Children's Aid News

Rally for More CAS Funding

March 20, 2010

Dawn Gauthier had a bad childhood experience with children's aid, ended only when she benefited from a family preservation program. She is organizing a rally for March 29 to save that program from funding cuts.

Past experience shows that supporters of children's aid societies are often employees. Suspicion is increased by noticing that the Facebook event Rally For CAS Family Preservation mentioned in the article does not exist. Instead of funding the family preservation program, a more cost-effective way to improve childhood experiences is to defund the family destruction program.

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Former foster child laments end of Algoma CAS program
Posted By MICHAEL PURVIS, SAULT STAR, Updated March 19, 2010

Michael Purvis Sault Star
Dawn Gauthier is organizing a March 29 rally to protest cuts to Children s Aid Society of Algoma programs.

Dawn Gauthier believes her childhood could have been vastly different if her parents had the kind of support now available to families in Algoma.
Gauthier said that's why she was stunned to learn of the Children's Aid Society of Algoma's plan next month to wind down its Family Preservation Program.
"It's unbelievable, the negative effect this is going to have on our community," said Gauthier, 28.
On April 12, CAS Algoma will lay off six workers and one supervisor who make up an in-home program that helps at-risk children in "open child protection families."
In the meantime, Gauthier, is organizing a March 29 rally in front of the court house from 1-2:30 p.m.. She said she hopes the sound of hundreds, "screaming that we need those programs," will get the attention of Queen's Park.
Gauthier said she and her younger brother were sent into foster care when she was two. She blames CAS at the time for "overstepping its boundaries," and she said programs now available, including the Family Prevention Program, probably would have prevented the "living hell," her parents went through.
"My parents needed help. They didn't need to have me removed," said Gauthier, who spent "several years," in foster care.
"Life wasn't the best (at home), but there was no reason to go through what we went through," she said.
A smaller, similar program, Diversion From Care, is scheduled to wrap up in March, 2011, but CAS Algoma expects it to fade away sooner as the workers in that program move to other areas.
The cuts are in response to a lingering deficit CAS Algoma says is due to inadequate funding from the Ministry of Child and Youth Services.
Both CAS Algoma and the union representing the workers about to lose their jobs have warned the loss of the prevention programs could put more children into care. The union and the local CAS branch have called on the province to add funding that would allow the programs to continue.
Gauthier has set up a Facebook event for the rally, called Rally For CAS Family Preservation.
Source: Sault Star

Oshawa Rally

March 19, 2010

Metroland reports on the anti-CAS rally today in Oshawa.

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Anti-Children's Aid Society rally held in Oshawa Friday
Group wants ombudsman to have oversight of agencies
Mar 19, 2010 - 04:38 PM
DURHAM -- About a dozen people marched up and down Simcoe Street on Friday, trying to raise awareness for a bill that would give the provincial ombudsman oversight of Children's Aid societies.
Jen (her last name is being withheld as she has had dealings with the CAS) is from Oshawa and she helped organize Friday's protest.
"We're trying to promote awareness of the issue of children's aid. A lot goes unspoken," she said. "We're hoping to gain awareness in Oshawa of what we're trying to do."
Andrea Horwath, the NDP leader in Ontario, is pushing Bill 93, which would give the ombudsman oversight of Children's Aid societies. But the bill has been stalled in the legislature.
Zane Sherwood, of Kitchener, has been involved in similar rallies.
"We're trying to get the ombudsman to take oversight of Children's Aid societies," he said. "It would stop corruption and child abduction. After three anonymous calls, they think they have the right to come into your home with two police officers and take your children.
"We're trying to make our point," he said of the rally.
Mr. Sherwood said rallies have been held across Ontario to raise awareness.
Brian Prousky, the director of services for the Durham CAS, said, "We would say, ultimately, it's up to the provincial government to put whatever oversight it feels is needed in place. Regardless of the oversight, we will provide the most transparent service possible."
Mr. Prousky pointed to several oversight measures already in place, such as the Child and Family Services Review Board, the provincial auditor general and the accountability office with the Ministry of Children and fFmily Services.
"Every children's aid society receives oversight by an independent community-based board of directors," Mr. Prousky said. "Our board members are members of the community and they make governance decisions for the society.
"We welcome any accountability," he added. "We feel there's sufficient mechanisms in place now."
Source: Metroland/Durham Region

CAS Worker Stabbed

March 19, 2010

Yesterday a Windsor children's aid worker was stabbed in the parking lot of the CAS headquarters by Donald James Lockwood. So far we don't know the name of the victim, or the nature of the case that provoked the attack. Two articles are enclosed.

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Children's Aid Society stabbing suspect charged
Last Updated: Friday, March 19, 2010 | 12:11 PM ET, CBC News
A Windsor, Ont., children's aid worker is in hospital after she was stabbed in the parking lot of the Children's Aid Society.
The 40-year-old woman and a co-worker were walking to their cars outside the building on Riverside Drive around noon Thursday when one of the women was attacked.
A witness said a man on a bicycle rode up to the woman and stabbed her in the stomach then kicked her in the face.
The second woman brought the victim, who still had the knife blade embedded in her chest, into the building as the suspect threw rocks at the pair.

A woman who works at the Windsor-Essex Children's Aid Society, above, was stabbed in the parking lot of the building on Thursday.
(Susan Aitken/CBC)

The suspect then rode his bike into the building and walked through rooms threatening other staff, said witnesses.
Police said he accessed the family visitation area and started swinging his bike lock, trying to hit people.
Two men working on a nearby roof who had heard the screams climbed down to help. They followed the man into the building, tackled him and restrained him until police arrived.
Police arrested Donald James Lockwood, 36, of Windsor.
He was charged Friday with attempted murder.
The injured woman had surgery late Thursday at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Hospital where her condition has been upgraded from serious to stable.
Source: CBC

Windsor police ID stabbing suspect
March 19, 2010 1:02 PM
WINDSOR, Ont. — Windsor police are praising two roofers who climbed down from on high Thursday and subdued an enraged man who beat an unsuspecting woman, stabbed her and snapped the blade off in her chest.
Police said the victim and another woman were walking to their cars at the Children’s Aid Society Parking lot on Riverside Drive around 12 p.m.
As they walked, they noticed a man on a bicycle riding towards them. The two women parted ways to get in their cars.
The man on the bike suddenly rode up and hit the victim in the stomach. Police said he then got off of his bike, ran toward the woman and kicked her in the face. He then walked away as the other woman ran to the aid of the victim. She helped her friend get back into the CAS building.
Two men working on a roof of a nearby heard the screams for help, and saw the man throwing rocks at the women as they fled toward the building. They yelled at him to stop, and started climbing down from the roof to make their way toward him, said police.
The attacker yelled back at them to mind their own business. The suspect then picked up his bicycle and rode towards the doors of the Children's Aid Society building. The two men, realizing this was not a good situation, followed him.
Once the victim and other woman were inside building, CAS staff activated their security measures. It was at this point that the victim realized she’d been stabbed when the man struck her in the stomach.
The man rode his bicycle into the front lobby with a U-shaped bike lock in his hand, then started walking through the building threatening people.
The two roofers ran inside and confronted the assailant, who started swinging his bike lock at them. The two men were undeterred. They wrestled him down and held onto him until police arrive.
The victim was rushed to hospital where doctors discovered that she still had part of the blade embedded in her lower chest area, just under the skin. She underwent surgery and is listed in stable condition.
Windsor police said the quick actions of the two roofers and CAS staff in such a dangerous situation prevent things from escalating.
Police said Donald James Lockwood, 36, of Windsor was to be arraigned this morning on an attempted murder charge.
Investigators said further charges may follow.
Source: Windsor Star

Addendum: Rewrite!

Soviet propaganda masters used a standard technique to control public opinion following a disaster. After, for example an explosion and fire, they focused their reporting on the firemen who risked their lives to go through the flames rescuing the victims. After reading extensive coverage on these heroes, few readers thought to ask whose negligence led to the disaster.

The first article we cited above giving the bare facts of the stabbing of a CAS worker has been rewritten by the CBC, and clicking on the Source: link will get only the revised version. The new one, enclosed below, focuses on bystander Wayne Schreiner who intervened to save the women under attack. There is a lot of material about him, he is unemployed, he needs a job and he is full of praise for children's aid. After reading of his plight and heroic act, few will ask the vital question: Why would a man want to harm a children's aid worker?

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Good Samaritan tackles stabbing suspect
Last Updated: Friday, March 19, 2010 | 4:36 PM ET, CBC News

Wayne Schreiner said he owed it to Children's Aid to help restrain an attacker after a man stabbed an aid worker Thursday in Windsor, Ont.
(Dennis Porter/CBC)

Police in Windsor, Ont., are hailing an unemployed labourer who helped stop a stabbing attack at a Children's Aid building.
A 40-year-old woman is in hospital after a man stabbed her Thursday afternoon in the parking lot of the building where she works.
She and a friend were walking to their cars at lunch when a man on a bicycle rode up to one of the women, stabbed her in the abdomen and then kicked her in the face.
Men working on the roof of a nearby house heard the commotion and yelled at the attacker to stop.
'You're not gonna hurt me!'
Wayne Schreiner heard the shouting and jumped into action.
He and his friend, Jean-Paul Lacounte, had been at the job site hoping to pick up a little work when the attack happened.
"I just ran to the fence and jumped over to see what I could do," Schreiner told CBC News.
The attacker threw stones at the women as they sought refuge in the Children's Aid building, said police.
Schreiner said the man threatened to hurt anyone who tried to stop him from going inside.
"I told him, 'You're not gonna hurt me!'"
Schreiner followed the man into the building and found him in the family visitation area, where he was swinging a bike lock and threatening staff.
"Everybody was scared, I was a little scared," said Schreiner. "Then I seen a little girl in there crying and I knew I had to do something right away, so I jumped him and put him in a choke hold and then we fell on the ground."

A woman who works at the Windsor-Essex Children's Aid Society, above, was stabbed in the parking lot of the building on Thursday.
(Susan Aitken/CBC)

Schreiner held the man that way until police arrived, saying the battle was personal and there was no way he was going to let go.
"Children's Aid's been there for me when I was a kid, they were good to me. They took me out of a bad home and they helped me all my life," Schreiner said. "I couldn't not do anything."
Police arrested Donald James Lockwood, 36, of Windsor, who now faces a charge of attempted murder.
Thought police might arrest him
The injured woman was taken to Hôtel-Dieu Grace Hospital, where she had surgery to remove the knife blade in her abdomen. She is listed in stable condition and is expected to survive.
Schreiner never spoke with the woman, but said he got all the praise he needed later on.
"I went home and told my little daughters about it and they said I was like Mr. Incredible."
A few hours later, Schreiner said four police officers showed up at his door.
"I thought they were coming to get me ... to arrest me for assault," he said. "They came and they thanked me."
Schreiner said he was just glad he had the chance to give something back to Children's Aid for all that agency had done for him.
He is still looking for work. Asked by CBC what work he could see himself doing, Schreiner said, "I'm thinking about security at Children's Aid."
Source: CBC

Russian Boy Saved

March 18, 2010

photo from TASS

An international dispute erupted between Finland and Russia after Finnish social workers took seven-year-old Robert Rantala from his parents, one of them a Russian. After a month in the orphanage he was sent to school for the first time, and escaped to his parents. Russian president Dmitri Medvedev appointed an envoy to deal with the problem, and the family home was occupied by Russian news reporters. News sources from Finland give only pap about this case, enclosed below is a real story from Russia. Later, Finnish authorities agreed to leave the boy with his family. In family affairs, Russia is now the city upon a hill that serves as an example for the rest of the world.

