California: Medical Marijuana Law - 215 - Approved for child against CPS agent's attempt at family destruction

Recipe For Trouble
Macrh 7, 2002

(CBS) Debbie Jeffries of Rocklin, Calif., and her mother, Lorraine, love to cook. Lorraine has even published a cookbook, "50 Years Of Our Favorite Family Recipes."

But what they are whipping up these days isn’t in your average cookbook, reports 48 Hours correspondent Harold Dow. They’re making marijuana - medical marijuana - for Debbie’s son, Jeff.

Using marijuana as a medicine is not unusual in California. Five years ago, voters passed a law allowing patients with serious illnesses, such as AIDS and cancer, to use marijuana for pain, if a doctor approves. But this case is unusual because the patient is 8 years old.

"Jeff has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which is ADHD; oppositional defiant disorder; conduct disorder; intermittent explosive disorder; bipolar disorder - any disorder you can think of," says Debbie, a single mother.

The disorders often lead Jeff to violent, uncontrollable outbursts.

"We’ve had to call the police," Debbie says. "I have woken up to a knife in my back. He used to stab the dogs next door. The teachers were afraid of Jeffrey. He picked up a chair and threw it at a teacher."

Doctors first started Jeffrey on Ritalin at age 3 and began adding other medications over the years, as nothing seemed to stop the outbursts.

"He was a walking pharmaceutical lab," Debbie says. "It was incredible. And nothing was working."

Debbie grew desperate last May when officials issued a deadline: Get Jeff under control in 30 days, or he would be placed under the care of the county.

That led her to an Internet article on how marijuana calms the brain and to Dr. Mike Alkalay, a pediatrician who believes in the medical powers of the drug marijuana.

"This medication has been around for 5,000 years," Alkalay says. "It's basically a Chinese herbal plant that's been used in the Middle East. It's been used in India. It's a very safe medication."

Alkalay admits 8-year-old Jeff isn’t the typical patient to receive marijuana but agreed, without seeing him, to recommend Jeff take the drug.

The decision to try marijuana shocked Debbie’s parents, Ken and Lorraine.

"There was absolutely no way I was for it," says Ken, who describes himself as a conservative. Lorraine adds, "It caused quite a bit of strife in our household."

The results were immediate.

"Within a half hour," Debbie says, "I looked over at Jeffrey, and he just had this smile about him, this glow, and he said, 'Mommy, I feel happy.' And that’s the first time that he’s ever said that."

Just how the marijuana is helping Jeff is not completely clear. "His brainwaves don't connect the way ours do," Debbie says of her son. "The marijuana is allowing him, somehow. It's filling in the gap in there for him, so he is learning how to manage his anger."

But Child Protective Services had a different opinion, and they opened an investigation. Debbie says they are accusing her of being an unfit mother and putting her son at risk.

Part of the problem is that Dr. Alkalay never saw Jeff before prescribing him the marijuana. The doctor says he was comfortable with that because "I know it's a very safe medication."

Child Protective Services is taking Debbie to court where a judge could stop Debbie from giving marijuana to her son. If that happens, Debbie says she won’t be able to control him, and will lose her son to the custody of the state.

"I’m not a criminal," says Debbie. "I’m a mother who cares for her child and will do anything to help her child."

The Result

In just under an hour at a closed-session juvenile court hearing, the judge dismissed the case against Debbie.

"I can’t even express how excited I am," she says. "It's been proven that what I'm doing to Jeffrey isn't a crime."

The decision to allow a child like Jeff access to medical marijuana may have far-reaching consequences.

"It opens up a whole door for parents who have been through what I've been through," says Debbie.

