Legally Kidnapped

Wednesday, June 01, 2016

Cincinnati police don't recommend criminal charges in gorilla case

Police have wrapped up their investigation without recommending charges against the mother of a 3-year-old boy who witnesses said fell into the gorilla exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo, according to a source close to the investigation.

More >> Cincinnati police don't recommend criminal charges in gorilla case

Gorilla tragedy: Why are we so quick to blame the parents?

The blame game was almost immediate.

As soon as word spread about the horrifying tragedy at the Cincinnati Zoo involving a 450-pound gorilla and a 3-year-old toddler, people took aim at the boy's mother, blaming her for the events that led zoo officials to kill the gorilla, named Harambe.

More >> Gorilla tragedy: Why are we so quick to blame the parents?

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

'They are not alone': Grandparents fighting for custody of their grandchildren not unique

A LEADING LAWYER in the area of child and family law has said the case where grandparents lost custody of their grandchild is not unique.

More >> 'They are not alone': Grandparents fighting for custody of their grandchildren not unique

New Longitudinal Study Finds Epidemic of Fear, Not an Epidemic of Child Abuse

When a longitudinal study of children in California found that they are more likely to be reported as allegedly being abused or neglected over five years than over just one, this led to some remarkable leaps of logic. It was suggested that the study shows “child maltreatment is a far larger societal epidemic than we’ve previously thought” and “a reckoning is coming in child protection.”

More >> New Longitudinal Study Finds Epidemic of Fear, Not an Epidemic of Child Abuse

Monday, May 30, 2016

Bullying The Mother Of The Boy Who Fell Into A Gorilla Enclosure Is The Wrong Move

While I completely understand the public's devastation at Harambe's death — and I'm in agreement that it was a senseless, unnecessary death — people are misplacing their anger in blaming the child's mother. She had already warned him against entering the enclosure and seemingly tried to stop him; Not to mention, children are notorious for breaking rules and getting into trouble. What parent hasn't turned their back for a quick second only to have their wily kid squirrel into a scary situation? Mothers only have one set of hands and eyes, and unfortunately, things happen even to the best of parents.

More >> Bullying The Mother Of The Boy Who Fell Into A Gorilla Enclosure Is The Wrong Move

Girl who was put in care for eight months after social worker error led to her headteacher mother being wrongly branded mentally ill

A former nursery school headteacher has told how bungling social workers put her three-year-old daughter into care for eight months after a medical record mix-up.

More >> Girl who was put in care for eight months after social worker error led to her headteacher mother being wrongly branded mentally ill

Kandyce Downer: Foster parent who murdered baby was scarred by father's death, says half-brother

A foster mother who beat an 18-month-old baby to death was scarred by the violent death of her own father, her half-brother has said. Kandyce Downer was jailed for life in early May for the murder of Keegan Downer who collapsed in her Birmingham home in 2015.

More >> Kandyce Downer: Foster parent who murdered baby was scarred by father's death, says half-brother

Fewer Couples Are Adopting as China Scraps One-child Rule

Adoptions in China have been on a decline, following the relaxation of the country's one-child policy, wrote China Daily.

More >> Fewer Couples Are Adopting as China Scraps One-child Rule

Birth Caught On Facebook Live Stream Results In Baby Being Taken By Child Protective Services

Apparently someone who watched the video recognized Kali from a domestic violence case in which he says isn't true, and called Child Protective Services on the couple. CPS took the child from the two. Sarah said,

More >> Birth Caught On Facebook Live Stream Results In Baby Being Taken By Child Protective Services

Ontario vows to improve care for youth in group homes, CAS custody

Ontario is promising to improve standards of care for nearly 16,000 young people in foster and group homes, youth justice facilities and mental health residential treatment following a scathing report from an expert panel.

More >> Ontario vows to improve care for youth in group homes, CAS custody

Sunday, May 29, 2016

Foster mum who battered her baby to death was 'born with a killer gene'

The evil foster mum who murdered a toddler placed in her care was scarred by the violent death of her father, her half-brother has claimed.

