Parental Alienation: A Serious and Growing Problem in Family Law Cases
Some of the issues facing parents involved in a divorce or paternity action involving child custody are not specific to New Mexico, but occur all over the United States. One such issue, which has become increasingly recognized by family law courts during the last 20 years, is the concept of parental alienation.
Parental alienation is generally discussed in the context of a contested custody dispute, although elements of parental alienation can certainly be found in intact families. When the research about parental alienation first began being published, it focused on situations in which one parent sought to alienate the child from the other parent by doing things like preventing visitation between the child and the other parent and bad-mouthing the other parent to the child. Frequently, one parent would go so far as making false allegations in court to prevent the other parent from seeing the child.
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Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Parents, charged with killing daughter, allowed to see other children
Parents, charged with killing daughter, allowed to see other children
A judge today refused to bar Nicole and Randy Colucci, accused of murder in the death of their 2-year-old daughter, from seeing their other children, who are in foster care.
A judge today refused to bar Nicole and Randy Colucci, accused of murder in the death of their 2-year-old daughter, from seeing their other children, who are in foster care.
Indonesian Police Accused of Ignoring Victims
Indonesian Police Accused of Ignoring Victims
A police division that deals with crimes against women and children is being criticized for its handling of a rape involving a minor.
A police division that deals with crimes against women and children is being criticized for its handling of a rape involving a minor.
UNICEF welcomes Sudanese measure to end use of child soldiers
UNICEF welcomes Sudanese measure to end use of child soldiers
The United Nations agency charged with protecting the rights of children today welcomed the launch of a programme by the Sudanese Government to end the use of child soldiers by the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA).
The United Nations agency charged with protecting the rights of children today welcomed the launch of a programme by the Sudanese Government to end the use of child soldiers by the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA).
Editorial: The autism problem
Editorial: The autism problem
The dispute between a mother of an autistic child and Liberal MPP Greg Sorbara is illustrative of the problem facing our society as we try to grapple with autism.
Susan Fentie-Pearce says she appealed to Sorbara for asssitance in dealing with her 14-year-old autistic son, who has become increasingly violent -- pinching, kicking, biting and pulling her hair out. She wants help before her son does any more damage to her or to himself, but he has been on a waiting list for a group home since January. Fentie-Pearce says Sorbara suggested she should have her son charged with assault so that a judge could order him moved to the front of the line. Sorbara, himself a foster parent of an autistic child, says he was misinterpreted.
The dispute between a mother of an autistic child and Liberal MPP Greg Sorbara is illustrative of the problem facing our society as we try to grapple with autism.
Susan Fentie-Pearce says she appealed to Sorbara for asssitance in dealing with her 14-year-old autistic son, who has become increasingly violent -- pinching, kicking, biting and pulling her hair out. She wants help before her son does any more damage to her or to himself, but he has been on a waiting list for a group home since January. Fentie-Pearce says Sorbara suggested she should have her son charged with assault so that a judge could order him moved to the front of the line. Sorbara, himself a foster parent of an autistic child, says he was misinterpreted.
The Well Behaved Child
The Well Behaved Child - Part 1
Everyone wants a well behaved child, but in today society many families have households full of chaos.
The Well Behaved Child - Part 2
In some households where things are out of control it can be hard to tell who is in charge, the kids or the parents.
The Well Behaved Child - Part 3
The future of our children depends on parents. We help shape who they become. So what do our kids really need?
Everyone wants a well behaved child, but in today society many families have households full of chaos.
The Well Behaved Child - Part 2
In some households where things are out of control it can be hard to tell who is in charge, the kids or the parents.
The Well Behaved Child - Part 3
The future of our children depends on parents. We help shape who they become. So what do our kids really need?
Foster parents have right to fair reimbursement, court rules
Foster parents have right to fair reimbursement, court rules
Foster parents have a legal right to compensation for the actual cost of providing children with housing, food, clothing and other care required by the state, a federal appeals court ruled Monday.
The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found that the state was violating the Child Welfare Act by failing to adequately compensate foster parents caring for about 13,000 wards of the state of California. The court last year found the state similarly remiss in its reimbursements to institutions that care for the majority of California's 90,000 foster children.
Foster parents have a legal right to compensation for the actual cost of providing children with housing, food, clothing and other care required by the state, a federal appeals court ruled Monday.
The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found that the state was violating the Child Welfare Act by failing to adequately compensate foster parents caring for about 13,000 wards of the state of California. The court last year found the state similarly remiss in its reimbursements to institutions that care for the majority of California's 90,000 foster children.
Foster mom charged with felony child endangerment
Foster mom charged with felony child endangerment
A 65-year-old South San Francisco woman wrapped her 20-month-old foster daughter in bleach-soaked diapers, leaving the girl with first- and second-degree burns on her backside, according to prosecutors who charged her with felony child endangerment.
A 65-year-old South San Francisco woman wrapped her 20-month-old foster daughter in bleach-soaked diapers, leaving the girl with first- and second-degree burns on her backside, according to prosecutors who charged her with felony child endangerment.
Requiring Parents to Send Children to Gang- and Drug-Infected Schools Is State Sanctioned Child Abuse
Requiring Parents to Send Children to Gang- and Drug-Infected Schools Is State Sanctioned Child Abuse
Parents of tweens and teens: CASA's 15th Annual Back-to-School Survey indicates that the odds are increasing that the middle or high school your children are going to is drug infected (a place where drugs are used, kept or sold), especially if it is a public school.
Parents of tweens and teens: CASA's 15th Annual Back-to-School Survey indicates that the odds are increasing that the middle or high school your children are going to is drug infected (a place where drugs are used, kept or sold), especially if it is a public school.
U.S. Pediatricians Decry Media's Portrayal of Sex
U.S. Pediatricians Decry Media's Portrayal of Sex
The nation's leading group of pediatricians has issued a strong policy statement directed toward pediatricians, parents and the media on the danger of messages American teens and children are getting about sex from television, the Internet and other media outlets.
Note: I will have you know that the media also educates the sheep on the issues associated with child abuse and neglect as well.
The nation's leading group of pediatricians has issued a strong policy statement directed toward pediatricians, parents and the media on the danger of messages American teens and children are getting about sex from television, the Internet and other media outlets.
Note: I will have you know that the media also educates the sheep on the issues associated with child abuse and neglect as well.
Focus on Foster Children: Washington, Oregon sign pact to ease placement with kin
Focus on Foster Children: Washington, Oregon sign pact to ease placement with kin
An interstate agreement signed Monday will have a lasting positive effect on local foster children, officials said.
The agreement, the first of its kind between Washington and Oregon, gives social workers the ability to cut through layers of bureaucratic statutes and expedite the process of placing a child from one state with a relative who lives in the other state. The process could take as little as one week.
An interstate agreement signed Monday will have a lasting positive effect on local foster children, officials said.
The agreement, the first of its kind between Washington and Oregon, gives social workers the ability to cut through layers of bureaucratic statutes and expedite the process of placing a child from one state with a relative who lives in the other state. The process could take as little as one week.
State Social Workers Can’t Keep Up
State Social Workers Can’t Keep Up
State social workers say staffing shortages have made working conditions unbearable and could jeopardize the health and safety of needy island residents.
State social workers say staffing shortages have made working conditions unbearable and could jeopardize the health and safety of needy island residents.
Audit: Los Angeles Co. underreports child deaths
Audit: Los Angeles Co. underreports child deaths
Los Angeles County officials aren't following a state law that requires them to publicly disclose child fatalities resulting from abuse or neglect, according to an independent audit released Monday.
Los Angeles County officials aren't following a state law that requires them to publicly disclose child fatalities resulting from abuse or neglect, according to an independent audit released Monday.
Child abuse isn't a priority in Arizona
Now here's one of those headlines that you need to watch out for.
Some workers are just stupid. Some workers couldn't recognize a rip in a paper bag. Some workers have never had kids but go out into the fields as the great experts on parenting. Some are overworked, so they say.
They already have the power to snatch kids on a whim. They just gotta learn how to pick the right ones.
You, however, need to recognize propaganda and social conditioning tactics. CPS fucked up. The workers assigned to this case should be held accountable. There was clearly a severe performance issue on the part of the caseworkers in this case. That, is doubtfully representative of the whole.
It will, however, help to increase funding, as they hire, train and employ more caseworkers to snatch more children.
