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Oriena Rejola Currie, R.I.P.
August 6, 2007
Oriena Currie,
a board member of Canada Court Watch, has passed away.
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In memory of Oriena Rejola Currie
Canada Court Watch executive, Oriena
Currie, passes away at 72 years of age
Sadly, on Sunday, July 22, 2007, Canada Court Watch
advocate, Oriena Rejola Currie, 72 years of age, passed
away in hospital after losing her final battle with
cancer.
To her many friends and associates with whom she had
become involved in over the years during her political
advocacy and as an executive director of Canada Court
Watch, she will be greatly missed.
She is survived by her son, Charles, her daughter,
Bonnie, and five grandchildren, Chatham, Cauthen, Quen ,
Caegan and Kitsym.
Oriena was one of the most respected and senior member
of Canada Court Watch, having served on its Board of
Directors for a number of years.
Up until her final battle with cancer she proudly stood
up for freedom, justice and democracy which were the
issues she strongly believed in and fought fearlessly for
those beliefs.
Oriena was born November 23, 1934 in Toronto, Ontario.
She grew up as a young child in the Cabbagetown community
of Toronto and in her teenage years lived in the
Mississauga area.
In her later years, Oriena resided in Campbellville, a
small community situated on the beautiful Niagara
Escarpment close to Milton, Ontario.
She operated a family owned flea market from a small
commercial building located on her family's properly on
Guelph Line at the southern outskirts of her community.
Most Saturdays and Sundays she could be found at her
flea market with her grandchildren close at hand.
Outside of her time spent with her family members and
running the family business, Oriena was a powerhouse,
devoting much of her knowledge and experience to provide
helpful advice to others experiencing problems with the
courts and lawyers.
People from all over called Oriena by phone for help
with their court related problems with many finding much
needed information and support that they were unable to
obtain or afford from professionals in legal community.
Oriena stated that advocating for fairness, justice and
most all accountability had been a passion and a driving
force during most of her life.
Oriena at the Barrie, Ontario rally in 2006 wearing the
T shirt which caused court workers to label her and other
justice minded Canadian citizens as "gang" members.
She often attended meetings, protests and events in the
community designed to bring attention to the plight of
those involved with the court system.
Last year in Barrie, Oriena was refused entry to the
public washrooms at the Barrie, Ontario courthouse by
security forces.
Officers told her that because she was wearing a Canada
Court Watch T shirt, she was considered as posing a threat
to the security of the court.
Court Security officers told Oriena that court
administrators and judges inside the building had labelled
the senior citizen a "gang" member.
Afterwards, outside of the Barrie, Ontario courthouse,
Oriena laughed and stated the incident at the court about
her being refused entry to use of the washroom was a joke.
"I must be doing something right if these big, burly
and armed police officers felt threatened by me, a 71-year
old senior citizen," she said.
Oriena stated that the actions of police and court
workers that day at the Barrie court was an insult to
justice and free speech in Canada.
She said that this only showed that the judges and
those who work for the court system were more afraid of
her Court Watch T shirt and what it stood for than they
were of her.
"The judges and court workers are terrified of the
public finding out the truth of what is going on inside of
their lavish court buildings.
They know what they are doing is wrong and they only
want to hide the truth" she said during an interview with
reporters outside of the court.
Over the years, Oriena had acquired a small library of
legal books which she graciously shared with people who
were in need of helpful legal information.
She provided free legal advocacy under the name "YoYo"
Law, the phrase YoYo standing for "Your On Your Own".
Oriena coined this unique name because she believed
that people had to self educate themselves about the law
and about their rights and freedoms.
She often said that the costs associated with people
obtaining competent legal services had become unaffordable
to all Canadians except those considered wealthy.
Oriena did not fear standing up against injustice and
would often stand up for others in the community,
especially those who had been pillaged of their assets and
then abandoned by legal professionals.
Just days before her passing, Oriena had rescheduled a
court hearing in which she was scheduled to appear in
court to represent herself in a lawsuit she had prepared
and filed by herself prior to her becoming ill.
Her civil lawsuit against authorities involved the
Halton Regional Police and the Crown Attorney's office.
Even with her illness facing her, she forged ahead in
expectation of being well enough to fight for justice
another day.
Although Oriena wanted very much to keep her scheduled
court date, in the end her failing health would not permit
her to do so.
Even at 72 years of age, Oriena was ready and willing
to set an example to all Canadians by single-handedly
challenging local authorities who she believed had done
wrong, including the police.
In addition to handing out information to people
involved in the court system, Oriena loved going to
various courts in the southern Ontario region as a Canada
Court Watch observer where she would observe court
proceedings and report back about irregularities in the
courts.
Archbishop Dorian A. Baxter, the National Chairman of
Court Watch, said that Oriena was a person full of spirit,
determination and dedication in the pursuit of fairness
and justice for her fellow Canadians.
"Good, honest and hard working citizens of her calibre
are hard to find," said Baxter.
Oriena has been laid to rest at the St. David's
Presbyterian Church in Campbellville.
Oriena will be dearly missed by many.
CAS Trains Killer
August 5, 2007
Jesse Imeson became Canada's most wanted man after
committing three homicides. The biographical article below
discloses that he spent much of his childhood in the care of
children's aid. The article is misleading on one point: it
says his mother placed him with CAS. We have interviewed
many parents who (on paper) relinquished their children to
CAS voluntarily. The consent was most often obtained by
deception, such as a social worker suggesting to the parent
that a signature was a formality necessary for the agency to
provide help to the child.
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Murder suspect 'always smiling'
By JENNIFER O'BRIEN, SUN MEDIA
August 4, 2007
He was non-stop.
An adventurous, wide-eyed boy, Jesse Imeson made his
babysitter work for her money -- giggling as he chased her
through his parents' Amherstburg home south of Windsor.
The eldest of three children, Imeson, seven at the time
could be "a little turd," Cheryl White remembers.
"He would chase me through the house with a water gun.
He was a jokester," says White, who used to care for
Imeson and his younger brother and sister.
"But he was a happy kid. He had these huge eyes and he
was always smiling, trying to have fun."
That boyish smile is long behind the six-foot-tall man
whose eyes are harder now, and whose body is covered in
tattoos, including a Chinese symbol meaning "soldier," on
his neck.
At 22, Imeson is suddenly infamous as an unpredictable
fugitive, accused of murdering three people in cold blood,
and evading a national manhunt for two weeks before his
arrest Tuesday.
But his troubles didn't begin overnight. In recent
years, Imeson had been a regular at Windsor's jail, and
became known to some people as a guy who'd say anything to
get what he wanted.
Though his personal life appeared full -- a beautiful
girlfriend, the mother of his two-year-old daughter, and a
circle of supportive friends and relatives -- many say he
considered himself alone since his mom put him into foster
care at about age 10.
"He had a rough life," so many have said of Imeson.
There was the suicide of his father, Jeff, who worked
in construction in Amherstburg. Imeson has told friends
it was he -- then nine-years-old -- who found his father
dead.
There was foster care. Shortly after his dad died,
Imeson's mom handed over her eldest son -- but not his
siblings -- to Children's Aid.
Since turning 18, a Corrections Canada official said,
Imeson had often been in the Windsor jail on charges of
petty crimes, including possession of stolen goods and
robbery.
Then, there's the drug addiction.
And now there are the three killings police link to
Imeson -- the strangulation of 25-year-old Carlos Rivera,
who was found in Imeson's rented Windsor room on July 19,
and the shooting deaths of Bill and Helene Regier, who
were found dead, tied up in their Mount Carmel home July
23.
For 12 days, Imeson evaded a manhunt that went
Canada-wide after the Regiers killings, until a concerned
neighbour spotted him watching television in an unoccupied
home in Portage-Du-Fort, Que., and he was chased into the
woods.
Then, keeping with his unpredictable reputation, the
heavily tattooed, newly bearded fugitive simply laid down
beside the loaded gun he carried and let police arrest
him.
"His family is so glad," says White. "We all thought
it could have ended worse, with the family ( suicide)
history."
Imeson took his father's death "badly," White says.
"His dad was his hero. He started to get out of hand.
That's how he was reacting to the devastation."
His mom put him in foster care -- a move called
"abandonment" by Children's Aid societies. She didn't put
his younger siblings into care, but eventually relatives
cared for them, too, a cousin says.
"She did it for him," says White. "He was causing
trouble in the home and she couldn't handle it at the
time."
He went to Leamington, a 45-minute drive from
Amherstburg, where his mom lived.
Foster parents wouldn't comment on Imeson, but former
classmates who met Imeson in Grade 6 remember the new kid
as likeable.
"Everybody knew he had a messed up life," says a woman
who went to Leamington's Queen Elizabeth elementary
school."He was a little rough, but he was a decent kid."
Imeson graduated from Grade 8 at that school, she says,
and went on to Leamington District secondary.
Somehow, he ended up back in Amherstburg, where he
began temporary stays with aunts and uncles.
"He stayed with relatives, and his grandparents tried
so hard," one cousin says. "He was unworkable."
Today, Imeson is close with his sister and a brother,
who is training to be a paramedic, and some cousins,
friends say.
Though he had friends in high school -- he went to
General Amherst in Amherstburg until dropping out in Grade
11 -- Imeson's reputation was as a hard-partying hot head.
Known for his tough talk, and tough walk, he always had
a cigarette in his mouth and usually a beer in his hands.
Though friends say he wasn't a bully, and that he
charmed women with his manners and easy grin, he was a bad
boy -- even banned from one Amherstburg bar.
"He caused trouble all the time," says a server at
Shooters. "The night he was banned, we were all sitting
around after work and (talking about it)."
Though Imeson has several tattoos, including his
surname etched across his stomach, a Windsor tattoo artist
says he was horrible to work on.
"He was hyper and high strung," says Jeff Vella, who
booted Imeson from his shop for his behaviour. Vella says
Imeson often came in after partying at the casino and
sometimes couldn't sit still for more than five minutes.
