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A study by Australian researcher Greg Tooley has found that children in the care of substitute parents, usually stepparents, are at increased risk of death relative to natural parents. It is called the Cinderella effect. Tooley's work dealt with all accidental deaths, whether or not intentional. There are two measures of risk, depending on how some incomplete death reports are classified. The death rate for children with no natural parents, the situation in foster or adoptive care, is either 6 or 37 times higher than the rate for children with two natural parents. Here is the paper by Tooley et al, (pdf, by email from Greg Tooley), and an earlier paper on the same topic by Martin Daly and Margo Wilson (pdf) of McMaster University. A press report on the research follows.

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Young stepchildren at greater risk of violence

Article from: Herald Sun

Fay Burstin

May 07, 2008 12:00am

CHILDREN under five living with a non-biological or step-parent are up to 78 times more likely to die from a violence-related injury.

But these children are also up to 15 times more likely to die from unintentional causes such as road accidents, drowning, poisoning, falls and burns than those living with their biological families, Deakin University research shows.

Study author and psychologist Greg Tooley said parenting was a demanding role and parents generally did a very good job, and were not "evil".

But a review of more than 1000 coroners' cases between 2000 and 2003 found Australian figures mirrored overseas findings known as the Cinderella Effect.

That is where stepchildren are at dramatically raised risk of being victims of fatal accidents, as well as physical abuse and homicide.

Dr Tooley found children living with single mothers were no more likely to die from either violent or unintentional causes than those in biological families, except for accidental drownings, which were three times more likely.

But children living with neither biological parent, such as foster children and state wards, faced up to a 102 times greater risk of death.

Dr Tooley's research was testing an evolutionary theory that humans are genetically programmed to nurture and protect their own biological offspring more than others' children.

He found Australian data on accidental child deaths as well as homicide cases, especially in the most vulnerable 0-5 age group, matched the theory.

"There are times when a parent might be so distracted -- by work, fatigue, a conversation or another child -- that they momentarily drop their guard with respect to watching over their children," Dr Tooley said.

"Step-parents fill the parental role without the same set of parental drives triggered by becoming a biological parent.

"As such, it is simply more likely that given the same set of trying difficult circumstances, a step-parent will drop their guard or physically lash out at a child."

In the study, a step-parent was defined widely as the married, de facto or visiting partner of a biological parent.

For the purposes for the study, the relationship could last for years, weeks or even days.

Source: Melbourne Herald Sun

Joseph Richardson has died while protecting his daughter from an out-of-control car in Illinois. Contrast this story with a headline you will never see: Foster dad dies saving foster daughter.

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FOXNews.com

Illinois Father Dies After Shielding Daughter When Car Jumps Curb

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Joseph Richardson, 39, with daughter Kaniyah.

CHICAGO — Chicago police say a man died as he tried to shield his four-year-old daughter from an auto allegedly driven by a man under the influence of a controlled substance.

Joseph Richardson was walking his daughter Kaniyah to a McDonald's for burgers late Monday when a car jumped the curb. Police say the 39-year-old Richardson grabbed his daughter just before the car slammed the two into a fence.

Richardson was pronounced dead at the scene. Kaniyah was taken to Comer Children's Hospital in serious condition.

Police say the driver of the car, 32-year-old Angelo Thomas of Chicago, was charged with two felony counts of aggravated DUI. Witnesses say the man was driving erratically before the accident.

Richardson, a church musician, was the father of three, two girls and a boy, all under the age of 10.

Source: Fox News

Texas CPS took 463 children from the Yearning for Zion ranch because of a phone call from a girl who was raped by her 50-year-old husband, Dale Barlow. It now appears the call was a hoax, phoned in by Rozita Swinton from Colorado, and Mr Barlow did not live in Texas, but in Arizona. Texas has dropped the arrest warrant for Dale Barlow. Of course, CPS will not give the children back. As already noted, they just make up new allegations.

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updated 12:17 p.m. EDT, Mon May 5, 2008

Arrest warrant against FLDS member dropped

ELDORADO, Texas (AP) -- An arrest warrant has been dropped for a man thought to be the husband of a teenage girl whose report of abuse triggered a raid on a polygamous sect's Texas compound, authorities said.

Dale Evans Barlow, shown in 2005, was named in arrest warrant authorities said has been dropped.

A Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman would not say why the warrant was dropped for Dale E. Barlow, 50, who lives in Colorado City, Arizona. Barlow has denied knowing the 16-year-old girl who called a crisis center.

The girl reported that she was a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and that she was beaten and raped at the sect's Eldorado ranch.

An investigation led to the April 3 raid, in which state welfare workers took 463 children living at the Yearning For Zion Ranch. A boy was born to one of the sect's mothers Tuesday; he and the other children remain in state custody.

Authorities have not located the 16-year-old girl and are investigating the source of the call.

Public Safety spokesman Tom Vinger would not say when the warrant for Barlow was dropped, only that "it is no longer active."

Rob Parker, an FLDS spokesman, said the dropped warrant shows the weakness of the state's case against residents of the ranch.

"I think that's just one more piece of evidence that the whole basis on which this raid was premised was unfounded and was inadequately checked out, to the formulation of what basically amounted to an army that went in there and took their children," Parker said.

The phone number used to call the crisis center is the same one once used by a Colorado woman, identified as 33-year-old Rozita Swinton of Colorado Springs, accused of making previous false reports of abuse.

Investigators have not said whether Swinton made the call to Texas authorities, though Vinger said she is "still considered a person of interest."

"There is an investigation centering on that," Vinger said. "We have quite a bit of evidence that still needs to be analyzed."

A judge has ruled that children removed from the ranch should stay in state custody until all can have a hearing.

Child welfare officials told the judge the children were living in an authoritarian environment that left girls at risk of sexual abuse and raised boys to become sexual perpetrators.

The FLDS is a group that splintered from the Mormon Church, which does not recognize the sect and disavows polygamy.

In Utah, members of the polygamous church have asked the state's governor to intervene in its fight with Texas authorities over the custody the children.

A letter written by FLDS elder Willie Jessop says Texas officials are rejecting Utah-issued birth certificates and other documents as "fake."

The letter asks Gov. Jon Huntsman to exercise his executive authority to assist in protecting the civil rights of native Utahns and FLDS members. FLDS parents claim they have been denied their due process by the Texas courts.

"Without your leadership and personal intervention in this matter, the parental rights of every Utah family is at risk," Jessop wrote.

Huntsman spokeswoman Lisa Roskelly said the governor has been in contact with Jessop and was reviewing his request.

Source: CNN

Consideration by Ontario of a law to outlaw smoking in a vehicle with children present caused one mother to post her experience with smoking around her son. The author thinks it safest to withhold her name. WARNING! CAS workers use coarse language!

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Years ago when I was still able to see my children I complained bitterly about a driver smoking in my youngest's face. I complained about smoking in the foster homes (express policy always been in place that foster parents are not to smoke with the children present). I complained about a foster parent's teenage son smoking in front of my children. I'm extremely allergic. But the disturbing one was the driver (turned out to be the in-home support person's husband) smoking in my toddlers face, a long ash dangling inches from his eye. Kieran was crying. When I asked that he get the cigarette the hell out of his face, his wife jumped at me and said, "He's dying of cancer he can do whatever the fuck he wants, and it's our fucking vehicle so don't fucking tell us what to do in our car". I threatened to immediately remove my son, trying to grab him away from the frail elderly man. His wife (Penny) told me to go ahead and defy her cause she'd make sure I paid for it from CAS!

Source: email copied with permission of the author

An Ontario mother has posted the story of an adopted child gone wrong. The child received long-term medication for ADHD, now the family has accepted the explanation that his mental deficit is the result of fetal alcohol syndrome. They have not considered the possibility that the psychotropic drugs used to treat the ADHD are the cause of behavioral problems.

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Sunday, May 4, 2008

Our Son

One of my sons came to live with us when he was 2-1/2 years old. He was this tiny little guy with huge dark eyes, a lot of black curly hair and the fattest cheeks you'd ever see. We called them chipmunk cheeks! Even at a young preschool age he had some anger problems... Children's Aid said... put him into preschool... that will help... it didn't, but we did notice some learning difficulties. While he was growing up he was on multiple medications for ADHD while he struggled with his learning disabilities. When he was seventeen, he left home...determined that there was a better life out there without the rules and consequences of living in our family. We finally figured out that it wasn't ADHD that he had all these years but something much more devastating... Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. We had been told that his birth mother spent a lot of time in the bars while pregnant...slowly damaging our son's brain for good...never to be recovered. While on his own, he had difficulty holding a job so he turned to the 'easy' way... illegal activities.... dealing drugs, growing pot, stealing, fraud... in the midst of it all he met a girl and fathered a child, a little boy. He also started drinking... a lot... and now he's an alcoholic and.... now he's in jail. There's a court hearing tomorrow morning and if my eldest isn't in labour, my husband and I plan to be there... because... even though he's done a lot of bad things and made a lot of poor choices while on his own in the last seven years... he's still our son.

