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Here is a pair of emails from a soldier and father showing how easy it is to disrupt a parent's life with accusations, even ones that strain credulity.

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From:	Ken <ottawafathers@yahoo.ca>
Date:	Fri, 24 Nov 2006 07:10:12 -0500 (EST)
To:	fathers_in_action@yahoogroups.com
Subject:	Father under Fire

FATHER UNDER FIRE

I have been to several conflicts in this world where I have experienced or witnessed many horrible things. Some of these things took a long time to go away; some of them will probably never go away. But in no place have I endured the longest horror, not the worst, but the longest, than in my own backyard.

The culprit - my ex-spouse or her associates. The weapon - Social, police and court services.

There has been another strike against me; a nuclear blast. Children's Aid Society (CAS).

I am being accused of many things, some of which are not clear yet. CAS has contacted several people in their investigation; two of whom, including my daughter, have reported back to me. The accusations so far are that I was selling drugs to children, driving drunk and without a license or insurance, beating my daughter, possession of illegal weapons, child abandonment, illegally maintaining custody of my daughter and child support issues. At this point, I was told the complaint was from an anonymous source! Oh, really!

This is the sixth false allegation complaint against me in the past six years. All of these allegations conveniently launched before a hearing, trial or other legal process. All of them pertained to crimes against children or crimes of a heinous nature. I have been arrested, computer seized (then returned), suspended from military duty, temporarily banned from public places (although some banishments still exist in my former province), interrogated countless times, humiliated, life threatened, career stalled (now back on track), bankrupt, most rights violated and so many other personal atrocities that I am unable to collect them in my thoughts at this time.

NOT ONCE, NOT EVEN ONE TIME, was I ever charged with a crime, given a court order or even appeared at a hearing for these allegations. NOTHING! Later I was granted custody of my daughter and now hold a higher Federal security clearance.

Today, I am being "interviewed" in Ottawa where I have the right to legal counsel. I hope the "interviewers" are good, because I am a trained interviewer and negotiator with related skills that I am not at liberty to mention here.

Make no mistake, I am under fire. CAS is not involved to determine the best interest of my daughter; they are gathering evidence to destroy me, a father, in their greater mission to destroy all fathers.

After my "interview" this afternoon, I will, if possible, inform this group of the results, as appropriate.

Sincerely,

Ken Sandall
Ottawa

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From:	Ken <ottawafathers@yahoo.ca>
Date:	Tue, 28 Nov 2006 07:26:53 -0500 (EST)
To:	fathers_in_action@yahoogroups.com
Subject:	Father under Fire - Investigation Results

All Fathers:

The original Children's Aid Society (CAS) complaint that was officially brought to my attention Thursday, 23 November 2006 is now concluded.

THE COMPLAINT

Through my own interviewing techniques and associated skills, feedback from my daughter and the information provided by the CAS worker, the following was discovered:

1. The official complaint was an anonymous email from a female.
2. There was absolutely no attempt by CAS to verify the validity of the complaint.
3. Accusations are (really, I am serious about these):
   1. I am a hit man for my family that is supposed to be a large mob-type cartel. In actual fact, the Sandalls are a small fragmented family in Canada.
   2. I give drugs to my daughter and I am a drug dealer at her high school.
   3. While extremely drunk in my home, I give my car to 14-year-olds so they can go to the LCBO to buy me more alcohol. Hello! They are 14, how will they buy it! Plus I provide the same to them.
   4. I have multiple serious sexual crimes, weapons offences and I have killed someone.
   5. I am, or was, a member of Fathers-4-Justice.
   6. I have a cache of illegal weapons.

THE FACTS

The facts are simple. I do not have a criminal record. In fact, I hold an elevated Federal security clearance, am a responsible and decorated military professional. CAS interviewed several people including my daughter who, as I did, laughed at the notions above. Through documentation, I proved that the above just was not true. Furthermore, I explained to CAS, that if they had taken a few minutes, just a few, where they could have checked into the background of the complaint, at a glance, they would have discovered it was a false allegations.

Moreover, about one-quarter to half of their investigation was internally spawned by CAS itself. All the issues of child abuse, abandonment and care and custody of my daughter came from CAS. I confirmed this from a phone interview I had with CAS.

THE DAMAGE

As a result of CAS' negligence, some of my daughter's friends are banned from my home. My daughter's school administration is aware of the situation as are many students.

CAS has closed the file indicating, not that the allegations were clearly false, but the further CAS intervention will not be required.

CONCERNS AND CONCLUSION

CAS told me that the complaint "clearly met the criteria for a full CAS investigation". Had they checked into the background, just a little, the investigation would have been stopped immediately. CAS moved forward on an anonymous ludicrous complain with no merit at all and without any concern for my, or my daughter's personal being. "In the best interests of the child" my ass! In addition, had I been the criminal as suggested by the complaint, CAS might have destroyed an ongoing police investigation by having a social worker interfering with what they perceived as a criminal matter.

I have to take off for work now. This was fast and furious. Any person may use this email for any purpose they choose. I release all rights.

Ken Sandall

Source: fathers_in_action email group

A lawsuit has been filed in the case of Jamie Ceballos, a child seized by Child Protectors in Monterey County California and murdered a year later. We have a copy of the complaint (MS-Word format). The first hundred paragraphs give the facts, as known to the mother, the rest state claims in legal language. Here is a narrative of the seizure of the children from the mother, identified by her surname Allen. Hralima is one of the social workers.

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In December 2004 Allen's five-year-old daughter Ana disclosed that Allen’s step-father had put on a “dirty movie” and touched himself and her in “private places” while “grandma was sleeping.” Allen herself called 911 and reported the disclosure.

Officers from the Monterey County Sheriff’s Department came to the scene and asked Allen what had happened. She suggested that the officer speak directly to Ana. The officer did. The officer told Allen that she needed to take Ana in to the hospital to be checked out. Allen did immediately take Ana and her two other children to the hospital.

At the hospital, a nurse said that Child Protective Services needed to be called. Allen agreed. She believed such an organization would help her daughter, and possibly her and her other children. The nurse told Allen that she wanted to keep Ana overnight so she could evaluate her further.

Allen returned the next morning (December 14th, 2004) at 9:00 a.m., but no one would allow her to enter the back area of the hospital where Ana was being kept. She waited for over ½ hour, but learned later that all the while she waited, [social workers] were interrogating Ana. Allen finally convinced a nurse to let her in and went directly to Ana’s room. Ana was crying and asked Allen to take her home. Ana was very emotionally tired and disturbed by the interrogation and wanted to leave with her mother. Hralima told Allen that she could not take Ana because she was now on a “3-day CPS hold.”

[Two days later] Hralima phoned Allen and said Ana was ready to be released. Allen explained that the other children just got out of the bath and needed to be dressed, but that she would be there right away.

When she got to the hospital, she saw two officers (Sinor and Doe 4) and noticed that Ana was absent. Allen asked Hralima what was going on, but Hralima did not answer. Hralima then handed Allen a paper and said she was taking all of her children into custody because of “sexual abuse.” Allen began to shake and cry inconsolably for several minutes. Hralima kept insisting through Allen’s tears that she “sign the paper.” Allen refused to sign the paper and demanded to see her daughter Ana. When she did, Sinor immediately began to attempt to verbally threaten and physically intimidate Allen. Sinor, in full law enforcement attire and bearing a sidearm, immediately stepped up into Allen’s immediate physical space, and leaned his face to within inches of hers, saying menacingly, “If you don’t sign that you’re going to jail for sexual abuse.” At first Allen still refused, saying she was not going to sign the paper and they had no reason to take her children, and repeating that she is the one who had called them! With that, Sinor became more menacing, saying to her more loudly, “You either sign that paper or I’ll arrest you for disorderly conduct.” Allen was convinced that if she did not sign the paper, Sinor was going to arrest her throw her in jail, regardless of whether she had done anything wrong at all. She signed the paper, which she was told was a “notification” of the fact her children were being taken from her.

Source: complaint received by email from Robert Powell

Addendum: Below is a California newspaper's account of the suit, and one readers response:

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Posted on Tue, Nov. 28, 2006

Mother sues over death

2-year-old son died while in care of foster family

By KEVIN HOWE
Herald Staff Writer

A federal lawsuit was filed Monday in San Jose against Monterey County over the death last year of a 2-year-old boy while in the care of a foster family he was assigned to by county social workers.

Jaime Ceballos died Nov. 27, 2005, and "we felt it was appropriate to file on the anniversary of his death," said San Jose attorney Robert R. Powell, who is representing Jaime's mother, Megan Allen.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in San Jose, seeks damages for the boy's wrongful death and also alleges the unlawful removal of Jaime and his three siblings from their mother by Monterey County Child Protective Services social workers.

The children were taken from their home, Powell said, after Allen contacted police to report allegations by her daughter that she had been molested by a family relative.

There were no allegations of abuse against Allen, he said.

Jaime died after being fatally injured at a Cactus Court foster care home operated by Ada and Antonio Sifuentes.

Officials from the Monterey County Coroner's division have been unable to conclude whether the death was an accident or a criminal act. Salinas police say they believe the death was an accident, probably resulting from a collision the hyperactive boy had with a dull, small object that caused internal bleeding and an infection in his stomach.

