Aug 28 2008
As of this past early August, I lost my personal battle with Child Protection Services, and I lost custody of my daughter, Alexandria Effie-Mae Henley. So I am pretty much retiring this page and all the information that I gathered while going through the past 7 years. I want to wish any parent who is also caught up in the web of CPS, the best of Luck, and may God be with them.
Jessica Lynn Hepner
Aug 06 2008
Baby Found In Backpack
POSTED: 3:31 pm PDT August 1, 2008
UPDATED: 4:32 pm PDT August 1, 2008
SAN DIEGO — A woman accused of killing her baby faced a judge Friday as prosecutors detailed her alleged crime.
Julie Reynolds, 36, was arraigned on one count of first-degree murder. She pleaded not guilty.
Reynolds was arrested in connection with the case on Wednesday. Reynolds, who is originally from Colorado, came to Rancho Penasquitos, along with her five children, ages 18 months to 15 years old, at the request of her sister and brother-in-law, prosecutors said.
Deputy District Attorney Tracy Prior alleged Reynolds hid her pregnancy, denying it when her family asked her directly if she was pregnant. The couple became suspicious after they noticed she had lost weight, Prior said. The brother-in-law noticed blood on the carpet and later found bloody towels in their trash can.
At that point he notified police, Prior said. When officers arrived, Reynolds took them to a bedroom and the newborn’s remains were found in a black backpack.
The prosecutor said the boy, 6 pounds, 19 inches long, had been smothered by his mother’s hand. Prior said Reynolds has a documented history with Child Protective Services in two states other than California.
Reynolds is being held at Las Colinas Detention Facility on $1 million bail. Her five other children are now in the custody of child protective services.
Previous Stories:
• July 31, 2008: Mom Accused Of Killing Newborn
• July 30, 2008: Dead Newborn Found In Rancho Peñasquitos Home
Explore More:
Find out more about Crime, Murder and Homicide, Child Safety and Culture and Lifestyle, or try these articles:
• July 31, 2008: Mom Accused Of Killing Newborn
• June 8, 2007: Woman Sentenced For Killing Neighbor With Screwdriver
• June 1, 2007: Men Accused In Surfer’s Slaying Enter Pleas
• May 15, 2007: Pa. Family Found Stabbed To Death
• April 26, 2007: Victims Of Double Slaying Were Stabbed
Aug 06 2008
Contact: George Raudenbush, Christian Citizens against Corruption, 423-337-1896
TELLICO PLAINS, Tenn., Aug. 1 /Christian Newswire/ — The Tennessee Constitution, Article X, Section 1, provides that every person chosen for any office of trust must take an oath to “support the Constitution of this State and of the United States, and an oath of office.”
On October 23, 2007, Detective Tonia Norwood filed a complaint of child neglect against Angela K. Morgan. Fifty four days later, Mrs. Morgan was arrested and charged with neglect for abandonment. Subsequently the children were placed back in Mrs. Morgan’s care. That was when Mr. Morgan discovered pronounced strap marks and bruising on his 2 year old son. Mr. Morgan reported this to Tosha Cook, a case worker for the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services. Reports of burns, bruising and abuse were documented by law enforcement officials, teachers, counselors, medical professionals, and care givers after the children had returned from their mother’s custody. According to public documents and records, Millicent Thomas of Tennessee’s Child Protective Services and Department of Children’s Services has been negligent in performing her duties in protecting Mr. Morgan’s children.
Mr. Morgan found no relief for his children with Tennessee Child Protective Services and the abuse continued, so he contacted Congressman John J. Duncan, his district elected representative. Congressman Duncan responded with an enclosed letter from Commissioner Viola E. Miller who stated “I can assure you that the concerns have been thoroughly investigated and my staff has taken appropriate action in regards to this case.” Robert Bob Jolly is the appointed Guardian Ad Litem for the children. According to Mr. Morgan, “Mr. Jolly has participated in the abuse by ignoring the numerous reports and pleas for help from my children. All the evidence points to these officials not doing their jobs.”
It appears public officials including Commissioner Viola E. Miller, Millicent Thomas, a Supervisor for Child Protective Services and Guardian Ad Litem Robert Jolly have neglected their oaths to serve and protect.
The contact person above, George Raudenbush, is a spokesman for Christian Citizens against Corruption, a state representative for F.I.J.A., Fully Informed Juries Association, and National Missions Coordinator for Appalachian Youth Missions.
Every American citizen is endowed with an inherent right and responsibility to hold public officials accountable. For further information visit: www.tnccc.com.
Aug 06 2008
08/01/2008
Associated Press
State lawmakers, irked that Child Protective Services doesn’t run regular criminal background checks on the vast majority of its employees, say they’ll file legislation requiring routine checks.
