LK Report for 8/18/17 - Missed Chances and Disappearing Children

Here are today's headlines.  

Check back later.  You never know when I might update this post.

http://www.LegallyKidnapped.com

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She was a 15-year-old girl passing herself off as a 22-year-old woman named Angelica Cortez working in an internet cafe who ended up murdered in a garage in south Bakersfield on a beautiful spring day this past April.

More >> LOIS HENRY: Child protective services took Stacy Duke to keep her safe, then let her slip away
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LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — A West Texas judge has decided to return 10 children to their parents pending results of a child welfare investigation 10 months after they were placed in foster care.

More >> Judge returns 10 children to parents pending welfare probe

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In May 2008, a formal child abuse complaint was lodged with the state alleging that David Packer was hurting his then-6-year-old adopted daughter, Grace.

More >> Missed chance to save Grace Packer? 2008 abuse complaint surfaces

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The state’s Children, Youth and Families Department is partnering with McDonald’s to make the toughest moments in a child’s life a little happier.

More >> McDonald’s providing Happy Meals to kids in CYFD custody

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A grandfather has lost a 'heart-rending' family court battle to care for his four-year-old grandson even though his love for the child 'shone through'.

More >> Grandfather loses fight for custody of his orphaned four-year-old grandson as judge rules he can't cope with the boy's 'challenging' behaviour

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Iowa couple Rachel and Heidi McFarland adopted baby Gabriel in 2014. Within three months of bringing him home, they were forced to give him up. A month after that, he was dead. The McFarlands will now receive $3.25 million in a malpractice suit against their adoption lawyer, WHO-TV reports. 

More >> This Couple Got $3.25 Million After Their Adopted Son Was Killed by His Biological Father

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The corporate incentives and tax breaks at the State Capitol during former Gov. Bobby Jindal's tenure had a real cost, in putting at risk the lives of Louisiana's most vulnerable children.

More >> Our Views: Damning audit of children services

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PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - A Panama City woman was charged for making a false report of child abuse according to Panama City police.

More >> Panama City woman charged with false reports of child abuse
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Sen. Louis P. DiPalma today issued the following statement in response to the Providence Journal’s investigation “Danger in R.I. group homes,” which highlighted instances of serious failures to protect children and young adults in state care at some of the Rhode Island facilities that house them.

More >> SENATOR DIPALMA CALLS FOR SWIFT ACTION TO PROTECT CHILDREN IN STATE CARE

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LINCOLN - Four reports from Omaha and one from Holdrege of a woman posing as a child protective services employee seeking admission into homes have been received by the Department of Health and Human Services in the last two weeks.

More >> Woman falsely posing as child protective services employee reported in Holdrege

• Nebraska agency says woman posing as child services worker

LK Report for 8/16/17 - Suing CPS and More...

Here are today's headlines.  

Check back later.  You never know when I might update this post.

http://www.LegallyKidnapped.com

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A woman who works for Child Protective Services has been arrested after she was allegedly caught with heroin in her possession and admitted to regularly smoking methamphetamine with her 14-year-old son.
More >> Child Protective Services worker accused of smoking meth with 14-year-old son

