Parent-Child Reunification After Alienation

Parent-Child Reunification After Alienation | Psychology Today:

Children and parents who have undergone forced separation from each other in the absence of abuse, including cases of parental alienation, are highly subject to post-traumatic stress, and reunification efforts in these cases should proceed carefully and with sensitivity. Alienated children seem to have a secret wish for someone to call their bluff, compelling them to reconnect with the parent they claim to hate; despite strongly held positions of alignment, alienated children want nothing more than to be given the permission and freedom to love and be loved by both parents (Baker, 2010). Yet the influence of the alienating parent is too strong to withstand, and children’s fear that the alienating parent may fall apart or withdraw his or her love holds them back. Research has shown that many alienated children can transform quickly from refusing or staunchly resisting the rejected parent to being able to show and receive love from that parent, followed by an equally swift shift back to the alienated position when back in the orbit of the alienating parent (Fidler and Bala, 2010). Thus while children’s stated wishes regarding parental residence and contact in contested custody after divorce should be considered, they should not be determinative in cases of parental alienation.

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MSPs warned over easy assumptions about drug users

MSPs warned over easy assumptions about drug users - Health - Scotsman.com:

MSPs have been warned against making “easy assumptions” about the lifestyle of drug and alcohol users when issuing guidance on taking children into care.

Not all parents who misuse substances experience difficulties with family life, child care or parenting capacity, according to Commissioner for Children and Young People Tam Baillie.

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Orem mother known for kind heart dies during childbirth

Orem mother known for kind heart dies during childbirth | Deseret News:

OREM — What was supposed to be a day of joy turned into a day of grieving for a Utah County family.

Katrina Lawrence, a mother of six, died during childbirth Monday.

Katrina and Justus Lawrence were eagerly anticipating the arrival of their sixth child. A few weeks ago, Katrina was placed on hospital bed rest after doctors discovered a potentially dangerous condition called placenta previa.

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Pennsylvania Seeks to Shut Down ‘House of Horrors’ Phila. Abortuary

Pennsylvania Seeks to Shut Down ‘House of Horrors’ Phila. Abortuary

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, May 7, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Pennsylvania Department of Health is seeking to shut down the abortuary run by Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell, whose practice was abruptly halted in February after investigators stumbled upon the detestable conditions inside the clinic, including blood-stained floors and dozens of fetuses preserved in jars. A local grand jury is also currently investigating the abortionist.

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Police Looking for Aborted Babies of Cleveland Women Held as Sex Slaves

Police Looking for Aborted Babies of Cleveland Women Held as Sex Slaves | LifeNews.com:

The sex slave story out of Cleveland is horrific enough, but police are now indicating they are looking for the bodies of aborted babies who may have been killed after they became pregnant.

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Night Of The Living CPS Agent - Baby LK Report For May 5th 2013

A Critical Look at Foster Care: How Widespread a Problem?

A Critical Look at Foster Care: How Widespread a Problem?:

HOW WIDESPREAD A PROBLEM?

One of the most comprehensive surveys of abuse in foster care was conducted in conjunction with a Baltimore lawsuit. Trudy Festinger, head of the Department of Research at the New York University School of Social Work, determined that over 28 per cent of the children in state care had been abused while in the system.

Reviewed cases depicted "a pattern of physical, sexual and emotional abuses" inflicted upon children in the custody of the Baltimore Department.

Cases reviewed as the trial progressed revealed children who had suffered continuous sexual and physical abuse or neglect in foster homes known to be inadequate by the Department. Cases included that of sexual abuse of young girls by their foster fathers, and that of a young girl who contracted gonorrhea of the throat as a result of sexual abuse in an unlicenced foster home.[1]

In Louisiana, a study conducted in conjunction with a civil suit found that 21 percent of abuse or neglect cases involved foster homes.[2]

In another Louisiana case, one in which thousands of pages of evidence were reviewed, and extensive testimony and depositions were taken, it was discovered that hundreds of foster children had been shipped out of the state to Texas.

Stephen Berzon of the Children's Defense Fund explained the shocking findings of the court before a Congressional subcommitte, saying: "children were physically abused, handcuffed, beaten, chained, and tied up, kept in cages, and overdrugged with psychotropic medication for institutional convenience."[3]

In Missouri, a 1981 study found that 57 percent of the sample children were placed in foster care settings that put them "at the very least at a high risk of abuse or neglect."[4]

A later report issued in 1987 found that 25 percent of the children in the Missouri sample group had been victims of "abuse or inappropriate punishment."

Children's Rights Project attorney Marcia Robinson Lowry described the findings of the Missouri review before the Select Committee on Children, Youth and Families:

The most troubling result of the Kansas City review was the level of abuse, undetected or unreported, in foster homes. 25% of the children in the sample were the subject of abuse or inappropriate punishment. 88% of those reports were not properly investigated.[5]

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