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More recent news
Children Protected from Protector
March 13, 2007
Another one of those angels who protect your children has been arrested,
this time for abusing her own children. She was not a lowly caseworker, but
a senior officer. This is likely to be one of those stories we never hear
about again.
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Atlanta Journal-Constitution
DFCS official denies abuse
By CRAIG SCHNEIDER, Published on: 03/13/07
One of Fulton County's top child welfare officials was
arrested after being accused of striking her 8-year-old
daughter 34 times with a belt, police said Monday.
Cylenthia Clark, 38, of Fayetteville was charged with
felony child cruelty on Saturday. Clark is assistant
director of the Fulton County office of the state Division
of Family and Children Services.
Cylenthia Clark's four daughters have been placed in
protective custody. She is out on bond.
The arrest warrant alleges that on
Feb. 7, Clark told the child to remove all her clothes
except her panties and then whipped her with the belt on
the back, arms, legs and face.
The girl and her three sisters, ages 6, 5 and 3, were
taken from Clark's care and placed in protective custody,
Fayetteville police Lt. Beverly Trainor said.
In an interview, Clark acknowledged spanking her
daughter but said, "I am not a child abuser. I have never
abused my children." Clark got out of jail on bond
Saturday.
Trainor said the girl's school reported marks on the
child's back and arms Feb. 28 to Fayette DFCS. That
report was passed on to Fayetteville police.
Clark said her daughter had been aggressive lately,
fighting in an after-school program at Hood Avenue Primary
and even fighting a teacher who tried to break it up.
"I did spank her, but I didn't abuse her," Clark said.
"I don't even want to spank my kids, but it's a last
resort."
DFCS spokeswoman Dena Smith said Clark is back on the
job but only doing administrative work and has no
involvement in child protection cases.
The arrest of one of Fulton's top child welfare
officials stunned workers in the county office and leaders
in Georgia's child welfare community. Officials at Fulton
DFCS have power to investigate parents for child abuse and
neglect, and even to remove children from their homes and
place them in foster care.
"We would hope that the people we entrust with our
children would hold the same values as we do," said Normer
Adams, executive director of the Georgia Association of
Homes and Services for Children. "The values that people
hold reflect in what they practice. How can you take
someone's child away, when you're doing something like
this?"
Adams said he thinks Clark should be put on
administrative leave until the case is resolved.
DFCS officials said Clark arrived in the Fulton office
less than a year ago. Clark and her husband are
separated, Fayetteville police said, and he lives in
another state.
Fulton DFCS workers said the office was shocked to hear
the news. "She's a nice person," said Fulton DFCS worker
Richard Maynard. "It's unfortunate, and my prayers go out
to her and her family."
Shantreas O'Neil, a Fulton social services specialist,
said, "All of us doing this work are responsible for
protecting the kids, so it would surprise me if this
happened to any worker."
Neighbors at Weatherly Walk apartments in Fayetteville
said Clark appeared to be a caring mother.
"I was always amazed she could get all those little
girls dressed and herself ready for work," said Lori Holt,
the mother of twin 8-month-old boys. "I'm doing good to
get out of here with bottles and diapers."
Clark said she was surprised to be arrested.
"I'm sure they [Fayette DFCS and police] were following
protocol, but from my experience that [an arrest] is
reserved for more severe cases," Clark said.
The arrest comes as Fulton DFCS has come under attack
from several of its own workers who criticized top
managers as arrogant and belligerent. The workers say the
management style has prompted many employees to leave,
burdening others with more work and leaving some children
in danger of abuse and neglect.
State DFCS Director Mary Dean Harvey said the Fulton
office has increased its scrutiny of workers since a
lawsuit settlement last year in which a federal court
ordered the office to improve its care of children.
She said the greater demands may have led some
disgruntled workers to complain and leave. She also said
the Fulton office is performing better.
Staff writers Kathy Jefcoats and S.A. Reid contributed
to this article.
Addendum: Social workers are in the habit of
destroying families with false allegations, and when they want to purge one
of their own, they do it the same way. This could be a case of social
worker fratricide.
Addendum: This later article shows that the mother
in this case got preferential treatment.
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Atlanta Journal-Constitution
DFCS workers felt pressured to play
favorites, advocate says
By Craig Schneider, Kathy Jefcoats
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/12/07
Fayette County child welfare workers felt pressure from
their state office to close the case against a top
employee charged with beating her daughter, the state
child advocate said Wednesday.
Child Advocate Dee Simms said Gov. Sonny Perdue
personally requested she find out if favoritism was shown
to Cylenthia Clark, deputy director of the Fulton County
child welfare office.
Clark was charged with felony child cruelty March 10
after Fayette school officials reported marks on the
child's back and arms to the Fayette office of the state
Division of Family and Children Services. Fayetteville
police said that on Feb. 7, Clark ordered her 8-year-old
daughter to remove her clothes and whipped her 34 times
with a belt.
DFCS officials said the case was handled properly and
that Clark was not given preferential treatment. Clark,
who has been reassigned to administrative duties at the
Fulton DFCS office, could not be reached Wednesday for
comment. A month ago, she said she spanked her daughter,
but didn't abuse her.
Simms said her investigators interviewed several
workers in the Fayette office of DFCS. "It is my feeling
that they felt pressure to minimize it [the case] or make
it go away," Simms said. She said she hasn't gotten state
DFCS's side of the story yet.
Police placed the girl and her three sisters in foster
care, but DFCS quickly moved the children into the home of
their maternal grandmother, Simms said.
One Fayette caseworker wrote the governor to complain
about the way the case was handled. Tracy Murray said the
state office "mandated" that her office waive the drug
screen and criminal background check in order to quickly
place the children with the grandmother.
"Governor, make no mistake the leadership representing
this department is in full support of this mother who has
beaten her child with no remorse," Murray wrote.
State DFCS Director Mary Dean Harvey said she often
reviews individual county cases and, working in
consultation with the county, discusses waivers on
background checks.
The children have since been placed in the custody of
their father, who lives in Chicago, authorities said.
State Department of Human Resources officials say
they're conducting an internal investigation. "We haven't
found anything to show that DFCS has done anything wrong,"
said Cathy Lynn, deputy director of the state Office of
Investigative Services, an arm of DHR. DFCS is also an
arm of DHR.
The difference of opinion sets up yet another conflict
between state DFCS, the agency tasked with handling child
welfare services, and the child advocate, appointed to
keep watch over DFCS. Simms recently issued a blistering
report on the Fulton DFCS office.
Fayette District Attorney Scott Ballard also has
started an investigation into whether Fayette DFCS delayed
reporting the abuse allegations to Fayetteville police.
Harvey said DFCS notified police by fax shortly after
receiving the abuse allegation from the girl's teacher.
Ballard said he needs to confirm that, but said DFCS
did not follow protocol and telephone police to confirm.
Consequently, he said, police did not begin the
investigation for another 20 days.
Group Home Embezzles Kid's Pay
March 12, 2007
A blog by a resident of Kennedy
House in Scarborough Ontario recounts his experiences under the screen
name Ed Blazo, really his nemesis at the group home. Among other
experiences, he recounts the rape of a fellow resident. Below is his story
of how part of his pay from a summer job was embezzled by the group home
staff.
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Ed Blazo
I am in grade 12 and exams are just around the corner.
The stress of living in this hostile house is weighing
down on me. I think I have been through a lot in this
four and half years that I called this house home.
Instead of building young boys into confident responsible
men, the goal seems to be how to beat the soul and spirit
out of these young bucks. How many guys that have gone
through Kennedy house's doors have made it. Ok, make it
easier, how many have stayed out of jail? Not many.
Still the world revolves around money, so Ed was not going
to be pulling in any more money from the children's aid
for anyone who is over 18, so out they go. And to make
sure they are out and he doesn't have to carry them, he
gives ya the boot before your 18th birthday. So like I
said with exams around the corner, I was told to look for
an apartment. I said how was I to pay the rent? Kathy
said that I would be given student welfare till I finished
grade 12. I said what about after that? She said as far
as going on to further my education, she didn't see that
as an option. Best that once I finished school to look
for a job. Immediately. I asked about the 25% of my pay
she has socked away. When do I receive that? She said:
sorry, but that money went back into the house. But I
said that when we were told to give her 25% of our pay
when we were forced to work the summer and also whenever I
worked — hell they even took Tyrone's 25% when he
slaved all day selling Dicky Dee ice cream — it
would be returned to us upon leaving the house, so(rt) of
like a hope chest — funds to sock away for a rainy
day. She went into: do you know how much it costs to
keep me here? She said that I would find out once I was
on my own.
Endless Accusations
March 11, 2007
James Nord, an Arizona man in a business where he could make enemies, is
anonymously accused of molesting a ten-year-old boy living in his home.
When child protectors find the man lives alone, the accusation changes to
molesting at the home of the boy's mother. When they can't find her, he is
accused of molesting his own sister and son. The caseworker tells the man
his file has been closed, but continues to question his friends. He is on a
list of low-risk sexual predators, but cannot find the name of his accuser.
The caseworker continues because she collects a bounty for her
investigation. Child protection is too important to stop for mere
innocence, or even absurdity.
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Sunday, March 11, 2007
Man upset over probe for alleged child
molestation
Suzanne Cronn-Herald/Review
James Nord reviews a document in his home office on
Sunday. Nord has file a $50 million dollar law suit
against Cochise County and the state stemming from an
accusation of child molestation of which no evidence
was found and the case was closed.
By Shar Porier
Herald/Review
SIERRA VISTA — “They don’t care who they screw
up.”
The frustration of 66-year-old paralegal James Nord
over an alleged incident of child molestation, which he
claims landed his name in a file at Child Protective
Services as a “low risk” sexual predator, continues as
he tries to clear his name.
It all started more than a year ago on Feb. 28 when he
got a call from CPS investigator Marilyn Piduch at his
home in Sierra Vista. She asked if she could meet with
him. He agreed, and Piduch and Marde Closson, local CPS
supervisor, came to his home and told him a complaint had
been filed. They had been told a woman and her
10-year-old son were living with him, and that he had
molested the boy. After an inspection of his home, they
found no evidence of anyone living with Nord.
“I’ve lived alone for 18 years, with the exception
of my son and his family when they first moved here,” he
said.
Wondering who could have made such an accusation, he
asked for the name of his accuser and was told the
identity could not be revealed.
He filed a complaint with the Cochise County’s
Sheriff’s Office for false reporting and harassment
against the CPS.
Deputy Cpl. John Filippelli took the complaint and
called CPS in an attempt to confirm a name given by Nord
as the possible informant. The deputy states in a report
that CPS told him the caller wished to remain anonymous
but that it was definitely not the person suspected. He
then went to Nord’s residence and advised him of the
findings.
“Nord advised when CPS completes their investigation
he will file a petition to disclose the name of the person
reporting. I advised Nord if/when he finds out the
subject’s name to contact me, and I will continue the
investigation,” he writes in the report.
Though Nord said Filippelli met with him the morning of
March 2 and told him CPS had closed the case, there is no
such statement in the deputy’s official report.
Filippelli’s investigation is listed as active/dead file
pending further information from Nord on the identity of
the person who called CPS with the complaint.
Part of Nord’s complaint of CPS’ actions involves
the continuing investigation involving friends and family
after the case had supposedly been closed.
Piduch interviewed Nord’s son, Carl, on the same day
and questioned him about the woman and her son.
Nothing further was done until May 17, when Nord
requested a copy of the complaint. On June 8, he received
the CPS summary report, which gave a different scenario.
In the report, Nord was accused of molesting the
10-year-old daughter of a woman while living with her at
her residence. The report also states he violently
molested and assaulted his sister for four years and
molested his son.
Nord and his son were upset over the new allegations
listed in the summary report.
“I don’t understand. First it was a boy. Now
it’s a girl, my sister and my son. It’s absurd,”
Nord said.
Carl Nord says there wasn’t an incident involving
him.
“Nothing ever happened to me or my aunt. I
checked,” he said. “There are no people living with
Dad or he with them. It’s a crock. Somebody’s made
up the complaint. They investigated and found no
evidence, but, yet, they continued. If the case was
opened and closed on the same day, as they said, why did
they call me in March?”
Nord decided he was going to get to the bottom of it
and tried to get a judge to allow the identity of his
accuser to be revealed and his name cleared. The case
went before Cochise County Superior Court Judge James L.
Conlogue.
Assistant Attorney General Roger Perry Jr. argued
against releasing the name. According to documentation on
file at the courthouse concerning the case, Perry stated,
“There can be no justification for a request that all
records concerning the petitioner be expunged from CPS
files,” he said, “Arizona maintains a record of the
report as it must, according to law.”
Conlogue ruled against Nord’s request and ordered the
file sealed.
Nord suspects he was the subject of retribution of
someone, but he hasn’t a clue who that may be.
His friend Betty Madrid believes she knows who filed
the complaint. Nord was helping her on a legal matter
involving fraud. According to her affidavit, Madrid
called Piduch on March 1 and said she “was positive that
the report was made for vindictive reasons. I told her
that because of my accusation, I was being followed …
She asked me who I thought would do this.”
Madrid gave four names, but was interrupted by Piduch,
who asked how Madrid knew of one of the people mentioned.
That made Madrid suspicious, and she told Nord of the
conversation.
In December, Nord filed a lawsuit against the county,
the state and all the agencies and people involved in
December. His lawsuit claims that Closson and Piduch
“… acted with reckless disregard” and failed to
determine whether probable cause existed before taking
action. He claims violation of his civil rights to due
process, loss of reputation and infliction of emotional
distress among other charges.
He is seeking $50 million in his suit.
“I suffer from headaches, nausea and nervousness.
This whole thing has distracted me from being able to my
job. It interferes with my work,” he says in the court
paperwork.
“One’s reputation is a significant, intensely
personal possession that one strives to protect,” Nord
continued. “The CPS takes everything some mystery party
says as factual and does not need any corroboration of any
sort. They closed the case without any substantiation and
put my name in their files.”
He sought help from an Arizona ombudsman, Ellen
Stenson, who wrote in a letter the case was closed “as
neither substantiated nor unsubstantiated, but rather
noted they were unable to locate (the woman and her
child).
“We do not have any evidence that the CPS
investigation was inappropriate or that CPS has
inappropriately shared information about you …,”
Stenson said in her response.
Stenson’s findings seem to bolster the stand of the
Attorney General’s Office, which is handling the federal
lawsuit.
The state, on behalf of all the agencies and parties
listed in Nord’s suit, is represented by Assistant
Attorney General Perry, who has entered a motion to
dismiss on the grounds that Nord has a “lack of
cognizable legal theory” and “the absence of
sufficient facts.” He states in the motion that CPS, as
an agency of the state, is immune from private damages or
injunctive relief.
As for Nord’s worry of being classified as a sexual
predator in a central registry, Perry says this “is an
example of an unwarranted deduction of fact. (Nord) was
investigated by the CPS; therefore, he reasons, he has
been placed on such a list … it appears (from the
complaint) this claim was not substantiated. There was no
child living in his home to be concerned about. He is not
a convicted sex-offender, subject to registration.”
Perry writes that CPS is required to maintain a record
of the report, but this record in no sense is considered a
predator list. Therefore, Nord’s deduction that since
he was investigated his name exists on a CPS list is
unrealistic.
He states in a court document, “… Criminal
investigations — even if CPS conducted criminal
investigations — can be conducted on no more than a
hunch; they can be conducted on a whim …”
Due to the serious nature of the information included
in the CPS summary report, the agency had the right to
investigate the tip, he argues in the court document.
Perry has tried to have that CPS summary report
rejected as evidence. In a phone conversation, Perry said
Nord had not authenticated the CPS report. Therefore, it
should be disallowed, as should the affidavits Nord
gathered.
“I am asking the court to look at facts alleged in
the complaint. Nord does not state a cause of action
against these people. I have moved to strike things that
are not properly brought before the court,” Perry said.
“I cannot find a cause that would allow for action
against these people. I have to move to strike things
that are not properly brought before the court. Even if
you were to pretend that all the facts as he presents them
are true, he still does not have a case.”
Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever and County Attorney
Ed Rheinheimer did not respond to calls for comment on the
lawsuit.
Liz Barker, public information officer for CPS, said
she could not comment on the pending litigation. However,
she answered questions about procedure and policy of CPS.
She said when someone calls the statewide hotline phone
number, a series of questions is asked. If the answers
meet the criteria, a report is forwarded to the proper
district office, and staff proceed to investigate.
Barker confirmed that a person’s name remains on file
with CPS even if allegations have not been substantiated.
If the case is substantiated and a conviction obtained,
the name is added to the statewide registry of sex
offenders by the department of public safety.
One other irregularity, as Nord sees it, is a provision
that provides a monetary incentive to CPS staff to
investigate cases. If six cases of abuse or neglect are
investigated per month, the employee receives 10 percent
of the monthly salary.
Barker confirmed that case workers are paid “a
stipend” on the number of cases they investigate. The
sum is paid whether the investigations pan out or not.
That makes Nord wonder if such financial gains are
ethical and if that policy is part of the problem.
“Was I investigated to make more money? Who thought
of this stipend?” he asked. “All I’m trying to do
is clear my name. I had a background check run on myself
and it came back clean,” he added. “But CPS has my
name in a file somewhere, unsubstantiated or not.”
Nord, who claims he is still distressed over the
incident, waits for the lawsuit to be heard. “Can you
imagine waking up one day to find you’re being looked at
as a child molester? And I’m just supposed to take that
and roll over and play dead? I don’t think so.”
REPORTER Shar Porier can be reached at 515-4692 or by
e-mail at shar.porier@bisbeereview.net.
Drugging Video
March 11, 2007
A video recently circulated on the internet, The Drugging of our Children, produced by Gary Null, deals
with the enormous quantity of drugs given to school children, including the
role of child protectors as prescription enforcers. Its 103 minutes are of
particular interest to viewers knowledgeable about biology and pharmacology.
Student Gets Real Sex Ed
March 10, 2007
When Nelson A Boylen Collegiate Institute needed a family studies
teacher, they hired the best — a qualified teacher with experience as
a children's aid worker. She taught her students so well that she will soon
give birth to one of their children.
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Teacher accused of sex with student
Paola Queen, a teacher at Nelson A. Boylen Collegiate
Institute, has been charged with sexual exploitation
after police received a tip about an alleged
inappropriate relationship.
Woman is pregnant after alleged
relationship and teen has left high school, police say
March 10, 2007, Betsy Powell Kristin Rushowy, Staff
Reporters
She was a child protection worker who taught family
studies and now she's a high school teacher accused of
having sex with one of her teenage students.
Toronto police have charged Paola Queen, a 35-year-old
teacher at Nelson A. Boylen Collegiate Institute, with
one count of sexual exploitation after they received a
Crime Stoppers tip earlier this month about an alleged
inappropriate relationship between a high school teacher
and a student.
She is pregnant and is at a "substantial stage" into
the nine-month term, Det. Peter Duncan said yesterday.
The student, who has left the north Toronto school on
Falstaff Ave. near Jane St., is believed to be 17 and
cannot be identified by law.
"This was a very good student, someone who has since
left school" and the reasons, while not conclusively
known, are "directly related to that pregnancy," Duncan
said.
Police allege Queen began a romantic and sexual
relationship with the teen not long after she started
teaching at the school in September 2005, "one that has
continued, to our knowledge, to the present time," said
Duncan, of 31 Division. Both speak Spanish, a source
said.
A student in Queen's parenting class said she often saw
the teacher and two brothers in a car together. "She
would let them drive," said the 15-year-old who asked not
to be identified.
Queen was obviously pregnant and recently told students
not to give her grief in class because of her condition,
the student said.
Family members on both sides were also aware of the
relationship and the pregnancy, police said.
"From our investigation it appears that both relatives
of the accused lady and the victimized youth knew of this
relationship and had for some time, several months at
least," Duncan said.
Police exercised two search warrants and they found
photographs showing the pair with other family members.
The teacher had been living with the student "for short
periods at least before she was arrested."
Queen was arrested on Tuesday night.
Under the Criminal Code, no one is allowed to have a
sexual relationship with anyone under 18 years old if they
are in a position of trust or authority "and certainly any
teacher would follow under that description," said Duncan.
A young person at that age is "at an obvious stage in
their emotional development" where they would be
vulnerable to "friendly behaviour and given a degree of
affection would fall into a position where they would
develop an emotional attachment with a teacher as somebody
in a position of authority."
While he doesn't now appear to be traumatized, "this
could be a young man who could take years to fully
understand the impact on his life," he said. "I think
this is something, morally, is going to disgust some
people."
Supt. Roy Pilkington, who runs 31 Division, said it's
not uncommon for men in positions of authority to
victimize young females, but added: "It's very rare –
I've been a police officer for some 34 years – and this
is the first case I can recall in Toronto ... where we've
had this reverse situation."
Queen has been released with conditions not to attend
the school in question. She is to appear at in court
April 17. She has no children of her own and is not
currently married but may be separated or divorced.
She is also to have no contact with the youth. Duncan
admitted this could prove to be problematic if he is
indeed the father of the baby. "That's another sad
dimension."
Queen is a former child protection worker with
Toronto's Catholic Children's Aid Society.
The family studies teacher is now on home assignment,
which means she's on leave with pay until the matter has
been resolved in the courts.
"That's normally the case when a teacher has been
charged with a criminal offence," said board counsel Grant
Bowers.
"That's normally their status until the matter has been
disposed of by the courts."
If found guilty, she'll be fired; if she's acquitted
or the charges are withdrawn, the board will still conduct
its own investigation before deciding if she's allowed to
return to work, added Bowers.
In a letter sent home with students yesterday,
principal Linda Curtis said it's alleged that Queen began
an inappropriate relationship "soon after she started as a
teacher" at the school in September 2005.
Queen became a teacher in June 2005 after obtaining a
bachelor's degree in education from the Ontario Institute
for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto.
According to the Ontario College of Teachers, her
qualifications are in the areas of family studies,
individual and society, and visual arts.
She also has two undergraduate degrees – in arts and
social work – from York University, dating back to 1995.
The Toronto District School Board first heard of the
allegations from police, Bowers said. He could not say if
the school had previously received any complaints about
Queen.
The student is not currently attending Nelson A.
Boylen, although sources said he has not been transferred
to another school.
Even though the charges were laid just days before
March Break, the Toronto board has arranged for
counselling during the holidays should students or staff
request it. A meeting will be scheduled following the
break for parents to air any concerns or to seek advice on
how to discuss the issue at home.
"Our primary goal is to make sure that the students
aren't upset, and to provide any counselling that students
may need," said Bowers. "When a person in authority in a
school community is charged with anything, it can cause
ripples in the school community."
Bowers said the Toronto board has one of the toughest
policies regarding relationships. No employee – teacher
or any other staff member – is allowed to have sexual
relations with a student.
"Any teacher or other employee found guilty (by the
courts), or found by us on the balance of probability to
have abused a child in any way, is terminated
immediately," he said.
"If these allegations are true, and that's a big if,
it's extremely regretful and another example of how we
have to be vigilant and protect our kids."
The Ontario College of Teachers, the profession's
governing body, says if the board alters Queen's terms of
employment "if it restricts her teaching duties or
terminates her, they must let us know," said
communications officer Brian Jamieson.
After receiving the complaint in writing, the college
will investigate, and information would be forwarded to an
investigation committee to decide if an official
disciplinary hearing is warranted. The college's
investigation is separate from that of the police.
In cases where teachers are found guilty of
professional misconduct for having sexual relations with
students, they stand to lose their licence – and, if
that happens, it's almost always permanent, said Jamieson.
Bowers said he will notify the college on Monday.
When asked if the boy's family could sue the board,
Bowers said that Canada is "rather unique because since
the year 2000, the Supreme Court has held school boards
and other institutions vicariously liable" for the
inappropriate actions of teachers and other caregivers of
children.
In Ontario Goverment Everything is Secret
March 9, 2007
An article by James Wallace of
Osprey Media displays the kind of investigative journalism normally only
seen in the American press. Ontario's government agencies at all levels
deny requests for information from the public, even routine requests.
Freedom of information requests are stymied with legal exceptions. The
experience of Dufferin VOCA is similar. Inquiries are commonly met with
"that's confidential". In the case of a request to a children's aid
society, they say nothing, or answer with "we don't supply that
information".
Best Kid Culled
March 8, 2007
Another personal story found on the internet. It is another "Sophie's
Choice" scenario, in which CAS lets mom and dad keep two kids, they want the
other to place with grandma.
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March 07 (2007)
Bitten By The Scorpion
I have been bitten by the scorpion!
The scorpion being the Children's Aid Society. They
have been involved in my family's life for seven and a
half years, and they sting is still just as painful. They
have been trying to take our son away since he was six
months old, and just couldn't seem to do it. But now they
just may have found a way to keep him away from us
forever. With the help of my "loving" mother of course.
They will allow us to have our daughters but not our son,
and for th life of us all, no one can figure out why.
Especially since they think we're good enough parents to
our daughters that it is safe for them to close their
file. But yet they would rather have my mother gain full
custody of our son. It really doesn't make much sence.
My husband has been reduced to supervised access and now
must see his son under the close scrutiny of the CAS.
That is completely unjustifiable. But what makes it worse
is that he is only allowed to have 2 hours a week. Worse
still is now they are trying to make things even more
difficult for husband by making him sign his life away in
paper work before he caneven get to see his son, and if he
were to not follow any of the supposed rules for
thereputic access, his visits will cease and desist
effective immediately. But yet when he was having visits
before he didn't have to sign a thing and the so called
rules were not nearly as overbearing. The CAS is doing
everything in their power to make excuses as to why my
husband should be refused his access and they are stalling
so that my mother can gain custody of our son.
All of this is because my mother wanted a little boy
and she got me instead. And I got to have the little boy
that she has always wanted with a family that she has
hated for the past twenty-seven years....
In the end it isn't really about a child's wellbing
it's about money and power over the less fortunate. Greed
is a very powerful thing...I just hope that my son and two
daughters can survive the backlash.
We'll just see how much the scorpion will sting when
it's under the heel of my boot!!!
Author's profile:
| Display name: | Crimson
| | Nickname: | Crimson_Sorrow_Forever
| | Gender: | Female
| | Age: | 27
| | Occupation: | CSR
| | Interests: | I love Anne RIce novels and Stephen King. I
like all kinds of music. I love to sing dance
write
| | More about me: | I'm a mother of three. I'm a student I work I
have a loving husband I'm wiccan I'm aspiring
to be an author and a Forensic Pathologst I
also tend to be a little over dramatic
sometimes ob kb I'm turning into a pumpkin
Blessed Be on Thy Journey! In Love and Light
let Trust and hope be with Thee!
| | Name: | April Willison
| | Home address: | Canada
| | Marital status: | In a relationship
|
Apprenticeship for Crime
March 7, 2007
A report acquired by the CBC says that Ontario's children's aid societies
act as apprenticeship programs for criminal behavior. No one will dare
suggest correcting the problem by leaving children with mom and dad.