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posted by Linda for FightCPS.Com at 10:47 PM   

 
Christine Brief in Support of Bail Reduction

I just put this document online and will be making a new section in the website for legal documents like this one. Anyone with a document to share can email it to linda@fightcps.com.


posted by Linda for FightCPS.Com at 11:27 AM   

 
Wisconsin court official criticized for remark to boy

Showing just how unloving and cruel the state can be when put into the unnatural role of parens patriae, Wisconsin Court Commissioner Dennis Cimpl cruelly insulted a 10-year-old child's parents:

He called biological parents 'no good' for child
By JAMAAL ABDUL-ALIM
of the Journal Sentinel staff
Last Updated: March 5, 2002

Milwaukee County Children's Court Commissioner Dennis Cimpl was criticized Tuesday for telling a 10-year-old boy who has been in foster care for six years that his biological parents were "no good" for him.

Richard Wexler, executive director of the Virginia-based National Coalition for Child Protection Reform, called Cimpl's remarks "incredibly insensitive."

"Even if it was true that the parents are no good, the commissioner was totally out of line," Wexler said. "When you say to a child, 'Your mom and dad are no good,' what the child is thinking is, 'That's the mom and dad that made me. If they're no good, what am I?'

Exposing just how little good the state child welfare system has done for him, the article mentions:

The child appeared before Cimpl Monday on a charge of disorderly conduct for allegedly brandishing a sliding razor blade at a teacher at his elementary school. The incident happened after the child was sent to the principal's office at Sherman Elementary, 5110 W. Locust Ave., for refusing to take off his coat, a source familiar with the case said.

The boy, who suffers from behavioral and emotional problems, has been in at least seven foster homes since 1996.

"The more this continues, the harder it's going to be to find any permanent place," Wexler said of the frequent moves. "This child's going to be angrier and angrier."

As for those parents the judge dissed in juvenile court?

The boy's father said he moved here from St. Louis and has expressed interest in gaining custody of the boy and his 9-year-old sister.

This is the kind of thing that happens when "child welfare" means destroying families and incarcerating kids instead of lending them a helping hand when they're having problems.

The state is not a good substitute for real parents!


posted by Linda for FightCPS.Com at 11:12 AM   

 
CPS Cruelty Against Battered Women

The link above is for a PDF file of the ruling.

A Federal district court ruling in eastern New York finds that battered women are being cruelly and unjustly deprived of their children by child welfare agents on false charges of neglect.

I am so happy to hear this - because that's what happened to me in 1989 in California! The ordeal of being twice victimized - once by being battered and again by the state seizure of my child - traumatized me to such an extent that I'm still fighting the system today, twelve years later! I was appalled by the rude and cruel speech and behavior of child welfare agents towards me then and the false accusations that turned up in the court documents they prepared. It is time for the injustice and torture to be acknowledged by the American people and for these unjust USA-sponsored child kidnappings (under color of law) to stop.

Now that one judge has spoken out for the truth, maybe women in all the states will be able to show the judges that this is a barbaric anti-family practice that is a disgrace to our civilization. If you're involved in a case like this, make sure your attorney and the judge get a copy of this ruling, no matter which state you're in. It is only binding for NY, but judges in other areas will take notice.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

Re: In re Sharline Nicholson, et al.
00-CV-2229 (JBW) (CLP)

The opening paragraph:

The evidence before this court reveals widespread and unnecessary cruelty by agencies of the City of New York towards mothers abused by their consorts, through forced unnecessary separation of the mothers from their children on the excuse that this sundering is necessary to protect the children. The pitiless double abuse of these mothers is not malicious, but is due to benign indifference, bureaucratic inefficiency, and outmoded institutional biases.

posted by Linda for FightCPS.Com at 10:10 AM   

 
Christine Plea Deal Rejected; Trial Reset; Bail Reduced

Press Release � Immediate - 1:00 p.m., March 6, 2002

Contact: Edgar J. Steele, Attorney at Law tel: (208) 265-4153 fax: (208) 265-5329

102 S. Fourth Ave., Suite C Sandpoint, Idaho 83860

email: steele@plainlawtalk.com (best contact method)

ROSEBURG, OREGON - At a hearing this morning before William Lasswell, judge of the Douglas County Circuit Court, bail for Ruth Christine was cut from $500,000 to $50,000. The judge declined to reduce Brian Christine's bail of over $500,000.