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Rantala case should be settled out of court
Tatiana Filippova, Mar 17, 2010 20:00 Moscow Time

Inga Rantala

Russia's Presidential Ombudsman Pavel Astakhov says the conflict between the parents of seven-year-old Robert Rantala and the Finnish child overseeing agencies should be settled out of court.
The Russian Ombudsman has met with the boy's Russian mother Inga Rantala in Turku, where the family lives. Inga Rantala is planning to appeal against the court's ruling under which her son was placed in an orphanage at the beginning of February. The conflict flared up after the boy told his classmates that his mother had smacked him and announced that he might leave for Russia. Turku's social care workers filed a lawsuit against Inga Rantala and her Finnish husband to strip them of parental rights.
Pavel Astakhov is seeking to postpone the court hearings set for March 19th to a later date. But the best solution, he says, would be to avoid court altogether.
"The top priority for now is to secure the family's reunion so that the boy will live with his mother and father, and not with strangers, where he might be exposed to abuse. It's important to reach a temporary truce and hammer out a negotiated solution which would satisfy all the parties involved".
The Russian Ombudsman considers it his personal victory that Robert Rantala stayed with his mum and dad after he had escaped from the orphanage on Monday. Pavel Astakhov will now insist on a psychological expertise having found the boy stressed out and with bruises and scratches.
Rantala is not the only Russian-Finnish family to have had problems with the country's child care authorities. In Turku alone 53 Russian women have faced similar injustices, and there were 11 thousand cases of this kind registered throughout Finland last year. This is a lot for a country of 5 million, Pavel Astakhov says. The Ombudsman plans to take the matter up with the Finnish authorities.
"Children have to be spared the stress of being dragged into disputes among the adults, he says. The best place for a child to live in is home. And we should simply put this question straight to him, where he would like to live and who with".
Hopefully, the disputes will be settled through a bilateral agreement between Russia and Finland.
The Finnish authorities have allowed Inga Rantala's son to stay home and revoked the lawsuit on Wednesday.
Source: Voice of Russia

Mixed Up Advocacy

March 17, 2010

A press release from a group advocating for the welfare of Canadian natives starts by alluding to the paradox that, while everyone from the front-line worker to the prime minister is apologetic about the abuses of the residential school era, the number of native children removed from their parents today is even greater.

The means of child removal is Canada's children's aid societies, funded with megabucks to care for children outside of their homes. The press release goes on to advocate not less, but more funding for the child removers.

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Aboriginal Child Welfare in Dire situation; more children in foster care than at the height the Residential School system! PDF Print E-mail
Written by Administrator, Tuesday, 16 March 2010 13:06
PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release
Kahnawake (March 3rd, 2010) – While federal government uses legal loopholes to keep flawed policies for First Nations children in place, documents obtained under access to information say that inequitable child welfare funding contributes to the fact that there are more First Nations children in child welfare care today than at the height of residential schools. It goes on saying that the federal government’s child welfare funding service on reserves results in a “dire” situation.
The federal government’s response to the “dire” inequality facing First Nations children has been to partially implement a flawed funding formula known as the Enhanced Funding Approach that the Auditor General of Canada has already ruled inequitable in few provinces.
Canada is currently before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal because of its inequitable treatment of First Nations children. However, in December of 2009, the federal government filed a motion to have the case dismissed, claiming that the Canadian Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination in government services, does not apply to the funding decisions that determine the level and quality of services to First Nations communities. Cross examinations on affidavits filed by Canada in support of the motion and by First Nations and others in opposition to the motion have been held last week and will continue this week in Ottawa.
On February 23, 2010, Cindy Blackstock, Executive Director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, who along with the Assembly of First Nations brought forward the human rights complaint, was cross examined in Ottawa by Canada’s lawyers on her affidavit objecting to the federal government’s attempt to derail the hearing. She has insisted that her cross examination be open and transparent to the public but the federal government wants its witness to be cross-examined behind closed doors.
Blackstock says “We expect our government to ensure all children are treated equitably and yet when it comes to First Nations children, not only has the federal government failed to act on a clearly acknowledged crisis, the government is now going to extraordinary lengths to avoid public accountability and to prevent the matter from being heard on its merits by the Human Rights Tribunal.”
Ellen Gabriel, President of the Quebec Native Women’s Association adds that “the choice the federal government offers First Nations children and families is inacceptable given the vulnerability of the children and the wealth of this country. Instead of putting the needs of the children first, Canada has repeatedly tried to derail the tribunal using legal loopholes.”
The Quebec Native Women’s Association and the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada demand that Canada allow a full and public hearing on the merits of the case and that Canada stand by its obligations under domestic and international law to ensure First Nations children receive culturally based and equitable services.
BACKGROUND
The need for increased funding for First Nations child and family services was identified 10 years ago in a joint study carried out by Department of Indian and Northern Affairs. The recommendations of this report were never acted on. Instead the federal government froze cost of living adjustments to First Nations children’s agencies in 2005, resulting in a further decline in real funding.
The government briefing notes refer to plans to provide interim funding to help address the growing crisis in First Nations children’s services. This funding was never provided.
Cross examinations on affidavits filed in relation to the motion to dismiss are being held at the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal offices in Ottawa from February 23 to March 3, 2010. The Human Rights Tribunal is scheduled to hear the government’s motion to dismiss in April of 2010.
-30-
For more info, please contact:
Aurelie Arnaud
Communications officer, Quebec Native Women
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Tel : 450-632-0088, #227
Cell: 514-239-0088
Cindy Blackstock
Executive director
First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada
Ph: 613-230-5885
Cell: 613-853-8440
Source: First Perspective

CAS Loves CAS

March 14, 2010

Who is willing to praise a children's aid society? The executive director of another children's aid society!

One cynic issued a challenge to find praise for children's aid from someone not under their control, such as an employee or current foster child. No one has come forward yet.

As for the audit claim in the letter, Richard Wexler has been pointing out recently that audits of child protection agencies never go beyond the filing cabinet. As long as there is a document on file for every dollar spent the auditors are satisfied.

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Durham CAS does a great job under severe strain
March 12, 2010
To the editor:
At Catholic Family Services of Durham, we work closely with Durham Children's Aid Society. We also collaborate with them in our Safer Families program which is demonstrating its worth in reducing the incidence of families needing repeat investigations.
These programs not only are good for families, but they are effective in reducing the number of cases that have to be reopened. Durham CAS is currently under severe pressure for funding and has been unfairly accused of poor management. It is audited by the Province four times a year; there is no waste. As we work with the Durham CAS staff, we see skilled, committed, efficient professionals stretched to their limit in providing protection services. As executive director, I work closely with the management of Durham CAS and have never found that agency to be anything but well run. The fact is, if our Province wants to ensure that children are protected from abuse and that families are given help so the children can be safe, there is a financial cost. This is a cost taxpayers are willing to pay.
Mary Wells
RSW Executive Director
Catholic Family Services of Durham
Whitby
Source: NewsDurhamRegion.com
thanks to [ justiceismyreward at hotmail.com ]

Narcissus

Candlelight

March 12, 2010

On Thursday March 11 there was a candlelight vigil in front of the Alberta Legislature in Edmonton for the twenty-one-month old girl killed in her Morinville foster home on March 3. Here is a report from a participant:

The mom was in attendance, but she is bound to silence (I honestly do not even know her name). Media had to turn off cameras when she was in sight. Not once could the child's name be spoken. However, it was a very beautiful, touching vigil... I've never been in the presence of such a spiritual tribute as this. I was told by Media that mom is under extreme duress and requests privacy.
Source: private communication from participant

The same participant supplied photographs.

Here is the Edmonton Journal report on the vigil:

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Candlelight vigil honours foster child
By Florence Loyie, edmontonjournal.com March 11, 2010 10:44 PM

Taleah Bellerose-Frencheater, 5, holds a sign at a candlelight vigil held for a toddler who died in foster care. About 100 people attended the vigil held outside the Alberta legislature in Edmonton on March 11, 2010.
Photograph by: Larry Wong, edmontonjournal.com

EDMONTON — About 100 people attended a candlelight vigil at the Alberta legislature Thursday evening for a toddler who died in foster care.
The 21-month-old girl died at the Stollery’s Children’s Hospital last Wednesday, two days after an alleged incident at a Morinville-area foster home.
Her death is being investigated as a homicide by the RCMP based on findings by the medical examiner.
The medical examiner’s office has not released a cause of death, but family members were told it was consistent with brain injuries caused by shaken baby syndrome.
The child has been placed in care two months earlier.
floyie@thejournal.canwest.com
Source: Edmonton Journal

Sudbury Rally

March 11, 2010

A rally supporting ombudsman oversight of children's aid has been announced for Sudbury on March 22.

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RALLY

Type: Causes - Rally
Date: Monday, March 22, 2010
Time: 12:00pm - 2:00pm
Location: Across the street from Children's Aid Society
Street: 319 Lasalle Boulevard
City/Town: Sudbury, Ontario

Description
Peacefull rally against the Children's Aid Society. We are seeking oversight of the Children's Aid Society from the Omsbudsman of Ontario. There have been many rallies all over Ontario in support of Bill 93 which would save more children from wrongfull apprehensions and return those that are in that current position.
If you have heard of or had personal experience with the Children's Aid Society and know how wrong they can be, please come to this and support our cause!
Source: Facebook (membership required)

Addendum: The Sudbury Star announces the rally.