Child abuse isn't a priority in ArizonaWhy should you watch out for headlines like that? Because it's a call to action for the Chronically Anal-Retentive and the stupid. It causes them to formulate opinions based on misinformation.
New state laws were supposed to safeguard kids who are living in potential danger from family members. They did not shield 6-year-old Michael Ibarra. He died Aug. 3.Because they make it sound like missing one kid is representative of the whole.
Michael is the sixth Pima County child to die in recent years while under the watch of state Child Protective Services. Each killing spurred outrage and demands that things be done better, that children be saved from the relatives who do them harm. "Reforms" were put in place in 2008.See?
Little, it appears, has changed. We say "appears" because CPS won't talk about Michael on grounds that it might harm the criminal case.It appears that these workers are supposed to have the Chrystal Balls, and the psychic ability to look into the future with 100% accuracy. The reality will be that if enough public pressure is put on them, ie. the feminazi's start holding their protests in front of the state capital crying out that more needs to be done to protect all of the children, you're going to see more and more kids getting snatched for frivolous reasons and thrown into foster care. You're going to see more families being falsely accused as the awareness campaigns kick in.
Some workers are just stupid. Some workers couldn't recognize a rip in a paper bag. Some workers have never had kids but go out into the fields as the great experts on parenting. Some are overworked, so they say.
They already have the power to snatch kids on a whim. They just gotta learn how to pick the right ones.
You, however, need to recognize propaganda and social conditioning tactics. CPS fucked up. The workers assigned to this case should be held accountable. There was clearly a severe performance issue on the part of the caseworkers in this case. That, is doubtfully representative of the whole.
It will, however, help to increase funding, as they hire, train and employ more caseworkers to snatch more children.
Advocates demand transfer of family court judge, observe strike
Advocates demand transfer of family court judge, observe strike
Advocates in the city went on a flash strike on Monday to protest against alleged misbehaviour of a principal judge in family court. The advocates, who were up in arms against principal judge A S Saiyyad, said they won't turn up for hearing of cases in his court. Baroda Bar Association ( BBA) in charge president Ranjitsinh Rathod said Saiyyad used to behave rashly with advocates during hearings.
Advocates in the city went on a flash strike on Monday to protest against alleged misbehaviour of a principal judge in family court. The advocates, who were up in arms against principal judge A S Saiyyad, said they won't turn up for hearing of cases in his court. Baroda Bar Association ( BBA) in charge president Ranjitsinh Rathod said Saiyyad used to behave rashly with advocates during hearings.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Los Angeles County didn't report child deaths
Los Angeles County didn't report child deaths
Officials failed to publicly disclose fatalities resulting from abuse or neglect, an audit finds.
Officials failed to publicly disclose fatalities resulting from abuse or neglect, an audit finds.
Nigerian governor says abuse of child 'witches' exaggerated
Nigerian governor says abuse of child 'witches' exaggerated
A Nigerian governor said on Monday that reports of child abuse associated with witchcraft in his state are greatly exaggerated.
A Nigerian governor said on Monday that reports of child abuse associated with witchcraft in his state are greatly exaggerated.
Gujarat judges to get lessons in child psychology
Gujarat judges to get lessons in child psychology
The Gujarat High Court Monday directed its own administration to give lessons in child psychology and law to magistrates who hear cases related to minor delinquents.
The Gujarat High Court Monday directed its own administration to give lessons in child psychology and law to magistrates who hear cases related to minor delinquents.
If you would all be so kind...
I would really appreciate if all of you wonderful people who read Legally Kidnapped would nominate Baby LK for this prestigious award in whatever category, I really don't care as long as he wins.
NOMINATIONS OPEN FOR CHILD WELFARE AWARDS; FOSTER CARE REVIEW BOARD TO RECOGNIZE SERVICE TO ABUSED AND NEGLECTED CHILDREN
The Foster Care Review Board is seeking nominations for its annual Child Welfare Awards, which honor judges, lawyers, foster care workers, and foster parents for exemplary service to children in Michigan’s foster care system.I mean, Baby LK has worked hard all year long exposing the child protective industry for what it really is on the Baby LK Report, and bringing about a taste of the transparency that is so desperately needed by bringing you all of the latest and greatest child welfare frauds, failures, and fuck-ups?
So as the new poster child for Child Protective Industry Abolition, it's time he gets recognized for all of of his efforts. Wouldn't you think?
L.A. County Children And Family Services Might Have Had Incentive To Withold Information About Child Abuse Deaths
L.A. County Children And Family Services Might Have Had Incentive To Withold Information About Child Abuse Deaths
An examination of how Los Angeles County officials have restricted information about the controversial, abuse-related deaths of children under the jurisdiction of the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) found on Monday that in many cases "there may be either conscious or unconscious incentives for child protective service officials to adopt a narrow" view of what documents need to be released under state law.
An examination of how Los Angeles County officials have restricted information about the controversial, abuse-related deaths of children under the jurisdiction of the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) found on Monday that in many cases "there may be either conscious or unconscious incentives for child protective service officials to adopt a narrow" view of what documents need to be released under state law.
Deputy charged with false abuse claim
Deputy charged with false abuse claim
An off-duty Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy has been criminally charged with filing a false police report and accusing her ex-husband of molestation because she was upset over child custody matters, county prosecutors said Monday.
An off-duty Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy has been criminally charged with filing a false police report and accusing her ex-husband of molestation because she was upset over child custody matters, county prosecutors said Monday.
Matawan woman is indicted on charges of sexually assaulting girl she was mentoring
Matawan woman is indicted on charges of sexually assaulting girl she was mentoring
A Matawan woman was indicted last week on charges of sexually assaulting a girl she was mentoring in Franklin Township and giving the child prescription medication, according to court papers.
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The mentor program is a community-based rehabilitation service that provides programs for people with disabilities and children with emotional and behavioral challenges. The victim attended a program that focused on therapeutic foster care in private, family homes.
A Matawan woman was indicted last week on charges of sexually assaulting a girl she was mentoring in Franklin Township and giving the child prescription medication, according to court papers.
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The mentor program is a community-based rehabilitation service that provides programs for people with disabilities and children with emotional and behavioral challenges. The victim attended a program that focused on therapeutic foster care in private, family homes.
Mother Appalled Over Lack of Assistance for Autistic Children
Mother Appalled Over Lack of Assistance for Autistic Children
Susan Fentie-Pearce, Co-founder of Ontario Autism Coalition, has four sons with two among them hit by autism.
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However, the visit turned out to be even more disturbing. She has claimed that she got lots of insensitive and belittling words despite of a helpful advice. Besides, she alleged to have been advised to give up custody of her son to the Children's Aid Society in a view to give him a better treatment.
Susan Fentie-Pearce, Co-founder of Ontario Autism Coalition, has four sons with two among them hit by autism.
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However, the visit turned out to be even more disturbing. She has claimed that she got lots of insensitive and belittling words despite of a helpful advice. Besides, she alleged to have been advised to give up custody of her son to the Children's Aid Society in a view to give him a better treatment.
Mother of autistic boy confronts MPP over lack of treatment facilities
Mother of autistic boy confronts MPP over lack of treatment facilities
Susan Fentie-Pearce is not just the co-founder of Ontario Autism Coalition, a group that has been pushing for shorter wait-times and better treatment options for autistic children.
Susan Fentie-Pearce is not just the co-founder of Ontario Autism Coalition, a group that has been pushing for shorter wait-times and better treatment options for autistic children.
Ads to use moms who lost their children to promote safe sleeping practices for babies
Ads to use moms who lost their children to promote safe sleeping practices for babies
September is Baby Safety Month, and in a bid to cut the high infant death rate, a new public health campaign is hammering home a message to prevent more loss: Babies should sleep alone on their backs in a crib.
September is Baby Safety Month, and in a bid to cut the high infant death rate, a new public health campaign is hammering home a message to prevent more loss: Babies should sleep alone on their backs in a crib.
Taking in teen violates Florida law
Taking in teen violates Florida law
Q: A couple of months ago my neighbors kicked their 17-year-old adopted daughter out of her home. This was after the teen had told police that her parents were abusive, only to be advised by the police that her parents had the legal right to hit her.
Q: A couple of months ago my neighbors kicked their 17-year-old adopted daughter out of her home. This was after the teen had told police that her parents were abusive, only to be advised by the police that her parents had the legal right to hit her.