Posted by secondofwett at 4:28 PM

Source: personal blog

Here is a story of a mother, Denise Watier, who escaped from her doctors with her three children. The CCAS says a boy, Mekhi, age 8, needs medical care, but does not specify what the problem is, or the treatment. Similar claims last year about Alana Livas (Nov 30 and Dec 5) turned out to be a hoax, so we are skeptical that the boy in this case is in need of help. Maybe the mother feels that the doctors are doing more harm than good.

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Officials concerned about boy missing with mother

SUPPLIED PHOTO Denise Watier and two of her children, Brianna and Mekhi.

May 02, 2008, Sarah Boesveld, Staff Reporter

A Toronto mother and her three children have gone missing and officials are concerned for the health of her 8-year-old son, who suffers from a serious medical condition.

Police and the Catholic Children's Aid Society of Toronto are asking the public to help find Denise Watier and her children, four-month-old baby Ayden, 5-year-old Brianna and 8-year-old Mekhi.

They haven't been seen since March, police say.

Watier has missed an appointment for Mehki, who has had his medical condition since birth.

CCAS spokesperson Anne Rappé said she couldn't elaborate on what kind of illness Mehki has, but did say he needs regular medication to keep healthy.

She said doctors at the Hospital for Sick Children - the only place Mehki can receive treatment - were concerned after Watier not only missed the appointment, but also failed to pick up the child's medication.

"We have been working closely with police on this," Rappe said. "The most important thing is the safety of the children."

Rappe says the CCAS has been working with the Watier family. The children are not in full custody of the aid agency.

Anyone who has seen or heard from the Watiers or knows the family's whereabouts is asked to call the CCAS at 416-395-1500.

Source: Toronto Star

Addendum: Since there are no names, we cannot be sure, but the article below, reporting on the capture of a child, sounds like the same case.

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Kidnapped toddler found in Orangeville Saturday

Tuesday May 6 2008

A 22-month-old child kidnapped from social services was found safe and sound in Orangeville Saturday morning (May 3). The toddler's mother, 17, is charged with abduction in contravention of a custody order.

The child was taken from the Jewish Family and Child Services office in Vaughan the afternoon of April 28. During a subsequent investigation York Regional Police confirmed a sighting of the child's mother in Etobicoke and, as a result, they were able to track the girl to an Orangeville home. In good health, the child has been returned to Jewish Family and Child Services.

Source: Orangeville Banner

A man using the screen name Bulldog is planning an event in Ottawa in July to draw attention to the mess in family law.

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Bulldog

Location: Burlington Ont.
Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 12:54 pm
subject: TIME TO WALK THE WALK PEOPLE

All too often I see more talk then anything.

Now I'm going to take the first step, but I'm going to need the support of all of you that are serious about doing something significant. NO BS'ers

I am gathering names of people committed to a protest at Parliament hill.

Our lobby group is called F.O.C.A.S.D Families Opposed to Children's Aid Societies Deceit.

I know that predominantly this is a provincial matter but Ottawa is the Canadian Capital the center of Canada where laws are made and treaties are broken.

I want the whole of Canada to see the damage agencies like CAS are doing to Canadian Families and their children.

In July I'll be pitching a tent on Parliament Hill in Ottawa to force the Federal government to change the laws to make agencies like the CAS more accountable.

Email me if you want to be a part of history it will be fun and we'll be able to vent in a manner that get the most response.

Everyone has enough time to plan for this event in July between July 5th and the 19th. Come for a day, come for a few days, or come for the whole event. From here we plan protests in cities across the country.

It's a process people we need to get it started, people who are truly passionate about this can do it.

So if you’re tired of not being able to do a damned thing join me and a few others that have already committed to helping me make this work.

Let’s make July of every year the month we protest against agency’s like the CAS and others that harm our kids and families.

We will work with those that don't have a ride, or need other things as best we can.

Contact me at solodad7@hotmail.com and help me gather the strength we have in our numbers

I will be posting this post in several forums on this site.

BULLDOG

Source: Canada Court Watch forum, private message published with permission

British MP John Hemming is trying his hand at competing with Bruce Springsteen and Monty Python.

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Date: Fri, 02 May 2008 10:55:30 +0100
From: "John Hemming MP"
<john.hemming@jhc.co.uk>
Subject: MP Releases charity song for family miscarriages of justice

John Hemming, a Birmingham MP who chairs the organisation "justice for families" is releasing a charity song called "bring the sunshine in" to fight miscarriages of justice against mothers and fathers.

"The song", he said, "calls for more openness in the Family Courts. Britain has a network of secret courts that lock up mothers, fathers and grandparents for heinous crimes like talking to their children or grand children. These secret courts make lots of money for lawyers and expert witnesses, but the general public is not allowed to know what goes on".

"The verses in the song refer to real situations although some of the names have been changed. If the names had not been changed then people could be sent to jail for playing the song because of the secret courts."

"The money raised will go to the Angela Cannings Foundation and to pay for advisors to help parents fight for justice."

"Not all of the decisions of the Family Courts are wrong, but many are. However, people are not allowed to reveal publicly what goes on in the court without permission. We do need a system to protect children, but it must be accountable. Those who abuse their power need to be held to account."

Explanation of the lyrics:

Lets bring the sunshine in
lets end this awful sin
mums and dads are being convicted
because the truth has been evicted

The chorus is one of the campaign's objectives. We need people to be able to talk about what happens in the Family Courts so that miscarriages of justice can be prevented. At the moment people have their children removed when they have not done anything wrong.

Sarah they said was slow
So her babe she had to go
In court the experts said
They turned the truth right on [upon] its head

This verse refers to a case which has been in the Court of Appeal. The judgment has been made public for the first hearing, but the second judgment is due for publication on Thursday 8th May. The name has been changed. It refers to someone who was told she was too stupid to tell her solicitor what to do. Hence an organisation called the "Official Solicitor" was appointed and they decided not to contest the case so there wasn't a trial. Let me stress the situation this woman's baby has been put up for adoption, but there has never been any trial at which she was allowed to challenge the assertions of the local authority. This fails under "audi alteram partem" aspect of Natural Justice.

Poor Sally's children died
in court the doctors lied
they put poor Sally inside
What have the courts got to hide

This verse refers to Sally Clark's case where the Doctors were thought to have so badly misled the jury that one of them was found guilty (after a number of court hearings) of "misconduct". Although this was a case in the Criminal Division it was infected by the bad practise in the unaccountable Family Courts.

Molly was wanted for a family switch
So they said [that] Fran was a Munchausen’s witch
She flew to Sweden to keep her babe
Of course The Doctors they got paid

This verse refers to the case of Fran and Molly Lyon. Fran left to have her baby in Stockholm which she did in January 2008. She is now a refugee from the Family Courts. It refers to the fact that the doctors make a lot of money out of being "expert witnesses". Some experts have admitted that they simply write what they are asked to write by the Local Authority that pays them.

The boys they say that they won’t talk to their mom
The judge says foster care is what must be done
Dad says its wrong by writing a book
He’s put in jail ‘cos somebody looked

This verse refers to a surreal case where two teenagers were placed in care because they refused to talk to their estranged mother. The local authority have continued to misbehave into May 2008.

Danny was eight when was stolen by the state
He ran away at 4 by the gate
Mom ran to France with her new baby’s dad
Sending him to jail the judge said he was bad

The middle 8 refers to another "mum on the run" who escaped to France with her 8 year old son (whose name has been changed). Her husband was imprisoned for 16 months for driving her to France. He was released from prison in late April 2008. Whilst in France she was airlifted to hospital to have her new baby.

Lyrics Note: The lyrics are not totally precise a number of things have been changed for legal and artistic reasons.

Production: The tune was written by John AM Hemming MP in collaboration with John A Hemming (no relation). The Lyrics were written by John AM Hemming MP. The song was produced by John A Hemming of Moseley Sounds who performed most of the instruments and sung by John AM Hemming MP.

Distribution: The tune will be available via iTunes, Amazon, Coolmusic, orchard, beatport and eMusic and is a worldwide digital release.