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Sudburians join cause to hold provincial Children's Aid Societies accountable
Posted By LARA BRADLEY, THE SUDBURY STAR, Posted March 20, 2010
A group supporting a bill calling for Ombudsman oversight over the province's 53 Children's Aid Societies will hold a rally in Sudbury on Monday.
The Bill 93 rally will last from noon until 2 p.m. across the street from the Children's Aid Society for the Districts of Sudbury and Manitoulin at 319 Lasalle Blvd.
"We're expecting a minimum of 25, but we know people are travelling from as far as Timmins," said Neil Haskett, a Sudbury organizer for Rally for Accountability.
He is concerned there is no genuine place for families to appeal actions or decisions made by CAS workers.
"By having the Ombudsman receiving the power of oversight, we will be assured that the Children's Aid Societies are finally accountable to someone other than themselves and that every child in Ontario will receive a better child protection system," Haskett said.
Right now, the Auditor General only has the power to look into the finances of this private corporation, Haskett said. When he investigated four Children's Aid Societies in Ontario in 2006, they all failed.
He expects if the Ombudsman investigates the actions of societies, he will discover problems of a criminal nature.
"We were involved previously back in 2006 because we filed a complaint against a police officer. They called the Children's Aid Society on us," Haskett said.
"We will be pursuing a lawsuit in the near future ... It left a bad taste in our mouths. We actually had to call the OPP for help. That's how frightened we were."
Eventually, a judge ordered the CAS out of their lives, he said. The couple then began the long process of finding a place where they could launch a complaint about their treatment by the society.
Originally, complaints could only be filed with the societies themselves, he said. Then the Child and Family Services Review Board was created.
"But if you look into filing a complaint, they clearly state you cannot file a complaint that is currently active or a previous case. So, if you can predict the future, you are more than welcome to file a complaint," Haskett said.
"This, once again, proves they can not be trusted and cannot be accountable on their own accord."
The only hope appears to lie with the Ombudsman, Haskett said.
"He can't do anything right now until there is an amendment to the act. He's powerless. What we've done is tried to raise awareness ever since."
On Friday, a rally was held in Oshawa and others are being planned in Kincardine, Walkerton and Owen Sound.
Each year, there have been rallies to support the bill held at Queen's Park in Toronto in early October, with representatives of both opposition parties speaking about the need for oversight.
Originally, the legislation was known as Bill 88, but time has elapsed requiring a name change to Bill 93.
"You're familiar with the Dr. (Charles) Smith case?" asked Haskett, referring to the work of the disgraced pathologist. "There's a long list and it's growing every day," he said.
"If the Ombudsman was involved, we could prove it goes a lot deeper than what the public sees."
While some of the group's members are concerned the CAS is at times abusing its power, others worry it isn't doing enough for genuine cases of neglect and abuse.
Family members of a baby from Chelmsford who was killed earlier this year will also be travelling to the rally to lend their voices to the cause. The baby's father has been charged with assault and neglect in the case.
Source: Sudbury Star

Pregnant Woman Scams Adopters

March 11, 2010

In Indiana Christina White is accused of fraud for collecting money from more than one adoption agency during her pregnancy.

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Woman accused of adoption fraud
Posted: March 10, 2010, Chris Proffitt/Eyewitness News

Christina White

Marion County - An Indianapolis woman is charged with running an adoption scam that defrauded adoption agencies and would-be parents. This latest case is strikingly similar to another one in central Indiana.
On Wednesday, prosecutors formally charged 27-year-old Christina White with theft and adoption deception. Prosecutors say that the Indianapolis woman was at the center of an adoption fraud scheme.
According to court records, White knowingly placed the same unborn baby up for adoption with multiple couples and adoption agencies, including Bethany Christian Services, pocketing the money she was given in return for housing and medical expenses as part of the adoption agreement.
"This was like having another miscarriage because the rooms were already decorated and nurseries to welcome the babies home and that never happened," said Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi.
This latest case comes after the February arrest of 28-year-old Amber Jackson of Indianapolis, also charged with several counts of adoption deception. Jackson is accused of taking $6,000 from several agencies and couples hoping to adopt the twins Jackson said she was carrying. Prosecutors say it was a scam.
"I'm extremely sorry and it was the most stupidest thing [sic] I could probably ever do in my life and I have probably messed up my life for who knows how many years," said Jackson.
Two of Jackson's alleged victims, Clayton and Kay Younggreen of LaPorte, tried for years to have children. Jackson found them on an adoption website.
"You shouldn't do terrible things like that to, you know, very vunerable women and use the shield of an unborn child to try to better yourself financially," said Clayton Younggreen.
Detectives say they were two similar crimes designed to profit from hopes and emotions of childless couples hoping to adopt a baby.
White's accused of receiving several thousand dollars worth of living and medical financial expenses from agencies and would-be parents in 2009, including a couple from South Carolina. White delivered a child in December 2009. The baby was placed in foster care.
Source: WTHR-TV Indianapolis

stork twins

Teen Dies During Apprehension

March 10, 2010

Iowa teenager Denver Daniel Parvin died while being taken from his family to a foster home. He left the vehicle and was found dead by police fifteen minutes later. Iowa DHS says he died at the end of the fifteen minutes instead of the beginning, but there are no independent witnesses. Authorities have ruled the death a suicide, eliminating any need for further investigation.

We have heard the story before of a terrified child jumping from the social worker's car to instant death, but until now never in a form that could be repeated.

On another issue, this brings our count of foster deaths to 1401. Since passing the 1300 mark on November 15, there have been 21 more recent deaths, and 80 found in news archives.

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Death of Teen Hit on I-380 Ruled a Suicide
By Dave Franzman, Story Created: Mar 8, 2010 at 2:13 PM CST, Story Updated: Mar 9, 2010 at 5:10 PM CST
URBANA - Benton County authorities say the state medical examiners office has ruled the death of Denver Parvin, 16, as a suicide.
Parvin jumped out of a stopped car along I-380 near the Urbana exit on Monday afternoon. He then walked along the interstate for 15 minutes, before stepping in front of a moving car.
Investigators determined the driver of the car had no chance to stop when Parvin walked in front of the vehicle.
The Iowa Department of Human Services confirmed it was a DHS worker driving Parvin to a youth shelter in Independence to fulfill a juvenile court order.
"The DHS employee attempted to prevent the tragedy... the accident. And he has provided a detailed sequence of events to law enforcement people who are continuing their investigation. It's obviously a tragedy not only for the victim and his family, but also the DHS employee on the scene," said DHS spokesperson Roger Munns.
Munns would not say how the teen got out of the car on the interstate, but county authorities did fill in those details.
Benton County Chief Deputy Mike Ferguson says Parvin threatened to jump out of the moving DHS employees car, so the worker was forced to pull over. That's when Parvin left the vehicle and started walking.
The worker called authorities for help. But the nearest deputy was north of Vinton and took nearly 15 minutes to make it to the scene.
Chief Deputy Ferguson says that deputy was just pulling up to the scene as Parvin was hit, but the deputy didn't actually see the accident.
Parvin’s father, Dan Parvin, told TV9 that “there is a lot I would like to talk about.” But Parvin declined to say any more at the moment saying he wanted to speak with a lawyer first. Parvin did add there are “things people need to know” (about the accident).
Source: KCRG-TV Cedar Rapids

CAS Attacks Father

March 10, 2010

An anonymous father reports on his experiences with Ontario children's aid. When he applied for help with his wife confidentially, CAS immediately tipped her off. When his wife threatened to kill him, the judge treated it as a joke. Later CAS took away his sons' opportunity to see their greatgrandmother before she passed away.

He alludes to the new policy requiring all custody changes to get the approval of children's aid.

One disagreement with anonymous: CAS attacks fathers, but it also attacks mothers. It is an equal-opportunity destroyer.

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Children's Aid Society
Now, judges in Ontario must consider ... Children's Aid Society reports before giving custody.
This is sure to make things even worse for Ontario fathers fighting for custody-the Children's Aid Society is one of the worst father hating organisations in existence.
I have experienced first hand its Gestapo tactics.

My wife made numerous, totally unfounded complaints against me. Even long after the CAS had noted in their own records that the complaints were unsubstantiated they continued to send staff regularly every month to my home to continue to investigate me. It was only after legal action was repeatedly threatened against them that they stopped. The CAS refused then and refuses still to give me a copy of any of the complaints against me or of any of the records of their investigation. They tell me that they will do so only if ordered by a judge - they claim confidentiality as the reason. All that they would ever say is "Our records show that there was not sufficient evidence to substantiate the claims". Or, to put it another way: "We are sure that as a father you are scum and therefore you must be guilty but we couldn't twist enough of the facts to make it stick in court."
I was later to discover that during this period, contrary to the law, the CAS sent my children to a summer camp and paid for it out of CAS funds. The CAS was fully aware and had the documents to prove that there was a joint custody order in force and therefore the CAS was aware that they, by law, had to inform me of any actions taken with respect to the children. They simply ignored the law. This little CAS funded 'kidnapping', for that is what it amounted to, was so my wife could have the courts turn down my request to take my children out to Alberta to visit their critically ill paternal grandmother who had just had a severe heart attack and triple bypass surgery; and also to meet for the first time, their great grandmother who was 94 and in failing health. Their grandmother (my mother) had even written a letter, for me to give the judge, that literally "begged" for permission to be granted that she could have her grandchildren visit in case there was never another opportunity. The request was turned down because "the children's mother has already made arrangements for the children during that time period". It wasn't until months later that I learned that the 'arrangements' were in fact summer camp that had been registered for and paid for by the CAS. Fortunately my mother has regained a portion of her health and my sons have had the chance since then to visit her. Their great-grandmother passed away shortly after the travel request was denied and as a result died without ever seeing her great-grandsons or her great-grandsons meeting her.
When I did find out about the summer camp, my lawyer contacted the CAS for an explanation. The first time, they sent a letter back which had a number of comments on it totally unrelated to the summer camp issue. My lawyer sent a second letter requesting clarification which they totally ignored. When my lawyer then phoned them they simply hung up on her.
At about that same time, the Ontario Ombudsman was conducting an investigation into CAS spending that resulted in many headlines as I am sure everyone recalls. I submitted my complaint concerning the summer camp since it was a misuse of funds - i.e. the CAS had used their funding to carry out an unlawful act. I was informed that the mandate of the Ombudsman was limited to investigating "misuse of funds" and did not extend to custody issues so that my complaint did not comply with investigation guidelines. I was told, however, that my complaint would be "kept on file". Of course I have never heard another word about it.
Even when totally untrue and unsubstantiated, complaints to the CAS about fathers are kept on file, inaccessible to the father, and are used by the woman's lawyer in divorce and custody proceedings. How do I know? Because in court my wife's lawyer said, long after the complaints were refuted: "Mr. W***** has had numerous complaints regarding child abuse logged against him with the Children's Aid Society." When I protested that the complaints were all found to be totally unsubstantiated the lawyer made some offhand comment about "well I am just saying that there were numerous complaints made". Again the same attitude-the complaints were logged, therefore he must be guilty-don't confuse me with the facts.
As for confidentiality - that is a joke if you are a father.
My ex-wife verbally, psychologically, and physically abused me over many years. When I went to a Family Services agency for advice and support, thinking naively that my confidentiality would be protected, the first thing they did was send a Children's Aid worker to my home to interview my wife.
So much for confidentiality. So not only did my wife know I had spoken to Family Services about the abuse so did her father. This led to my ex-father-in-law verbally harassing and threatening me as well.
The evening the Children's Aid worker visited, my wife threatened to kill me in front of this Children’s Aid worker. No mention of this was ever made in the worker's report. In fact when my lawyer brought it up in court the judge literally laughed in my face.
On another occasion my lawyer and I attended CAS offices to respond to yet another child abuse complaint (I assume by my wife, the CAS will not even tell a father who filed the complaint). During that session the CAS immediately admitted that the complaint was unfounded but then insisted that I sign a statement that I would never, under any circumstances, spank my children and that if I did the statement would be used against me in court. I, of course, told them that I never spank my children but that even if I did it was none of their business. As it turns out, this was the same week that the Supreme Court had ruled that parents had a constitutional right to spank their children so long as they used reasonable force. I told the CAS that it was illegal in Canada (and it is) to ask anybody to sign any document that abrogates any of their rights under the Charter of Rights and, hence, irrespective of whether I spanked my children or not, they were breaking the law in even asking me to sign such a document. My lawyer supported me fully on this point and the CAS backed off but did say that my wife had signed the document (which is why I think she originated this complaint, as well as all the others) and I could be sure that my refusal to sign it would be brought up in court.
This is yet another example of organisations like the CAS and FRO stating categorically that Canadian Law, the Canadian Constitution, and the Charter of Rights do not apply to therm and they will do whatever they please.
During that same CAS session my lawyer presented the CAS with a 30 page document chronicling 3 years of abuse by my wife against both the children and myself and requested that the CAS log and investigate each of those complaints. The CAS did nothing with the document and inquiries since about it have been met with the statement that for confidentiality reasons they cannot comment.
I know that I am just one of thousands and thousands of fathers who have been met with the same Gestapo tactics from the CAS.
We can be sure that this latest "change in custody proceedings" will do nothing but further entrench the CAS and its father hating tactics and cause the destruction of untold more fathers and their children.