Colorado Father Saves Daughter From Abuse in Chicago
Colorado Father Saves Daughter From Abuse in Chicago
"I love my daughter so much and I don't know what would have happened without your help." These words were tearfully spoken by Colorado father, Miguel Gallardo, to his attorney, David Pedraza after Miguel was awarded custody of his 12-year-old daughter by Circuit Court of Cook County Judge Schuster. With the help of his attorney, Gallardo obtained a protective order for his child after the judge found the mother had violated the Illinois Domestic Violence Act. The court made this decision even though the child had lived with the mother her entire life.
"I love my daughter so much and I don't know what would have happened without your help." These words were tearfully spoken by Colorado father, Miguel Gallardo, to his attorney, David Pedraza after Miguel was awarded custody of his 12-year-old daughter by Circuit Court of Cook County Judge Schuster. With the help of his attorney, Gallardo obtained a protective order for his child after the judge found the mother had violated the Illinois Domestic Violence Act. The court made this decision even though the child had lived with the mother her entire life.
Mom of autistic teen angry with Sobara
Mom of autistic teen angry with Sobara
A co-founder of the Ontario Autism Coalition says a Liberal member of the legislature told her she should have her aggressive autistic son jailed to get better treatment for him.
Susan Fentie-Pearce said that Greg Sorbara told her to either have her 14-year-old son Keith charged with assault so a judge could order treatment, or sign custody over to the Children's Aid Society.
A co-founder of the Ontario Autism Coalition says a Liberal member of the legislature told her she should have her aggressive autistic son jailed to get better treatment for him.
Susan Fentie-Pearce said that Greg Sorbara told her to either have her 14-year-old son Keith charged with assault so a judge could order treatment, or sign custody over to the Children's Aid Society.
This is funny
Just a little while ago I posted the link to this article, which claims:
So I guess this new updated approach to foster care, is for white children only?
North Dakota is at the forefront of a new trend in the way foster care is administered: Don’t put children in foster care.Now I post a link to this article from the same website.
Native American numbers on rise in North Dakota foster care system
Statistics show that minorities are overrepresented in the foster care system in all states.
So I guess this new updated approach to foster care, is for white children only?
About dependency court
About dependency court
What is dependency court?
A branch of juvenile court in which a judge decides if a child will be placed in the custody of courts.
What is dependency court?
A branch of juvenile court in which a judge decides if a child will be placed in the custody of courts.
North Dakota takes updated approach to foster care
North Dakota takes updated approach to foster care
North Dakota is at the forefront of a new trend in the way foster care is administered: Don’t put children in foster care.
North Dakota is at the forefront of a new trend in the way foster care is administered: Don’t put children in foster care.
Relatives who take in children cut foster care costs in Berks
Relatives who take in children cut foster care costs in Berks
It costs less to counsel families who take in children than to finance years of foster care
It costs less to counsel families who take in children than to finance years of foster care
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Russian-born orphans abused by US foster parents
Russian-born orphans abused by US foster parents
The Russian children’s rights Ombudsman Pavel Astakhov has urged authorities in the United States to thoroughly investigate the latest instance of abuse of Russian-born adoptees by American foster parents.
The Russian children’s rights Ombudsman Pavel Astakhov has urged authorities in the United States to thoroughly investigate the latest instance of abuse of Russian-born adoptees by American foster parents.
Baby LK Report For August 29th 2010
Baby LK Report For August 29th 2010
For these stories and all the latest dirt on the child protective industry, visit Legally Kidnapped at http://www.LegallyKidnapped.blogspot.com
This week, Walgreen's gives candy to kids in pill bottles...
CPS stays up Mel Gibson's ass.
New York busts up a scam were foster parents are collecting benefits for dead kids...
And much much more.
Keeping siblings connected
They mean separated.
Keeping siblings connected
Ashley Figueroa shares the same blood with nine other siblings, but not the same home. They all live in foster care, but not together.
Keeping siblings connected
Ashley Figueroa shares the same blood with nine other siblings, but not the same home. They all live in foster care, but not together.
Exhibit puts foster kids' best faces forward
Exhibit puts foster kids' best faces forward
In March, the county began participating in the Heart Gallery of America, a traveling photo and audio exhibit of hard-to-place foster children aimed at attracting people who will adopt them. Enlarged, professionally photographed portraits of the children and teens are put on display, with brief biographies included.
Note: Yup! They dress them up all pretty, take their picture, write a paragraph about their favorite things, an put them on display on the showroom floor of the adoption industry. This is the plight of your stolen children people. The ones who nobody wants, the ones who nobody loves, well that's not entirely true now is it parents?
In March, the county began participating in the Heart Gallery of America, a traveling photo and audio exhibit of hard-to-place foster children aimed at attracting people who will adopt them. Enlarged, professionally photographed portraits of the children and teens are put on display, with brief biographies included.
Note: Yup! They dress them up all pretty, take their picture, write a paragraph about their favorite things, an put them on display on the showroom floor of the adoption industry. This is the plight of your stolen children people. The ones who nobody wants, the ones who nobody loves, well that's not entirely true now is it parents?
Close call for toddler lands mother in trouble
Close call for toddler lands mother in trouble
A police officer searching for suspects in a crime had to slam on his brakes to avoid running over a 1-year-old boy who ran into traffic in the 400 block of 17th Street late Friday.
Note: Shit happens people. The sooner these assholes get wind of that, the sooner we will all be able to get on with our lives.
A police officer searching for suspects in a crime had to slam on his brakes to avoid running over a 1-year-old boy who ran into traffic in the 400 block of 17th Street late Friday.
Note: Shit happens people. The sooner these assholes get wind of that, the sooner we will all be able to get on with our lives.
Why I hated Foster Care…and Why I hate myself.
Why I hated Foster Care…and Why I hate myself.
I hated foster care because no-one really cared about me.
……….I hate myself because no-one really cared about me.
I hated foster care because no-one really cared about me.
……….I hate myself because no-one really cared about me.
Child abuse network law to make evidence gathering easier
Child abuse network law to make evidence gathering easier
A law that takes effect today makes it easier for children to stay close to home when being examined for signs of abuse or neglect takes effect today in Missouri.
A law that takes effect today makes it easier for children to stay close to home when being examined for signs of abuse or neglect takes effect today in Missouri.
Let's protect kids, rather than criminals' privacy
Let's protect kids, rather than criminals' privacy
Alberta's dysfunctional child-welfare system screams for an overhaul
Alberta's dysfunctional child-welfare system screams for an overhaul
Raleigh Family Law Attorney Says Divorced Parents Should Consider Virtual Visitation
Raleigh Family Law Attorney Says Divorced Parents Should Consider Virtual Visitation
Skype, iChat and other online video conference programs may be changing the way courts and divorced parents handle relocation issues, Raleigh family law attorney Charles R. Ullman says.
Skype, iChat and other online video conference programs may be changing the way courts and divorced parents handle relocation issues, Raleigh family law attorney Charles R. Ullman says.
Placing mistreated children with relatives produces encouraging results
Placing mistreated children with relatives produces encouraging results
Pennsylvania's new focus makes kids and taxpayers happy, advocates say
Pennsylvania's new focus makes kids and taxpayers happy, advocates say
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Interrogation or Child Abuse?
The interrogation of a young boy over the murder of his sister has false and devastating consequences.
State failed Robert Manwill despite many red flags
State failed Robert Manwill despite many red flags
Had a court order been enforced, he wouldn't have been living in the home where police say he was beaten to death, records obtained by the Statesman show This chronicle of events is drawn from court and Idaho Health and Welfare documents.
Had a court order been enforced, he wouldn't have been living in the home where police say he was beaten to death, records obtained by the Statesman show This chronicle of events is drawn from court and Idaho Health and Welfare documents.
Suicide Among Youth Within Residential Group Facilities and Single Family Foster Homes
Suicide Among Youth Within Residential Group Facilities and Single Family Foster Homes
Recent years, researchers admit high rates of suicides among youth within the foster care system
Recent years, researchers admit high rates of suicides among youth within the foster care system
Abusive Mothers Improve Parenting After in-Home Training, Emotional Support of Therapists
Abusive Mothers Improve Parenting After in-Home Training, Emotional Support of Therapists
A new study has found that mothers in families in which there is a history of child abuse and neglect were able to reduce how much they cursed at, yelled at, slapped, spanked, hit or rejected their children after a series of home visits from therapists who taught them parenting skills.