Instead, we can soon expect calls for more money for CAS to improve group
homes.
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Kids see group homes as 'gateways to
jail': child advocate
Last Updated: Wednesday, March 7, 2007 | 7:46 AM
ET
CBC News
Almost half of Ontario's young offenders in detention
for minor crimes came through the child welfare system, a
report from the Office of Child and Family Service
Advocacy shows.
The trend is a concern for child advocates across the
country and Ontario Child Advocate Judy Finlay said many
of the province's young people are beginning to think of
group homes as "gateways to jail."
"We're taking them out of very difficult family
circumstances, bringing them into state care and then
we're charging them for their behaviour. It's very
concerning to me," Finlay said.
The report, which was obtained by CBC News, lays much
of the blame on group homes that rely too heavily on
police to resolve problems that could be handled by staff.
Kids have been charged for everything from refusing to
read a book or hitting someone with a tea towel, Finlay
said.
One group home in Ontario called police 400 times in a
single year.
Ontario is not the only province that needs to fix the
system, the report says. A sampling of facilities across
Canada found that 57 per cent of young offenders had a
connection to the child welfare system, the report said.
In British Columbia, a recent study put that number at 73
per cent.
While some teens acknowledge the more serious charges
may be warranted, they complain that too often, staff lack
the training to deal with troubled kids and resort to
calling police.
One teen, who can't be named under federal law, said
workers would often provoke him. After he was charged,
group home workers had an easy way to threaten him by
suggesting a breach of his bail or probation conditions
would mean a return to a young offenders facility.
"They threaten you and say you better read that book or
you're going back to jail. Come on, what kind of system
is this?" the teen said.
Finlay is calling on the province to collect data on
police calls from group homes and the charges that result.
She also wants to see a mental health worker attached to
each group home and higher standards for an industry that
costs taxpayers more than $200 million a year.
Addendum: Here is the start of a comment on this
subject by Carolyn Buck, Executive Director of Toronto Children's Aid:
The most recent aggregate provincial data shows that
15% of Crown wards under CAS’ care in Ontario were
charged under the Young Offender Act, now the Youth
Criminal Justice Act. This is not the overwhelming
majority as some critics report.
Young people come to us with an array of difficult
experiences. The scars left by the trauma of abuse go
well beyond skin deep and unspeakable acts leave indelible
impressions at the most vulnerable time in human
development.
This drivel requires us to go back to elementary arithmetic. Judy Finlay
divided the number of young offenders with CAS cases by the number of young
offenders (almost 50%), Carolyn Buck divided it by the number of crown wards
(15%). Of course the results are different. You are not lying, Mrs Buck,
you are just trying to fool us.
The second paragraph goes on to blame the failings of children in care on
the parents they were taken from. If that is so, why is the death rate in
foster care five times as high as parental care? The most common cause of
foster death for young children is "battered". How do parents batter their
kids in far-away foster homes? There are indeed unspeakable acts that leave
indelible impressions on children, but they come from the child protection
system itself.
CAS Harasses F4J Member
March 5, 2007
Fathers-4-Justice has had success in drawing press attention to the
injustices of family court, and consequently its members come under intense
scrutiny from agenicies with police power. This press release from Jeremy
Swanson gives more on the soldier, Ken Sandall, harassed by children's aid.
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CAS INVESTIGATES FORMER OTTAWA F4J COORDINATOR
In November 2006, the Ottawa office of the Children's
Aid Society (CAS) investigated the former Ottawa
Fathers-4-Justice (F4J) Coordinator for being a member of
that group. According to Ken Sandall and another source
who was interview by CAS, questions of Mr. Sandall's F4J
membership and activities were posed. An official CAS
document obtained clearly states that CAS had unverified
child protection concerns but pursued the investigation of
Mr. Sandall regardless.
While earlier acting in the position as Ottawa-area F4J
Coordinator, Mr. Sandall received emails from the CAS
making inquiries and demanding information about local F4J
policies and activities. When Mr. Sandall did not
comply, a damaging and defamatory child protection
investigation was launched against Mr. Sandall.
According to CAS, they received a mysterious, anonymous
complaint-which could not be verified-accusing Mr.
Sandall of many false allegations. However, according to
Mr. Sandall, CAS' investigation went far beyond the
issues and indications provided by this 'phantom' email
from an un-named source. The resulting CAS
interrogative-style interview of Mr. Sandall was focused
on his F4J membership and allegations that the CAS
investigator later admitted were not part of that
'phantom' email or any of the allegations contained
therein
Mr. Sandall's activities with F4J were limited at the
time of his service due to the fact that he is a current
serving member of the Canadian Forces. Mr. Sandall
supported F4J in a supportive, organizational and
administrative capacity. However, after three short
months, he was forced to resign as the F4J Ottawa
Coordinator for family reasons. Mr. Sandall states that
he was not bullied into leaving the F4J position, as the
decision was clearly family-orientated. He still
maintains his basic membership in F4J and other Fathers
and Family Rights groups.
Questioned Saturday Mr Sandall ventured "Is
participation in F4J or any other father's rights groups
illegal ? Does being a father's rights supporter
constitute a danger to children? CAS seems to think so "
he said.
Mr. Sandall tried to directly address the CAS
investigation from the local CAS Ottawa office up to the
CAS' provincial office in Toronto. He received no replies
to phone calls and emails and the official reaction
appears to ignore all attempts at communication in this
matter. Mr. Sandall has launched a complaint to CAS, as
well as his Member of Parliament and the Office of the
Ombudsman of Ontario.
"I fear that, CAS will attempt to 'find' and launch
another allegation against me in response to my complaint
and attempt at redress against them " said Mr Sandall.
-30-
| Contact:
| | Jeremy Swanson | (613) 237-1320 ext 2438
| | Ken Sandall | (613) 249-9470
cell (613) 794-7435
|
United Way Supports CAS
March 4, 2007
When you give a donation to the friendly folks who collect for the United
Way, you are supporting the same agency that separates parents and children
by force of arms. Here the United Way gives $198,990 to the Mutual Aid
Program for Parents, operated through the Children's Aid Society.
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United Way agencies get boost
By JENNIFER O'BRIEN, SUN MEDIA
[ Paragraphs not relating to Children's Aid
omitted. ]
Yesterday, dozens of community agencies found out
how much money they'll get this year from the United
Way of London and Middlesex as it released allocations
from its record $6.6-million fundraising campaign last
year.
Overall, United Way funding to member agencies will
rise to just more than $5 million this year, up from
$4.4 million last year.
Also, spending on United Way community services and
special programs will rise to nearly $1.63 million
from $1.4 million last year.
Yesterday's funding allocations lit up the office
for United Way staff, said Helen Connell, the local
chapter's executive director.
"There was a feeling of euphoria here today," she
said of the office at 409 King St.
"All day long, people have been coming in to find
out how much they are receiving . . . We get to see
the faces of the agencies and how appreciative they
are.
"It really feels good."
The Mutual Aid Program for Parents, operated
through the Children's Aid Society received a $55,000
boost, bringing its funding to $199,000 to support a
program that helps Spanish-speaking parents.
---
FUNDING ALLOCATIONS
- Across Languages, $32,000
- Big Brothers, $172,300
- Big Sisters, $211,951
- Boys' & Girls' Club, $421,000
- Canadian Hearing Society, $75,900
- Canadian Mental Health Association, $127,703
- CNIB, $210,670
- Changing Ways, $170,000
- Community Living London, $117,051
- Crouch Resource Centre, $109,480
- Epilepsy Support Centre, $100,000.
- Family Service Thames Valley, $401,626
- Girl Guides, $46,000
- Glen Cairn Community Resource Centre, $159,000
- Horton Street Seniors Centre, $70,650
- Hospice of London, $126,500
- John Howard Society, $318,654
- Learning Disabilities Association, $109,000.
- London Coffee House Program, $128,600
- London & District Distress Centre, $134,493
- London Intercommunity Health Centre, $78,655.
- London Interfaith Counselling Centre, $85,325.
- London Occupational Safety & Health, $90,866
- London Unemployment Health Centre, $153,855
- LUSO, $120,796
- Meals on Wheels, $79,000
- Mutual Aid Program for Parents, $198,990
- N'Amerind, $61,233
- Ontario March of Dimes, $94,785
- SARI, $35,500
- Scouts, $42,500
- Sexual Assault Centre, $60,855
- South London Neighbourhood Resource Centre, $104,794
- Stevenson Children's Camp, $93,730
- Next Wave Strathroy Youth Centre, $124,000
- Women's Rural Resource Centre, $58,013.
- London Y, $220,000
- Youth Action Centre, $66,500
Legal Whistleblower
March 2, 2007
Canada Court Watch has been approached by a whistleblower lawyer who
wants to expose the corruption in family courts.
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Lawyer calls for judicial inquiry into
dysfunctional family court system!
(March 2, 2007) - A long standing member of the Law
Society of Upper Canada contacted Court Watch recently and
stated that there is an urgent need for a full judicial
and/or Parliamentary inquiry into what this experienced
Law Society member believes is corruption and incompetence
within the family court system in Ontario. This lawyer
says that the current family court system is destroying
children and families and bleeding them dry of their
financial resources. This unnamed source has offered
Court Watch the opportunity to review documents and other
evidence to support this whistle-blower's allegations
about the system and will go on the public record soon
about his allegations. This lawyer has said, that in the
name of justice, the truth about the family court system
in Ontario must be made known to the people of Ontario and
that the family court system must be cleaned up from top
to bottom as it is bringing scorn and disrespect to the
entire legal profession and to those remaining lawyers in
other sectors of the law who still believe that it is
their duty to stand up to vigorously defend the principles
of truth and justice.
Mom and Daughter Jailed
March 2, 2007
A quip attributed to Mark Twain says: “It's no wonder that truth is
stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense.”
In this item, a mother who wants to be with her daughter, and a daughter
who wants to be with her mother are both in jail to keep them separated.
Since it is truth, it doesn't have to make sense.
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Originally published February 28, 2007
Amber Alert canceled — Missing girl OK,
mom arrested
By Lisa Roose-Church, DAILY PRESS & ARGUS
Submitted photo
Christina Renaud, the Howell-area girl who was the
subject of an Amber Alert, turned up unharmed Tuesday
at the Royal Oak Police Department. The girl's
mother, who is not her legal guardian, is in custody
on parental kidnapping charges.
The Livingston County Sheriff's Department said early
Wednesday that the Howell-area girl who was the subject of
an Amber Alert the prior day had turned up at a police
station unharmed.
Meanwhile, the girl’s mother, who is not her legal
guardian, was being held at the Livingston County Jail for
allegedly kidnapping her.
The girl — Christina Renaud, 16, of Oceola Township
— turned up OK at the Royal Oak Police Department on
Tuesday, the same day authorities in that community had
taken her mother, Debbie Renaud, into custody, the
Sheriff's Department said. Debbie Renaud lives in Royal
Oak.
Police say Debbie Renaud requested visitation with her
daughter last week and was to return the teen to her legal
guardian Sunday. But the teen didn't turn up or contact
her guardian as planned, and the Livingston County
prosecutor’s office on Tuesday authorized an arrest
warrant against Debbie Renaud for parental kidnapping.
Also, police issued an Amber Alert for Christina Renaud on
Tuesday.
Royal Oak police arrested the mother later in the day.
Christina Renaud was in protective custody with the
Sheriff’s Department this morning.
Sheriff's Detective Marc King is still investigating
the circumstances surrounding the teen's disappearance.
Contact Daily Press & Argus reporter Lisa
Roose-Church at (517) 552-2846 or at lrchurch@gannett.com.
Adoptions Don't Work
March 2, 2007
When an adoption is finalized, most jurisdictions issue a phony birth
certificate to the adoptee, listing the adoptive parents as mother and
father. These birth certificates are useless when it comes to protecting
the child from inherited genetic diseases. Another problem is that the
phony birth certificates are not recognized for citizenship purposes,
allowing an adult to unexpectedly become an illegal alien in his own country
— we reported on the case of Ruth
Shaw. Here is a third problem — inheritance. Olive Watson was
the daughter of IBM magnate Thomas J Watson Jr (1914-1993). To ensure her
lesbian lover Patricia Spado shared in her inheritance she adopted Spado as
her daughter in 1991. The death of Watson's wife in 2004 activated a
provision in the will dividing his estate among his grandchildren. The
Watson family does not want Spado to get a share, and is challenging the
adoption.
So adopted children can be cut out of their health, citizenship and
inheritance. Once adopted children reach the age of majority, they are in
practice orphans again.
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IBM heirs battle 'my mother is my
girlfriend' cash claim
Big Blues see red over pink adoption
By Chris Williams
Published Thursday 1st March 2007 00:54 GMT
A lesbian woman who had a long term relationship with
one of the daughters of IBM president Thomas J. Watson Jr
is fighting for her right to a share of his legacy.
Patricia Spado lived with Olive Watson for more than 10
years until they separated in 1992. Watson adopted Spado
under Maine law in 1991. At 44 years old, Spado was one
year her senior.
The unusual arrangement was designed to circumvent
anti-gay marriage laws and allow Spado to become a legal
heir to the trust fund Thomas Watson Jr set up for his
grandkiddies, bringing the total number of beneficiaries
to 19.
When the couple separated, Olive Watson signed an
agreement with her ex stating: "I have not and that I
shall at no time initiate any action to revoke or annul my
adoption of you."
However, Thomas J. Watson's 18 grandchildren are
arguing that the fund, which was opened on his death in
1993, was aimed at blood relatives and that he had no
knowledge of the adoption.
Fund chief Thomas J. Watson III successfully
challenged the legality of the adoption in Connecticut,
where his father died. Spado is appealing that decision,
and is fighting another attempt by the trust to have the
adoption annulled in Maine.
If Spado is denied the millions, she could do worse
than get a job at IBM, which earlier this year topped a poll of the most fabulous places for gay
people to work. ®
US Jails Canadian Boy
March 1, 2007
A Canadian boy, and nearly 200 other children, are in jail in Texas. In
this case, the pretext is immigration. When children really need help,
there are no child protectors in sight.
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Truthdig
We’ll Lock Up Your Tired, Your Poor,
Your Huddled Masses Yearning to Breathe Free
Posted on Feb 27, 2007
By Amy Goodman
“I want to be free. I want to go outside, and I want
to go to school,” pleaded a 9-year-old boy, on the phone
from prison. This prison wasn’t in some far-off
country, some dictatorship where one would expect children
to be locked up. He is imprisoned in the United States.
The boy, Kevin, is imprisoned in Taylor, Texas, at the
T. Don Hutto Residential Facility. His parents are also
locked up there. The tale of how this family became
imprisoned is just one example of how broken our
immigration policies are in this country. It is a tale of
children left behind, of family values locked up, of your
tax dollars at work.
The parents are Iranian and spent 10 years in Canada
seeking asylum. Kevin, their son, was born in Canada
during that time. Their request for asylum was eventually
denied, and they were deported back to Iran. Majid, the
father, said he and his wife were jailed and tortured
there. They soon fled to Turkey and bought Greek
passports. They hoped to reapply for asylum in Canada,
armed with proof of the torture they suffered in Iran.
On a plane back to Canada, a fellow passenger suffered
a heart attack, requiring an unscheduled landing in Puerto
Rico. Although they never had any intention of entering
the U.S., because the plane touched down here, their
passports were questioned and they were detained. The
family was shipped off to Hutto. They have been there for
more than three weeks.
Immigration detention places the family in a legal
limbo that could leave them imprisoned indefinitely,
perhaps only to be deported back to more torture in Iran.
This shameful practice of locking up children is bad
enough. What’s worse is that it is being done for
profit, by the Corrections Corp. of America. CCA is the
largest publicly traded private prison operator in the
U.S. CCA has close to 70 facilities scattered across the
country, recent earnings of $1.33 billion and a gain in
its stock-share price of 85 percent in the past year.
Industry analysts gush at the profit potential promised by
private prisons. Their commodity: human beings.
A recent report issued jointly by two nonprofit
agencies—the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and
Children and the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee
Service—titled “Locking Up Family Values: The
Detention of Immigrant Families,” paints a grim picture
of the conditions these families endure. While in 2005
Congress directed the Department of Homeland Security and
Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain families in
“non-penal, homelike environments,” the report details
how prisonlike the Hutto facility is. While ICE announced
Hutto as a new facility, it was formerly a prison.
Children as young as 6 are separated from their
parents, kept in prison cells with heavy steel doors
equipped with a sensitive laser alarm system. The
children wear prison uniforms. They get one hour of
school per day and one hour of recreation. All non-lawyer
visits are “non-contact,” through a Plexiglas window
speaking over a phone, to obviate the “necessity” of a
full-body cavity search after each visit. Yet the
chairman of the CCA board of directors, William Andrews,
begs to differ: “The reports come from special-interest
groups that are attempting to do away with privatization
and the whole immigration situation. ... The family
facility, particularly, at T. Don Hutto is almost like a
home.” Recent reports put the total number of children
at Hutto at between 170 and 200.
Close to a year after massive pro-immigrant marches
occurred in every major U.S. city, immigration policy
remains broken, with sensational crackdowns on
undocumented workers, a planned multibillion-dollar wall
along the U.S.-Mexico border and more than 26,000
immigrants in prison.
CCA stock is up but the spirits of 9-year-old Kevin are
down as he languishes in his federally funded private
prison cell. He wants to go home to Canada, where he was
born. U.S. immigration officials now hold his fate and
that of his parents: deportation to possible torture in
Iran, or political asylum and a possible return to Canada.
With a Congress obsessed with nonbinding resolutions and
the Bush administration that brought you Abu Ghraib and
the Maher Arar deportation scandal, the prospects for
Kevin and his parents are grim at best.
Amy Goodman is host of “Democracy Now!,” a daily
international TV/radio news hour airing on 500 stations in
North America.
Addendum: Alex Jones calls this a concentration
camp, since it holds people not for wrongdoing, but for being a member of a
group.
Addendum: The boy Kevin and his family were
returned to Canada on March 21. The camp remains in operation.
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Canadian boy, parents arrive in Toronto
after Texas prison stay
Last Updated: Thursday, March 22, 2007 | 7:41 AM ET,
CBC News
A nine-year-old Canadian boy and his Iranian parents
arrived safely in Toronto on Wednesday night after being
held for six weeks in a Texas detention centre.
"Thank you for everybody who helped us," Kevin
Yourdkhani said, clutching his bags at Toronto's Pearson
International Airport.
Masomeh Alibegi holds up immigration papers as she
walks with nine-year-old son Kevin Yourdkhani and his
father Majid after arriving at a Toronto airport on
Wednesday.Masomeh Alibegi holds up immigration papers
as she walks with nine-year-old son Kevin Yourdkhani
and his father Majid after arriving at a Toronto
airport on Wednesday. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)
Kevin and his parents, Majid Yourdkhani and Masomeh
Alibegi, flew into the airport from Houston, landing in
Toronto at about 5:45 p.m. ET. The couple had tears in
their eyes after leaving the plane.
The family was allowed to come to Canada after
Immigration and Citizenship Minister Diane Finley agreed
to give them temporary residency permits two weeks ago.
The permits arrived in Texas on Monday.
Finley said she granted the permits in the best
interest of the boy. The family is now trying to claim
refugee status.
Kevin's parents arrived in Canada 10 years ago seeking
asylum, but were unsuccessful and deported to Iran in
December 2005. Kevin was born when they lived in Canada.
The parents said they faced torture in Iran and made
another attempt to seek refuge in Canada with the use of
stolen Greek passports.
But on a flight to Toronto from Guyana on Feb. 4, a
passenger suffered a heart attack and died, resulting in
the plane being diverted to Puerto Rico.
U.S. officials discovered their false documents and
detained them for five days before sending them to the T.
Don Hutto detention centre near Austin, Texas. The
converted medium-security prison has been condemned by
human rights groups and is the subject of a lawsuit by the
American Civil Liberties Union.
The family said living in the centre was awful.
"It was miserable condition they had over there," Majid
Yourdkhani said, standing by his wife as he spoke to
reporters at the Toronto airport.
"There are almost 200 children that live there in very
bad conditions. Now most of the children there have
chicken pox, eye infections, flu."
His wife said the family is relieved to be back in
Canada, and young Kevin said he can now resume his life in
Toronto.
"I will go back to my school, to my teachers," the boy
said.
Children Snatched
February 28, 2007
The mother identified only by her maiden name Lisa
Sweet has lost her children again. Below are two posts by the mother to
Sarnia's Smoking Gun about yesterday's apprehension.
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CAS took the kids at 12.30 pm today, based on saying I
missed appointments. I have the letters from both the
dentist and the doctor saying that I haven't missed any
appointments all. Then they say my kids are dirty, the
school called yet they do not call on the girl who
threatens to kill her kids. The principal just doesn't
like me. My kids are never dirty. It's that the worker
cannot get my husband on drugs or anything like that.
They want six months and that stupid court clinic
assesment thingy.
My mother-in-law wants to sue them now as we have done
everything that they want us to do.
On Friday my oldest daughter threw a fit at school, so
they called CAS on me saying they are concerned.
I'm not sure how I'm going to fight it this time as no
matter what I do nothing is good enough for that
worker.
I want a worker change but they refuse, she is way to
biased against me to begin with.
They let my ex friend threaten her kids with I'm gonna
shoot you you stupid ..... she locked him in his room
when he got suspended from last Thursday until today. Yet
CAS turns their heads because her kids are 4 and 5 and
don't know how to talk yet.
I want to take it to the media but im not sure how
to.
Lisa
Thanks bizzi, I'm so heartbroken right now, had to
watch them take my four-year-old away crying. As soon as
she saw the police outside and the worker she started
shaking and freaking out. I don't blame her.
I asked to see the papers, they had they refused to let
us see them. I asked for the kids to go to family and
they started asking if the kids knew them, how old they
were if they were married, etc, then told me that they
haven't even called but I know they did.
My mother-in-law wants to sue them, but I told her I
wouldn't even know where to start with that. The worker
has told me she will get my kids no matter what, anyway
they split them up again.
They try to tell me no money is involved, yeah right,
I'm one of the bought children I know better than that.
They want six months, I know if I give it to them I've
definitly lost for sure. It all stemmed with the
eight-year-old throwing tantrums at school which only
seems to happen after the worker on an almost daily basis
harassess them at school.
She, the worker, followed me home from school on
Friday, we just got in the door not even 5 min before she
got here, so there were coats on the floor and she didn't
like that and there was water and mud from the kids boots
that I was cleaning up as she came in the door. Doesn't
seem to get this is natural for this time of year.
I will submit pics to the courts as they say my kids
are always dirty, I'm one of those that loves lots of
pictures so I take them at random. Guess its a good thing
I do that as the kids are not dirty in one of them neither
is my house.
The police looked at the worker kind of funny when I
asked her why someone across the street was allowed to say
she was going to shoot her four-year-old and continually
belittles him and screams at him. No answer from her, but
I know why, its because that girls kids at four and five
don't even have the language skills of a two-year-old so
they don't want to adopt them as people here only want
good kids not from drug addicted families.
Foster Care Damages Kids
February 27, 2007
On February 12 the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA), the trade
association for the child protection industry, produced a report showing
that about a tenth of children moved into a foster home will be in a
hospital emergency room in the first three weeks, and that foster alumni
suffer elevated mental problems. Supporters of child protection cannot deny
its conclusions, since it is their own product. Of course, the report is
used to lobby for even more money, rather than keeping kids out of foster
care. Summary of important conclusions
with links to full report.
Family Under Attack
February 27, 2007
Here is an item found on the internet that will probably be gone soon,
when CAS bullies the parents. Past indiscretions, real or imagined, cannot
be forgiven by CAS.
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| Name: | Kimberley
| | Occupation: | small business owner
| | Age: | 31
| | Location: | Ontario
| | Interests: | I enjoy cooking knitting quilting cross-stitch
baking going for walks going to church riding on
the four wheeler horses dogs and spending time
with family.
|
February 23
Hello world!!
Greetings to everyone,
This is the first time I have ever posted on here. So
please bare with me. I'm not quite sure what to say. So
I will give you some info on my myself and my husband.
John and I have been married since September 2006.
Things are going really great he is a wonderful man. We
have a little girl. She was born in June 2006. She isn't
home right now; she was taken by the Children's Aid
Society at birth.
My husband and I have been working very hard to get her
home for the last eight months. You see to make the long
story short; they(CAS) believe that they have just cause
to have her. I made some really bad choices when I was
younger and I lost two girls to them four years ago after
fighting for two and half years. I had to give them up
because I had no other options. So that is just part of
the reason why my new little angel is not home. The other
reason is about as far off course as it could be.
They(CAS) claim to have charges against my husband on an
assault from 1993. The reason I say the charges are
outrageous and do not have any substance is that when the
supposed assault happened he wasn't even in the country.
My husband had left home in 1992 and lived in the states
for one year then moved to Alberta where he stayed for 9
years. He returned in 2001. Nothing was ever said about
charges against him that whole time period. Now that we
have a daughter together they(CAS) seem to think they can
take her because apparently in their eyes people don't
grow up and change.
I am rather upset that they can do this to families.
My husband and I are devoted christians and are no longer
struggling with our past. God gave us our daughter to
raise her ourselves not for the CAS to take.
Well I think that is enough for now. Talk to you all
soon.
Kimberley
Please Don't Feed the Children
February 26, 2007
Child protectors in England have the perfect cure for an overweight boy
— take away his mother! In 2000 child protectors in New Mexico
seized three-year-old Anamarie Martinez-Regino from her parents for obesity,
but gave her back a few months later after a public outcry. The current
case appears to be an unmarried mother, so the outcome is unpredictable.
Is it possible the bean-counters have been working overtime on this?
Putting obese children on half-rations, while collecting full foster care
rates from the treasury, could ratchet up their profits reimbursement.
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Last Updated: Tuesday, 27 February 2007, 04:06 GMT
Fourteen stone child 'risks care'
Connor prefers to eat processed foods
An eight-year-old boy who weighs over 14
stone (89kg) may be taken into care by a local
authority.
Connor McCreaddie, from Wallsend, North Tyneside, has
lost a stone and a half in two months, but still prefers
processed food to fruit and vegetables.
His mother, Nicola McKeown, has been called to a child
protection conference with the local authority on
Tuesday.
Family support may be offered, but the last resort
would be for North Tyneside officials to place Connor into
care.
Connor's pre-Christmas weight of 15 stones and eight
pounds (98.8kg) is four times the weight of a healthy
child of his age.
He has lost weight after beginning an intensive
exercise regime and introducing some healthy food into his
diet.