Perhaps the most ironic thing about this announcement is that the changes were made in response to an investigation wherein a drug addicted MOTHER had petitioned Family Court to grant custody of her child to another WOMAN friend, so that the mother could enter a rehab facility. The WOMAN judge agreed and the WOMAN granted custody severely abused the child over many months (worst abuse I have seen in 20 years, it is the work of the devil said one investigating Toronto cop) and eventually murdered the child.
So .... an innocent child is severely abused and murdered, because of actions taken by 3 different WOMEN ..... and the FATHERS of Ontario will be punished and have to pay the price for this atrocity.
Long live gender equality.
Anonymous
Source: F4J Quebec

███████ ███████ R.I.P.

March 9, 2010

Funeral services were held in Edmonton Tuesday for ███████ ███████, who died last week in her Morinville Alberta foster home. She is survived by her mother ███████ ███████.

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Foster child’s death an Alberta tragedy: priest
By Darcy Henton, edmontonjournal.comMarch 9, 2010 1:02 PM

Pallbearers bring out the casket after the funeral mass at Edmonton's Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples of a 21 month old girl, who died in foster care.
Photograph by: John Lucas, edmontonjournal.com

EDMONTON — A Catholic priest presiding over the funeral of a 21-month-old Edmonton girl who died in foster care last week says people must speak out for changes to the foster care system or the little girl will have died in vain.
Rev. Jim Holland told about 100 mourners at Edmonton’s inner city Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples on Tuesday that the child’s death is not just a tragedy for her family but for the community and the entire province.
He called on Albertans to fight to make sure the province better protects children “that from time to time might need care.”
“There are good foster parents but the system has got to be changed,” he said while family members and the child’s mother wiped away tears.
“If we stop fighting then her death is in vain. We must make sure that another child does not die.”
Neither the child, who had been placed in a Morinville home, nor her parents or foster parents, can be identified under provincial law.
The toddler died March 3 in the Stollery Children’s Hospital. Police are treating her death as a homicide but will not say how she died.
Children’s Service Minister Yvonne Fritz has promised that her department will launch a review of the case.
dhenton@thejournal.canwest.com
Source: The Vancouver Sun

Addendum: The Edmonton Journal editorializes on the issue of anonymity

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Review law on victim anonymity
Edmonton Journal, March 9, 2010
For the fourth time in five years, an Albertan child has died a violent death while a ward of the province, under an almost Orwellian law that prevents her fellow citizens from ever knowing who she was.
The photograph accompanying this editorial should be of the 21-month-old victim of this tragedy. We should have to look into her trusting eyes, and contemplate the horrible irony of the inevitable snapshot smile from happier times. We should be forced to read an uncomprehending accusation into her gaze, at a world that treated her so cruelly and unfairly.
Instead we have only a visual statistic, as it were, to accompany the bloodless factual statistic she is doomed to become in collective memory: another fatality in which the foster-care systems and an aboriginal background are part of the picture.
Imagine having your life stolen almost before you've started writing your story, and then as an added indignity, being denied the right to have your proper name on the public record -- the right to stand up in a figurative sense and shout out to the world that "I was here!"
Yes, there is reason behind the law: the government wants to protect the privacy of guardians and family members whose circumstances might otherwise be dragged injuriously before the public eye. But making this an automatic response -- a response that inevitably depersonalizes a tragedy and reduces the public demand for change -- is wrong.
The anonymity of the young victim is by no means the central outrage here, or even the second priority after that most awful of crimes, the homicide of a child. Higher billing must surely go to the emotional pain of family and friends, and to society's loss of the contributions the child might eventually have made to her community, and perhaps even to all mankind.
But it is still vital that a review be made of the Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act (if you can believe a name that the Ministry of Truth might have come up with in 1984.) We owe it to this latest victim of a society that still doesn't know how to protect its most vulnerable members. And we owe it to those who may find themselves in similar peril in the years to come.
Source: Edmonton Journal

anonymous tombstone

Plea for More CAS Money

March 9, 2010

Here is a note of concern that the Ontario throne speech includes policies to reduce funding for several sectors including children's aid. The concern does not come from fathers or mothers or children. It comes from CUPE, the union representing employees. The baby-stealers are trying to protect their jobs.

We hope the government will ignore this plea. Free countries don't put prisoners in jail just to keep the guards busy. And as for members of CUPE, we suggest that they could help preserve their jobs by fostering better relations with their clients. For example, eliminate the humiliation rooms, where parents are observed with their children in the manner of laboratory animals. Stop suggesting to mom and dad that they should divorce. And don't block communication by foster kids with friends and family outside the foster system.

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Throne Speech job promises can't hide dangerous changes in health care and sell-off of public assets, CUPE Ontario President says
March 8, 2010
TORONTO, Ont. – The job promises previewed in today's Throne Speech are vague and fail to hide dangerous changes in how patients access health care, how funding is allocated to hospitals and a plan for “cash-grab” asset sales that won't create a single job but will cripple the province by permanently reducing its revenue base, the President of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario, the province's largest trade union, said today.
“Dalton McGuinty has so little confidence in his own job creation promises and in Ontario's businesses and workers' ability to grow the economy that he's planning to sell the farm to pay the mortgage,” CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn said today.
Selling off chunks of Ontario's biggest revenue sources, Hydro One, Ontario Power Generation, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario and the Ontario Lottery Corporation, “is an admission of defeat by a Premier hoping to use marketing gimmicks to dress up a fire sale of what generations before us worked so hard to build,” said the CUPE Ontario leader.
Hahn is also extremely alarmed that new legislation to bring competition to hospital funding will be a disaster predicting that Ontarians will reject it because it will pit communities against each other and make access uneven and harder for Ontario families.
“Finally,” the CUPE President said, “it is sadly ironic that our Premier chose International Women's Day to deliver a Throne Speech that leaves women and children behind by continuing to underfund the very non-profits described in the Speech as ‘unsung heroes,' child care, children's aid and child welfare agencies.”
Fred Hahn is President of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario with over 220,000 members.
-30-
For more information, please contact:
Chris Watson CUPE Communications 416-553-9410
Source: CUPE Ontario
305 Milner Ave. Suite 801
Scarborough ON
416-299-9739

Horwath Wants Effective Ombudsman

March 8, 2010

For several years Andrea Horwath had legislation pending to expand the powers of Ontario's ombudsman to include children's aid societies. Now her legislation is dead by prorogue and Mr Marin's job is in peril. Here is her opinion piece on the ombudsman in the Toronto Star.

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How to hire an ombudsman
Transparent process would fix term at 10 years and he should stay there until a successor is named
Published On Mon Mar 08 2010

Ontario Ombudsman André Marin has a laudable track record but the McGuinty government has not reappointed him for another five-year term.
AARON HARRIS/STAR FILE PHOTO

Andrea Horwath Leader of the Ontario NDP
By all accounts, André Marin has done a sterling job as Ontario's ombudsman since his appointment five years ago.
Among other accomplishments, Marin created a special investigative unit that has completed more than 20 reports on a wide range of topics, from cancer drug funding to problems with Ontario's lotteries to ensuring new homeowners get what they pay for. Another investigative team he created has blown the door off secret meetings at the municipal level of government.
Given Marin's laudable track record as the provincial watchdog, you would have thought his reappointment by the McGuinty government for another five-year term would have been a slam dunk.
After all, members of the government have gone out of their way to praise Marin. Premier Dalton McGuinty himself has, on more than one occasion, paid public tribute to Marin's work and welcomed his constructive critique of a provincial government that can sometimes run amok or be prone to inertia.
"It's great to have a guy like this who is nipping at our heels on a regular basis. He forces us to move. I think that serves the public interest," McGuinty said in one interview.
So it must have been surprising to Marin and other keen observers of the provincial political scene to learn last month that the ombudsman will have to reapply for his job in an open competition.
Let's be clear. New Democrats have consistently called for an open competition for the appointment of officers of the Legislative Assembly, such as the ombudsman and the environment commissioner, among others. Furthermore, as "officers of the assembly," these office-holders must have all-party support.
And Marin, to his credit, has expressed a willingness to have his performance assessed and subject to the scrutiny of an open competition.
But given the way this drama has unfolded, at the 11th hour of Marin's five-year term, we can't help but believe cynical politics are at play.
With the next provincial election campaign a little more than a year-and-a-half away, we can only assume the McGuinty government would like nothing better than to rid itself of an effective – and at times harsh – critic.
Marin's reports garner headlines and plenty of public attention. And they always point to government failings and shortcomings. Hardly the kind of thing an incumbent government needs as it strives for a third successive majority.
If the McGuinty government were truly serious about the integrity of the appointment process, it would have launched it well before now. The amount of time and effort needed to fill a position like the ombudsman is greater than the six weeks before Marin's term expires.
The government should look no further than the still unfolding, plodding process to find a new integrity commissioner. More than three years since that process began, the selection committee – made of up MPPs from all parties – still hasn't come to a decision.
Given that example, a truly transparent and open competition – if that's what the McGuinty government intended – should have been launched much earlier. Instead, we're left with an ombudsman in limbo.
If he appeared to be caught off guard last month, Marin can be forgiven. Late last year, McGuinty reappointed the privacy commissioner for a third term with a simple stroke of the government pen. With the expiration of his first term quickly approaching, Marin had every right to assume he'd receive the same treatment.
At the time of the privacy commissioner's reappointment, New Democrats raised concerns about the lack of transparency. A perusal through the record of debate at Queen's Park shows we aren't the only ones uncomfortable with the existing process, or lack thereof.
None other than current Finance Minister Dwight Duncan once mused about formalizing "a process for appointing officers of the assembly that rightfully ought to be done in as non-partisan a fashion as we can."
We're glad Duncan agrees with us and we're equally glad to share some ideas on how to proceed.
First, the ombudsman's term should be fixed at 10 years (just like the auditor general), instead of the current five.
Second, there should be no reappointment. Once the 10 years are up, you hand the job to someone else.
Third, the incumbent ombudsman should automatically keep the job until a successor is named. That is to say, there should not be interim, short-term appointments, as there have been in the past.
We think our proposals are reasonable and would remove any suggestion of politically motivated actions on the part of governments in the future.
Given the important role the ombudsman plays in protecting the interests of Ontarians, we think it's only fair.
Source: Toronto Star