A well-built man who worked out often, Imeson took odd
jobs, doing construction or helping people out, friends
say. But he had several criminal convictions.
It's surprising, then, that he wanted to be a cop,
enrolling in a police foundations course at a Windsor
college. But that's where White -- enrolled in a
different course -- ran into the man she once babysat.
Imeson was worried during his time at the college, she
says -- his girlfriend was pregnant. She says he
graduated, but then couldn't find work.
Imeson left for Whistler, B.C., to do just that, says
another friend. He did get a job somewhere, but "he came
back after his daughter was born," she says.
But Imeson's drug use -- a former rehab peer says he
was into cocaine -- was heavy and his troubles continued.
This summer, Imeson did a 40-day program at Windsor's
Salvation Army Addiction and Rehabilitation Centre, where
former peers blame drugs for his troubles. While there,
Imeson said he wanted to be a better dad and received
visits from his baby's "hot" mother, says a former peer.
"He was a nice guy," the friend says.
Imeson graduated from the program "a model client,"
says Salvation Army Major Wilfred Harbin. But he
relapsed.
Imeson moved into a rooming house in downtown Windsor,
telling his landlords he had been in the military -- a
story police have refuted.
The couple who rented to him say Imeson was polite and
quiet, and kept pictures of his daughter in his room.
Friends say he was still in an on-and-off relationship
with his daughter's mom.
Imeson was living in that home for three weeks when he
decided to go to a downtown gay strip bar, the Tap.
Staff at the Tap say they had never seen Imeson before
Tuesday, July 17, when he showed up and began talking to
bartender Carlos Rivera.
Always on the hunt for fast cash, the high school
dropout told friends he thought he could make good money
dancing for men. But he didn't fill out the application,
says operator Eddie An.
An said he had a bad feeling about Imeson, who was
boasting about being a soldier.
But Rivera was interested and later left with Imeson.
Next morning, the landlords said, Imeson left early.
In Rivera's car, he drove the more than 200 kilometres to
Grand Bend. Rivera's strangled body remained in his room
-- and wasn't found until Thursday, July 19.
Police have said that before Rivera's body was even
found, Imeson had hooked up with South Huron teen Lindsey
Glavin at a Grand Bend bar.
They hung out until Friday, July 20, when Glavin ended
the relationship and dropped Imeson off in a Stephen
Township field, north of Mount Carmel Line.
Assisted by Glavin, police combed that field Saturday,
July 21, but called off the search the next day.
On Monday, July 23, four concessions east, the Regiers
were found dead, spurring the nationwide hunt for Imeson.
That hunt ended last Tuesday, eight days later, 600
kilometres away, in a wooded area of Quebec, north of
Ottawa.
With no blaze of glory, Imeson went down peacefully,
police said, laying down beside his loaded rifle.
He's been charged with first-degree murder in Rivera's
death and, within a week, is expected to face the same
charge for the deaths of the Regiers.
"He has gotten himself into a lot of trouble over the
years but something like this? We are shocked," says
White.
Another friend from Amherstburg says she was happy
Imeson was captured, "because he doesn't have to run
anymore," though she was worried about him, saying he
looked thin on the news.
More Runaways
August 4, 2007
Two more girls have voted against foster care with their
feet. They are Kathie McDonald, who left foster care in
Hamilton, and Riviera Hollahan of Winnipeg. Some
controversy has attended the McDonald case, since CAS feels
free to violate the Child and Family Services Act by naming
a child in foster care. Another report says McDonald was
picked up within two days of publishing her name.
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Public help needed to find missing
teen
Jul, 26 2007 - 11:20 AM
HAMILTON (AM900 CHML) - The Children's Aid Society is
asking for the public's help in finding a missing 14
year-old girl.
Katie McDonald has been missing since last Wednesday,
July 18.
She's 5-feet-2 inches, around 105 pounds with green
eyes and long blond hair.
She's known to frequent the Barton and Strathearne area
as well as the downtown core.
- Ted Michaels
Mon Jul 23 2007
Girl, 11, missing
Riviera Hollahan
|
CITY police are seeking help from the public to find a
missing 11-year-old girl. Riviera Hollahan was last seen
Friday between 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. at the Freight House
recreation centre on Isabel Street.
Police describe Riviera as an aboriginal girl, 5 ft. 1
in. tall with a medium build and long dark brown hair
with blonde streaks in a pony tail. She was last seen
wearing a white and grey tank top, blue jeans and white
shoes.
When children go missing, the police must decide
whether they’re in trouble or not. So far police don’t
believe this girl is in trouble. “Investigators are
actively investigating,” Winnipeg Police Service
spokeswoman, Const. Jacqueline Chaput said. “At this
point, we’re not looking at this as suspicious in
nature.”
Any person who may have seen her is requested to
contact police at 986-6222.
Addendum: Months later the website of the
Winnipeg police marked Rivera Hollahan as LOCATED, without any indication of
time or place.
Pervert Shrink
August 4, 2007
Stuart Greenberg was an expert witness in Seattle who
earned a living taking children from their parents. He was
also a voyeur who secretly photographed women using his
bathroom, then used the pictures for his own sexual
gratification. He joins the ranks of Ontario's Dr Charles
Smith as a discredited expert, requiring reviews of many of
the cases in which he provided opinions.
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Friday, July 27, 2007 - 12:00 AM
Therapist's suicide could trigger
challenges in legal cases
By Jennifer Sullivan and Maureen O'Hagan, Seattle Times
staff reporters
The arrest and suicide of a prominent Seattle
psychologist who was often an expert witness in
sexual-abuse and child-custody cases could raise questions
about his recommendations, and some could be challenged,
judges say.
Renton police on Wednesday found Stuart Greenberg's
body after employees at the Clarion hotel entered his room
and found a note on the floor that read, "medical
personnel, do not resuscitate. Let me die," according to
a Renton police report.
Officers later found Greenberg in a bathtub. He had
cuts on both wrists, and police found a variety of
medications in the bathroom. The case is being
investigated as an overdose.
Greenberg, 59, was well-known as an expert witness in
sexual-abuse cases. He had worked as a consultant to the
Archdiocese of Seattle, which was defending itself in
priest-abuse cases. He also had served as an expert
witness on behalf of sex-abuse victims in other cases.
Greenberg also was frequently appointed as a parenting
evaluator in child-custody cases.
Greenberg was arrested then suspended from practice
earlier this month after allegations surfaced that he had
secretly videotaped a woman in his office bathroom.
He was booked into the King County Jail on July 3 after
an acquaintance found the videotape in the psychologist's
VCR and alerted the person who appeared on the tape,
police said. The tape was then handed over to police.
While in jail, Greenberg had been placed on suicide
watch, according to the Renton police report. He was
conditionally released two days after his arrest.
Dan Donohoe, spokesman for the King County Prosecutor's
Office, said a decision on whether to file charges against
Greenberg had not been made. But the state Board of
Psychology suspended his license after the voyeurism
allegation.
Nationally renowned
Greenberg, as a parenting evaluator in child-custody
cases, carried tremendous power. A parenting evaluator's
job is to interview all the parties involved and make
custody recommendations; typically, the recommendations
are followed.
Greenberg had developed a national reputation, as well.
His curriculum vitae, listing all his professional
accomplishments, runs 19 pages.
Among other things, he served as president of the
American Board of Forensic Psychology in 2002-2003 and
taught dozens of continuing-education courses across the
country for fellow psychologists.
He also trained a crop of would-be psychologists as a
clinical assistant professor at the University of
Washington, and before that at the University of Southern
California and the University of Iowa.
King County Presiding Judge Michael Trickey said the
courts — and families going through custody battles —
will have to contend with a number of difficult issues in
the wake of Greenberg's arrest and subsequent death. He
anticipates a flurry of challenges by parties who were
unhappy with past evaluations involving Greenberg.
Greenberg's arrest alone wouldn't be enough to reopen a
case. But if his recommendations hinged on a parent's
alleged sexual deviancy, for example, that parent could
argue that Greenberg's opinion was tainted by his alleged
actions.
"Never having dealt with this before, I'm not sure how
this would play out," Trickey said, adding, "I assume
we're going to deal with it sooner rather than later."
The court doesn't keep count of cases assigned to a
particular parenting evaluator, so it's impossible to tell
how many families could be affected. But it's a given
that all of Greenberg's pending cases will have to be
reassigned to other evaluators — a process that was
already under way since his arrest and suspension of his
license to practice psychology.
Judge James Doerty, the chief family-court judge, said
a key question in reopening old cases is whether the
child-custody plan has been working for the child.
"The problem about going backwards and redoing those
decisions is you are actually changing the lives the
children have led," Doerty said.
"Great gifts and flaws"
On Sunday, Greenberg's wife checked him into an
Extended Stay Deluxe motel in Renton because he said he
didn't feel safe at home, the police report said.
Marcia Greenberg told police her husband had been
depressed for nearly four months, possibly from a change
in heart medication, and was upset by his recent arrest,
the report read.
The Greenbergs went to dinner that night and then
Marcia Greenberg returned to their Seattle home.
But at some point Greenberg left the motel and checked
into the Clarion on Monday, police said.
Marcia Greenberg said she last spoke with her husband
around 8 p.m. on Monday, according to the report.
"We are overwhelmed by loss and with grief that we
could not convince Stu life was worth living," Marcia
Greenberg wrote in a statement released Thursday. "Stu
had great gifts and flaws, but to us he was a much loved
husband, father, brother, and son. We miss him terribly."
Greenberg left suicide notes to his wife, daughter and
"everyone else I hurt," the police report said. His wife
said he apologized for his actions in the notes, the
report states.
The King County Medical Examiner's Office said an
autopsy was done Thursday but a cause of death won't be
released until toxicology tests are completed.
Seattle Times staff reporters Nancy Kelsey and Michael
Berens contributed to this report.
Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or
jensullivan@seattletimes.com
Boy Dies in Care
August 2, 2007
Two-year-old Gage Guimond died in his foster home in
Winnipeg. Other news reports suggest he suffered sustained
physical abuse. Over a hundred people attended his funeral,
making it harder in Manitoba for child protectors to bury
their mistakes.