The lax screening came to light after lawmakers learned of a CPS supervisor’s assault conviction and an indecent exposure charge against a caseworker
“The technology has reached the point where there is simply no excuse for people with serious crimes falling through the cracks of our background checks,” Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, said in a story Friday in The Dallas Morning News.
Nelson, the Senate’s chief social services policy writer, said the state should run FBI fingerprint checks of all new employees who work directly with vulnerable Texans. Lawmakers adopted a law last year that requires such background checks for public school teachers.
Rep. Patrick Rose, D-Dripping Springs, the House’s point man for human services programs, criticized CPS’ current policy of running Texas background checks on virtually all the people it hires and then rechecking each year for only 250 of its more than 6,600 “direct care delivery” staff.
CPS officials said they would consider changes.
“We are very carefully reviewing our background check policies and will certainly make any adjustments necessary to strengthen those policies,” said CPS spokesman Patrick Crimmins.
CPS performs annual checks, using a Department of Public Safety criminal history database, of its 250 “foster/adoption development” workers. They recruit and train about one quarter of the state’s foster parents.
But there are no follow ups on about 2,000 child-abuse investigators, 1,600 “conservatorship workers” who work with children removed from their birth families and 750 “family-based safety services workers” who try to stabilize troubled families.
CPS simply mandates they report to supervisors any brushes they have with the law: arrests, indictments and court dispositions involving criminal offenses.
“Clearly, relying on self-reporting is not prudent,” Rose said. “I don’t think it takes the adequate precautions we need for the safety of our children.”
The lawmakers said they’ll file legislation to fix the problem next session, which begins in January.
Late Wednesday, KEYE-TV in Austin reported that of more than 9,000 employees at CPS and its parent agency, the Department of Family and Protective Services, some 370 had criminal convictions. Most were for driving under the influence and writing hot checks.
Those offenses aren’t a bar to being hired for state protective services work, Crimmins said.
The report said a CPS supervisor in El Paso pleaded guilty to assault with bodily injury to one of his family members and violation of a protective order. Crimmins said the supervisor, following CPS policy, reported his arrest to supervisors.
Also, an Austin child-abuse investigator was arrested in 1998, a year after he was hired by CPS, for indecent exposure in a public park, The employee later pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct and paid a $500 fine, KEYE said.
Nelson and Rose say they support FBI fingerprint checks, which cost about $44 each, of all prospective state workers dealing with sensitive populations.
CPS only uses the FBI’s national database to check on job applicants who haven’t lived in Texas for at least three years.
Rose also said that at a minimum, there should be annual criminal background checks by DPS of all CPS direct care staff. Those checks, which involve running a name through a computer, cost $1 each.
Aug 06 2008
by Jourdan Rassas and Lindsey Collom - Aug. 1, 2008 10:39 AM
The Arizona Republic
The infant abandoned at a Phoenix church on Thursday is in great condition and on her way to Arizona’s Child Protective Services, official said Friday morning.
During a morning press conference, Maricopa County Medical Center and Phoenix Fire Department officials praised the child’s mother for taking advantage of the state’s Safe Haven law, under which an infant up to 72 hours old can be dropped off at churches, hospitals and fire stations, with no questions asked.
‘The darkest hour in a baby’s life is when the mother doesn’t know what to do,” said Phoenix Fire Chief Bob Kahn.
The child, believed to be less than 48 hours old, will go through the same adoption process that other children in CPS custody go through, said Kote Chundu, chairman of pediatrics for the medical center.
Chundu said the child was in excellent condition and was well dressed when she was found.
A teacher walking to work at Wilson Primary School found the baby shortly before 7 a.m. on a bench outside St. Mark’s Catholic Church near 30th and Fillmore streets. The girl was wearing a pink jumper, wrapped in a towel and lying inside a baby carrier.
“She was very clean,” said Rosie Bernal, a Wilson School social worker who made the call to 911 at the request of the teacher. “You could see that someone took the time. Someone loved her enough to put clothes on her.”
The Safe Haven law ensures that parents will not face child-abuse charges for leaving an unharmed newborn with a safe-haven provider. Officials said the mother won’t be sought out.
Aug 06 2008
The Anaheim Hills couple is accused of abusing their 15-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son by binding their wrists and ankles, authorities say.
By DENISSE SALAZAR, LARRY WELBORN, SONYA SMITH and JEBB HARRIS
The Orange County Register
Comments 38 | Recommend 12
FULLERTON – An Anaheim Hills couple appeared in court Thursday in a case of child abuse that one prosecutor said was one of the worst she’d seen.
Kimberly Joy Quebe, 48, and John Herman Quebe, 47, are charged with abusing their two children by binding their wrists and ankles and leaving them tied up for hours at a time.