Paradise for Kids

March 8, 2010

Life inside the Brookside Youth Centre in Coburg Ontario is heaven for the kids. They watch TV, eat pizzas and McDonald's and attend school, one tutor for every six kids. They are served so much food at meals, most inmates don't finish their plates. The inmates are regularly given fast food, given portable AM/FM radio devices they are allowed to take home, allowed to watch movies, snack on pop and potato chips, surf the Internet, enjoy chocolate and fruit, play sports and more.

At least, that is their life if you believe the union representing the staff. For another view, refer to the purgatory at the Roy McMurtry Youth Centre in Brampton that led to complaints by Ontario's child advocate Irwin Elman.

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Brookside inmates have 'free rein,' union charges
Posted By PETE FISHER, NORTHUMBERLAND TODAY, Posted March 8, 2010
COBOURG -The president of the local union representing Brookside Youth Centre staff has harsh words for the Ministry of Children and Youth Services following an alleged assault last month on three workers.
"I truly believe a staff member will be killed, if not a youth, in the very near future in one of our five facilities," said Peter Harding, president of Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) Local 337, who also sits on various provincial committees regarding youth justice.
As a result of provincial interpretation of youth laws, Harding said, the inmates at Brookside have "free rein."
Federal legislation regarding the Child and Family Services Act gives institutions the ability to use Secure Isolation, create special security programs, etc., for facilities such as Brookside Youth Centre.
"The ministry has the ability to create policy to keep staff and youth safe but prefers to take away any measure of control we once had," Harding said.
Now, instead of staff disciplining the youths for misbehaviour or assaults, the youths are kept in regular programs.
"Their general feeling is we give them a hug and everything is all better," Harding charged.
"The ministry also refuses to move adult-age youth to adult institutions even though legislation allows for this."
Harding said morale at the institution, which can house up to 87 youths, is at an all-time low.
"In my 22 years it has never been lower in our institution," he said.
"Morale was higher when we were on strike. It's terrifying what's going on.
"There is a big fence up, but anything within that fence is theirs."
The inmates at Brookside Youth Centre range in age from 14 to 18 years old at the time of the crime and are housed in the institution for anything an adult would get a minimum two-year sentence for, including gang violence, attempted murder, murder, rape and arson.
The ministry has directed all offenders who are minors at the time of the crime be housed together regardless of their age. This means offenders aged 14 are housed with 20-year-olds.
Currently 35% of the inmates at Brookside are 18 years old and older.
Harding said "discipline is likely," after three staff were allegedly assaulted Feb. 26 by a 19-year-old inmate in an unprovoked attack.
Since the alleged attack, Harding said, Brookside administration have been attempting to transfer the inmate to another facility, but other institutions are refusing.
The union had previously requested the inmate be transferred after a Brookside worker was assaulted, but the inmate remained in the general population at the facility.
"He has done the runaround of the province and has assaulted staff everywhere he's been," Harding claimed.
The ministry is refusing to send the inmate to a mental facility because he is too violent, even though he meets the criteria, Harding said.
The three staff members were treated and released from hospital and the youth is facing adult criminal charges because of his age.
But because of a previous incident in June 2009 in which two Brookside staff members restrained an inmate for disruptive behaviour, and were subsequently fired in January 2010, Harding fears the ministry will try the same tactic for the three injured staff.
"We have a concern that staff that were hospitalized... their jobs are now in jeopardy," Harding said.
"Apparently there is an internal investigation to find wrongdoing by staff."
The union is in the legal process of having the two men fired in January reinstated.
"I am confident they will be exonerated of all charges," Harding said.
"It was, in my mind, a completely fabricated ministry official direction going out to send a message to staff that, although we're supposed to break up fights, we're supposed to keep being safe, we can't go near the youths and if the youth does anything, the youth is correct."
Inside Brookside, Harding said, gangs are the biggest problem and "assaults are up dramatically."
"We can't take away even the small things like extra programming that they get," he said. "We have to allow them to watch TV, we have to allow them to have their pizzas and their McDonald's and attend school.
"There are no losses for people that don't follow the program."
And the dangerous part, he said, is that the inmates know that.
Harding said staff at youth institutions across the province are "terrified to be able to do their job."
OPSEU is hoping the ministry will review the interpretation of the current legislation and follow other provinces that are using secure isolation for discipline.
"Our province is interpreting federal legislation differently than any of the other provinces," Harding said.
As a result, he said, "there is no discipline existing within our facilities."
Harding stated the public would be "shocked" if they knew what murderers and rapists receive while in the youth facilities.
They are served so much food at meals, most inmates don't finish their plates.
The inmates are regularly given fast food, given portable AM/FM radio devices they are allowed to take home, allowed to watch movies, snack on pop and potato chips, surf the Internet, enjoy chocolate and fruit, play sports and more.
Along with short sentences for their crimes, inmates receive one teacher to six youths for school.
"Most things are now considered to be rights, not privileges, by ministry officials," Harding said.
pfisher@northumberland
Source: Northumberland Today

heaven

UK Courts Don't Trust Social Workers

March 8, 2010

According to a new study, British courts hold social workers in low esteem and do not trust their evidence. Social workers are suffering the ultimate penalty of liars — being disbelieved.

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Courts distrust evidence from social workers
Judges delay decisions in urgent cases affecting vulnerable children to hear from other experts, says report
Anushka Asthana and Patrick Butler, guardian.co.uk, Monday 8 March 2010 12.07 GMT

A social worker comforts a young girl.
Photograph: Aaron Favila/AP

Courts are refusing applications to take children into care because some members of the judiciary hold social workers in such low esteem that they do not trust their evidence, it will be claimed this week in a major study.
Local authorities told researchers that children were being put at risk because social workers were not always recognised as experts.
The findings are part of research commissioned by the Local Government Association (LGA) into the practicalities of implementing the 58 recommendations of Lord Laming's report into child protection , carried out in the wake of the death of Baby Peter. The 17-month-old boy from Haringey, north London, who suffered more than 50 injuries over an eight-month period, died despite being seen repeatedly by social services, police, doctors and health vistors.
The LGA report, carried out by academics at Loughborough University and published this week, concludes: "The low status afforded to social workers was ... perceived to impact upon the court decision-making process. A number of authorities felt courts were refusing applications that children's social care felt were necessary to protect children." Social workers, it says, "are not always recognised as experts in the court arena".
As evidence of their low status, it points out: "Experts such as hospital consultants are not expected to wait in court all day to give evidence, but social workers are, meaning they are not able to use the time available more effectively." The report found that social workers had to wait on average 20 hours in court to get a care order.
Nushra Mansuri, joint manager of the English office of the British Association of Social Workers, said it was appalling that professionals were treated so badly, and said it could be dangerous for children.
"There is good practice, and there are plenty of members of the judiciary who do show due respect," she said , but she had seen a number of examples of the sort of attitude detailed in the report. "I think there is a bit of a snobbery because social work is the soft target. We are the most exposed of all the professions, whereas others are a little more anonymous in the process."
She said judges had to try not to be influenced by the negative image of social workers portrayed in the media. "I'm sure it doesn't happen in most cases, but we as professionals are asked to question our prejudices all the time, and so should they."
A senior lawyer involved in child care proceedings said they were often subject to lengthy delays because judges were reluctant to accept social workers' assessments at face value, and would commission a series of additional and expensive "expert" views from psychiatrists and other professionals.
"If you have a case of neglect involving a mother of five, who has been a crack cocaine addict for 10 years, do we really need to commission another psychiatric assessment to tell us that she needs to be free of drugs before she can care for her children, which costs thousands of pounds?
"This is not about denying justice or a fair hearing to parents, but ensuring that justice for the child is not unnecessarily delayed, and that limited resources are made available to help parents avoid these problems and not diverted into telling us things we already know, that the social worker has expertise in."
The LGA research also focuses on Laming's recommendation that all referrals to children's services from other professionals such as NHS staff or police should lead to a full initial assessment. It claims the cost of implementing such a change would be £250m a year to councils, and require 6,300 more social workers.Shireen Ritchie, chair of the LGA's Children and Young People board, said: "One of our major concerns is the amount of bureaucracy that social workers have to go through when making these assessments. Meeting targets around assessments does not make children safer. Social workers need to be involved in the reflective process, as well as form filling."
Last year the children's secretary, Ed Balls, accepted all Lamings recommendations and said they would be "properly resourced".
Source: Guardian

Double Foster Death

March 6, 2010

Teenaged foster girls Martha Jackson Hernandez and Kayla LaLonde were close friends — the Facebook photo in the enclosed story shows just how close. Last Monday, they attended the same party near Vancouver British Columbia where they are suspected of sharing the same drug, MDMA, better known as ecstasy. On Tuesday they both died.

Death may be from the effects of the drug, or from contamination. Drug dealers cannot report thefts to the police. One way they can control theft is my mixing a poison into some of their inventory, and marking the items with a coding system. Paying customers get only good drugs, thieves, unaware of the coding system, get the death penalty. A theft anywhere in the supply chain can account for the deaths of the foster girls.