Source: indirect email from John Hemming later posted to his personal blog

Ontario's new adoption disclosure law has been stalled in the legislature. Conservatives are using the lame argument that hiding adoption records will somehow stop child abuse. We present two bulletins from COAR and an article in the Orangeville Citizen showing that Dufferin-Caledon MPP Sylvia Jones and CAS Executive Director Trish Keachie both claim that children will be abused again by disclosure. In real cases, we haven't found one yet where an adopted adult fears being found by his mother.

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COAR Bulletin

April 25, 2008

Late today COAR learned that Bill 12 is scheduled for third reading on Monday April 28 at 3:30 p.m.

If the Bill passes third reading, it will become law. There will then be a waiting period while the government creates the application process, determines how this process will work exactly, and advertises the changes. After this waiting period, Ontario’s adult adoptees and their birth parents will be able to apply for the information we have wanted for so many years.

If you want to see the debate and vote, plan to be in the visitors’ gallery at Queen’s Park by 3:30 p.m. Simply go to the legislature and tell the guard that you want to watch the debate. S/he will give you a pass.

Let us hope that Ontario has a new adoption disclosure law by Monday evening.

In solidarity,

Michael Grand, mgrand@uoguelph.ca
Karen Lynn, ccnm@rogers.com
Wendy Rowney, wrowney@rogers.com

The COAR Coordinating Committee

---

COAR Update

April 28, 2008

Dear Friends,

Today in the Ontario legislature, Madeleine Meilleur, Minister of Community and Social Services, introduced Bill 12 to third reading. We had hoped for passage of the bill today but it didn't happen. Instead, Norm Sterling delayed passage by going on at great length about an amendment that he wanted that had been declined by the government. He wanted an amendment that would provide for an automatic disclosure veto applied against birth parents who had previously abused their children. Madame Meilleur pointed out the obvious that we are talking about adults, not children, and that there was no evidence from BC or other provinces with similar laws to warrant such an amendment.

The debate will continue, but Madame Meilleur assured us that the government will soon restrict the length of time legislators can speak on the issue. We hope to tell you more in the near future about how and when Bill 12 will finally be passed.

In solidarity,

Michael Grand, mgrand@uoguelph.ca
Karen Lynn, ccnm@rogers.com
Wendy Rowney, wrowney@rogers.com

The COAR Coordinating Committee

---

May 1, 2008

Jones says revised adoption bill endangers abused children

By DAN PELTON Staff Reporter

Dufferin-Caledon MPP Sylvia Jones fears the provincial government's latest attempt to provide access to adoption records will open up the possibility of abused children being victimized again.

As the Progressive Conservative Community and Social Services critic, she introduced an amendment to the bill during a committee hearing that was aimed at ensuring that children who are abused, removed from the home and subsequently adopted, would be automatically protected from having their personal information disclosed to the abuser without the adoptee's consent.

The original intention of the Access to Adoption Records Act was to open up all adoption records in Ontario, so birth parents and adopted persons could find and contact each other.

It was challenged in court, however, and the court ruled that past adoption records could not be opened.

The revised bill states that previous records cannot be opened without the consent of all parties involved.

Records of future adoptions, on the other hand, can be disclosed once the adopted person reaches the age of 19.

Ms. Jones says she is puzzled by this apparent lack of protection for formerly abused adopted persons, noting that such a provision was in the original legislation.

"This was in the original Liberal bill. I think it's an oversight, but it's not in the bill now."

There is a provision that allows either the adopted person or the birth parents to effectively veto any contact by those applying to do so.

"In today's environment, if there is an adoptee taken as a ward of the court because of abuse, the adoptive parents will know of the abuse and can inform the child of the abuse," said Liberal MPP Liz Sandals, one of four Liberals whose votes defeated Ms. Jones' amendments at the hearing. "The adopted child can then vote for a no-contact order."

Trish Keachie, executive director of Dufferin Child and Family Services, sides with Ms. Jones on the issue. "Our concern is that, even if they are over 18 and choose not to reconnect, (the adopted person) will have their personal information disclosed. That can be disconcerting. They do have a choice, but it forces them to relive what they've gone through."

Source: two emails from COAR and Orangeville Citizen

Our April 24 report titled More of FLDS Case is Fake showed that the original reasons for picking up the children were false, and included the statement: Don't expect child protectors to give up — they will come up with new reasons to keep the kids.

Here it is: sexual abuse. Since sex occurs in private and family court records are secret, this is a wild card that can be used to take kids from their parents in just about any situation. Habitually by the time the sexual abuse charges are dismissed, the children are irreversibly adopted. Just to be sure, they have thrown in broken bones as well. Do you remember the pictures of kids on stretchers? We don't.

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Friday, May 2, 2008, Posted on Thu, May. 01, 2008

Official: Boys in polygamist sect might be sex-abuse victims

By JOHN MORITZ, Star-Telegram Staff Writer

AUSTIN -- The chief of Texas Child Protective Services told a legislative panel Wednesday that at least 41 of the youngsters seized last month from the polygamist camp near San Angelo have suffered broken bones and that evidence gathered by investigators suggests that some of the young boys now in state custody had been victims of sexual abuse.

The revelations from Carey Cockerell, commissioner of the agency that provides emergency care for endangered youngsters, was presented to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee with little or no elaboration because lawmakers had agreed to withhold their questions so as not to jeopardize the investigation into allegations of widespread abuse at the camp.

"This is the largest removal of children in Texas history by Child Protective Services," Cockerell told the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services in his first public appearance since more than 463 children were removed by the state from the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado.

The count of children in state custody from the breakaway Mormon sect called the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints reached 464 on Tuesday when a teenage girl gave birth in a San Marcos hospital.

Rod Parker, a spokesman for the sect, dismissed Cockerell's testimony as "a deliberate effort to mislead the public."

Parker told The Associated Press that, although the ranch has a small medical facility, any broken bones would have been treated away from the ranch. He noted that doctors are required to report suspected abuse. Parker said state officials were "trying to politically inoculate themselves from the consequences of this horrible tragedy."

Cockerell, who was director of Tarrant County Juvenile Services for 20 years before taking over CPS in January 2005, said that since the state took custody of the children, many of whom had children of their own or were pregnant, officials have had trouble determining their parentage. Court-ordered DNA testing is being used in that effort.

But Cockerell told the committee, chaired by Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, that the younger children and those who might be mothers of those children have systematically attempted to mislead investigators and caregivers.

Among the concerns cited by Cockerell were:

Plastic wrist bracelets issued by the state to help keep track of children's identities were sometimes tampered with or removed.

Some women refused to allow children to undergo basic health screening.

Many teenage girls declined to take pregnancy tests.

In some cases in which children attempted to talk with investigators, women and older children forbade them to speak or coached them on what to say.

According to an update posted Wednesday on the state's protective services department Web site, all of the children taken from the compound have been placed in residential foster care facilities. Among them are 27 girls in who have told officials they are 14 to 17 years old and 26 other girls who have given conflicting information about their ages, sometimes claiming to be adults and other times claiming to be minors.

Of the 53 girls, at least 30 have children, are pregnant, or both. Six of the girls have two children, and two have three children, according to the update

The report that 41 youngsters had suffered broken bones before entering state custody came from physical examinations and interviews, but officials were reluctant to flatly assert abuse as the cause.

"We do not have X-rays or complete medical information on many children, so it is too early to draw any conclusions based on this information," the report said. "But it is cause for concern and something we'll continue to examine."

Allegations that boys had been sexually abused came from "interviews with the children and journal entries found at the ranch," the update said.

Cockerell told the panel that officials were attempting to respect the religious and cultural traditions of the youngsters in custody. He said that minors who have children are not being separated from them. Adult women with infants under 12 months are being allowed to remain with their babies, he said.

Child Protective Services is beefing up its caseworker staff to handle the influx of children from the compound as well as its legal staff to handle the ongoing challenge by the sect for the long-term custody of the children, Cockerell said.

Cockerell attempted to assure the panel that they have received top-flight care while in state custody. Many have been reassigned to licensed foster-care facilities.He said the children have been given ample facilities for recreation, clothing and food that conform with their religious beliefs, and access to some educational materials. Cockerell complimented the sensitivity of officials who have been assigned to the case.

"It was interesting to see DPS troopers in uniform playing kickball and pitch with these children," he said.

This report contains material from The Associated Press.

Source: Ft Worth Star-Telegram

On CNN's Larry King Live Dr Phil McGraw described the prospects in store for the hundreds of FLDS children now in foster care:

KING: Let's turn to the polygamy matter. If the allegations of abuse are true, do you see any problem with all of these children in foster care?