Following their arraignment at the North Justice Center in Fullerton, Deputy District Attorney Christine Simmons said: “In all my years as a prosecutor, I’ve never seen anything even close to this. The children are nowhere near age-appropriate; they act younger, and they are very pale.”
Susan Schroeder, spokeswoman for the District Attorney’s Office, said later that though the case is not the county’s worst, “It breaks your heart.” Referring to the son, she added, “That’s the only life he remembers.”
The couple, married for 21 years, have lived in Anaheim Hills for six years with their daughter, 15, and son, 11.
On July 18, the Orange County Social Services Agency received an after-hours call reporting the children had been at a community pool a week earlier and had restraint marks and bruising on their wrists and ankles. Anaheim police went to the Quebes’ home that night after being contacted by Social Services but were unable to talk to anyone.
Three days later, Anaheim police returned to the home and discovered the children had dark binding marks and scarring on their wrists and ankles, the District Attorney’s Office said. Both children were taken into protective custody by Social Services.
The Quebes are each charged with: 62 felonies for 21 counts of false imprisonment by violence; 21 counts of child abuse; 18 counts of corporal injury on a child with great bodily injury; and two counts of torture.
If convicted, they each face a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Thursday’s hearing was continued until Aug. 22. The Quebes are at Orange County Jail on $1 million bail each.
The couple are accused of physically and verbally abusing their children for six years by binding their wrists and ankles using tights to punish the children for minor issues, the District Attorney’s Office said. They are accused of leaving the children bound overnight and leaving them to sleep on the floor.
The Quebes are accused of frequently verbally assaulting the children by screaming obscenities and calling them degrading names, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
The Quebes are also accused of refusing to allow other family members to see the children, not sending the children to school under the false pretense of providing home schooling, and rarely allowing them to leave the house.
A neighbor of the Quebes, Joan Hoesterey, said Thursday that she and other neighbors were worried about the Quebe children since the family moved in six years ago.
“You could often hear the mom screaming horrible obscenities at the kids,” Hoesterey said. “Since they moved in, it’s just been constant.”
Hoesterey said the Quebe children were rarely seen outside the home.
Hoesterey also said her neighbors called police on at least one occasion about yelling coming from the Quebes’ house.
Anaheim Police Sergeant Rick Martinez said he had a record of one call about the Quebe home in the last 2.61/2 years, the furthest he can look at past records. Martinez said that on Sept. 5, 2007, officers responded to a call about a female reportedly yelling at her children using foul language.
“When the officers left, everything appeared OK,” he said.
Anyone with information can contact Carol Mona, supervising district attorney investigator, at 714-347-8627.
Aug 02 2008
Is it CPS’ goal to take children away from their families?
Schuster acknowledged that it is a common perception that CPS workers go about snatching children, but unless there is evidence that the child is in imminent danger, caseworkers must obtain a court order to remove the child and the burden of proof is on the caseworker. CPS will work with the family to keep children at home if possible. Suggestions for improvements to the child’s environment may involve counseling, lessons in parenting skills, or even demonstrations of housekeeping techniques if appropriate.
A CPS visit usually does not involve snatching children. For instance, if the complaint is there is no food in the house, said Schuster, and they come and ask to see your fridge, and you show them there is food in there, they close the file. Schuster said CPS opens a gateway to a lot of things, like places a family can be referred to, suggestions, and people to talk to.
What about reports of abuses by CPS workers?
As with any large system, there will certainly be some problems and abuse of power. Edwin Schuster characterized CPS workers as walking the line between protecting the rights of parents and children, and added, it does not always work well.
Schuster admitted there are CPS workers who act inappropriately or make mistakes and need to be better informed. Although abuses in the system are publicized by watchdog organizations, there are always two sides to a story. For instance, there may have been numerous complaints against a parent before CPS reacted in a heavy-handed manner.
According to ReligiousTolerance.org, a small percentage of CPS workers remain unsuited for their job because of inadequate training and inflexible attitudes. Innocent parents are still being accused of child abuse, although at a much reduced frequency than during the 1980s and early 1990s.
Schuster stated that CPS tries to train its workers to be fair and cordial, but some do try to act like police and need to be educated. Complaints about individual caseworkers go to their supervisor. A worker who steps out of bounds can be reprimanded or dismissed from the agency.
Level of evidence required for an investigation:
Under what conditions does CPS investigate?
Child Protective Services only responds to valid reports that involve abuse and/or neglect of a child. A situation that would be considered valid and, therefore warrant investigation requires that: The child be under 18 years old; caretaker is alleged to have committed the abuse or neglect on the minor child; The child lives in Virginia or the alleged abuse occurred in Virginia; The alleged abuse meets the definition of abuse and/or neglect as defined by the Virginia Administrative Code. CPS only becomes involved with a family if there is a complaint that meets the agency’s four points of validity, including that involves abuse or neglect, and homeschooling does not meet that requirement.
