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, March 12, 2011
Jury still out on Muslim mom's lawsuit
Jury still out on Muslim mom's lawsuit
Family accuses Children Services caseworker of discrimination
Saturday, March 12, 2011 02:53 AM
BY RITA PRICE
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
A U.S. District Court jury is to resume deliberations on Monday in the case of a Muslim woman and her daughters, who say that a Franklin County Children Services caseworker violated their rights.
Jurors deliberated for about seven hours yesterday without reaching a verdict.
The lawsuit filed by Hadiya AbdulSalaam and two of her daughters says caseworker Amber Spires lied, kept the family members apart and retaliated against them when they complained about the agency's handling of their foster-care case.
AbdulSalaam's attorney, Michael Moore, has said that race and religion were at the root of Spires' actions.
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In his closing argument yesterday, Moore told jurors that they should send a message "to this agency and this caseworker and to social workers all over the United States that this conduct will not be tolerated."
Moore also argued for damages for the family to show child-welfare agencies that "there are consequences to abusing the power that they have."
But Patrick Piccininni, the assistant Franklin County prosecutor representing Spires, told the jury that the caseworker never treated AbdulSalaam, of Grandview Heights, unfairly while investigating allegations of abuse and educational neglect in 2003 and 2004.
Piccininni said Moore deflected the real issues during the trial, which began Feb. 25.
"He wants to make his case about religion, he wants to make this case about being different, he wants to make this case about everything but the allegations," Piccininni said.
Spires "did not fabricate anything in this file," he said. "She did not lie."
Piccininni said that AbdulSalaam and her husband, Naim, were uncooperative and stonewalled the agency's attempts to resolve the case and return the girls to their mother.
They remained apart for about a year, during which time Mrs. AbdulSalaam said the agency refused to place her children in a Muslim foster home and allowed the girls to attend a Christian church with their foster parents.
A judge ruled in favor of Mrs. AbdulSalaam on the educational-neglect accusations in 2005, and the federal lawsuit was filed in 2006.
If the family prevails, observers say, it will mark the first constitutional-rights case decided against Franklin County Children Services. Spires is the sole defendant, but the agency and the county stand by her.
rprice@dispatch.com
Family accuses Children Services caseworker of discrimination
Saturday, March 12, 2011 02:53 AM
BY RITA PRICE
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
A U.S. District Court jury is to resume deliberations on Monday in the case of a Muslim woman and her daughters, who say that a Franklin County Children Services caseworker violated their rights.
Jurors deliberated for about seven hours yesterday without reaching a verdict.
The lawsuit filed by Hadiya AbdulSalaam and two of her daughters says caseworker Amber Spires lied, kept the family members apart and retaliated against them when they complained about the agency's handling of their foster-care case.
AbdulSalaam's attorney, Michael Moore, has said that race and religion were at the root of Spires' actions.
Story continues below
Advertisement
In his closing argument yesterday, Moore told jurors that they should send a message "to this agency and this caseworker and to social workers all over the United States that this conduct will not be tolerated."
Moore also argued for damages for the family to show child-welfare agencies that "there are consequences to abusing the power that they have."
But Patrick Piccininni, the assistant Franklin County prosecutor representing Spires, told the jury that the caseworker never treated AbdulSalaam, of Grandview Heights, unfairly while investigating allegations of abuse and educational neglect in 2003 and 2004.
Piccininni said Moore deflected the real issues during the trial, which began Feb. 25.
"He wants to make his case about religion, he wants to make this case about being different, he wants to make this case about everything but the allegations," Piccininni said.
Spires "did not fabricate anything in this file," he said. "She did not lie."
Piccininni said that AbdulSalaam and her husband, Naim, were uncooperative and stonewalled the agency's attempts to resolve the case and return the girls to their mother.
They remained apart for about a year, during which time Mrs. AbdulSalaam said the agency refused to place her children in a Muslim foster home and allowed the girls to attend a Christian church with their foster parents.
A judge ruled in favor of Mrs. AbdulSalaam on the educational-neglect accusations in 2005, and the federal lawsuit was filed in 2006.
If the family prevails, observers say, it will mark the first constitutional-rights case decided against Franklin County Children Services. Spires is the sole defendant, but the agency and the county stand by her.
rprice@dispatch.com
Friday, March 11, 2011
Affidavit alleges severe abuse of missing Adopted boy By DAN ELLIOTT, AP
Affidavit alleges severe abuse of missing adopted boy
By DAN ELLIOTT, AP
15 hours ago
http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20110310/US.Adopted.Boys.Missing/
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — One of two boys who had been missing for years before authorities were notified was denied food, spanked, forced to run up and down stairs and rolled up tightly in blankets "like a burrito" as punishment in the home of their adoptive parents, an adoptive brother claimed in a statement to investigators.
Austin Eugene Bryant often grew so hungry that he scavenged food from a garbage can, an arrest warrant affidavit quotes the adoptive brother as saying.
Austin and his biological brother, Edward Dylan Bryant, disappeared from their adoptive parents' home in Monument, Colo., by late 2003, El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa said Thursday. Austin would have been 7 and Edward 11 at the time.