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Text messages went unanswered from two teen girls found dead
Friend of one of two girls who died ‘knew something was wrong’ after getting no response
By ANDREA WOO, VANCOUVER SUNMarch 4, 2010

Kayla LaLonde, 16, and Martha Jackson Hernandez, 17, have been identified by friends on Facebook as the teen girls who were together hours before each was found dead Tuesday.
Photograph by: ..., Facebook

METRO VANCOUVER -- Kayla LaLonde had promised her girlfriend Allie Detina that she would be home in time for her 10 p.m. curfew Monday night.
LaLonde, 16, had often been late returning back to her Vancouver foster home, but in recent days had been consistently on time, even early.
“She was doing so well,” Detina, also 16, said Thursday. “She promised me she’d go home for curfew, and she kept her promises.”
Detina did not hear from LaLonde again after 6 p.m. Monday. At 12:40 a.m. Tuesday, passersby found her collapsed on the road in the 4000-block of Rumble Street in Burnaby. She was taken to hospital where she died shortly after. Detina thought she might have got lost on the way home.
LaLonde’s 17-year-old friend Martha Jackson Hernandez, with whom she had been earlier, died hours later in Richmond, following a 911 call about a youth in distress.
Witnesses reported seeing the two hanging out together in Richmond on Monday and friends believe they separated that night when LaLonde decided to go home.
Both the Burnaby and Richmond RCMP detachments were in the early stages of investigations, but drugs and alcohol may have been contributing factors in the girls’ deaths, said Burnaby RCMP media relations officer Cpl. Brenda Gresiuk.
“I knew something was wrong, because she wasn’t answering my text messages or calling me back,” Detina said. “I just felt something was wrong. I knew it.”
LaLonde and Hernandez were known to drink and occasionally use drugs, but not in large quantities, according to multiple friends.
“I’m positive alcohol was a factor,” Tori Delorme said. “The only reason they would go out [to Richmond] is to drink. But they were pretty good when they drank; they never got out of hand. I don’t know whether or not they were on drugs that night.”
Not all friends and family members believed the girls died of drug overdoses.
“Martha drank but she’s never done drugs,” said friend Giselle Sutherland. “She was afraid she’d get addicted. If she did [do drugs], that would be her first time.”
“I don’t think it was an overdose,” Delorme said. “I think something else went on.”
“It’s more likely a case of bad drugs,” said LaLonde’s uncle Hank Bee, who said it was unlike the girls to ingest large quantities of drugs.
Toxicology results were expected in about two weeks.
A group of people gathered Thursday at the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre Society in east Vancouver to console each other and share memories.
More people still, including LaLonde’s girlfriend Detina, gathered at the spot in Burnaby where LaLonde was found, to drop off flowers and pay their respects.
“I feel really broken inside and lost and upset,” said a choked-up Detina. “She’s my angel.”
A Facebook memorial page was flooded with messages from friends, family and even people who didn’t know then girls.
“Celebrate the lives of these two young girls & all of your cherished memories together,” wrote Stephanie Brianne Rodriguez. “Do not be sad that you have lost them, but be so thankful that you were fortunate enough to have had them.”
Delorme said she hopes people don’t judge LaLonde and Hernandez based on early media reports.
“I don’t want people to think they were bad people,” she said. “They weren’t druggies or alcoholics.”
Bee said he hopes the incident doesn’t cast the aboriginal community in a bad light.
“People are going to say, ‘Oh, those native kids,’” Bee said. “They were young and smart and usually tried to stay out of trouble. Sometimes things don’t work out the way you want them to.”
There were 90 teenage overdose deaths involving drugs or alcohol in B.C. from January 1997 to September 2008, according to a report by the B.C. Coroners Service.
Of those 90, 55 involved illicit drugs, 23 non-prescription drugs, six alcohol, four prescription drugs and two a combination of alcohol and drugs.
awoo@vancouversun.com
Source: Vancouver Sun

New Trial for Alberta Kafka

March 6, 2010

The Alberta Kafka case will get a new trial.

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Foster mother to get new trial in child's death
Last Updated: Friday, March 5, 2010 | 1:22 PM MT, CBC News
Alberta's Court of Appeal has ordered a new trial for an Edmonton foster mother who was found guilty of manslaughter in the death of a three-year-old boy in her care.
The woman cannot be named under Alberta's child welfare legislation. She was originally charged with second-degree murder, but a jury found her guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter at her trial in November 2008. She was sentenced to three years in prison.
Both the Crown and the woman's lawyer appealed the outcome of the trial to the Alberta Court of Appeal. The defence asked for an acquittal on the manslaughter conviction. The Crown appealed her acquittal on the murder charge.
In a ruling released Friday, the appeal court judges ordered a new trial on the original second-degree murder charge after finding that the trial judge made a "legally incorrect exhortation" to the jury to reach a verdict after they said they were deadlocked.
The exhortation had elements in it that contravened policy set out in a 1996 court ruling, the appeal court judges found.
"Those elements involved references to the need to re-try the case with its associated inconvenience, expense and hardship for the Crown and the defence, and the association of that negative result with 'the unwillingness of one or more of their number to listen to the arguments of the rest,'" the ruling says.
The little boy died in January 2007 of a massive head injury, the court heard during the trial. The child also cannot be named under Alberta legislation.
Source: CBC

Fake Social Worker Takes Baby

March 5, 2010

When Florida teenager Jasmine Marie White needed a baby, she found an easy way to get one. She impersonated a social worker and took three-week-old Melvin Duclos from his family. White had falsely told her family she was pregnant, and needed the baby to make good on her due date.

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Jacksonville woman accused of abducting baby Melvin Duclos faked pregnancy
Family members say she acted and looked pregnant, and 'needs help'
By Scott Butler, Story updated at 1:04 AM on Friday, Mar. 5, 2010

RICK WILSON/The Times-Union
Jasmine Marie White (center), age 19, enters the courtroom at the Duval County Jail this morning during her first court appearance on charges that she kidnapped 3-week-old Melvin Duclos.

White

Melvin

The 19-year-old charged with abducting 3-week-old Melvin Duclos remains in jail this morning after a judge granted no bail in her first appearance on the kidnapping charge.
But as soon as Jasmine Marie White was walked out of the courtroom in shackles and a gray jumpsuit, family members said she had told them last week that she was pregnant and expecting a baby this week.
White spent about two minutes in front of Circuit Judge Kevin Blazs as a long line of family members, including her mother, watched from the back of the packed courtroom.
Afterward, her mother wouldn’t comment. But one aunt, Teresa Thomas, said White told her she was pregnant and acted like it, throwing up and “she was showing, her stomach was big.”
“She came to my home on Friday and said she was going to have a baby on Tuesday, and they would induce labor," Thomas said. "We thought she was pregnant. She told everybody she was pregnant. We had no idea that this was going to happen and we are sorry for the family.”
She said the whole family assumed she was pregnant.
"It blew all of us away because we had seen no mental problem,” Thomas said.
Another aunt, Antoinette Canales, said White had numerous miscarriages and couldn’t take losing those babies.
“Don’t throw her in jail, she needs help," Canales said. "She is only 19 and she’s only a baby. She’s lost three babies and needs help. She didn’t hurt the baby.”
Sheriff John Rutherford also said that White had faked a pregnancy. He said in the brief time White had the child Tuesday and Wednesday, her mother was told he was a girl. Melvin also was dressed in pink to further draw away any attention to an Amber Alert issued for an abducted 3-week-old boy.
Authorities tracked a single fingerprint from a fake document given to Melvin's parents Tuesday after they were followed home from a Shands Jacksonville doctor's appointment, the sheriff previously said. A woman posing as an official with the Department of Children and Families told the Ducloses, Haitian immigrants, they were being investigated for possible abuse and needed to hand over the boy.
After realizing it was a ruse, the Ducloses called police. The fingerprint matched White's from a juvenile auto theft arrest and authorities soon figured out possible addresses. They located her and the unharmed child about 13 hours later sleeping in the home White shared with her mother on North Cabot Drive.
Outside the home were empty boxes for a child car seat, a bouncy seat and a baby care cart.
The sheriff said her mother was apparently unaware of the kidnapping 2 1/2 miles away on North Ironside Drive.
Melvin’s father, postal worker Augustin Duclos, credited investigators for a miracle.
White is charged with kidnapping, interference with custody of a child and two unrelated counts of fraudulent use of personal identification information.
Source: Florida Times-Union

Parents Not Notified of Child Death

March 4, 2010

After Calel Mayland Wheeler died in the care of New Jersey DYFS, they failed to notify the parents until the next court hearing. They did though find time to apply (unsuccessfully) to the court for a gag order preventing the parents from discussing the case with the press.

A DYFS lawyer told the mother: "In 22 years we have never had this happen." Here are 1384 cases in which this happened, 29 of them in New Jersey, drawn from reports in the press. And only one foster death of every twenty gets into the press.

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Baby in Brick foster home suffocates; parents told in court
By CHARLES WEBSTER • STAFF WRITER • March 3, 2010
BRICK — A 17-month-old boy in the care of the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services suffocated overnight in his foster home, and his parents were told of the death when they went to court to try to regain custody of him.
Calel Mayland Wheeler died early Tuesday after apparently becoming trapped between the mattress of the toddler bed in which he was sleeping and the bedroom wall.
His parents, Carmen E. Cotting, 24, and Timothy J. Wheeler, 34, both of Claremont, N.H., are blaming the child welfare agency for their son's death.
"This is negligence," Wheeler said. "DYFS was negligent."
Cotting and Wheeler were scheduled to appear before state Superior Court Judge Robert A. Coogan on Tuesday morning.
"Our intention was to bring our kids home," Cotting said.
Instead, they were ushered into a room off of the courtroom and told the boy had died just hours before.
"Why weren't we called when this first happened?" Wheeler asked. "Why did they wait to tell us in court?"
Cotting says Calel and a 5-year-old son of the couple were placed in DYFS custody on Nov. 2, after she had come to New Jersey from New Hampshire but then was left homeless.
She had become embroiled in legal issues involving Carl Ray Smith, 53, of Laconia, N.H., whom Middletown police have accused of trying to pass a bad $54,000 check. Police say the check was from a closed account of Cotting's, and she had disposed of it in a Dumpster. Both are facing charges in the case. Smith is in the Monmouth County Jail in Freehold Township on $20,000 bail, and Cotting was released on a summons.
Wheeler said he was unable to take custody of the boys in November because he was in a New Hampshire jail on a simple assault charge. He was released at the end of January.
Meanwhile, the boys were placed in a foster home in Brick. Wheeler said he learned a DYFS worker recently told the foster parents to remove the boy from a crib because it was on a recall list, but a new crib was not brought into the house.
Wheeler says his 17-month-old son apparently was put to sleep with a blanket in a toddler bed Monday night. Around 6 a.m. Tuesday, the boy was found dead in that bed.
Brick Detective William Ruocco and Ocean County Prosecutor's Office Detective Thomas Tiernan handled the investigation into the child's death.
An autopsy determined the death was accidental, caused by positional asphyxia, said Prosecutor's Office Deputy Chief Michael Mohel.
He said no foul play is suspected.
Federal and state laws require DYFS to release certain information about child deaths or near-fatalities that result from child abuse or neglect, according to a news release issued by DYFS in July.
A DYFS spokeswoman declined to comment.
"Under state and federal law, only under specific circumstances can we acknowledge or discuss any involvement with a child in the child welfare system," Lauren Kidd said. "At this point, there is no comment or information we can offer."
Wheeler says he was given the same information on the boy's death by DYFS. But the parents want more answers.
"Why did they have a 17-month-old baby in a toddler's bed? And why was a 17-month-old baby alone in a room without a baby monitor? He should have been in a crib," Wheeler said, demanding answers about his son's death.
Instead, Wheeler says DYFS officials tried to get a gag order to keep him from speaking to the media.
He vowed, "Somebody is going to pay for this."
Cotting's father, who lives in in New Hampshire, was awarded temporary custody of the couple's 5-year-old son Wednesday afternoon, and the pair returned to their home state Wednesday evening to begin making arrangements for Calel's funeral. They are waiting for their youngest son to be picked up by a New Hampshire funeral home.
The couple say they are troubled by the way DYFS handled the situation.
"I knew before they told us because of the way they were acting," Cotting said in explaining the chain of events leading up to DYFS officials giving her the news.
She said a DYFS lawyer told her, before breaking the news, "In 22 years we have never had this happen."
Source: Asbury Park Press

Alberta Death

March 4, 2010

A foster child has died in Alberta, the second in a week. In future references we will use the alias "Morinville girl" (Morninville in the article is a typo).