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LINCOLN, Neb. - Four reports from Omaha and one from Holdrege have been received regarding a woman posing as a child protective services employee seeking admission into homes, the Department of Health and Human Services said. More >> Woman posing as Child Protective Services worker tries to enter homes -------------------- While she sought custody of her newborn son during her treatment for methamphetamine addiction and mental health counseling, she got to raise him herself. More >> Can giving babies back sooner to parents in drug treatment be best? A court is trying it. ---------------------- As the nation's opioid crisis has deepened, the number of drug treatment centers for pregnant women has grown. But experts and advocates say there aren't enough services for pregnant women to meet the demand, and many don't offer the drugs doctors would normally use to treat addiction because they are concerned about the effects they might have on a fetus. And some laws requiring that babies going through withdrawal be removed from their mother's care can be a deterrent to seeking help, they said. More >> Pregnant women addicted to opioids face tough choices -------------------- A SOCIAL worker has been struck off after he allegedly told a highly vulnerable child to self harm. David Steare was alleged to have told the youngster to ‘only cut’ herself on alternate days at set times, with her mother there to treat her wounds. More >> Social worker struck off after allegedly telling vulnerable child to self-harm --------------------- South Africa’s child protection system is failing its children‚ says World Vision South Africa. “Despite comprehensive law and policy regulations‚ the lack of inter-sectoral collaboration has led to very low cross-referrals between social services and the SAPS‚” the humanitarian and child advocacy organisation said on Wednesday. More >> SA child protection system failing its children – World Vision SA ---------------------- Raising the minimum wage by $1 per hour would result in a substantial decrease in the number of reported cases of child neglect, according to a new study co-authored by an Indiana University researcher. More >> Raising the minimum wage would reduce child neglect cases ----------------------- DES MOINES, IOWA  --  Iowa jurors awarded Heidi and Rachel McFarland $3.25 million, saying they believe Des Moines adoption attorney Jason Reiper failed to file crucial adoption paperwork in a timely fashion, which ultimately led to the loss of their child. More >> Ankeny Couple Awarded Millions in Adoption Malpractice Lawsuit ------------------------ ASHLEY — A local mother filed a federal lawsuit Monday alleging Luzerne County Children and Youth Services put her two children into a home where they were physically and sexually abused by an adopted child. More >> Woman says CYS put her children in abusive home

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A 19-year-old who says she suffered years of abuse at the hands of her adoptive mother filed a lawsuit Tuesday alleging assault, battery, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and outrageous conduct.

More >> Iowa teen files civil suit against mother convicted of abuse
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TOPEKA (TNS) — Kansas is asking that reports of child abuse and neglect be made by phone for now because of computer problems.

More >> DCF taking reports by phone due to computer issues
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The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the state's child welfare agency cannot vaccinate children placed temporarily in its custody when the parents object.

More >> Court: State can't vaccinate kids in temporary custody

• Conn. Supreme Court: DCF Can't Mandate Vaccinations Over Parental Rights

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The British Columbia Court of Appeal has determined that a child’s Indigenous heritage does not attract a “super-weight” over other factors in adoption in a decision the birth mother plans to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.

More >> B.C. court rules Indigenous heritage doesn’t override child’s best interest in adoption
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Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea holds a very strong opinion in regards to removing music education from schools. The bassist sat down with Rolling Stone to give his thoughts on politicians looking to cut funding for such programs, stating: "It's child abuse. It's just plain wrong."

More >> RHCP’s Flea says removing music education from schools is “child abuse”

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A SENIOR Catholic priest has argued lifting the seal of confession and forcing clergy to report admissions of child sex abuse would make children more vulnerable.

More >> Senior priest claims breaking confessional seal could make children more vulnerable

LK Report for 8/14/17 - Poor CPS, Overworked and Underfunded. Waaaaaa! Boo hoo...

Here are today's headlines.  

Check back later.  You never know when I might update this post.

http://www.LegallyKidnapped.com

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WENTWORTH — A Reidsville man who allegedly shot into the car of a Rockingham County social worker has filed a $23 million federal lawsuit against Sheriff Sam Page, the sheriff’s department and department of social services.

Neal alleged in the complaint that his children were unlawfully placed with the foster care system and that law enforcement entered his home without a search warrant or proper documentation, causing mental and emotional distress. 

He is seeking $14 million for violation of his and his children’s constitutional rights. He is also asking for $5 million in punitive damages for the intentional infliction of emotional distress and $4 million for the mental and emotional damages caused in their removal from their home.  

More >> Reidsville man charged with shooting at social worker files lawsuit against Sheriff Page
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Note: Waaaaa!

TAMPA — If Florida's overburdened child welfare system has an epicenter, it's Hillsborough County.