Responding to an investigation:
What happens if I am contacted by CPS?
Schuster cautioned that parents should always ask for a caseworkers ID, because there have been impersonators. Parents should ask what the investigator is looking for. The caseworker will state the allegations but not who made them and ask to see evidence to disprove them. It may be something as simple as verification that there is food in the house. He stressed the importance of keeping the tone it as cordial as possible. If someone is very hostile, Schuster noted, then I have to start to wonder.
If I let a CPS worker into my home, doesn’t that let them do whatever they want?
A CPS worker cannot enter without your permission unless they have court order or warrant said Schuster. Instead of letting the caseworker in, parents can tell them when they can come back, offer to step outside, or request a meeting at the CPS office. Parents can tell the CPS worker I want you to leave at any time.
Can CPS talk to my child without permission?
The agency usually asks for names of references such as friends, neighbors, and family from the parents, child, or the complainant. However, if the child is homeschooled and the parent is not cooperative, it will be harder to determine whether the child is safe. Although CPS will often talk to child at school or daycare without a parents consent, in the homeschooling situation, they will ask first, said Schuster. If CPS wants to speak to your child, you can ask for a neighbor or other trusted adult to be with the child during the interview. Also, if you are uncomfortable with strangers interviewing your child, ask the caseworker if she or he will accept references from friends or family members instead, Schuster said. If, rather than allowing a CPS worker to speak with a child, the parents refuse and get a lawyer, the worker wonders if they are hiding something, observed Schuster.
What if I refuse to let a CPS worker into my home?
In the absence of a search warrant or court order, parents have the right to refuse entry to a CPS worker but if you dont let them in they will have to continue investigating, said Schuster. They will talk to your neighbors and make a disposition with no other information, which may be a disadvantage to the family. How can you get your case unfounded if you do not let them in, Schuster wondered.
Do I have the right to appeal?
During an investigation, parents have the opportunity to come talk and recruit others input, said Schuster. After a finding is made, there are 3 levels of appeal.
Common fears:
I spank my child sometimes. Is that considered abuse?
Spanking is not child abuse, noted Schuster, who said that if he sees a stressed parent spank a child in public, he will give the adult some ideas for things to do to reduce the stress while shopping.
If corporal punishment results in injuries, CPS will investigate. When a parent uses an object in corporal punishment, CPS makes a more serious response. If a child is reported as having a suspicious injury, the case would be investigated further, Schuster said. We know some children are fair skinned and mark easily, so CPS takes that into account. However, the worker will observe whether a child with marks is fearful of the parents.
During an investigation, CPS workers might talk to the child, parents, and neighbors or relatives, as well as a doctor, if one is involved, Schuster said. If the allegations involve some type of physical abuse, you may ask your doctor to examine your children and then provide his or her statement instead of allowing a CPS worker to examine your child for injuries, he continued.
What if someone reports that my toddler ran outside naked?
Schuster stated that he would call it unfounded unless the caller says it is a regular occurrence, in which case CPS and would look at what can be done differently, and make suggestions for prevention.
Can homeschoolers be reported to CPS for educational neglect?
There is no definition of educational neglect in Virginia. If you are following the home education law, Schuster stated, CPS is not going to get involvedThere has to be reasonable cause for a contact, he reiterated.
Does CPS seek parents, especially homeschoolers, to harass?
Child Protective Services only responds to valid reports made to them by the public that involve abuse or neglect of a child. It is not the policy or practice for CPS to go looking for families to investigate. CPS would not take a complaint that a child was not being sent to school because this is an issue covered by the local department of education.
Do I need a lawyer?
Schuster stated that some parents feel they need a lawyer involved from the first contact with CPS but most handle it themselves without an attorney. Responding to a question about organizations that claim to sell protection against CPS, Schuster asserted, I think theyre selling something based in fear. Instead of buying into it you should inform yourself and understand your rights. I recommend you begin by reading the CPS materials, and ask questions of your local agency.
It seems that homeschoolers, as with most families, will spend their child-rearing years without contact from Social Services. Also like other families, homeschoolers should still make sure they are fully informed of their rights and of CPS procedures, so they may continue to homeschool with assurance.
Copyright 2002, Shay Seaborne. All rights reserved.
Originally published in the VaHomeschoolers Newsletter.
In Virginia, families contacted by CPS have a right to:
Information on CPS and Child Abuse:
Aug 02 2008
Posted by: admin on June 24th, 2008
Tag(s):
Part I of an In-depth Look at Article 18 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
During our series on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, most of the articles we have considered have focused on the relationship between the state and the child. Article 18 is therefore unique in its emphasis on the responsibilities of parents, and the supervised relationship that these parents have with the state.
