PCjustice’s Weblog
Exposing the Need for Change
PCJ, Parents’ And Children’s Justice, came to be out of a desperate need. There is flagrant abuse of innocent children by both systems and caregivers. Our goal is to bring awareness to the public of these horrendous problems so that solutions may be found. Public awareness must rise to the level of outrage so that our citizens demand that children, our nation’s most precious commodity, will truly be protected from the gross abuse presently occuring against defenseless children, putting them in harm’s way.
The hue and cry from parents and children themselves must be heard and protection procured for these children. We have personally experienced and continue daily to receive information from hundreds of people who have also had true horror stories about children within the system being raped, sodomized, physically and emotionally abused.
We, along with other Family Advocates, call for an investigation and for change to protect our children. This must be done by local authorities as well as State and Federal organizations to effect an environment of safety for the most vulnerable of our country’s citizens.
It’s time for a change. Parents and Childrens Justice is working for you, even if you’re rich or poor.
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
Friday, February 11, 2011
Audit confirms misuse of funds | state, audit, alleges
Audit confirms misuse of funds | state, audit, alleges - ENCToday
An investigative audit alleges the executive director of a now defunct nonprofit that mentored at-risk youth in Greene and Lenoir counties embezzled $6,500 in state grant money for his own purposes.
The Office of the State Auditor alleges Shawn Howard, the former administrator of Kinston/Lenoir County One-on-One, submitted falsified documents in order to keep a lucrative contract to operate two state-funded mentoring programs and spent the money on cross-country trips and more than $5,000 in personal purchases.
An investigative audit alleges the executive director of a now defunct nonprofit that mentored at-risk youth in Greene and Lenoir counties embezzled $6,500 in state grant money for his own purposes.
The Office of the State Auditor alleges Shawn Howard, the former administrator of Kinston/Lenoir County One-on-One, submitted falsified documents in order to keep a lucrative contract to operate two state-funded mentoring programs and spent the money on cross-country trips and more than $5,000 in personal purchases.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Mother Of Baby Injured In Foster Care Fails To Regain Custody
Mother Of Baby Injured In Foster Care Fails To Regain Custody - Miami News Story - WPLG Miami
CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. -- As 11-month-old Charlie Costa recovers in a hospital from a severe skull fracture, his family headed to court Thursday in an attempt to win back custody.
CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. -- As 11-month-old Charlie Costa recovers in a hospital from a severe skull fracture, his family headed to court Thursday in an attempt to win back custody.
Legislature advances bill to give case file information to adoptive parents-Haven't they been told enough lies by CPS?
Legislature advances bill to give case file information to adoptive parents
The mother of four foster children was aware the child she and her husband adopted in July 2008 had cerebral palsy and was mildly mentally handicapped.
They were aware she may have been sexually touched inappropriately. But a year or so after the adoption, they learned the abuse was much worse -- that the girl's biological mother may have been paid to allow older men to have sexual contact with her.
The mother of four foster children was aware the child she and her husband adopted in July 2008 had cerebral palsy and was mildly mentally handicapped.
They were aware she may have been sexually touched inappropriately. But a year or so after the adoption, they learned the abuse was much worse -- that the girl's biological mother may have been paid to allow older men to have sexual contact with her.
Grandparents From Dr. Bob Griffin
Grandparents From Dr. Bob Griffin
.by Thomas Galt on Monday, February 7, 2011 at 9:29am.[From papers written by a second grade class]
Grandparents are a lady and a man who have no little children of their own.
They like other people's kids.
Grandparents don't have to do anything except be there when we come to see
them.. They are so old they shouldn't play hard or run. It is good if they
drive us to the shops and give us money.
When they take us for walks, they slow down past things like pretty leaves
and caterpillars.
They show us and talk to us about the colors of the flowers and also why we
shouldn't step on 'cracks.'
They don't say, 'Hurry up.'
Usually grandmothers are fat but not too fat to tie your shoes.
They wear glasses and funny underwear.
They can take their teeth and gums out.
They have to answer questions like 'Why isn't God married?' and 'How come
dogs chase cats?'
When they read to us, they don't skip. They don't mind if we ask for the
same story over again.
Everybody should try to have a grandmother, especially if you don't have
television because they are the only grownups who like to spend time with
us.
They know we should have snack time before bed time, and they say prayers
with us and kiss us even when we've acted bad.