MCGRAW: I see huge problems with it, Larry. I think we're in a situation here that there is not necessarily a good option. Now, think about this: there are only a certain number of these children that were believed to be at risk. But, yet, all of the children were taken out and put into foster care.

Now, I've said this before, the statistics tell us that 73 percent of all children that go into foster care wind up on the street or in jail. So, that means that if you apply those numbers to these 416 children, 304 of them would be predicted to wind up on the street or in jail. Is that a good alternative? And I don't think it is. And I don't think that it makes sense to take all of the children out of this situation without doing a case-by-case study, to see which one of these children are at risk and which ones are not.

Now, clearly, the principles that seem to govern the FLDS would be imminent danger for these children. But somehow or another, you have to figure a way to train these people, create an open door policy, get monitoring, get access and try to get these children back with their biological mothers, but with protection, and monitoring.

Source: CNN transcripts

Here is a CAS experience posted to Canada Court Watch by a man using the screen name PapaJohn. In another post, he indicates that he is dealing with the Hastings Children's Aid Society. This relatively small CAS has been generating a lot of complaints recently.

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PapaJohn

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 2:33 pm

Subject: Need input...

OK, without going into as long drawn out story here I will just state pertinent facts pertaining to the question.

Since November of 2007 my family has been involved in a huge nightmare perpetrated by the Children's Aid Society (C.A.S.). They stormed our home (yes STORMED as if they were raiding an Al-Qauaida strong hold) with about 10 regular police officers and also the Tactical Response Unit (S.W.A.T. in the states). They ripped my grandson out of our home and away from his father with absolutely no legal or logical justification. Our grandson lived here in our home with our son and his mother for the first five months of his life and he was happy, healthy, and safe here. Due to a completely ridiculous argument my son's ex started simply because she could not go to a talent show because of no tickets being left, and her blaming our son for it who had absolutely nothing to do with it, the girl left our home stating she was taking the baby to a doctor's appointment. We later found out there was no doctor's appointment, she just used that as an excuse to take the baby and leave and never come back. Since she left my son's ex had been abusing his legal rights as a father and refusing to allow him access to his son. For close to a month our son had no access to his son because of this girl. My son finally called their C.A.S. worker and spoke to her about the situation. The worker did help him get a visit with his son. However, before the visit the child's mother told our son that once C.A.S. was out of the picture he would never see his son again because "he is just a father and fathers have no rights". Those were her exact words. So when we finally did get him for a visit at our home we decided to put an end to her abuse. We refused to allow her to take the baby back to her home and informed her that our son would be keeping custody of the child in our home (where our son lives). We told her that she and her family could come and visit the child any time they wanted but until there was a court order in place they would not be able to take him out of our home. This is completely legal in Canada. In Canada the law is very clear that if there is no court order for custody then either parent can keep the child in their custody and there is nothing the other parent can do until a court order is in place. Our son went to the court the day after his son came back into his custody and filed for custody. Four days after this C.A.S. showed up at our door asking our son to hand the baby over so they could take him back to the mother. Our son, in accordance with the laws, refused to do so and informed the worker of the mother abusing his rights (this wasn't actually informing the worker it was reminding her as she knew for weeks what the mother was doing but didn't do anything about it). Our son also reminded the worker of the environment in the mother's home. The mother and her parents and friends smoking pot in the home around the baby all the time, a pedophile (that C.A.S. knew about) living in the home dating the mother's sister. Her uncle being constantly in care of the baby even though he has already been charged and convicted of murdering his own child. Etc.... The C.A.S. worker just waved off all these concerns and said the child needed to be with his mother. Well, my son informed the worker that the child also needed to be with his father but the mother was abusing that. He informed the worker he was totally willing to be fair to the mother regarding custody but until a court order was in place to protect his rights as a father he was not turning the baby over. The worker tried to use a lame excuse that the mother was enrolled in a program called Abigail's. This is a place for mothers and children to go to during the week days where the mother is supposed to learn parenting skills and the child can interact with other children. However, what actually happens there is that the mothers sit around all day gossiping and hanging out while many of the children are abused by some of the older children there. Abigail's does not allow men to attend so by law C.A.S. can not use this as a legal or logical reason to take the child and the worker knew this so ended up leaving empty handed.

The worker returned the next day to take the baby and was again refused. This time she tried to claim our house was not clean enough for the baby. My son invited her in to inspect the house and had reminded her that she had already been in the home several times and knew it was in fact clean. My son also told the worker if she was so concerned about it then she could come every day to inspect the house and the first time it was not clean enough or safe enough for the baby she could then take him back to the mother. Defeated again the worker again left empty handed.

The next day the worker shows up yet again. This time she tries to claim that we still have animals in our home. The baby was diagnosed with allergies to dogs and cats about a month before this. However this diagnosis is in question since the doctor who made the diagnosis is the same doctor to diagnosed the mother's symptoms of missed periods, nausea, throwing up, sore breasts, and constipation as being a bowel problem. The mother ignored everyone elses advice to get a pregnancy test done because of her symptoms being those of pregnancy. Finally, six months later and after gaining some weight and getting a belly, the mother asked the doctor if the bowel problem had caused her to gain weight and a belly, and FINALLY the doctor did a pregnancy test and indeed she was six months pregnant. However, despite our doubts regarding the doctor's diagnosis of allergies in the baby, who showed absolutely no signs of any allergies (the doctor based the diagnosis on simply what the mother told him about the baby having puffy eyes, a rash all over his body and sneezing all the time. Symptoms that not even her parents or other family members saw nor anyone else saw), we still got rid of our two cats and a dog. This allergy story was just the mother's excuse for trying to keep the child from our son. However, as stated the C.A.S. worker tried to say they were still in the house. So my wife called the humane society and gave them her name and asked if they remembered her being in there about a month ago. They did indeed. My wife handed the phone to the C.A.S. worker and asked the humane society worker to tell the C.A.S. worker why she was there a month ago. The HS lady told the worker that my wife had brought in two cats and a dog and described the animals to the worker and told her the animals were still there. Once again the C.A.S. worker was defeated and left empty handed.

About two days later the above mentioned storming of police and C.A.S. workers happened. When they entered the home, after violently shoving my son down for no reason, one of the officers said they had a warrant to apprehend the baby. I told the officer I wanted to see the warrant and I was immediately, and brutally attacked by the officer and told I was under arrest for obstructing a peace officer.

My son then informed the C.A.S. worker that he had already filed for custody and he was well within his rights to keep the baby. He then asked why they were taking the baby and was told it was none of his business.

The next day our son was served with court papers. It was C.A.S. application for a protection order for the child. Our son's court date for custody was in one week. The C.A.S. court date was in three days. In effect, the C.A.S. illegally stuck their nose into the middle of a legitimate custody case. There was an affidavit by the C.A.S. worker attached to the C.A.S. application. As we read it we found out the reasons C.A.S. used to obtain their warrant. They were falsely accusing me of being violent and a danger to the baby. They have absolutely no evidence that I am violent or a danger to the baby because there is no evidence to be had. In fact the C.A.S. worker even admits in one of her affidavits that she spoke with the mother of the baby and her family and they told her they have known me for years (I have known the mother's mother since I was about 6 years old and I am now 42) and they have never known me to be violent and that in fact I a great with children. This information/affidavit comes FIVE MONTHS AFTER they obtained the warrant. Our family's glaring question is why did the C.A.S. not do this investigation BEFORE obtaining the illegal warrant based on fraudulent statements by the C.A.S. worker???? This past Friday I spoke with the Manager of Children's Services at C.A.S. about this worker and her lies. The Manager told me that the C.A.S. has in fact changed their minds about me. That after six months of this worker submitting affidavits to the court filled with lies about me being violent and a danger to the baby, that they spoke to many people, including the mother of the child and her family and our neighbors they have discovered that I am in fact not violent or a danger to any child let alone my grand son and that in fact I am very good with children. Again... Why did they do this investigation AFTER obtaining an illegal warrant and after ripping this child from the only home he knew for the first five months of his life?????? Exactly what evidence did this worker take to the judge who issued this illegal warrant?????

Now, as if all this was not bad enough.... The C.A.S. worker has submitted four affidavits full of lies to the court. The court appears to be swallowing all of these lies. However, we have come into evidence that not only proves this C.A.S. worker has been lying all along but that she has also been in collusion with the mother and her lawyer against our son. We have video tape and audio tape evidence that proves all of these lies. However, when our son went to submit a new affidavit with this evidence he was told by his lawyer that the court is refusing to accept any new affidavits. However.... Since the date the lawyer told my son the court is refusing any new affidavits this C.A.S. worker has been allowed to submit TWO new affidavits!!!!