By DAN ELLIOTT, AP
15 hours ago
http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20110310/US.Adopted.Boys.Missing/
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — One of two boys who had been missing for years before authorities were notified was denied food, spanked, forced to run up and down stairs and rolled up tightly in blankets "like a burrito" as punishment in the home of their adoptive parents, an adoptive brother claimed in a statement to investigators.
Austin Eugene Bryant often grew so hungry that he scavenged food from a garbage can, an arrest warrant affidavit quotes the adoptive brother as saying.
Austin and his biological brother, Edward Dylan Bryant, disappeared from their adoptive parents' home in Monument, Colo., by late 2003, El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa said Thursday. Austin would have been 7 and Edward 11 at the time.
DCF: Lawmakers want DCF to bring children home - Courant.com
DCF: Lawmakers want DCF to bring children home - Courant.com
HARTFORD — For the second time in two years, the legislature is asking state child-protection officials to bring home the more than 350 troubled Connecticut children in out-of-state treatment centers and either reunite them with their families, or get them into foster care, group homes, or in-state residential programs.
A 2009 law required the Department of Children and Families to produce a plan by the summer of that year to bring the children home, with a goal of doing it by 2011. In a July 2009 e-mail recently obtained by The Courant, a top DCF official says that DCF didn't follow the mandate because the legislature didn't give the department more money to implement a plan. DCF's budget is about $900 million a year.
A new bill now on its way to the legislature's human-services committee would direct DCF to bring all the children home by 2013, with the exception of the outside placements endorsed by the juvenile court.
DCF Commissioner Joette Katz, who took the helm in January, said Thursday that this time the agency would work "to bring a significant number of the children home.''
[Sample Our Free Breaking News Alert And 3 P.M. News Newsletters]
Katz said she would accomplish this by reallocating money within the agency budget and by beginning to channel some of the $35 million spent annually on the outside placements back into Connecticut.
"I'm not getting more money and I'm not asking for more money,'' Katz said.
But she stopped short of committing to bringing every child home. In testimony before the select committee on children, Katz asked lawmakers to modify the bill and remove the mandate that all the children be removed from the outside placements.
She said some deeply troubled children — including fire-starters, sexually aggressive kids, and some children in the autism spectrum — may be better served in out-of-state programs that have had success in treating children like them. And she said that some northern Connecticut families and guardians with children in Massachusetts programs prefer that the kids remain there, rather than be placed in Bridgeport or some other less convenient location.
State Sen. Anthony J. Musto, a Democrat fromTrumbull and vice chair of the select committee, said he wasn't inclined to back off from the panel's goal of bringing every possible child home, even those just over the border. He said treatment programs should be developed in Connecticut to treat Connecticut kids, and the money should be spent here, not out of state.
"This bill is part of our overall scheme to have as many kids as possible in smaller placements close to home," said Musto. "Two years should be plenty of time for DCF to move these kids back into the state and create programs that would serve their needs.''
Musto, referring to the lack of agency action in 2009, said, "We're hoping with the new commissioner that they'll focus on this as a priority.''
Katz said she already has.
"Everyone involved wants the kids home, and no one wants them home more than I do. We can make a significant dent in the number,'' said Katz, "but we need to do it carefully, thoughtfully, and constructively.''
For example, 27 of the 40 beds at the state-owned Connecticut Children's Place in East Windsor are empty. Katz said before those treatment slots could be used, the staff there would have to be trained to deal with some of the very troubled children who are out of state. Once that training was paid for and completed, then a group of children could be brought back to Connecticut.
At the same time, Katz said, she and her staff are working with private providers to develop programs for the children in outside placements, and are working to recruit and train more foster families, particularly relatives of the children.
"If we can engage more kinship care, that's going to free up some of these treatment facilities, because you can move kids out who don't need to be there. You work to eliminate the bottlenecks along the way,'' Katz said.
Katz said two top agency officials are looking in detail at every child in an outside placement with a goal of finding the right place for many of them in Connecticut.
The number of children in the outside programs increased from 280 in 2008 to 367 this winter, and the annual cost ballooned to at least $35 million. Meanwhile, problems with state treatment and foster-care systems have deepened.
There are empty beds in some of the programs, in part because private providers and DCF haven't developed programs to suit the needs of kids with complex behavior problems who have traditionally been sent away. And the shortage of foster parents is robbing DCF of options to place the children in Connecticut.
HARTFORD — For the second time in two years, the legislature is asking state child-protection officials to bring home the more than 350 troubled Connecticut children in out-of-state treatment centers and either reunite them with their families, or get them into foster care, group homes, or in-state residential programs.
A 2009 law required the Department of Children and Families to produce a plan by the summer of that year to bring the children home, with a goal of doing it by 2011. In a July 2009 e-mail recently obtained by The Courant, a top DCF official says that DCF didn't follow the mandate because the legislature didn't give the department more money to implement a plan. DCF's budget is about $900 million a year.
A new bill now on its way to the legislature's human-services committee would direct DCF to bring all the children home by 2013, with the exception of the outside placements endorsed by the juvenile court.