The lawsuit contends that at the time of his death, Jaime had multiple bruises all over his body, a depression of his skull from some unknown blunt-force trauma, and had suffered a series of blows to his abdominal area, one of them with enough force to tear his colon and rupture other internal organs.

When he was found, Powell contends, no attempt was made to resuscitate him.

The toddler's sister had been removed from the Sifuentes home shortly before Jaime's death for alleged abuse against her by the foster family, he said, and Child Protective Services had received numerous complaints of abuse of the children from their mother, visitation supervisors and neighbors on Cactus Court.

Powell has been an outspoken critic of the state's foster care system and has been involved in several high-profile cases involving other social service departments. He announced filing of the lawsuit at a press conference Monday in San Jose.

"It's unfortunate that Mr. Powell and other plaintiff attorneys choose to try their cases in the news media instead of a court of law," commented County Counsel Charles McKee. "He could at least provide the county with a copy of the complaint. He knows how he wants to portray this in the press."

McKee and Deputy County Counsel Michael Hogan, who is defending the county, said they have not received a copy of the complaint.

Hogan said the county reviewed and denied Allen's claim when it was filed in July.

"The county's position is that there is no liability for any county official or employee," he said, adding that the county intends to defend itself against the allegations.

Denial of the claim, Powell said, is a routine formality prior to going to court.

McKee said the county's child welfare system shows "a strong commitment to children who experience abuse and neglect" and placing them in proper foster care is "an agonizing and difficult job assignment."

County Child Protective Services, he added, "has been recognized as a superior program in the state of California."

Jaime Ceballos' death, McKee said, was "a tragic and deeply felt loss for all who knew him. The compassion of those people who are working in the system should not be lost in the fervor to find a scapegoat."

Kevin Howe can be reached at 646-4416 or khowe@montereyherald.com.

Source: website of Monterey County Herald

Here is one reader's response:

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I read you article on Jaime and I have been reading all of the previous one written by Suk. Megan Allen lived with me for About 5 month this year. Robert Powell was my attorney against CPS in my recent case. I would love to share my story with you about how the Monterey County CPS dragged me and my husband through the courts. We had adopted 2 previously sexually, emotionally and physically abused children and while they were visiting an ex-caregiver (who stated several times that she wished she had adopted them herself) and while they were there, both boys accused my husband of sexually abusing them. We have lost those children and our other children, our rights have been terminated and we no longer get to see our children.

We want people to know what can happen when you adopt children from this kind of background.

Theresa Passineau
tpassineau@salinas.k12.ca.us
831/796-7415-W 442-3894H

Source: website of Monterey County Herald

The Canada Court Watch public discussion forum was attacked this morning by a malicious poster, and has been shut down. Before shutdown, it received messages from the mother identified as "siberian tiger", or simply "tiger", saying that her kids are coming home subject to a twelve month supervision order. Here is the note relating to the attack:

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Please Note: Due to spam attacks by persons who appear opposed to the efforts of Court Watch the link to the Court Watch public discussion forum has been temporarily suspended as of November 27, 2006. Court Watch apologizes to its readers for this temporary inconvenience but will restart the forum once greater security measures have been implemented.

Source: website of Canada Court Watch

• Alexa (Lexi) tells what it is like to be "protected" by CAS.
• fatboydiscount. A surprise awaits a woman adopted at birth when she rejoins her natural family.

In the past, opponents of Children's Aid expressed their opinions through membership, in efforts to reform the process from within. Foot-dragging by Children's Aid now makes this kind of opposition impossible. The letter below from John Dunn shows his frustration at his inability to get a copy of the bylaws of Ottawa Children's Aid. This is not the only case of this kind of foot-dragging, it seems to be policy throughout Ontario.

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Bob Morrow,

Through a letter dated May 19, 2006 (attached) I asked Barbara MacKinnon, Executive Director of the Children's Aid Society of Ottawa if I could have access to the Society's by-laws and was ignored on this request.

I have left voice messages with the Society's executive office asking the same and have been ignored on this request as well.

I then proceeded to make a Freedom of Information Inquiry from the Ministry of Children and Youth Services and was told by Enza Ragona (FIPPA) that they do not have copies of the Society's by-laws and that I would have to contact the Ottawa CAS in order to obtain access to them.

According to section 13(1) of the Child and Family Services Act, the Children's Aid Society shall file a copy of it's by-laws and of any amendments to them with the Minister of Children and Youth Services forthwith after they are made.

Could you please confirm with me before or on the day of our meeting Tuesday December 05, 2006 at 10:00am if the Society has in fact submitted a copy of it's by-laws and of any amendments to them with the Ministry at any time since the Society's creation?

Alternately, if you could provide me with access to the Society's by-laws as amended before or on the day or our meeting Tuesday December 05, 2006 at 10:00am so that I may review them on or after our meeting.

The relevant provision of the CFSA is pasted below:

"13. (1) An approved agency shall file a certified copy of its by-laws and of any amendment to them with the Minister forthwith after they are made."

Sincerely

John Dunn

Source: email from John Dunn November 23, 2006

Addendum: Another letter on the same topic:

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Dear Hon. Mary Anne Chambers,
Minister of Children and Youth Services

Section 13 of the Child and Family Services Act, R.S.O. 1990 Chap. C.11 reads as follows.

"13.(1) An approved agency shall file a certified copy of its by-laws and of any amendment to them with the Minister forthwith after they are made."

I am writing to enquire as to whether the Children's Aid Society of Ottawa has complied with this section of the Act and filed a certified copy of its by-laws and of any amendment to them with the Minister forthwith after they were made or at any time since such time.

To clarify, this is NOT a Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act request.

This is a letter clearly and simply asking the Minister to confirm or deny whether the Children's Aid Society of Ottawa has complied with ss. 13 (1) of the Child and Family Services Act.

Again, this is NOT a FIPPA request, it is simply a request for confirmation of compliance.

Thank-you

John Dunn

Source: email from John Dunn November 27, 2006

A new petition asks Canada to stop drugging children under pretense of psychiatric treatment. The warning in the final paragraph should be taken seriously. Withdrawal from psychiatric drugs can produce the opposite of the calming effect of the drugs, inducing previously peaceful patients to kill in the style of Andrea Yates

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CITIZENS COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS - CANADA

Online petition against psychiatric drugging of Children

CANADIAN CHILDREN'S RIGHTS AGAINST PSYCHIATRIC STIGMA AND DRUG ABUSE

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Sign the online Petition against "Psychiatric stigma and drug abuse of children".

Today many children are diagnosed with a "so-called" Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and are needlesly medicated with Ritalin or other addictive stimulant drugs.

In Canada, two million prescriptions to treat ADHD were filled in 2005. Ritalin is addictive and has the same dependency profile as Cocaine. Studies have shown it is often a gateway drug to other addictive street drugs.

Health Canada issued a warning recently stating that ADHD drugs such as Ritalin can increase blood pressure, pulse change, cardiac arrhythmia, heart attacks and strokes.

When children display behavioural or educational challenges, one should asses the child's family environment, upsets at home/school. sleep patterns, diet, existence of allergies,undiagnosed physical problems, by a non-psychiatric medical practioner.

The online Petition is accessible at the following link: www.ipetitions.com/petition/canadianchildrensrights .

Please forward this email broadly for the sake of our future generation.

Sincerely,

Hilary Hurry
ED CCHR Canada

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(CCHR) is a non-profit , public benefit organization. CCHR has inspired and contributed to many hundreds of reforms by testifying before legislative hearings and conducting public hearings into psychiatric abuse. CCHR does not provide medical or legal advice. However it works closely with attorneys and non-psychiatric medical doctors.

Caution: No one should stop taking any psychiatric drug without the advice and assistance of a competent non-psychiatric medical practitioner. There are often unpleasant and dangerous withdrawal symptoms.

Source: anonymous

Here is another development in the on-again off-again lawsuit that seeks to allow parents of disabled children to keep custody, and force the Ontario government to provide more funding for Children's Aid. We previously mentioned this case in June 2003 and August 2005.

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Anne Larcade with her 15-year-old disabled son Alexandre

Ont. court overturns lawsuit for disabled children

Canadian Press

TORONTO — An Ontario woman forced to temporarily surrender custody of her disabled son so he could receive specialized care vowed Friday to take her case to the Supreme Court after losing in the provincial Court of Appeal.

Anne Larcade had launched a class-action lawsuit against the Ontario government alleging it failed to meet its legal obligations toward severely disabled children.

The Ontario Court of Appeal ruled Friday that the class action cannot go forward, prompting Larcade to immediately say she would take the case to Canada's highest court.

"I am devastated,'' Larcade said in a statement.

The Huntsville, Ont., mother gave up her mentally disabled son Alexandre six years ago after being told it was the only way to get the province to pay for his treatment.

The boy was returned to his mother's care after one year, but Larcade said the province's treatment policies still affect thousands of Ontario families.

"This decision is not only bad for myself and Alexandre, but for the thousands of other families with vulnerable, severely disabled children living in Ontario,'' she said.