Article 18 is also one of the more complex articles in the Convention, divided into three sections that address distinct facets of the relationship between parents and the state. This week, we will focus on the first section, which says that “States Parties shall use their best efforts to ensure recognition of the principle that both parents have common responsibilities for the upbringing and development of the child,” and that parents are primarily responsible for their children. As parents, “the best interests of the child will be their basic concern.”
The danger of Article 18 is that it places an enforceable responsibility upon parents to make child-rearing decisions based on the “best interests of the child,” subjecting parental decisions to second-guessing at the discretion of government agents.
Obligations on Parents?
Article 18 stands out because it affects not only the relationship between the UN and the nation that ratifies the Convention, but also the relationship between private individuals and their government: a relationship that is usually changed through legislation at a local level. In fact, the UN’s Implementation Handbook for the CRC explains that “when article 18 was being drafted, the delegate from the United States of America commented that it was rather strange to set down responsibilities for private individuals, since the Convention could only be binding on ratifying governments.”
But instead of paying heed to this objection, the drafters of the CRC rejected it, making the Convention enforceable against private individuals and requiring that “parental rights be translated into principles of parental responsibilities.” The Handbook itself notes that if the actions of parents could be shown to impair the child’s physical, psychological, or intellectual development, “the parents” – not the state – “can be found to be failing in their responsibilities.” (emphasis added).
The end result is parental involvement under state supervision. According to Chris Revaz, Article 18 “recognizes that parents and legal guardians have the primary responsibility for the upbringing and development of the child, with the best interest of the child as their basic concern,” but also invests in the state “a secondary responsibility to provide appropriate assistance to parents and legal guardians in meeting their responsibilities.” Roger Levesque opines that such supervision attempts to “regulate the relationship between child and state,” essentially relegating the role of parental and familial involvement to a position of “secondary importance.”
Enforcing the “Best Interest” Standard
As a previous e-mail in our series has already discussed, the “best interests of the child” is a significant theme in the Convention, providing “decision and policy makers with the authority to substitute their own decisions for either the child’s or the parents’.”
The inevitable result, according to Levesque, is that “by placing the burden on the State to take affirmative steps toward ensuring the fulfillment of children’s rights, the Convention assumes responsibility and invokes the State as the ensurer and protector of rights.” This point is echoed by Law Professor Bruce Hafen, who warns that the Convention’s emphasis on the “best interests of the child” creates “an arguably new standard for state intervention in intact families.” According to Hafen, legal authors in Australia have already suggested that “under the CRC, parental childrearing rights are ’subject to external scrutiny’ and ‘may be overridden’ when ‘the parents are not acting in the best interests of the child.’”
Hafen warns that this conclusion – though inapposite to America’s cultural and legal heritage – is “consistent with the CRC’s apparent intent to place children and parents on the same plane as co-autonomous persons in their relationship with the state.” This is a far cry from America’s legal heritage, which has long held that parents have a fundamental right to oversee the upbringing and education of their children, free from government control. Article 18 makes it plain, however, that under the Convention, it is the state that is ultimately responsible for the fate of its children, and has authority to supervise its parents.
Please forward this message onto your friends and urge them to sign the Petition to Protect Parental Rights.
Sources
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/k2crc.htm
Cris Revaz, “An Introduction to the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child,” in The U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child: An Analysis of Treaty Provisions and Implications on U.S. Ratification (2006): 10-11.
Roger Levesque, International Children’s Rights Grow Up: Implications for American Jurisprudence and Domestic Policy (1994): 214.
Bruce and Jonathan Hafen, Abandoning Children to their Autonomy (1996): 461-462, 464.
United Nations Children’s Fund, Implementation Handbook for the Convention on the Rights of the Child (2002): 245-246, 46, 246.
Aug 02 2008
Posted by: Kristin Wright on July 15th, 2008
Tag(s): Constitutional Amendment • parental rights
Contact your Representative today and urge them to support the Parental Rights Amendment.
The Parental Rights Constitutional Amendment bill has just been introduced in the House of Representatives! Our bill number is H. J. Res 97. You can read the language of the bill by visiting http://thomas.loc.gov and searching for the bill number.
Rep. Pete Hoekstra introduced the proposed constitutional amendment which is designed to preserve and protect parental rights from future erosion. Preserving parental rights for generations to come is an issue that concerns every parent across this nation. That’s why now is the time to get your Congressperson to support this vital bill.
The introduction of the Parental Rights Amendment signals the opening of an important discussion in Congress. So we encourage you to begin engaging Congress on the issue of parental rights today.
TAKE ACTION NOW!
You can contact your member of Congress here.