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August 1, 2007
Toddler mourned
Memories of 'happy boy' recalled
By ROB NAY, SUN MEDIA
Natasha Guimond, mother of two-year-old Gage Guimond,
cries at his funeral yesterday. (Chris Procaylo, Sun
Media)
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A two-year-old boy was remembered as "a bright ray of
sunshine" at his funeral yesterday.
Gage Dakota Guimond died on July 22, 2007, the day
after his second birthday and two days after he was taken
to hospital in critical condition.
Stuffed toy animals, flowers and a blanket surrounded
his small coffin at the funeral service. Photos of the
boy playing in a bathtub, eating cake and smiling while
sitting on a beach faced the room filled with mourners. A
large orange card featuring a child's writing and the
words "We love you very much" sat close to the coffin.
Charged with manslaughter in Gage's death is Shirley
Guimond, 52, his great-aunt. She had Gage and his
three-year-old sister in her care at the time of the
incident. A call was made to 911 saying a child had
fallen down a flight of stairs.
As mourners entered the room for Gage's funeral, a
musician sang and played an acoustic guitar, dedicating
songs to Gage, his family and foster family.
Gage's mother, Natasha Guimond, sobbed, "I can't. I
can't," as she was led into the room, braced by people who
supported her as she struggled to walk.
Natasha temporarily gave up custody of Gage and his
three-year-old sister more than a year ago because she
wasn't ready to raise them by herself at age 18, she told
Sun Media in a previous interview.
ASKS FOR HEALING
Pastor Larry Laquette, who conducted the funeral
service, asked people to pray for every one of Gage's
family members at the funeral. He asked for healing and
restoration in people's lives.
Gage's former foster parents, Russ and Debbie
Debassige, spoke about their time with Gage and how he
came with them when they went bowling, fishing and
camping. "He was a real water baby," said Debbie
Debassige. "He loved the beach."
"Everyone who sees the photos at the front can see Gage
was a happy boy," said Russ Debassige. "We fell in love
with Gage."
While learning to walk, Gage also enjoyed visiting his
foster siblings as they went to and from school. "He was
always a bright ray of sunshine," said Debbie Debassige,
adding the sound of drums soothed the young boy.
As mourners filed past the coffin at the end of the
service, nearby musicians sang and beat on drums.
A trust fund for Natasha Guimond's surviving daughter
has been set up at the Bank of Montreal at 1010 McPhillips
St.
Adoption Warehouse
August 2, 2007
Nine lucky children found a forever home with adoptive
mother Judith Leekin. In her home they were handcuffed,
tied together and burned while being deprived of food,
education or toilet facilities. The mother earned a
six-figure income from the adoption subsidies.
This could be a case of a mother scamming the system as
suggested in the article, or another dumping ground case, in
which the child protectors get rid of their problem cases,
then blame the adoptive parent. At least in this case, the
press is focusing on money as the root of the problem.
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updated 9:44 a.m. EDT, Tue July 31, 2007
Police: Kids were adopted for profit,
abused
PORT ST. LUCIE, Florida (AP) -- They were often
handcuffed, tethered together with plastic ties and
allowed to soil themselves, investigators say. They had
scars on their wrists. Some had burns.
Police say Judith Leekin enriched herself by
adopting and neglecting nine children.
Police say Leekin bought this house and another one
with the state stipends for her adopted children.
|
None appeared to have more than a fourth-grade
education, not even the adults in their 20s. All were
starving.
In all, nine teenagers and young adults were held like
prisoners in Judith Leekin's home in what appeared to be a
decades-long scheme to line her pockets with the
government payments she received for adopting and raising
them, police say.
From the outside, Leekin's home appeared to be as
ordinary as the others in this well-kept working-class
neighborhood on the outskirts of this Atlantic coast town,
120 miles north of Miami. But its pink and white stucco
exterior hid the horrors inside, authorities say.
"Horrible, I think, would be the best word used to
describe what was going on in that house," said police
Capt. Scott Bartal.
Investigators have not yet confirmed the identities of
the young people and have not established how long Leekin
had them. But authorities believe she adopted all of them
in New York City under at least five aliases over two
decades.
They range in age from 15 to 27. One is blind and
mumbles. One can barely walk or stand. One can't read.
But authorities said they do not know if the handicaps are
a result of the alleged abuse.
The case came to light on July 4, some 200 miles away
across the state in St. Petersburg, when police received
a call from a grocery store that a teenager was there
wandering aimlessly. The 18-year-old woman, who said she
has been with Leekin for 13 years, said Leekin drove her
there and abandoned her after telling her they were going
to an amusement park.
Police and child welfare workers went to Leekin's home,
but found nothing awry. Just one child was with her in
the house, and Leekin told investigators the 18-year-old
ran away a year ago. But police soon returned, and this
time they found all the children, who had apparently been
hiding on Leekin's orders.
Leekin, 62, was arrested and jailed on 11 charges,
including aggravated elder and child abuse. She declined
to be interviewed. Her attorney had no comment.
According to authorities, she was unemployed and lived
off the monthly stipends provided by child welfare
authorities in New York. She owned at least two homes and
several cars. The adopted children said they had never
seen a doctor or a dentist and had not been allowed to
attend school or even leave the house.
"These people have not received any formal education in
the time they've been with her," Bartal said. "At times
when they were restricted with handcuffs or zip ties,
during the night, they soiled themselves because they
weren't permitted to go to the bathroom."
They were fed only noodles, and "they would have
eventually starved to death," Bartal said.
The 18-year-old told police Leekin threatened to cut
her head off if she told anyone what was happening,
authorities said.
"Was there any kind of emotional attachment? Yes, it
was fear," Bartal said.
Child welfare workers in New York said they are still
digging through paperwork to determine how Leekin came to
gain custody. It was not until 1999 that New York City
child-welfare authorities began fingerprinting adults who
adopted children out of foster care.
If Leekin did adopt them in New York City, she could
have been making as much as $180,000 a year for a time.
Parents who adopt special needs children can get as much
as $55 a day.
"If you adopt a child out of the foster care system,
you receive a stipend to help with the child's care, to
cover clothing and food, and whatever additional costs are
involved with caring for the child until the child turns
21," said Sharman Stein, spokeswoman for the New York City
Administration for Children's Services.
There is no legal requirement that a person adopting a
child from New York City's foster care system live in New
York State.
The Florida Department of Children & Families
authorities investigated a complaint of child abuse
against Leekin in 1999, but the case was later closed.
Officials would not give details.
"Right now we're just concentrating on the care of the
victims, making sure they get the medical attention and
psychological care they need," department spokeswoman
Ellen Higinbotham said. "These adults, they're like
elderly people, they're frail and vulnerable."
In Leekin's neighborhood, residents said they were
shocked.
"You'd think she was your grandmother. There was
nothing suspicious at all," neighbor Jim Hammond said.
"We never heard anything from over there, no hollering, no
screaming. She was just a nice lady."
Addendum: From later news, it is
clear that social services used Judith Leekin to dump
problem children. Just about all of the children in her
care had mental handicaps. If this case follows the usual
pattern, the adoptive mom will be the target of public
outrage and put away for a long time. The social workers
who dumped their children with her will escape scrutiny.
One teenager, Mo, died in Mrs Leekin's care.
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Aug 16, 2007 3:18 pm US/Eastern
Florida Judge Wants N.Y. Adoption
Records
Says They Are Relevant To Leekin Abuse Case
(AP) FORT PIERCE, Fla. A New York judge must decide
whether to unseal confidential adoption records, after a
Florida court ruled Thursday that they are relevant in the
criminal case against a woman accused of abusing 11
adopted children.
Judith Leekin, 62, of Port St. Lucie, is accused of
bilking New York City out of $1.26 million in a scheme
that involved adopting the children under four aliases to
line her pockets with subsidies for their care.
Authorities say the children, now ages 15 to 27, were
severely abused, that none have more than a fourth grade
education, and all suffer from physical and mental
disabilities.
Leekin has pleaded not guilty to the abuse charges.
Circuit Judge James McCann's ruling opens the door for
Florida prosecutors to now ask a New York judge to unseal
the adoption records.
Prosecutor Marshall Evans said the New York adoption
records are needed to confirm the identities of the
victims.
The records could also help locate a missing 11th
adopted child, prosecutors say. Nine of the children and
disabled adults are in Florida state care. A 19-year-old
who police say Leekin abandoned in 2004 remains on his
own.
The children and adults told police the 11th victim, an
18-year-old boy nicknamed "MO" who suffered from Down's
syndrome or autism, died sometime in 1999 or 2000.
"Other than his name and date of birth and a nickname,
we know very little about him," Port St. Lucie Police
Detective Stuart Klearman told the judge Thursday. "The
children have been led to believe that he died but we
don't have any record of that."
Klearman also said police need the records to track
down the victims' biological parents for DNA comparisons
to determine their true identities.
"We do not know for 100 percent fact ... that any of
these children are the children adopted out of New York,"
Klearman said. "They could be almost anybody."
He said copies of their birth certificates obtained
from Leekin appear "suspicious."
Klearman also said the victims are now becoming
curious.
"They're asking questions -- 'Who are we?"' he said.
Leekin's attorney, Mario Garcia, argued that the
adoption records were not relevant in the abuse case.
Outside court, Garcia said the victims received medical
care and were taken care of by Leekin.
Garcia also said the Florida Department of Children
& Families took custody on Wednesday of the children
of Desmond Leekin, who is Leekin's biological son.
Desmond Leekin has been questioned by investigators and
has said he did not know his mother had all the adopted
children in her home.
A telephone message left for the Florida agency was not
immediately returned. A telephone listing for Desmond
Leekin could not be found.
Parents have No Rights
August 2, 2007
The Supreme Court of Canada has issued an important
decision in a case in which a child was taken from her
parents for an imaginary cause. The care of children by the
social services system is too important to allow
professionals to be concerned by parental rights. The
Supreme Court agrees with the listing of parental rights on
our parody page.