A new study has found that mothers in families in which there is a history of child abuse and neglect were able to reduce how much they cursed at, yelled at, slapped, spanked, hit or rejected their children after a series of home visits from therapists who taught them parenting skills.
Sex assault on 11-year-old alleged
Sex assault on 11-year-old alleged
A 55-year-old man has been charged with twice sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl at a Burnsville day care he owned with his wife.
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State records show the Browns are licensed foster parents.
A 55-year-old man has been charged with twice sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl at a Burnsville day care he owned with his wife.
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State records show the Browns are licensed foster parents.
A foster kid finally gets his forever home...
Hammer-wielding killer gets maximum sentence
The beating Aaron Jones inflicted on Jeffrey Patterson was among the most brutal and vicious crimes Judge James Jensen said he has come across during his 15 years on the bench.
The beating Aaron Jones inflicted on Jeffrey Patterson was among the most brutal and vicious crimes Judge James Jensen said he has come across during his 15 years on the bench.
New Jersey Returns $2.9M to Medicaid After Planned Parenthood False Billing
New Jersey Returns $2.9M to Medicaid After Planned Parenthood False Billing
After a U.S. Inspector General report showed New Jersey-based family planning clinics run by the Planned Parenthood abortion business were improperly billing Medicaid for services that did not qualify as family planning, the state has returned $2.9 million to the Medicaid program.
After a U.S. Inspector General report showed New Jersey-based family planning clinics run by the Planned Parenthood abortion business were improperly billing Medicaid for services that did not qualify as family planning, the state has returned $2.9 million to the Medicaid program.
Ongoing Fight Against Modern Slavery
Ongoing Fight Against Modern Slavery
Good morning. Thank you Mr. Heck for that kind introduction. I am pleased that you all decided to use the blue and gold on the NDAA banner instead of the Ohio State red and silver for your colors at the conference. It seems that when it comes to Big Ten football, it is often us versus everyone else.
Good morning. Thank you Mr. Heck for that kind introduction. I am pleased that you all decided to use the blue and gold on the NDAA banner instead of the Ohio State red and silver for your colors at the conference. It seems that when it comes to Big Ten football, it is often us versus everyone else.
Whistle-blow social worker loses victimisation claim
Whistle-blow social worker loses victimisation claim
A whistle-blower who warned the government that child protection measures were not being followed in Haringey six months before the death of Baby P has lost her claim of victimisation against the council.
A whistle-blower who warned the government that child protection measures were not being followed in Haringey six months before the death of Baby P has lost her claim of victimisation against the council.
EXPOSING THE PLAN
EXPOSING THE PLAN
Here's The Plan: "A bunch of unelected elitists are going to make you an offer you can't refuse – a free education for your children via public schools that will be run under the auspices of local governments, administered by state governments but actually controlled by the federal government. But don't get too excited by the word "free" because you're going to be paying for it with your taxes and most especially your children, who will be forcibly taken from your home if you refuse to comply, and/or you will be jailed for violating truancy laws written to enforce the new compulsory education law.
After about 100 years of conditioning parents and kids to the drill of leaving the home early in the morning for five days of reading, writing and arithmetic, The Plan goes into its second phase – full scale indoctrination and deliberate dumbing down. Reading, writing and math skills will be de-emphasized more and more. Science will be more theory than actual science, and historical figures like our founding fathers will fade away. Textbooks will no longer include traditional family values like truth, honesty and respect for others; instead, textbooks will instill doubt in American work ethics, patriotism and faith in the Christian God. Your kids will be de-programmed of those values taught at home and church and re-programmed with the Fundamentals of Humanism – Socialism, Darwinism and Moral Relativism."
Here's The Plan: "A bunch of unelected elitists are going to make you an offer you can't refuse – a free education for your children via public schools that will be run under the auspices of local governments, administered by state governments but actually controlled by the federal government. But don't get too excited by the word "free" because you're going to be paying for it with your taxes and most especially your children, who will be forcibly taken from your home if you refuse to comply, and/or you will be jailed for violating truancy laws written to enforce the new compulsory education law.
After about 100 years of conditioning parents and kids to the drill of leaving the home early in the morning for five days of reading, writing and arithmetic, The Plan goes into its second phase – full scale indoctrination and deliberate dumbing down. Reading, writing and math skills will be de-emphasized more and more. Science will be more theory than actual science, and historical figures like our founding fathers will fade away. Textbooks will no longer include traditional family values like truth, honesty and respect for others; instead, textbooks will instill doubt in American work ethics, patriotism and faith in the Christian God. Your kids will be de-programmed of those values taught at home and church and re-programmed with the Fundamentals of Humanism – Socialism, Darwinism and Moral Relativism."
Soldier accused of water boarding 6-year-old pleads not guilty
Soldier accused of water boarding 6-year-old pleads not guilty
A Fort Lewis soldier accused of water boarding his 6-year-old foster son pleaded not guilty on Wednesday.
Prosecutors say the boy told investigators Ruben Colon held his head under a bathtub faucet in May 2009, causing him to choke and cough.
A Fort Lewis soldier accused of water boarding his 6-year-old foster son pleaded not guilty on Wednesday.
Prosecutors say the boy told investigators Ruben Colon held his head under a bathtub faucet in May 2009, causing him to choke and cough.
Protective services for abused Chatham County children face funding shortage
Protective services for abused Chatham County children face funding shortage
A decrease in state funding is impacting the quality of protective services for abused children in Chatham County.
Note: I'm sure incompetent and sadistic babystealers don't help either.
A decrease in state funding is impacting the quality of protective services for abused children in Chatham County.
Note: I'm sure incompetent and sadistic babystealers don't help either.
Child protection - 'We cannot return to days of failures'
Child protection - 'We cannot return to days of failures'
The phrase "Cinderella service" could have been coined to describe child protection specialists. They are a classic example of invaluable work going unnoticed.
Note: No they are babystealers. And we are noticing.
The phrase "Cinderella service" could have been coined to describe child protection specialists. They are a classic example of invaluable work going unnoticed.
Note: No they are babystealers. And we are noticing.
New bill would broaden child welfare database
New bill would broaden child welfare database
Los Angeles County child-welfare officials won an important victory in Sacramento this week in the quest to help social workers better investigate allegations of child abuse.
Passed unanimously in the Assembly and Senate, Assembly Bill 2322 expands information available to county social workers in a computer database called the Family and Children’s Index (FCI), which provides child welfare workers with key medical, law enforcement and social services data as they launch child welfare investigations.
Los Angeles County child-welfare officials won an important victory in Sacramento this week in the quest to help social workers better investigate allegations of child abuse.
Passed unanimously in the Assembly and Senate, Assembly Bill 2322 expands information available to county social workers in a computer database called the Family and Children’s Index (FCI), which provides child welfare workers with key medical, law enforcement and social services data as they launch child welfare investigations.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Former Troy man pleads guilty in '96 death of foster son
Former Troy man pleads guilty in '96 death of foster son
Edward Wayne Edwards had the right to remain silent.
He chose not to.
Edward Wayne Edwards had the right to remain silent.
He chose not to.
Former St. Petersburg foster mother not guilty of murdering baby
Former St. Petersburg foster mother not guilty of murdering baby
Former foster mother Tenesia Brown looked ahead stoically for a full minute after a jury found her not guilty of murdering a baby in her care.
Former foster mother Tenesia Brown looked ahead stoically for a full minute after a jury found her not guilty of murdering a baby in her care.
Responsible, patient, caring individuals and couples needed to provide foster homes
Responsible, patient, caring individuals and couples needed to provide foster homes
Note: But since there is a shortage of those, they'll settle for pedophiles, murderers, kooks and those who do it for the money.
Local foster parents got a look at things through the eyes of some of the system's former charges at a foster parent training session Thursday.
Note: But since there is a shortage of those, they'll settle for pedophiles, murderers, kooks and those who do it for the money.
Local foster parents got a look at things through the eyes of some of the system's former charges at a foster parent training session Thursday.
Agency releases report on Nebraska foster care
Agency releases report on Nebraska foster care
An independent state agency charged with watching over foster children released a report Friday showing six months of the ups and downs of child welfare reform.
An independent state agency charged with watching over foster children released a report Friday showing six months of the ups and downs of child welfare reform.