Write, call or email with a short message urging your member of Congress to stand in support of H. J. Res 97, the Parental Rights Constitutional Amendment. Encourage them to contact Rep. Pete Hoekstra to add their name to a list of potential Co-Sponsors.
And look for more updates as we move forward with this vital effort!
Aug 02 2008
By Rick Kern
The black market teems with the sinister bustle of self-satisfied profiteers as they cash in from the shadows. Among the nation’s most enterprising entrepreneurs, their backrooms, alleys and restaurants host countless underhanded business transactions where the players move in and out like phantoms as they continue to sink to new lows and broker all kinds of seedy deals. Their inventory includes the usual goods and services -old standards such as harlotry, marijuana and other illicit drugs, electronics, bootlegged CDs and DVDs and on and on it goes. If someone wants it, someone else will find a way to sell it -there’s gold in them there cesspools.
And as is typical of even this squalid underside of corporate America, the roost is ruled by the law of supply and demand. But there is an alarming demand for one item so shocking that even the most artful brokers can’t keep the shelves stocked. What is this latest craze sweeping America -break out the Rolaids, sit down and buckle your seatbelts. It is our children. The foster care system is big business and business is booming big across the country. In fact, the cheerful chime of the cash registers has echoed so loud that our neighbors to the north have opened their own franchise, granting their counterpart of the United States’ Child Protection Services, (CPS), benignly dubbed the Children’s Aid Society, (CAS), powers so broad that they out-muscle and eclipse even the sweeping reach of our own Department of Social Services.
Tongue and cheek aside the problem is real, graphic and driven hard by our bourgeoning godlessness, ever declining moral standards and the devastating breakdown of the family. The issues facing Child Protection Services are complex and varied. Like most government agencies, they are under staffed, under funded and over burdened with profoundly consequential problems. Still, there is much more to the mix, but you have to dig down to the bottom of the sewer to get to it. Among those emerging on the local front as a force to reckoned with against these heartbreaking inequities is Pastor Fletcher Brothers, Founder and Director of Freedom Village USA. Established in 1974 the organization has been transforming the lives of troubled teens for some 30 years and catalogs a remarkable anthology of success stories. At any given time the group houses over 150 teens on its sprawling campus and addresses every problem imaginable including drug and alcohol addiction, rebellion, prostitution and even suicide with the love and grit necessary for struggling victims to get their lives back on track. And while Senator Hillary Clinton may not have had Freedom Village in mind when she wrote It Takes a Village, the comprehensive program has revolutionized thousands of shattered lives creating a mosaic of hope and stability among our nation’s traumatized youth that has earned Brothers even the grudging admiration of his many detractors.
Pastor Brothers learned of the widespread problems within the Social Services system by getting up-close-and-personal with the jagged edges of the many lives left shattered by it. They are not statistics that find a home on his desk, but savaged young lives that find a home in his heart. “Don’t get me wrong,” he declares in his typically forceful manner, “we need a system to protect children and there are many wonderful people working within it. But the system that is supposed to be protecting them is now part of the problem, the system’s out of control.”
He should know he has cradled its victims in his arms and brushed their tears away with his hands while crying his own. There are the stories, each more heartrending than the one before it. M, now a 23 year-old Freedom Village resident spent seven years in the system as M’s lesbian mother (along with her lover) was approved to be a foster parent and hosted children in an environment that rats would run from. She suffered every type of cruelty and neglect imaginable as the “foster parents” continually abused drugs and alcohol. According to M the children repeatedly endured beatings, primarily from her mother’s lover, and she was also sexually abused. The refrigerator was kept locked and things only grew worse whenever anyone complained or cried.
M estimates that during the course of her mother’s tenure as a foster parent, Child Protection Services visited their home over 200 times to evaluate the quality of the care being received by the children who resided there. She explains that she would sit on the steps during these visits with ripped clothes, unkempt hair, dirty, bruised and scratched wondering why the CPS workers could not see what was going on.
A, now 19 years-old, had similar experiences including foster parents as an infant who left her alone with only her young brother for two days. She wasn’t changed or bathed regularly and wound up hospitalized as a result of the care (or lack thereof) given her in the state approved home. When she was older she was placed in a foster home where she was continually locked in her room and rarely allowed to do anything. She was beaten frequently and even pushed down the stairs.
The stories reverberate like an aching echo throbbing through life after broken life. There is 15 year-old C who was in eight different foster homes and abused in four of them. And J, also 15 years-old, who spent nearly half of her life navigating the deadly reefs of the foster care system. Of the 26 foster homes she drifted through, J estimates that 17 of them were abusive. The same can be said for Z, aged 17, who endured unspeakable horrors in 17 of the 20 foster homes he lived in.