"According to this decision, the government of Ontario can force good parents to surrender custody of their children to the province and you can't do anything about it.''

Alexandre Larcade was forced into the care of Children's Aid in 1999, two years after the former Conservative government cancelled the a program that would have covered his treatment costs.

Without the program, known as Special Needs Agreements, disabled children in Ontario could only get help if they were classified as "in need of protection'' -- a designation which meant the children were taken from their parents and placed under the control of child welfare authorities.

The Liberal government was still reviewing the Court of Appeal's decision Friday afternoon, but NDP critic Peter Kormos said the province should stop using taxpayers' money to fight the class-action suit.

"We have a huge community of children and their families that have a common concern, that have suffered a common hurt, and the government should be conceding, quite frankly, that their cases be heard as a class action,'' he said.

"Government's responsibility is to help the weakest in society and to live up to the responsibilities that it has.''

The lawsuit, which was certified last year, alleged that as a result of the government's negligence, families were forced to personally fund services for their severely disabled children, and in some cases, relinquish custody to the government in order to obtain life-saving procedures.

Source: website of CTV

The following reports of missing girls say almost nothing, but since the Children's Aid Society is looking for them, it is likely they are runaways from foster care.

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Two Missing Teens in Sudbury

November 22, 2006

The Children's Aid Society issued two news releases Wednesday (Nov. 22) requesting public assistance in finding a pair of missing girls. The two cases are not related.

The first is Rebecca Lawson, a 15-year-old native girl missing since Nov. 14. She has long brown, wavy hair, is approximately five-foot-six and 140 pounds. She generally wears a khaki green bomber-style jacket with a hood.

Rebecca is believed to be in the Sudbury area. She was last seen in the New Sudbury Shopping Centre and the Mont Adam St. area.

The second missing girl is 13-year-old Stephanie Deer, missing since Nov. 13.

She is described as a native girl, with dark complexion, dark eyes, clear skin, thin features and shoulder-length brown hair. She has no tattoos or piercings. She is approximately five-foot-six, 110 pounds with a tall and slender build. She generally wears jeans and large hooded sweaters.

She is believed to be in the Sudbury or Manitoulin area.

Anyone with information as to the whereabouts of these girls is asked to contact police.

Source: website of Northern Life

A mother who killed one twin at birth, then gave birth to another, has been charged with murder. According to Canada Court Watch, Barrie family courts took the surviving child from his dad and gave custody to the homicidal mom for most of the last year.

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November 21, 2006

Mom charged with murdering newborn

By TRACY MCLAUGHLIN, SPECIAL TO THE SUN

BARRIE -- A mom accused of giving birth to a baby girl, stuffing her in a plastic bag and then hiding her in the trunk of a car was charged with first-degree murder yesterday and released on bail.

Jody Ann Lee, 34, who was already facing charges of neglecting to obtain assistance in the delivery of a child and concealing the body of a child in the bizarre series of events in October 2005, was slapped with the newest and most serious charge after police received the results of a pathology report.

"It's horrifying," the dead baby's dad said, holding her twin brother in his arms.

Asking not to be identified, the man said he didn't know Lee was pregnant when the two were dating last year, and her large size made it easy to conceal a pregnancy.

It wasn't until three days after the birth -- and death -- of the baby girl that Lee was suddenly rushed to the Barrie Hospital with abdominal pains and gave birth to the second baby, he said.

Puzzled medical staff found tearing of the vaginal walls and a second umbilical cord, he said.

"Police were contacted because there was a concern that the birth of its twin may have been concealed by its mother," Barrie Police Sgt. Dave Goodbrand said, noting police later found the first baby dead but didn't charge the mother with murder at that time.

"It was hell," said the father. "I didn't know what was going on " ...first I find out that I'm a father, then I find out I have a baby that died."

Lee, a former teacher's aide, is battling the baby's dad for custody of their baby boy.

"I'm so afraid they won't let me have him. It's a mother's world, not a father's world," he said.

"I look at my little guy and I think, oh my gosh, what would have happened to him if he was born the same time as his twin? It's a blessing that he's here and I count that blessing every day."

There was a publication ban on the evidence heard at her bail hearing.

Lee will be back in court on Dec. 6.

Source: website of the Toronto Sun

Addendum:The Barrie Police Service Media Release (pdf) is available online.

Here are two events at which you will have an opportunty to express your opinion of the way the law mishandles children in Ontario.

In Kingston:

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Date Posted: 11/18/2006 4:15:32 PM

CATHY NORRIS is organizing a protest at the family court building in Kingston on November 23. Anyone who wishes to help organize or participate please contact copbusters@msn.com

Source: Canada Court Watch message board

In Toronto:

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International Day of the Child Protest

Monday, November 20, 2006

Starting at 9:30 pm.

Location: University Ave. Court House, Toronto. 393 University Ave. (North side of Staples)

(Almost across from the USA Consulate)

Huge signs provided, no need to bring your own. Come and feel good about exposing the government's treatment of our children. Regards, Zorro

posted Saturday, 18 November 2006

Source: website of Darla McKinstry

Addendum:A report on the Toronto event:

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November 21, 2006

Someone had asked how it had gone yesterday.

We have about 15 people and picketed for several hours. We missed a number of people who said they were coming but, even with them, we were a tad short of the 1,000 that would have been nice to have seen.

We distributed about 1,100 flyers about NCD and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Mostly we stayed on message. Got a couple of irate lawyers and lots of people saying we were doing the right thing.

We got more than our normal scrutiny from the police -- handed brochures to all of them too and talked about the specific problems police officers have.

Source: email from Brian Jenkins

Addendum:As of November 21, the Kingston rally has been canceled.

Foster kids in Los Angeles are being heavily drugged in this video report from KCAL television Are LA's Foster Kids being Drugged?. You must click "Play".

A survey of Halton school students in grades 7 and 10 asks them:

• Have you sold any drugs?
• Carried a weapon?
• Been part of a gang?
• How many of your close friends smoke cigarettes?
• Do you use: Smokeless tobacco, dip, chew, Marijuana, Hallucinogens (mushrooms, PCP, LSD), Prescription drugs for recreational use to get high(aderol, Ritalin, Tylonel 3, Percocet), or Other drugs (ecstasy, cocaine, heroin, ketamine)
• Do you use beer, wine, liquor or other alcoholic beverage?

A lot of twelve-year-old kids (and adults) don't understand what some of these questions mean.

The kids are lured with promises of confidentiality, but any positive answers to the following question will bring on the cops, since mandatory reporting trumps confidentiality.

30. How often has your family not had enough money to buy food?

□	We always have enough money to buy food
□	There has been some 1-2 times that we could not afford to buy food
□	There has been more than 2 times but not every month
□	Every month we have trouble buying food

The full survey is available from the Halton District School Board, or our local copy (both pdf links).

Photo of Cole Norris released by the Ontario Provincial Police

Cole Norris is one of the boys in the casinternment case. Until now, he has only been identified by his initial C.

The boy was taken by force from his mother and put in a foster home. His mother, Cathy Norris, was jailed in October for publishing facts about her case on the internet, and failing to disclose the whereabouts of her children.

Last month, while Cathy was in jail, Cole disappeared. The mother was not notified, and no Amber alert was issued. Since the life of a boy is now in danger, we are publishing the names of all parties, previously concealed.

If the boy perishes, do not expect to read about it in the press. Lawyers will quickly advise all parties in the case to remain silent, and they will.

Below find the OPP press release, an email to MPP Andrea Horwath giving the facts of the case and a message posted by Cathy Norris.

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ONTARIO PROVINCIAL POLICE

Attention News Editors:

Update - Missing 13-year-old Boy

NAPANEE, ON, Nov. 8 /CNW/ - Officers with the Napanee Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police are seeking the public's assistance in locating a missing 13-year-old boy who was last seen in Deseronto on Thursday the 17th day of August at 3:30 p.m.

Cole NORRIS left his residence on Centre Street in the Town of Deseronto, Ontario (20 km's west of Kingston, Ontario) on the 17th of August, 2006 and advised that he was going for a walk downtown and possibly to the library. He indicated that he would return by 5:00 p.m.

Cole never returned home. He was reported missing that evening.

Cole NORRIS is described as being 5'8", 140 lbs, slim build, brown hair and eyes, and in good health. See photo by clicking the following url: http://files.newswire.ca/380/NORRIS_Cole.pdf. He was last seen wearing a muscle shirt, light coloured shorts, sandals, and a seashell necklace.

Ontario Police Officers from Ottawa, Brantford, Smiths Falls and the Rideau Lakes area have assisted in this investigation by following up various tips and leads. The OPP now have information that he may be in the western part of Canada with an unknown adult male.

The OPP are asking anyone who may have information about Cole's disappearance or his location, to call the Napanee Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police at 613-354-3369 , their local police service or their local Crime Stoppers program.

For further information: Sgt. Kristine Rae, (613) 285-5479 cell, 1-800-279-8660 pager, (613) 284-4557 office

Source: press release by Ontario Provincial Police

The following email gives the facts of the case, up to that time.

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Since one of the teenagers does not wish his name to come up on a Google search, we have changed his first name to Xxxxx in a few places.