Here is the operative part of the opinion:
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The deciding factor in this case is the potential for
conflicting duties: imposing a duty of care in respect of
the relationship between the family of a child in care and
that child’s court‑ordered service providers creates a
genuine potential for “serious and significant” conflict
with the service providers’ transcendent statutory duty to
promote the best interests, protection and well‑being of
the children in their care. When a child is placed in the
temporary care of the Children’s Aid Society, or if Crown
wardship is ordered, the Child and Family Services Act
creates an inherently adversarial relationship between
parents and the state. The fact that the interests of the
parents and of the child may occasionally align does not
diminish the concern that in many if not most of the
cases, conflict is inevitable. While it is true that ss.
1 and 37(3) of the Child and Family Services Act, which
the family seeks to rely on to ground proximity, make
reference to the family, nothing in them detracts from the
Act’s overall and determinative emphasis on the protection
and promotion of the child’s best interests, not those of
the family. Furthermore, the treatment centre and B are
providing services to R.D. in a treatment context, a
context that invokes medical paradigms of confidentiality
and privacy. To recognize a duty to parents in this
context could also result in conflicting duties in the
provision of medical treatment to children who have been
removed from their parents’ custody. It is very difficult
to see how different professionals, including doctors and
social workers, could all effectively work together if
some of them owed a duty other than to the child/patient.
Lastly, the conclusion that there is no proximity is
reinforced by two additional reflections of legislative
policy. The first is that the Act itself provides a
remedy for families seeking to challenge the way their
child is treated. The second is that there is a clear
legislative intent to protect those working in the child
protection field from liability for the good faith
exercise of their statutory duty, and this intent is
reflected in statutory immunity provisions. Since the
statutory mandate is to treat the child’s interests as
paramount, there is, where the duties to the child have
been performed in accordance with the statute, no
liability to the family.
In case the link is altered, you should be able to
find the decision from the citation:
SUPREME COURT OF CANADA, Syl Apps Secure Treatment
Centre v. B.D., 2007 SCC 38, Date: 20070727, Docket:
31404.
Anna Mae He Back Home
July 24, 2007
The parents of Anna Mae He give their newborn daughter
temporarily to a Tennessee couple while they worked out
their financial problems. The fosters refused to return the
girl when the parents wanted her back, and even legally
adopted the girl through a Tennessee court. It took years
of litigation for the Tennessee Supreme Court to state the
obvious, that failure to visit the girl when kept away by
force did not amount to abandonment. Even after the courts
ruled against them, the baby-snatchers held on through
another six months of foot-dragging. Now the girl is
finally back with mom and dad.
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Associated Press
Girl, 8, Back With Chinese Parents
By WOODY BAIRD 07.23.07, 5:33 PM ET
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -
A Chinese couple regained legal custody of their
8-year-old daughter Monday after a seven-year fight to get
her back from what was supposed to be temporary foster
care.
Judge Curtis Person of Memphis Juvenile Court signed an
order returning custody of Anna Mae He to parents
Shaoqiang and Qin Luo He, Chinese citizens who came to the
United States so Shaoqiang He could attend college.
The order revoked the temporary guardianship by Jerry
and Louise Baker, former foster parents who had tried to
adopt the girl over her parents' objections.
"As far as custody goes, that's it," said David Siegel,
the Hes' lawyer. "That's no longer an issue. That's
nothing that will ever be an issue again."
The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled in January that Anna
Mae He must be reunited with her parents, and she began a
series of meetings with them in March. Those meetings,
which progressed to overnight stays and weekend visits,
were overseen by a lawyer and psychologist appointed by
the Juvenile Court.
In his custody order, Person said the Supreme Court
mandate had been fulfilled.
"I want everyone to know she will have a bright
future," Shaoqiang He said in a telephone interview
Monday. He said he expects to return to China with his
family after Anna Mae has settled in.
Psychologists helping her adjust to leaving one family
for another will decide whether she has further contact
with the Bakers, who took her in when she was just less
than a month old, He said.
"That depends on Anna Mae and her emotional and
psychological needs," He said. "We want to do the best
for her."
In its ruling, the state Supreme Court overturned a
decision by a Memphis judge that took away the Hes'
parental rights. That decision in 2004 followed a trial
at which the Bakers argued Anna Mae would have a better
life in suburban America than in China.
"I want her to have both cultures, Asian heritage and
American culture," He said. "But from today on, she will
never have to hide her Chinese heritage. I want her to
have pride in it."
The Bakers' lawyer, Larry Parrish, issued a written
statement last week saying that they had ended their
custody fight. The Bakers contend Anna Mae will be
emotionally devastated by leaving the only family she has
known, "but further delaying the execution of what she
must now suffer cannot be expected to help," Parrish
wrote.
The high court said the Hes were penalized because they
did not understand the American legal system and thought
they were giving up their daughter temporarily so she
could get health insurance. The family hit hard financial
times when Shaoqiang He lost his graduate school
scholarship and student stipend at the University of
Memphis.
He also lost his student visa, but the immigration
courts have held off on deportation proceedings because of
the custody fight.
"I have to leave the United States," He said. "I
promised the immigration judge I would take the voluntary
departure after the custody issues were resolved."
But He said he hopes his family, which includes a son
and another daughter born during the custody fight, can
stay in the United States a while longer.
"I hope for the sake of Anna Mae's welfare they can
give us ... one year or two years until Anna Mae is well
adjusted," he said. Going to China sooner "might be too
big a change for her right now."
Boy Protected with Pepper Spray
July 23, 2007
Here is more on the story of the still-anonymous mother
who resisted child protectors with force. In a repeat of
the Emily Lake
seizure the cops "protected" a boy by hitting him with
pepper spray. We wonder how safe he feels now
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Police pepper-sprayed boy during standoff
with mom: witness
Last Updated: Friday, July 20, 2007 | 7:27 AM NT, CBC
News
St. John's police officers used pepper spray on a boy
during a confrontation in which he and his siblings were
seized from their defiant mother, her boyfriend says.
Sheriff's deputies escort a St. John's mother to
provincial court on Thursday. (CBC)
|
The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary was called to the
woman's home on Cookstown Road, near downtown St. John's,
on Wednesday night to assist child protection workers who
had arrived to take three children into custody.
The woman, however, refused to co-operate and
barricaded her family inside the house in a confrontation
that went on for hours.
At one point, police said, she swung a baseball bat at
an officer's head, grazing but not injuring it.
"She didn't want them to go," the boyfriend, who was at
the house during what he called a "crazy" confrontation,
told CBC News.
His girlfriend "told the youngsters to sit down. [They
were] running around, frightened to death."
CBC News is not identifying the woman or her boyfriend
in order to protect the children's identities.
Const. Paul Davis said incidents like the Cookstown
Road confrontation are unusual. (CBC)
|
The boyfriend said the woman's 12-year-old son was
pepper-sprayed while he used a stick to keep a police
officer from climbing through a window.
At that time, he said, the mother reached for a
baseball bat.
The RNC confirmed pepper spray was used in the
incident, but would not say on whom.
Const. Paul Davis said while officers are commonly
called to escort social workers who remove children from
homes, incidents like the Cookstown Road confrontation are
unusual.
"It took a little bit of time," Davis said.
"It was a barricaded situation for a short period of
time. We were able to resolve that without anybody being
injured."
The RNC called a negotiator in to resolve the
situation.
The mother appeared in provincial court on Thursday on
a charge of assaulting a police officer. She was released
until her next court appearance.
The children — the 12-year-old boy, his 11-year-old
sister and their two-year-old brother — are in the
custody of child protection officials.
Mother Defends Children
July 20, 2007
A Newfoundland mother has used force to defend her family from child
protectors coming to take her children. Because there are no names in the
story, we will not be able to bring you a follow-up.
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St. John's woman arrested after
child-protection standoff
Last Updated: Thursday, July 19, 2007 | 7:20 AM NT CBC
News
Police arrested a St. John's woman following a
confrontation that erupted after child protection workers
arrived to remove children from her home.
The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary was called to a
Cookstown Road home at about 9:45 p.m. to assist Child,
Youth and Family Services employees, who were attempting
to take three children into protection.
Police said the woman refused to co-operate with social
workers, and had barricaded her door so that officers
could not force their way in.
The confrontation lasted several hours, the RNC said.
The woman eventually gave up, although the RNC said the
woman swung a baseball bat at one officer. The bat grazed
the officer's head, although he was not injured.
The woman, 33, is scheduled to appear in court Thursday
on charges of assault with a weapon, uttering threats and
obstructing a police officer.
Smoking Gun Moves
July 20, 2007
Sarnia's Smoking Gun, site of discussions regarding
children's aid societies, has moved to a new web location.
It is: svb3d.no-ip.biz/ssg/.
Girl Escapes Foster Home
July 17, 2007
In April we reported on the disappearance of Sara
Linklater, found the next day. Now she is missing
again, this time from a foster home near Grimsby Ontario.
She has twice voted with her feet against the quality of her
foster care.
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Hamilton cops hunt for missing girl,
10
Sara Anne Linklater went missing Thursday.
|
July 15, 2007
BY DANA BORCEA
Police are appealing for help finding a 10-year-old
girl who went missing from Waterdown.
Sara Anne Linklater recently moved from the Sudbury
area to live in Smithville, near Grimsby. Mountain Staff
Sergeant Bob Watts said while at an event at Parkside High
School, she reportedly drove away in a car around 2:30
p.m.
Less than an hour later, the car was found abandoned at
Guelph Line and the QEW in Burlington.
Police said Sara ‘looks and behaves older than she
is.”
Foul play is not suspected in her disappearance. But
police said she is considered a high risk because of her
age.
He said Sara was relatively new to the area and may be
trying to hitch hike north to visit relatives and friends
in Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie or Manitoulin Island.
“We are looking for any information from someone who
may have seen her that could give us a clue,” said
Watts.