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Foster child dies in Edmonton hospital

The Stollery Children's Hospital.

Updated: Wed Mar. 03 2010 18:22:01, ctvedmonton.ca
CTV News has learned an 18-month-old child passed away at the Stollery Children's Hospital Wednesday, two days after an alleged incident at her foster home in Morinville. The child's biological family says it may be a case of shaken baby syndrome.
The biological family tells CTV News the toddler had only been in foster care for about two months. They say the little girl suffered severe brain damage, and that doctors told them the toddler may have been shaken to death.
The toddler was rushed to hospital less than two days ago, and on Wednesday, family and friends confirmed the foster child died because her brain damage was too severe.
The minister of children and youth services confirmed to CTV that an investigation has now been launched.
"It is very heartbreaking when any child is in a life-threatening situation and our thoughts are with this child's family -- that is our foster family and this child's biological family," said Yvonne Fritz.
RCMP in Morninville opened a file into the severe injury of a child on the same night as the alleged incident. So far, no charges have been laid.
This recent occurrence is just the latest facing Alberta's foster care system.
Just last week, a Calgary foster parent was charged with a range of sex crimes against children in his care.
Then in June, an Edmonton foster mom was sentenced to three years in jail for the death of a toddler.
And one year ago, a four-year-old girl in the care of children's services died from head injuries -- her aunt was later charged with murder.
NDP Leader Brian Mason says they've been calling on the government to make improvements.
"They need to improve the recruitment and screening of foster parents; they need to make sure there's enough supervision that's taking place."
The province won't speculate on what caused the latest death, but Fritz admits the system needs to be better.
"It doesn't mean we've done all that we can do to strengthen in our screening process, but that's something the senior staff evaluate on a continual basis."
The child's biological family says the little girl was in foster care because her mother was dealing with some medical health problems.
The province claims privacy laws prevent it from disclosing how long the foster parents have been in the system, or if there are currently other foster children residing in the same home.
With files from CTV's Scott Roberts
Source: CTV Edmonton

The mother of the dead girl is being effectively gagged by a law preventing publication of her name. She says she provides a good home for her children, some still in her own care, and did not voluntarily give up her daughter.

We invite the mother to tell her story in full. If you are, or know of, this mother, please send notice to Dufferin VOCA by email to [ rtmq at fixcas.com ] or phone 705-744-6274.

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CTV Edmonton
Mother of dead foster child breaks her silence
Updated: Sat Mar. 06 2010 11:15:40, Sonia Sunger, ctvedmonton.ca
The biological mother of a 21-month-old girl who died Wednesday while in the care of foster parents, says her daughter was murdered and was wrongfully placed in the foster care system.
The mother, who cannot be named, believes her daughter was unjustly taken from her and adds that she was working with a lawyer to get custody of her daughter.
"Someone murdered my daughter," she said in a written statement to CTV News. "I have other children in my care. I am standing here looking at my son."
She says her daughter was under a temporary guardianship order for three months, but insists she never signed the papers.
"I was going to court on March 8 to get her back. She was not supposed to be in the foster care system," said the mother. "Something is wrong with the system."
The mother goes on to say that her family has a good home and that she had the support of her family members.
Police have not released the child's cause of death, but they are investigating it as a homicide.
Biological family members believe it may have been a case of shaken-baby syndrome.
They say the little girl suffered severe brain damage, and that doctors told them the toddler may have been shaken to death.
The 21-month-old girl was in the care of a Morinville-area foster family when she died at the Stollery Children's hospital Wednesday, two days after she had been admitted.
The little girl's family released a statement saying, "What we know is that the baby was brought to the Stollery on Monday, March 1st and was in a coma. After 2 days, the baby succumbed to her injuries with her family at her side."
The death comes two weeks after the Minister of Children and Youth Services met with foster-care workers to discuss some of the challenges they face.
Janet Ryan-Newell, the executive directive of Crossroads Family Services, a non-profit organization that provides foster care for children in the Edmonton area, says she was sad to hear about the death, but suggests the tragic story overshadows what she believes to be the wonderful work foster families do.
"Every month, thousands of successes -- they never hit the news and they can't, so it is very frustrating," she said.
Privacy laws prevent foster parents from sharing their successes, until the child is an adult.
A memorial service for the child will be held next week.
Source: CTV Edmonton

Lawyer in Greg Carter Case

March 4, 2010

Toronto lawyer George Callahan is organizing a civil suit against phony doctor Greg Carter. If you wish to join in, get in touch with David Bulmer.

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Class action suit possible in Carter case

RON PIETRONIRO / METROLAND
WHITBY -- The office sign of Gregory Carter in the Dundas-Centre Medical building at 220 Dundas Street West. Mr. Carter has been charged by the Durham Regional Police. January 26, 2010.

Whitby man accused of false testimony in family court
Mar 03, 2010 - 04:30 AM, By Jeff Mitchell
DURHAM -- As criminal charges proceed against a Whitby man accused of falsely portraying himself as a clinical psychologist in family court cases, a move is afoot to launch civil action.
Toronto lawyer George Callahan said Tuesday he's consulted with a number of potential clients in the wake of revelations that Greg Carter conducted assessments and offered opinions in family court proceedings that involved child custody matters.
"I can confirm that there are a number of victims coming forward in the Carter matter," Mr. Callahan said. "We are actively considering a class action suit."
Mr. Carter, 63, was charged in January with perjury, obstructing justice and fraud. Durham police allege he falsely claimed to be a clinical psychologist while testifying in court and preparing parental assessments for agencies such as the Children's Aid Society; Mr. Carter was a contract employee with Durham CAS from 2003 to 2009.
Mr. Carter's opinions were considered by judges making rulings about child custody, police said. The Whitby man is registered with the Ontario College of Psychologists as a psychological associate. His practice is limited by the college and he is prohibited from independently making diagnoses.
Mr. Carter has not responded to requests for comment and the case against him has not been proven in court. He was scheduled to appear in remand court in Oshawa Wednesday.
Mr. Callahan said that in light of the accusations levelled against Mr. Carter, lawsuits by individuals who feel they've been affected by his alleged misdeeds are inevitable. Court approval would be required for claimants to come together to launch a class action suit.
And when lawsuits do start flying they'll allege liability well beyond Mr. Carter himself, Mr. Callahan predicted.
"It's a disastrous mess," he said. "There are no winners in this. There are only people who have suffered loss."
Pushing for a lawsuit is a Clarington man who claims he lost custody of his granddaughter because of a report authored by Mr. Carter. The man, whose name can't be published to protect the child's identity, first blew the whistle on Mr. Carter by calling police and is now trying to organize people affected by the case.
He said a system-wide review ought to be conducted. "This is gross incompetence."
Also watching developments closely is a Whitby woman who said she abandoned her court battle for custody of her two children after a scathing assessment authored by Mr. Carter.
"He was the assessor recommended by the court," the woman said. "This report would have influenced the judge."
The woman now lives in a different town than her children and sees them only occasionally. She said the decision to give up her custody fight was excruciating. And now that it's alleged Mr. Carter wasn't qualified to offer an opinion in the case, she's shocked and angry.
"My whole life has changed because of this," she said. "You trust this person has the credentials needed to perform this important function.
"I put my trust in the courts; I put my trust in my lawyer. I put my trust in this man."
Mr. Callahan said it's essential that witnesses offering expert opinions in court cases be vetted to ensure their capability and credibility.
"These assessors have such sway in the courts that often judges will follow their recommendations," he said. "And that appears to be the case with Mr. Carter."
Source: Metroland Media

Boy Dies in Alberta Foster Care

March 3, 2010

A toddler boy has died in Calgary, shortly after being placed in foster care. We are not permitted to see anything of the family except the backs of the parent's heads. In case this story appears in the news again, we will refer to the deceased boy as "Calgary toddler".

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Parents devastated after baby dies in foster care
Police say case not considered a criminal matter
By Sherri Zickefoose, Calgary Herald, March 2, 2010

The mother of a one-year-old boy who died overnight while in foster care is frustrated with the lack of information. They are pictured in their home in Calgary, Alberta on March 1 2010.
Photograph by: Leah Hennel, Calgary Herald

A Calgary couple is devastated their one-year-old son died within days of being placed in a foster home and frustrated by the lack of answers from officials.
The parents cannot be identified under provincial child welfare law.
They were waiting for a home visit with their three boys Monday morning when a case worker and three police officers knocked on the door and gave them the terrible news.
"I saw him on Thursday and he was perfectly healthy," said the 31-year-old father, adding the baby had suffered five seizures in the past.
Police say the baby's death is not considered criminal -- the medical examiner's office is investigating to determine whether sudden infant death syndrome could be to blame.
Clinging to her son's quilt for comfort as she wept, the boy's grieving mother told the Herald she's frustrated at finding few answers to their questions from Children's Services Monday.
"I just want to know what's going on," the 29-year-old said.
The parents say they were told by the medical examiner's office they'd have to wait view their child's body at a funeral parlour.
"I wanted to hold him," the mother said.
The couple asked to visit their newborn and two-year-old Monday after learning their son had died, but were denied, they say.
A scheduled visit today will go ahead, they were told.
On Feb. 19, the couple's newborn, one-year-old and two-year-old were seized by Children and Youth Services. For the past 10 days, they have had supervised visits in their northeast home. The family did not say what led up to the seizure of their children.
"It's very sad, such a loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and care workers," said Children and Youth Services Minister Yvonne Fritz.
Fritz said counsellors are available for both the biological and foster families.
"We have many knowledgeable people that are experienced with this kind of experience. This is about supporting the parents."
Because the matter is not being investigated by police, there will be no inquiry by the ministry, she said.
szickefoose@theherald.canwest.com
Source: Calgary Herald

Cambridge Rally

March 2, 2010

The Cambridge rally in support of bill 93 went well. Two news articles are enclosed.