October 17, 2006

Andrea Horwath MPP for Hamilton East
Room 159 Main Legislative Building
Toronto Ontario M7A 1A5
ahorwath-qp@ndp.on.ca

Subject: Cathy Norris

Honorable Mrs Horwath:

Cathy Norris is in jail.

Before going to jail she mailed me a large batch of documents from her case, and she has spoken to me on the phone a few times, herself and through a friend (who insists on anonymity) while in jail.

Her two children Cole, now 13 years old, and Tyson, now 15, were taken into "care" by Frontenac Children's Aid in 2005. I do not know the details of the the apprehension. This spring Tyson established a website, casinternment.com, and later Cathy took over its management. Both Tyson and Cole ran away from CAS custody.

There are two court orders leading to her jailing, the first on September 8, 2006 and the second on September 26, 2006. Cathy was arrested at her home on October 11 and will be in jail until October 30.

The September 8 order directed her to turn over her runaway son Cole to CAS and to remove her website from the internet by September 15. The website was disabled by that day, but mirror sites with the same information appeared in Russia and France and Canada. There is no evidence of how these mirrors came about. Cathy says she does not know where Cole is, though she seems assured that he is now safe.

On September 26 Cathy was adjudged in contempt and ordered to jail. The orders on both September dates were issued without Cathy in the courtroom. Her absence was not entirely contempt. Earlier CAS promised her that if she moved to Brantford, the court case would be transferred to Brantford as well. She did move, but CAS reneged on its promise. Attending court is now an overnight trip for her, and she is not an experienced long-distance driver.

CAS filed two affidavits by social workers Kelly Anne DeWolfe and Bruce Polnick asserting that the statements on Cathy's website had negatively impacted their work. But neither claimed that anything on the site was untruthful. Many (but not all) of the internet statements cited in justification of the contempt were really the actions of others, not Cathy.

Yesterday, while in jail, she was served with papers demanding a money judgment of $17,000 to pay CAS court costs, and the cost of the internet investigator who gathered the cyber evidence against her. Unless there is some legal rule I don't know about, the clock for answering will run down while she is incarcerated. This formerly middle-class family will soon be homeless.

In an earlier motion, CAS moved to strike Cathy's answers. I did not see whether that was granted. If it was, the next time Cathy gets to court, the only issue will be enforcing compliance with CAS orders.

Cathy is nowhere close to a dysfunctional mother. All of her statements are truthful, and she recently completed university courses qualifying her for a more remunerative career, though on account of the litigation, she is reduced to temporary work at Harvey's.

I have photocopies of the court papers I have mentioned, and can send them by fax on request.

For those of us opposing CAS, it is too dangerous to publish the facts in this case, for fear of winding up in the cell next to Cathy. But if the case was mentioned by name in the Hansard, I would feel safe in quoting that.

Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance in this matter.

Robert T McQuaid
558 McMartin Road
Mattawa Ontario P0H 1V0

phone: 705-744-6274
email: rtmq@fixcas.com

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Superior Court of Justice of Ontario
Court File No. 342/05

469 Montreal Street, Kingston, Ontario K7K 3H9

Applicant(s)	Counsel
Frontenac Children's Aid Society 362 Montreal Street Kingston, ON K7K 3H5 Tel: (613) 542-7351 Fax: (613) 542-4428	Martha J. Downey Timothy P Minnema Tonya R Barnes Barrister & Solicitor 362 Montreal Street Kingston, ON K7K 3H5 Tel: (613) 542-7351 Fax: (613) 542-4428
Respondent(s)	Counsel
Cathy Norris 258 Brock Street Brantford Ontario	unrepresented
Tom Anderson Address Unknown	In Default
Xxxxx Lee Norris Child	Mark LaFrance 165 Ontario Street Kingston ON
Cole Daniel Norris Child	Lili Kramil Marcus Suite 216 4 Cataraqui Street Kingston ON K7K 1Z4

The Hounourable
Judge Belch

September 8, 2006

The court heard two motions made by the Frontenac Children's Aid Society dated on August 31, 2006.

The following persons were in court: Tonya R Barnes Counsel for the Children's Aid Society, Lili Kramil Marcus as agent for the Office of the Children's Lawyer for Cole Daniel Norris and Mark LaFrance as agent for the Office of the Children's Lawyer for Xxxxx Lee Norris.

The court received evidence as contained in the continuing record and heard submissions on behalf of the parties.

THE COURT FINDS THAT

1. Cathy Norris has participated either directly or indirectly in the disappearance of Cole Norris and knows where Cole Norris is. Cathy Norris is in contempt of the November 10 2005 order of Justice Sheffield when Cole Norris was placed in the interim care and custody of the Society.
2. Cathy Norris has directly or indirectly or both published material in a newspaper and on the internet contrary to s 45(8) of the CFSA and contrary to the Order of Justice Brennan of March 8, 2006. Cathy Norris is in contempt of the order of Justice Brennan of March 8, 2006.

THIS COURT ORDERS THAT

1. Cathy Norris is to return Cole Norris to the Children's Aid Society by delivering Cole Norris either to the Frontenac Children's Aid Society at 362 Montreal Street, City of Kingston or by delivering Cole Norris to the Brantford Children's Aid Society on or before September 15, 2006.
2. Delivery of Cole Norris to the care of the Children's Aid Society by September 15, 2006 will purge Cathy Norris's conduct in failing to follow the November 10, 2005 order of Justice Sheffield. In the event that Cathy Norris does not comply with the said order there shall be a warrant to issue for her arrest and Cathy Norris is to be returned to this Court for determination of penalty to Rule 31 of the Family Law Rules.
3. Following this Court's finding that Cathy Norris is in breach of the CFSA and the Order of Justice Brennan of March 8, 2006 and thereby in contempt of that Order. Cathy Norris is directed to refrain from any future publication and is to immediately remove from her internet site any material identifying anyone involved in these child protection proceedings. The removal is to be completed by September 15, 2006 and if it is then Cathy Norris's contempt is to be considered purged. In the event that Cathy Norris ignores this order there shall be a warrant to issue for her arrest and she is to be returned to this Court for determination of penalty pursuant to Rule 31 of the Family Law Rules.
4. A copy of this Order is to be served upon the internet providers of Cathy Norris together with a copy of s 45(8) of the CFSA.
5. A copy of the March 9 2006 Order as entered is to be served forthwith upon Cathy Norris.
6. The relief associated with the March 9, 2006 Order of Justice Robertson and the motion relating to the assessment in regards of Dr Beckell's parenting capacity report is adjourned to a later date.
7. The issue of costs of these motions is reserved to Justice Belch. Counsel are to prepare submissions on costs in writing limited to five pages each to be received before October 15, 2006.

September 12, 2006
Date of Signature

/signed/ Cindy D
Signature of Clerk of the Court

---

Superior Court fo Justice of Ontario
Court File No. 342/05
469 Montreal Street, Kingston, Ontario K7K 3H9

Applicant(s)	Counsel
Frontenac Children's Aid Society 362 Montreal Street Kingston, ON, K7K 3H Tel: (613) 542-7351 Fax: (613) 542-4428	Martha J Downey Timothy P. Minnema Tonya R. Barnes Barrister & Solicitor 362 Montreal Street Tel: (613) 542-7351 Fax: (613) 542-4428
Respondent(s)	Counsel
Cathy Norris 258 Brock Street Brantford Ontario N3S 5L4	Unrepresented
	Lili Kramil Marcus 216-4 Cataraqui St. Kingston, K7K 1Z7
	Mark LaFrance 4-165 Ontario Street Kingston, K7L 2Y6

The Honourable Justice Belch

September 26, 2006

The court heard a Motion made by the Frontenac Children's Aid Society on September 21, 2006.

The following persons were in court: Tonya R. Barnes, Counsel for the Children's Aid Society, Mark LaFrance, Counsel for Xxxxx Norris and Lili Kramil-Marcus, Counsel for Cole Norris matter paged, no one else appearing.

THE COURT ORDERS THAT:

1. The Applicant's request for short service is granted;
2. A Warrant of Committal of the Respondent, Cathy Mary Norris shall issue and Ms. Norris is to be incarcerated for a period of 30 days for failing to follow the November 10, 2005 order of Justice A.D. Sheffield;
3. The Respondent, Cathy Mary Norris is fined a sum of $3,500.00 for publishing material on an internet site contrary to s. 45(8) of the Child and Family Services Act and the order of Justice Brennan, March 8, 2006;
4. A copy of this order shall be served upon the Registrar of Cathy Mary Norris's internet site which the court identifies are TUCOWS INC and the server identified as NS3.IXWEBHOSTING.COM;
5. Dr. Susan Beckett shall forthwith file her parenting capacity report ordered by the Court with this Court.

September 28, 2006

/signed/ Cindy D
Signature of Clerk of the Court

And a letter from Cathy Norris:

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CAS now say son out west

Date Posted: 11/9/2006 6:59:14 PM
casinternment
email: copbusters@msn.com

I don’t think the Kingston CAS can get any more stupider. After throwing me in jail the CAS is announcing that my son is heading out west with an unknown male. They don't bother to tell me about it I have to hear about it from the news.