The eight-year-old does have a bike and a trampoline
which he uses, but he has to stop after around 10 minutes
because he becomes out of breath and can vomit.
He has difficulty dressing and washing himself, misses
school regularly because of poor health and is a target
for bullies.
Confident
Ms McKeown, 35, told the BBC: "Connor had a mouthful
of apple once and he didn't like it.
"He refuses to eat fruit, vegetables and salads - he
has processed foods.
"When Connor won't eat anything else, I've got to give
him the foods he likes.
"I can't starve him.
"But I'm confident I can get his weight down with a bit
of help."
Ms McKeown denied she is neglecting her son, and said
he would be "skinny" if she had been.
She said she had seen doctors, but no-one had actually
stepped in to offer her help.
She said that taking Connor into care would be
"disastrous".
His story was due to be featured in ITV's Tonight With
Trevor McDonald, which followed Connor and his mother for
a month.
Child's interests 'paramount'
Dr Colin Waine, chairman of the National Obesity Forum,
said that removing a child from their family could be
justified.
"The long-term impacts of this child's gross obesity
are frightening.
"He has great risk of diabetes and coronary illness.
"His life expectancy is severely prejudiced. So action
is required if his health is to be safeguarded."
A spokeswoman for North Tyneside Council and North
Tyneside Primary Care Trust, said: "We share the concerns
over the child's health and well-being.
"We have been working with the family over a prolonged
period of time and will continue to do so.
"The child's interests are paramount."
Single Mom Harassed
February 26, 2007
The San Antonio Texas Express-News has printed a lengthy story on the
Lozano family. Ordinarily, the press only reports on extraordinary child
protection cases, such as those involving an injured or dead child. This
article deals with the most common kind of child protection case, the single
mom. Details show many common tactics, such as omitting facts favorable to
the family and a "Sophie's Choice": you get to keep some kids as long as we
get the rest. When the family genuinely needs help it is denied. A
digression shows the habit of the legislature to respond to all problems in
the system by giving it even more money. Links to San Antonio Express-News and our local copy.
CPS Comes out Swinging
February 24, 2007
We have previously noted that child protectors harass nudists,
vegetarians, smokers and prostitutes. Here is another group that must look
over their shoulder for big sister.
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'Wife Swap' appearance sparks child abuse
calls for Iowa family
By Christopher Rocchio, 02/22/2007
An appearance on ABC's Wife Swap reality series almost
found an Iowa couple in hot water for child abuse.
Barb and Mike Haigwood -- a couple who raise organic
food with their two teenage children on a farm near
Massena, IA -- sparked Wife Swap viewers to contact the
Iowa Department of Human Services after an episode
featuring the family aired on Monday, February 19, The Des
Moines Register reported Wednesday.
During the Wife Swap broadcast, the Haigwood children
-- 13-year-old Aleesha and 16-year-old Lee -- said they
don't go to school and Lee's home schooling includes
counting the number of eggs the family's chickens have
produced. Barb, the family's 37-year-old mother, also
explained that she "believes in eating every two to three
hours" -- a belief that causes her to wake the children
for late-night drinkings of a beverage containing kefir, a
yogurt-like product.
Prior to their Wife Swap appearance, Barb had told The
Register that family's decision to eat "nothing but raw
food, including eggs and meat" was part of their way of
dealing with health problems related to Aleesha's
attention deficit disorder.
However The Register reported Iowa state officials do
not consider "an unorthodox diet and messy housekeeping"
to be child abuse, and added the parents have filed the
proper paperwork to home-school their two children. Iowa
Department of Human Services spokesman Roger Munns told
The Register his department "logged a number of calls" to
its child-abuse hotline after the episode aired, and also
received "at least 10 messages emailed to its website" as
well as a fax.
"DHS only investigates child abuse and neglect cases
when there is a credible report that, if proven true,
would amount to abuse. None of these reports rise to that
threshold," Munns told The Register. "People who eat
unusual food and feed it to their children are not
abusive, nor are people whose houses are not tidy."
Steve Pelzer, superintendent of the Cumberland and
Massena school district, said that -- as the law requires
--the Haigwoods have filed paperwork "proving competent
private schooling." Pelzer added a licensed teacher from
the West Des Moines area "monitors the children's
progress."
Bard told The Register on Tuesday that the family could
not comment unless reporters "went through ABC's public
relations department." A spokesman for ABC could not be
reached on Tuesday, according to The Register.
Stop Teen Screen
February 24, 2007
Promoters of a program called TeenScreen want to examine every American
teenager for signs of mental illness. Teens failing the tests will be
referred to a psychiatrist, and prescribed psychotropic drugs.
You can find an account of the whole process on the website TeenScreen Truth. An alliance between
the psychiatric profession and the drug industry pushes the drugs and
divides the spoils. Force and deception assist at every stage. Parents are
required to consent, but that consent is obtained by mailing out a letter.
If the parent does not respond, it is deemed to be consent. The child must
sign another consent form, but instructions tell the clinicians to treat
non-consent as failing the test. After a prescription is issued the child
protection system acts as enforcers by treating non-compliance with
prescriptions as medical neglect.
The actual questionnaires used are confidential, but copies have made
their way into cyberspace. For example, here is the self-administered questionnaire used by Columbia University (pdf). You
can find more forms, including those used to evaluate the results, at Liberty Coalition. Subjects failing the self-administered test get
another questionnaire administered by a professional. One of the questions
is: "In the last year, have you used marijuana six or more times?". The
instructions tell the clinician to expect "yes"; a "no" is an indicator of
untruthfulness.
If successful in the US, this program is likely to spread to Canada. You
have an opportunity to help stop this program in its early stages with an online
petition. Many petitions relating to family law attract dozens or
hundreds of signatures, but the TeenScreen petition is approaching twenty
thousand signatures. We hope to see some Dufferin VOCA readers on the list.
Addendum: In the two days following this article
there was a spurt of signatures on the petition, including several known
Dufferin VOCA readers.
Bail for ?????
February 24, 2007
A woman without a name accused of killing a child without a name has been
granted bail for reasons that cannot be published. Earlier this month a
blue-ribbon panel was established to do an investigation that will keep the
case out of the public eye for two years. The extraordinary cloak of
secrecy over this case lends credence to otherwise unfounded rumors that the
accused is well-connected politically. We had previous reports on
January 28,
January 31,
February 5 and
February 13.
One of the functions of convicting a foster parent for the death of a
ward is to divert attention away from the failure of the responsible agency.
But who can accept an unnamed person as a scapegoat? This may become an
interesting case.
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Foster mother charged with murder granted
bail
Last Updated: Friday, February 23, 2007 | 4:05 PM MT
CBC News
An Edmonton woman charged with second-degree murder in
the death of her three-year-old foster child has been
granted bail.
After hearing arguments Friday, a Court of Queen's
Bench judge ruled that the 32-year-old woman has to post a
$10,000 cash bond and is forbidden from having any
unsupervised contact with children, including her own two
biological children.
Outside court, the foster mother's lawyer, Brian
Beresh, said the woman was elated to be granted bail.
"This is just the classic case where you would never
expect, given her history, that she would ever be in jail.
This is just unbelievable — she has been shattered by
this experience."
Beresh accused authorities of making a "rush to
judgment" when she was charged.
"We were very disappointed that people did not view
this objectively, collect information objectively. From
my review of what I have seen so far there appears to be
certain individuals or agencies, which appear to be
protecting their own conduct."
The three-year-old boy died in an Edmonton hospital on
Jan. 27 of head injuries after being rushed from his
foster home.
Charges against his foster mother include second-degree
murder, assault causing bodily harm, and child abandonment
or failure to provide the necessities of life.
She can't be named under the Child, Youth and Family
Enhancement Act.
The judge has issued a publication ban on what was said
in court Friday.
Protect Kids from Imagination
February 23, 2007
The Onion lampoons overprotection of children, suggesting imagination is
hazardous. There is a sad record of today's spoof becoming tomorrow's
reality.
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Child-Safety Experts Call For Restrictions
On Childhood Imagination
February 20, 2007 | Issue 43•08
WASHINGTON, DC—The Department of Health and Human
Services issued a series of guidelines Monday designed to
help parents curtail their children's boundless
imaginations, which child-safety advocates say have the
potential to rival motor vehicle accidents and congenital
diseases as a leading cause of disability and death among
youths ages 3 to 14.
Jill Tyn, 4, perilously close to danger.
"Defuse the ticking time-bomb known as your child's
imagination before it explodes and destroys her
completely," said child-safety expert Kenneth McMillan,
who advised the HHS in composing the guidelines. "New
data shows a disturbing correlation between serious
accidents and the ability of children to envision a world
full of exciting possibility."
The guidelines, titled "Boundless Imagination,
Boundless Hazards: Ways To Keep Your Kids Safe From A
World Of Wonder," are posted on the HHS website, and will
also be available in brochure form in pediatricians'
offices across the country.
According to McMillan, children can suffer broken
bones, head trauma, and even fatal injuries from
unsupervised exposure to childlike awe. "If your children
are allowed to unlock their imaginations, anything from a
backyard swing set to a child's own bedroom can be
transformed into a dangerous undersea castle or dragon's
lair," McMillan said. "But by encouraging your kids to
think linearly and literally, and constantly reminding
them they can never be anything but human children with no
extraordinary characteristics, you can better ensure that
they will lead prolonged lives."
Although the exact number of child fatalities connected
to an active imagination is unknown, experts say the
danger is very real. According to a 2006 estimate,
children who regularly engage in imagination are 10 times
more likely to suffer injuries such as skinned knees from
mythical quests, or bruises and serious falls from the
peak of Bookcase Mountain.
One of the HHS recommendations emphasizes increased
communication between parents and children about the
truths behind outlandish fantasies. "Speak with your
children about the absolute impossibility of time travel,
magical powers, and animals and toys that talk when adults
are not around," reads one excerpt. "If this fails to
quell their imaginations, encourage them to stare at
household objects and think clearly and objectively about
their actual, physical characteristics."
The HHS also discourages aimless playtime activities
that lack a rigid, repetitive structure: "Opt instead for
safe activities like untying knots, sticking and
unsticking two pieces of Velcro, drawing straight lines of
successively longer lengths, and quietly humming a single
note for two to three hours."
But even these relatively safe activities can become
imaginative, experts warn, without proper precautions.
"Do not let children know that, for example, sailors and
pirates untie knots," McMillan said.
Although no cure has yet been developed for childhood
imagination, preventative measures can deter children from
potentially hazardous bouts of make-believe.
"Many of the suggestions are really quite simple, like
breaking down cardboard boxes or sewing cushions to
couches so they cannot be converted into forts or
playhouses," McMillan said. "Blank pieces of paper, which
can inspire non-reality-based drawings, should be
discarded unless they are used in one of our recommended
diagonal folding and unfolding activities. And all loose
sticks left lying in the yard should be carefully labeled
'Not a Sword.'"
Unfortunately, removing everything from a child's field
of view that could stimulate his active young mind is
extremely time-consuming, and infeasible as a long-term
solution, McMillan acknowledges. "To truly protect your
children, you must go to great lengths to completely
eliminate their curiosity, crush their spirit of
amazement, and eradicate their childlike glee. Watch for
the danger signs: faraway expressions, giggle fits, and a
general air of carefree contentment."
Added McMillan: "Remember, if you see a single sparkle
of excitement in their eyes, you haven't done enough."
Addendum: Here it is in real life from the
publication Archives of Diseases in Childhood March 2007, a
publication of BMJ (British Medical Journal). Mamas, don't let your boys
grow up to be superheroes.
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Superhero-related injuries in paediatrics:
a case series
Patrick Davies1, Julia Surridge2, Laura Hole3 and Lisa
Munro-Davies3
ABSTRACT
Five cases of serious injuries to children wearing
superhero costumes, involving extreme risk-taking
behaviour, are presented here. Although children have
always displayed behaviour seemingly unwise to the adult
eye, the advent of superhero role models can give
unrealistic expectations to the child, which may lead to
serious injury.
The children we saw have all had to contemplate on
their way to hospital that they do not in fact possess
superpowers. The inbuilt injury protection which some
costumes possess is also discussed.
Dear Abby Criticizes CPS
February 23, 2007
Respect for child protectors has sunk to the level that the Dear Abby
column will now print a letter critical of CPS. In December, Dear Abby
printed an item of the subject of children driving golf carts, and on
February 8 the letter below was printed in response.
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Dear Abby: A 6-year-old driving a golf cart is child
endangerment, and a social worker has the right to remove
that child to a foster home and ask questions later. The
parents would then be under a microscope.
Because the grandparent knew about the situation and
did not report it to the authorities, the grandparents
would probably not be considered safe guardians for that
child, and the child would be placed with strangers until
the parents finish court-ordered parenting classes.
Foster children are big business. It's a totally
different climate than it was in the days when only
severely neglected and abused children found their way
into foster care.
I speak from 17 years of experience as a foster parent
and 30 years as a psychiatric nurse who has seen what
hoops families must jump through to get their children
back once child protective services is involved.
– Reader in Ferris, Texas
$765,590 for baby-stealers
$0 for mom and dad
February 23, 2007
In another announcement that shows the politicians just don't get it, MPP
David Orazietti and Premier Dalton McGuinty announce even more money for
agencies usurping the functions of mom and dad.
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SooToday.com
Dalton & Dave shake their moneymakers
By David Helwig, SooToday.com, Thursday, February 22, 2007
NEWS RELEASE, DAVID ORAZIETTI, MPP
*************************
Orazietti announces $765,590 in new funding for
children and youth in Sault Ste. Marie
McGuinty government investment creates jobs and
supports the local economy
Sault Ste. Marie – The McGuinty government is
investing $765,950 in Sault Ste. Marie to help eight
not-for-profit organizations better serve children, youth
and families while strengthening the local economy, David
Orazietti, MPP announced today.
"With this investment, our government is providing
further support for children and youth in Sault Ste.
Marie," said Orazietti. "These additional funds to expand
or upgrade facilities that serve our community's young
people will also help create jobs and boost local economic
development."
Local organizations benefiting from this latest
government investment include:
- Children’s Rehabilitation Centre Algoma, $484,950
- Ontario Early Years Centre, $150,000
- Algoma Family Services, $39,000
- Children’s Aid Society of Algoma, $44,780
- Child Care Algoma, $29,860
- John Howard Society, $7,000
- Northern Youth Services, $7,000
- Operation Springboard, $3,000
Funding for these projects comes from an investment of
more than $37 million by the Ministry of Children and
Youth Services to help targeted service providers across
the province improve or expand more than 900
buildings.
Projects range from general repairs to improve energy
efficiency and better meet safety requirements to major
construction and renovations to existing buildings.
"These investments will not only help to better serve
some of our most vulnerable children, youth and their
families, but they will contribute to economic growth and
opportunities in these communities," said Minister of
Children and Youth Services Mary Anne Chambers.
The ministry's contribution is a key part of the
government’s recently announced $190 million economic
stimulus package aimed at creating the equivalent of 3,000
jobs across the province on top of the 270,000 net new
jobs created since 2003.
"While the economy remains fundamentally strong, it is
important to remember that slower growth has a real impact
on people and communities," said Finance Minister Greg
Sorbara. "Investing in these areas that assist families
and communities now means a more prosperous and
competitive future for Ontario."
*************************
Professional Dissent to Forced Drugging
February 21, 2007
A group of academics with credentials in social work is opposing an
adherence initiative of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW).
Adherence is a technical term with the medical definition:
The extent to which the patient continues the
agreed-upon mode of treatment or intervention as
prescribed
In social work, adherence means forcing patients to take their medicine.
At the field level, social workers tell parents to administer psychotropic
drugs to their children, or lose the children to foster care.
Last October the NASW sent an email to members
asking them to join the initiative (MS Word format). The dissenting
letter is below. In the restrained tones of academics it exposes the junk
science behind the pushing of psychotropic drugs.
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Open Letter to NASW Regarding "Adherence
Initiative for Schizophrenia" Sponsored by Janssen,
L.P:
Elvira Craig de Silva, DSW, ACSW
President, National Association of Social Workers (NASW)
Elizabeth Clark, PhD, ACSW
Executive Director, NASW, and President, NASW Foundation
On October 6, 2006, the National Association of Social
Workers (NASW) sent to its Specialty Practice Sections on
mental health and private practice an emailed
“Invitation to Join The National Adherence Initiative
for Schizophrenia.” An article in the November issue of
NASW News also announces and describes the initiative (1).
The brief text in the email asked social workers to
consider enrolling “in a nationwide data collection
effort.” It stated: “Partial adherence is a
significant problem in the treatment of schizophrenia …
and can affect up to 75% of patients.” It invited
participants to “identify up to 10 clients with
schizophrenia that you feel are at risk for partial
adherence.”
The last line of the text informed that this initiative
“is sponsored by Janssen, L.P. in partnership with
NASW.” The pharmaceutical company Janssen, a subsidiary
of Johnson & Johnson, markets Risperdal
(risperidone), an antipsychotic drug that grossed $2.3
billion in US sales in 2005 (2). Social workers who
enrolled received a packet from Janssen, with the “study
instrument,” that spoke of nothing but the importance of
drug treatment adherence for schizophrenia.
The undersigned social workers and social work
educators and researchers are, for several reasons,
concerned about the NASW’s active participation in this
pharmaceutical company marketing initiative.
First, now is a time of unprecedented awareness of the
pharmaceutical industry’s stake in framing how distress
and mental disorders are seen and how they are treated
(3). This industry has used every means at its
disposal—including one-to-one enticement of
professionals (4), sponsorship and delivery of continuing
“education” (5), sponsorship of advocacy groups,
ghost-writing of “scientific” articles and
dissemination of unsupported “medication algorithms”
(6), direct-to-consumer advertising, intense legislative
lobbying (7), as well as suppression of research findings,
illegal marketing of psychotropic drugs for off-label
purposes (8), and cash payments to state officials to
include atypical antipsychotics on Medicaid formularies
(9)—to remain the dominant player in health and mental
health. Regardless of evidence of drugs’ efficacy or
safety, the industry’s unrivaled ability to spread money
to influence thinking, practice, and policymaking means
that the mental health system serves the industry, rather
than the opposite.
Second, as non-industry funded studies increasingly
identify the limitations of its products and exaggerated
claims made about them, the industry greatly diversifies
marketing efforts to dilute any impact of bad news on drug
sales. Countless seemingly “independent” professional
and advocacy activities are today carefully orchestrated
and funded by marketing firms to reach specific
prescription goals (8). The stark truth is that no mental
health profession and no professional activity is safe
from drug industry influence. Moreover, mere awareness of
the issue cannot guard against being used as part of the
industry’s marketing efforts. As authors from
psychology have recently recommended, mental health
professions need to build a “firewall” between
marketing and science. (10) Authors from medicine
similarly call for “a strict sequestration of commercial
and scientific activities, and a fundamental internal
reevaluation of the interactions between individual
physicians, professional organizations, and the
industry” (8). Did the NASW consider such warnings, now
so numerous in the literature as to defy counting?
Third, it seems to us that the NASW did not
sufficiently scrutinize an “adherence initiative” in
2006. Treatment compliance is an old issue in
schizophrenia care. Everyone in this field knows that
antipsychotic drugs’ unpleasant effects make them
extremely undesirable to patients. The Janssen initiative
closely follows the government-sponsored CATIE studies’
findings that three quarters of patients on atypical
antipsychotics such as Janssen’s Risperdal—falsely
touted for a decade as vast improvements over older
drugs—stop taking their prescribed medication because of
“inefficacy, intolerable adverse effects, or other
reasons” (11).
The study instrument mailed to social workers consists
of eight “yes/no” questions, each describing a
“deficit” in patients that would put them “at
risk” of “partial adherence.” In our view, no
information not already well known from dozens of previous
studies on adherence to neuroleptic treatment, including
the $45 million CATIE studies on nearly 1,500 patients, is
likely to come from this Janssen-NASW study. The
adherence initiative repeats that “partial adherence”
is a significant problem in the treatment of
schizophrenia—but the more significant problem lies
rather with the drugs’ now well established
ineffectiveness and adverse effects.
Fourth, and more to the point, Janssen’s exclusive
patent to market oral risperidone will expire in 2007, and
the company stands to lose significant revenue as cheaper
generic versions come to market. Janssen is therefore now
emphasizing the long-acting injectable version of
risperidone, which it markets as Risperdal Consta—on
which it still holds patent for several more years (and
which sells for more than the oral version). The history
of antipsychotic drug use shows that one notion, and one
notion only, has ever justified using long acting
injectable antipsychotics: adherence (compliance). In
this light must Janssen’s “adherence initiative” be
more fully appreciated.
Finally, even as social work researchers lead the
questioning of a failed paradigm constraining explanation
and intervention in the lives of persons who experience
psychosis (12), we are mystified that the NASW allies
itself with Big Pharma, rather than lead the unbiased
search for veritable innovations in care. Improvement
rates in schizophrenia, after more than 50 years of drug
treatment, are worse now than they were 80 years ago (13).
Given that mental disorders and psychosis are strongly
correlated with environmental factors such as low
socioeconomic status (14) and childhood trauma (15), the
NASW should formally endorse the preventive research of
social workers that attempts to protect youth from harmful
experiences or to foster healthy lifestyles and
psychological resilience. Rather than lend even more
credence to pharmaceuticals, the NASW should spearhead an
initiative to publicize available psychosocial treatments
that teach coping skills, interpersonal skills, and
independent living skills that allow clients to function
with minimal reliance on costly and potentially harmful
drugs.
The undersigned consider this “adherence
initiative” a campaign directly promoting the drug
treatment of schizophrenia and indirectly promoting
Janssen’s image and products. The “adherence”
sought is that of social workers and other professionals
to a treatment model guided by drugs—Janssen’s drugs.
That this initiative seeks to enroll social workers in a
seeming research effort for the benefit of patient care
simply cannot be taken as its primary purpose. More than
anything, the initiative expresses to outside observers
that yet another professional organization could not
remain independent of the pharmaceutical industry’s
influence.
It is our understanding that Janssen initiated the
contact with the NASW, remunerated the consultant from the
NASW, and made a donation to the NASW Foundation in return
for this collaboration. (No mention of this donation
appears in the NASW News article.) The other organizations
partnering with Janssen in this initiative include the
National Alliance on Mental Illness, the (American)
Psychiatric Nurses Association, and Schizophrenics
Anonymous, all of which benefit from drug company
largesse.
We request, first, that the NASW publicly backtrack on
this initiative; second, that for the sake of
transparency the NASW discloses the amount that Janssen
donated to the NASW Foundation; and third, that the NASW
inform its membership and the broader constituencies it
aims to serve precisely how it intends to protect itself
from other pharmaceutical industry initiatives certain to
follow this most unfortunate precedent.
Signed:
- David Cohen, PhD
Professor, Florida International University
- Stephen E. Wong, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Florida International University
- Tomi Gomory, PhD
Associate Professor, Florida State University
- Jeffrey Lacasse, PhD Candidate
Visiting Lecturer, Florida State University
- Dennis Saleeby, PhD
Professor Emeritus, University of Kansas
- Stuart A. Kirk, DSW
Professor, University of California, Los Angeles
- John Bola, PhD
Assistant Professor, University of Southern California
- Eileen Gambrill, PhD
Professor, University of California, Berkeley
- Linda Vinton, PhD
Professor, Florida State University
- Scott Ryan, PhD
Associate Professor, Florida State University
- Kia J. Bentley, PhD
Professor, Virginia Commonwealth University
- C. Aaron McNeece, PhD
Dean & Professor, Florida State University
- Wendy Crook, PhD
Associate Professor, Florida State University
- Mark A. Mattaini, DSW
Associate Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago
- Nicholas Mazza, PhD
Professor, Florida State University
- Blace Nalavany, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, East Carolina University
- Devon Brooks, Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Associate
Professor, University of Southern California
- D. Lynn Jackson, Ph.D.
Director of Field Instruction, University of North
Texas
- Donni P. Whitsett, Ph.D.,
University of Southern California
REFERENCES
1. Pace, P. R. (2006, November). NASW joins
adherence initiative. NASW News, p. 10.
2. IMS Health. (2006). Commonly requested
therapeutic class and product update (February 2006).
Retrieved November 21, 2006 from: imshealth
3. Moynihan, R., & Cassels, A. (2005). Selling
sickness: how the world’s biggest pharmaceutical
companies are turning us all into patients. New York:
Nation Books.
4. Elliott, C. (2006, April). The drug pushers. The
Atlantic Monthly, pp. 82-93.
5. Elliott, C. (2004, Sept-Oct.). Pharma goes to the
laundry: Public relations and the business of medical
education. Hastings Center Report, pp. 18-23.
6. Healy, D. (2006). Manufacturing consensus.
Culture, Medicine & Psychiatry, 30, 135-156.
7. Angell, M. B. (2004). The truth about drug
companies: How they deceive us and what to do about it.
New York: Random House.
8. Steinman, M. A., Bero, L. A., Chren, M.-M., &
Landefeld, S. C. (2006). The promotion of gabapentin:
An analysis of internal industry documents. Annals of
Internal Medicine, 145, 284-293.
9. Moynihan, R. (2004). Drug company targets US
state health officials. British Medical Journal, 328,
306.
10. Antonuccio, D. O., & Danton, W. G. (2003).
Psychology in the prescription era: Building a firewall
between marketing and science. American Psychologist, 58,
1028-1033.
11. Lieberman, J. A., et al. (2005). Effectiveness
of antipsychotic drugs in patients with chronic
schizophrenia. The New England Journal of Medicine, 335,
1209-1223.
12. Bola, J. R., et al. (2006). Predicting
medication-free treatment response in acute psychosis:
cross-validation from the Finnish Need-Adapted Project.
Journal of Nervous & Mental Diseases, 194,
732-739.
13. Hegarty, J., Baldessarini, R.J., Tohen, M.,
Waternaux, C., & Oepen, G. (1994). One hundred
years of schizophrenia: A meta-analysis of the outcome
literature. American Journal of Psychiatry, 151(11),
1409-1416.
14. Hudson, C. G. (2005). Socioeconomic status and
mental illness: Tests of the social causation and
selection hypothesis. American Journal of
Orthopsychiatry, 75, 3-18.
15. Read, J., van Os, J., Morrison, A. P., Ross, C.
A. (2005). Childhood trauma, psychosis and
schizophrenia: A literature review with theoretical and
clinical implications. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica,
112, 330-350.
Boy Loses Father
February 19, 2007
Chris McCallum's six-year-old son Steven lives with his step-family in
Sudbury, subject to regular visits with his dad. Chris has noticed a
pattern of injuries to Steven which he believes to be the result of abuse by
the step-family.
