures at a home. Goodv. Dauphin County Social Services (3rd Cir. 1989)
6. The Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures extends beyond criminal investigations and includes conduct by social workers in the context of a child neglect/abuse investigation. Lenz v. Winburn (11th Cir. 1995)
7. Making false statements made to obtain a warrant, when the false statements were necessary to the finding of probable cause on which the warrant was based, violates the Fourth Amendment's warrant requirement. Aponte Matos v. Toledo Davilla (1st Cir. 1998)
What can be done to change this for a better, more healthy Child Protection System?
I. Child Abuse is a Crime, not a touchy feely civil complaint and should be investigated as a crime.
II. Have the abuse allegations investigated by a Detective or Police Officer, who are trained for this as a career, whereas CPS workers are not. All investigations are joint ones with said Officers of the Law and with warrants properly issues under probable cause.
III. Re-train Agents to respect and obey the laws of the Constitution of the United States. If a family is guilty of abuse, a legal investigation will find it.
IV. Repeal the Mondale Act, Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act, Title IV-E rewards to CPS from Social Security and the American Safe Families Act. Remember, they are not what the title sounds like and has been the root core of many loving homes losing their children to a system that will abuse them.
V. Make CPS legally investigate those who sign up to be foster parents. They do not do this today, and many foster parent who want the money for fostering them are actually child abusers who never get caught!
VI. All interviews to be audio and video recorded just like it happens with the police!
VII. Hold CPS Agents and foster parents and the records keeper responsible for every child who vanishes or dies in their care for their location.
VIII. Also investigate the person or persons reporting the abuse, and if done maliciously with intent to disrupt a family, prosecute the reporter to the fullest extent of the Law regarding making false claims to Government Agencies to affect an unnecessary and costly investigation.
IX. Abuse is a Crime, guarantee the accused retain their right to face their accusers in a court of law. As the system currently is, this is not done.
X. The Children are to be tracked on a weekly basis, so no more children vanish in the system.
XI. If a disabled, mentally retarded or sick Child is put into Foster Care, the Child's current Physician will need to provide a copy of the diagnosis and treatment, and medications, if any, will be provided as prescribed by the Physician. All appointments must be kept while in Foster Care. Any violations without a very good reason will result in the Foster Parents losing their certification for Foster Care.
XII. If a Foster Child dies while in Foster Care, there will be an Investigation by the FBI and all parties responsible for the Death of a Child will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
XIII. There will be a National Database where all known abusers are recorded and can be accessed by Law Enforcement. Everyone who is found not guilty won't have their Convictions and Abuse Reports listed. It will be illegal to keep records of any sort on innocent individuals or families. If they are convicted in a court of law by a jury of their peers, then the report of abuse they are guilty of will be the only report listed.
Currently, none of this is done, and innocent families who are not guilty of anything are losing their Children based on the word of others where there is no burden of proof for Prosecution, for the sake of getting Federal Funds for tens of thousands of dollars. The few truly abused children are ending up in a system where they are worse off than where they came from, even to the extent of being killed. Also, the innocent children who are never abused are also killed.
Injustice against one American is injustice against all Americans. Help us put the Justice back into Child Protective Services and get them focused on finding and saving abused children. It's time we removed them from the profitable business of tearing loving non-offending families apart.
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