More >> Foster mum who battered her baby to death was 'born with a killer gene'

Friday, May 27, 2016

Your Suggestions for How To Fix CPS: Part 3

Here is the third installment of this ever growing mini-series featuring your suggestions on ways to fix CPS. In case you missed Parts 1 & 2...

All the same rules apply. No last names, examine what was said

Sherry suggested...

People should be more involved, no more anonymous call,people should be willing to testify if they see a child being abuse and have documentation of a child being abuse and cps need to see how children really get along with the parents, observe more of a child and parents relationship together instead of keeping them away, that way they can tell if the child is really scare of the parents or caregivers

Because...

If a child is really scare of their caregiver, they are not going to be so affection to that person, there are so many being taken away based on lies ,cps need fact ,people who reports it need to go to court too,if a person care about a child they will be willing to go to court to make sure that child is safe,this will give cps workers more time to focus on children really being abuse and not the ones that someone call and lie about cause they are mad at that person

Moving on, Stephanie suggests...

Unless in provable extreme emergencies. The form given to the judge to remove child or children should be filled out properly. It should have the pros and cons of the parents written. All orders to remove or OTC should include the good and bad of the parents. Imminent danger should only be used in those true cases. Parents arrested. True undeniable abuse. All caseworkers held accountable to the law. If not filled out correctly with pros and cons case thrown out. No assumptions to be made. If dcf in home both cw and parent will have a camera present for all interactions exchanged or voice for phone. Dcf not allowed to use perception. House is hoarded. Better have the video. She started to cry and rant. Crazy. Better have video. CW feared for her life. Better hear a threat with the capability or action on record. Cases shall be treated individual. Each family is different. All cw shall be evaluated in beginning and each year such as police. If they actually do witness horrific abuse to be pulled from position and evaluated. This is where danger is everywhere syndrome.

Because...

If judges are aware of the pros and cons of parent it will be easier to see the true capabilities of the parents and not remove and end case. Having proof by cw and parent clears up the he said she said. No more feelings. Feelings should not be punishable. Seems these sw are scared so much they cannot do their job correctly. Psych evals and agility keep the cw from making poor decisions and keeps their mental health correct to be able to be efficient and not be able to abuse their power if chosen to have such power.

Dot (UnhappyGrammy) suggests...

There is No fixing CPS. Go back to the way it used to be and let the local Police Depts. handle cases of abuse. They aren't rewarded for the children they remove. They only remove truly abused children, whereas CPS is rewarded with Federal incentive money for every child they take and subsequently adopt out. Unlike CPS, the Police place the abused children with relatives, as mandated by Federal Law.

Other than letting the Police handle REAL child abuse situations, the only other way to fix CPS is to only reward CPS with Federal incentive money for every family kept together. The backward system is the reason children are taken. There is no incentive to help at risk families, not when CPS is paid to take each and every child.

Because...

No more need for Foster care and much fewer traumatized children and torn apart families.

Less falsely accused families railroaded and torn apart.

And finally, Jennifer suggests...

End harmful funding streams. Demand accountability-citizen review panel. Create universal access to the program. Create a new Policy/practice. Social Workers should report on facts they observe in Social settings. Then professional investigators investigate reports. The facts from both are submitted to a panel of experts on DV, child abuse, and prosecution.