My second son ran away from the Kingston CAS. He has been missing from them since August. My first son ran away from them 8 times. He is home legally now. I just got out of jail as CAS claimed that my runaway son is with me or I know where he is. I was made to turn him over or face jail. There is no evidence that I even know where he was or even could have turned him over. In family court no evidence is needed. So I got 30 days in jail.

Now here is the kick in the head; I just got a call from a friend in Kingston that the CAS is announcing on T.V. and on the radio that my runaway son is suspected of heading out west with an unknown male. No one tells me. I have to hear about it on the news. The CAS has not contacted me at all as to who they think he is with and how they got that information. I phoned the police who also told me that they don’t have any information. They may suspect that he is with a known pedophile and they can’t even tell me anything.

Clearly the Kingston CAS does not have a clue what they are doing.

This is just becoming stupider and stupider.

Source: Canada Court Watch message board

Ontario is running a test of a centralized computer system for all children's aid societies in the province, and eventually all of Canada. This will make it easier for CAS to continue harassing families who move out of province to escape.

There are few technical details in the article, so it is unclear whether the data is centralized, or stored locally and shared. Either way, the new system will make the whole database available to hackers. Even if technical security is perfect, the thousands of authorized users will make security breaches inevitable.

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Ontario children's aid workers centralize client information

Web-based system to assist case management across province

11/9/2006 4:50:00 PM
by Sophie Khon

Ontario children's aid caseworkers in three pilot sites are hoping the implementation of an integrated Web-based system from Curam Software and IBM early next year will expedite information-sharing.

The pilot sites include Simcoe County Children's Aid Society in Barrie, Renfrew Family and Children's Services in Pembroke, and Timiskaming Child and Family Services in Kirkland Lake. If the six-month test phase is successful, the system will be rolled out to other children's aid organizations across Ontario, pending further funding from the provincial government.

The Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies (OACAS), which represents Ontario's 53 child welfare agencies, has long been lobbying for the development of a single comprehensive online system that centralizes information on children at risk. Jeanette Lewis, OACAS's executive director, said she is confident the system's capabilities will translate into improved child protection in abuse investigations and adoption proceedings.

"The government will have very good reporting from children's aid societies. There will be much better capacity to benchmark on a more comprehensive level," she said.

The new system builds on an existing piece of Curam software developed for managing human services, and used commonly by child welfare agencies, seniors' services, and workers' insurance organizations.

However, Nancy Brown Andison, managing partner of IBM's Ontario Public Sector division, said the need for such a system transcends social service enterprise; IT managers and CIOs handling vast amounts of detailed case information can benefit from this concept.

Last year, OACAS selected IBM to customize the Curam software to the specifications of a sampling of its IT users across Ontario. Andison feels that IBM's involvement is consistent with its commitment to international social security.

"IBM puts a special emphasis on providing management systems to improve how the social services segment delivers to its clientele," she said.

IBM began its integration based on critical outcomes stipulated by a contract between OACAS and the provincial government.

Given the Web-based system and the confidential nature of child welfare cases, security is of paramount concern. The government contract mandates both privacy-impact and threat-risk analyses at three stages of the system's development. Data is also safeguarded internally, as in the case of separated parents whose respective information must be kept discrete.

The extent of the test phase's success also depends on aggregated child welfare reports becoming more efficient, and will largely determine how quickly Ontario's children's aid societies sign on. Andison estimated a rollout process of a few years.

OACAS chose the three test sites from many that responded to a call for pilot agencies. Provincial funding allowed for a maximum of 500 end users, so the association favoured sites of small to moderate size. Most sites currently use one of two major data systems. OACAS therefore chose examples of both, to evaluate the new system's data conversion capabilities. Other selection criteria included language capacity and geography; at least one pilot site conducts business in French and English, and each represents a distinct region of Ontario.

Lewis said that OACAS's collaboration with IBM illustrates how to effectively develop any new system with workplace users: emphasize involvement of sub-managers and caseworkers -- not just IT managers.

"In the end, it has to work for the frontline worker if it's going to work well," Lewis said. "Involve the service arm as well as the IT arm."

OACAS and IBM are both hopeful that a single integrated Canadian system is not too far behind. However, because child protection services are constitutionally mandated by province, it will take considerable collaboration for this ideal to be realized.

"This first phase is a major step forward," Andison said.

Source: website of IT Business

Two recent bloggers report on Children's Aid in Ontario.

• Casey Hardman writes on his experience growing up without his parents. Like nearly all children ripped from their parents, he returned to them as soon as he was able.
• Blogger stephenson comments on the routine malpractices of CAS.

In yesterday's elections in the US, voters in seven states, Tennessee, South Carolina, Idaho, Wisconsin, Virginia, Colorado and South Dakota approved measures outlawing same-sex marriage. In Arizona, a ban on same-sex marriage was defeated with 51% opposed, 49% in favor. The results in South Dakota and Arizona were close enough that counting of mailed ballots may affect the outcome. Colorado also approved a separate item banning civil unions.

In Texas, State Comptroller Carole Strayhorn ran for governor as an independent. For the last year she has been exposing the atrocious treatment of foster children by the state. The Republican Rick Perry was elected governor with 39% of the vote, the Democrat Chris Bell got 30% and Carole Strayhorn got 18%.

Last month was child abuse prevention month, now it's woman abuse prevention. Too bad there's no mom and dad abuse prevention.

In support of this event, Family Transition Place has lined up a number of Dufferin dignitaries. No beneficiaries of FTP assistance were present. Maybe the women who took shelter in FTP and lost their children did not want to be in the picture.

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ASHLEY GOODFELLOW/ The Banner Community leaders at the launch of the women abuse prevention month campaign: Orangeville mayor Drew Brown; Dufferin warden Earl Lennox; Sylvia Jones of MPP John Tory's office; Sandra Pinkney of MP David Tilson's office; Lynda Sacco of Family Transition Place, Kim Evans of Dufferin Child and Family Services; Judy Finlay of the Office of Child and Family Service Advocacy; Jennifer MacLeod and Carole Desmeules of public health.

Children often silent victims of abuse

ASHLEY GOODFELLOW

11/07/06 00:00:00

On an overhead screen, there's a poster of a little boy. He's wearing pajamas, is clutching a teddy bear under one arm and a blanket with his other hand. His face is forlorn and his eyes are sad.

In the background, there's a silhouette of a man and a women. From their postures and body language, it's obvious there's conflict.

There are words on the poster that read: If you are being hurt your kids are hurting too.

The poster is suddenly accompanied by audio. It's the little boy, and he's describing what it's like to hear his parents fighting.

It's a powerful message -- one that says violence has no place in a child's life.

This is the focus of women abuse prevention month. The poster and audio recording were used to kick off the launch of the campaign, Nov. 1.

Six organizations -- Family Transition Place, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health, Dufferin and Child Family Services, Dufferin Parent Support Network, the Early Years Centre, Dufferin and Headwaters Health Care Centre -- partnered to advocate for children's safety through this campaign.

In homes where there is domestic or familial abuse, they say, children are often the silent victims.

"The purpose of this campaign is to send the message that children are hurt by domestic violence," said Jennifer McLeod of WDGPH. "We want to raise awareness of the resources available."

To increase public recognition of women abuse prevention month, there will be a radio announcement, posters, brochures, a bus advertisement in Orangeville through November, as well as a still image at Galaxy Cinemas before each film in December.

"The need to raise awareness is clearly demonstrated by the prevalence of abuse," said McLeod.

Kim Evans of DCFS notes that in 2004, child protective services responded to 204 calls in Dufferin; McLeod noted that in the past year 128 children came with their abused mothers into the care of FTP.

Judy Finlay, chief advocate for the Office of Child and Family Service Advocacy, appeared as the guest speaker at the campaign launch.

Her role is to effectively intervene when children who live outside of their family's care report abuse. She has worked for more than three decades in the areas of child welfare and children's mental heath.

"The traumatic impact on children who witness familial violence is the same as the impact on kids who actually experience the violence," she said.

Local officials and campaign partners signed a proclamation declaring November as women abuse prevention month. The proclamation states that as a community, we need to raise awareness of the impact of domestic violence on children; enhance social services that address the impact of violence in the home on children; and create public policies and laws that protect children.

Orangeville mayor Drew Brown spoke to the campaign and the proclamation.

"When I look around the world, it makes me proud to be part of a community where we have stood up," he said. "We're saying we will not tolerate this, we will do what we must to stop violence."

For more information contact Sue Buckle of FTP at 519-942-4122 ext. 243 or McLeod at 519-829-1648 ext. 3219.

Source: website of Orangeville Banner

Earlier we raised the question of the true rate of deaths in Ontario foster care. An exchange took place today on the Canada Court Watch message board that suggests a larger number than previously suspected, 78 deaths per year. The message board allows anyone to post with a screen name, and there is no way to verify authenticity. The user identified as Susie may be a conscientious public servant hiding behind anonymity or an impostor, but either way the suggestion to approach the pediatric coroner of Ontario deserves to be followed up. What follows is a slightly edited version of the exchange.

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Subject: how many children died in CAS care this year?

11:31:10 AM   rock327

Does any one know?

12:16:12 PM   friend

If there was one that's one to many....but im sure the stats are WAY higher....