The nightmares are not confined to Western New York but have polluted the entire system. For example, in Superior Court of Arizona, Maricopa County, a class action lawsuit, Bogutz v. Arizona, was filed on behalf of foster children in 1994. It is emblematic of the alarming scope of sexual abuse of children in state care. The suit charged that more than 500 of an estimated 4,000 foster children had been sexually abused while in state care. The action also alleged, that “the acts and omissions of Defendants were done in bad faith, with malice, intent or deliberate indifference to and/or reckless disregard for the health, safety and rights of the Plaintiffs.”
As might be expected, the problems related to foster placements in Arizona are not confined to sexual abuse. Like the victims at Freedom Village, studies have shown that during a two-year period, one foster child died on average every seven and a half weeks in the state of Arizona. Four of them were reported as having been “viciously beaten to death” by their foster parents,” (Jeff Jacoby, “Catastrophe in Foster Care,” Boston Globe, July 18, 1995).
Similar tragedies have been reported from every corner of the country. Both Tai Aguirre, Executive Producer and host of Talk Radio’s Could YOU Be Next and The Charlotte World, an alternative news publication that publishes more stories each week than any other alternative news outlet, are among the media sources that have covered the disgraceful government sanctioned abduction of one year old Shaday Fasinro. The outrage occurred on Dec. 15, 2000 when social workers and police officers came into the couple’s home in the evening and took the terrified baby away. Aguirre quotes Yinka Fasinro the child’s distraught father on his web site, (www.couldyoubenext.com), “Agents from the Department of Social Services and police pushed their way in and forced our baby from our arms.”
According to Angie Vineyard’s disturbing story in The Charlotte World, the travesty was driven not by abuse or neglect that had been carefully investigated and documented, but by Yinka and Vanessa Fasinro’s religious convictions which “led them to a vegetarian diet, breast-feeding, and skepticism about vaccinations for their baby.” “These same convictions also led social workers to their door,” Vineyard reports, “who took their baby from them.” Interestingly, the couple is reported to embrace the Christian faith and Yinka is not Mr. but Rev. Fasinro, reflecting mounting concerns that a disproportionate number of Christians are finding themselves in the Department of Social Services’ crosshairs. Ms. Vineyard also covered a related, glaring scandal in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina that explains the how the well-intentioned system feeds off of itself in the hands of corrupt men.
A Charlotte World exclusive entitled The Fight For Spencer, was prefaced by the ominous warning, “Across the Carolinas, Christian families are battling local departments of social services for custody of their children and other basic parental rights.” Vineyard wrote, “After battling the Department of Social Services (DSS) in court for an entire year, a Christian couple has finally been given full custody of their oldest son. A hearing judge for the clerk of Mecklenburg County Superior Court ruled on February 19 that 18-year-old Spencer should immediately go home with his parents, Jack and Kathy Stratton.” The Strattons were allegedly victims of not just a deeply flawed system, but of Richard “Jake” Jacobsen, a predatory Director of the Department of Social Services (DDS) in Mecklenburg County who is accused by some of running an unthinkable money-making scam by franchising the very children he has been hired to protect. “There is a government run and sponsored black and interracial child slave trade operation in Mecklenburg County in which black and interracial children are illegally kidnapped from their parents, labeled “special needs” because they are black or interracial and then held for years in state custody while Mecklenburg County collects an estimated $30,000 to $150,000 per child per year,” claims the Family Rights Association on their web site. “We have first hand documentation of this racketeering operation because we are an interracial couple whose 10 children were illegally kidnapped from another county on January 30, 2001 by this Mecklenburg County cartel.” The charges continue, “The man hired to run this multi-billion dollar operation is Mecklenburg DSS Director Richard “Jake” Jacobsen, a man who was removed from the same position as DSS Director in San Diego, California in 1992 after two Grand Juries found his administration guilty of stealing children and committing other atrocities in San Diego.”
If the allegations are on target it is just another grim reminder that no system can be greater than the integrity of those who staff it. In 1997, Congress passed the Adoption and Safe Families Act a provision intended to expedite the removal of endangered children from perilous living conditions. Additionally, it provided financial incentives to states to encourage them to find adoptive or other permanent homes for foster children, especially those with special needs.
Under the “Adoption Incentive Payment” section of the act, a state can receive as much as $4,000 for adopting out a child. Under a subsequent provision, technical assistance is offered “through grants or contracts?to assist states and local communities to reach their targets for increased numbers of adoptions.” This financial assistance can be used to expedite the termination of parental rights and “encourage the fast tracking of children who have not attained 1 year of age into pre-adoptive placements.” Technical assistance is also appropriated to the courts to the tune of a whopping $5,000,000 for each fiscal year.