An average of 3,600 children were in foster care in the county during 2016, the most in Florida. Hillsborough also has among the highest number of child abuse investigations and removal rates.

More >> Hillsborough loses big as state fails to divide child welfare money by need
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BATON ROUGE - Auditors examining the Department of Children and Family Services’ oversight of its Foster Care Program found that the Department struggles with high caseloads and staff turnover, which affects employees’ ability to ensure the safety and well-being of children in foster care, the Legislative Auditor said in a report released today. In addition, auditors found that the Department did not ensure required background checks were performed for prospective foster care providers and that some foster care providers had previous valid cases of abuse or neglect.

More >> Report: DCFS high caseloads hamper ability to operate foster care program

• High turnover, caseloads in Louisiana foster care program

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Australia - Priests who fail to tell police about suspected child sexual abuse should face criminal charges, even when they learn of abuse during a confidential religious confession, Australia's most powerful investigative authority recommended on Monday.

More >> Australian inquiry: Priests should report abuse confessions
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ROYAL COMMISSION RECOMMENDS: Making failure to report child sexual abuse in institutions a criminal offence.

More >> Abuse inquiry's failure to report offence

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Oklahoma - A thief wiped out a warehouse full of donations for foster children. Luggage With Love, a nonprofit, had just put in a warehouse in Pottawatomie County to serve even more kids.

More >> Burglar Steals $4,000 Worth Of Donations For Oklahoma Foster Children
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NEWPORT, RI—A story about abuse and exploitation of children inside Rhode Island group homes included a recent incident at a home for girls on Girard Avenue. According to the Providence Journal, an employee allegedly enticed two 15-year-old girls to go outside and fight. When they did, a female arrived and assaulted them, as the employee had pre-arranged. He since has quit his job with Child and Family Services. The girls suffered minor injuries, and police are investigating, the Journal said.

More >> Newport Group Home Employee Arranged Fight, Assault On Two 15-Year-Old Girls
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SACRAMENTO — State officials have ordered Sacramento County to shut down its foster care intake office by the end of next month, calling for an end to an illegal operation where abused and neglected children are poorly supervised, sleep on the floor, and are often preyed upon by human traffickers.

More >> State orders troubled Sacramento foster care office to close

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RACINE — The grandmother of the 3-year-old Racine boy shot to death last month is pleading with the county to return his two young brothers to her after removing them from her home last week.

More >> Grandmother fights to keep brothers of shot 3-year-old together
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Centralia’s Kiwanis Vocational Home, open from 1979 to 1994, was intended to be a safe place for wayward boys, a state-licensed foster home where 11- to 17-year-olds could get an education and job skills in a “family atmosphere,” according to a 1986 Chronicle article.

More >> Sexual Abuse, Fraud and Negligence Alleged at Closed Centralia Home for Boys

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NSW - A foster carer admitted pulling an eight-year-old boy's hair, tying his hands with a skipping rope, then strapping him to a pole while he was "squealing like a pig".

More >> Foster carer banned for tying up boy with skipping rope while he squealed 'like a pig'

LK Report for 8/12/17 - Our Foster Care Journey and More...

Here are today's headlines.  

Check back later.  You never know when I might update this post.

http://www.LegallyKidnapped.com

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The Long Island foster dad acquitted of sexually abusing eight mentally impaired boys in his care has slammed Suffolk County and two investigators with a $100 million lawsuit for “destroying . . . his reputation.”

More >> Foster dad acquitted of heinous abuse sues over ‘destroyed’ reputation

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A video from a brand new foster parent who just got her first stolen child.   

HE IS HERE | Our Foster Care Journey

Know thy enemy people.  They think they're doing God's work.  They get that warm fuzzy feeling. They believe everything that the nice social worker tells them.

Then they get the rug ripped out from under them.  This just hasn't happened to her yet.

BTW, this is one of the most interesting types of foster care providers.  A child may have been abused, and she smiles because he's in her care.  A child was ripped away from his parents and she smiles because he is like a new pet.  She will hug him and hold him and love him and squeeze him and call him George...