Police: man attacked female CPA worker
Police: man attacked female CPA worker
Child Protective Services in Wyoming County are investigating a man they say abused one of their employees.
Note: Look, I realize that this babystealer probably deserved it, but before some system suck gets her panties in a bunch, Legally Kidnapped does not condone this sort of behavior.
Child Protective Services in Wyoming County are investigating a man they say abused one of their employees.
Note: Look, I realize that this babystealer probably deserved it, but before some system suck gets her panties in a bunch, Legally Kidnapped does not condone this sort of behavior.
U.S. staff told to send children out of Mexican city
U.S. staff told to send children out of Mexican city
The U.S. government told staff at its consulate in Monterrey to send their children out of the northern Mexican city where drug violence has been escalating, the consulate said on Friday.
The U.S. government told staff at its consulate in Monterrey to send their children out of the northern Mexican city where drug violence has been escalating, the consulate said on Friday.
Japanese war orphans in China
Japanese war orphans in China
FOR Gao Fengqin, the worst horror of World War II happened in the closing days. "I still remember the day my mother took me to a small restaurant to meet my new Chinese mother," says Gao, now 70 years old. "I had noodles and when I finished, she stood up to leave. I gripped her leg, crying for her not to go."
FOR Gao Fengqin, the worst horror of World War II happened in the closing days. "I still remember the day my mother took me to a small restaurant to meet my new Chinese mother," says Gao, now 70 years old. "I had noodles and when I finished, she stood up to leave. I gripped her leg, crying for her not to go."
Expert says St. Petersburg foster child did not die from shaking
Expert says St. Petersburg foster child did not die from shaking
Tenesia Brown, the former St. Petersburg foster mother accused of shaking a baby to death, decided not to testify in her own behalf Friday afternoon.
Tenesia Brown, the former St. Petersburg foster mother accused of shaking a baby to death, decided not to testify in her own behalf Friday afternoon.
Carpentersville foster mom pleads guilty to child battery
Carpentersville foster mom pleads guilty to child battery
A Carpentersville woman admitted in court Friday to battering a foster child.
Dorothy A. Hamilton, 48, of the 5600 block of Heartland Court, pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated battery to a child and was sentenced to 24 months probation at a hearing in Kane County.
A Carpentersville woman admitted in court Friday to battering a foster child.
Dorothy A. Hamilton, 48, of the 5600 block of Heartland Court, pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated battery to a child and was sentenced to 24 months probation at a hearing in Kane County.
Oops! School Reports Every Child Absent
A mistake in an automated message service told parents of all 300 students at Midland Trail Elementary School that their children were absent. KMBC 9's Robb Yagmin reports.
DCF Under Fire After Mansfield Stabbing
The state is demanding answers from the Department of Children and Families after a mother, who is known to the agency, was charged with stabbing her disabled son.
Note: Let this be a warning to the parents of Connecticut. When CPS fails to protect a kid, and the public gets all up in arms about it, and starts demanding that the state do more to protect children, then the workers panic, steal more kids and increase the numbers of child removals.
Get out while you still can.
The Adoption Tax Credit
The Adoption Tax Credit
If you had adoption-related income and/or expenses, any one or a combination of benefits, credits and exclusions could substantially reduce your tax liability.
Note: Who says it's not about the money?
If you had adoption-related income and/or expenses, any one or a combination of benefits, credits and exclusions could substantially reduce your tax liability.
Note: Who says it's not about the money?
Attn: Russia!!!! Another US Adoption gone horribly wrong!!!
Note: This BTW is the 13,000 post to Legally Kidnapped, thus proving once again that Legally Kidnapped is the worlds greatest database of Child Welfare Fuck-ups!!! So lets celebrate by documenting another failed Russian adoption.
Parents Accused Of Torturing 3 Adopted Russian Sisters
A Larimer County couple is charged with abusing three adopted Russian sisters, forcing them to do hundreds of push-ups, run 43 miles in three days, and do headstands for over an hour, according to court documents.
For more on the US/Russian adoption failures just check out the Russia link in the sidebar >>>
http://legallykidnapped.blogspot.com/search/label/Russia
Parents Accused Of Torturing 3 Adopted Russian Sisters
A Larimer County couple is charged with abusing three adopted Russian sisters, forcing them to do hundreds of push-ups, run 43 miles in three days, and do headstands for over an hour, according to court documents.
For more on the US/Russian adoption failures just check out the Russia link in the sidebar >>>
http://legallykidnapped.blogspot.com/search/label/Russia
Mom of Sick Child May Have to Leave U.S.
The mother of a critically ill child has an impossible choice to make. She can either stay in this country illegally or leave her child alone.
Iowa’s Child Protection Registry Abuses Due Proces
Iowa’s Child Protection Registry Abuses Due Proces
Iowa child protective services have been removing children from their homes at a rate twice the national average. Roughly 50,000 of the state’s 3 million residents have been placed on a “child abuse registry”.
Iowa child protective services have been removing children from their homes at a rate twice the national average. Roughly 50,000 of the state’s 3 million residents have been placed on a “child abuse registry”.
Foster father pleads not guilty to molestation charges
Foster father pleads not guilty to molestation charges
An Oakley foster father pleaded not guilty Wednesday to felony charges alleging that he committed sexual acts on a 10-year-old boy at his home in July, a Contra Costa County prosecutor said today.
An Oakley foster father pleaded not guilty Wednesday to felony charges alleging that he committed sexual acts on a 10-year-old boy at his home in July, a Contra Costa County prosecutor said today.
Warsaw man held in attack on CPS worker
Warsaw man held in attack on CPS worker
A Warsaw man is in Wyoming County Jail after he allegedly became verbally and physically abusive to a female Child Protective Services worker Aug. 20, state police said.
A Warsaw man is in Wyoming County Jail after he allegedly became verbally and physically abusive to a female Child Protective Services worker Aug. 20, state police said.
Bullshit Alert!!!
L.A. County's leak investigation is about the law, not publicity
Your Aug. 21 editorial, "Leaks don't kill kids," and Tim Rutten's Aug. 18 Op-Ed column, "When children die," erroneously implied that the focus of the county's inquiry into illegally disclosed confidential case information is to mitigate bad publicity or improve social worker morale. This is simply untrue. It is also wrong to imply that child-specific case information is kept confidential at my own, or any other public employee's, whim. It is confidential according to state law. As director of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, I have a duty to the county, the state and the children and families we serve to uphold state law by taking reasonable measures to protect confidentiality while sharing any and all information that can be legally shared.
Your Aug. 21 editorial, "Leaks don't kill kids," and Tim Rutten's Aug. 18 Op-Ed column, "When children die," erroneously implied that the focus of the county's inquiry into illegally disclosed confidential case information is to mitigate bad publicity or improve social worker morale. This is simply untrue. It is also wrong to imply that child-specific case information is kept confidential at my own, or any other public employee's, whim. It is confidential according to state law. As director of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, I have a duty to the county, the state and the children and families we serve to uphold state law by taking reasonable measures to protect confidentiality while sharing any and all information that can be legally shared.
Parents' "nightmare" as they are accused of child abuse: Panorama tonight
Parents' "nightmare" as they are accused of child abuse: Panorama tonight
Panorama tonight focuses on the story of Jake and Victoria Ward, who were accused of abusing their three-month-old son. It took the couple close to two years to iron out the case, after the court ruled they must never be left alone with their child and be subject to regular visits from social workers.
Panorama tonight focuses on the story of Jake and Victoria Ward, who were accused of abusing their three-month-old son. It took the couple close to two years to iron out the case, after the court ruled they must never be left alone with their child and be subject to regular visits from social workers.
Facebook failed to tell police about paedophile porn ring
Facebook failed to tell police about paedophile porn ring
FACEBOOK management failed repeatedly to reveal the activity of an international child pornography syndicate operating on their site and ignored continuing admissions by one of the ring's Australian members.
FACEBOOK management failed repeatedly to reveal the activity of an international child pornography syndicate operating on their site and ignored continuing admissions by one of the ring's Australian members.
Landlord ordered to pay tenant
Landlord ordered to pay tenant
A landlord who tried to evict a tenant by turning off her water, reporting her to Child Protective Services and summoning police to roust her from her bed must pay $13,600, a judge said in an order to be entered in Roanoke General District Court today.