12:21:48 PM   There was one...

This was in the news last winter... sometime in February if memory serves... a 15 year old boy, AWOL from his placement. Became involved in some verbal altercation with older boy who then stabbed him in the chest. The assailant took off, and the CAS ward was found in a parking lot somewhere -- the parking lot of a medical clinic which was closed at the time (ironic). It was in the paper, and on the news for a bit, and then they caught the assailant. But the story eventually went away. It wasn't like when Jayne Kreba was killed in Toronto last year or anything... it was as if no one remembered the kid at all. There was no flowers at his death site, no public outcry for him or the family. No friends interviewed for the paper... It was like it was a lightening bolt that struck, and then a brief clap of Thunder... then nothing.

12:39:46 PM   rock327

Let's find out. Should be able to find out how many have died in CAS care.

12:42:08 PM   Rae

You will only find out the reported ones. Im sure there are lots not reported and covered up.

12:47:50 PM   rock327

Can't we find out ny freedom of informatio act? Can we write all CAS offices and ask them? There has to be a way. Any Ideas?

1:32:14 PM   stats can?

Would statistics Canada know?? Just curious. Would the ministry know? Would they report a figure??

4:11:26 PM   Robert T McQuaid

I try to get accurate numbers on deaths. Multiplying the best available death rate of foster children (derived from a report to the Arizona legislature) by the number of foster children in Ontario gives 28 deaths per year. From press reports, I have only three in the last year:

Matthew Reid,
   Welland, three years old,
   December 15 2005, suffocation
Jerome Bennett,
   Oshawa , fifteen years old,
   February 3 2006, stabbing
Omar Wellington,
   Toronto, seventeen years old,
   July 15 2006, stabbing

There is another reported yesterday on the CCW main board, which I am investigating, but it in not in the press. So 25 deaths a year get covered up.

Robert T McQuaid
Mattawa Ontario

5:42:35 PM   hmmm

1 is to many.

6:00:40 PM   rock327

of course 1 is to many. The point is how many are in CAS care, how many die? what % per 1000,000?

8:51:27 PM   Susie

78 children died in CAS care last year.

9:07:55 PM   For Susie...

Wow! Just out of curiosity, can you please advise where the statistic was obtained? I'm wondering if we can get more specifics: ie: does your source indicate cause of death? Or... whether child was in company of worker or foster/group home gaurdian at the time of death? Is this stat specific to Ontario or does this cover all of Canada?

9:25:07 PM   Christine

wow..78..that's really high..sad

9:53:48 PM   susie

My source is within the government. It is for Ontario alone.

10:33:18 PM   rock327

Can you give us names and locations without putting yourself at risk? These are things that the people should know about. That's how thing get changed by people like you.

10:48:05 PM   susie

I cannot. Should be attainable under Freedom of Information from the pediatric coroner of Ontario.

Source: Canada Court Watch message board

Three University of Minnesota scientists have made a discovery that is surprising to social work professionals but common sense to everyone else — parental care is superior to foster care, even in cases where the parents have been found to be abusive. Below is Richard Wexler's commentary.

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November 6, 2006

FOSTER CARE FLUNKS THE “EVIDENCE-BASED” TEST – AGAIN

Startling results from a Minnesota study

For many years, NCCPR has maintained that when a child is “at risk” in his or her own home, most children most of the time are far better off if the family gets help so the child can stay in the home instead of placing the child in foster care.

But what if the family doesn’t get help? A new study from Minnesota includes some startling findings.

Researchers at the University of Minnesota apparently have been following a large group of “at risk” families for some time. And as part of the research they tracked three groups. One group went into foster care. Another group -- equally maltreated – remained in their own homes, but apparently got little or no help. Indeed, this second group was identified by the researchers themselves, not child protective services. A third group was equally disadvantaged economically but suffered no maltreatment.

The study is called simply, “The impact of foster care on development.” It was published this year in the journal Development and Psychopathology, (Vol. 18, 2006, pp. 57–76). Sarah Fenske, a reporter for Phoenix New Times, found the study while working on an excellent story about child welfare in Arizona.

The researchers measured the behavior, and general emotional state, of all three groups before the foster care group went into foster care, after they came out, and some time afterwards.

Not surprisingly, the group that was not maltreated did best. But the group that did not enter foster care, on average, did better than the group that did.

Thank about that for a moment. Two groups of children, apparently suffering equal levels of maltreatment. Apparently in the same condition psychologically when one group went into foster care. And even though the children left in their own homes got little or no help, the foster children still came out worse.

Not all foster children did as badly. Those placed with relatives did better than those placed with strangers.

Of course these findings are averages. There are bound to have been some children within the group who were so ill-treated at home that even foster care was an improvement.

Also, the study was done in Minnesota, one of the most remove-happy states in the nation. Using the formula in NCCPR’s Rate-of-Removal Index, Minnesota takes away children at a rate nearly three times the national average. Only three states, Nebraska, Wyoming and Iowa, are worse. So a sample from, say, Illinois, which is far more careful about targeting who is taken away and so, takes children at about one-seventh the Minnesota rate, might produce different results.

But this still is further evidence that foster-care is an extreme intervention that should be used only when a child is so badly treated at home that even the inherent harm of removal truly is the less detrimental alternative.

And evidence is the right word. The mantra in child welfare now is “evidence-based” – as in: “By golly, your program had better have genuine scholarly evidence that it works or don’t expect it to be funded!”

In fact, “evidence-based” can be a code-phrase used to stifle alternatives to approaches, like foster-care, that so dominate the field that nobody ever asks its proponents for any evidence. If you want to try an alternative to foster care, you have to dot every i and cross every t to prove it works. But if you run a foster-care program, or, say a residential treatment center (for which there is a ton of evidence of failure) it’s business as usual.

Substitute care, whether through orphanages or foster care, has dominated child welfare in this country since at least 1853, when Protestant minister Charles Loring Brace first started grabbing the children of New York’s Catholic immigrants, whom he feared, loathed, and deemed genetically inferior, and shipping them off to the south and Midwest on “orphan trains.”

Isn’t it time the agencies that make up the modern foster care-industrial complex were forced to prove that their intervention “works”?

Source: Richard Wexler's blog

A new website In Loving Memory of Jeffery Baldwin has appeared. It is entirely candid about the atrocity committed against Jeffrey. The site is signed by Jesse Wilson and Angel Femia.

The page source identifies the boy as Jeffery Thomas Baldwin, though every other news source spells his first name Jeffrey and gives no middle name. It is hard to know whether this is a spelling error or inside information.

The site lists requirements for reporting child abuse. The criticism is of Catholic CAS only, not of other children's aid societies. The style of production, and the direction of criticism suggest that this page is part of the internecine struggle within Ontario social services.

Simcoe Children's Aid refused to send us a copy of the statement by Mary Ballantyne, but we have obtained one anyway. It is right out of the child protection script.

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THE CHILDREN'S AID SOCIETY
OF THE COUNTY OF SIMCOE

DRAFT
For Immediate Release	October 10, 2006

Statement by Mary Ballantyne, Executive Director
Children's Aid Society of the County of Simcoe

Barrie -Mary Ballantyne, Executive Director of the Simcoe County Children's Aid Society, has confirmed that the agency was working with the Campione family.

"We share with the community, great shock, sadness and grief, and wish to extend to the Campione family our deepest sympathy," said Ms. Ballantyne.

"It is not our policy to make public the details of the lives of those with whom we work. We will honour that confidentiality in this case but I can state that we were working with our community partners in providing service to this family.

"We will be conducting an internal review to determine what could have been done to prevent this tragedy. We remind everyone that this case is still being investigated and we will cooperate with the police and the coroner as they complete their work.

"This is truly a tragic situation, one which has been devastating for this community and for our entire staff, we take our role as the primary child protection agency in this community very seriously.

"The Children's Aid Society of Simcoe County has been providing child protection service since 1894. Last year this agency provided service to 6,003 families and 11,700 children. We work with organizations in our community making thoughtful and responsible decisions, while keeping the primary goal of protecting children in mind at all times," Ms. Ballantyne concluded.

-30-

For information:,
Anne Burgess
Communication Assistant
705-726-6587 x 342

Source: snail-mail from Toronto Sun

A group of persons kidnapped as children by Nazis to create the master race has met in Germany. The best source of information on Lebensborn is the out-of-print book Of Pure Blood by Marc Hillel and Clarissa Henry.

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BBC NEWS

Nazi 'master race' children meet

Hans-Ullrich Wesch shows a photo from his Lebensborn past

A group of children selected by Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime with the aim of creating an Aryan master race has met openly for the first time as adults.

Children from the Nazis' "Lebensborn" or "Font of Life" project gathered in the German town of Wernigerode to discuss the trauma over their origins.

The project aimed to create a breed of people that fitted the Nazis' physical ideal and could manage a future empire.

It saw thousands of often illegitimate children placed in Nazi members' homes.

The children were frequently selected for qualities the Nazis regarded as typically Aryan, such as blonde hair, blue eyes or pale skin.

They were often adopted by the families of the Nazis' elite force, the SS. For years those children either did not know about their past or were too ashamed to discuss it in public.