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The great-grandparents of three children are suing Wayne County Children and Youth Services, alleging they were wrongly denied adoption subsidies because they adopted the siblings through a private arrangement.

More >> Great-grandparents sue Wayne County over adoption subsidy

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A gag order in the case of a Hawaii island toddler who died while in foster care goes against protecting the child and the family.

More >> Former social worker pushes for change after toddler dies while in foster care

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A mother refused to allow social workers to interview her young children and had suggested they were racist, the Dublin District Child Care Court heard on Friday.

More >> Mother ‘would not let social workers interview children’

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Saskatoon, Canada - Jacqueline Maurice's book The Lost Children: A Nation's Shame chronicles her struggle as a victim of the Sixties Scoop, the practice of removing Indigenous children from their families.

More >> Survivor seeks stories of the Sixties Scoop for new anthology

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McDONOUGH — Jennifer and Joseph Rosenbaum now face 39 total criminal charges in the death of 2-year-old foster child Laila Daniel, up from their original seven-count indictment.

More >> New charges in foster child death focus on Jennifer Rosenbaum

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A 7-year-old Gwinnett County girl was mistakenly pulled out of class Tuesday afternoon and driven to the state Division of Family and Children Services office in Rockdale County after a name mix-up, the district said.

More >> Gwinnett school releases wrong girl to child services after name mix-up

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The 50-year-old Sugar Grove man convicted of sexually assaulting his foster son suggests Kane County Judge D.J. Tegeler issued an "excessive" 45-year prison sentence as punishment for the crime, according to court documents.

More >> Man convicted of sexually assaulting foster child claims sentence 'excessive'

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Spanking isn’t abuse if there isn’t evidence that a child was harmed, the Utah Supreme Court says.

The court’s ruling, released Wednesday, reversed an earlier finding by a juvenile court, which said that hitting a child with “any object” constituted abuse. 

A couple — who weren‘t identified in the case — had spanked their four children with belts, and the state put the children into custody of the Division of Child and Family Services in February 2016.

More >> Spanking a child isn’t abuse unless there’s proof of harm, Utah Supreme Court says

• Utah Court OKs Spanking

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During the past few years, foster parents around the country have come forward to say they were told to give up their guns—or give up carrying them on their person for self-defense—as a way of complying with the foster care requirements for their particular state.

More >> Foster Families Torn Apart By Anti-Second Amendment Regulations

LK Report for 8/10/17 - Snatching the Wrong Kid and More...

Here are today's headlines.  

Check back later.  You never know when I might update this post.

http://www.LegallyKidnapped.com

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Michigan - Marine veteran Bill Johnson says he gave up carrying his concealed weapon “under duress” as a way to meet the criteria necessary to become a foster parent to his grandson in Michigan.

More >> Marine Veteran: I Gave Up Concealed Carry ‘Under Duress’ to Become Foster Parent

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GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - A Gwinnett County father says his 7-year-old daughter made it to school but never made it to her after-school program on Tuesday

More >> Father describes 'pure anxiety' after DFCS took the wrong girl out of school

• Gwinnett Co. Schools and DFCS investigate child release mix-up

LK Report for 8/9/17 - A Drunk CPS Worker and More...

Here are today's headlines.  

Check back later.  You never know when I might update this post.

http://www.LegallyKidnapped.com

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“Sierra” (we’re not using her real name to protect her privacy), is 19, a runaway and a mother of three. She spent years residing at various group homes and in and out of the juvenile detention system.

More >> Housing Challenges for Youth Aging Out of Foster Care
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OTTAWA -- A first-of-its-kind study in Canada has painted a national picture of homeless youth and drawn a link to the foster care system that researchers say could be playing a more active role in keeping young people off the streets.