A landlord who tried to evict a tenant by turning off her water, reporting her to Child Protective Services and summoning police to roust her from her bed must pay $13,600, a judge said in an order to be entered in Roanoke General District Court today.
Accessing CAMHS for children in care proceedings - a guide for family law professionals
Accessing CAMHS for children in care proceedings - a guide for family law professionals
Dr Matt Woolgar, a clinical psychologist at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust's National CAMHS Adoption and Fostering Service, reviews requests by family law practitioners for therapeutic assessments, and advises on the way the legal and clinical professions can work harmoniously for the benefit of children and adolescent clients.
Dr Matt Woolgar, a clinical psychologist at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust's National CAMHS Adoption and Fostering Service, reviews requests by family law practitioners for therapeutic assessments, and advises on the way the legal and clinical professions can work harmoniously for the benefit of children and adolescent clients.
WikiLeaks under fire over child abuse files
WikiLeaks under fire over child abuse files
WIKILEAKS is at the centre of a new row after publishing uncensored police files from the investigation into a child killer, including lurid evidence and wild accusations against one of Belgium's leading politicians.
WIKILEAKS is at the centre of a new row after publishing uncensored police files from the investigation into a child killer, including lurid evidence and wild accusations against one of Belgium's leading politicians.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Adventures in Emergency Response
Adventures in Emergency Response
The email that I just sent to Sabrina's social worker, names changed:
The email that I just sent to Sabrina's social worker, names changed:
From bad to worse.
From bad to worse.
I love this kiddo so much. But we are this close to giving up. We feel like we're in way over our heads right now. I feel resentful at The Agency for putting a kid who needed a therapeutic foster home in with non-therapeutic first time foster parents. I am angry at the people who caused this beautiful little boy to have all these problems. I am sad that we have to worry that we can't do this any more.
Note: Foster care probably made him that way.
I love this kiddo so much. But we are this close to giving up. We feel like we're in way over our heads right now. I feel resentful at The Agency for putting a kid who needed a therapeutic foster home in with non-therapeutic first time foster parents. I am angry at the people who caused this beautiful little boy to have all these problems. I am sad that we have to worry that we can't do this any more.
Note: Foster care probably made him that way.
Edward Edwards admits killing his foster son but official guilty plea could not be made
Edward Edwards admits killing his foster son but official guilty plea could not be made
Edward Wayne Edwards tried to plead guilty Thursday to killing his foster son at their home in Burton in 1996.
The plea would have brought the number of victims to five he has been convicted of killing. But since Edwards is charged with a death penalty crime, the plea could not be accepted by Geauga County Common Pleas Judge Forrest Burt. It must be made before a three-judge panel or a jury, Prosecutor David Joyce said.
Edward Wayne Edwards tried to plead guilty Thursday to killing his foster son at their home in Burton in 1996.
The plea would have brought the number of victims to five he has been convicted of killing. But since Edwards is charged with a death penalty crime, the plea could not be accepted by Geauga County Common Pleas Judge Forrest Burt. It must be made before a three-judge panel or a jury, Prosecutor David Joyce said.
Jodie Foster stands by Mel Gibson
Jodie Foster stands by Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson’s agency dropped him like a tyrannical, bigoted, wife-beating hot potato, Leo DiCaprio smartly pulled out of his new directing exploit and anyone else with half a brain or even the slightest sense of morality has gotten as far away from Mel Gibson as possible. But Jodie Foster is sticking by her good buddy.
Note: Perhaps they should get together. They'd make a good couple.
Mel Gibson’s agency dropped him like a tyrannical, bigoted, wife-beating hot potato, Leo DiCaprio smartly pulled out of his new directing exploit and anyone else with half a brain or even the slightest sense of morality has gotten as far away from Mel Gibson as possible. But Jodie Foster is sticking by her good buddy.
Note: Perhaps they should get together. They'd make a good couple.
A foster mother goes on trial, and so does shaken baby syndrome
A foster mother goes on trial, and so does shaken baby syndrome
Over three days this week, prosecutors have systematically built a murder case against a former foster mother accused of shaking and killing a baby in her care.
Over three days this week, prosecutors have systematically built a murder case against a former foster mother accused of shaking and killing a baby in her care.
Mistrial declared for principal accused of failing to report abuse
Mistrial declared for principal accused of failing to report abuse
Roger Gagne (right) exits the courtroom Thursday in St. Albans after Judge Gregory Rainille declared a mistrial. Gagne is accused of failing to report a teacher’s abuse of a student.
Roger Gagne (right) exits the courtroom Thursday in St. Albans after Judge Gregory Rainille declared a mistrial. Gagne is accused of failing to report a teacher’s abuse of a student.
Man could face life in prison in sex assault of 2 foster girls
Man could face life in prison in sex assault of 2 foster girls
A Rosemont man charged with the sexual assault of two young foster girls in his home could face life in prison as prosecutors sought to admit proof today of other alleged crimes.
A Rosemont man charged with the sexual assault of two young foster girls in his home could face life in prison as prosecutors sought to admit proof today of other alleged crimes.
Illinois Medicaid Fraud Case Using PsychRights’ Model Complaint Unsealed
Illinois Medicaid Fraud Case Using PsychRights’ Model Complaint Unsealed
The Law Project for Psychiatric Rights (PsychRights®) announces the unsealing of the first Medicaid Fraud case for prescribing psychiatric drugs to children and youth by someone other than PsychRights using PsychRights’ model Qui Tam Complaint.
The Law Project for Psychiatric Rights (PsychRights®) announces the unsealing of the first Medicaid Fraud case for prescribing psychiatric drugs to children and youth by someone other than PsychRights using PsychRights’ model Qui Tam Complaint.
EXCLUSIVE: Child Protection Services Investigation Into Mel & Oksana Will Remain Open
EXCLUSIVE: Child Protection Services Investigation Into Mel & Oksana Will Remain Open
The Department of Children and Family Services investigation into allegations of abuse against Mel Gibson and Oksana Grigorieva regarding their infant
daughter Lucia will remain open until approximately Christmas, RadarOnline.com has learned exclusively.
The Department of Children and Family Services investigation into allegations of abuse against Mel Gibson and Oksana Grigorieva regarding their infant
daughter Lucia will remain open until approximately Christmas, RadarOnline.com has learned exclusively.
Has Iowa become a hellhole of abuse? newspaper asks
Has Iowa become a hellhole of abuse? newspaper asks
An editorial in today’s Washington Times singles out Iowa in opining on how child abuse registries reflect “an imaginary tide of abuse.”
An editorial in today’s Washington Times singles out Iowa in opining on how child abuse registries reflect “an imaginary tide of abuse.”
2 foster children allege St. Paul ex-teacher used them in child porn
2 foster children allege St. Paul ex-teacher used them in child porn
A former St. Paul schoolteacher has been sued again today — this time by two foster children and their guardians — for allegedly using the children in the production of pornography.
A former St. Paul schoolteacher has been sued again today — this time by two foster children and their guardians — for allegedly using the children in the production of pornography.
Records on social worker's allegations are public, opinion says
Records on social worker's allegations are public, opinion says
The Cabinet for Health and Family Services violated state open records law when it refused to release records related to a social worker’s allegations that child abuse and neglect cases were mishandled in her Northern Kentucky office, according to an opinion by the state Attorney General’s office.
The Cabinet for Health and Family Services violated state open records law when it refused to release records related to a social worker’s allegations that child abuse and neglect cases were mishandled in her Northern Kentucky office, according to an opinion by the state Attorney General’s office.
Care worker paedophile jailed after 30 yrs
Care worker paedophile jailed after 30 yrs
A social worker who sexually abused children more than 30 years ago was finally caught after being nominated for a bird-watching award.
Chris Rhodes, 73, was employed by Cardiff social services to look after troubled young boys 30 years ago.
A social worker who sexually abused children more than 30 years ago was finally caught after being nominated for a bird-watching award.
Chris Rhodes, 73, was employed by Cardiff social services to look after troubled young boys 30 years ago.
Children Services FAIL- DCFS Discovers New Way to Reduce Fatalities: Less Reporting
Children Services FAIL- DCFS Discovers New Way to Reduce Fatalities: Less Reporting
Another day in the business of child abuse. The LA Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) has discovered a new way to reduce the amount of child fatalities associated with it during the past year. They have narrowed the criteria of what constitutes abuse and neglect.