This has developed as one of the most common kinds of CAS case, a string
of complaints by one separated parent against the other. It makes no
difference to CAS whether the complaints are justified. In this case a part of the boy's scalp was torn off
last year by a Rottweiler. The usual CAS action is total removal of the
child from the complaining parent, ending the source of complaints. The
McCallum case has now reached that point. On Friday the police prevented
dad from visiting his son. You can read an account of the separation in the words of the father (td) on Sarnia's
Smoking Gun.
The current moral panic regarding child abuse leaves the police and child
protectors obligated to investigate every complaint. When the complaints
become burdensome, they separate parent and child to cut their workload. If
there was less of a moral panic, or more police discretion in treating
complaints, it would not be necessary in these cases to harm a child by
separating him permanently from one parent.
For parents not yet involved, we renew our suggestion never to call CAS
to get the upper hand in a squabble with the other parent.
Addendum: Some of the complaints can be viewed
on Chris McCallum's website.
Girl Tries to Escape Foster Care
February 18, 2007
A five-year-old Michigan girl who understood the meaning of "best
interest of the child" set fire to her foster home in an effort to be
reunited with her sister.
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Young Girl Starts Fire in Foster Home
Emmet County
February 15, 2007
A five year old girl may have intentionally started a
fire in her foster home. The fire started around ten
o'clock Wednesday night at a home on river road near
Petoskey in Bear Creek Township. Officials say the
homeowners are the foster parents of the five year old
girl and her six year old sister. A few years ago the
Fettig family lost their home to an electrical fire just
after the holidays, but this time, although only a few
rooms were damaged investigators say it was the cause of
the fire that is making it difficult to deal with. The
Bear Creek Township Fire Chief, Al Welsheimer said the
five year old admitted to starting the fire in the laundry
area of the home.
The fettig family opened their doors to three sisters
ages five, six and ten. Recently, the ten year old girl
was removed from the home because of her behavior.
Welsheimer says "She [the five year old] had received a
valentine from her older sister that was to burn the house
down because they wouldn't have a place to live and they
could live with her again." Investigators say that night
the five year old girl went into the laundry room and set
the basket on fire. They say the five year old knew what
she was doing but didn't mean to hurt anyone. Officials
say the girls are receiving counselling, but because of
their ages and the situation, investigators say it is
unlikely they will face any official consequences.
Killers Seek More Victims
February 15, 2007
Child protectors in Virginia let a boy die after taking him for
"protection". So how do they make good to the family? By taking their
other children!
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Boy, taken from parents accused of
neglect, dies waiting for liver
By JON FRANK, The Virginian-Pilot, February 15, 2007,
Last updated: 7:37 PM
VIRGINIA BEACH - A 10-month-old boy who was taken from
his parents in December based on allegations of medical
neglect, died Friday while awaiting a liver transplant.
The child, Sunari Dowdell, died at Georgetown
University Medical Center of liver disease.
At a hearing Wednesday in Juvenile and Domestic
Relations Court, lawyers for the child's parents, Tyara
Byers and Darvin Dowdell, argued against efforts by city
officials to get an emergency protective order for the
couple's other three children.
Judge Randall M. Blow did not immediately issue a rul
ing. He will hear additional arguments Friday.
Blow also will hold a hearing Feb. 28 on the
allegations of medical neglect against the parents.
In a Dec. 21 affidavit, Virginia Beach social workers
alleged that leaving the baby with his parents presented
"an imminent danger to the child's life or health."
The affidavit cited at least five instances in which
the child missed medical appointments. It also said the
boy tested positive for marijuana at birth.
The affidavit said a liver specialist thought the child
"was suffering from medical neglect and that it would be
in the child's best interest to be placed in another
environment where his medical needs can be met."
According to the affidavit, the child's doctor was
concerned that the boy would be taken off the list for a
possible liver transplant because of the missed
appointments. The doctor also worried that the parents
were not capable of caring for the child after a
transplant.
Sunari Dowdell was removed from the couple's home in
the 600 block of Red Horse Lane on Dec. 20.
Christopher Hedrick, one of two attorneys representing
the parents, said Wednesday that the parents feel they
made every effort within their ability to provide
treatment for their son.
"The parents are deeply saddened by the loss of Sunari,
and that he passed away while in the care of Social
Services, when it was Social Services that, in fact,
removed the child for treatment," he said.
Hedrick said the parents were upset by how the child
was "forcibly removed" from their home, and they would
await a court ruling on the allegations of medical
neglect.
City officials could not comment on the case because it
is confidential, said Mark D. Stiles, a lawyer with the
city attorney's office.
# Reach Jon Frank at (757) 222-5122 or
jon.frank@pilotonline.com.
Sexual Predator Jailed
February 15, 2007
Last summer Barrie police treated a seventy-year-old woman as a dangerous gang member, but Oregon has
leapfrogged Ontario in the effort to protect against geriatric women. An
84-year-old woman has been sentenced to jail for sexual assault on an
eleven-year-old foster boy. We can all feel safer with this dangerous
predator off the streets.
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washingtonpost.com
Woman, 84, Pleads to Attempted Sex Abuse
The Associated Press, Thursday, February 15, 2007;
11:38 PM
PORTLAND, Ore. -- An 84-year-old woman who confessed
to having sex with an 11-year-old boy in her foster care
reached a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty
Thursday to attempted sex abuse, officials said.
Georgie Audean Buoy will serve 36 months in prison,
said Leslie Wolf, chief deputy district attorney for Wasco
County. She was originally charged with six counts,
including attempted rape, for which she faced eight years
in prison, Wolf said.
In a taped confession, Buoy admitted to having sex with
the boy while he was in her care in 2004, Wolf said. Her
age and lack of prior criminal convictions played a role
in the plea deal.
Buoy's attorney, Andrew Carter, did not return messages
Thursday.
Buoy, of The Dalles, was a longtime member of her
church and volunteered at the county jail, Wolf said.
She must register as a sex offender after serving her
sentence at a women's prison, and must pay $5,000 to the
victim, as well as up to $7,500 in restitution for
counseling.
CAS Defies Law
February 15, 2007
The Children's Aid Society of Ottawa-Carleton has responded to the membership request by John Dunn by defying the law. The
defiance is in denying the request based on speculation that Mr Dunn may
later violate the law.
You can read section 307 of the Corporations Act yourself. It requires corporations
to turn over a list of shareholders or members on presentation of an
affidavit and fee, which Mr Dunn has completed. It places restrictions on
what Mr Dunn can do with the list, but makes no provision for the
corporation to refuse compliance based on unsubstantiated speculation as to
Mr Dunn's purpose. Since Mr Dunn has spent years advocating for reform of
children's aid without violating the law, Mr Morrow's speculation below is
unjustified.
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February 14, 2007
Dear Mr. Dunn,
RE: Application for List of Members, pursuant to
Section 307 of the Corporations Act
"Please be advised, on behalf of the Board of Directors
of the Children's Aid Society of Ottawa-Carleton, that
your request/application for a list of the Society's
members is declined, for the following reasons:
- The Application is not only for purposes connected
with the Children's Aid Society
- The list, and the information contained therein, will
not be used only for purposes connected with the
Children's Aid Society;
- On the basis of the provisions of the Personal
Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act,
S.C. 2005, c.5.
In the result, please find enclosed the original of the
Application, together with your cheque.
Thank you for your attention in this matter
Yours Truly,
Burke-Robertson
(signed)
Robert C. Morrow
RCM*hq
Enc.
c.c. CAS Ottawa-Carleton (Ms Engelking)
CAS/Police Fabricate Evidence
February 15, 2007
Canada Court Watch reports on a case in which police and CAS created a
videotape for evidence. When they found it did not contain what they
wanted, they later created a second nearly identical recording. Somehow the
family found out about the substitution and acquired copies of both
recordings.
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Parent alleges collusion and cover-up by
police and CAS workers to obstruct justice by attempting
to fabricate false information for the courts
(February 15, 2007) A parent came forth to Court Watch
with evidence which would support the parents claims that
police officers in Ontario colluded with CAS workers in
what would appear to be an attempt to fabricate false
information in a child abuse investigation.
According to the parent, he has videotapes of
interviews conducted jointly by police and CAS which were
highly flawed and in the opinion of a leading expert on
the subject, one of the worst cases of evidence tampering
by law enforcement officials and those involved in the
protection of children.
Two almost identical videos of the same child using the
same questions by the same officials in the same room but
a few days apart support claims that there was collusion
amongst the professionals involved to conduct a second
identical interview while covering up the fact that two
interviews were conducted.
According to the parents of the child, unless one
looked at the two videotapes very carefully, it would be
difficult to detect that the interview tapes were not
copies of each other. After viewing the tape carefully
clear differences could be seen.
According to this parent, the police and CAS workers
were colluding to provide misleading evidence to the court
in order to frame the parents for child abuse. According
to the parent, "CAS workers did not get what they wanted
during the first interview, so they did a second interview
asking the child the same questions again........They (The
CAS workers) were very careful when they set up the
interview. Everyone on the second tape was in the same
position and in the same room. The second interview was
almost identical, but they screwed up and made some
mistakes which are apparent upon close inspection of the
videotapes."
CAS workers and police originally denied the existence
of the second video tape which CAS workers had attempted
to conceal. Copies of CAS worker notes secretly obtained
from CAS files reveal that the interview which CAS workers
attempted to cover-up, was in fact conducted a second time
by workers.
According to the parents, one police officer swore an
affidavit as to the number of videotapes, yet the parents
obtained copies of tapes which clearly contradicted what
was said in the police affidavit. The videotaped
interviews of the children including the videotapes that
the CAS tried to hide will be presented to a jury during
an upcoming civil lawsuit against the CAS and the workers
who were responsible for this attempt at obstruction of
justice. A full Court Watch Report will follow up on this
story.
This story of incompetence and evidence tampering by
CAS workers reinforces the importance of recording every
conversation with CAS workers and police during a child
abuse investigation. Parents in Ontario must protect
themselves by also ensuring that they exercise their
rights to audiotape their court proceedings as permitted
under section 136 of the Ontario Courts of Justice Act.
Parents in other provinces should push for legislation
which will give them the right to record court hearings as
is allowed under Ontario law.
Girl's Health Imperiled
February 14, 2007
The girl Jessica, subject of our story on her mother Christine Long, was in custody of
children's aid for two years. The girl has medical problems that need
attention, as indicated by the picture below taken early in 2005. It would
be helpful for her physician to examine the records of diagnosis and
treatment for the years she was in the care of children's aid. The
children's aid society refuses to release the records to the mother, and
even the child's physician cannot see them.
Addendum Here are two letters from the mother,
one to children's aid, the other to MPP Andrea Horwath. As you read the
letters, try to figure out whether the children's aid society has more
concern for the welfare of children, or money.
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February 15th, 2007
Ms. Jacalyn Walters
Acting Senior Counsel
The Children's Aid Society of Hamilton
Hamilton, Ontario L8N 4B9
Dear Ms. Walters,
Re: My File
Thank you for your letter regarding the process
involved obtaining a copy of my file concerning my
daughter Jessica Morison and myself.
Before making the decision to incur the cost of
obtaining a copy of the file, I would like to be advised
of important information I need in order to decide.
Please answer the following 9 questions:
- The disclosure clerk's estimated dollar amount (the
50% upfront.)
- What is the estimated amount of time it will take for
the preparation of the material?
- To whom I direct payment.
- The address to direct payment.
- The payment methods: Credit Card, Money Order,
Cheque, Cash
- Since I must pay you the remainder 50% before
obtaining the file please advise me of the following
- Am I allowed a copy of the entire file and/or
- What will the file consist of? or
- What the file will not consist of?
- The amount of time, in days, will it take before I can
obtain the file?
- Please direct me to the policies that support these
procedures.
- Do I have access to your policies or must I request
them? If I do have access to your policies where and
how may I locate them?
I look forward to your reply.
Sincerely,
Christine Long
copies:
Ann Cavoukian, Ph.D. Information and Privacy
Commissioner/Ontario
Maggie DiDomizio mdidomizio@ombudsman.on.ca
kpenfold@ombudsman.on.ca
gscala@ombudsman.on.ca
ahorwath-qp@ndp.on.ca
john.tory@pc.ola.org
gsmitherman.mpp@liberal.ola.org
CCU@moh.gov.on.ca
| From:
| Christine L
| | Sent:
| Friday, February 16, 2007 2:22 AM
| | To:
| Horwath - CO, Andrea
| | Subject:
| Hamilton CAS
|
Hi Andrea:
Just a update on what is going on with Hamilton CAS and
myself. I have requested Jessica;s medical files as I
have concerns on what this picture is that I have attached
and going over notes that were given to me it says it
could be 3 possibilities ..
- that it started out as step throat and was not caught
in time and turned into Scarlet Fever
- that it was a allergic reaction to amoxcillian
- a vial infection.
Now in saying that the first 2 are concerning as if she
did have a reaction that bad then she cannot go near that
drug again or nay in that family of drugs And if she had
Scarlet Fever then we need to as she should be checked for
any heart damage as this does o cure sometimes.
At first CAS just stalled me and then I wrote them back
and CC it to IPC and the ombudsman and a few government
officials, now they have handed this off to the lawyers
and wrote stating that if I wanted the info then I would
have to pay $65/hr plus 0.30/per copy for any information
I request. As for the investigation on the pictures I
sent them it has gone to intake to the person in charge of
foster placement and Dominic as of last week. So I will
let you know if I receive anything from them I have sent
them back a letter asking a few questions in regards to
their request for payment so we will see were that goes
and how they respond.
Thank you for continuing to fight for families that get
railroad by the CAS.
Sincerely
Christine Long
Alberta Cover-up
February 13, 2007
Alberta has formed a committee to study the case of an Edmonton toddler
who died without a name on January 27. One of the committee members is
Peter Dudding, executive director of the Child Welfare League of Canada - a trade association for the child
protection industries of Canada. Other members are also employed in child
protection. The composition of the board suggests that it is preordained to
sweep the case under the rug for two years, then recommend more money and
power for child protectors.
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Minister names foster care review board
Last Updated: Monday, February 12, 2007 | 5:24 PM
MT
CBC News
A seven-member committee will review the death of an
Edmonton toddler whose foster mother has been charged with
second-degree murder, Children's Services Minister Janis
Tarchuk announced Monday.
The review, to be lead by Mark Hattori, acting
assistant deputy minister of children's services, will not
only look into the details of the case, but also examine
ways to improve the foster care system to prevent similar
tragedies.
"We're going to go as far as we possibly can in terms
of looking at the assessment process, the matching
process, the ongoing monitoring and the service and
supports provided to foster parents and the kids in foster
homes," said Hattori.
The review is complex and will take between six months
and two years to complete, he said.
Tarchuk has said she will release results to the public
as long as they don't contravene any privacy rules.
Also on the review board are:
- Dr. Lionel Dibden, medical director of the Child and
Adolescent Protection Centre at the Stollery
Children's Hospital.
- Peter Dudding, executive director of the Child Welfare
League of Canada.
- Linda Hughes, executive director of McMan Youth,
Family and Community Services Association in Calgary.
- Debbie LaRiviere-Willier, associate director of the
child welfare department with the Lesser Slave Lake
Indian Regional Council.
- John Mould, Alberta's Child and Youth Advocate.
- Lillian Parenteau, chief executive officer, Métis
Settlements Child and Family Services Authority.
A three-year-old boy died in an Edmonton hospital on
Jan. 27 of head injuries after being rushed from his
foster home.
Charges against his foster mother, 32, include
second-degree murder, assault causing bodily harm and
child abandonment or failure to provide the necessities of
life.
She has yet to go to trial.
Baby-stealers Scammed
February 13, 2007
A pregnant woman scammed adoptive parents by holding her baby out to four
different adoptive couples, getting each to contribute to her living
expenses. The law is treating her as a criminal.
Before getting too outraged at her behavior, it is good to remember the
aphorism "you can't cheat an honest man". All of the couples had
baby-stealing as their objective. Glenn Sacks points out that nowhere in
the article is there mention of the father, who deserved primary rights to
the baby after the mother relinquished custody. A curious sidebar is that
the high levels of confidentiality customary in the adoption business
facilitate this kind of scam.
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Detroit News Online
February 13, 2007
One baby, 4 adoptive couples
Wyandotte woman charged with felony;
police say she used pregnancy to scam money from 3
families.
Iveory Perkins and Oralandar Brand-Williams / The
Detroit News
Collins
WYANDOTTE -- A 33-year-old woman is accused of using
her then-unborn baby to scam money from three unsuspecting
couples eager to adopt her child, authorities say.
Heather Roshelle Collins of Wyandotte allegedly made
arrangements with four adoption agencies to receive money
for her living expenses in exchange for giving up her
child to one of their clients.
The problem was that there was only one child and four
couples who planned on adopting the baby.
Collins was charged Monday with two counts of obtaining
money in excess of $1,000 under false pretenses. She
faces up to five years in prison on the felony charges.
"Using an unborn baby to defraud parents is
despicable," said Attorney General Mike Cox in a
statement. "My office will bring the full weight of the
law to bear in this case."
Authorities claim money was the primary motive for
Collins' actions. The prospective adoptive couples
allegedly paid Collins' rent, car payments, cell phone
bills and other living expenses.
Cox said Collins was sending her bills to all the
couples and often being paid twice for the same expense.
Authorities haven't disclosed how much money the couples
paid out.
One of the prospective adoptive moms, Christina, 37,
who lives in Metro Detroit but did not want her last name
or city identified, said she and her husband were duped by
Collins' "lies upon lies."
She said Collins' strategy appeared to be to string
them along from August to October when, "in reality, she
had the baby five days after we met up."
"She strung us along," said Christina. "She played
us."
The couple paid Collins $3,000, plus $3,000 to the
adoption agency, Christina said. They met Collins through
a Dearborn-based adoption agency.
"We were paying her rent for a couple of months as well
as a large utility bill."
In December, they adopted an infant. "It still doesn't
take the sting out of being victimized," she said. "I
just don't want (Collins) to walk away unpunished and have
a good laugh on us."
Privacy laws that protect adopted children and their
families prevent adoption agencies from sharing
information with one another, said Matt Frendeway, a
spokesman for the Attorney General's Office.
"We found no evidence that the agencies were involved
in any fraud," Frendeway said. "Adoption agencies don't
have the ability to communicate back and forth."
Collins ultimately gave up her child to another couple,
but allegedly continued to accept money from the other
three couples.
Michigan State Police officers arrested Collins at her
home Monday. She was arraigned in 27th District Court
before Judge Randy Kalmbach. Her bond was set at $20,000,
and a preliminary exam is set for Feb. 22.
"This case of fraud is particularly devastating because
it victimized families who desired nothing more than to
welcome a child into their home," said Michigan State
Police Director Peter Munoz.
Anna Layne has never met Collins, but has received a
lot of knocks on her door recently from people seeking
her.
Layne lives in the home that Collins rented out two
years ago.
"I have people coming to my house looking for her, the
police have been here for her and three guys knocked on my
door recently asking for her," Layne said. "I don't know
where she is."
You can reach Iveory Perkins at (734)462-2672 or
iveory.perkins@detnews.com.
Nazi Schooling Law Enforced
February 13, 2007
Ordinarily we resist comparing child protectors to Nazis, but in this
story it is unavoidable. Germany is enforcing a law enacted by Nazi Germany
intended to prevent education of children with ideas in conflict with
National Socialism. The child in this story is a high functioning girl who
developed her talent for music, but has now been snatched from her family
and placed in an unknown facility.
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Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Homeschool student disappears from psych ward
Authorities don't let parents, lawyer know her new location
Posted: February 13, 2007, 1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Bob Unruh, WorldNetDaily.com
The case involving a 15-year-old homeschool student in
Germany who suddenly was snatched from her home by a SWAT
team of police officers and sent to a psychiatric ward for
her "school phobia" suddenly has taken a turn for the
worse.
Officials who work in support of homeschoolers in
Germany, even though it is illegal there, notified WND
that Melissa Busekros, in a "new escalation," was moved
from the psychiatric hospital where she had been held for
more than a week "to an unknown place."
"Neither the parents nor their attorney are informed
where Melissa is arrested now," said an urgent statement
from Netzwerk-Bildungsfreifeit," the German homeschool
advocacy organization.
"The situation is [horrifying] for the girl and the
parents," said the statement, which was written in German
and then translated into English.
The German organization said the situation confirms its
worst fears: That "Germany blatantly spurns parental and
human rights and cannot be regarded any longer as a free
country. It is running more and more to tyranny and
dictatorship."
WND reported more than a week ago that German
authorities had assembled a team of about 20 police
officers and other officials to take the teen from in
front of her shocked family.
She was taken on a judge's order to a psychiatric ward
after a diagnosis of "school phobia," according to reports
from German homeschool supporters. She had fallen behind
in Latin and math studies, and was being tutored at home
in the subjects. However, when school officials found
out, they expelled her, then took the family to court when
they began homeschooling.
The court order executed by police officers said, "The
relevant Youth Welfare Office is hereby instructed and
authorized to bring the child, if necessary by force, to a
hearing and may obtain police support for this purpose."
Her father, Hubert Busekros, told the homeschool group
the state was out of line with its "zealous drive to
enforce compulsory schooling."
She initially was hospitalized in the Child Psychiatry
Unit of a clinic in Nuremburg, but then moved without
notice, officials with Netzwerk-Bildungsfreifeit said.
Last week, the Home School Legal Defense Association
launched a campaign to have its supporters, mostly in the
United States, contact the German embassy about the case.
Then officials with the International Human Rights
Group said they had assembled a list of German officials
to contact on behalf of the teen.
Information about the case can be found in English at
Netzwerk-Bildungsfreifeit, officials said.
"The State's action clearly goes beyond what is
justifiable. They took unreasonable measures for which
they had no basis. They intimidated the family with a
'SWAT' team of 15 police officers to take captive a
15-year old unsuspecting girl early in the morning, taking
her to a state psychiatrist," according to the IHRG.
"The psychiatrist, after hours of interrogation, wrote
a report which claimed that Melissa had delayed
educational development of one year and school phobia.
The judge, basing her decision on this report, gave the
custody of the child over to the state and placed the
child in a psychiatric ward. This was all done in a
sped-up action taking only four days. The family is
devastated and has immediately appealed the judge's
decision," the IHRG said.
"This is nothing else than deprivation of liberty and
child abduction," the German homeschool group said.
Officials there said historically the German phobia
about homeschooling began with Adolph Hitler, whose design
was to control the minds of children as they grew, leaving
them with only his worldview.
"The 'Jugendamt' (youth welfare office) has its origin
in the German Nazi state," the German group said. "German
Wikipedia writes about the Jugendamt: 'In 1939 the
Jugendamt [was] adopted ... as a part of government in
the NS-state control of child-education. The Jugendamt
controlled and observed families and children politically
from their birth."
A spokesman for the group told WND, "Today the
Jugendamt … is free to take the children away from their
parents when in their opinion the child's welfare is
jeopardized. A false accusation of neighbors is sometimes
sufficient to capture the children from their
parents."
(remainder of article omitted)
Bob Unruh is a news editor for WorldNetDaily.com.

Pregnant Girls Escape Brainwashing
February 12, 2007
Three pregnant teenagers escaped from the New Hope Maternity Home in Utah
after binding the home operator Jana Moody to another woman and stealing her
credit card and vehicle. Since then one of the girls has turned herself in
to police in California, the other two are still on the run. The story
below gives the basic facts.
The press is mystified why the girls would do such a thing, but the
blogosphere tells it like it is. The girls were the target of psychological
warfare to induce them to give up their babies for adoption. They were far
away from their homes and not allowed to communicate with family or friends.
Blogger FauxClaud writes:
Being held against your will at a maternity home is not
much fun. Separated from friends and family at a
vulnerable time in ones life, being forced to go there by
such friends and family with the knowledge that the future
only holds the forced separation from one’s baby can be
like a death sentence. No one will help you. No one
cares about what you want.
Well intended parents of young women are wrongly
informed on how adoption is a great solution for their
families often not understanding that they are creating a
vast wound that their daughters will carry for life.
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Summit Daily News
Pregnant trio of runaway Utah girls may be
in California
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, January 24, 2007
AMERICAN FORK, Utah — Police on Tuesday located the
van they say was used by three pregnant teenagers to flee
an American Fork maternity home after they allegedly
assaulted the director with a frying pan.
The van was found abandoned in Los Angeles County,
American Fork Sgt. Shauna Greening told Salt Lake City's
KUTV television.
The van was not occupied, nor did officers find any
clues that would lead them to the three girls. Greening
said police believe the girls may be getting help from
friends to stay on the run.
Police thought the trio may have headed to California
after speaking with Carlos Rivera, whose 16-year-old
girlfriend is in the group. Rivera, of Chicago, told
police California was the destination mentioned by his
girlfriend during a phone call last week.
"I haven't talked to her for four days," Rivera said
Monday.
The other girls, both 15, are from California and
Texas. Police said they struck Jana Moody with a pan,
then tied her and another pregnant girl and dashed in the
woman's van Jan. 16.
They immediately used Moody's credit card to get gas,
but there is no other evidence of spending, Police Chief
Lance Call said.
"If they've gotten rid of that van, and they are
keeping their heads down ... it's possible they could be
gone for a while," he said.
The girls likely will face charges in Utah County, Call
said.
New Hope Maternity Home, 30 miles south of Salt Lake
City, is a place for struggling teens to learn about
prenatal care, adoption and parenting skills. They are
sent by their families to get them away from drugs or bad
relationships.
The 16-year-old's mother, Gina Castro of Chicago, is
anxious for news.
"I'm scared to death for her life. My daughter's in
more trouble now than she was before," Castro said.
Baby Held Hostage
February 12, 2007
A mother who could not afford her hospital bill had her baby held hostage
for two months. The baby was returned only after the hospital was
embarrassed by a story in the press. It is a good thing for the family that
Serbia does not have confidentiality laws to protect the best interest of
the child.
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Either Pay Or No Baby
Hospital Kept Baby Hostage For Two Months
Parents did not have 6,500 euro to pay for
medical bills so the hospital decided to “imprison”
the baby until they found the money.
Objavljeno: 09.02.2007. u 16:34h (February 9,
2007)
The Belgrade Neonatology Institute kept a baby
“imprisoned” for nearly two months until the mother
paid medical bills in the amount of around 6,500 euro, the
Serbian Kurir daily writes.
During these two months, 20 year-old mother Senija
Roganovic says they let her see the boy only once, and she
was not even allowed to brest-feed him.
She gave birth on December 15, last year in Zemun, in
the eight month of pregnancy. Because of preterm labor,
the baby was transferred to the Belgrade Neonatology
Institute. Her baby spent around ten days there, but when
they came to take their little son on December 27, the
hospital requested bill settlement for his release.
-As I had no insurance nor Serbian documents, because I
am from Niksic in Montenegro, they requested I paid
500,000 dinar or otherwise, they will not give us the
baby- Senija told the Kurir daily.