Grandpa is the smartest man on earth. He teaches me good things, but I
don't get to see him enough to get as smart as him.
.by Thomas Galt on Monday, February 7, 2011 at 9:29am.[From papers written by a second grade class]
Grandparents are a lady and a man who have no little children of their own.
They like other people's kids.
Grandparents don't have to do anything except be there when we come to see
them.. They are so old they shouldn't play hard or run. It is good if they
drive us to the shops and give us money.
When they take us for walks, they slow down past things like pretty leaves
and caterpillars.
They show us and talk to us about the colors of the flowers and also why we
shouldn't step on 'cracks.'
They don't say, 'Hurry up.'
Usually grandmothers are fat but not too fat to tie your shoes.
They wear glasses and funny underwear.
They can take their teeth and gums out.
They have to answer questions like 'Why isn't God married?' and 'How come
dogs chase cats?'
When they read to us, they don't skip. They don't mind if we ask for the
same story over again.
Everybody should try to have a grandmother, especially if you don't have
television because they are the only grownups who like to spend time with
us.
They know we should have snack time before bed time, and they say prayers
with us and kiss us even when we've acted bad.
Grandpa is the smartest man on earth. He teaches me good things, but I
don't get to see him enough to get as smart as him.
Federal agency wants Pennsylvania to repay $220 million Go Pennsylvania!!!
Federal agency wants Pennsylvania to repay $220 million - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
The state budget hole could get $220 million deeper if Gov. Tom Corbett's administration can't persuade a federal agency to ignore its own investigators.
A federal audit of child welfare spending in Allegheny County from 1997 to 2002 found that at least $1 of every $5 reimbursed through the Title IV-E program to foster care providers shouldn't have been reimbursed. If that's true, and if other counties received similar overpayments, it would mean Pennsylvania got hundreds of millions of dollars more from the federal government than it should have.
The agency that paid reimbursements -- the Administration for Children and Families within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services -- wants $220 million back. The state faces a $4 billion deficit next year.
Pennsylvania is trying to settle with Health and Human Services for a lower amount. State lawyers argued in a 30-page letter sent in September to auditors that their audit, conducted by the department's Office of Inspector General, is a "capricious," "oppressive" and "unlawful" use of government power. The audit began in November 2003.
"They're very old claims, and the threat of a penalty has been around for a very long time," said Cathleen Palm, executive director of the Protect Our Children Committee, a Berks-based coalition of child advocates and welfare providers. "It's hundreds of millions of dollars, potentially, taken out of the state's ability to protect children."
Corbett's transition team warned him about the problem in a report. His spokesman, Kevin Harley, said it is "under review."
On Dec. 30, the inspector general's office sent its final report to the Administration for Children and Families. The state has until early February to give the agency its side of the story.
Settling the federal claim "is going to require some degree of politics, some degree of pain, some degree of commitment that whatever we face, it harms kids on the ground as little as possible," Palm said.
A Department of Health spokesman said the state is formulating its response to the audit report. The alleged improper payments are to have taken place starting a year after Allegheny County Department of Human Services Director Marc Cherna took over the department.
"Frankly, when we first took over here, it was a mess," Cherna said. "It's taken awhile for us to put things in place that maximize efficiencies. ... We've got a really good system."
Because of the way federal child welfare money is spent, auditors never contacted Cherna's department, even though that's where the payments originated. The county spends the money, then sends a reimbursement request to the state. The state then sends a reimbursement request to the federal government. When the government pays the state, the state pays the county.
Auditors examined 100 claims passed along from Allegheny County through the state to the federal government. They found 23 shouldn't have been reimbursed. The records for 15 others weren't detailed enough to determine whether they fit federal law, auditors said. The remaining 62 were fine. Auditors used that sample to estimate how much was spent erroneously during the entire audit period.
Alleged improper reimbursements to Allegheny County total $28.3 million. The reimbursements for which records were too vague total $27.9 million, auditors said.
Read more: Federal agency wants Pennsylvania to repay $220 million - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_719858.html#ixzz1DaKWGw7s
The state budget hole could get $220 million deeper if Gov. Tom Corbett's administration can't persuade a federal agency to ignore its own investigators.
A federal audit of child welfare spending in Allegheny County from 1997 to 2002 found that at least $1 of every $5 reimbursed through the Title IV-E program to foster care providers shouldn't have been reimbursed. If that's true, and if other counties received similar overpayments, it would mean Pennsylvania got hundreds of millions of dollars more from the federal government than it should have.