Another day in the business of child abuse. The LA Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) has discovered a new way to reduce the amount of child fatalities associated with it during the past year. They have narrowed the criteria of what constitutes abuse and neglect.
Senators take a look at child welfare reform in Nebraska
Senators take a look at child welfare reform in Nebraska without the input from the victims of CPS!
State senators from two legislative committees listened for four hours Wednesday to the challenges, costs and progress of child welfare reform in Nebraska.
State senators from two legislative committees listened for four hours Wednesday to the challenges, costs and progress of child welfare reform in Nebraska.
Frances and Friends on Child Protective Services
What some people may go threw with their children concerning Child Protective Services, on Sonlife Radio.
www.sonlifetv.com www.jsm.org
Victoria Police sorry for child-sex bungle
Victoria Police sorry for child-sex bungle
VICTORIA Police has apologised for its failure to protect nearly 700 children who were exposed to convicted sex offenders.
There was widespread condemnation yesterday of the Brumby government and the police that such a serious breach of the state's child protection laws could have occurred, and then gone unnoticed for five years.
VICTORIA Police has apologised for its failure to protect nearly 700 children who were exposed to convicted sex offenders.
There was widespread condemnation yesterday of the Brumby government and the police that such a serious breach of the state's child protection laws could have occurred, and then gone unnoticed for five years.
Internet gives megaphone to disgruntled family court litigants
A former judge doesn't like our new ability to loudly bitch about their corruption.
Sucks to be you.
Internet gives megaphone to disgruntled family court litigants
From Ben Thalheimer, a former Mecklenburg district judge who lost to Bill Belk in 2008 and is now a family law attorney with Moretz and Skufca:
Sucks to be you.
Internet gives megaphone to disgruntled family court litigants
From Ben Thalheimer, a former Mecklenburg district judge who lost to Bill Belk in 2008 and is now a family law attorney with Moretz and Skufca:
Talk About A Revolving Door, or System Suck Glorification Propaganda, whichever you prefer.
Utah foster couple honored with 'Spirit of Service' award
The hugs, the "I love you's" and the "Can I call you dad?" questions keep Jose Luis Gonzales working two jobs and his wife, Ruth, clipping coupons, shopping discount stores and stretching every nickel to provide for other people's children in addition to their own.
The hugs, the "I love you's" and the "Can I call you dad?" questions keep Jose Luis Gonzales working two jobs and his wife, Ruth, clipping coupons, shopping discount stores and stretching every nickel to provide for other people's children in addition to their own.
Carers in shock over funding
Note: It's about the money.
Carers in shock over funding
LIKE several Rockhampton foster carers, Kym Henry is worried about her future.
The foster mother of four has been a carer with the Central Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Child Care Association for the past six years and was shocked after hearing the recent news about funding cuts.
Carers in shock over funding
LIKE several Rockhampton foster carers, Kym Henry is worried about her future.
The foster mother of four has been a carer with the Central Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Child Care Association for the past six years and was shocked after hearing the recent news about funding cuts.
Parenting Under Scrutiny
I do not usually post entire articles here unless I get them from an article directory, which happens on occasion. However, this particular article is perhaps one of the best I've ever read since I started Legally Kidnapped. I'm not sure that this one will or not, but often times, articles disappear from the original server, couldn't chance it.
This author is dead on right.
Parenting Under Scrutiny
By LISA BELKIN
Chris Gottlieb defends parents for a living. She is with the Family Defense Clinic at New York University School of Law, which represents parents accused of child abuse and neglect and tries to keep families together. With that daily backdrop, she read our discussion here a few weeks ago — the one about parents judging other parents harshly — through a somewhat different lens.
She had recently published an article in the University of Baltimore Law Review about “how the tendency to judge mothering harshly plays out for the poor and minority women who come under the scrutiny of the child welfare system.” She has adapted that article as a guest blog today — describing how her own experiences as a mother (her children are four and one) help her understand how it feels to be judged, and give her some insight into the feelings of her accused clients.
Many of you will disagree with her conclusions. But you will agree that her vantage point is one that most of us don’t usually have.
JUDGING MOTHERING
By Chris Gottlieb
A woman approached on the subway to tell me that looking at newsprint up close could cause eyestrain. I quickly learned she was not worried about me; she was concerned about my baby’s eyes because I was carrying him face out, where he was about six inches from the newspaper I was reading. An elderly man chastised me because my baby’s legs were not covered. A saleswoman was more worried about his arms, but didn’t stop at commenting — she reached out to pull down his sleeves. Several strangers “tsked tsked” me when they learned I had my baby out of the house before he was six weeks old. I have been criticized for failing to have mittens on him, keeping him up too late and for drinking hot coffee while holding the little guy.
Maybe this onslaught should make me wonder about my mothering skills, but instead I marvel at how comfortable people feel telling complete strangers about their purported parenting flaws. I am certain that over the years, fellow subway riders have judged my fashion choices and found them wanting, or disapproved of what I was eating (or that I was eating on the train). Yet no one has ever voiced such opinions to me. But the discretion of strangers disappears as soon as you have a child, in fact, as soon as you are visibly pregnant. Heaven help you if you have a beer in public while expecting.
No infraction is too small or too strange to elicit comment. (The newspaper was too close to the baby’s eyes?) All my parent friends have experienced this no-win culture of judging parenting. Depending on their personalities, they have cowered, gotten angry or been demoralized by it. Yet as stinging as the comments and glares can be, for most of us they are limited to park benches and supermarket lines or, if we’re unlucky, to visits with the in-laws. Our culture of judging parenting by impossible standards hits some much harder.
Only after I had children did I truly begin to understand what I thought I already understood after years of standing beside my clients in family court: parenting is something we are inclined to judge harshly at the same time that it is impossible to do in anything but an extremely flawed way. You can’t get it right. We all know this. We all strive for greater excellence than we have hope of achieving. Yet we couple this knowledge with extreme intolerance for the shortcomings of other parents.
I represent parents accused of abusing or neglecting their children — few are more deeply despised in our society. If you know these parents through media coverage, you likely think we must do more to protect their children. The thing is, in the vast majority of cases, the ones these children most need to be protected from is not their parents. It is us. For we have empowered the government to judge parents and when the parenting is found wanting, to take children.
Certainly some children need to be separated from their parents and put in foster care. But only in rare situations is such a traumatic step justified. Yet over and over, I have seen caseworkers who investigate parents and judges who oversee intervention in family life hold parenting up for assessment and inevitably find that the parents fall short. Why? Because the standards imposed are as idiosyncratic and impossibly high as the standards of the people I hear from on the subway. The caseworkers and the judges, however, have the guns to back up their glares.
Contrary to the media images of severely abused children who have suffered and died at the hands of abusive parents, the vast majority of cases that clog the foster care system involve allegations of neglect, not abuse. And neglect is broadly construed. Parents are charged for refusing to give their children psychotropic medications, for using corporal punishment, for having a dirty home, for smoking marijuana. In other words, neglect includes many things that reasonable people have very different ideas about. Indeed, it includes many behaviors that my yuppie friends and I engage in without threat of government intervention.
Yet we allow, indeed encourage, government officials to be judgmental of the poor and minority parents who interact with the child welfare system. Despite clear constitutional law protecting the right of parents to raise their children as they see fit, one need only walk into family court to see this law routinely breached.
We have not sufficiently connected the phenomenon we observe in our own lives — of widespread willingness to impose perfectionist standards on parenting — with the explosion of inflammatory media coverage of child abuse and hyper-aggressive child protection policies. Legitimate efforts to protect children from serious abuse have morphed into second guessing decisions well within parental prerogative. Worse still, once government intervention in family life is authorized, the legal standard often becomes “best interests of the child.” How do courts and caseworkers determine what is in a child’s best interests? The same way the rest of us do: subjectively, inconsistently, and often erroneously. One judge wants more discipline; another wants less. I have heard caseworkers criticize mothers for everything from giving their children Chinese takeout food or Kool-Aid (the mother told me orange juice was too expensive for her) to having beer in the house to letting a child get wet under a sprinkler. A judge ordered one of my clients to take her child to the park every day. Every day! How can that level of micromanagement of parenting by the government make sense?
It is time to reevaluate our inclination to approach parenting with such unforgiving eyes — in our own lives and in our public policies. We would serve children far better if we viewed parenting by strangers as we view the parenting of our partners and friends when we are at our best: generously, with commiseration rather than a measuring stick. If we are going to interject, we might even consider offering support rather than judgment.