Senija told this to journalists two days ago and after
yesterday’s media writings, the baby has been, finally,
let go from the hospital.
When I heard I was getting my baby back, I slept
normally for the first time. I dreamt of holding my baby-
said the mother, who has been sedated for the past two
months and lost 15 kilo from worrying.
Homolka Gives Birth
February 10, 2007
Canadians can be proud of their newest mother, Karla Homolka. Since she
has no history of child abuse, the baby was not seized by social workers in
the delivery room.
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Toronto Sun, February 9, 2007
... And baby makes 3
Now new mom Karla set to wed in
Caribbean
By ALAN CAIRNS, SUN MEDIA
Karla Homolka is nursing a newborn baby, Sun Media has
confirmed.
Using the name Leanne Teale, Homolka gave birth to a
7-pound baby boy Saturday at St. Mary's Hospital in
Montreal.
Homolka and the baby's father took the newborn child to
their bungalow on Montreal's South Shore Monday.
The couple plan to jet off to the sunny Caribbean,
where they will get married in the Antilles islands,
sources told the Journal de Montreal, but first they have
to secure a passport for the baby.
It is not known if the couple is going to the West
Indies only for marriage, or whether they plan to leave
Canada forever.
According to an anonymous letter sent to the Journal de
Montreal, Homolka was first admitted to St. Mary's
Hospital with contractions last Tuesday.
But the contractions proved to be false labour and
Homolka was released after a few hours.
She returned again Friday morning and gave birth the
next day.
"The baby had the umbilical cord rolled up around the
neck, which complicated things a little," a source said.
St. Mary's Hospital officials said yesterday they will
probe claims that hospital staff recognized Homolka and
initially refused to give her treatment.
The confirmation of Homolka's baby comes despite
denials by Homolka's sister and her lawyer, Sylvie
Bordelais. Sources say Homolka was introduced to the
baby's father by Bordelais.
"I do not know anything" other than what she read in
yesterday's Toronto Sun, Bordelais said.
As reported in the Sun yesterday, rumours surrounding
Homolka's motherhood were running rampant since the
weekend.
Homolka, 36, spent 12 years in prison for her part in
her ex-husband Paul Bernardo's sex murders of teens Leslie
Mahaffy, 14, and Kristen French, 15, and the fatal drug
rape of her own sister, Tammy, 15.
Homolka pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter
and accepted the prison term in exchange for her testimony
against Bernardo at his first-degree murder trial.
She claims to have been a battered woman and that
Bernardo was the mastermind behind the rapes and deaths.
Homolka went into hiding after her release from prison
July 5, 2005.
Reporters found the Homolka bungalow occupied in a
visit this week.
Nobody answered the door, although occupants peeked out
from behind the curtains.
Quebec children's aid said despite Homolka's past, the
new mother will not automatically be scrutinized.
Homolka has said that she dreamed of meeting a new
husband and having a baby ever since she was first
imprisoned in 1993.
Kiddie Porn for Social Workers
February 7, 2007
Winnipeg social workers have been watching kiddie porn. When caught with
their pants down, they were prevented from talking about it because of
— what else? — confidentiality!
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Winnipeg Free Press, Thursday, February 8th, 2007
Child porn a training aid?
Police probe social worker complaint
By Mia Rabson
WINNIPEG police are investigating allegations that
graphic child pornography was shown to social workers as
part of a child-abuse training seminar in Winnipeg. The
Integrated Child Exploitation Unit received a complaint
Tuesday that photos or a video depicting a young child
being sexually assaulted was included in training
materials.
The training was for social workers assigned to a new
centralized child-abuse unit created with the four
provincial child welfare authorities -- southern and
northern First Nations, Métis and the general authority.
A police spokesman said Wednesday the investigation was
continuing.
The training was offered to social workers as part of
the new All Nations Coordinated Response Network. It was
organized by the Southern First Nations Child and Family
Services Authority.
Southern CFS head Elsie Flette did not respond to a
request for an interview Wednesday.
The seminar was held at the Viscount Gort Hotel.
People attending the seminar who were approached at the
hotel Wednesday refused to comment, saying they had signed
a confidentiality agreement.
But one source told the paper some of the social
workers at the workshop were so upset about the images
they walked out of the seminar on Tuesday.
The consultant, whose presentation included the images,
is a former police officer from Regina, with specialized
training in crime scene investigation, sex crimes and
child-abuse investigation.
Contacted by the Free Press this week, he refused to
comment on the content of the materials and said nobody
else should discuss it either because of the
confidentiality clause in place for those who attended the
seminar.
Roz Prober, president of the anti-child abuse advocacy
group Beyond Borders, was shocked to hear the allegations.
"That's impossible," she said.
She said many police officers who worked for years in
child-abuse units have moved into consulting and shouldn't
take images from their police pedophile investigations to
make money in their consulting business.
"They have to be exceptionally careful to make sure
they are not crossing the line," said Prober.
Family Services Minister Gord Mackintosh said he, too,
is disturbed about the situation.
"I jumped out of my skin when I heard about this
today," said Mackintosh. He learned about the matter from
his staff, who had been contacted by the Free Press for
comment.
He said he had not seen the offending images but said
he was told there was graphic content involving a young
child, that the child's face was obscured to prevent
identification, and that the child and family had given
permission for the material to be used for training
purposes. And while police would not confirm this
yesterday, Mackintosh also said he's been advised police
do not believe the images are child pornography as defined
by federal criminal statutes.
Mackintosh said he still has serious reservations about
using the images.
"I find it profoundly disturbing that actual child
victims are used in training materials," said Mackintosh.
He said he has directed his department to begin
preparing provincial standards about what should and
shouldn't be included in training courses about child
sexual abuse.
"It's important we develop a protocol to guard against
this in the future," said Mackintosh.
He said he will urge the federal government to do the
same.
Prober said determining what legally constitutes child
pornography is not easy, and social workers aren't in the
business of making that determination.
They are there to protect kids and report possible
abuse to police, who are trained to investigate and
determine whether something is illegal. There is no
reason for social workers to be shown graphic sex-abuse
images, said Prober.
"If you're talking about illegal, sexual-abuse imagery,
nobody has any right to see it except law-enforcement
officers and people in the justice system such as lawyers
defending clients charged with (child pornography)," said
Prober.
mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca
Political Power Grab
February 4, 2007
Professor Stephen Baskerville shows how politicians claiming to help
children enhance the power of the state at the expense of families.
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Human Events
Hillary and the Politics of Children
by Stephen Baskerville, Posted 01/24/2007 ET
Hillary Clinton chose to kick off her presidential
campaign by invoking images of -- what else? -- children.
Her healthcare policy would target "millions of children
whose families today cannot afford care." Not the families
of the children. Hillary prefers to work directly with
the children themselves rather than their parents.
In this photograph, not part of Dr Baskerville's
article, Hillary Clinton looks into the eyes of a
child, bypassing the parent.
"We are talking about health care for children in need,
which is about as safe an issue as there is," said Ken
Sherrill, a political science professor at Hunter College.
Safe for a candidate perhaps, but safe for the children
and our nation it is not. In casting her questionable
health care ideas as a measure “for the children,”
Hillary is returning us to the darkest days of her
husband’s administration, when a broad range of
intrusive government measures were cynically couched as
concern for children.
This is more than just another politician kissing
babies. It represents one of the most destructive (and
successful) strategies of the feminist Left in recent
years: the exploitation of children as political weapons.
Hillary is not alone. "Democrats across the board are
putting children at the center of their imagery and
message," according to the Washington Post. "Earlier this
month, Rep. Nancy Pelosi made a vivid impression by
assuming the House speakership surrounded by a squadron of
young grandchildren. Sen. Barbara Boxer recently
questioned whether Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice,
not having family of her own, could understand the stakes
in Iraq." And, of course, a Democratic California
assemblywoman wants to criminalize spanking.
The trend may be traced to Hillary’s mentor, Marian
Wright Edelman, who admitted she founded the Children’s
Defense Fund in the early 1970s upon realizing that the
country was weary of the broader New Left agenda: “I
got the idea that children might be a very effective way
to broaden the base for change.” Edelman’s achievement
was “to put children squarely in the front of almost
every domestic policy debate,” according to the late
Barbara Olson. In her book on the former First Lady,
Olson writes, “For Hillary, children are the levers by
which one forces social change.”
Largely through Hillary, this motif dominated Bill
Clinton’s presidency. “Children,” wrote liberal
columnist Richard Cohen, “have been an obsession for
this administration.” His point is borne out by the
words of its officials. “Government has got to ensure
that parents are old enough, wise enough, and able to care
for their children,” Attorney General Janet Reno
insisted. Then-Secretary of Health and Human Services
Donna Shalala was especially zealous for government
child-rearing, envisioning a future kindergartener who
“will play gender-neutral games in government day care
and think of herself as part of the world, not just her
town or the United States.”
One does not have to be a Clinton-basher to see this
eerily close to Aldous Huxley’s prophecy of a
totalitarian dystopia. Praising Hillary's book, "It Takes
a Village," for its message that "each of us -- society as
a whole -- bears responsibility for all children, even
other people's children," professors Stewart Friedman and
Jeffrey Greenhaus insist that we "must be prepared to make
the most of the brave new world lying in the future."
"Success in the brave new world." they add, "requires
skills found more among women than men."
This is far from harmless, either for public policy or
for children themselves. Political scientist Jean Bethke
Elshtain writes that “The replacements for parents and
families would not be a happy, consensual world of
children coequal with adults but one in which children
became clients of institutionally powerful social
bureaucrats and engineers of all sorts for whom they would
serve as so much grist for the mill of extra-familial
schemes and ambitions.”
This is precisely what is suggested in Hillary’s
aphorism: “There is no such thing as other people’s
children.” Hillary rejects the notion that “families
are private, nonpolitical units whose interests subsume
those of children” and believes instead in “the status
of children as political beings.”
Feminist-influenced legal practitioners now openly
advocate that traditional parental authority be replaced
by bureaucrats: “For those who would like to have the
State use its power and resources to improve the lives of
children, parental rights constitute the greatest legal
obstacle to government intervention to protect children
from harmful parenting practices and to state efforts to
assume greater authority over the care and education of
children.”
These words are published in the California Law Review,
a mainstream journal that asks “why parents should have
any child-rearing rights at all.”
“Parental child-rearing rights are illegitimate,”
declared attorney James Dwyer. “No one should possess a
right to control the life of another person no matter what
reasons, religious or otherwise, he might have for wanting
to do so.”
A popular joke holds that within the family mom makes
the minor decisions, such as how to raise the children,
while dad concerns himself with important questions, like
how to achieve world peace. This joke is now grimly writ
large in public policy. Conservatives who allow their
attention to be monopolized by foreign policy and
government finance and leave family policy to liberals
from the “Mommy Party” will discover only once it is
too late the power of “the hand that rocks the
cradle.”
Dr. Baskerville is a political scientist and president
of the American Coalition for Fathers and Children.

Mother Strikes Back at CAS
February 3, 2007
A Sarnia mother has been sentenced to house arrest for hitting a
caseworker removing her baby. Judge Hornblower said it was the woman's
action that put the children's welfare at risk. We suggest that Judge
Hornblower visit the zoo and take a cub from a mother bear.
The mother is fortunate to live in Canada. In the US Gene Velasquez and Bryan Russell were killed for
defending their family from social workers.
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The Sarnia Observer
Local mother gets house arrest
NEIL BOWEN
Saturday, February 03, 2007 - 09:00
Local News - Hitting a Children's Aid Society worker
who was taking custody of her infant has resulted in 45
days of house arrest for a local woman.
Justice Mark Hornblower called it a difficult case
Thursday because the single mother's action needed to be
"strongly denounced." But jail time would upset a family
situation that has settled down since the November, 2005
incident.
The woman, 36, told the court on Jan. 24 that she was
shocked by the way she reacted. She was preparing to
bring the child home from hospital when she was informed
the child was going into foster care. "She snapped,"
defence lawyer Terry Brandon said during the Jan. 24
appearance.
Workers deserve to know their services are valued and
society regards "real incarceration" as the best way to
get that message across, Hornblower said.
The perception isn't the same about house arrest,
although the courts regard it as incarceration, he added.
Prosecutors were seeking 21 days in jail for the woman
to deter others from reacting in an abusive way to
Children's Aid Society workers.
Hornblower said even an intermittent jail sentence, in
which the time is served on weekends, would be harmful to
her children. Their lives would be disrupted by being
placed in the temporary custody of the Children's Aid
Society.
But it was the woman's action that put the children's
welfare at risk, he said.
House arrest means the woman must be home except for
medical appointments for herself and her children, or for
job interviews. She is also allowed away from home with
her children between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Saturdays and
Sundays.
The intention is not to put the children under house
arrest because they didn't do anything wrong, Hornblower
said.
She was also placed on probation for 12 months.
The Observer is not identifying the woman to protect
her children.
Manhunt for Cole Norris
February 2, 2007
Police yesterday renewed the manhunt for Cole Norris. Today the
Brantford Expositor printed an article headlined: Police believe
missing teen is in Brantford area, including a picture of the boy. The
Napanee OPP press release is below. We do not know where Cole is, but we
suspect he is better off than back in CAS custody, so we left out the snitch
numbers.
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FROM: NAPANEE DETACHMENT
RELEASE: January 31st, 2007
Update – Missing 13-year-old Boy
(Napanee, Ontario)- Officers with the Napanee
Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police continue to
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. The OPP believe that
he is in the Brantford area.
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
included photo.) He was last seen wearing a muscle shirt,
light coloured shorts, sandals, and a seashell necklace.
View our releases on www.crimealerts.net
-30-
More on Dead Boy in Edmonton
January 31, 2007
A boy died in foster care in Edmonton on January 27. As long as the
names of the dead boy, his family, and the accused foster mom are kept
confidential, it is impossible to learn anything but the social services
side of the story. Two articles today give a little more.
We have heard the complaint many times from parents that they got the
court papers only minutes before a hearing, making it impossible to even
read them before court time. Here is a similar story from a lawyer.
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Lawyer angry not told of court date (7:22
p.m.)
Says media knew more about the case than
she did
Mike Sadava, edmontonjournal.com
Published: Tuesday, January 30, 2007
The lawyer temporarily representing a foster mother
charged with murder is angry she wasn’t notified her
client had a court appearance on Tuesday.
The 32-year-old woman, wearing a navy blue sweatshirt
and leg irons, was remanded in custody until Feb. 5 after
a brief appearance in provincial court.
Shannon Prithipaul, who began representing the woman on
Friday, said she only found about the court appearance
because her husband heard about it on the radio.
“It is really frustrating that it seems the media
knows more about this case than her counsel,” Prithipaul
said after the court appearance.
The accused, whose name is subject to a publication
ban, has been charged with second-degree murder, assault
causing bodily harm, failure to provide the necessities of
life and child abandonment.
An autopsy shows a three-year-old boy in her care died
of head injuries.
Prithipaul said she met with her client numerous times
over the weekend and gave her card to detectives.
“As far as the court date goes, I can’t speak to
that because the responsibility belongs with police,”
said Alberta Justice spokesman David Dear.
“Police lay the charge and they bring the person down
to the bail hearing when the court date is set.”
City police spokesman Jeff Wuite said the Crown has
that responsibility.
“Our conduit into the legal system is the Crown, so
we give our information to them and they’re responsible
for distributing it around,” Wuite said.
Prithipaul said she will pass the case to another
lawyer with more experience in murder cases.
msadava@thejournal
The boy's father issued a statement supplied to the Edmonton Sun by
Edmonton law firm Engel Brubaker.
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“Regarding the impact of the untimely passing of my
son. The Child and Family Services Authority system
failed to provide a safe, secure, nurturing and loving
environment.
“This system failed to protect my son.
“Unfortunately my son was abused and subjected to
corporal punishment, which in my view are forms of
torture. My son was subjected to forms of excruciating
pain and neglect, until his passing.
“I am unable to comprehend how any individual could
inflict theses types of injuries on my child.
“On Saturday, January 27, 2007, I held my son’s
battered, starved, beaten, broken body as he suffered,
until he took his last breath of life.
“My pain and suffering can not be put into words.
For there are no words to truly describe what I have seen
and how this tragedy has impacted me and my family.
“This horrid tragedy is incomprehensible, for the
Child and Family Services Authority are to protect our
children. And they failed the most precious Gift the
Creator gave me, my son and his life.
“In these, the saddest days of my life, I hear many
people speaking about the ways the system failed my son.
People say there wasn’t enough money to ensure there
were Native foster homes to care for our children. There
wasn’t enough money to ensure there were social workers
visiting foster homes often enough. From my point of view
however, the one thing most lacking was a lack of trust.
I believe there wasn’t enough trust in First Nations
people to determine what is best for our own children.
“In this, you can trust. We promise that we love our
children. We promise that we want our children to thrive
and prosper. We promise that we want our children to
change the world, so that it will be a better place for
all people to live in. My son’s short life will help to
fulfill that third promise, if we learn from the mistakes
that have been made. If we learn from our mistakes, his
death will have meaning.
“There needs to be trust, that as a community, First
Nations people have the best interests of their children
in mind. Because First Nations people better understand
the circumstances of their people.
“There needs to be a real commitment to trusting and
supporting First Nations people in finding ways to provide
our own children with safe homes when their parents can
not provide them. If this isn’t in or part of our
current system, it should be. For our people have
survived for thousands and thousands of years, effectively
solving problems. This is one we can solve if entrusted
to do so.
“It is we, his family who are left to grieve the
death of my son. We do so knowing our wishes were not
always respected, in regards to decisions that affected
his life. We are left picking up the pieces without
having a significant impact into the matters that affected
his life and caused his loss of life. If his SACRIFICE is
to have meaning there needs to be change.
“I provide this statement so you will have an
understanding. And I request that all media related
individuals leave all my family members alone. For this
horrid tragedy has affected us to the core of our being.
And we ask that out of respect and understanding, you
would allow us to grieve in private.”
Infant Brain Hemorrhages are Normal
January 30, 2007
Science has rejected a popular reason for taking babies from their
parents. For years, two symptoms were treated as sure indicators of shaken
baby syndrome: retinal hemorrhage and subdural hematoma. Now science has
found that a quarter of babies undergoing a normal birth experience a small
amount of brain hemorrhaging. Don't expect child protectors to give back
the babies taken on false accusations.
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Los Angeles Times
Some babies' brains bleed after vaginal
births
Researchers say small hemorrhages occur in
a quarter of infants but cause no damage.
By Thomas H. Maugh II, Times Staff Writer
January 30, 2007
A quarter of babies born vaginally suffer small
hemorrhages in their brains, perhaps from compression of
the head during delivery, according to researchers who
performed the first high resolution magnetic resonance
imaging studies on healthy newborns.
The bleeding heals quickly, the team reported Monday in
the online version of the journal Radiology, and most
likely does not produce any long-term effects.
"After all, women have been delivering vaginally for
millions of years," said Dr. Honor M. Wolfe of the
University of North Carolina School of Medicine, one of
the report's authors.
No bleeding was observed during Caesarean deliveries,
but the authors cautioned that this should not be taken as
an argument to support C-sections.
"At this point, neither parents nor providers should
change their plans for delivery," Wolfe said.
An earlier British study had found similar bleeding in
10% of newborns,but those studies were conducted somewhat
longer after birth using a less-sensitive imager.
"The sharpness of the images is the main reason we are
seeing more than other studies have found," said Dr. J.
Keith Smith, a UNC radiologist who was part of the team.
The Carolina researchers studied 88 newborns an average
of three weeks after birth. Seventeen of the 65 who
underwent vaginal delivery were found to have suffered
small hemorrhages in the brain, compared to none of the 23
who had C-sections.
"Neither the size of the baby or the baby's head, the
length of the labor, nor the use of vacuum or forceps to
assist the delivery caused the bleeds," said Dr. John H.
Gilmore of UNC, the lead author.
"It's just the process of being born," he said. The
skull has not yet become solid and the bone plates overlap
with each other. Passage through the birth canal
compresses the plates, tearing small blood vessels, he
said. Most of the bleeds occurred in the lower, rear part
of the brain.
But, Gilmore added, "there was no evidence clinically
to indicate that anything had happened to the babies'
brains."
The team will examine the babies again at ages 1 and 2
to look for any possible long-term effects.
Smith noted that radiologists increasingly use MRI to
examine newborns, and are likely to observe similar
hemorrhages.
"The reassuring thing is that this is a normal finding,
and not an indication of pathology," Smith said.
*
thomas.maugh@latimes.com
Saskatchewan Baby Stolen from Dad
January 29, 2007
Rick Fredrickson has had his
baby boy Liam stolen in Saskatchewan. The mother concealed her
pregnancy and gave away the boy at birth. Improvements in her finances
leave a suspicion that she sold the baby for cash. When a DNA test proved
the father's paternity, the adoptive parents forced him to pay child
support. The courts have now denied him custody and revoked his visitation
rights.
Baby Murdered by Child Protectors
January 28, 2007
Child protectors in Edmonton have another baby protected to death. They
are keeping the name of the dead baby and the offending foster parent secret
for now, following the foster death
script. Since they will surely resort to making the foster mom the
scapegoat, they will soon have to publish her name.
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Police file charges against foster mother
of dead child
Edmonton Journal
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Police have filed new charges of second-degree murder
and assault causing bodily harm against an Edmonton foster
mother, after a three-year-old boy in her care died from
his head injuries.
The child died around 11: 20 p.m. Saturday when he
was taken off life support. His father told the Journal
the toddler had suffered severe brain damage.
The new charges laid on Sunday are in addition to
charges of aggravated assault, failure to provide the
necessities of life and child abandonment that were filed
against the foster mother on Saturday. The woman, who is
32 years old, cannot be named to protect the identity of
the child.
The Journal has learned she is a part-time employee at
Grant MacEwan College. The college has relieved her of
her duties.
The woman has been remanded into custody until Feb. 5.
The boy was taken to hospital early Friday morning
after paramedics were called to a two-storey brick house
in Edmonton’s west end. Police were called in to
investigate after paramedics reported the child’s
injuries were suspicious.
Neighbours said the home is owned by a single mother,
who lived there with two of her own children and two
foster children, including the toddler who died.
Three children were removed from the home Friday and
placed in protective care.
The toddler who died was placed in provincial
government care on Dec. 6, the father said. It is
unclear when he was sent to live at the west-end home.
The father said his son had lost a lot of weight since
he last saw him. The boy also had bruises on his body, as
well as burns on his hands and nose, he said.
He said police told him the toddler was made to sleep
in the garage at night.
Drug Pusher Panel
January 25, 2007
Ontario has recognized that there is a problem with the way psychotropic
drugs are administered to children, especially children in custody of
children's aid societies. Its response is to establish a panel of experts
to develop standards. Look at the credentials of the panel members. They
are all within the industry that produces and prescribes drugs. Not one is
a representative of parents or children victimized by the drugs. The
pushers are making the rules.
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Ontario Government Launches Expert Panel
On Psychotropic Drugs
Advisory Body To Set Standards Of Care For
Giving Certain Medications To Children And Youth In
Residential Settings
QUEEN'S PARK, ON, Jan. 24 /CNW/ - The Ontario
government has established an expert panel to develop
standards of care for the administration of psychotropic
drugs to children and youth in residential settings,
including group and foster care homes across the province,
Children and Youth Services Minister Mary Anne Chambers
announced today.
"Our government is committed to the health, safety and
well-being of children and youth receiving residential
services," said Chambers. "We also understand that
frontline workers involved in the daily administration of
psychotropic drugs require support and guidance. That is
why the expert panel will make recommendations on training
for frontline staff to help them provide informed care and
to monitor the impacts of medications."
The 13-member expert panel comprises leading health and
social services professionals who have expertise in
psychotropic drugs and residential services. In addition
to developing standards, the panel will provide
recommendations on training frontline staff to help them
provide informed care and monitor the impact of
psychotropic medications."
Psychotropic drugs, also called psychoactive drugs, are
medications capable of affecting the mind, emotions and
behavior. Legal psychotropic drugs include
antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers and
tranquilizers and are considered vital to the practice of
psychiatry in the treatment of mood and behavior
disorders.
Glenn Thompson, appointed chair of the expert panel, is
a former deputy minister who has served in six provincial
ministries. Following his retirement from the Ontario
Public Service in 1991, Thompson joined the Canadian
Mental Health Association (CMHA), Ontario Division, and
was executive director for nine years. He is currently
the interim chief executive officer of the CMHA's national
organization.
"The panel will review current clinical practice and
consult with key clinical experts, professional and
regulatory bodies, and service providers before we make
our recommendations," said Thompson. "Our work will help
to promote the safety and well-being of more young people
in residential settings from youth justice to child and
youth mental health to developmental services and child
protection, including children's aid societies."
The other panel members are:
- Kalyna Butler, a retired former psychiatry pharmacist,
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, at the Clark
Institute of Psychiatry in Toronto. She has published
a book called The Clinical Handbook of Psychotropic
Drugs for Children and Adolescents.
- Dr. Clive Chamberlain, a senior psychiatrist at the
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and an
associate professor of psychiatry at the University of
Toronto. He works with children, adolescents and
their parents and is an authority on youth violence
and societal attitudes towards youth.
- Dr. Simon Davidson, chief of psychiatry and chief of
staff at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario
(CHEO), an associate professor with the University of
Ottawa and an associate member of CHEO. Dr. Davidson
is also a past president of the Canadian Academy of
Child Psychiatry.
- Sylvia Hyland, vice-president of the Institute for
Safe Medication Practices Canada, an independent,
national non-profit agency committed to the
advancement of medication safety in all healthcare
settings.
- Lucia Lee, executive director of the Murray McKinnon
Foundation, an organization dedicated to providing
community-based supports to at risk youth and youth in
conflict with the law. She also volunteers with other
community organizations.
- Dr. Marty McKay, a clinical psychologist who has
practiced in Toronto since 1976. Dr. McKay has been
a consultant to public sector and governmental
agencies including children's aid societies, the
Ministry of Community and Social Services and
facilities for people with medical and psychological
disabilities.
- Laurine Martyn, residential director of the
Hincks-Dellcrest Centre, Gail Appel Institute,
established in 1986 to respond to the challenge of
improved mental health care for children.
- Dr. Ajit Ninan, a psychiatrist at the Child and
Family Resource Institute and an assistant professor
in the department of psychiatry at the University of
Western Ontario. Dr. Ninan recently completed his
child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at the
University of Rochester.
- Dr. Wendy Roberts, director of the Child Development
Centre at the Hospital for Sick Children and a
professor of paediatrics at the University of Toronto.
Dr. Roberts's current research focuses on autism
spectrum disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder.
- Dr. Diane Sacks, president of the Canadian Paediatric
Society of Canada and a guest lecturer on teen
parenting issues. Dr. Sacks worked as a
paediatrician specializing in adolescent medicine for
more than 30 years.