Most applaud the spirit of the law, to move children from foster homes into permanent adoptive placements thus establishing a greater level of stability. But the obvious danger is that the very governing state agency entrusted with protecting children from dangerous environments and working with parents to reunite their families, is also given fat bonuses by the federal government if they push to terminate parental rights and increase their adoption numbers. The counter productive potential of the kick-backs in the hands of unprincipled men is obvious and lend plausibility to the sinister allegations against the Mecklenburg DSS Director. Talk Radio’s Could YOU Be Next? also covered the Stratton nightmare on its web site, saying “A sworn affidavit by witness Gaston County Patrol Officer Jeannette Seagle states that “there was no need for the removal of the children.”
South Carolina apparently got gold fever and joined the rush as well. The Charlotte World also reported in a feature, Christian Family Ripped Apart that “with virtually no warning, the Greenville Department of Social Services came into Bill and Debbie Rettew’s home, removed 15 of their 18 children and placed them in foster homes.” The family, which was so talented and exemplary that Bill Rettew was named Father of the Year, (an honor reportedly bestowed by the South Carolina Attorney General), and invited to appear on Focus on the Family to meet Founder and president Dr. James Dobson and sing on his weekly radio broadcast. And while such an excessive seizure begs countless questions, in light of the federal incentives the internal dynamics of the Rettew family shed no small light on the subject. As the Charlotte World explains: “Having given birth to Will and Autumn, now 32 and 24, the Rettews felt strongly that it was their Christian mission to care for children others might not want. So they became foster parents and eventually adopted multi-racial kids and children with medical problems. Every one of their adopted 18 have physical, emotional or mental disabilities. The reasons the children were taken into DSS custody remain unclear since Family Court Judge Amy Sutherland placed a gag order on the Rettews and DSS officials, prohibiting them from discussing the case.”
In an article entitled, The Real Abuse, appearing in” National Review, (April 12, 1993), psychologist and author Dr. Seth Farber lamented “Only a small minority of these children have been separated from parents who are dangerous to them. The overwhelming majority have been separated from loving and responsible parents. One does not need to be a child psychologist to realize the devastating effect of removing a child from parents with whom he or she is deeply bonded.”
But what if those children were not only ruthlessly and unnecessarily stripped from their homes, but subsequently placed in same-sex households! WorldNetDaily.com ran a blockbuster expose last summer that loosely probed the probability of gay couples being supplied with children from heterosexual parents through the Social Services system (posted July 1, 2004). “The vast majority will come, because they already do come, from pre-existing heterosexual families,” wrote Stephen Baskerville. “In Massachusetts,” he continued, “Forty percent (40%), of the children adopted have gone to gay and lesbian families,” according to Democratic state Senator Therese Murphy.”
According to Pastor Brothers, Child Protection Services can, through the extremely broad powers granted them, be on your doorstep demanding your children based upon an anonymous complaint. And the way the system works, the agency removes the children first (to get them out of harm’s way), and asks questions later. However, the questions asked and the way they are posed can be insidious causing the protracted placement of your children into the foster care system until the truth can be ascertained and addressed by an overburdened court system. But by then the damage is done, potentially causing emotional damage and financial ruin for children and parents who incur costly legal expenses fighting the system to regain custody of their kids.
In her Parents Guide to the System, Cheryl Barnes, National Director of CPSWatch, a grassroots watchdog that advocates on behalf of victims of the SSD, notes some of the creative ways CPS workers “stack” their affidavits. The petition may read, “there’s a hole in the kitchen floor” when the truth is “there’s a tear in the linoleum.” Or the petition will read, “child was covered with bruises” when the truth is “the child has minor scrapes and bruises on shins from climbing trees.” And in an Oscar winning spin the petition reads, “home was piled to the ceiling with clutter,” when the truth is that “the parents were packing to move.”
The courts may be doing their jobs returning sixty to sixty-five percent (60 to 65%) of the children to their homes after declaring that the complaint (which can be a two-minute anonymous phone call remember) is Unfounded. However, Pastor Brothers notes that some seventy percent (70%) of those return on mind-altering drugs, usually prescribed via DSS physicians/mental heath professionals to help the children who have been traumatized because they have been torn from their homes and forced to live with strangers. In San Antonio, Texas the figure was closer to eighty-five percent (85%) according to an investigative report done by a television station there.
His counsel, “The average Christian doesn’t know their rights,” he says. “The minute you let the Department of Social Services in your house you’re surrendering your rights as a parent, you’re letting the Devil in your house.” Accordingly, he has begun an aggressive thrust to enlist Christians in Pre-Paid Legal Services, a bourgeoning program that offers a complex of attractive legal services for extremely reasonable fees. For more information about Freedom Village USA, one of the finest foster care facilities in New York State, call them at: 1-(800) 842-8679.
WORD NEWS
Christian News Buffalo, NY
