Georgia child abuse investigations to become more rigorous

Georgia child abuse investigations to become more rigorous | The Watchdog blog:

Georgia’s child protection agency already had investigated four reports alleging abuse of a little girl named Emani Moss. The most recent had led to her stepmother’s conviction on a child cruelty charge. Yet in 2012, when the Division of Family and Children Services received another allegation that Emani had been beaten with a belt, the agency’s caseworkers didn’t question the girl’s parents. They didn’t talk to Emani or check her for injuries. They made no in-person contact at all with Emani’s demonstrably dangerous family.

The Maine Wabanaki-State TRC: Healing from historic trauma to create a better future

The Maine Wabanaki-State TRC: Healing from...:

Denise Altvater is a Passamaquoddy Tribal citizen and coordinator of AFSC’s Wabanaki Youth Program in Maine. In 1978, the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) was passed to re-establish tribal authority over Native children, due to high rates of state removal of children. In spite of ICWA’s passing, Native children were placed into foster care at high rates in Maine. Concerns about the contemporary relationship between the state welfare system and the tribes, as well as the lasting effects of foster care trauma on tribal communities, brought about the Maine Wabanaki-State Child Welfare Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the first Truth and Reconciliation Commission between Native peoples and child welfare.Below is part of our conversation. 

Long-time Belfast Foster Parent to Prison for Molesting Girl in His Care

Long-time Belfast Foster Parent to Prison for Molesting Girl in His Care | WABI TV5:

A long-time foster parent in Belfast accused of molesting a child in his care is going to prison for nine years. Lawrence Oxton, 71, pleaded guilty Monday to gross sexual assault and unlawful sexual contact.

No more excuses from Child Protective Services

No more excuses from Child Protective Services:

The Department of Health and Human Services, the largest state agency, has a budget of almost $4 billion. DPHHS is in charge of everything from welfare programs to Child Protective Services. Last fall’s audit of CPS did not paint a rosy picture and pointed out several standards which needed implementing if we are going to truly protect our neediest children. Audit findings noted the lack of communication with caregivers, do timely investigations, comply with state law and resolve inconsistencies between the law and department policies.

Editorial: Fresno County report documents CPS mistakes before Seth Ireland’s murder

Editorial: Fresno County report documents CPS mistakes before Seth Ireland’s murder | Fresno Bee:

Its legal avenues to withhold from the public a 2009 report on the death of 10-year-old Seth Ireland all but exhausted, Fresno County finally released a lightly redacted version of its investigation Feb. 3 at a morning news conference.

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/editorials/article58262073.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/editorials/article58262073.html#storylink=cpy

Families beware: DCF is quite aggressive

Families beware: DCF is quite aggressive - Journal Inquirer: Other Commentary:

The Connecticut Office of the Child Advocate issued a report on Dec.r 22, 2015, strongly blaming the Department of Children and Families for failing to prevent the death of Londyn S., a 2-year-old who resided in a clearly abusive and neglectful home. The report is available online and describes how DCF ignored numerous red flags and failed to investigate police concerns.

The impression to the public may be that DCF is not aggressive in investigating complaints of child abuse or neglect and has to get tougher.

That would be a misleading impression: DCF is already quite aggressive, in most cases, as thousands of Connecticut families have discovered.

Today is the Ten Year Anniversary of the ILLEGAL State Kidnapping of my Grandson Austin

                                   Austin-Before the NH DCYF ILLEGAL Kidnapping

Austin-After the NH DCYF ILLEGAL Kidnapping at St. Charles Children's Home Rochester, NH-Drugged and Alone

Ten years ago today, two NH DCYF caseworker's and four Nashua Police Officer's showed up at my door to forcibly take my Grandson Austin and his little sister. There was NO Court order and NO warrant, though DCYF stated they had both but refused to produce either. Not aware that they did not have the right to enter without seeing the Court order or warrant, someone let them in.
They took Austin's sister out first. As Austin screamed and cried, scrambling through the house for his Mother, one of the caseworker's dragged him out to the living room, where the four Police Officers rushed him out the door and dragged him down the street kicking and screaming to DCYF's waiting car. The backs of his feet, bloodied and raw from being dragged.
There was no Hearing. There was nothing. The kids sat at the DCYF office until they were delivered to a Foster home in Merrimack.
After finally receiving the case file, there were two different Court order's in it. One that was written a week before the kidnapping, but never signed until that day, stated DCYF didn't want the kids to have contact with their sickly Aunt who lived with us. It said nothing about taking the kids. Fifteen minutes after it was signed, they arrived at my house to steal the kids. As for the warrant, there never was one. After speaking to one of the Officer's, two years later, he told me there was NO warrant.
The other Court order in the file stated we did not follow the No Contact order, so the kids were being removed. If they considered the first one to be a no contact order, in all actuality, it definitely wasn't. We never got to be heard in Court. No matter how many times we filed for custody, we were denied. Each time, we were told to be at the Courthouse, but were never allowed in. We were told we had no standing, because we were "only" grandparents, which means absolutely nothing these day's. Odd, but you would think we had standing since the kids were stolen from our house. Not in New Hampshire, where the Family Court Judges consider DCYF's words above God's and let DCYF pull their string's.
We never got Austin back. He was ILLEGALLY adopted. His Father was never contacted and the criminal charges against his mother were dropped due to evidence proving innocence in Criminal Court, but the same Judge refused to drop them in Family Court after denying the admittance of the same evidence. The reason being, because NH Family Court Judges make up their own rules, not to mention they only listen to DCYF AND their CASA puppets!