- Dr. Margaret Steele, chair of the Division of Child
and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Western
Ontario. Her research interests are
psychopharmacology and psychiatric education.
- Anne-Marie Watson is currently the director of service
at the Children's Aid Society of Haldimand and Norfolk
where she is responsible for child welfare services,
operations, planning, residential licensing and
children's residential services.
For further information: Chris Carson, Minister's
Office, (416) 212-7118; Anne Machowski-Smith, Ministry of
Children and Youth Services, (416) 325-2256
Addendum: A reader points out that three panel
members, Dr. Simon Davidson, Sylvia Hyland and Dr. Marty McKay are not
advocates of Ritalin for children. We also note that in Michelle Cheung's
CBC report on boy "J", Dr Wendy Roberts helped to wean the boy from his
drugs.
Inquest for Matthew Reid
January 25, 2007
There will be an inquest into the death of Matthew Reid. In the past,
all inquests into deaths in CAS cases have recommended more money and power
for children's aid societies.
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Inquest Announced In The Death Of Welland
Child
ST. CATHARINES, ON, Jan. 24 /CNW/ - Dr. David Eden,
Regional Supervising Coroner for Niagara, today announced
that an inquest will be held in the December 15, 2005,
death of a 3-year-old child in Welland.
The child was found dead in a bedroom of the foster
home in which he resided. A 15-year-old has admitted to
purposely suffocating the child.
The inquest jury will determine the facts surrounding
the child's death and will examine the role of child
protective services in this case. The inquest jury may
make recommendations aimed at preventing deaths in similar
circumstances.
The date, location, presiding coroner and counsel to
the coroner have not yet been determined.
For further information: Contact: Dr. David Eden,
Regional Supervising Coroner for Niagara, Ministry of
Community Safety and Correctional Services, (905)
682-9209
Addendum: The Globe and Mail interviewed
Ontario's Deputy Chief Coroner Jim Cairns. He said Ontario has about 80
deaths a year of children with open CAS files. That includes deaths in
foster care and in-home deaths of children under watch.
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January 25, 2007
CAS role in boy's death to be probed
Coroner says public airing needed in case where teen
smothered another foster child
HAYLEY MICK
A coroner's inquest into the death of a toddler in
foster care last December will probe serious concerns
about the actions of children's aid societies, one of
Ontario's top coroners says.
"There's a need to air this publicly," deputy chief
coroner Jim Cairns said in an interview yesterday.
A girl, now 15, pleaded guilty on Monday to suffocating
the three-year-old boy on Dec. 15, 2005. The incident
occurred less than a day after she was removed from a
youth-detention facility and delivered to the foster home
in Welland, Ont.
The inquest announced yesterday will focus mainly on
"the placement of the 14-year-old in that home and the
suitability of that," Dr. Cairns said.
His office is doing the first-ever statistical analysis
looking at links between the approximately 80 children who
die with open CAS files every year. The aim of that
analysis, the results of which will be released in June,
is to make recommendations that will prevent deaths in
similar circumstances.
The inquest, which is expected to begin before summer,
was welcomed yesterday by the slain toddler's 24-year-old
mother, who has said she blames case workers for putting
her son in harm's way. "I think it needed to be done,"
she said from her home in Tillsonburg, Ont.
The teenage girl is a ward of Family and Children's
Services Niagara, and officials issued a statement saying
they were happy to have the opportunity to provide
transparency for the public.
"If there is anything that can be found, anything that
can be learned that would help prevent a future tragedy of
this nature -- we want to know," executive director Bill
Charron said in the statement.
Dr. Cairns says the inquest will also focus on
communication gaps between two children's aid societies.
The boy had been a ward of Children's Aid Society of
Haldimand and Norfolk since he was 10 months old; the
teen had been a ward of Family and Children's Services
Niagara since infancy.
Her lawyer said she suffered from fetal-alcohol effects
and had been removed from an adoptive home for assaulting
her younger sister.
She will undergo an assessment before being sentenced
for second-degree murder in April. The Crown is asking
for an adult sentence.
More than 30,000 children get support from a children's
aid society every year, whether in short or long term,
according to the Ontario Association of Children's Aid
Societies, the umbrella organization for the province's 53
provincially funded agencies.
Most of the 80 child deaths are not preventable -- for
example, resulting from accidents or illness, Dr. Cairns
said. But he said the report -- funded with a $100,000
provincial grant and conducted by the pediatric death
review committee made up of 14 experts, lawyers, police
officers and doctors -- should highlight trends and
problems if they exist.
"We are going to do this report and take away a lot of
the secrecy that's involved," said Dr. Cairns, the
committee chair. "We think we can show the public a more
in-depth look at what happens to children when they're
looked after by CAS."
Marin Powerless Over CAS
January 24, 2007
In today's Globe and Mail Ontario Ombudsman André Marin pleads
again for authority to report on problems within children's aid societies.
Instead of leaving it all to the coroner, he could correct problems before
there was a dead body.
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POSTED ON 24/01/07
Watchdog pleads for children's aid
oversight
Ombudsman cites CAS 'horror' stories that his office is
powerless to remedy
HAYLEY MICK
Tragedies such as the teen who pleaded guilty this week
to murdering a toddler in a foster home prove it is time
Ontario's provincially funded children's aid societies
were held accountable, Ontario's ombudsman says.
"There's not a day that goes by without us hearing
another CAS horror story," André Marin said in an
interview yesterday.
"The complaints are piling high on my desk and my hands
are tied by dated legislation. I simply can't help these
people."
Since April of last year, his office has received 496
complaints about children's aid services, ranging from
child safety concerns to claims of sexual abuse by
children's aid staff and claims that agencies retaliated
against people who "dare challenge them," he said.
Yet his office is powerless to investigate because the
province's 53 children's welfare agencies -- which
collectively consume about $1.5-billion in provincial
funding each year -- are treated as private institutions,
outside the provincial watchdog's authority.
On Monday, a 15-year-old girl pleaded guilty to
second-degree murder in the suffocation death of a
three-year-old boy in a foster home in Welland, Ont.
The teen's case worker had placed her in the home on
Dec. 14, 2005, after bailing her out of a youth detention
facility. Less than 24 hours later, the toddler was dead.
An inquest into the death is expected to be announced
later this week by the Office of the Ontario Coroner,
which for the past year has been investigating the case
and what role child welfare agencies may have played in
the death.
Relatives of the slain toddler have accused Family and
Children's Services Niagara of failing to protect the boy
by placing the teen in the home.
She previously had been removed from her adoptive
family for assaults on her younger sister.
Bill Charron, the agency's executive director, said
earlier this week that case workers knew about the accused
teen's troubled past, but put her in the foster home
because it was the best place for her.
Mr. Marin says the Office of the Ontario Coroner does
a good job of investigating such deaths, but "we should be
able to be pro-active and deal with the complaints before
we have a dead body."
Mr. Marin says he has lobbied Premier Dalton McGuinty
and Child and Youth Minister Mary Anne Chambers to push
for independent oversight of the agencies -- with little
success.
"It saddens me to this day that the government has been
swayed by the self-serving arguments made by the CAS," he
said.
Ms. Chambers said the province has recently introduced
several new regulations that make children's aid societies
more accountable, including heavier security checks for
foster families and a system that helps people register
complaints.
The minister was in Niagara Falls yesterday, where she
announced new funding for grandparents and relatives who
take custody of children in the foster care system.
The grandparents of the slain toddler in Welland had
been in the final stages of becoming his legal guardians
when he was killed.
Community Participation Denied
January 24, 2007
The press release below by John Dunn lays out his continuing frustration
in getting membership in his local children's aid society. He is not the
only person to be denied in this way. Ontario's children's aid societies
now apparently have a policy of denying memberships through long-term
foot-dragging. Mr Dunn has been advised to seek legal counsel in pursuit of
his membership.
As originally conceived, children's aid societies were grassroots
organizations controlled by the communities they served. The new policy
prevents community participation in children's aid governance through
membership. Imagine what federal or provincial elections would be like if
you had to win a lawsuit to vote.
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For Immediate Release: January 24, 2007
By: John Dunn
(613) 228-2178
johndunn@afterfostercare.ca
http://www.afterfostercare.ca
For over one year, former foster child, and child
welfare reform advocate John Dunn -- known on the internet
as AfterFostercare -- has had his request for a membership
with the Ottawa Children's Aid Society (Society) rejected
with what in his opinion is an invalid explanation.
The President of the Society's Board of Directors,
Brian McKee, signed a letter to Dunn stating that "The
Board recognizes that you have acted in a manner that is
inconsistent with, and contrary to, the interests of the
Children's Aid Society" and that in the Board's opinion,
Dunn does "not have a genuine interest in the objectives
of the Society.
On several occasions, Dunn requested an opportunity to
meet with the Board to learn what it was he had done and
how he could improve his chances of getting accepted into
the membership of the Society in the future but was
instructed by Pierre Viger, Director of Professional
Services at the Society to talk to Ottawa Lawyer, Robert
C. Morrow, of Burke-Robertson Barristers &
Solicitors, LL.P. of Ottawa.
Dunn met with Mr. Morrow and learned that the Society
is not prepared to discuss the matter any further and was
advised to seek legal counsel.
Dunn's next move is to request a list of the membership
in order that he may communicate with the members of the
Society on matters related to the corporation. (CAS)
Dunn says "few people in Ontario are aware of their
right under the Corporations Act to communicate with
members of the various Children's Aid Societies regarding
the election of Board members and any other matters as
long as they are connected with the Society".
A Children's Aid Society in Ontario is under the
authority of the Corporations Act, which is why Dunn is in
the process of filing a request for a list of members of
the Society and their mailing addresses so he can
communicate with them for purposes connected with the
Society.
Any person, member of a corporation or not, has the
right to obtain a list of the members of a CAS and their
mailing addresses as long as they comply with the simple
requirements listed in subsections 307(1) and (2) of the
Corporations Act which ensure that you pay a 'reasonable
fee' upon filing with the Society a sworn affidavit as
laid out in subsection (2) of the Act. (your City
Councillor can swear an affidavit)
If a Society does not comply with a properly executed
request for a list of the members of the Society,
subsection 307(5) of the Act makes it an offence
punishable by $1,000.00 fine to which any person can
"swear an information" in front of a Justice of the Peace
charging the Society with an offence under section 307(5)
of the Corporations Act which clearly states that;
"Every corporation or transfer agent that fails to
furnish a list in accordance with subsection (1) when so
required is guilty of an offence and on conviction is
liable to a fine of not more than $1,000, and every
director or officer of such corporation or transfer agent
who authorized, permitted or acquiesced in such offence is
also guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a
like fine."
This means that the "Society" AND the individual
directors or officers or transfer agents will also be
convicted of an offence if found guilty.
If one is so inclined, upon having their properly
executed request for a list of the members of a Society
under subsection 307(1) of the Corporations Act refused,
they could initiate a civil suit using two previous
precedent cases namely:
- Lawrence v. Toronto Humane Society, 2006 CanLII 20224
(ON C.A.), Docket No: C43983 and;
- Rodgers v. Calvert, 2004 CanLII 22082 (ON S.C.)
Docket: 03-BN-6556
to assist their legal counsel in taking on the
matter.
Dunn will be filing his official 307(1) request with
the Children's Aid Society of Ottawa in the near future
and will, upon request, keep you updated as to it's
progress and if it will have to proceed to the Provincial
Offences Court.
Dunn is available for interviews at the number provided
above:
(Corporations Act, R.S.O. 1990, CHAPTER C.38)
307.
(1) Any person, upon payment of a reasonable
charge therefor and upon filing with the corporation or
its agent the affidavit referred to in subsection (2), may
require a corporation, other than a private company, or
its transfer agent to furnish within ten days from the
filing of such affidavit a list setting out the names
alphabetically arranged of all persons who are
shareholders or members of the corporation, the number of
shares owned by each such person and the address of each
such person as shown on the books of the corporation made
up to a date not more than ten days prior to the date of
filing the affidavit.
Affidavit
(2) The affidavit referred to in subsection (1) shall
be made by the applicant and shall be in the following
form in English or French:
Form of Affidavit
| Province of Ontario
| In the matter of
| | County of
| (Insert name of corporation)
|
I, ......................... of the ..................
of ..................... in the
.................................. of
....................................... make oath and say
(or affirm):
(Where the applicant is a corporation, indicate office
and authority of deponent.)
- I hereby apply for a list of the shareholders (or
members) of the above-named corporation.
- I require the list of shareholders (or members) only
for purposes connected with the above-named
corporation.
- The list of shareholders (or members) and the
information contained therein will be used only for
purposes connected with the above-named
corporation.
Sworn, etc.
-- 30 --
Anna Mae He Ordered Home
January 24, 2007
Tennessee has finally reversed a case of legal baby-stealing. Jack and
Casey He gave their daughter for temporary care, in accordance with Chinese
custom, while they were unable to care for her themselves. When they tried
to get her back, the foster family refused and obtained lawful custody
though the courts. Today's story does not show the level of court hostility
to the He family up to now. They raised a legal defense fund through
donations from supporters. When a judge terminated their rights, he ruled
that the defense fund belonged to the girl, not the parents, and confiscated
it. This case had become an embarrassment to the United States, since the
Chinese Embassy took an interest in the case. For the full story, refer to
the He website.
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Court orders Anna Mae He returned to parents
Photo By Mike Maple / The Commercial Appeal
Jack and Casey He talk to reporters Tuesday after
learning that the Tennessee Supreme Court cleared
the way for them to be reunited with their daughter
Anna Mae He.
Photo By Karen Pulfer Focht/The Commercial Appeal
Louise Baker comforts her daughter Hope, who
broke down in tears during a press conference at
their lawyers office on Tuesday.
By Richard Locker and Lawrence Buser
January 23, 2007
NASHVILLE -- The Tennessee Supreme Court today ordered Anna Mae He
returned to her birth parents, Chinese nationals Shaoquiang ‘Jack’ He and
Qin Luo ‘Casey’ He.
"Justice has been served," Jack He said this morning.
The transfer of custody from Jerry and Louise Baker to the Hes will not
occur immediately, and there was no immediate word about whether the
Bakers will file an appeal to federal court.
The state high court ordered the case back to Shelby
County Chancery Court "to be expeditiously transferred to
the Juvenile Court of Shelby County for the entry of an
order that implements a plan to reunited (Anna Mae) with
her natural parents."
Anna Mae, who turns 8 on Sunday, has been raised by the
Bakers, of Cordova, since she was 3 weeks old.
The Hes contended they placed Anna Mae with the Bakers
temporarily while they were facing financial and legal
hardships.
They have been trying to regain custody for years, but
a Shelby County judge terminated their parental rights and
awarded custody of their daughter to the Bakers in 2004, a
decision upheld by the state Court of Appeals last year.
After the oral arguments before the state Supreme Court
last October, Jerry Baker told reporters that he and his
wife will pursue the case "as far as necessary" to retain
custody and said "there would be a lot of stress" if Anna
Mae were removed from their home.
"She has been with us almost eight years. We're the
only family she knows," Jerry Baker said.
The state Supreme Court ruled 5-0 that the "undisputed
evidence shows there was animosity between the parties and
that the (birth) parents were actively pursuing custody of
(Anna Mae) through legal proceedings" during the
four-month period just before the Bakers filed a petition
for termination of parental rights.
Therefore, the high court said, the trial court erred
in finding a "willfill failure to visit" Anna Mae by the
Hes -- which would have been grounds to terminate their
rights.
The court also concluded that the parents’ consent to
transfer custody and guardianship of Anna Mae He to the
Bakers "was not made with knowledge of the consequences of
the transfer."
"Only a showing of substantial harm that threatens the
child's welfare may deprive the parents of the care and
custody of (Anna Mae)," Chief Justice William M. Barker
wrote in the 20-page opinion.
Justices Janice Holder, Cornelia Clark, Gary Wade and
special justice Adolpho Birch concurred.
"Evidence that (Anna Mae) will be harmed from a change
in custody because she has lived and bonded with the
Bakers during the pendency of the lititation does not
constitute the substantial harm required to prevent the
parents from regaining custody," the opinion said.
Illusory Reform
January 24, 2007
The Ontario government announced a reform to the child protection system.
Formerly, relatives caring for a child received no pay for foster care.
Now, grandparents or other relatives caring for a child can receive the same
foster care payments as a stranger. Following an excerpt from the press
release, we give our comments.
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McGuinty Government Supporting Grandparents Who Care For
Vulnerable Grandchildren
Extended Family, Community Members May Be Eligible For
Support
NIAGARA FALLS, ON, Jan. 23 /CNW/ - Grandparents,
extended family members and community members who care for
children in need of protection may now be eligible for
financial support and services as part of new reforms to
Ontario's child well-being and protection system, Minister
of Children and Youth Services Mary Anne Chambers
announced today.
"Children who are unable to grow up with their parents
due to protection concerns should have the opportunity,
wherever possible, to grow up with members of their
extended families," said Chambers. "Protection of
Ontario's children is our number one priority. These new
supports and services will encourage and enable
grandparents and extended family or community members to
provide the stability and security where children are not
able to stay with their parents because of safety
concerns."
Under the new policy, grandparents and extended family
or community members who are looking after a child in the
care of a children's aid society (CAS), and who are
approved as foster parents, will receive the foster care
rate of approximately $900 per month from their local CAS.
This includes members of aboriginal communities who are
looking after a child under customary care arrangements.
"Some grandparents have told us that they want a system
that makes it easier for them to adopt their grandchildren
or become their legal guardians or foster parents," said
Niagara Falls MPP, Kim Craitor. "As a result of today's
announcement, more grandparents and extended family
members will be able to provide vulnerable children with
caring, secure homes."
Grandparents and extended family or community members
caring for Crown wards who obtain legal custody, or who
decide to adopt those children, may also be eligible for
funding and support services, up to the foster care rate.
The changes also mean that grandparents and extended
family or community members looking after children who are
in need of protection, but have not been admitted to the
formal care of a CAS, could be eligible for emergency
financial aid for a variety of needs.
"For a long time, many grandparents and kinship family
members have wanted to care for their vulnerable
grandchildren and kinship children, however have been
unable to do so because they could not get the funding or
services they needed," said Betty Cornelius, president of
CANGRANDS, a national support group for grandparents and
Kinship family members raising kin-children. "We are
delighted that the government has listened to those who
advocate for kinship children who need care, and the
grandparents and extended family or community members who
are willing to give them safe, loving, permanent homes to
grow up in."
"Grand-Parenting Again Canada has made it a goal for
the past 5 years to receive financial support for children
living with alternate kin equal to that of foster
parents," said Sandra Schoenfeldt, president of
Grand-Parenting Again Canada. "Our hope is more children
will be able to stay with their family members now that
our provincial government is making this commitment."
"We have advocated for over six years for recognition
for grandparents raising grandchildren. We see more and
more grandparents, many of whom are widows, on fixed
incomes taking care of their grandchildren and in
desperate need of financial assistance," said Sheila
Volchert, spokesperson for Second Chance for Kids.
"Today's announcement will finally give grandparents and
their grandchildren a more secure future."
These measures are part of the reforms the McGuinty
government has made to strengthen Ontario's child
well-being and protection system. In February 2006, the
government also introduced a kinship regulation to require
background checks on all adults in the home where children
in need of protection will be living.
Commentary: Child protectors prefer foster care
to in-home care, so much so that the latter is nearly extinct in Ontario.
At budget time that allows them to present the legislature with a dilemma
— give us our funding, or see foster children go without food and
shelter. The legislature always pays. Not so with in-home care. That
gives the legislators the option of reducing funding, and letting the
families pay more of their children's upkeep.
Foster payments for grandparents are subject to the same vulnerability.
The legislature could cut the funding. We predict yesterday's reform will
be short-lived, either because a legislative action will cut funding to
grandparents, or because children's aid societies will forestall such a cut
by placing only small numbers of children with grandparents.
Scapegoat Convicted
January 23, 2007
Just over a year ago Niagara Children's Aid placed
Matthew Reid in the same foster home with a disturbed
developmentally-handicapped teenaged girl. The girl killed
him. We earlier reported the case on December 18, December 19 and December 26, 2005.
Today the girl was convicted of second-degree murder. This
should divert public attention from the failure of
children's aid to protect the boy from harm.
Curiously, the Globe and Mail version of the story omits naming the dead boy, claiming
that there is some legal impediment, though the name was published years
ago, and their url includes the word MATTHEW23.
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Girl, 15, pleads guilty to killing toddler
in Ontario foster home
Last Updated: Tuesday, January 23, 2007 | 10:40 AM
ET
The Canadian Press
A 15-year-old girl pleaded guilty to second-degree
murder on Monday, admitting she suffocated a
three-year-old toddler with his own pillow.
The girl killed Matthew Reid the day after she arrived
at a foster home in Welland, Ont.
She smeared him with her blood and placed two notes
under his head as he lay on the floor.
"I know what his last words were before he died," the
girl wrote on a piece of paper. "Moma."
Then she signed her name.
"We haven't gotten any answers from anybody," the boy's
mother, Tania, Reid said Monday outside court.
Reid said she wants to know if the girl, then 14, was a
known risk for violence when she was placed in the same
home as Matthew.
The girl, whose identity is protected by the Youth
Criminal Justice Act, wept in the prisoner's box as facts
of the case were read into court.
The Ontario Court of Justice heard she lived in various
foster homes beginning at an early age and was eventually
adopted, along with her biological brother and sister.
She was later removed from the adoptive home and placed
in foster care in Niagara Falls, Ont., because she
assaulted her younger sister.
In December 2005, the girl met a man in front of the
Niagara Falls library who befriended her and started a
sexual relationship.
She began visiting him in his motel room.
On Dec. 9, the teenager took her foster family's van
to meet the man at the motel. As a result, she was
arrested and charged with theft over $5,000.
After a bail hearing on Dec. 14, she was released from
jail and placed into the care of the new foster home in
Welland.
She arrived at 11 a.m. and was given a bedroom on the
second floor of the house, across the hall from Matthew.
Foster mom discovers body
Assistant Crown attorney Patricia Vadacchino said
Matthew was put to bed at 7:30 that night. When the
foster mother checked in on the girl at 9 p.m., she
noticed she was asleep with the lights off.
Vadacchino said at some point overnight, the girl
lifted Matthew from his bed and placed him on the floor.
She took the pillow from his bed and put it over his face.
Matthew struggled as he was being suffocated, but the girl
held the pillow until he stopped moving.
The girl then went back to her bedroom and stayed there
until the foster mother discovered Matthew's body at 8:15
a.m., Vadacchino said.
Vadacchino quoted from notes found under Matthew's
head.
"I'm the one that killed Matthew. I suffocated him.
Let the cops do what they want with me," one note said.
"I don't care what they do with me. Let them throw me in
jail."
The Crown is seeking an adult sentence for the girl,
but must first hold a suitability hearing. She will be
sent to an institution in Sudbury for about six weeks to
be assessed, a move agreed to by her lawyer, John
Lefurgey.
The girl will return to court March 19 to confirm a
sentencing date, tentatively set for April 17.
More on J
January 22, 2007
According to unofficial sources, this week the CBC will rebroadcast the
report by Michelle Cheung on overdrugged foster child "J", including some
new material. The program times are:
- Tuesday Jan 23 (Ontario only) 6 PM
- Tuesday Jan 23 National CBC News 10 PM
- Wednesday Jan 24 (Ontario only) 6 PM
- Wednesday Jan 24 National CBC News 10 PM
- Thursday Jan 25 (Ontario only) 6 PM
- Thursday Jan 25 National CBC News 10 PM
Addendum: This information, as well as being
unofficial, was not completely correct. Nothing was broadcast on January
23, but the next two days had reports by Michelle Cheung, including a new
one on Ritalin.
Candidate Wants Protection from CAS
January 19, 2007
Rob Ferguson has announced that he will be a candidate for Provincial
parliament in the election this October.
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As a candidate in the October 4 2007 election for the
The Family Coalition party. I keep getting asked what
will or would change if elected. Simply said I have spent
four years fighting for family rights, been to hundreds of
homes and spoken to 1000s all in regards to CAS and CFSA.
I think its time that we go back to prove your case first,
assist families with more family-friendly groups and
services. Where accountability really meant that.
whereas - Government obligations
Government has a fundamental obligation to protect and
promote the well being of the family and family members
through measures of political, economic, social and
juridical character, which aim at consolidating the unity
and stability of the family.
whereas - Children and Family Services
The Family Coalition will limit the power of Children and
Family Services (old CAS) and have their powers fall under
the principles of fundamental justice. Due process,
innocent until proven guilty, substantiated evidence, the
right to face your accusers are some of the principles
that must be re-established.
whereas - Training
Require child protective services workers to be trained in
their duty to protect the statutory and constitutional
rights of those they are investigating.
whereas - Requirement to advise
Require child protective services personnel to advise
individuals subject to a child abuse and neglect
investigation of the complaint or allegation made against
them
whereas - Citizen Review Panels
Require "Citizen Review Panels" to provide for public
outreach and comment in order to assess the impact of
current procedures and practices upon children and
families in the community and in order to meet its
obligations.
I know that The Family Coalition party has its work cut
out for them but we could make a difference.
thank you
Rob Ferguson
(former NDPer)
candidate for the Family Coalition party Brant riding
Girls Died of False Accusations
January 18, 2007
The crown has halted the prosecution of Leo Campione, who lost his two
daughters when his wife killed them in October. The crown is admitting that
the charges were groundless. This completes the pattern in which a family
is torn asunder with false charges, then after family destruction is
complete, the charges are withdrawn. In this case, the beneficiary was not
the divorce or social services industries, but the funeral industry.
Earlier articles on this case are on
October 7,
October 18,
October 19,
October 26,
November 5.
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Ont. court stays assault charges against
father of slain girls
Canadian Press
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
BRADFORD, Ont. (CP) - An Ontario court has stayed
assault charges against a man whose estranged wife is now
accused of killing the couple's two young daughters.
Prosecutor Frank Faveri asked the court Wednesday to
stay the charges against Leonardo Campione because the
Crown's key witness is none other than Campione's wife
Elaine. "The Crown has carefully reviewed both cases and
has concluded that it is appropriate and in the interest
of the administration of justice that the charges against
Mr. Campione be stayed until the case against Mrs.
Campione is concluded," he said.
While the Crown has a year to renew the charges, Faveri
called the decision "good news" and expects the matter is
finished.
Outside the courtroom, Campione welcomed the decision
but said he would have preferred to spend the day
celebrating his daughter's birthday.
"On a day when I was supposed to be celebrating my
youngest daughter's second birthday, today I'll be
spending my time by her grave," he said.
The couple's daughters - Sophia, 2, and Serena, 3 -
were found dead last October in the Barrie apartment where
they lived with their mother.
Elaine Campione has been charged with two counts of
first-degree murder.