More >> New study suggests link between foster care system and youth homelessness

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Florida - It is heartbreaking to learn that yet a third child in our state's foster care system has ended her life by hanging herself within the last year. The tragedies of teens like Giulianna Ramos Bermudez, Lauryn Martin and Naika Venant show us that privatization of the child welfare system has done little to improve the welfare of Florida's children.

More >> Privatization: Deaths Prove Failure of Child Welfare Experiment
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Tennessee Health Commissioner has suspended new admissions to the Cummings Foster Home in Memphis.

More >> Memphis foster group home cited by Tennessee Health Commission

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MANCHESTER, NH— The adoptive parents of two children who suffered terrible physical and sexual abuse while under the supervision of the state’s child protective services have taken the next step in their years long effort to shed light on the inner workings of the Division for Children, Youth and Families.

More >> Adoptive parents keep pushing to have DCYF records released

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Ireland - AN INDEPENDENT REVIEW of the case in which a 15-year-old girl in foster care took her own life has questioned whether social services fully understood the significance of separating her from her younger sibling.

More >> Report into death of teen finds impact of separating her from younger sibling was not understood
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Michigan — Bill Johnson’s grandfather taught him how to shoot when he was just 9 years old, and gave him his first gun — a Mossberg 16-gauge, bolt-action shotgun — when he turned 14. When Mr. Johnson joined the Marines at 17, he was issued an assault rifle. And he has carried a concealed handgun, with a permit, for the past decade.

More >> Gun Rights and Foster Care Restrictions Collide in Michigan
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Ireland - Eight children and young people, the youngest just two weeks old, feature in the latest reviews which examine four suicides, one overdose, one accident and two deaths from natural causes. Those who died are given pseudonyms.

More >> Failings of care found in deaths of children
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NORMAN, Okla. - A routine welfare check takes a turn when police report the DHS employee arrived on the scene drunk.

More >> DHS employee arrested after arriving drunk to routine welfare check
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FORT WALTON BEACH — It takes commitment and patience to be an adoptive parent.

After two years, stacks of paperwork and countless home visits, Pam and Bruce Braseth are still waiting to become adoptive parents to two sisters they’ve been caring for in their home.

“I don’t think it could go any slower,” Pam said. “There are so many kids in our community that need families to give them a foundation. This has been stressful for everybody.”

More >> Parents wishing to adopt struggle with bureacracy, case backlogs

The poor things, I can only imagine what the real parents have been through.

LK Report for 8/8/17 - Same Shit - Different Day...

Here are today's headlines.  

Check back later.  You never know when I might update this post.

http://www.LegallyKidnapped.com

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Note: I'm posting the following link because the Opioid crisis is said to be the biggest factor in the rising number of foster kids.

Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price announced Tuesday that President Donald Trump has no immediate plans to declare the nation's opioid epidemic a public health emergency, a decision that flies in the face of the key recommendation by the President's bipartisan opioid commission.

More >> US won't declare opioid emergency, Price says
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The mother of Jeremiah Oliver will no longer face criminal charges connected to the disappearance and death of the 5-year-old Fitchburg boy, but she pleaded guilty to charges she abused her two surviving children, Worcester prosecutors said Tuesday.

It continues:

The death of Jeremiah prompted a shake-up at the state Department of Children and Families, which had been assigned to keep tabs on the boy. Three DCF employees were fired for their negligence in handling the case, and Olga Roche, who was commissioner at the time, resigned.

More >> Charges against mother dropped in death of 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver
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(WIBW) - A Colorado couple says they are appealing a federal judge's decision to dismiss their lawsuit that the state of Kansas wrongfully removed their children

More >> Judge dismisses couple's lawsuit in child welfare dispute

I'm sad to hear this and wish the Schwab family the best in their fight.
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Like any new arrival, Mohamed faced her fair share of adjustments, but the biggest one would come eight months later, when she was removed from her mother's home and placed in foster care. She would become one of an unknown number of Muslim children caught in the custody of the state with a dearth of Muslim families to foster them.

More >> Muslim kids lost in Michigan foster care system for lack of Muslim homes