CPS should NOT be able to "substantiate" people. Criminal matters are handled therein...
DA office should NOT represent CPS. Police must be held responsible for their actions. The CPS/PD/DA association is awful. Also, attorneys are "controlled opposition" There should be oversight of outcomes. The effective agencies (based on client review) will be incentivized. There will be no removal, only support. In ANY case, there should NEVER be a TPR. Citizens MUST take action to expose the issue from a solution based perspective. We need a place all can access the assistance they need. We MUST pressure Congress to STOP FAMILY DIVISION. We need to make a series of thirty second videos and put them together for exposure. I think CPS is only the beginning of the issue. Failure by PD/DA is a huge cause of problems. DHHS support and enforcement is arguably the most harmful program in the 21st century. The funding cannot be dispensed by DA...for DV and Sexual assault. CPS needs to be stopped from making false allegations of abuse. They are creating the problem they are legally mandated to stop. I think we should inform ALL State employees of the harm and truth of the State, by flyering cars in parking lots. Reach out to law schools and let them know also.

Because...

I would hope some of my ideas would help, but overall, the Agency is a horrid group with destructive, Constitutionally offensive legislative language, and incentivized to destroy families.

Everything the State says is a lie. Everything it has, is stolen. Neitzche

To recap:

Sherry is suggesting that we do away with anonymous callers and require anybody who is reporting child abuse to testify.
Sherry is also suggesting that CPS should spend more time observing the child with the real family instead of keeping them apart. That way CPS will know that the kids feel safe with the family.

Stephanie is suggesting that CPS be required to fill out the forms properly, and include both the strengths and weaknesses of the parents, not only the negative. If the paperwork isn't filled out properly then the case should be thrown out of court.
She is also suggesting that there be video taken to prove things such as the house being trashed, or the parent being crazy and ranting and raving.
She also suggests that CPS Agents should have regular psychological evaluations, because the real abuse that they do see traumatizes them so that they see it everywhere. A condition known as "there's danger everywhere syndrome."

Dot is suggesting that the police do child abuse investigations rather than CPS.
She suggests that when the kids are removed that they should be placed with family members.
She also suggests that we remove the financial incentives for taking kids into foster care, and provide incentives for keeping families together instead.

Jennifer is suggesting many things. including we end the funding streams that incentivise the destruction of families.
That there be more oversight via a citizen review panel, and create universal access to the program.
The police should handle child abuse investigations,

Stay tuned for Part 4, and if you have any suggestions for how to fix this mess, click on the link below.

http://legallykidnapped.blogspot.com/2016/05/loading.html

Bill to protect Native American foster children headed for Obama's desk

The bill, dubbed the Native American Children's Safety Act, was sponsored by North Dakota Republican Sen. John Hoeven and Rep. Kevin Cramer in their respective chambers. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., was a co-sponsor of the bill, which a news release issued this week said "implements protections for Native American children placed by tribal courts into the tribal foster care system."

More >> Bill to protect Native American foster children headed for Obama's desk

Elderly Quebec couple sentenced for sexually abusing foster kids

A 59-year-old woman cried in a Quebec courtroom on Thursday as she recalled the sexual, psychological and physical abuse she suffered as a child at the hands of her foster parents and their friends.

More >> Elderly Quebec couple sentenced for sexually abusing foster kids

Our incompetent foster system

Lois Henry is right on with the Social Services trailer bill (”Agency would rather protect its rear than care for kids,” May 22). The people dealing with children in foster homes need to be held accountable for the actions they take in protecting the children.

More >> Our incompetent foster system

Parents fight accusations of abuse stemming from son's rare bone disorder

Kyle Solorzano, 2, and his 3-year-old brother, Andrew, love kicking a soccer ball, playing with toy cars and getting dirty. You wouldn’t know by looking at them what they’re going through.

More >> Parents fight accusations of abuse stemming from son's rare bone disorder

CPS clarifies rule: New caseworkers in Texas must have at least 2-year degree

New Child Protective Services caseworkers will need a two-year college degree — not simply a high school education and four years in the workforce — to waive a decades-old rule that they must have bachelor’s degrees, the agency said Friday.

More >> CPS clarifies rule: New caseworkers in Texas must have at least 2-year degree

Foster care bill to help kids who 'age out' of system

Turning 18-years-old is usually a time to celebrate, but for foster children, it could also signal losing a critical support system a little too soon.