Trauma and prejudice

The head of a group of people who grew up under the project said Saturday's gathering was a means of exposing myths about the system.

"The aim was to take the children out into the open, to encourage those affected to find out their origins," Matthias Meissner of the Lebensspuren, or "Traces of Life" group said.

He said the meeting was also a way of showing "the outside world that the cliche of the stud farm with blond-haired, blue-eyed parents is not correct".

Many children from the project grew up to face prejudice and personal problems over their origins.

Folker Heinicke, 66, was taken from his parents in Ukraine and brought up by a German family.

He told the Associated Press news agency: "There was always a feeling inside that something was not quite right."

"I was ripped away from my mother."

While thousands of children with apparently desirable Aryan qualities were nurtured by the Nazis, the regime's aim to create a perfect race also underpinned the genocide of millions of Jews and other minorities.

Published: 2006/11/04 23:19:58 GMT

Source: website of BBC

Until now Dufferin VOCA has been unable to publish the many credible reports of CAS workers using drugs. Canada Court watch found a case in Hamilton, which we give without their suggestions for reform.

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Whistleblower claims CAS workers used illegal DRUGS during Hamilton "Grape Expectations" CAS fundraiser!

(October 31, 2006) - Hamilton Court Watch Bureau (Exclusive) - An inside whistleblower who attended the "Grape Expectations" CAS fundraiser in Hamilton, Ontario on October 30, 2006, has reported to Court Watch that CAS workers brought illegal drugs into the public fundraising event. A group of female CAS workers were seen outside "smoking up" and having a little drug party of their own during break times. The whistleblower said that it was disgusting to see CAS workers bring further shame and disgrace to the Hamilton CAS by acting in such an irresponsible manner, especially at a high profile public event intended to raise funds for the agency. The use of illegal drugs has become almost a culture with a number of CAS workers believing they are above the law. Sarah Villella, who was a worker with the Hamilton CAS was recently caught for possession of drugs and gun running. It appears that Sarah is not the only CAS worker at the Hamilton CAS who is using drugs.

Source: Canada Court Watch

The article below announces a new law in Alberta allowing the children of drug traffickers and manufacturers to be seized. It quotes scientific research without a citation to justify the actions.

In 1998 Florida scientists Kathleen Wobie and Marylou Behnke compared the development of children born to drug-addicted mothers when cared for by fosters or mothers. The babies in maternal care did better. There is a summary by journalist Melanie Frindl Ross on the web. If the article below was scientifically accurate, the headline would be "Law Harms Kids".

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Law protects kids

By LANA MICHELIN
Advocate staff
Oct 30 2006

Children who live in homes where street drugs are manufactured or trafficked can be taken immediately into the protective custody of Alberta Children’s Services.

This is the essence of a new Alberta law called the Drug-endangered Children Act, which takes effect on Wednesday. It defines children who live in drug houses as abused and allows social workers to take swift action to remove them from dangerous circumstances.

“There’s no question these kids are at risk,” said David Horricks, executive director of Parkland Youth Homes. He supports the legislation but wonders why a new law was needed. Shouldn’t children of drug traffickers be protected under the existing Child, Youth, and Family Enhancement Act, questioned Horricks.

The difference is that the new law gives social workers broader scope to take action, said Catherine Pohl, a manager at the Central Alberta Child and Family Services Authority.

While much assessment might be needed before children can be removed from some situations under existing laws, the new legislation ensures social workers “can act quicker and more decisively,” said Pohl.

Research has found that children who live in homes that manufacture or traffic serious drugs are at high risk of chronic respiratory disorders, neurological damage, cancer and physical, emotional or sexual abuse.

Catholic Social Services director Karen Murphy wasn’t familiar with the new law, but she said she supports any legislation that protects vulnerable children.

Horricks said parents who manufacture or traffic drugs are clearly not making parenting a priority. Not only are their children being exposed to dangerous chemicals, situations and people, but the parents are also very poor role models.

“They will be perpetuating the next generation to do the same thing.”

But considering all the social ills that children are exposed to, Horricks believes relatively few kids in the province are growing up in drug houses, compared with those with alcoholic parents, for example.

Pohl said children of abusive or neglectful alcoholics are provided for under existing legislation. Alberta’s problem with drug trafficking and manufacturing is seen as a broadening social problem with imminent dangers, so swift protection for children in these circumstances is needed.

She hopes publicity about the Drug-endangered Children Act will encourage members of the public to call Alberta Children’s Services if they know minors are living in homes where dangerous drugs are made or sold.

Source: website of Red Deer Advocate

The rally outside Grape Expectations was a success. Here is a report from Mary:

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Protest success (thank you)

Date Posted: 10/30/2006 9:33:50 PM

On October 30, 2006 at 5pm, 12 people from across Hamilton and Southern Ontario converged on a quiet evening of peaceful protest and a demonstration in front of the Liuna Station at 360 James St. N. Hamilton, ON. A single mother very vocal in the cause shone brightly to raise awareness of the injustices CAS has thrust upon her and her three children. We will keep her name anonymous but her three children were just as vocal. A small number we were but we made so much noise, and yet were very relaxed and jovial and security guards had to keep up their guard when angry CAS workers, politicians and their wives were just as vocal against us and tried to edge us on in our right to peacefully demonstrate on the streets of Hamilton.

There was no police involvement yet threats were made. Pictures were taken of the protest and we thought it was a great success. We called it a night at approximately 8pm when people got cold and the crowd had entered the building. I would approximate that there was a full house this evening at Liuna Station for the Fundraising event, yet I think we would be the talk of the evening when our protesters made contact with the ones who hurt us the most in our fight for injustice. Thank you for your support to all those who attended our 2nd annual Grape expectations Liuna Station event, I felt it was a success that we showed up to continue to fight for our children.

Source: Canada Court Watch message board

Former CAS worker and gun runner Sarah Villella (aka Sara) was sentenced to two years. Contrary to the view in the article, it appears that she was playing the part of a psychopath in both of her roles.

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Former CAS Worker Jailed For Two Years Over Weapons Convictions

Friday October 27, 2006

She was an honour student in school.

She was a drug counsellor who tried to steer at risk youth away from a dangerous habit. And she worked for the Children's Aid Society and lectured on the evils of crime.

So how could a woman who did so much good wind up doing so much wrong?

Sarah Villella stood in a Toronto courtroom Friday where many of her clients had once appeared. But unlike those cases, she was the prisoner. The 27-year-old was sentenced to two years in jail for helping to smuggle weapons to the Malvern Crew, a notorious local street gang.

Villella was convicted on 13 charges including smuggling guns through Windsor and the possession of prohibited weapons and marijuana. Her boyfriend was caught crossing the border with 23 guns. And while she appears to have led a double life, both sides of it came out at trial. The Crown accused her of being a greedy double dealer who never practiced what she preached.

But her lawyer disagrees. "She got in the with the wrong crowd and the rest is history," explains Randall Barrs. The court agreed and refused to impose the ten-year sentence the government wanted.

A judge ruled she'd simply got caught up with the wrong crowd and naively went along, but didn't have anything to do with the sale of the weapons. "I think it was a very fair sentence," Barrs contends. "(The judge) was as lenient as he could possibly be and I agreed with his findings totally. And I think the Crown's characterization, at the last appearance, of her as a 'merchant of death' was unfair, and obviously the judge agreed."

The Malvern Crew was raided in May 2004 and 65 suspected gang members were arrested. Some pleaded out early this year and are currently serving time behind bars. And now, in a tragic waste of so much promise, Villella will be joining them.

Source: website of citynews

A jury refused to convict Marie-Emilie Chartier (link to earlier story) of kidnapping her own children, following a pattern in the case of Carline VandenElsen. Chartier was convicted on a lesser offense of falsifying a passport application.

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Mother convicted after taking children to Sweden

The Ottawa Citizen

Thursday, October 26, 2006

An Ottawa jury has found a mother of four guilty of making false statements on a passport application but are undecided as to whether she was also guilty of abducting her children when she took them to Sweden in March 2005.

Marie-Emilie Chartier, 36, was wanted on a Canada-Wide warrant and sparked international police alerts when she boarded a flight from Montreal to Sweden on March 15, while the children were legally in the care of their grandmother, who lives in Ottawa.

The jury found that on Jan. 28, 2005, Ms. Chartier applied for passports for herself and the children, disregarding the section of the passport application that requires applicants to say whether they are involved in any legal proceedings related to custody or access to children.

Assistant Crown attorney David Elhadad has confirmed she has been found guilty of “making false statements to obtain passports”. He said a pre-sentence report has been ordered and Ms. Chartier will return to court on Dec. 15 to set a date for sentencing.

Mr. Elhadad said the jury could not reach a consensus on the four charges of “abduction in contravention of a custody order” and therefore Ms. Chartier will return to assignment court on Nov. 3, where the Crown will decide whether she will be retried on those charges.

Source: website of Ottawa Citizen

Here is another danger for parents who get their children taken in the name of protection. In this bizarre case, the foster mother apparently gave the children back to the parents, then tried to get them charged with kidnapping. It almost worked.