This is completely unfair. The court is preventing my son from defending himself and our family from the lies of this worker. Now, I have been told by several people that this is not right. That my son has a fundamental legal right to submit affidavits in answer to this worker's affidavits. However I need to know for a fact if this is the law. I also need to know which part of the law it falls under (which paragraph and section of the law, and which law it falls under) for when we present this to the lawyer and the court in order to get them to allow our son to submit his answers.

I have looked all over the net, found the Family law act, the family law rules and such but can't seem to find anything specific that we can use as hard and fast law.

If anyone could help me out in this, if someone could post me a link to this information it would be greatly appreciated.

Also, I spoke with someone, I won't mention their name unless they wish to come forward here themselves, who suggested that my wife and I apply for custody of our son's son. Now, we have just had our case closed with C.A.S. about a month ago as they are satisfied our family is fine and there is no need for C.A.S. involvement but my son's case with his ex and his son is still open. I was just looking for some advice or input on whether it would be benificial for my wife and I to seek custody of our grand son.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Source: Canada Court Watch forum

The Halifax Herald recounts the story of an unnamed dad who lost his young daughter to allegations later proved false. In spite of his exoneration, the girl was placed for adoption and is beyond legal recovery. There are many comments on the Halifax Herald website, most sympathetic to the father.

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Published: 2008-04-30

‘I’m not done. I’m far from done’

Father fighting to get his daughter back

By MARY ELLEN MacINTYRE Truro Bureau

An Antigonish County father draws a bear paw, his symbol for the daughter who was adopted to another family, against his will. (MARY ELLEN MACINTYRE / Truro Bureau)

HE WORRIES every hour of every single day about his little girl.

The child with the mischievous grin and deep, dark eyes is lost to him, if not forever, then for a very long time.

More years than he has the heart to think about.

Neither his name nor hers can be published. Four years ago, the little girl was taken into custody by this province’s Community Services workers and she was adopted by another family last year.

No one from Community Services can speak about any case involving children.

"We can’t get into the specifics of any case and so we can’t address any allegations that may or may not be made," one source within the department said.

Department personnel can speak generally about processes and procedures, about the Child Protection Act and about the law, but they cannot speak about this particular little girl and her heartbroken father from Antigonish County.

Still, his is a riveting tale and he tells it with a depth of emotion and obvious love for his child.

One thing in this man’s favour: he is a fastidious record-keeper. He has three volumes of indexed documents to back up his claims. He has court papers, psychiatric assessments, a police background check (he has no record), affidavits, court transcripts and photographs.

This is his story:

"We weren’t married and we had broken up but when she told me she was pregnant, I was determined to be the best father I could be," he recalled.

His girlfriend had an older child, also a girl.

The children’s mother was receiving social assistance and her ability to look after her children was under constant scrutiny.

"I would say she was undermined by social services . . . she never really had a chance to succeed once they started with her," he suggested.

"I had joint custody of my daughter, which basically meant she was with me every day from early morning until the evening," he explained.

He would take his daughter back to her mother’s home in the evenings after spending the days with her, drawing, reading, taking walks in the park with her and teaching her about his Mi’kmaq culture.

Then his world fell apart.

Unhappy with the way the mother was caring for her two daughters, Community Services workers took them into custody.

"I still continued to have joint custody of (the little girl) because they had no problem with me," he said.

But shortly after the children were put into foster care, things went from bad to worse: an allegation of sexual interference.

His daughter’s older half-sister identified him as her molester.

"It was just so awful. How can you fight such an awful thing," he asked.

"I couldn’t understand why she would ever say such a thing about me."

He has suspicions that someone put the child up to it but is unable to provide proof.

Nonetheless, with such a charge hanging over his head, he knew he would have to fight tooth and nail for custody of his daughter.

"I knew I hadn’t done what I was accused of and that there had to be a reason she was saying it," he said.

As the case made its way through the court system, his daughter made her way through the foster care system.

The wheels of justice can be grindingly slow. Every so often, the most innocent people get chewed up under those wheels.

He was eventually acquitted of the charge.

However, by the time the case went before a judge and the child who made the allegation was unable to identify the individual who molested her, it was too late.

"Once my name was cleared, I applied to get my daughter back and I was told under . . . the Child Protection Act no further action could take place because an adoption was in process," he said.

By last September, the adoption had been approved.

"The order was signed, the case is sealed and you can’t take it back to court.

"They tell me no power on earth can change things," he said.

But he refuses to believe that.

"I’m not done. I’m far from done. I want my daughter back and I know she wants to be with me so I’ll keep fighting," he said.

"This is about the heart, not money or power. This is about a father who loves his daughter with all his heart and that’s got to mean something."

( mmacintyre@herald.ca )

Source: The Halifax Herald, pointed out by Jeremy Swanson

A joint report of the Children's Advocacy Institute and First Star deals with secrecy in child protection in the United States. Few American states release full information when a child dies from abuse or neglect. The quote below summarizes their point of view:

The current undue emphasis on confidentiality only masks problems inherent in child protection systems. Public exposure is a necessary step toward fixing these problems. Each year, millions of taxpayer dollars go to support child protective services investigations. Accordingly, the public has a right to know if the laws for the protection of children are being followed and its tax dollars well-spent. Child abuse deaths and near deaths reflect the system’s worst failures. Until state laws require the release of accurate and unfiltered information, we cannot identify the fault lines in the system, and cannot begin to fix them.

In the area of secrecy, Ontario is in a class by itself. In the past ten years we have found only ten cases in the press of children dying in state custody, though the best statistical estimates are that there must have been 280 or more in that period.

You can read their press release (pdf) or our local copy and the full report, State Secrecy and Child Deaths in the U.S. (900 kilobytes pdf), also with a local copy.

This story is too hot for comment. Make up your own.

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BBC NEWS

Social worker bitten by rabid dog

Kim Cooling was bitten in three places by the rabid dog

A social worker who runs a charity that brings street dogs from Sri Lanka into the UK was one of three people bitten by a puppy infected with rabies.

Kim Cooling was "nipped" on the chin, wrist and face by the dog, which died two days later in quarantine.

The puppy was one of 13 dogs brought by the charity to Chingford Quarantine Kennels in north-east London.

The three people who were bitten are all "well", according to the Health Protection Agency.

A spokesman for the agency said: "We understand that three individuals who were bitten by the animal in the quarantine centre have received prompt protective treatment with appropriate vaccination and are well."

Because the dog died in quarantine, any public health risk was contained, the agency said.

Animals being checked

The dogs had been held at the centre since 17 April. Five of them were placed in isolation after showing signs of illness.

Four of the dogs have since been put down, and tests are being carried out to determine if they had rabies.

On Monday, Georgina Hyams, from the rescue charity, said test results for those four animals were negative for rabies.

Mrs Cooling, from the London-based Animal SOS Sri Lanka charity, said the dog that died had been vaccinated before leaving Sri Lanka.

She had been with the dog at the quarantine kennels on Wednesday when she was bitten.

"She just snapped at me and she was snapping at the other pups. She was not her usual sweet self," she said.

Mrs Cooling, and two kennel workers who were bitten by the puppy have received hospital treatment.

Other animals that may have come into contact with the puppy were being checked, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

But it stressed that further infections were "highly unlikely" and the UK remained "free of rabies" because the case had occurred in quarantine.

'System working'

Acting Chief Veterinary Officer Alick Simmons said: "While initial tests show that this puppy has tested positive for rabies, this shows that the system is working and the case has been picked up while the animal is in quarantine.

"We are now tracing animals that have moved from the kennels to ensure that all animals that have come into contact with the puppy are monitored."

Jeremy Robinson is the general manager of the Goddard Veterinary Group, which includes Chingford Quarantine Kennels.

He said there had been immediate concerns about the health of the five eight-week-old puppies and these had been placed in an isolated area away from other dogs and cats.

"I am confident that no other animals can have been infected," he said.

Effective treatment

Rabies is a viral disease which affects the central nervous system. Once symptoms appear it is almost always fatal, but patients can be treated with antibodies and a vaccination to fight the virus after being bitten.

Professor Hugh Pennington, an expert in bacteriology at Aberdeen University, told the BBC the treatment for rabies had a high success rate.

A professor of bacteriology on the risks to public health

Rabies was eliminated from the animal population in the UK in the early 20th Century, but it continues to infect a variety of animals in other parts of the world.

Twenty cases of rabies have been reported in England and Wales since 1946, which were all imported.