This author is dead on right.
Parenting Under Scrutiny
By LISA BELKIN
Chris Gottlieb defends parents for a living. She is with the Family Defense Clinic at New York University School of Law, which represents parents accused of child abuse and neglect and tries to keep families together. With that daily backdrop, she read our discussion here a few weeks ago — the one about parents judging other parents harshly — through a somewhat different lens.
She had recently published an article in the University of Baltimore Law Review about “how the tendency to judge mothering harshly plays out for the poor and minority women who come under the scrutiny of the child welfare system.” She has adapted that article as a guest blog today — describing how her own experiences as a mother (her children are four and one) help her understand how it feels to be judged, and give her some insight into the feelings of her accused clients.
Many of you will disagree with her conclusions. But you will agree that her vantage point is one that most of us don’t usually have.
JUDGING MOTHERING
By Chris Gottlieb
A woman approached on the subway to tell me that looking at newsprint up close could cause eyestrain. I quickly learned she was not worried about me; she was concerned about my baby’s eyes because I was carrying him face out, where he was about six inches from the newspaper I was reading. An elderly man chastised me because my baby’s legs were not covered. A saleswoman was more worried about his arms, but didn’t stop at commenting — she reached out to pull down his sleeves. Several strangers “tsked tsked” me when they learned I had my baby out of the house before he was six weeks old. I have been criticized for failing to have mittens on him, keeping him up too late and for drinking hot coffee while holding the little guy.
Maybe this onslaught should make me wonder about my mothering skills, but instead I marvel at how comfortable people feel telling complete strangers about their purported parenting flaws. I am certain that over the years, fellow subway riders have judged my fashion choices and found them wanting, or disapproved of what I was eating (or that I was eating on the train). Yet no one has ever voiced such opinions to me. But the discretion of strangers disappears as soon as you have a child, in fact, as soon as you are visibly pregnant. Heaven help you if you have a beer in public while expecting.
No infraction is too small or too strange to elicit comment. (The newspaper was too close to the baby’s eyes?) All my parent friends have experienced this no-win culture of judging parenting. Depending on their personalities, they have cowered, gotten angry or been demoralized by it. Yet as stinging as the comments and glares can be, for most of us they are limited to park benches and supermarket lines or, if we’re unlucky, to visits with the in-laws. Our culture of judging parenting by impossible standards hits some much harder.
Only after I had children did I truly begin to understand what I thought I already understood after years of standing beside my clients in family court: parenting is something we are inclined to judge harshly at the same time that it is impossible to do in anything but an extremely flawed way. You can’t get it right. We all know this. We all strive for greater excellence than we have hope of achieving. Yet we couple this knowledge with extreme intolerance for the shortcomings of other parents.
I represent parents accused of abusing or neglecting their children — few are more deeply despised in our society. If you know these parents through media coverage, you likely think we must do more to protect their children. The thing is, in the vast majority of cases, the ones these children most need to be protected from is not their parents. It is us. For we have empowered the government to judge parents and when the parenting is found wanting, to take children.
Certainly some children need to be separated from their parents and put in foster care. But only in rare situations is such a traumatic step justified. Yet over and over, I have seen caseworkers who investigate parents and judges who oversee intervention in family life hold parenting up for assessment and inevitably find that the parents fall short. Why? Because the standards imposed are as idiosyncratic and impossibly high as the standards of the people I hear from on the subway. The caseworkers and the judges, however, have the guns to back up their glares.
Contrary to the media images of severely abused children who have suffered and died at the hands of abusive parents, the vast majority of cases that clog the foster care system involve allegations of neglect, not abuse. And neglect is broadly construed. Parents are charged for refusing to give their children psychotropic medications, for using corporal punishment, for having a dirty home, for smoking marijuana. In other words, neglect includes many things that reasonable people have very different ideas about. Indeed, it includes many behaviors that my yuppie friends and I engage in without threat of government intervention.
Yet we allow, indeed encourage, government officials to be judgmental of the poor and minority parents who interact with the child welfare system. Despite clear constitutional law protecting the right of parents to raise their children as they see fit, one need only walk into family court to see this law routinely breached.
We have not sufficiently connected the phenomenon we observe in our own lives — of widespread willingness to impose perfectionist standards on parenting — with the explosion of inflammatory media coverage of child abuse and hyper-aggressive child protection policies. Legitimate efforts to protect children from serious abuse have morphed into second guessing decisions well within parental prerogative. Worse still, once government intervention in family life is authorized, the legal standard often becomes “best interests of the child.” How do courts and caseworkers determine what is in a child’s best interests? The same way the rest of us do: subjectively, inconsistently, and often erroneously. One judge wants more discipline; another wants less. I have heard caseworkers criticize mothers for everything from giving their children Chinese takeout food or Kool-Aid (the mother told me orange juice was too expensive for her) to having beer in the house to letting a child get wet under a sprinkler. A judge ordered one of my clients to take her child to the park every day. Every day! How can that level of micromanagement of parenting by the government make sense?
It is time to reevaluate our inclination to approach parenting with such unforgiving eyes — in our own lives and in our public policies. We would serve children far better if we viewed parenting by strangers as we view the parenting of our partners and friends when we are at our best: generously, with commiseration rather than a measuring stick. If we are going to interject, we might even consider offering support rather than judgment.
Oakley foster dad accused of molesting 10-year-old boy
Oakley foster dad accused of molesting 10-year-old boy
An Oakley foster parent accused of sexually molesting a 10-year boy turned himself in Wednesday to authorities who say there may be other young victims.
An Oakley foster parent accused of sexually molesting a 10-year boy turned himself in Wednesday to authorities who say there may be other young victims.
Edward Wayne Edwards indicted in 1996 death of foster son
Edward Wayne Edwards indicted in 1996 death of foster son
Edward Wayne Edwards, the former Troy Township man accused of killing his foster son more than 10 years ago, has been indicted in Geauga Court of Common Pleas.
Edwards, 77, is charged with aggravated murder, kidnapping and aggravated robbery. The victim is 25-year-old Dannie Boy Edwards.
Edward Wayne Edwards, the former Troy Township man accused of killing his foster son more than 10 years ago, has been indicted in Geauga Court of Common Pleas.
Edwards, 77, is charged with aggravated murder, kidnapping and aggravated robbery. The victim is 25-year-old Dannie Boy Edwards.
Adopted, then handed to abusers: Convicted of neglect, cruel couple who loaned girls to paedophiles after duping social workers
Adopted, then handed to abusers: Convicted of neglect, cruel couple who loaned girls to paedophiles after duping social workers
A couple who adopted two young girls and let two paedophiles subject them to horrific sexual abuse were yesterday convicted of child neglect.
A couple who adopted two young girls and let two paedophiles subject them to horrific sexual abuse were yesterday convicted of child neglect.
Dad may never get answers on death of son in foster care
Dad may never get answers on death of son in foster care
Criminal charges laid against a foster mom in the death of a toddler won't be enough for the dad who wants to understand why his son died.
Criminal charges laid against a foster mom in the death of a toddler won't be enough for the dad who wants to understand why his son died.
Funding cuts may reduce ranks of Utah foster parents
Funding cuts may reduce ranks of Utah foster parents
Pet owners pay more to board a dog for a day than the state of Utah pays foster parents to house, clothe and feed a child, and some say the latest cuts in reimbursement money will force willing parents out of the system.
Pet owners pay more to board a dog for a day than the state of Utah pays foster parents to house, clothe and feed a child, and some say the latest cuts in reimbursement money will force willing parents out of the system.
DC Rally 2010
DC Rally 2010
Promotional video for the "We the People" Family Preservation D.C. Rally Fest 2010. DVD on sale at www.mnow.tv (click on special events). Full length videos are available and portions of the proceeds will benefit the 2011 Rally.
Promotional video for the "We the People" Family Preservation D.C. Rally Fest 2010. DVD on sale at www.mnow.tv (click on special events). Full length videos are available and portions of the proceeds will benefit the 2011 Rally.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
DCF Regulations Under Microscope
Lawmakers are hoping to improve protection for children against unsafe living conditions after a Torrington mother was arrested when her five children were found living in a home full of dirt and feces.
Child Protective Services (The Joke that is Putnam County, WV)
Child Protective Services (The Joke that is Putnam County, WV)