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Bill 93 protest
570 News Mar 01, 2010 16:51:21 PM
Two dozen protesters in Cambridge today tried to draw attention to a bill they want passed for more oversight of Children's Aid Societies.
Bill 93 would allow the province's Ombudsman to investigate the CAS.
Tanya Coch was a CAS client who recently had her file closed.
She says the current process for getting complaints dealt with can take several months.
Alison Scott is the head of Family and Children's Services of Waterloo Region.
She says she is not opposed to the bill, but says there are already several safeguards in place to deal with complaints.
Her agency has 12 hundred ongoing family service files and she says they had six complaints that went to the complaints review board in the past year.
Source: 570News

Ray Martin, Times Staff | Mar 01, 2010 - 4:08 PM |
Group wants CAS accountability
Approximately 30 people representing a number of parent groups from across southern Ontario converged on Cambridge Monday to rally support for Bill 93.
Groups gathered at MPP Gerry Martiniuk’s office and the local office of Family and Children’s Services of Waterloo Region.
The provincial bill, which could be killed by the McGuinty government Thursday as parliament is prorogued, would implement oversight by Ontario Ombudsman and hold Children’s Aid Societies more accountable.
Activist Brian Caldwell told the Times that in Waterloo Region it is almost impossible to find out the number of children taken away from their families by local family and children’s services.
He also stated that in 2003 the Ministry of Child and Youth Services undertook a review to determine why the legal services required by Waterloo Region Family and Children’s Services, are higher than in other parts of the province, yet information on that review “is impossible to find”.
Bill 93 is a private members bill put forward by Hamilton East MPP Andrea Horvath. It was first read in June 2008 and if passed would allow families whose children have been removed by the province’s children aids societies a chance to be heard.
It would empower Ontario’s Ombudsman to investigate decisions or the recommendations of the children’s aid societies.
Source: Cambridge Times

Addendum: Here is a short video of the rally, YouTube and local copy (flv).

Addendum: Chris Carter attended a group outside the riding office of MPP Gerry Martiniuk. His report is below.

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Chris Carter Here we outside of Cambridge Ont. MPP Gerry Martiniuk's office on the day of the most recent anti-CAS Rally on March 1, 2010. Not only wouldn't Martiniuk speak to any of us (even though he was in his office), when he left he drove right by us without so much as glance. WE WERE RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIS OFFICE WITH "CHILDREN...'S AID DESTROYS FAMILIES" SIGNS AND MARTINIUK COULDN'T EVEN BE BOTHERED TO GIVE A MINUTE OF HIS TIME. Considering that the Waterloo Regional is widely recognized as one of the most aggressively destructive CASs in this province: MARTINIUK YOUR SILENCE IS (AND HAS BEEN FOR MANY YEARS) DEAFENING!
Source: Facebook

Lapdog Wanted

March 2, 2010

The government may be ridding itself of André Marin, not by firing him, but by letting his contract expire. Look for a more tame replacement.

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Dalton McGuinty dodgeball: Blizzard
Critics Andre Marin and Gord Miller exposed the premier, now their jobs are in jeopardy
By Christina Blizzard, Queen's Park columnist, Last Updated: February 28, 2010 2:14am
Watch for this ad coming soon to the Help Wanted section of the Ontario government website:
Wanted: Ombudsman
Salary: $228,000-plus per year.
Job Description: Once seen as a pitbull crusading for the rights of the little guy, the McGuinty government would like to return the job to the role of lapdog.
Attack dogs need not apply. Successful candidate must enjoy rolling over and having tummy tickled.
Qualifications: Must speak fluent bafflegab. An ability to communicate clearly and directly with taxpayers and the media will be regarded as a definite no-no.
And adherence to “rulitis” is a must. For those of you with short memories, “rulitis” is the name given to lazy, uncaring or incompetent civil servants who stick to the rules even when the sensible or compassionate thing to do was to use common sense.
The person who invented that word was Andre Marin, who presently holds the ombudsman’s job, but who, along with Environment Commissioner Gord Miller, has been told his five-year contract will not automatically be renewed.
They will both have to re-apply for their own jobs.
Opposition critics say Marin’s and Miller’s outspoken criticism of the government has prompted the review.
In the legislature on Thursday, Tory critic Ted Arnott asked if there was a connection between this move and a report that Marin has in the works into the government’s Local Health Integration Networks, specifically into the decision-making process that went into hospital closures in Niagara. The Tories have been slamming the Liberals over “sweetheart deals” with regards to the LHINs.
Arnott quoted Marin saying, “There is a lot of public concern about the accountability and transparency of the LHIN.
“Now this move comes just before the ombudsman reports on the premier’s special pet project. Why is shining a light on the Liberal government’s dirty secrets a firing offence, while handing out millions of dollars in untendered contracts gets you promoted?” Arnott asked.
Premier Dalton McGuinty says opening up the jobs to all applicants is fair.
“There’s a lot of Ontarians that are interested in those jobs,” McGuinty told reporters on Wednesday.
“I think the fair thing to do in the circumstances going forward is to have an opportunity for folks who already have these jobs to reapply and for others who are interested on the outside to get a shot at this as well,” he said.
That’s a little feeble, if you ask me.
Non-partisan
Marin has been a pain in the butt for the Liberals. Then again, he’s a non-partisan pain. He’d skewer any government, regardless of stripe. Taxpayers, cancer patients, lottery players, crime victims — and countless others — thank him for that.
Someone has to speak for those who have difficulty speaking for themselves.
Marin’s reports have taken a bite out of the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation, they’ve slammed the uncaring treatment victims of crime received from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board.
And when the government dragged its heels fixing the mess with the lottery corporation, it was Marin who prodded them into it.
Ditto for funding the cancer drug Avastin.
I understand getting a plum government job shouldn’t be a shoo-in. The process should be transparent.
But neither should independent officers of the legislature fear for their jobs if they are outspoken in their criticism of the government.
McGuinty is sending a chilly message: Yes men only need apply.
What person with any integrity would take either the environment commissioner’s or the ombudsman’s job when that writing is on the wall?
Of course, Marin has one option. The premier himself is on a renewable contract. Marin could run for office next year.
Think about it. He’s feisty, outspoken and fearless.
He’d be a breath of fresh air around here.
christina.blizzard@sunmedia.ca
Source: Toronto Sun

lapdog

Sampson Aftermath

March 1, 2010

The final response to the death of Katelynn Sampson is, guess what? More power for children's aid!

The Katelynn Sampson case resembles a pattern in a few other cases such as Bertha Gonzales in California, in which child protectors wish to place a child with a foster parent known to be disqualified by the law. Since applying to a court will be futile, the child protectors instead threaten the mother with foster care to get her to voluntarily consent to the placement.

Ontario's political response to the failure of this technique in the Sampson case is not to eliminate threats by children's aid, but to expand their power. Now when a mother wants to let her sister care for her kids, children's aid will get a veto over the decision.

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New Ontario child custody rules start today
By ANTONELLA ARTUSO, Queen's Park Bureau Chief, Last Updated: March 1, 2010 11:25am
New provincial rules for child custody that take effect Monday will require every person applying to complete a "parenting affidavit."
Non-parents who apply for custody will need to provide a police record check and a Children's Aid Society record report.
"Families need a justice system that supports them and their children," Attorney General Chris Bentley said.
The government actions appear to be a response to the horrific death of seven-year-old Katelynn Sampson, while in the custody of a legal guardian.
"The terrible tragedy that is Katelynn Sampson's death caused me, and I know everybody, to sit back and say is there something more that we should be doing," Bentley said when he first introduced the changes in November 2008.
"I was struck by the fact that there is very little required (for custody) beyond an application form."
Source: Toronto Sun

Abusers Protected

March 1, 2010

In Ireland the problem of child abuse by insiders is widespread. The (Dublin) Sunday Tribune reports that in just one region there were 33 complaints over three years, yet not one was prosecuted. Based on circumstances in other jurisdictions, child protectors and police cooperate at every level from the board of directors to the marital bed. The large number of conflicts of interest make prosecution of child abuse within the system impractical.

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Foster care child abuse claims not prosecuted
John Downes, News Investigations Correspondent
Children in foster care have made repeated complaints of physical and sexual abuse in the HSE's Dublin north-east region over a period of three years, but none of their alleged abusers has been prosecuted, the Sunday Tribune has established.
In two of the most serious instances, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) opted not to pursue a criminal case despite HSE and garda investigations into the complaints and the removal of one of the foster couples concerned from the HSE's fostering register.
At least seven other allegations of physical or sexual abuse were also noted as "confirmed" following investigation by the HSE's own childcare experts. But none led to a criminal prosecution or conviction.
The revelation has prompted the Children at Risk in Ireland (CARI) charity to express concern that the alleged offenders may be free to continue their abuse.
HSE documents obtained by this newspaper reveal that the HSE's Dublin north-east region alone received 33 complaints of physical or sexual abuse from children in foster care between 2006 and 2008.
Yet despite the HSE's own assessment that allegations of "contact of a sexual nature by a foster father" received in 2008 were "credible" – prompting it to state that the foster carers were "no longer fostering for the HSE"– the DPP decided not to prosecute.
In a separate 2007 case, the HSE investigated an allegation by two children that they had been subjected to physical and emotional abuse by their foster mother.
"A previous child made allegations of sexual abuse by the foster father," the response notes.
However, although a social work investigation and a garda investigation of the other child took place, the DPP again decided not to prosecute.
The seven additional "confirmed" complaints included a 2007 allegation where a child alleged sexual abuse by a 17-year-old male friend, and another allegation where a child alleged sexual abuse by a foster sibling.
It also includes a 2008 allegation in which a child complained of physical abuse by an uncle, and another where a child alleged that their mother hit them.
In 13 other instances, the status of the complaint is listed simply as 'Social work investigation completed', with no other information provided.
However, the response states that none of the 33 complaints led to a prosecution or conviction.
A spokeswoman for the DPP declined to comment on individual cases.
A HSE spokeswoman said that, where an allegation of sexual abuse is made by a child, a full risk assessment is undertaken, including notification to gardaí.
Dr Niall Muldoon of CARI said the cases once again highlighted the urgent need for a constitutional referendum on children's rights and more vetting of foster carers.
He added that the complaints also show that the abuse portrayed in the recent Ryan and Murphy reports is by no means a thing of the past.
"The majority of children we would work with who make a complaint would be focused on ensuring this doesn't happen to anyone else. But we can't be sure this is not happening," he said.
February 28, 2010
Source: Sunday Tribune (Dublin)