A licensed bat handler died in Scotland from a rare form of rabies caught from a bat in 2002.

Published: 2008/04/26 18:49:37 GMT

Source: BBC News

Addendum: One reader suggests it was a love bite — the dog thought he had found his soulmate. Also, see the photo commentary below by Leonard Henderson.

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Nancy Grace of CNN

Source: AFRA, The Mess in Texas

Can you count to 467? Texas CPS can't. They have lost two of the children seized from the FLDS this month. Some of the children, healthier than the general population when picked up, are now in the hospital. The maltreatment of the children after abduction may turn the public against CPS in this case. At the average rate of death in foster care, we can expect the first abducted child to die in less than a year. Texas cannot provide any better care than assailed by Carole Strayhorn, so it is only a matter of time.

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Deseret News

2 young FLDS boys unaccounted for

By Brian West, Deseret News, Published: April 27, 2008

SAN ANGELO, Texas — As children from the Fundamentalist LDS Church settled into new foster homes this weekend, the whereabouts of two young boys remains uncertain.

Child welfare workers in Texas say they're not worried. But the mother of the boys and attorneys representing the mothers are not sure whether they should be or not.

"We just don't know where they are," Cynthia Martinez told the Deseret News Saturday.

Martinez, the communications director for Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, which represents 48 FLDS mothers, said they had information on where the boys were supposed to be taken but can't confirm anything to emotional parents. It's indicative, she said, of the fear and confusion the parents of the 467 children taken from the YFZ Ranch continue to feel.

Meanwhile, an FLDS member sent a letter to the governor of Texas on Saturday, accusing child welfare officials of "some of the most horrific violations of human rights that have ever been allowed on American soil."

The letter was sent to Texas Gov. Rick Perry from Willie Jessop, an FLDS member who has helped church members publicize their cause. The letter asks the governor to respond and "stop this injustice and abuse" of the innocent FLDS children by separating them from their mothers.

"The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services have demonstrated, in a most blatant way, their inability to properly care for, or even account for our children," the letter states.

"Many have been left in critical medical conditions, resulting in permanent mental damage through threats, intimidation and ultimately separating them from their parents, disregarding their own psychological expert advice to keep children with at least their mother."

Jessop accused Texas officials of "false allegations about the finding of abuse against teenage girls" and accused some Child Protective Services employees of "inhumane tactics and threats towards innocent mothers and children."

While not responding directly to the letter, DFPS spokesman Chris Van Deusen and others have repeatedly and strongly denied allegations made by several FLDS mothers that CPS workers threatened to never allow them to see their children again if they didn't cooperate or if the women returned to their homes at the YFZ Ranch.

"Those (allegations) are absolutely false. No one from CPS would say that," Van Deusen said.

Like Jessop, Martinez said accounting for all the children is a concern for her, too.

She said the mother of the two unaccounted-for boys contacted her attorney to say she needed to know about her 11-year-old and 16-month-old sons. The attorney was unable to get any information to help calm her client. Martinez is not saying the boy took his brother and ran away but said she can't rule out any possibilities because of the confusion that exists.

"These mothers are no longer with their children. They're afraid and fearful and they want to know that their kids are OK," she said. "We're having trouble even telling these mothers where their kids are going."

The last of the 467 children were bused from makeshift shelters here Friday and sent throughout Texas to 16 different foster-care facilities in Amarillo, Midland, Abilene, Ft. Worth, Waxahachie, Houston, Waco, Austin, San Antonio and Corpus Christi.

"We don't have any unaccounted-for kids. All of them are in foster care now," said Van Deusen.

He couldn't provide any details about the specific two boys but said identification issues have continued to plague Texas officials. CPS workers have repeatedly complained that some children and women have provided different names than were given the day before. Together with the unusual family sizes and the number of different mothers caring for the children from the polygamous families, it's been difficult to sort out who's who.

"I don't know if this is a matter of simply not being matched up properly," he said.

Such confusion is why a judge ordered all mothers, fathers and children who lived on the ranch to submit to DNA testing. But those results aren't expected for another month.

Martinez said her office received information from one of the foster facilities Saturday that a 2-year-old child from one of the mothers they represent was hospitalized and in the intensive care unit. Yet when the child's guardian ad litem called the hospital, she was told there was no one there with that child's name.

The judge told CPS to allow mothers to be with their children when they got sick, Martinez said. "Not only is this mother not able to confirm where her child is or what her current health situation is, but the mother is not being allowed to be with this child or her other nursing children," she said.

Martinez also spoke of another FLDS mother who was extremely anxious Saturday for news about her children. "She's just terrified because she doesn't feel her kids know how to live without her," she said.

"Any mother would be afraid and concerned. It is heightened here by the fact that this community has been living a different lifestyle for so long," Martinez said. "They don't know how their children are going to react or are now reacting to the world in general."

Van Deusen said if parents don't know which foster facility is caring for their children, they soon will. And, he said, the attorneys for the children should already know.

Although Judge Barbara Walther has not yet authorized visitation for parents, CPS workers are currently making preparations for that to occur. "The mothers will be able to visit their children in some capacity," he said.

Most of the visits will likely be supervised and, at least initially, may take place at CPS offices.

He said the next step for CPS is to set up a "service plan" for each child. Each child will be assigned a case worker and parents will be invited to attend these meetings during which all options and programs will be discussed.

"We want the parents to be involved. They're still a part of this process," Van Deusen said.

Yet the Department of Family and Protective Services has so far argued that each child who lived at the ranch was in danger because of a pattern of sexual, physical and emotional abuse there. Investigators described a "pattern of grooming girls from a young age to accept becoming married to middle-aged men" and identified 20 girls and women who got pregnant between the ages of 13 and 16.

Asked whether the department would begin to look at each individual child's case separately, rather than as a group collectively in danger, Van Deusen said he isn't sure.

"I can't say right now what the plan may be for specific children or all the children" as a group, he said. Each child's case worker, attorney and guardian ad litem will be involved in such decisions together with a judge.

E-mail: bwest@desnews.com

Source: Deseret News

A Michigan father took his seven-year-old son, Leo Ratte, to a Detroit Tigers game and bought him a lemonade without reading the fine print. The lemonade was five percent alcohol. The boy spent two days in foster care and was separated from his dad for a week.

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Ann Arbor man gives 7-year-old son alcoholic beverage during Tigers game

Posted by The Associated Press April 28, 2008 11:31AM

DETROIT (AP) -- A son's thirst and a father's oversight at the ballpark turned an otherwise fun outing into an ordeal for one family.

Christopher Ratte of Ann Arbor recently took his 7-year-old son, Leo, to a Detroit Tigers game and stopped at a Comerica Park concession stand to buy him some lemonade. But it wasn't until the top of the ninth inning, when a security guard asked the University of Michigan classical archaeology professor about the bottle in his son's hand, that Ratte learned what puts the hard in Mike's Hard Lemonade.

"I'd never drunk it, never purchased it, never heard of it," Christopher Ratte told Detroit Free Press columnist Brian Dickerson for a story published Monday.

Ratte said he told the guard he had no idea that the $7 lemonade contained alcohol. But when he tried to look at the bottle, the security guard snatched it -- and his son was taken to a ballpark's medical clinic. The mistake three weeks ago began a two-day stay for Leo in state custody and nearly a week before his father would be able to move back into his home.

Leo was taken by ambulance to Detroit's Children Hospital because clinic officials said he reported feeling a little nauseated after drinking about 12 ounces of the drink with a 5 percent alcohol content. But a blood sample taken at the hospital detected no trace of it.

Ratte said the workers from the state's Child Protective Services unit told him that day the intervention was unnecessary but they were just following orders.

Child protection officials cannot by law discuss a specific investigation. But Mike Patterson, Child and Family Services director for the Wayne County district that includes Comerica Park, said his agency's discretion is limited once police obtain a court order to remove a child from the home.

An assistant state attorney general said the state had no interest in aggressively pursuing the case, so a juvenile referee on April 7 agreed to release Leo to his mother as long as his father relocated to a hotel. Three days later, the complaint was dismissed and Christopher Ratte was allowed to go home.

Ratte and his wife have filed a formal complaint with the Child Protective Services ombudsman's office.

Ratte wrote in his complaint that he has apologized to his son "for the silly mistake that got him into this mess."

"But I have also told him that what happened afterward was an even bigger error, and I would like to be able to say to him that institutions, like people, can learn from their mistakes."

Source: mlive.com newspaper group

A teenaged girl has apparently escaped from Hamilton Children's Aid. The missing person article contains only a physical description, nothing about what kind of a girl she is. It leaves us hoping for a successful new life free of social workers.