Hamilton police have notified First Nations police and
the OPP that she could be coming to their area.
Sara is described as native with a dark complexion,
black hair kept in a pony tail. She was wearing a black
tank top, flared blue jeans and white running shoes.
Anyone with information is asked to call their local
police service or Hamilton police at 905-546-3886 or Crime
Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
dborcea@thespec.com, 905-526-3214
Ex-Cop helps Court Watch
July 17, 2007
Canada Court Watch now has a former policeman who will
help in interviewing victims of the family court system.
Ex Police officer helps in efforts to
restore justice to family courts
(July 16, 2007) - An ex police officer who acknowledges
that he has seen how family courts are responsible for
many injustices against children and families has offered
his services to conduct videotaped interviews of children
who have been physically or emotionally abused or who have
had their rights and freedoms violated while in the care
of the CAS or by other agencies during family court
proceedings. A growing number of professionals have
contacted Court Watch in recent months to express their
concern about what they see are a growing number of
legitimate complaints against the family court system, the
CAS and the Office of the Children's Lawyer. These
professionals are asking what they can do to help restore
justice in our courts. If you have a child who has been
abused by the system and who is willing to speak out on
videotape, then please contact Court Watch by email at
info@canadacourtwatch.com
Damaged Son
July 17, 2007
A mother using screen name Amy has posted the story of
her son, returned from two years in CAS care and damaged
beyond her ability to repair.
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child messed up
Amy
Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2007 3:36 pm
I do not think that I am the only one who has finally
got there kid back from the CAS to find they are very
messed up. A year or more of trauma at their hands will
do that. So the traumatized kinda messed up kid gets
returned and I find that because of the CAS repeatedly
degrading me, cutting me down and making me seem powerless
in front of them I have so little respect from my child
left to be able to help him. So how do we regain parental
respect back and work despite what the CAS has spent along
time damaging and taking away?
This child was removed because a really dumb negligent
unqualified CAS worker heard through the school that I was
taking my child to a psychiatrist for help. I had just
set up an appointment for my child when he was removed by
this worker alleging that — this is true and is on
the warrant to apprehend and in court record — I
was seeking metal health help for the child. This worker
who met my child once decided on his own that he did not
need it and apprehended him (to save him from seeing an
expert) and thus put my son through hell and prevented any
of the help I was seeking for my son. The fact I was
seeking help was used against me. This worker alleged
that I was mentally ill, despite the professional reports
to the contrary.
Now two years later, I am still not treated for any
mental health issues I do not have and my son still needs
help. But now he is over the age where I can force him.
Before I could. This was when they took him and prevented
me from getting him this help. He is now without the help
I wanted to get for him before and I believe he is worse.
Now with the added trauma from the CAS he will not
leave the house. He will not socialize. He rarely
showers or changes clothes. He is very verbally abusive.
He shot up our last house with his bow and arrow leaving
holes in most of our walls. Well he did it again.
Shooting out my window and making holes in freshly painted
walls. He has also come close to starting fires and has
damaged furniture with fires. Now I am told that he is
too old to force into treatment. I am told that I can
throw him out and this will force him into treatment. I
do not want a throw-away kid and having seen what
government organizations have done so far (CAS) sure do
not want to trust them any further.
The CAS spent all this time tearing me down in my
child's eyes and diminishing me, making it even harder to
parent and get his respect enough to get him help. Nope
he calls me all the names that the CAS told him I was,
delusional, crazy, etc (for trying to get him help). He
continues to damage the house, start fires, destroy rooms
and runs into his room whenever anyone comes over.
The CAS are out now, but how do I fix up the mess they
made now and get my son help so he can have a quality of
life?
Chambers Quitting
July 13, 2007
Ontario is about to lose its Minister of Children and
Youth Services. Mary Anne Chambers has decided not to be a
candidate in the provincial election this October. Her
predecessor, Marie Bountrogianni, is also quitting
politics.
Among the comments to the Globe and Mail:
- al isinwonderland from Canada writes:
Leaving for health reasons, I hope it is nothing more
serious than coming down with a bout of honesty.
- Karol Karolak from Canada writes:
It is tough job having to defend Liberal policy of baby
snatching and baby selling.
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Ontario Liberals lose cabinet minister
Chambers
Canadian Press, July 11, 2007 at 12:02 PM EDT
TORONTO — The Liberals are losing another female
cabinet minister this fall.
Toronto-area politician Mary Anne Chambers says she is
not running again in the October election.
The minister of children and youth services says she is
not seeking re-election for unspecified health reasons.
Ms. Chambers says it was a difficult decision to make
but she is proud of her accomplishments since her election
in 2003.
Premier Dalton McGuinty says Ms. Chambers worked
tirelessly and with great passion for the province's most
vulnerable residents.
Ms. Chambers is the latest Liberal woman leaving
politics — Hamilton cabinet minister Marie Bountrogianni
and backbencher Jennifer Mossop both announced they won't
be seeking re-election in October either.
Hession on CPS
July 11, 2007
Massachusetts family lawyer Gregory Hession has written
an article for the New American, a publication of the John
Birch Society. While the mainstream press informs us of the
antics of Paris Hilton, it is left to the specialty press to
deal with the serious issues. Hession covers every stage in
the protection process from the snitch network to the
drugging of foster children to keep them docile.
There are reasons why the system does a bad job.
Colleges churn out hordes of 23-year-old social-work
graduates, childless and clueless, who are sent into homes
to make life-changing decisions. Their formal education
is grounded in doctrinaire Marxism and feminism, and they
believe in their viscera that the state should communally
raise children.
Another disincentive to changing the system is the fact
that social workers are given legal immunity for almost
any discretionary decision no matter what harm results to
the children. Social workers exercise virtually unlimited
power over families, with little accountability to anyone
for overreaching or even for egregious offenses.
Read the full article on the website of the John Birch Society, or
our local
copy.
Mother Flees to Save Baby
July 11, 2007
Police are looking for a mother, Jessilyn Paulhus, who
has left Toronto with her baby. If she is found, her baby,
Ryan Tenhave, will be taken and she will likely never see
him again. If she keeps the baby, she will have to live in
the shadows where it will be hard to get food for him. Will
anyone suggest an amnesty to save this boy?
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Police Search For Mother And Missing
5-Month-Old Boy
Tuesday July 10, 2007, CityNews.ca Staff
He's just an infant, too young to know the fuss his
presence - and absence - has caused. But Toronto Police
have issued a notice about him, and are hoping you know
where he - and his missing mother - is. They're concerned
about 20-year-old Jessilyn Paulhus and her son Ryan
Tenhave. The reason - the boy is only five months old and
but weighs just 12 lbs. The Children's Aid Society had
been monitoring the child until June 29th - when the
mother and the kid suddenly disappeared from the
Sherbourne and Carlton St. area.
Police aren't accusing the young mom of anything, but
say they're worried about the welfare of the baby.
"There's a warrant to apprehend the child," Detective Hugh
Wong tells CityNews.ca. "The child would be taken into
custody" as a safety precaution so the C.A.S. could
continue to reassure itself the infant's in good
condition.
Paulhus's mother lives out west and police here think
she may have gone to either Calgary or B.C. But they need
to find little Ryan to be sure he's O.K. The 20-year-old
shouldn't be hard to spot. She has several distinguishing
features that would be hard to hide. She's described as:
- White,
- 5'7",
- 115 lbs.,
- Light-brown hair shaved on the left side and longer on
the right side
- Pierced tongue.
The 5-month-old is:
- White,
- 2',
- 12 lbs.,
- Light-brown hair,
- Blue eyes
- Fair complexion.
Cops were only informed of their absence a few days ago
when the C.A.S. confirmed they were gone. If you know
where they are now, call (416) 808-5100 or Crime Stoppers
anonymously at (416) 222-TIPS.
Addendum: Police have found the
pair. As usual in this kind of case, they were astonished
to find that the mother had not harmed her own baby.
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July 13, 2007
Missing mom and son found
By DOUG MCINTYRE
Cops have located a Toronto mother and her infant son
reported missing earlier this week.
Toronto police enlisted the help of their Calgary
colleagues after Jessilyn Paulhus, 20, and her
five-month-old son Ryan Tenhave went missing last Friday.
At the time, it was believed the pair were headed to,
or already in, Calgary or B.C.
Although police initially had concerns about the
welfare of the infant, both mother and son were found
unharmed.
Girl Missing
July 10, 2007
The OPP and children's aid society are looking for a
missing girl, Tasha Lavigne. The press release is silent
about her living arrangements before her disappearance, so
it is possible she ran away from CAS custody.
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SooToday.com
Mattawa girl missing
By SooToday.com Staff,
Monday, July 09, 2007
OPP NEWS RELEASE
*****************************
Request for public assistance in locating
youth
MATTAWA, ON - (July 9) - The Children's Aid Society and
the North Bay Ontario Provincial Police are requesting
assistance in locating 12-year-old Tasha Lavigne.
Tasha was last seen in Mattawa on Friday, June 22, 2007
and is believed to be in the North Bay area.
Tasha is five-feet, two-inches tall and approximately
120 pounds with dark brown shoulder-length hair and brown
eyes.
She has a fair complexion with pierced ears.
She was last seen wearing blue jeans and a brown
sweater and black running shoes with burgundy laces.
Any one having information or knowing her whereabouts
are requested to call the OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or Crime
Stoppers at 1-705-942-7867.
*****************************
Addendum: The girl was reported
found on July 18.
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Police track down missing Mattawa girl
Thursday, July 19, 2007 @ 08:00
Ontario Provincial Police said Wednesday they have
found a girl reported missing Monday.
Tasha Lavigne, 12, of Mattawa, hadn't been seen since
June 22 when she was reported missing.
Barrie Rally
July 7, 2007
On Friday, July 6 thirty supporters of Canada Court Watch
participated in an awareness event at the Barrie courthouse
and surrounding areas. Flyers were handed to persons
entering and leaving the courthouse for three hours. The
manpower was large enough that leaflets were distributed
throughout the city concurrently, so all activities were
concluded by noon. A barbecue at the waterfront concluded
the event.