More >> Foster care bill to help kids who 'age out' of system

Foster parents charged in alleged abuse of 3-year-old in Wayne County

A couple from Kenova is facing charges for alleged abuse and neglect of their 3-year-old foster son.

More >> Foster parents charged in alleged abuse of 3-year-old in Wayne County

House Bill would help keep children in state custody closer to home

The first bill to come out of the legislative special session may be one that streamlines the handling of children in state custody.

More >> House Bill would help keep children in state custody closer to home

Undercover: Inside Britain’s Children’s Services: a disturbing insight into child protection in Britain: review

In the wake of so many scandals and serious case reviews into the deaths of children in care in recent years, it is difficult to believe that any child protection service in Britain could still be operating in an effective state of chaos. But as last night’s Dispatches special report Undercover: Inside Britain’s Children’s Services (Channel 4) set out to show, this would appear to be the case – and shockingly so – in Birmingham city council’s Children’s Services department.

More >> Undercover: Inside Britain’s Children’s Services: a disturbing insight into child protection in Britain: review

Your Suggestions for How To Fix CPS: Part 2

Last night I started posting a few of the suggestions that were given when I asked the question: What should we do to fix CPS? I'm happy to say that today a few more suggestions were given on the form. So this will continue into another day or two, or for as long as people keep coming up with ideas.

Here is the link for the first part "Your Suggestions for How To Fix CPS: Part 1" in case you missed it.

Tonight I'm going to take a look at 3 suggestions from 3 different people. And we are going to diversify a little bit. Because they are three serious and totally different answers.

So we will begin with Marilyn who suggests that in order to fix CPS we need:

Independent Oversight of existing state and federal child protective laws.

Because it...

Will hold the agencies accountable to the intent of all laws

A short and to the point answer that will solve a lot of problems, for sure.

John suggested...

If there is more than say two complaints and a documented abuse in the home of the alleged abuser then a mandatory psychological evaluation should occur. After another incident or report or at the urging of a family counselor or some sort of mental health or social workers urging a mandatory family counseling on a consistent basis especially when the parent is receiving assistance from the government should be set in place.

Because...

The cycle of abuse will not only be identified but also the repetitive occurrence of sexual, physical, and mental abuse in some cases may be identified or at bare minimum easier to identify if the children and parents may have any possibility of speaking out or speaking up even in a one on one session type setting. Society doesn't always like to see the obvious but possibly some of these trends could be down or hopefully addressed in more realistic terms!

The above answer comes from a totally different perspective. As is the next answer.

J.B. suggests...

A small step would be to have programs for the teens 16-18 that teach them how the world really works. How to pay bills. Write a resume Balance household budgets. Things they really need to know. During these years they need programs to teach them a skill set to survive on. These kids will leave the system with no where to go. Many have no one to help them get on their feet.

Because...

I think taking steps to help show these kids that they can make it. They already see how the world sucks. They've been in the broken system. If we can lower the young adults that go from the system to the street, drug use, prostitution, ect......It saves the system money in the long run. Think in terms of decades. Stop thinking in terms of a few years from elected official to elected official.

So lets clarify.

Marilyn suggests that the system should have some independent oversight which would force CPS to comply with state and federal laws.
J.B. is suggesting that we teach basic life skills to kids who are in foster care so that they can make it without ending up on the streets or in jail or worse.
and John is suggesting that we take a closer look at at the parents mental health and if there are problems identify them and put them in therapy. He wants CPS to protect the children better I guess.

I'm especially impressed with J.B.'s suggestion because so far, out of all the answers I've gotten this is the only person to suggest they do better by the kids. Kids who age out of foster care are usually put out on their own long before their ready and with horrific consequences..

John is definitely from the opposite side of the fence. His perspective is not that of a CPS victim but valid never the less.

I'll be back to tomorrow with a few more suggestions. And if you want to add your thoughts and ideas, click on the link below.

http://legallykidnapped.blogspot.com/2016/05/loading.html