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Help sought to find teen

The Hamilton Spectator, (Apr 26, 2008)

The Children's Aid Society of Hamilton is seeking the public's help to locate a missing 14-year-old.

Dominic Verticchio, executive director, said the society is worried about the health and well-being of Alana-Leigh St. Lewis.

She is 5-foot-7, about 170 pounds, with brown eyes and medium complexion. She has brown hair and often wears glasses. She may be in downtown Hamilton.

Anyone with information should contact Brenda Bayley, supervisor, children's services, at 905-522-1121, ext. 6290, during office hours, or the after-hours supervisor at 905-522-8053.

Source: The Hamilton Spectator

Do you need an organ transplant? If you are unable to get one through normal channels, consider adopting a foreign orphan. The agency Medical Adoptions has thousands on file, and can select one that is a perfect tissue match. Once the adoption is complete, you can use the child as the source of your needed organ.

According to snopes, this site is a hoax, but it is not much sicker than actual practice in the child trafficking industry.

Addendum: Most readers seem to have been taken in by this hoax. Here is a serious commentary on the meaning.

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May 06, 2008

The Art of the Hoax

Posted by Ryan W. McMaken at May 6, 2008 10:19 PM

In recent years, I've noticed more and more of sites like medical adoptions.com or the now defunct coincidencedesign.com.

They are in essence the intellectual heirs of Swift's A Modest Proposal and many of them are just as impressive. They employ the same tactics and produce the same results. Some people see right through the hoaxes immediately, but many are outraged and quite credulous. In the end, the fact that people are willing to believe, even momentarily, that the proposal in question is being seriously put forward, is an excellent commentary on humanity's opinion of itself.

In Swift's case, he was showing how dehumanizing was the alleged humanism of the supposedly enlightened ruling classes of his day who offered what were seemingly humane solutions to society's ills. Yet, upon further inspection, such ideas were actually patronizing and monstrous policy positions that were ghoulishly hateful of the people they claimed to protect.

A site like medical adoptions does pretty much the same thing, showing enlightened (usually white) adults caring for (usually brown) children in a cute and charming way, but the children are really commodities that exist to supply spare organs for the adopting parent. There's a certain banality-of-evil factor at work here, and is somewhat reminiscent of the the image of a doctor at an insane asylum who assures you he is looking out for your best interests right before lobotomizing you.

Source: Lew Rockwell website

John Dunn has taken his struggle with the foot-dragging Ottawa Children's Aid Society to the leader of the provincial opposition, John Tory, asking him to provide information about the expenditure of public funds by children's aid.

This time we can say for sure what the outcome will be. Even if Mr Tory decides to look into the matter, he will find nothing. It is just as hard for politicians to penetrate children's aid secrecy as for anyone else.

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John Tory:

I am writing to inform you of the following matter, which your experience as a trained lawyer will assist you in understanding the issue of concern to Ontario citizens.

On November 30, 2006, when the Minister of Children and Youth Services introduced Bill 165 (Independant Child Advocate Bill)

See link below if required:
link.

On this day, John Tory said the following in response to the Minister's introduction of the Bill.

ORAL QUESTIONS
CHILDREN'S AID SOCIETIES

Mr. John Tory (Leader of the Opposition): "My question is for the Minister of Children and Youth Services. Today, the CBC is reporting there's been a leak of the section of the Auditor General's upcoming annual report dealing with the children's aid societies. The stories claim that more than $1 billion of taxpayers' money is spent each year by the children's aid societies without any oversight at all by the government. The story goes on to claim, in the extract from the report, that instead of going to children, this money is being spent on luxury cars and expensive trips -- and there are a lot of details on that. This is hard-earned taxpayers' money that is supposed to be going to help children, but instead it seems that it's being spent on cars and trips. What does the minister have to say to the children, to the foster parents, to the people who work in that field who are short of resources and to the taxpayers about this gross mismanagement taking place on her watch?"

The sentence I wanted to focus on in this statement is as follows:

"The stories claim that more than $1 billion of taxpayers' money is spent each year by the children's aid societies without any oversight at all by the government."

Currently, I have filed a complaint with the current Minister of Children and Youth Services, Deborah Matthews, regarding a Society spending Ministry Allocated Transfer Payments (Tax Payers Money) on an illegal purpose by hiring an external lawyer to assist them in committing an Offence. (Under section 307 (5) of the Corporations Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C-38 - "failing to furnish a list of their members as required")

They decided to commit the Offence of failing to furnish a list of their members as required by section 307 (1) of the Corporations Act, then retained the services of the external lawyer to write a letter on behalf of the Board (not the Society seeking legal advice, but instead using a lawyer to assist them to commit an Offence) to the person who properly requested the list informing the requester, on behalf of the Society's Board that they were going to commit the Offence of failing to furnish the list.

I contacted the Minister to complain about this illegal spending of Ministry Allocated Transfer Payments and like you said nin the sentence quoted from you above, the Minister simply stated that the Ministry only has a monitoring role over CAS's and that financial information is sent to the Ministry in their quarterly uploads to the Ministry from the Societies.

Unfortunately those quarterly uploads do not provide enough detailed information to notify the Ministry, even if they were closely scrutenizing the uploads, of the fact that the Society spent funds on a lawyer for that or any other purpose.

Is there anything you can assist me with in seeking detailed expenditure information from the Society so that I can show the Minister that they did in fact spend their funds illegally and against their service contracts.

I have charged the Society with the Offences under the Provincial Offences Act (section 23) as a private prosecutor and the Ottawa Society and their Executive Director have, after several adjournments, decied to enter into resolution discussions with me. It appears they do not wish the charges to enter the courts as they are very clear Strict Liability Offences and have a high probability of conviction.

Anything you can assist me with via information on how to obtain from a Society the evidence of their expenditure of money, or for you to ask the Minister of Children and Youth Services to investigate this matter under her powers of Revocation and Take-Over powers which if she has in her opinion, based on reasonable evidence submitted to her, believes that a Society has breached any portion of the Child and Family Services Act or any other Act (the corporations act)

When notified she simply responded that she has no jurisdiction over the Corporations Act. Of course we know she does not have jurisdiction over the Corporations Act, but she does have jurisdiction over the CFSA which states that a Society (s. 15) must adhere to this and any other Act which applies to it) but she chose to ignore it.

Feel free to contact me at 613-228-2178 for discussion on this matter if you can.

Also, more details can be read on the Enforcement page of the Foster Care Council of Canada site shown below

Sincerely

John Dunn
Former Foster Child
Child Welfare Reform Advocate
Executive Director
The Foster Care Council of Canada
www.afterfostercare.ca

Source: email from John Dunn

A Rochester New York news report deals with rape of a teenaged girl by her foster family.

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Teen who alleges being raped in foster home speaks out

Reported by: Kevin Jolly, Saturday, Apr 26, 2008 @06:35pm EST

“Why a are you stepping forward now and talking about this?” News Eight asked. “Because I'm ready for it, “ said the woman identified as Crystal. 19-year old Crystal is ready to break her silence about a secret she carried for years. “I don’t exactly remember how everything started. I just remember I was 13 or 14,” said Crystal. Crystal says for five years she was sexually assaulted and raped by 70-year old Lawrence Bright. Bright was the boyfriend of her foster care provider. Crystal says from the sex assaults began in 2002 when she was a foster child in Bright’s care. The abuse happened at a home on Pinnacle Road in Henrietta and at this beauty salon his wife owns on State Street in Rochester. “Anytime my mom wasn’t home and sometimes maybe she was there and she had no clue but most of the time its when she wasn’t there,” said Crystal. Crystal told investigators the abuse would sometimes happen as many as five times a week. She told investigators she was afraid to tell anyone. “I don’t know, I really didn’t know how to make it back off and stuff like that,” said Crystal. Crystal says she eventually told her biological mother who urged her to tell police. Bright was arrested and charged with multiple sex abuse charges. Crystal believes Bright should pay for what he did. “He needs his justice and if that means him staying in jail for the rest of his life that’s how its gonna have to be,” said Crystal. Investigators are now trying to determine if there are other victims. Crystal say there were other foster children in the home at the time of her alleged abuse. She has this advise for others who may be in a similar situation. “I want them to know its not their fault and they should tell as soon as possible because things could get worse in the long run,” added Crystal.

Source: News 8 Rochester New York

Canada Court Watch has spoken to a foster kid who was introduced to smoking cigarettes by Halton CAS.

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Foster kid spill the beans! Halton Children's Aid Society worker gives cigaretts to underage children and then smokes up with them!