Here are copies of the flyers:
Jury Disowns Parents
July 4, 2007
A Utah couple, James and Connie Roska, had their children taken
without cause in 1999. After years of successful litigation
in appellate courts they got a jury trial for damages. The
jury awarded them $2 for their suffering.
This case illustrates a prerequisites for reform of child
protection. It is not enough to write letters to newspaper
editors or politicians. It is important as well to get the
message out to people not yet involved with the child
protection system.
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Skeptical jury awards just $2 for parents'
pain over son's improper removal by state
But 1999 incident helped change
family-rights laws
By Kirsten Stewart, The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated:07/03/2007 08:53:46 AM MDT
DCFS case workers Melinda Sneddon, left, and Colleen
Lasater leave Federal Court on Monday after getting a
verdict in their favor regarding the Roska family
lawsuit against DCFS. (Francisco Kjolseth/The Salt
Lake Tribune)
|
After watching Utah child-welfare caseworkers drive off
with her 12-year-old son, Connie Roska collapsed on the
front lawn of her Layton home.
She doesn't remember how she got back into the house.
But the hurt remains fresh for Roska and her husband,
James, who testified tearfully in U.S. District Court
last week about harms suffered due to Rusty's wrongful
removal May 28, 1999. Sleepless nights, a missed
graduation ceremony, depression and general distrust of
governmental authorities were the suffering for which the
Roskas said they deserve compensation.
It wasn't enough to sway a jury, which Monday rejected
the couple's injury claim, awarding $2 in nominal damages.
Monday's verdict caps a six-day trial and nearly
eight-year legal battle, which helped drive changes to
Utah law aimed at safeguarding parents' rights.
But those changes are meaningless, if "you can violate
the law without being punished," said the Roskas' lawyer
Steven Russell. The Roskas left the courthouse Monday in
tears and declined to comment.
The Roskas sued Shirley Morrison, a caseworker at
Utah's Division of Child and Family Services, and her two
supervisors, Colleen Lasater and Melinda Sneddon. A
federal appeals court earlier had ruled the trio violated
Utah law - and could be held personally liable - by taking
Rusty into protective care without first offering services
to his parents.
Caseworkers also violated the 14th Amendment of the
U.S. Constitution by taking Rusty without a hearing or
warrant, their attorneys acknowledged.
But Utah Assistant Attorney General Matthew Bates asked
jurors to "cut these social workers a little slack."
Bates said caseworkers are caring professionals who
"work in an extremely demanding and thankless job" and
said they followed their training.
"Folks, you don't get damages just because your
constitutional rights were violated," Bates said. "This
isn't 'The Price Is Right.' [The Roskas] need to prove
they were injured."
Caseworkers argued they had no choice but to remove
Rusty, who they feared was a victim of abuse, and that
removals without due process were common in the late '90s.
The practice led Morrison, who worked for the division for
one year, to later become an advocate for falsely accused
families.
In a taped phone call to the Roskas' attorney, she
condemned the state's "Gestapo-style" tactics and agreed
to be a witness for the Roskas. That changed when the
Roskas sued.
Utah law since has been changed to require a warrant or
hearing before removal, unless there's an emergency.
Still, Russell called caseworkers' claims of ignorance
"an outrage," citing division training manuals
underscoring that removal should be a last resort.
The Roskas alleged caseworkers yelled profanities and
shoved children out of their way during Rusty's removal.
Sneddon told Roska if she didn't carry Rusty out to the
van, she would "drag him up the stairs," Russell said.
A neuropsychologist who examined the family said Rusty
Roska, now 21 and living in his parents' home, and his
parents display symptoms of post-traumatic stress
disorder. Connie has coped by trying to "save the world,"
working as a parental-rights advocate, while her husband
"retreated from the world," Russell said. "He lost the
trust of his son and the trust of himself as a father. He
still blames himself for what happened."
Bates questioned the Roskas' damage claims, noting each
had struggled with mental illnesses before Rusty's
removal. "Jim still has a job. Connie runs a day care,"
he said. "They appear to be living normal lives."
Russell said the Roskas have nearly exhausted their
chances to appeal, though they may revive injury claims
for their children.
The state had twice offered to settle with the Roskas;
once for $100,000 and again for a more generous sum.
Russell said suing the state wasn't an option for the
Roskas due to Utah's immunity statute. He fears the
verdict will have a chilling effect on future lawsuits.
"I can't imagine anyone wanting to go through this after
this trial."
kstewart@sltrib.com
The case in brief
Rhode Island has Real Child Advocate
July 2, 2007
In January 2005 Rhode Island governor Donald L Carcieri
appointed Jametta O Alston to be the state's child advocate
press
release. Last Thursday she filed a suit alleging that
children are being abused and killed in foster care.
Contrast that to Ontario, where the child advocate
interviews children and urges hiring more foster parents,
all while ignoring the 83 children who died last year under
CAS watch.
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Governor vows to 'get to the bottom'
of foster care lawsuit
The Associated Press
By Eric Tucker, Associated Press Writer | July 2,
2007
PROVIDENCE, R.I. --Gov. Don Carcieri vowed Monday to
"get to the bottom" of allegations contained in a federal
lawsuit that the state's foster care system is so broken
that children have been placed back with foster parents
who abused them, shuttled between more than a dozen homes
or even killed in foster care.
"Are the allegations in fact true? Do we have any
failings in terms of procedure or policy? Do we have
possibly some bad decisions being made?" Carcieri said
after a meeting with state child advocate Jametta Alston,
who filed the lawsuit Thursday. "I don't know any of that
right now, but we're going to get to the bottom of it."
Alston brought the lawsuit, which is seeking class
action status, on behalf of the 3,000 children currently
in Rhode Island's foster care system. The lawsuit cites
federal data that show Rhode Island had the nation's
highest rate of abuse or neglect of foster care children
in five of the six years between 2000 and 2005.
"If we have youngsters that are being abused that are
in our care ... I want it to stop now, and I want to get
to the bottom of it," Carcieri said.
Ten children were identified with pseudonyms in the
complaint, which included disturbing allegations about
their cases and the foster care system.
For instance, the suit says the Department of Children,
Youth and Families returned two brothers to their parents
even though one of the boys had reported being sexually
abused by his father. The month after they were returned,
the complaint says, one boy had a bruise around his eye
and one had a large mark on his neck.
The lawsuit says one 5-year-old boy was sexually
assaulted in his foster home, while another child spent
time in more than 14 different homes and institutions --
including one where he was allegedly sexually abused by a
roommate.
Patricia Martinez, the director of the department --
which was sued along with the governor -- said she could
not comment on any of the alleged abuse cases since her
staff was still in the early stages of investigating them.
But she said she was troubled by the allegations.
"If we find that we failed a system, that a provider
failed, then you bet that we will take corrective
actions," Martinez said.
Some of the cases are already several years old, so
some of the staff members involved in these cases may no
longer be associated with the department, Martinez said.
The suit says caseworkers are so overburdened that
children might not get a visit from them for months and
contends that children languish for long periods of time
in the foster care system because the department is slow
in finding them permanent adoptive homes.
Carcieri said Monday that Alston had given him the full
names of the children cited in the lawsuit. He said he
would be briefed Tuesday by DCYF about their cases and
that it was possible that caseworkers would be fired if
they knew about problems but did not fix them.
Problems at the department came to the public's
attention after 3-year-old T.J. Wright died in foster
care in 2004. His aunt and her live-in boyfriend have
pleaded not guilty to beating him to death. Their cases
have not reached trial.
Carcieri and Alston said they did not discuss specifics
of the lawsuit during their conversation but instead
focused on ways to improve communication. The governor
said he had not been aware of the alleged abuse until he
read news accounts of the lawsuit.
Lisa Guillette, executive director of the Rhode Island
Foster Parents Association, said it's critical that
caseworkers have manageable workloads since they're relied
upon to identify problems.
"The stories of the plaintiffs demonstrate systemic
failure in a lot of ways -- lack of oversight, lack of
adequate support for the children and the placements that
are serving them," Guillette said.
Addendum: Here is a copy of the complaint (pdf).
Girls Stolen in BC
July 2, 2007
Here is a YouTube video of three
girls stolen from mom and dad in British Columbia.
Controversial material often disappears from YouTube in a
few days, so watch now. The parents describe their own
video as:
Added: June 29, 2007
From: abusiveministry
3 sisters taken out of the blue from ... 3 sisters
taken out of the blue from their home, separated,
isolated, interrogated for months, lied to by the police
and social workers. The girls call it jail. They want to
see each other more, see their
friends, and go home. But BC MCFD have their best
interests at heart by antagonizing them to hate the system
they have been thrown into. They are not allowed to talk
about any thing that happens to them in foster care no
matter how outrageous or abusive. If they really have our
children's best interests at heart what is BC MCFD trying
to hide by not letting the children be allowed to speak
out about their feelings and thoughts.
www.abusive-ministry.ca/ — Sign on and tell
your story.
The newspaper article below gives some idea of
the chaotic state of the social services system in the
province, and why it is impossible for parents to
get their children back.
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Victoria(British Columbia) Times-Colonist
June 20, 2001
Column: A Closer Look
Jody Paterson
Uncaring bureaucrat the worst of
parents
This says it all: One of the things that now counts
against you when the B.C. government is deciding whether
to take your children away is whether they also took you
away from your parents. In other words, child
apprehension begets child apprehension.
Each new generation of state-parented children grows
into adults who may end up poor parents themselves. With
10,000 or so children in care in B.C. in any given year
and 70,000 across the country, it's a substantial concern.
I've, heard the explanations as to why the state makes a
lousy parent. Too few foster homes, not enough social
workers, caseloads beyond reason.
The children are difficult, the parents troubled, the
issues complex. And while your flesh-and-blood parents
are there for you long after you turn 19, the state hands
you a welfare cheque and considers its job done. But if
that's how it is, then there has to be a better way.