Boring Website for Youth
January 17, 2007
The Ontario government is promoting though the press
a recently launched website, youthconnect.ca.
The promoters did not bother to debug the technology. Enlarging the text
size results in unreadable text overlap, and several video clips show only a
test pattern.
Young people (and older ones too) will be bored to tears reading about:
- Minister Chambers' statement to the legislature
- The announcement of $28.5 million for Ontario Youth
Opportunities Strategy.
- Press releases for job programs that don't tell where to
apply.
People currently engaged with provincial services for
children will find more of interest in sites by former
foster kids John
Dunn, Jessie
McVicar and Erika Klein.
Jail for Teenagers
January 16, 2007
When children removed from their parents become teenagers, some are a
threat to the peace and have to be restrained by force. Elected
representatives take perverse pride in the facilities necessary to lock them
up. Here is a press release from MPP David Orazietti announcing the
construction of a youth jail in Sault Sainte Marie.
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For Immediate Release
January 15, 2007
ORAZIETTI ANNOUNCES START OF NEW YOUTH
JUSTICE CENTRE CONSTRUCTION
Province Awards Construction Contract to Local Firm
Creating 130 Construction Related Jobs and 30 Permanent
Jobs
SAULT STE. MARIE – Sault MPP David Orazietti
announced today that George Stone and Sons Ltd. has been
awarded the contract by the province to build the new
secure custody facility for youth on Second Line.
“Building a modern facility to serve the needs of the
Sault and area at a cost of nearly $8 million, which will
create 30 new jobs means more great news for our local
economy,” said Orazietti. “With this investment, our
government will help ensure that young people in our
community receive the treatment, rehabilitation and
programs they need closer to home, so that they can become
productive members of society.”
The previous government closed Sault Ste. Marie’s
youth justice centre and chose instead to transport the
area’s youth to Sudbury at a cost of over $500,000 per
year. The McGuinty government is reversing an
irresponsible decision by building a state-of-the-art
facility to serve the needs of Sault Ste. Marie and area.
“Local youth in conflict with the law will be closer
to their families, which will assist our ministry in
providing meaningful rehabilitation,” said Children and
Youth Services Minister Mary Anne Chambers. “Our
government recognizes the importance of providing
rehabilitation as close to home as possible and helping
these young people reintegrate into their home communities
as productive citizens.”
Highlights of the new Youth Justice Centre include:
- 20,000 square foot facility
- 30 new full-time provincial government jobs
- 130 construction-related jobs
- 16 bed phase 1 and 2 closed-custody facility
- Accommodating male and female youth aged 12 to 17
- Valued at $7.8 million
“Our ministry is proud to play a role in the
development of a modern, significant and necessary
facility in Northern Ontario,” said Public
Infrastructure Renewal Minister David Caplan. “This
project is part of ReNew Ontario, the government’s
five-year $30-billion plus infrastructure investment
plan.”
The contractor will begin to mobilize machinery onsite
later this month, with construction to begin in February.
The facility, to be operated by the Ministry of Children
and Youth Services, is expected to be completed by spring
2008.
-30-
Feedback: Bizzi suggests
spending $8 million on a jail for politicians.
Kentucky Investigates Child Protectors
January 13, 2007
Kentucky has reported on the performance of its own child protectors.
The report is the outgrowth of a scandal in Kentucky last year that we
reported on January 9 and May 13. The principal part is
seventy articles in the section SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS. We give a
few of them below in abridged form. Most of the abuses summarized below
have been reported to Dufferin VOCA in Ontario cases. The Kentucky report
is the kind of report that might come about in Ontario should the Obudsman
get authority to investigate.
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1. During the investigation, biological parents were
contacted and investigators verified that home visits,
documented in case files, did not occur.
2. Both current and former workers report
documentation was omitted or added to case files to
intentionally mislead the court.
11. The regional emphasis was placed on adoption,
instead of family reunification.
14. Policy and legal requirements are not explained to
clients and foster/adoptive parents. This results in
confusion and suspicion for both parties.
16. The decision to remove a child from their
parents’ home is often completed under subjective
standards, especially when the allegations involve neglect
or dependency issues.
18. There are cases in which, prior to and during the
TPR hearing, workers have failed to advise the court and
the Guardian Ad Litem that there are relatives available
or appropriate for placement of the affected children.
19. Some Lincoln Trail Region DCBS employees displayed
a prevalent attitude of omnipotence in interactions with
clients and community partners.
21. Workers respond aggressively to any perceived
challenge to their actions. For example, biological and
foster parents complained children were removed from their
home because they “talked back” to the workers.
27. Case plans are intended to outline the goals
biological parents must achieve to have their children
returned to their home. Requirements were routinely
included on case plans that were expensive, relative to
the client’s financial situation; required unnecessary
travel; and were not relative to the family’s issues,
as identified by the worker.
32. According to DCBS staff, foster children have been
removed from foster homes, without proper justification.
Foster parents perceive this is due to personality
conflicts between the parents and DCBS staff, retaliation,
or DCBS staff having a negative attitude toward the foster
parents.
36. The Guardian Ad Litems are often not held
accountable for meeting professional standards. Many do
not meet with the child prior to court, do not actively
participate in the court proceeding and do not prepare for
the case, so they are unaware of the issues involved, or
they are absent from court, leaving the client without
representation or recourse.
41. Workers are overworked and are unable to complete
documentation during normal work hours. Not all workers
are permitted to work overtime, so they work weekends and
“off the clock”. One worker came to the office while
she was in labor and worked for three hours, after her
water broke, to complete casework because a regional
supervisor told her she could not take maternity leave
until her cases were up to date. Cases were not
reassigned or covered when an employee was on extended
leave.
44. There is a significant lack of quality in
documentation. For example, while reviewing case files,
investigators noticed many entries were similar to the
previous entries and appeared to have been cut and pasted
into the record.
47. Hardin County staff has reported that other social
service workers have boasted about making it difficult for
clients to work with DCBS staff. Social service workers
have laughed at parents as they advised them they were
removing their children and during the removal process.
Social service workers have called clients indecent names
in the hallway and offices of the Hardin County DCBS
office. One social service worker struck and cursed a
biological parent during a visit with his child. The
worker then entered a detailed service recording in the
client’s file documenting the parent’s aggressive
behavior, but failing to document her own use of an
obscenity toward the client or that she struck him in the
chest with her hand.
54. Biological parents complained they are held to a
higher standard than some foster homes. For example, once
children are placed in a foster home, some biological
parents have experienced difficulty in assuring abuse and
neglect allegations are investigated in the foster home.
57. Domestic violence victims have been advised by
social service workers to leave their abusive spouses and
go to a domestic violence shelter. Once they are living
at a shelter, some victims have been told the shelter is
not appropriate for children and their children will be
removed if the parent does not find an alternative
residence.
58. Children in foster care, who are parents, are not
permitted to take their children with them when they
leave, even though they do not have substantiated
abuse/neglect allegations. The Cabinet maintains custody
of the infant, as a dependent child, until the parent can
complete a case plan and prove they are capable of caring
for their child. This is a higher standard than other
parents are required to meet, since there is no obligation
for biological parents to prove they can adequately
provide for their child before leaving the hospital after
a child is born.
69. Parental visitations were changed or cancelled
without proper notice to the parents or foster parents.
Feedback: The following reader response has been
edited to prevent the writer from being identified, and possibly get in even
more trouble from child protectors.
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January 14, 2007
All I could say while reading the point form of the
investigation was: Oh my gosh! that happened to me, yes
they did that to me too and on and on it went. The worker
in court laughed on the stand at me when my lawyer brought
up to him things he had said to me. At one point the
judge told him (the worker) that he had heard enough
untruths from him when being questioned on the stand.
After that stuff was done (this wasn't a trial just the
court stuff deciding whether there was enough evidence to
go to trial) they put an offer on the table to avoid a
trial and offered me two specific children back and they
keep [number concealed]. I was told that or get
none back. They knew he lied, I know it. It sickens me
because I took the offer to get the two back because the
lawyer told me legal aid wouldn't pay for a trial in the
case and I'd be without a lawyer and that the judge was
retiring and couldn't hear the case so it would have to
start over again. Another year and a half?
A lot of that stuff I read on the posting just floored
me on how much was the same as in my case, except for the
fact that the worker who took my children did so because I
threatened to report him for sexual assault, told me if I
told he'd make sure I never saw my kids again and that no
one would believe me. I refused anymore of his advances
the day he took my kids. That evening he returned with
the police and another worker and took my kids saying we
were beating them, that he just knew we were.
Career for Unqualified Parents
January 11, 2007
In the forms child protectors use to justify separating children from
parents, a parent's own abuse experienced during childhood, such as a long
stay in foster care, is a point against the parent. For example, on page 40
of the document Risk
Assessment Model for Child Protection in Ontario (pdf) the rating
for the parent (caregiver) is:
Risk Assessment Scale Anchor Descriptions
Caregiver Influence
CG1. Abuse/Neglect of Caregiver
| 4. | Severe abuse/neglect as a child.
Severe abuse/neglect as a child resulted
in serious emotional disturbance and/or physical
scars/disability.
| | 3. | Recurrent but not severe abuse/neglect as a child.
Recurrent abuse/neglect as a child; may
have resulted in emotional or physical impairment.
| | 2. | Episodes of abuse/neglect as a child.
Recounts being abused or neglected as a
child, but not severely or recurrently; with no apparent
impairment
| | 1. | Perceived abuse/neglect as a child with no specific
incidents.
Does not recount being abused or
neglected. Expresses dissatisfaction with the care or
treatment s/he received when young.
| | 0. | No perceived abuse/neglect as a child.
Recounts being loved and well cared for
with no incidents of abuse or neglect.
| | 9. | Insufficient information to make a rating.
|
According to Ontario standards, Verna Cowley, the subject of the article
below, would make a suspect parent, likely to lose her children to foster
care. But she is in training to become a social worker, and may someday
earn a living taking children away from other parents or supervising the
development of foster children.
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Winnipeg Free Press
Former foster child got tough life lesson
Thu Jan 11 2007
FROM the time she was 10 years old, Verna Cowley
bounced around the foster care system in The Pas.
By the time she turned 18, she had already been in six
foster homes.
She seldom went to school. She felt like nobody cared.
And when she turned 18, she was turned out on the
street and left to her own devices.
"I had no support whatsoever when I left care," Cowley
said. "I had nothing. I didn't have an education. I
knew what I was headed for."
She said she had to go on social assistance, and moved
back in with her mother and helped take care of her
mother's young kids.
Cowley says the only thing that got her through was a
social worker who has become like an older sister to her,
and helped her navigate her way into adulthood.
"She's one of the social workers who go out on a limb
for her kids," said Cowley. "There should be more like
her."
Cowley is now studying at the University of Manitoba to
be a social worker herself, but wishes there was more
emphasis on her education when she was growing up.
"I wish they would have pushed me to go to school," she
said.
When she told her social workers she was skipping
school, they shrugged it off and said maybe she should get
a job instead.
"That was the kind of attitude I got," said Cowley.
-- Mia Rabson
CAS Drives Mothers to Suicide
January 8, 2007
Canada Court Watch today discovered two mothers driven to suicide by
children's aid. Their reports below follow the usual practice of
withholding the names of the parties. Keeping the names secret allows
children's aid to escape public accountability for its own wrongdoing.
While Canada Court Watch cannot risk legal action, we hope other elements of
the press can publish names in these cases.
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Mother's diary shows abuse by courts and
CAS prior to her taking her life!
(January 9, 2007) In follow up to a story of a young
mother who killed herself, Court Watch has now had the
opportunity to review the original copy of the young
mother's diary and to speak to family members. Disturbing
references abound in the diary about how the young mother
felt tortured and abused by Ontario's CAS system prior to
her death. Even when she knew she was sick from an
intentional overdose of medication, she refused to go to
the hospital to obtain help out of fear of what CAS would
do to her if they found out. It appears that some parents
are so afraid of CAS that they will refuse medical
treatment even under the threat of dying, just so that CAS
will not use this information to subject the parents to
even more CAS abuse.
Court Watch will be conducting an investigative review
into the circumstances surrounding this young mother's
case to determine as to how the involvement of the CAS
contributed to the tragic death of this young mother. It
has already been learned that a number of unlicensed
workers with CAS were involved in the case.
ANOTHER mother takes her own life because
of Ontario's family courts and CAS!
(January 9, 2007) Court Watch has received yet another
call today from a family who have disclosed that their
daughter took her own life very recently as a result of
relentless abuse by an Ontario CAS agency. The family
have said that even the children blame CAS workers as the
children themselves have seen their parents and their
families relentlessly persecuted by the CAS in Ontario.
Court Watch has written previous articles about the CAS
agencies involved and has taken complaints directly from
children regarding abuse by the CAS. Court Watch will be
looking into the circumstances of this case as well.
In less than 24 hours, Court Watch has been contacted
by families of two mothers who have taken their lives out
of a sense of sheer frustration of being persecuted by
CAS. CAS policies and procedures are literally driving
loving mothers to their deaths, destroying families and
robbing children of their mothers.
Court Transcript Altered
January 9, 2007
Canada Court Watch reports another case in which the transcript of a
family court proceeding was altered, eliminating a litigant's right of
appeal. In this case, many witnesses heard the judge making statements
later deleted from the transcript, yet in this kind of case, the law
provides no remedy for the abuse. Link to Canada Court Watch and our local
copy (both pdf).
CAS Accused of Framing Parents
January 8, 2007
Here is a new view on an old child protection case. Maliek Willie died
in September 1997. According to investigator Daniel Deilgat, the boy died
from a previous injury incurred falling down a fire escape. Children's Aid
had been involved with the family and protected itself by blaming the
family. Below is a recent blog entry from Mr Deilgat, followed by a
Hamilton Spectator article from three years ago. The Spectator relies on
statements by Dr Dirk Huyer, former head of the SCAN clinic at Toronto's
Hospital for Sick Children. Dr Huyer's attitude toward parents resembles
that of Dr Charles Smith, also
formerly of Sick Kids. Dr Huyer never looks for exculpatory evidence. We
have a statement under oath from him asserting that when he gets a case,
child abuse has already been established.
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Saturday, December 09, 2006
Toronto Ontario
Maliek Willie; where was the Children’s
Aid when he needed them
Sometime ago I was asked by a friend, to talk with the
mother of a child who had just died from what seemed to be
previous injuries he incurred when he fell down a fire
escape. The Hamilton police were then initiating an
investigation and, the mother and her boyfriend were
automatic suspects.
Daniel Deilgat became an
investigator by necessity. Throughout his life he was
confronted with circumstances that most of us will never
encounter. From rapists to Drug cartels to financial
crimes, Daniel always played people to their
disadvantages. Daniel is not the nice neighbor next door,
and he isn't anybody's best friend but, he is undeniably
the best investigator there is this side of the sun. He
will give you the truth in such a way that you'll never
believe him. He will also catch you with what you didn't
believe was true. He will never give you a chance, he
will fight for what is right, whether you like it or not.
He is the only man I can trust. Thanks Hank. - I
think...
Any police officer that I know would tell you the same
thing. When a young child dies, most of the time the
parents had an implied role in the welfare of the child to
begin with and therefore, the parents will be under
extraordinary scrutiny.
In the case of Maliek Willie, scrutiny persisted until
the hat seemed to fit the crime.
One overwhelming factor was that the CAS was in fact
also on the hot seat in this case because they had become
involved with the family well before the death of the
child and that didn’t look good for the organization.
At that time, the Children’s Aid Society was immersed in
several cases whereas children had died and the Maliek
Willie case could have easily been the drop in the
proverbial bucket that would have seriously shadowed the
agencies across the province.
One journalist in the case at the onset was Gloria
Galloway. When she first talked to me, she confided that
she too had issues with the CAS, that she didn’t trust
them either. She wanted an interview.
I did give her a statement on behalf of the family and
I shared portions of a report I had commissioned on the
health predicament of the child.
I met with the two Hamilton Police investigators
involved in the case and, it quickly became obvious that
their case was circumstantial at best. They refused to
consider the legitimacy of the testimony offered by CAS
agents, two women that clearly had a vested interest in
transferring the doubt over to the parents.
Concurrently, the Hamilton police force were so
infatuated by other unrelated circumstances that involved
Carlos Clark that, they weren’t about to help him in
anyway, the investigation was drowned in impartiality.
The investigation of Carlos Clark quickly became
prejudicial and, to a great extent, a witch-hunt. The CAS
seized on the opportunity to stack the allegations against
the parents, unable to state facts without embellishments.
Myself, I walked away from the issues because of other
commitments and the belief that the parents would somehow
make it through the ordeal once their lawyers would grasp
the evidence. Now I am not sure that justice was served
nor that the Children’s Aid officers conducted
themselves legally. Nor have I received any calls from
the attorneys for the defense.
Oddly enough, the police seemed to have forgotten about
the interview conducted at my house in Brantford between
Mr. McNiven, if I remember his name correctly, and
myself.
That Maliek Willie died is a tragedy. That the truth
was swept under the carpet is a threat to all children
under the responsibility of the agency.
This wasn’t about punishment or solving the death of
a child; it was about manipulating and re-directing the
burden of responsibility, about misleading the courts and
leading the administration of justice into disrepute.
Daniel Deilgat
posted by Dan Deilgat @ Saturday, December 09, 2006
BABY MALIEK SUFFERED PAIN WELL BEFORE HIS
MURDER
Hamilton Spectator, April 30, 2004
A doctor who specializes in child abuse cases says a
14-month-old Hamilton boy who was murdered in September
1997 suffered immensely before he was finally beaten into
unconsciousness.
Dr. Dirk Huyer, an Ontario coroner and former director
of the Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect (Scan) unit at
Toronto's Hospital For Sick Children, said his review of
medical and autopsy records relating to Maliek Willie
indicated the child sustained numerous inflicted blows to
his face, head and body in the last eight days of his
life.
Huyer said the extreme force of some blows and random
distribution of the injuries ruled out the possibility of
a series of mishaps.
The toddler, who was in a partial body cast with a
healing leg fracture at the time, would have been
virtually immobile and therefore unlikely to have
accidentally caused any of the injuries himself.
"Overall, it's my belief the child was in distress with
pain over a significant portion of the last days of his
life."
There was no sign of trouble in his first year of his
life, but at 13 1/2 months Maliek suffered his first
unusual injury. His mother, Carmelita Willie, asked their
family doctor in Brantford to examine a large area of
swelling on the back of her son's head.
The doctor ordered X-rays and was satisfied he did not
have a skull fracture.
Willie, 30, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree
murder. She is accused of being a party to the homicide
for which her former boyfriend, Carlos Clarke, was
convicted last year.
On Sept. 8, Willie returned to the Brantford doctor
with Maliek, who was screaming in pain with a displaced
fracture of the femur, meaning his thigh bone was snapped
in two pieces.
The mom said the boy had fallen on some stairs three
days earlier.
Maliek spent 12 days in Brantford General Hospital
where he was put in traction and in what's called a hip
spica cast, from his chest to his foot.
Dr. Chitra Rao, who conducted an autopsy on the baby
10 days later, said Maliek suffered severe head trauma and
would have been comatose for at least 12 to 18 hours
before death. Her microscopic examination revealed areas
of fresh hemorrhaging that had occurred within hours of
death, while other injuries had been inflicted three to 10
days earlier.
The baby's skull was fractured in three places. Huyer
said one of them was a Y-shaped, complex fracture that is
more often seen in children who have fallen from great
heights or have been in an automobile accident.
Assistant Crown attorney Tony Leitch drew the coroner's
attention to the child's left cheek, which had a large
scab-covered gash superimposed over an area of deep
bruising and pebble-like cuts and gouges.
Leitch asked if the injury could have been caused by a
sibling, then two years and nine months old, hitting his
little brother with a toy truck.
Huyer said it was "very unlikely" that a child that
young could generate the force required to inflict this
injury.
The doctor said it was more likely the injury to the
face, and others to the baby's hands, were caused by his
body striking a hard, rough surface.
"Could the injury have been caused by a brick wall?"
asked Leitch.
"Very definitely," replied Huyer.
bbrown@thespec.com
905-526-3494
Tayler Incorrectly Treated
January 6, 2007
Today the Brantford Expositor reports on the girl Tayler Diamond, subject
to involuntary treatment, now said by the doctor to be the wrong medicine.
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Girl's chemo treatment goes awry: mom;
Naturopaths support Diamond's legal fight against court
order
Susan Gamble
Saturday, January 06, 2007 - 01:00
Local News - The mother of the nine-year-old Brantford
girl ordered into chemotherapy treatment in October says
the last three months have been traumatizing and negative.
Lisa Diamond said this week that, while daughter Tayler
has been tolerating the treatment fairly well, she just
learned that doctors have been incorrectly administering
Tayler's drugs.
"They said they've been giving her the right drugs but
in the wrong order. They want to correct that and
increase the dosages. Both will make her sicker."
Tayler has been going to chemotherapy three times a
week since October. The child was ordered into treatment
by the Brantford Children's Aid Society after Diamond told
doctors at McMaster Hospital that she preferred to pursue
a natural medicine approach.
Tayler was diagnosed with ALL leukemia more than a year
ago. Aggressive chemotherapy had to be stopped when the
child went into septic shock after a lumbar puncture and
almost died.
After a year of remission, Diamond decided the
treatment was too harmful for her daughter after she
researched natural foods and supplements that could keep
her healthy. She has Tayler on a diet high in organic
fruits and vegetables with some vitamins and supplements.
"Nothing high dose," Diamond said. "The most she gets
is four grams of vitamin C a day and the worst you can get
from that is diarrhea." The doctors called the CAS and
reported Diamond's decision and the CAS issued a
chemotherapy treatment order.
Now Diamond has also approached the CAS to ask about
her rights to protect her child and whether, should an
error in Tayler's protocol be confirmed, the CAS will take
responsibility for ordering the therapy.
McMaster's pediatric cancer specialist, Dr. Ronald
Barr, said it's extremely unusual for a family to decline
treatment for a child.
Adults sometimes make that call. And families
sometimes refuse chemotherapy and radiation if a child's
prognosis is grim. The hospital then works to ensure the
patient is kept comfortable.
"I can't remember the last time a family declined the
therapy offered. Usually if they're provided the
evidence, almost all families say it's a no-brainer."
Sometimes families want to include a dietary
intervention. Barr said the doctors are open to that as
long as there's no evidence it will do any harm.
But Diamond said she is regularly harassed about her
natural approach by the doctors who rotate into Tayler's
case.
"The doctors have been literally screaming and
hollering at me. Each has to express their view on the
natural approach and it leaves Tayler in tears."
"There have been constant contradictions, like they'll
say they can't combine two drugs and then they do. I want
to put my trust in them but it's hard to because of the
contradictions and the fact they've gone halfway through
this treatment and haven't done it right."
Barr said he couldn't discuss whether the hospital had
made a mistake in Tayler's therapy or whether doctors have
yelled at Diamond unless he had written permission to
discuss Tayler's case.
Diamond signed that permission and it was faxed to the
hospital on Thursday. On Friday, a media spokesperson
said the medical team decided to meet with Diamond next
week to try and sort out the problems.
Late Friday, Diamond said she hadn't been informed of
any such meeting.
Meanwhile, a local nutritional consultant said she's
ready to help raise funds for Diamond to mount a legal
defence against the order that has put Tayler into
chemotherapy.
Sharon Edwards said Friday there are many people in the
alternative medicine business who want to ensure people
have the freedom to choose their own - and their child's -
treatments.
"I would never tell somebody not to do chemo, but you
should have options. We want to fight for the freedom of
choice for parents."
Edwards contacted Diamond after seeing her story in The
Expositor. She said there are massage therapists,
chiropractors and others involved in naturopathic medicine
who would like to see more openness when it comes to
choosing - or adding - natural medicine to the traditional
medical approaches to cancer.
Those interested in contributing to a legal fund can
contact Edwards at D'vine Living, 519-750-0440.
Addendum: (January 8, 2007) The mother in this
case, Lisa Diamond, has been invited to a meeting at the hospital to discuss
her case. The others invited are: two oncologists, a social worker, a
children's mental health specialist and an adult mental health specialist.
It only takes one mentalist to suggest a disorder to the social worker, and
Tayler will be separated from her mom, ridding the hospital of an annoyance.
Baby-stealers Dupe Teen Mom
January 6, 2007
Baby-stealers in Ohio get a signature from a girl too young to purchase
an appliance or sign an apartment lease, but considered competent to give up
a baby for adoption. In this case, the adoption agency feels powerful
enough to defy a court order.
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Posted on Sun, Dec. 31, 2006
Teen mother has change of heart
Canton girl makes life-changing decision to give up
daughter for adoption. Now, her family is fighting to get
the baby back.
By Rick Armon
Beacon Journal staff writer
Stephanie Bennett gave Evelyn, above, up for adoption in September.
CANTON - It's hidden beneath a brace on 17-year-old
Stephanie Bennett's hand.
Written in purple magic marker is the name of her
daughter: Evelyn JoAnn.
Today, that marker serves as a reminder of a quest.
Tomorrow, though, it may be a permanent tattoo -- a
memorial for a love lost, given up by her own
volition.
Bennett signed over permanent custody of her
then-4-month-old daughter in September to A Child's
Waiting, a private adoption agency in Copley Township in
Summit County.
She did so without her parents' permission or
knowledge, which is legal in Ohio. But now she and her
parents, Ranza and Judy Bennett, are fighting to get
Evelyn back in a case that raises legal and ethical
questions about the adoption process.
Their story includes accusations that a guidance
counselor at GlenOak High School arranged a meeting on
school grounds between the teenager and the adoption
agency, and that the adoption agency urged her to run away
from home so it would be easier to sign papers away from
her parents.
Ranza and Judy Bennett have obtained temporary custody
of Evelyn, but A Child's Waiting has disregarded the court
order and, according to the Bennetts, urged the adoptive
family to keep the child hidden and not disclose their
location.
``We just want our grandbaby home,'' Judy Bennett said
at their two-story town house on Rem Circle Northeast.
``This has been nothing but a total nightmare.''
A Child's Waiting and Plain School Superintendent
Charles Smith declined to comment about the case. The
guidance counselor, Thomas Saltsman, whose signature
appears on some of the adoption papers, did not return a
call seeking comment.
Choosing adoption
Evelyn JoAnn Bennett was born April 17. At the time,
Stephanie was a junior at GlenOak.
She didn't think she could care for the girl. She
wanted Evelyn to have a better life and the father wasn't
around to help.
So she approached Saltsman on Sept. 7 and told him
that she wanted to give the = [100.0]baby up for adoption.
She also told him she didn't want her parents to know.
He pulled out a brochure from A Child's Waiting and
arranged a meeting the next day at his office, Stephanie
says. She signed paperwork on Sept. 8 that started the
process. Saltsman signed as a witness.