The agency that paid reimbursements -- the Administration for Children and Families within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services -- wants $220 million back. The state faces a $4 billion deficit next year.
Pennsylvania is trying to settle with Health and Human Services for a lower amount. State lawyers argued in a 30-page letter sent in September to auditors that their audit, conducted by the department's Office of Inspector General, is a "capricious," "oppressive" and "unlawful" use of government power. The audit began in November 2003.
"They're very old claims, and the threat of a penalty has been around for a very long time," said Cathleen Palm, executive director of the Protect Our Children Committee, a Berks-based coalition of child advocates and welfare providers. "It's hundreds of millions of dollars, potentially, taken out of the state's ability to protect children."
Corbett's transition team warned him about the problem in a report. His spokesman, Kevin Harley, said it is "under review."
On Dec. 30, the inspector general's office sent its final report to the Administration for Children and Families. The state has until early February to give the agency its side of the story.
Settling the federal claim "is going to require some degree of politics, some degree of pain, some degree of commitment that whatever we face, it harms kids on the ground as little as possible," Palm said.
A Department of Health spokesman said the state is formulating its response to the audit report. The alleged improper payments are to have taken place starting a year after Allegheny County Department of Human Services Director Marc Cherna took over the department.
"Frankly, when we first took over here, it was a mess," Cherna said. "It's taken awhile for us to put things in place that maximize efficiencies. ... We've got a really good system."
Because of the way federal child welfare money is spent, auditors never contacted Cherna's department, even though that's where the payments originated. The county spends the money, then sends a reimbursement request to the state. The state then sends a reimbursement request to the federal government. When the government pays the state, the state pays the county.
Auditors examined 100 claims passed along from Allegheny County through the state to the federal government. They found 23 shouldn't have been reimbursed. The records for 15 others weren't detailed enough to determine whether they fit federal law, auditors said. The remaining 62 were fine. Auditors used that sample to estimate how much was spent erroneously during the entire audit period.
Alleged improper reimbursements to Allegheny County total $28.3 million. The reimbursements for which records were too vague total $27.9 million, auditors said.
Read more: Federal agency wants Pennsylvania to repay $220 million - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_719858.html#ixzz1DaKWGw7s
CPS – “C”over-up, “P”retend Nothing is Happening, and “S”ign Off on it… | Demas Rosenthal - Injury Attorneys - JDSupra
CPS – “C”over-up, “P”retend Nothing is Happening, and “S”ign Off on it… | Demas Rosenthal - Injury Attorneys - JDSupra
Summary: Today marks the start of the claim against Sacramento County Child Protective Services filed by John Demas of our firm on behalf Kyle Doe. Prior to today’s press conference announcing the filing of claim, Kyle drew national media attention for his daring escape from torture and captivity from a Tracy home in December 2008.
I say this marks the start of the claim, however, the ordeal that Kyle suffered at the hands of CPS’ ineptitude started over ten years ago. CPS turned a blind eye and brushed numerous allegations of abuse and neglect under the rug for years. In doing so, they left a vulnerable child in the hands of an abusive monster. Having worked on this claim, I can attest to the excitation of two states of angry: “Lawyer” angry – where I just cannot believe how systematically negligent an agency can be in attempting to carry out the most basic of duties; and “Mom” angry – where I cannot believe any child was forced to endure such a horrific existence.
Please see full article below for more information.
Summary: Today marks the start of the claim against Sacramento County Child Protective Services filed by John Demas of our firm on behalf Kyle Doe. Prior to today’s press conference announcing the filing of claim, Kyle drew national media attention for his daring escape from torture and captivity from a Tracy home in December 2008.
I say this marks the start of the claim, however, the ordeal that Kyle suffered at the hands of CPS’ ineptitude started over ten years ago. CPS turned a blind eye and brushed numerous allegations of abuse and neglect under the rug for years. In doing so, they left a vulnerable child in the hands of an abusive monster. Having worked on this claim, I can attest to the excitation of two states of angry: “Lawyer” angry – where I just cannot believe how systematically negligent an agency can be in attempting to carry out the most basic of duties; and “Mom” angry – where I cannot believe any child was forced to endure such a horrific existence.
Please see full article below for more information.
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