Because a government that takes messed-up children away
from their homes only to mess them up even more has
certainly strayed far from the business of child
protection.
Listen to the recent court testimony of local social
worker David Roy, who did his job so poorly in one ongoing
child-protection case that a provincial court judge deemed
last month that he'd breached four of his Ministry's laws,
most notably not acting in the child's best interests.
Asked if he was aware of the rule requiring regular
reviews of plans for children in care, Roy told the court,
"I'm aware of the standard, and I'm also aware that we are
not meeting the standard. Standards are not being met in
any particular case in our office, as far as I know." In
fact, the child, - now almost four - has been in care most
of his life without anyone in government bothering to map
out what's needed to raise him right. Roy said he kept
his plans "in his head", noting that a 1999 audit found
the government complied with its own regulation in less
than a third of all cases. That's an improvement; a
couple years before that, it was eight percent.
Roy was involved in the case for two years, during
which time he never read the child's file, didn't know the
boy was aboriginal, didn't develop a care plan, shredded
police documents, made up a hospitalization to bolster his
case that the father should be denied access, and blocked
one parent or another at every turn through 23 court
appearances,
The parents were helpless. The act that governs child
apprehensions packs plenty of punch when it comes to the
government exercising its rights, but has no remedies for
wayward social workers.
Roy's supervisors couldn't intervene, as the only one
who can yank a B.C.social worker off a child-custody case
is the director of child protection. Even the judge had
to work hard to find a way to punish Roy. He ordered the
Ministry of Children and Family Development to pay $2,000
to the parents' lawyers, Shannon Buchan and Lex Reynolds,
in recognition of the lawyers' dogged (and often unpaid)
determination to set things right. And he contemplated
bringing contempt-of-court charges against Roy, but
decided "indifference and neglect" were not sufficient
grounds.
Roy was eventually pulled off the case and his other
cases have since been audited by the ministry, which isn't
commenting I guess it's a win for somebody, although it's
hard to say who. The child who sparked it all is still in
the custody of the ministry. His parents and their
lawyers thought they'd have to answer all sorts of
questions when the ministry investigated Roy. But no one
ever called.
Barrie Ontario
Community Justice Awareness Event
July 1, 2007
Canada Court Watch has organized an event to draw
attention to the children and families adversely affected by
Ontario's family courts.
The event will start at 9 am Friday July 6, 2007 in front
of the courthouse at 114 Worsley Street, Barrie.
Participants may meet ahead of time at the Barrie
McDonald's, 85 Dunlop Street West, corner of Toronto Street,
from 7:30 to 9. For full details, see the announcement from Canada Court
Watch (pdf).
Sham Court Hearing
June 28, 2007
More on the death of Matthew Reid.
Let's review. A girl is taken from mom and dad for
reasons not yet published. She is placed for adoption in a
forever family along with her siblings But the adoption
fails after she assaults her younger sister, and she goes
back to foster care. At age 14 she elopes with a man, but
is soon arrested for stealing the getaway car. Children's
aid treats her like a baby, putting her in a new foster home
without alerting the foster family to her history of
assault. Within a day she kills Matthew Reid. Now at age
15 she functions at a mental level of a six year old, a
condition that could be congenital or drug-induced.
The girl has "pleaded guilty", though in normal legal
practice such a plea cannot come from someone with such
diminished faculties. Her parents, the crown, hired a
lawyer for her who convinced her to plead. A court is now
deciding whether to punish her as an adult. In doing so, it
avoids the question of whether to punish the social workers
as adults.
The money grabbers are not done with this case. Tony Van
Schie, probation manager of youth justice services in
Niagara, is maneuvering for $100,000 per year on behalf of
the girl.
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Mental capacity key in sentencing of teen
who murdered toddler
By Amy Lazar, Standard Staff
Thursday, June 28, 2007 - 01:00
Local News - Fidgeting and unable to sit still, the
15-year-old girl awaiting her sentence for the
second-degree murder of toddler Matthew Reid had a hard
time paying attention in court Thursday.
The girl, whose identity is protected by the Youth
Criminal Justice Act, is at the “cognitive age of
six,” said Dr. Lindley Bassarath, referring to his
recent interviews with her and a psychological assessment
done last year.
“She can be treated, yes, but how much she can gain
from the treatment is the question,” Bassarath said from
the witness box in a St. Catharines courtroom.
The psychiatrist, an assistant professor at the
University of Toronto and head of adolescent services at
the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, was the first
of six experts to be called before Judge Ann Watson to
provide insight into whether the girl should be sentenced
as a youth or an adult.
The Crown is seeking an adult sentence.
The girl pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Jan.
22, a little more than a year after three-year-old Matthew
was found dead, suffocated and smeared with blood in his
bedroom.
It happened the morning of Dec. 15, 2005 — less than
a day after the girl arrived at the Welland home where
both children were in foster care.
At the time, the girl was 14 and had lived in various
foster homes before being adopted along with her
biological brother and sister.
She was later removed from the home after assaulting
her sister and was placed under foster care in Niagara
Falls.
While in that home, she started a sexual relationship
with a man and later stole her foster family’s van to
meet him at a hotel room.
She was arrested and charged, and upon her release,
placed in the Welland foster home where Matthew was
living.
Matthew’s mother said he was placed in foster care
because the Haldimand-Norfolk Children’s Aid Society
believed she suffered from depression, though she denies
she was an unfit mother and still has custody of a second
son.
Calling the girl’s behaviour pattern into question,
assistant Crown attorney Patricia Vadacchino asked
Bassarath about a diagnosis of fetal alcohol syndrome.
A lack of information from her biological mother made
it impossible to formally diagnose the girl, but Bassarath
said she exhibits symptoms of suffering from an
alcohol-related neurological developmental disorder.
She also has a mild intellectual disability, an
attachment disorder and attention deficit hyperactive
disorder, Bassarath said.
For more than a year, the girl has been in custody at a
youth centre, where she has been under close supervision,
receiving school instruction and counselling.
Moving her to an adult institution for the remainder of
a sentence would disrupt her, Bassarath said, and it would
also put a girl who is easily persuaded in the company of
older women with poor social skills, which could cause
problems.
The court also heard from Terri Austin, a parole
supervisor with Correction Services of Canada, who
explained that the Grand Valley Institution for women in
Kitchener has a program for offenders with special needs.
However, it is a short-term program that transitions
women into the regular prison routine, which is not as
highly supervised, Austin said.
The downside of placing the girl in an adult
institution is that she won’t be able to access the
rehabilitative program through the Ministry of Child and
Youth Services, said Tony Van Schie, probation manager of
youth justice services in Niagara.
Van Schie told court up to $100,000 of federal funding
per child per year is available and the girl’s mental
health issues make her a good candidate for the program.
Court will resume Aug. 7 in St. Catharines.
André Marin Reports
June 28, 2007
Ontario Ombudsman André Marin has released his
Annual Report 2006-2007. Mr Marin recognizes that readers
are more likely to respond to an entertaining report than a
dull one, and has livened up the presentation with clever
language and cartoons. Below we include the portions
relating to children's aid societies.
The Ombudsman has posted the transcript of today's online chat.
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BEYOND SCRUTINY
At times we in the Office of the Ombudsman have to say
“no” – and not only to complaints that do not have
merit. We are forced to say “no” thousands of times a
year to citizens with serious problems because of a
discreditable technicality: We do not have jurisdiction.
We have been shut out of what I like to call the MUSH
sector, which stands for municipalities, universities,
school boards, hospitals and long-term care facilities,
and other organizations such as police and children’s
aid societies. These areas consume the bulk of provincial
budgets, and more importantly, they represent the most
serious contacts that Ontarians can have with their
government. Yet they are immune from our scrutiny.
Over the last year, I have continued the quest to offer
oversight in these critically important areas, but to no
avail. It is not a mission I initiated. Ever since the
great Arthur Maloney, the first Ombudsman of Ontario,
filed his 600-page post-retirement report in 1979, my
predecessors have been calling for the modernization of
this Office’s mandate. It has not happened in Ontario,
even though most other provincial ombudsmen have
jurisdiction over most of these critically sensitive
sectors.
The failure of Ontario to permit its citizens to seek
shelter in my Office when things go wrong within these
zones of immunity is not due to lack of demand. As the
next section of this report – “Oversight Denied” –
documents, we have had to decline nearly 2,400 pleas for
help involving the MUSH sector this past year alone.
Thousands of Ontarians are seeking our help in areas that
our statute and our website make clear are outside our
purview. How many more complaints would we have if we
could act on them? And support of Ombudsman oversight in
these areas is not limited to those who are desperately
seeking help – an online poll conducted by the Toronto
Star in May 2007 indicated that of more than 1,800
respondents, some 94% were in favour of ombudsman
oversight of Ontario hospitals.
It is not as if our Office is not up to overseeing
these areas. As this report chronicles, our systemic
investigations have been done professionally, efficiently
and inexpensively and have produced a perfect track record
of improvement. Our work has saved tax dollars, improved
the quality of life of those who have sought our aid, and
without the pain, uncertainty, expense and delay of
litigation.
Nor can it be said that the MUSH sector is not in need
of independent oversight. As the next section of this
report explains, while there are bodies with jurisdiction
over some of these areas, deeply disturbing gaps remain.
Moreover, none of the empowered agencies has the same
combination of independence, investigative experience and
investigative powers as the Ombudsman’s Office.
Consider, for example, children’s aid societies
(CASs). While spending irregularities at CASs are now
subject to the review of the province’s Auditor General,
their child protection policies and practices – which if
flawed can literally be a matter of life and death for a
child – are still not subject to investigative review or
a rigorous complaints system.
The legacy of Jeffrey Baldwin, whose terrible death in
2002 highlighted failings in Ontario’s ability to
safeguard our children, should have been the establishment
of a powerful, independent mechanism to oversee and
investigate CASs. Instead, when the Child and Family
Services Statute Law Amendment Act, 2006 was proclaimed in
force in November 2006, it simply provided for the limited
expansion of the Child and Family Services Review
Board’s mandate. The board may well be an effective
adjudicative tribunal, but it has neither the power to
conduct investigations in response to complaints nor the
ability to address systemic problems.