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Amber Alert Falsely Reported

Friday, October 27, 2006, Posted: 10:32 a.m. (CDT)

Midwest City, Okla.-- What had appeared to be a violent abduction of three innocent children has now turned into a false reporting of a crime, which caused an unnecessary Amber Alert to be issued statewide across Oklahoma.

On Thursday around 4:30 p.m., 26-year-old Carmen Hipshire called 911 and stated three children whom are under her foster care were allegedly taken at gunpoint from her by Rhonda Anderson and Marcel Bonds, the biological parents.

Officials say during the 911 call, Hipshire was very convincing and actually cried while describing what happened.

As a result of the initial report, a statewide Amber Alert was issued asking for public assistance in locating the children along with Anderson and Bonds.

Anderson eventually called the Midwest City Police Department, turning herself in along with the missing children after hearing she was wanted in connection with the abduction.

A short time later, Bonds also came to the Midwest City Police Department to speak with investigators.

Police say during the investigation, facts were obtained from Anderson, Bonds, the children and other witnesses. They all indicated Hipshire falsified the original abduction call.

A motive is still unknown.

Hipshire was taken into custody late Thursday evening on a municipal charge of interfering with an official police investigation and released on bond. Both Anderson and Bonds are now classified as victims instead of felony suspects in this case.

Friday, the Midwest City Police Department is conferring with Oklahoma County District Attorney's office and will be presenting a misdemeanor state charge of "falsely reporting a crime which causes an Amber Alert to be issued."

Any person convicted of violating this statute is punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or by a fine of not less that $1,000, or both.

Source: website of KSBI-TV

Addendum: Later news reports clarified the motive. The foster mother wanted to collect foster payments without caring for the children full-time, so sent them back to their parents without telling social services. The foster mom panicked when she heard that a social worker was about to visit, and made up the kidnap story.

Christie Blatchford has spent a week reading and understanding the documents in the Campione divorce file. It follows a common pattern of the high-conflict divorce. Many of the child protection cases in this news site are not typical, but (aside from the deaths) this one is. It is what we call a divorce continuation — CAS gets involved after the parents are already separated. They employ lots of therapists and shrinks, but do not use their resources to figure out which parent is the better custodian for the children.

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POSTED ON 26/10/06

Father dealt difficult hand by the system

CHRISTIE BLATCHFORD

Even last week, when the family court file of Elaine and Leo Campione was released to the press -- in significant measure because Mr. Campione didn't oppose the media's bid to see it -- most of the coverage that followed was exquisitely balanced, or what in the modern world has come to be deemed balanced.

It was a nifty mirror of how the police, courts and social service agencies, which so often are drawn into and/or influence these kinds of proceedings, see and treat the warring married couple.

There is, to be frank, an underlying perspective of feminist oppression from which all else springs.

Women are seen first as victims -- generally of male power and particularly of husband power -- and presumed to be truth-tellers and good mothers until proven otherwise. The starting point for men is that they are abusers and deadbeat dads in the making unless they can prove the contrary, and if it takes years for them to demonstrate that, oh well.

A careful reading of the voluminous Campione court file would suggest another scenario entirely, that of a husband and father who appears the victim first of a mentally unstable and thoroughly unpleasant woman (one can be both) and then of the socio-judicial system that viewed her always as honest and reliable though evidence to the contrary was steadily mounting.

Yet even blessed with the wisdom of retrospect -- it is the missus, after all, who stands accused of killing the couple's two little girls, not their allegedly violent, allegedly alcoholic and allegedly so troubled father -- the media in the main ignored the end product that emerged, just as the courts and other agencies were deaf, blind and dumb to the picture as it was emerging.

Consider the position that Mr. Campione was in for an entire year, beginning in June of 2005.

The couple separated at that time, she fleeing the house allegedly in fear for her life.

In a lengthy affidavit filed shortly thereafter, Ms. Campione was florid in her accusations, alleging he assaulted her and the older little girl, that he had a drinking and drugs problem and demanding that he have nothing but supervised access to their little girls.

In various documents she signed that same day -- June 13, 2005 -- Ms. Campione simultaneously demanded to be allowed to go to New Brunswick with the children because she wouldn't possibly be safe in Ontario, demanded the matrimonial home be sold within 10 days and demanded to be allowed to move back into it, with the security code changed, because she had nowhere else to live.

Mr. Campione, meantime, had been forbidden to go anywhere near the house as a result of the bail conditions imposed on him due to the criminal charges he was then facing as a result of his wife's allegations. He was living with his parents and his sister, who was also his surety on his bail.

And, for almost a year, until this June when the sale of that house was finally complete (despite Ms. Campione's last-minute refusal to agree, against the advice of her own lawyer, to an electronic transfer of the change in title), it remained empty, a symbol of Mr. Campione's official impotence.

Throughout, he was of course still responsible for the mortgage payments and all the bills, while Ms. Campione was refusing to move into it, though she had asked to do precisely that, and at some early point moving instead to an apartment.

Again, through that time, Mr. Campione, of course, wasn't able to see his children, because of those bail conditions. Even when he won a court order for supervised access in March of this year, the waiting list was such that he didn't actually get to see his little girls for a whole year, until July.

And when on at least two occasions Mr. Campione's parents cared for the girls when Ms. Campione either dumped them on the grandparents' doorstep or was hospitalized in a psychiatric ward, Mr. Campione and his sister had to move out of their parents' house and in with an uncle, so as not to breach the conditions of his bail.

It appears, by the way, that there were at least three such hospitalizations -- in October of last year, in April of this year and in May-June of this year.

There were other clues that perhaps Ms. Campione was ill and at the least irrational: She went through lawyers like dung through a goose, four in little more than a year; this past July, after she got out of hospital and got the little girls back, she refused to allow their grandparents, the very people who had been looking after them all that time, to see them except at the access centre; when the access centre produced a glowing report of Mr. Campione's visits with the children, she nonetheless refused to allow their frequency to be increased.

Neither did Mr. Campione ever avoid supporting his children; before he was ordered by the courts to pay $950 a month, he had been paying $650 a month all along, in addition to maintaining the empty house. As for his alleged alcohol problem, the counsellor he saw faithfully noted Mr. Campione didn't appear to have one, though he dutifully attended sessions anyway.

Ms. Campione, meantime, despite the clear indications she was struggling, appears to have received through the Children's Aid Society of Simcoe County (which ought to have been concerned only with the safety of the youngsters) and other agencies plenty of "support" as an alleged victim of alleged domestic violence, but little scrutiny.

Mere allegations of Mr. Campione's failings saw him unable to see his children or live in the empty house he was paying for, but Ms. Campione's documented history of suicide attempts and hospitalizations appears not to have raised concern about her ability to parent two young children -- or at least not sufficient concern such that anyone did anything about it.

It doesn't appear Mr. Campione was the beast his wife described, albeit in such ever-changing detail. But the one sure thing is, it's not him now accused of killing the kids, is it?

cblatchford@globeandmail.com

Source: website of The Globe and Mail

Notice where the article below mentions the stepfather of the boy bitten by the dog? The real father, Chris McCallum, has been unsuccessfully battling the social services system for custody of his son and taking his case public on the internet. He found out about the attack on his son by reading it in the newspaper four days later.

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Wednesday, October 25, 2006
The Sudbury Star

Dog attacks child, bites head, scalp; Boy, 5, in hospital recovering from serious injuries

Laura Stradiotto

Wednesday, October 25, 2006 - 11:00

Local News - A five-year-old Nairn Centre boy is recovering in hospital after part of his scalp was torn away in a dog attack.

The boy was apparently playing indoors on Saturday with the Rottweiler/collie mixed dog when he was bitten.

In a release, police said the dog suddenly grabbed the boy by the top of the head and bit him on the face and head. The boy's stepfather told The Sudbury Star the boy was only walking past the dog and he didn't understand why the dog turned on the child.

Espanola OPP and paramedics arrived at the home around 6:20 p.m. and brought the boy to the Espanola Hospital.

Police said the boy's injuries were serious, but not life-threatening and he was transferred to St. Joseph's Health Centre in Sudbury.

The father, who didn't want to be identified, said the family brought the four-year-old dog home that day. The former owner didn't have room for the dog and the family decided to take it in, he said. The dog was removed from the home by animal control and will be quarantined for 10 days to check for rabies. At the request of the owner, the dog will be euthanized.

The Sudbury and District Health Unit said it receives hundreds of dog-bite reports each year. The dogs are from different breeds, "not any one particular breed stands out," said Bob Moulton, environmental support officer with the health unit.

Moulton said he couldn't speak specifically about the Nairn Centre incident, but explained the procedure officials follow when responding to dog bites.

In the event of a bite, health unit officials attend the home or location of the bite and investigate.

The animal is placed in isolation for 10 days to see whether it has rabies. Moulton said it's up to the owner to decide where to quarantine the dog, either at a kennel or at the home.

The animal owner also decides whether to euthanize the dog after the quarantine time period.

Source: website of the Sudbury Star

There is a new website by a family broken up by Frontenac Children's Aid. The mother avoids identifying her family by using only her maiden name, Lisa Spring Sweet. After five years of involvement with Children's Aid, her four children were taken on September 25, 2006. Here are links to h