She picked out which family she wanted Evelyn to live
with. She said she was given no names and doesn't
remember anything about the family she chose or why she
picked it.
Ranza and Judy Bennett -- he's a truck driver and she's
a homemaker -- say they had no idea what was taking place
at the school.
A couple of days after signing the paperwork, Saltsman
and Stephanie called A Child's Waiting, according to an
affidavit that Stephanie filed with Summit County Probate
Court this month to contest the adoption process.
Jennifer Bessemer-Marando, a counselor at the agency,
advised her to run away, Stephanie said, telling her it
was legal because she was the mother of the child and that
she couldn't sign the final paperwork at her parents'
house.
At 3 a.m. Sept. 12, Stephanie and Evelyn ran
away.
She notified the adoption agency she was staying with
friends in Carroll County. She didn't tell her parents.
They had been having some trouble in their relationship --
nothing serious, both say, just regular teen-vs.-parent
tension.
The same day, A Child's Waiting arrived at the house in
Carrollton for Stephanie to sign the final paperwork. It
states that the adoptive family, the agency or an attorney
would pay $15,000 in adoption expenses.
``I was doubting myself,'' Stephanie said about what
she was thinking while signing the paperwork. ``But I
thought I was still making the right choice.''
At 7 p.m., Evelyn was handed over to the adoption
agency. Stephanie had no birth certificate. No Social
Security card. No identification to prove that the baby
was hers.
Those records were at her parents' home in Canton.
Girls go missing
When Ranza and Judy Bennett awoke Sept. 12, they were
terrified. Their daughter and granddaughter were
missing.
They called Canton police. It was recorded as a
missing-person case.
The Bennetts put together handmade fliers, with photos
of their daughter and granddaughter. They also reported
Evelyn to the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children. Evelyn's photo is still on the group's Web
site: www.missingkids.com.
On Oct. 2, Ranza and Judy Bennett filed paperwork with
Stark County Family Court seeking custody of Evelyn --
even though they say they didn't know where she or their
daughter was. They felt the child was as much theirs as
their daughter's. Evelyn lived at their home. They took
care of her financially, and physically when their
daughter was at school. The court granted them temporary
custody.
Meanwhile, Canton police learned that Stephanie had
contacted A Child's Waiting and informed the Bennetts.
Judy Bennett contacted Copley police on Oct. 3 to make
a complaint against A Child's Waiting. A police report
says an unnamed individual at the adoption agency said
that ``they did speak to 17 year old but they cannot do
business with her while she is a minor.''
Stark County Family Court called A Child's Waiting and
spoke with Crissy Bessemer-Kolarik, one of the counselors.
She ``acknowledged that while she knew the whereabouts of
the child, no information would be given, nor would this
court's order be complied with by her or her agency,''
according to court paperwork.
A Child's Waiting still hasn't complied with the order.
Instead, the adoption agency appeared in court without the
child and objected to Family Court's involvement, saying
the judge has no jurisdiction in the case because the
adoption process took place in Summit County Probate
Court.
Judge David Stucki has yet to rule on the issue.
``How are they not breaking the law?'' Judy Bennett
asked, referring to the agency's noncompliance with the
court order. ``Are they saying this agency is above the
law?''
Agency comments
Bessemer-Kolarik would not comment specifically on the
case when contacted by the Beacon Journal, citing
confidentiality, but she was willing to talk in general
about adoptions.
Ohio law allows a mother of any age to give up her
child without interference from grandparents, she said.
Most agencies working with minors also work with an
attorney who can represent the interests of the minor, she
said.
An attorney was present with Stephanie but she claims
she didn't realize the attorney was there to represent
her.
Agencies also provide counseling to mothers,
Bessemer-Kolarik said.
``Our heart goes out to any family that experiences a
difficult situation,'' she said.
The Bennetts' story is unusual, said Denise St. Clair,
associate director of the National Center for Adoption Law
& Policy at Capital University Law School in
Columbus.
``The majority of adoptions go forward without
incident,'' she said. ``I know it happens, but it's not
the majority. Most go off without incident.''
Teen regrets decision
Stephanie is back with her parents.
She said she regrets her decision to give up Evelyn.
Sitting on a couch in the living room, her legs tucked
underneath her and wearing a sweatshirt with the word
``Feisty'' and an image of Tinkerbell on it, she responded
to questions with one-word answers or in short phrases or
sentences.
Why does she regret it?
``I have a whole new outlook,'' she responded.
Why do you have a new outlook?
``People,'' she said.
What does that mean?
Friends and others have told her she made a mistake,
she said.
She's unemotional, almost robotic in answering
questions -- until she's asked to describe Evelyn. Then
the white skin on her face reddens. Her eyes well up and
tears spill onto her cheeks.
``I miss just having her, period,'' she said. ``I miss
her smells. I miss her cries. I miss her coos.''
Stephanie contends that the adoption agency didn't
counsel her.
She met with the agency only twice, she said -- once to
sign the initial paperwork and the second time to hand
over the child.
Ohio law doesn't require grandparents' consent or even
notification for a minor.
``The consent statutes in most states are pretty much
silent on any requirements other than the consent of the
birth parents,'' said St. Clair, the Center for Adoption
Law & Policy's associate director.
Ranza and Judy Bennett don't understand that.
``I can't see how a minor child can sign their baby
away,'' Ranza Bennett said. ``They can't even vote. They
can't buy cigarettes. They can't even join the Army at
that age. How can they have say over another human being
when they have no say over themselves?''
It may be legal, the Bennetts admit. But is it morally
right, they ask, to keep the information from the
grandparents?
Judy Bennett also questions what happened in Carroll
County. How could the adoption agency accept the child
without a birth certificate? Without an ID?
``Who's to say this baby wasn't just taken off the
street?'' she asked.
The Bennetts are upset with the school district for not
notifying them. They are upset with the adoption agency
for keeping any news about the adoption from them. And
they are upset with the unknown family that has
Evelyn.
Baby's location unknown
The Bennetts don't know where Evelyn is living. Or
with whom.
They believe the people are from Wayne County.
A Child's Waiting won't give up the location. The
Bennetts' attorney, Don Caplea, asked Family Court last
week to force the adoption agency to disclose the
location. Caplea declined to comment.
The Bennetts say they will continue to fight for
Evelyn.
``She was supposed to be home for Thanksgiving,'' Judy
Bennett said.
If they never see her again, the entire family -- the
Bennetts have two other daughters -- plans to get tattoos
with Evelyn's name to replace the purple marker.
They hope it doesn't come to that.
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or
rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com.
Addendum: This case was the subject of The Adoption Show for
April 15, 2007. Also see the family
website.
Katie has Cancer
January 5, 2007
Katie Wernecke has cancer again. She was the girl at the center of a
long legal struggle between the family and Texas child protectors. On June
5, 2005 she was seized by force and sent for treatment to M D Anderson
Cancer Center, where surgeons removed her thymus on June 30. After her
chances of survival had dropped below 25%, a Texas judge returned Katie to
her family on November 3, 2005. Without a thymus, her immune system is not
whole, and is not fighting the current cancer. Below is the latest report
from her father.
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Katie's Cancer Has Spread To New Areas
The original medistinum mass was dead. About 6 weeks
after our last CAT scan Katie started having pain on her
right side at the lower ribs. An MRI revealed a large
mass there. This is at and below the scar where they put
a chest tube in to drain her lung. We believe this cancer
was seeded when they removed the chest tube. A CT/PET
scan on November 10th revealed multiple hot spots of
cancer. We spent the month of November in treatment again
in California. We returned home on December 1st.
On December 12th we travel to Mississippi to get a
second opinion. We start some immunotherapy to help
Katie's body fight the cancer. Katie has not been able to
mount an immune response because M.D. Anderson removed
her thymus gland back on June 30, 2005 without our
approval. When we asked why, the doctor at M. D.
Anderson said "she didn't need it." Well, the thymus makes
your t-cell and b-cell lymphoctyes and makes the hormones
that regulate all of the immune system. We returned on
Christmas Day. This cancer has proved resistant to all
chemo and radiation treatments. So we are trying
something different.
Edward
Support Mother
January 4, 2007
The bail hearing for Allison Quets, accused of kidnapping her own
children, will be held this morning. John Dunn asks for supporters to come
to the courtroom in Ottawa.
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| From: | "John Dunn" <afterfostercare@hotmail.com>
| | To: | (email groups)
| | Date: | Wed, 03 Jan 2007 23:18:17 -0500
| | Subject: | Ottawa - Court - Thursday
|
Please if you can show up at the Ottawa Court House to
support a mother who had her children adopted from her at
birth and ran to Canada. She had her children adopted out
while suffering post-partum depression.
You can be at the court house and see the case of "R vs
Quets" I think. Quets is the key name on the schedule
sheet.
161 Elgin Street
Ottawa, Ontario
10:00am (my guess as to the time of the Bail hearing) This
case has high media coverage and Sean McKibbon of the
Ottawa Sun is going to be there I am almost sure of it and
maybe other media.
The story can be viewed in video format below:
www.wral.com/news/local/story/1119193/
Addendum: There is an online petition in
support of Allison Quets.
Addendum: Jessie McVicar (Bizzi) was in the courtroom. Here are
slightly edited versions of two of his reports:
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Well again I am reminded of how much I hate reporters.
I got to the courthouse about 15 minutes early. For what
ever reason the reporters sat all around me.
Poor Allison. My heart goes out to her. She looked so
sad. It's odd I never felt pity for myself when I sat in
that box. But seeing a mother who was doing what she
thought was best for her children sitting in that box
disgusted me. On top of it there was a reporter sitting
on the left hand side of Sean (Sun reporter) who couldn't
stop talking about how he quit drinking and smoking. And
how it was getting bad and how he had to pound back cups
of coffee.
I guess that could explain why we never get the right
story from reporters. None of them were aware I was not a
reporter.
Anyway Allison Quets' lawyer ate through the crown like
me and a nicely fresh cooked apple pie. (Boy I sure had
the wrong lawyer). Safe to say she is free and my faith
in humanity a little restored. Why?
A police officer or ex, I am not sure, opted for bail
etc. I had a hard time hearing because of the reporters
talking about their drinking problems and other B.S. (Hey
press, kinda hard to listen and talk at the same time
isn't it?)
Allison Quets had a shit load of support. And it
showed. I am not a reporter so if you want more info it
will be on the news. Their were tons of media.
Today out of 20 years in the system I finally got to
see real law in action and a nice caring police officer
(or ex) I almost choked on my gum. No court date I ever
had was like that. That was real law in action. If
parents and children had that kind of support and lawyers
in their corner I suppose I would be able to say that more
often.
It really saddens me that I can't. I want nothing more
to be a proud Canadian. Hard to be proud when the only
reason your not dead while in care was that I ate garbage
while sleeping outside hiding from care..
There was a media ban on the actual hearing. But good
thing I am not media huh? Got the audio though if B.S
should arise. Rest assured, I know what to do with it.
But the media ban was not for a bad reason, even I
understood the need for it. When it went into recess you
should have heard the reporters on their cell phones and
to each other, talking about getting a lawyer because of
the media ban.
When in fact just specific details were banned like the
people helping Allison Quets and standing in her
corner.
Today I guess I understand why I don't like reporters
naturally. Could not put my finger on it, until
today.
Addendum: Here is the story from one of the (unsigned) reporters
lambasted by Bizzi:
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Judge grants bail to U.S. mom accused of
kidnapping twins
Canadian Press
Thursday, January 04, 2007
OTTAWA (CP) - An American woman accused of kidnapping
her 17-month-old twins from their adoptive parents has
been released on bail.
Allison Quets was released to the custody of two
Canadian couples Thursday after almost $18,000 in bonds
and cash were posted by Quets and the couples. Quets will
be staying with Mark Thompson, a retired police officer,
and his wife Mary until Monday when she must report to
Ottawa police and then return to the United States.
A publication ban has been placed on the Thompsons'
address until Monday.
The other couple who vouched for Quets is Mark and Mary
Jo Formosa, the owners of a bed and breakfast in Kingston
where Quets stayed with her twins over Christmas.
In arguing that Quets be released on bail, her lawyer
told Judge Charles Hackland that his client presents a
"low-flight risk."
Jeff Schroeder said it has always been his client's
intent to return to the United States to face charges
there and to further pursue custody of her children.
"She's going to continue that fight. There is still an
appeal in effect and that is what she intends to do Monday
morning - voluntarily waive extradition and go back there
and get her children back."
Schroeder said Quets was "very emotional" upon hearing
she was released on bail.
"She's still a little numb, I think from what has
occurred over the last number of days, but also as a
result of the immense show of support the Canadian people
have shown her."
An FBI warrant was issued for Quet's arrest after she
failed to return the twins to their adoptive parents in
North Carolina on Christmas Eve.
Quets says she was in the midst of a post-partum
illness when she gave the newborns up for adoption.
Addendum: Allison Quets will remain in jail
until trial.
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January 26, 2007
Mother accused of kidnapping twins to
remain in jail
RALEIGH, N.C. A woman charged with international
parental kidnapping for fleeing the country with
17-month-old twins will remain in jail until her trial. A
federal judge in Raleigh ruled today that there is too
much risk that Allison Quets would flee again if let out.
Quets is the twins' birth mother. Authorities have
said she had the twins during an authorized visit the
weekend before Christmas but didn't return them to their
adoptive parents, Denise and Kevin Needham of Apex.
Instead, authorities say, Quets took the twins to
Canada.
She was arrested there on charges of international
parental kidnapping.
Court Allows Two Mothers
Comedians Strike Back
January 2, 2007
Following the report of an Ontario court legalizing two mothers and a
father for one boy, critics have struck back with the most suitable tool
— ridicule.
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January 2, 2007
Having two moms now legal in Ontario
Canadian Press
TORONTO — An Ontario boy can legally have two mothers
and a father, the province's highest court ruled
Tuesday.
The same-sex partner of the child's biological mother
went to court seeking to also be declared a mother of the
boy.
After hearing arguments in 2003, Superior Court Justice
David Aston dismissed the application saying he didn't
have the jurisdiction to rule in the case.
Court was told the child has three parents: his
biological father and mother (identified in court
documents as B.B. and C.C., respectively) and C.C.'s
partner, the appellant A.A.
A.A. and C.C. have been in a stable same-sex union
since 1990. In 1999, they decided to start a family with
the assistance of their friend B.B.
The two women would be the primary caregivers of the
child, but they believed it would be in the child's best
interests that B.B. remain involved in the child's
life.
The boy refers to A.A. and C.C. as his mothers.
Justice Aston indicated that had he thought he had
jurisdiction, he would have made ruled that A.A. was also
the boy's mother.
“The child is a bright, healthy, happy individual who
is obviously thriving in a loving family that meets his
every need,” the decision reads.
“The applicant has been a daily and consistent
presence in his life. She is fully committed to a
parental role. She has the support of the two biological
parents who themselves recognize her equal status with
them.”
A.A. and C.C. did not apply for an adoption order
because, if they did so, B.B. would lose his status under
the Child and Family Services Act.
“Perhaps one of the greatest fears faced by lesbian
mothers is the death of the birth mother,” the appeal
court heard. “Without a declaration of parentage or
some other order, the surviving partner would be unable to
make decisions for their minor child, such as critical
decisions about health care.”
The Children's Law Reform Act does not reflect current
society, the appeal court judges ruled.
“There is no doubt that the Legislature did not
foresee for the possibility of declarations of parentage
for two women, but that is a product of the social
conditions and medical knowledge at the time,” they
wrote. “The Legislature did not turn its mind to that
possibility, so that over 30 years later the gap in the
legislation has been revealed.”
As a result, the statute does not provide for the best
interests of the child in this case, the judges said.
“The Act does not deal with, nor contemplate, the
disadvantages that a child born into a relationship of two
mothers, two fathers or as in this case two mothers and
one father might suffer.”
The Attorney General for Ontario did not chose to
intervene to support the legislation, the ruling
noted.
Here are some published comments from the same website:
Scot Loucks from Pickering, Canada writes: Did I
read that right? Did common sense actually prevail in
a Family court in Ontario? Next thing you know, the
Leafs may win the cup.... Check your basements
people, I believe Hell has frozen over.
May Spencer from Sudbury, Canada writes: How many
more of these ridiculous court rulings do we have to
endure? Is this another ruling by a judge with a
conflict of interest?
Paul Kruger from Vernon, Canada writes: So, in our
society, it's conceivable that a child born from a
surrogate mother to a woman unable to have children,
is given up for adoption, then adopted by 2 lesbians,
and is subsequently declared to have 4 mothers ...
and 1 father? What happens if the 2 Lesbians divorce
and remarry 2 other women and each of them apply for
parental rights? Possibly 6 mothers? But perhaps 1
of them may remarry a man (that sure would be
old-fashioned) and then it may be 5 mothers and 2
fathers. Now, it's REALLY important for a child to be
loved and cared for ... no question about that, but
please allow us old-timers the right to shake our
heads in amazement at the rapid rate of change
underlying Canada's social experimentation - in
rewriting what constitutes a family. "The times ...
they sure are a changing!" It's time to go and give
those 2 rare old relics (dear old mom and dad) a big
hug!
Big Chief Walksonwater from Caledonia Ontario from
writes: Oh, boy! Don't get me started. This world
is getting weirder and weirder.
Bob Rollheiser from Canada writes: It's starting
to look like the old saying about it taking a whole
village to raise a child is coming true.
Stews 49 from Canada writes: It just keeps going
round and round. Man this country is losing it fast!
What would make it the top story is if one of the
parents(?) has dual citizenship.
Mr Fijne from Canada writes: Why not three, four
or five? Let's be inclusive!
J Luft from Calgary, Canada writes: More judicial
stupidity.
kimberli hart from Canada writes: Disregarding the
'politically correct' issue of same sex relationships,
aren't 'mother' and 'father' terms used to describe
the female and male who produced a child? If there
are concerns about both ladies wanting legal authority
over the child, then make one a guardian. I fail to
understand why political correctness should get in the
way of basic biological facts. Does anyone else feel
compelled to stop the insanity that is PC? Everytime
I contradict PC I get labelled 'racist', 'sexist',
'homophobic' etc...
Raymond Baden from Calgary, Canada writes: Three,
presumably, loving parents? That's one very lucky kid
right there. :)
John L. Murlowe from City of East Vancouver
Island, Canada writes: It used to be so confusing
with just a mother and a father. Many thanks to the
courts for making children's lives so much simpler
these days.
Mike W from Canada writes: And you wonder why
children have psychological problems!
Gardiner Westbound from Canada writes: Is there a
reservoir of lunatic social engineers somewhere from
which the government selects judges?
Dark Angel from The West, Canada writes: I suppose
this means that the two moms will be able to nail one
father for child support!
And here is a comment by Karol Karolak not on the web:
- From appellate court's decision and reasons: "The Act
does not deal with, nor contemplate, the disadvantages
that a child born into a relationship of two mothers,
two fathers or as in this case two mothers and one
father might suffer." I have yet to read of two men
producing a child, as I am sure that such news would
be the medical curiosity of the century. From now on,
however, I can sleep well knowing that in Ontario
forward looking judges have already anticipated such a
possibility and made legal provisions for it. One
thing bugs me however, what happens when we get sperm
donor (provisionally call him a father), egg donor
(provisionally call her a mother) and a pig delegated
to the task of pregnancy and childbirth? Such a
scenario is much closer to medical reality then two
men producing a baby. My question relates to the
legal status of the pig. Giving birth to a human baby
qualifies the pig as a mother, opening a Pandora's box
of who gets child benefits, who becomes legal
guardians and so on. I do not want to be facetious
here as it is perfectly possible to use for this
exercise frozen sperm and egg from long dead donors.
If that were the case we would have a living pig
giving birth to a human child and in case of lack of
living human relatives of sperm and egg donors, the
pig is the closest biological relative of the child.
In a case like this does the pig gets the custody of
the child?
Treat her till she's sick!
January 2, 2007
Last October the press told the story of Tayler Diamond, a nine-year-old girl in
remission from leukemia, who was forced into chemo-therapy through the
intervention of children's aid over the objections of her mother.
The girl has been on a schedule of three treatments a week at McMaster
since October, where her counts are holding up well. Suggesting that the
last fifteen weeks of treatment have been deficient, the doctor, Carol
Portwine, wants to change the schedule and increase the dosage. Mother Lisa
Diamond fears a change in treatment could push the girl into the
life-threatening septic-shock she experienced from earlier treatment. The
mother has been treated with such disrespect by the current doctor (they
change monthly) that Tayler has to leave the room. Dr Portwine is the same
doctor who originally brought children's aid into the case.
Tomorrow is the funeral for another child, Bradley Campbell, 15, also
given chemo-therapy during remission, whose cancer returned during the
treatment.
Jailed for Motherhood
January 2, 2007
As this is written, Myriam Bédard is sitting in a jail cell in
Maryland, awaiting the formalities of extradition to Canada, which she is
not opposing.
Her crime is caring for her twelve-year-old daughter, an act that for a
normal parent is not criminal. It was (presumably) made criminal for her by
order of a family court judge. The daughter was according to early reports
placed with her father, but now the press says she is with Myriam's mother.
The judge's order criminalizing her motherhood has not been published,
and from the looks of the news reports on this case, none of the reporters
have seen it.
It is hard to avoid noticing as well that Mme Bédard was a witness
in a case that led to the fall of the Canadian government. Former prime
minister Paul Martin is in retirement, along with his cabinet ministers.
Retirement did not apply however to judges appointed by that government,
including possibly the judge in the Bédard case.
Is this a case of the judicial system striking out at Myriam
Bédard the way it more commonly strikes capriciously at fathers?
Canadians deserve answers in this case. When was the order issued to
Myriam Bédard that induced her to flee Canada? What is in the order?
Was it in response to her embarrassing testimony in the Gomery case?
Below are two news articles on the case, a week apart.
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Olympian Myriam Bedard faces
extradiction hearing in child custody case
Beth Gorham
Canadian Press
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
WASHINGTON (CP) - Canadian Olympic champion Myriam
Bedard faces an extradition hearing Tuesday after spending
Christmas weekend in a Maryland jail on charges of
abducting her daughter.
It's the latest twist in an emotional family saga that
began this fall and ended with Bedard's arrest late Friday
by U.S. marshals after her ex-husband complained she
violated a custody agreement by taking 12-year-old Maude
away from Quebec City.
Bedard, a national figure after winning double gold in
the biathlon at the 1994 Winter Olympics, officially
became an international fugitive when Canadian authorities
issued an arrest warrant on Dec. 8.
The athlete and her current husband, Nima Mazhari, made
no secret of the fact they were going to the United States
with Maude in October.
The girl's biological father, Jean Paquet, soon
complained to authorities that Bedard was breaking their
custody agreement.
Father and daughter were reunited in Maryland late
Saturday after Maude spent the day in the care of U.S.
social services. Paquet was expected to drive her back
home on Sunday for the holiday.
Spokeswoman Catherine Gagnaire of the Foreign Affairs
Department in Ottawa wouldn't provide details on Monday.
"They are together," Gagnaire said. "That's all I can
tell you."
American authorities caught up with Bedard at about 10
p.m. Friday at an upscale hotel just off the busy highway
linking Washington and Baltimore.
She will appear in a Baltimore court possibly by
video-link from the stark Howard County detention centre
in Jessup, Md., about 50 kilometres north of Washington.
U.S. marshals say the RCMP first contacted them for
help finding Bedard on Dec. 15. Once it was determined
she was in the United States, they obtained a provisional
arrest warrant.
Mazhari, interviewed by the Quebec network TVA in the
parking lot of the hotel where Bedard was arrested, said
they had been living in several different hotels in recent
weeks.
He said he and Bedard turned themselves in to the FBI
in Washington after they discovered Dec. 14 that she was
being sought by police, but the bureau did nothing.
"They said 'We'll study it,' " Mazhari said.
Asked if the couple had authorization to leave Canada
with Maude, Mazhari said: "I know that he (Paquet) was
aware. In any case, it took us two or three months to
prepare all this."
He said Maude was treated well on ther trip.
Bedard hopes for Wednesday jail release
Aaron Derfel, CanWest News Service
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
CREDIT: Canadian Press/Tom Hanson
Former Olympic athlete Myriam Bedard.
MONTREAL - Myriam Bedard's lawyers are hoping to
persuade a U.S. judge to release the Olympic champion
from a Maryland jail as early as Wednesday to return to
Quebec to face child-abduction charges.
Bedard's detention took yet another bizarre turn Monday
amid claims that her 12-year-old daughter Maude is eating
little and refusing to take showers in an ''act of
solidarity'' with her mother.
Kevin McCants, Bedard's lawyer, said the judge should
take this new information into account.
''Myriam is fine physically and mentally but very
concerned about her daughter not eating,'' McCants said in
a telephone interview. ''Obviously, she's very concerned
about them being separated for this long.''
Bedard had been travelling in the U.S. with her
daughter and boyfriend, Nima Mazhari, since Oct. 3.
Bedard was arrested on Dec. 22 by U.S. authorities after
Jean Paquet, Maude's father, filed a complaint with Quebec
City police accusing her of abducting the child.
That same day, Maude was sent back to Quebec.
McCants had decided against filing an emergency court
motion Monday seeking Bedard's return to Canada.
''I didn't want to belabour the issue,'' he said. ''We
will be back in front of the judge (Wednesday) at three
o'clock.''
Bedard, a two-time gold medal winner at the 1994 winter
Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, has been having a tough
time in jail. McCants said Bedard was almost attacked by
another prisoner over the use of a bed, but that she is
now staying in another cell.
Ideally, McCants wants Bedard to be released on her own
recognizance as soon as possible, or to be escorted by
U.S. marshals to the Quebec border, where she would then
be transferred to the Quebec provincial police.
At one point, Bedard risked staying in jail until Jan.
10 as U.S. Justice Department officials, the Canadian
Justice Department and various police forces negotiated
details over her transfer to Quebec.
Mazhari, who has been staying in a hotel during
Bedard's detention, strongly defended her actions Monday.
''You have to always be proud of Myriam,'' he said.
''She never did anything wrong, and whatever she did
was correct, and it's honorable whatever she did. You
have to blame all those who created so much trouble in her
life. It's already two years we are living in a shit and
our life is torture every day.''
Mazhari claimed that Bedard is the victim of a
conspiracy for having spoken out during the sponsorship
scandal of the former federal Liberal government.
He noted that Bedard's daughter is no longer staying
with her father, but her paternal grandmother. This, he
added, suggests that Paquet is not genuinely interested in
being with his daughter.
Paquet could not be reached for comment.
aderfel@thegazette.canwest.com
Addendum: Myriam Bédard was released from jail in Quebec on
January 5, after posting half of $2000 bond. Fourteen days in jail for such
petty bail is extraordinary.
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