In response to my advice that these new provisions fell
far short of what was required, the government touted the
review board – which remains an agency of the Ministry
of Children and Youth Services – as “an independent,
arm’s-length third party.” It described the new
complaints process as “smoother, stronger and more
objective” and even suggested that my Office would play
a “key role” as a “critical check and balance,”
because ultimately we would have jurisdiction to consider
complaints about the Child and Family Services Review
Board. What this fails to acknowledge is that my role in
such cases would be restricted to investigating only the
conduct of the board itself. I continue to be blocked
from effectively investigating the complaints it receives
against CASs.
To compound this situation, instead of being empowered
to tackle significant issues regarding child welfare
protection policies and practices, the board’s authority
is largely focused on procedural defects relating to the
administration of CASs. Substantive complaints regarding
the services sought or received from children’s aid
societies remain subject only to internal review. The
promise of a system of external, transparent, and
accountable oversight of the complaints process was never
kept. While the government has also put forward Bill 165,
the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth Act, 2007,
which establishes the creation of a new legislative
officer to advocate on behalf of Ontario’s children and
youth, this positive step is only a very small part of
what is needed to ensure an effective system of protection
for Ontario’s children. A strong, independent
investigative oversight mechanism for complaints is still
glaringly absent in Ontario.
ZONES OF IMMUNITY
As these recent inadequate legislative changes relating
to the child protection area illustrate, the government
has clearly chosen to keep this zone immune from Ombudsman
oversight. As well, it has introduced legislation
touching on oversight of the police (Bill 103, the
Independent Police Review Act, 2007) and dealing with
municipalities (Bill 130, the Municipal Statute Law
Amendment Act, 2006), and largely shut us out of both. It
has also refused to endorse opposition bills that would
give my Office jurisdiction over children’s aid
societies, school boards, hospitals and long-term care
facilities.
All of this leaves unanswered the question of why
government policy-makers have resisted strengthening
oversight of the MUSH sector. I have heard
rationalizations that range from standard excuses to the
truly bizarre and unacceptable. For instance, it has been
proposed that individuals can always launch a lawsuit if
they are unhappy – an expensive, time-consuming and
acrimonious process that would be out of the question for
many Ontarians. In the case of children’s aid
societies, it has even been suggested that the coroner’s
pediatric death review committee was somehow an adequate
stand-in for the Ombudsman – even though, unlike that
committee, we would not have to await the death of a child
to intercede. Then there’s the “we have always done
it this way” excuse, which was used to explain the
illogical exclusion of the Ombudsman from police
oversight. The most incredible explanation might be the
“it’s premature” evasion offered by the Ontario
Hospital Association, advising that we should wait and see
how the province’s praiseworthy but irrelevant
“adverse events reporting” initiative works out.
I am reluctant to appear cynical, but it seems the real
reason for all this is self-interest. Why would a
government resist bringing this Office’s scrutiny into
areas costing the provincial purse tens of billions of
dollars? The short answer is because it can. If you and
those who report to you have been permitted to do your
work without someone looking over your shoulder, why would
you want to change that? This, however, is not about
politics but an important public principle. Institutions
that receive funds from the province to perform a public
duty should be subject to the full panoply of checks and
balances, not some watered-down or incomplete version that
allows them to operate in a zone of immunity. Until the
Ombudsman’s mandate is modernized, thousands of
Ontarians will have no recourse to an independent
investigative oversight body in critically important areas
of their lives, and the Office will remain powerless to
help them.
A PARTING PROMISE
Since I have pursued the theme of promises here, let me
end by making a few more on behalf of my team. We pledge
to continue to work hard to hold the government to the
promises that it has made and to put the “serve” back
in public service. As well, we will continue to work to
roll back zones of immunity and extend the remarkable tool
of ombudsmanry to those Ontario citizens who experience
problems in their dealings with their cities and towns,
their schools, their hospitals, their police, and the
child protection system.
OVERSIGHT DENIED
Unlike in other provinces, the Ombudsman of Ontario
does not have jurisdiction over what can be called the
MUSH sector (comprising municipalities, universities,
school boards and hospitals and long-term care facilities,
as well as children’s aid societies and the police). In
the past year, our Office has had to decline thousands of
complaints because of this. The breakdown is as follows:
| Selected Non-Jurisdictional Complaints
and Inquiries Received During Fiscal Year
2006-2007 Total: 2,395 |
| Universities |
37 |
| School Boards |
102 |
| Hospitals and Long-Term Care Facilities |
237 |
| Police and the O.C.C.P.S.* |
376 |
| Children’s Aid Societies |
600 |
| Municipalities |
1043 |
* Ontario Civilian Commission on Police Services
CHILDREN’S AID SOCIETIES
The Ombudsman continues to receive hundreds of
complaints about children’s aid societies (CASs) – 600
in the past year, up from 436 in 2005-06 – but cannot
investigate them. Many of these complaints and inquiries
were from families concerned about the welfare of children
under CAS care. Some alleged that children were sexually
abused while in care, while two distraught families
expressed concerns about the adequacy of CAS supervision
after their children had died. Others spoke of
retaliatory actions taken by CAS staff when families had
complained. Some complainants were upset about CAS staff
failing to exercise a duty of care; others that they
overreacted where they should have shown restraint.
In December 2006, in response to the provincial Auditor
General’s first-ever audit of children’s aid societies
under an expanded mandate (he reviewed the four largest),
the Ministry of Children and Youth Services announced the
creation of an Accountability Office to monitor CAS
performance. However, to date, children and their
families have no recourse to an independent oversight body
to investigate complaints about services sought or
received from Ontario’s 53 children’s aid societies
– a situation that does not exist in any other
province.
“Mr. Marin isn’t asking for anything more than
to simply answer the hundreds of complaints he receives
every month. Until you’ve lost a child or have had
your rights trampled on, you’ll never quite know just
how important the Ombudsman’s job really is.”
– LETTER TO THE EDITOR, NEWMARKET/AURORA ERA BANNER,
JULY 6, 2006
In December 2005, the Ombudsman appeared before the
Standing Committee examining Bill 210, which amended the
Child and Family Services Act. He urged that it be
changed to allow the Ombudsman to investigate complaints
about CASs. Instead, the amended Act – which came into
force on Nov. 30, 2006 – merely broadened the
adjudicative authority of the Child and Family Services
Review Board. The regulations confirm that complaints
about the accuracy of a CAS file or record must go through
the CAS’s internal process before being raised with the
board. The board has paltry remedial power, including
steps such as ordering a “note of disagreement” to be
added to a complainant’s file, confirming a CAS’s
decision, or ordering a CAS to provide written reasons for
a decision. Moreover, complaint areas within its
jurisdiction are essentially procedural. The type of
complaints that may be raised include, for example, that a
CAS has failed to respond to a complaint within the
required time frame; failed to comply with the complaint
review procedure; failed to give a child or parent an
opportunity to be represented when decisions affecting
their interests are made; or failed to provide reasons
for a decision. The board does not investigate complaints
about the conduct of children’s aid societies and there
remains no independent external body that can do so.
The limitations of this framework mean serious cases
where children are being hurt or in danger will continue
to fall through the cracks – and families will have
nowhere to turn for independent investigative help. The
Ombudsman recently had to turn away two such families:
THE STORY OF “J”
Eight-year-old J had been diagnosed with and treated
for a number of psychiatric conditions when he was made a
temporary ward of the CAS and placed in a group home.
While there, he was prescribed additional medication.
J’s grandparents became progressively concerned about
his medication regime, and what they viewed as his
deteriorating condition. They claim the CAS did not
listen to their concerns. They were eventually able to
obtain guardianship of J, supported by a psychologist who
criticized the high doses of psychotropic drugs he had
been subjected to while in CAS care. After a 10-month
period of detoxification, J is now thriving. His
grandparents raised a number of concerns with the
Ombudsman, including the society’s refusal to act on
their concerns, threats of loss of visitation while J was
in the group home, failure to disclose alleged sexual
abuse, and refusal to respond to their letters. We were
forced to decline their complaint as out of our Office’s
jurisdiction.
THE STORY OF SERENA AND SOPHIA CAMPIONE
After three-year-old Serena Campione and her one-year
old sister Sophia were found dead in a Barrie apartment in
October 2006, their mother was charged with two counts of
first-degree murder. The deaths took place in the midst
of acrimonious divorce proceedings and allegations of
domestic assault against the girls’ father, Leonardo
Campione. The girls’ mother had reportedly been
hospitalized three times in the previous year for
psychiatric problems, and the girls had been cared for by
their paternal grandparents. After the tragic death of
his daughters, Mr. Campione complained to the Ombudsman
that the CAS staff responsible for supervising his
children while in their mother’s care were negligent.
He did not understand how his estranged wife, who had
displayed such difficulty in caring for the children,
could have been allowed custody. The Ombudsman is
powerless to investigate his allegations, and the Child
and Family Services Review Board does not have the power
to investigate the actions of the CAS. Nor does it have
the power to review systemic issues such as what process
the society has in place to deal with placement and
supervision of children when a parent has suffered acute
psychiatric problems. These issues could potentially be
examined by the Ontario coroner’s pediatric death review
committee or a coroner’s inquest, given that the
children are dead. However, there is no opportunity for
independent investigative oversight to address errors of
the kind alleged before they become fatal.
On April 5, 2006, MPP Andrea Horwath introduced a
private member’s bill, Bill 88, the Ombudsman Amendment
Act (Children’s Aid Societies), 2006, proposing that the
Ombudsman be given authority to investigate the conduct of
children’s aid societies. The bill died when the House
was prorogued on June 5, 2007.
ANOTHER MISSED OPPORTUNITY
“Despite all the government rhetoric that
‘children are our future,’ we in Ontario are
choosing to rid ourselves of hundreds of these serious
allegations every year by taking a trip to the dum |