DCF Commissioner Joette Katz, who took the helm in January, said Thursday that this time the agency would work "to bring a significant number of the children home.''
[Sample Our Free Breaking News Alert And 3 P.M. News Newsletters]
Katz said she would accomplish this by reallocating money within the agency budget and by beginning to channel some of the $35 million spent annually on the outside placements back into Connecticut.
"I'm not getting more money and I'm not asking for more money,'' Katz said.
But she stopped short of committing to bringing every child home. In testimony before the select committee on children, Katz asked lawmakers to modify the bill and remove the mandate that all the children be removed from the outside placements.
She said some deeply troubled children — including fire-starters, sexually aggressive kids, and some children in the autism spectrum — may be better served in out-of-state programs that have had success in treating children like them. And she said that some northern Connecticut families and guardians with children in Massachusetts programs prefer that the kids remain there, rather than be placed in Bridgeport or some other less convenient location.
State Sen. Anthony J. Musto, a Democrat fromTrumbull and vice chair of the select committee, said he wasn't inclined to back off from the panel's goal of bringing every possible child home, even those just over the border. He said treatment programs should be developed in Connecticut to treat Connecticut kids, and the money should be spent here, not out of state.
"This bill is part of our overall scheme to have as many kids as possible in smaller placements close to home," said Musto. "Two years should be plenty of time for DCF to move these kids back into the state and create programs that would serve their needs.''
Musto, referring to the lack of agency action in 2009, said, "We're hoping with the new commissioner that they'll focus on this as a priority.''
Katz said she already has.
"Everyone involved wants the kids home, and no one wants them home more than I do. We can make a significant dent in the number,'' said Katz, "but we need to do it carefully, thoughtfully, and constructively.''
For example, 27 of the 40 beds at the state-owned Connecticut Children's Place in East Windsor are empty. Katz said before those treatment slots could be used, the staff there would have to be trained to deal with some of the very troubled children who are out of state. Once that training was paid for and completed, then a group of children could be brought back to Connecticut.
At the same time, Katz said, she and her staff are working with private providers to develop programs for the children in outside placements, and are working to recruit and train more foster families, particularly relatives of the children.
"If we can engage more kinship care, that's going to free up some of these treatment facilities, because you can move kids out who don't need to be there. You work to eliminate the bottlenecks along the way,'' Katz said.
Katz said two top agency officials are looking in detail at every child in an outside placement with a goal of finding the right place for many of them in Connecticut.
The number of children in the outside programs increased from 280 in 2008 to 367 this winter, and the annual cost ballooned to at least $35 million. Meanwhile, problems with state treatment and foster-care systems have deepened.
There are empty beds in some of the programs, in part because private providers and DCF haven't developed programs to suit the needs of kids with complex behavior problems who have traditionally been sent away. And the shortage of foster parents is robbing DCF of options to place the children in Connecticut.
Grieving Mother Loses Custody Of Her Third Son - NewsRadio 750 KXL
Grieving Mother Loses Custody Of Her Third Son - NewsRadio 750 KXL
Without explanation, a Clackamas County Juvenile Court judge has placed two-year-old Wani Lemi in state custody. So instead of going home to his mother, he will go into foster care when he is released from a local burn center. He is still in serious condition. He and his mother were both injured in the fatal apartment fire on February 12th. After the fire, Kimberly Hasty frantically described what she was up against as she tried to reach her four- and five-year-old sons, "I went back for the other two, I got down on the ground and as close as I could to them, but I couldn't even get to them." Her father Gerald hopes that she regains custody of Wani soon, "So the two of them can get back together again and they can both heal. And not just physical healing, but the emotional healing." The state will review the custody case in 30 days. Hasty shattered her heel as she jumped from a second story window to escape the fire. Investigators still haven't said what caused the fatal fire. Hasty released this statement in regards to the custody battle. "I am not aware of any reason other then (sic) my medical status as reported by Legacy Emanuel Hospital, the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program, and the condition of the home that burned on a court document that nowhere contained the judges name was enough was enough for a judge to decide to take my only remaining child after one of the most horrific tragedies that claimed the lives of my two boys."
Without explanation, a Clackamas County Juvenile Court judge has placed two-year-old Wani Lemi in state custody. So instead of going home to his mother, he will go into foster care when he is released from a local burn center. He is still in serious condition. He and his mother were both injured in the fatal apartment fire on February 12th. After the fire, Kimberly Hasty frantically described what she was up against as she tried to reach her four- and five-year-old sons, "I went back for the other two, I got down on the ground and as close as I could to them, but I couldn't even get to them." Her father Gerald hopes that she regains custody of Wani soon, "So the two of them can get back together again and they can both heal. And not just physical healing, but the emotional healing." The state will review the custody case in 30 days. Hasty shattered her heel as she jumped from a second story window to escape the fire. Investigators still haven't said what caused the fatal fire. Hasty released this statement in regards to the custody battle. "I am not aware of any reason other then (sic) my medical status as reported by Legacy Emanuel Hospital, the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program, and the condition of the home that burned on a court document that nowhere contained the judges name was enough was enough for a judge to decide to take my only remaining child after one of the most horrific tragedies that claimed the lives of my two boys."
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