(April 26, 2008) A ward of the Halton CAS has come forth to disclose to Court Watch that children as young as 14 were being given cigarettes and then allowed to smoke them along with the Halton CAS worker who told the children to keep this a little secret between themselves. According to society ward, the CAS worker involved was having the under-aged children purchase cigarettes at the local store and bring them back for the the CAS worker and the kids to smoke together. In addition to the smoking, the foster child told of crying in bed at night because of all the broken promises by workers and the constant pressure put on the children by the Halton CAS workers. Another foster child came forth not that long ago to disclose abuse by workers with the Halton CAS. That child as well voiced similar complaints. During her interview, the child who is now a teen, disclosed of other abuses by CAS workers. The teen referred to CAS workers as liars and manipulators who could not be trusted. Children are being abused by CAS workers and agencies and now these unaccountable CAS agencies are demanding yet even more money from the Ontario Government.

Source: Canada Court Watch

Last Wednesday 22-month-old Quavarius Vaughn fell into a pool and drowned. He was with foster parents who intended to adopt him. This unremarkable incident appears here only because with this death, our list of children dying after being "protected" from their parents has reached a thousand. From here on we can measure the impact of child protection in kilo-deaths. And remember, 19 of every 20 deaths in foster care never get into the press, and so never get on our list.

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Toddler Drowns In Family Pool

Reported by: Daisy O'Donnell, dodonnell@wpsdtv.com
Reported by: Gerran Thomas, Last Update: 4/25 8:11 am

“The only reason I'm coming on TV right now is to warn other parents to be careful."

A two-year-old falls into a family pool and drowns. Now his father grieves as he shares his story of loss.

“I can't even explain how my heart feels. It's like an elephant standing on my chest right now,” said Anthony Skinner.

Just before 8 pm Wednesday night, the toddler fell into a backyard pool just a few feet away from where his brothers and sisters were playing.

This tragic happened in rural Massac County at a home on Unionville road between Brookport and Unionville. 22-month old Quavarius Vaughn was rushed to Western Baptist Hospital where he died two hours later.

Anthony Skinner, Quavarius’ father, is a man with a big heart who has lost an even bigger part of his world. Skinner is a father of seven, Quavarius was one of two childred he adopted. He’s telling us his story so it doesn't happen to your family.

"I lost a lot in my life, but this? This is the worst thing I ever lost,’ said Skinner.

Gone forever are the laughing eyes of Skinner's foster son, 22-month old Quavarius.

“You could tell him something one time and he'd repeat it. You introduce someone to him, and he'd remember their name. That's like a genius to me,” said Skinner.

Quavarius was lost beneath the murky water of a swimming pool at the home. With a heavy heart, Anthony says it's painful for him to remember what happened Wednesday.

“It was getting dark, I had just seen him. It was like 10 minutes and I asked where he was,” said Skinner.

Anthony's children were playing softball near a swing set. Within a matter of minutes, little Quavarius was missing. His nephew, Cody, found him unconscious in the pool.

“My daughter, Destiny, she jumped in there and got him. She didn't panic or nothing, jumped right in there,” said Skinner.

But it was too late. Now all Anthony Skinner can do is make sure this never happens to another family.

“The only reason I'm coming on TV right now is to warn other parents to be careful,” said Skinner.

Because even if you didn't know this precious boy or the father who loved him, everyone knows someone just like him.

“I'll have my good cry. I know I will. It will hit me. But right now, I'm just strong," said Skinner.

Quavarius' father says he's done all the crying he can and he knows he's going to experience many more tears for a lifetime.

Skinner wants people to come see his family and children, to support him in a time when he needs them the most. He’s encouraging people for their prayers and words of support during this difficult time.

Skinner also tells us funeral arrangements have not been made for his child.

Source: WPSD News channel 6

While parents lose their children for any form of physical discipline, teachers in many places can hit kids legally. Even more widespread, authorities habitually look the other way when any kind of institution uses force against its own wards. Georgia teacher Paula Flowe speaks against corporal punishment on YouTube. She also has her own website The Hitting Stops Here.

CBS News, reporting on the dangers faced by the FLDS children seized this month, says there were four deaths in Texas foster care in 2006. Our list drawn from press reports shows twelve:

• Lacey Nichols, Coleman, January 12
• EVR Rohit Chakravarthy, Harlingen, February
• Nicholas Hoffert, Cleburne, February 9
• Jaaliyah Beecham-Davis, Longview, March 4
• Brooke Martinez, Fort Worth, March 7
• Lenny Ortega, Ingram, May 30
• Guadalupe Rosales III, San Antonio, June 13
• Christian Nieto, Corsicana, September 4
• Christopher Ladell Hill, Hawkins, September 21
• Harry Tyrone Rutledge, Hawkins, September 21
• Andrew Burd, Corpus Christi, October 3
• Katherine Frances, DeSoto, December 3

The best statistical estimate is that nineteen of every twenty deaths in foster care never make it into the press. For more details on these deaths refer to our tomb page.

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Polygamy Sect's Kids Face Tough Transition

SAN ANGELO, Texas, April 24, 2008(CBS/AP) The hundreds of children from a polygamist compound taken into state custody are on their way to group homes, shelters and residences, but experts and lawyers fear their transition may be much harder than it is for other foster children.

The number of children in Texas custody after being taken from a polygamist retreat now stands at 462 because officials believe another 25 mothers from the compound are under 18.

Child Protective Services spokesman Darrell Azar says the girls initially claimed to be adults but are now in state custody. Earlier they had been staying voluntarily with their children at a shelter at the San Angelo Coliseum.

The official number of children taken from the ranch controlled by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has been rising since a state raid three weeks ago. One reason is that some mothers under 18 claimed to be adults.

Roughly 260 children remain at the coliseum. The others were bused to foster facilities.

The 462 children taken from the compound in West Texas will be plunged into a culture radically different from the community where they and their families shunned the outside world as a hostile, contaminating influence on their godly way of life.

Many of the children have seen little or no television. They have been essentially home-schooled all their lives. Most were raised on garden-grown vegetables and twice-daily prayers with family. They frolic in long dresses and buttoned-up shirts from another century.

"There's going to be problems," said Susan Hays, who represents a toddler in the custody case. "They are a throwback to the 19th century in how they dress and how they behave."

Safety concerns are also worrying advocates for the children. There were four deaths in two facilities supervised by the state foster care system in 2006, reports CBS News correspondent Randall Pinkston.

Another facility - Boys and Girls Country - northwest of Houston has also reportedly had problems in the past and it is on the placement list for the children removed from the compound, Pinkston reports.

Buses have already shipped 138 children to group homes or boys' and girls' ranches, but most of the remaining children will be separated from their mothers for the first time when they are sent out of San Angelo in the coming days.

The state Child Protective Services program said it chose foster homes where the youngsters can be kept apart from other children for now.

"We recognize it's critical that these children not be exposed to mainstream culture too quickly or other things that would hinder their success," agency spokeswoman Shari Pulliam said. "We just want to protect them from abuse and neglect. We're not trying to change them."

The children were swept up in a raid earlier this month on the Yearning for Zion Ranch run by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a renegade Mormon splinter group. Authorities say it believes in marrying off underage girls to older men, and that there is evidence of physical and sexual abuse at the ranch.

The youngsters are being moved out of the crowded San Angelo Coliseum and will be placed in temporary facilities around Texas - some as far away as Houston, 500 miles off - until individual custody decisions can be made.

Those decisions could result in a number of possibilities: Some children could be placed in permanent foster care; some parents who have left the sect may win custody; some youngsters may be allowed to return to the ranch in Eldorado; and some may turn 18 before the case is complete and be allowed to choose their own fates.

Pulliam said the temporary foster care facilities have been briefed on the children's needs. "We're not going to have them in tank tops and shorts," she said.

Pulliam said the children will continue to be home-schooled by the temporary foster-care providers instead of being thrown into big public schools, where they could be bullied because of their differences.

In a related development, an arrest warrant affidavit made public Wednesday shows that a phone number used to report alleged abuse at the Texas retreat had been used previously by a 33-year-old Colorado woman.

It's not yet clear whether authorities suspect Rozita Swinton, of Colorado Springs, made any of the calls that triggered the April 3 raid of the compound.

Texas authorities have said a 16-year-old girl called a crisis center claiming she was abused at the compound. Authorities have not found that girl but say they have found evidence other children were abused.

In February, a woman calling herself "Jennifer" called 911 in Colorado Springs from the same number, claiming that her father had locked her in her basement for days, the document said. Swinton was arrested in connection with that incident on April 16 and later released.

Source: CBS News