Ruth and her husband Brian have both been held under bail amounts set well beyond their ability to raise for over six months, while they awaited trial on a myriad of Class 1 felony charges for taking their own children back from Oregon's child services agency last year and fleeing the state. Brian allegedly used a revolver in forcing state employees to hand over his three daughters.

In a related hearing two days ago, the court cited a heavy trial schedule in pushing the Christines' criminal trial from March 19 over to April 30 of this year.

Edgar J. Steele, an attorney with offices in Sandpoint, Idaho and San Francisco, California, recently took over the handling of the Christines' case from several public defenders, and vowed a vigorous defense at trial.
"They were conned into waiving their right to a speedy trial with the promise of a reasonable plea agreement offer," said Steele, "then, just last week, that offer turned out to be an invitation for both Brian and Ruth to spend the next 7-1/2 years of their lives in prison - for rescuing their own children from a rogue Oregon state agency."

Steele went on to say that, seeing that they had no choice but to take their case to a jury, "Brian and Ruth decided to bring me back into the case for the actual trial."

Steele previously had been instrumental in keeping the couple's newest baby, Abbey Rose Christine, from being adopted out by Oregon along with their three oldest daughters, by appearing in a Montana court and persuading the judge to give the baby over to Brian's mother in a guardianship. Teri Christine lives in Indiana and has also been named guardian by an Indiana court of the couple's fifth daughter, Olivia.

"Oregon's SCF (the child services agency) was apoplectic after that decision in Montana," said Steele, "and vowed a scorched earth campaign against Brian and Ruth regarding their three oldest daughters, who had been returned to SCF when they were arrested in Montana while fleeing." That, together with the promise of a reasonable plea deal and the assurance that the three girls would be given to Ruth's parents for adoption, was what led the Christines to sign over their parental rights two weeks ago.

Immediately upon Steele's reentry into the case, Oregon cut off all funding for public defenders, investigators and expert witnesses, without giving a reason. Steele is serving pro bono, meaning without pay.

When the court decided to postpone the trial, Steele demanded a bail reduction for both his clients, so that they might have an opportunity to leave custody and help prepare their own case for trial.

While Ruth Christine was endeavoring to find the $5,000 necessary to post the Douglas County bail bond, it came to light that Josephine County, which initiated criminal charges against both Christines, also now has a bail requirement, thereby effectively doubling the amount set today by Judge Lasswell.

Donations to a fund for the bail bond may be directed care of the Christines' attorney, Edgar Steele, who also encourages donations to defray actual costs of the upcoming trial.

posted by Linda for FightCPS.Com at 9:48 AM   

 
The Role of Educators - Why Educators Should Be Involved

Not new, but this information might help someone facing a false allegation:

This is a quote from a 1992 handbook on the role of educators in making child abuse accusations. The handbook trains them to fufill their duties as mandatory reporters. In a section on false allegations against teachers, we find this information:

Mantell (a longtime consultant to the courts in Connecticut) cited six major types of erroneous allegations of child sexual abuse: simple misunderstandings, when adults misunderstand what children are trying to convey; simple misreporting, when the reporting process distorts the child's actual report by sifting it from adult to adult until the story changes; distortion through illness, a disturbed child making the report or a disturbed adult reporting the child's words in a distorted way; distortion by design, when adults who are intent upon revenge against other adults (e.g., custody cases) use reports of abuse to gain custody of the child; professional error, when children are asked leading questions by professionals who bias or distort the story; and misrepresentation, when people who apply to organizations for services recognize that an allegation of sexual abuse will elicit more immediate attention. Knowing how false allegations originate may actually be of some help in combatting them.

posted by Linda for FightCPS.Com at 4:30 PM   

 
Nev Moore Featured in Fox News Story

Nev Moore writes for MassNews and is the founder of Justice For Families.

Fox used MassNews stories and pictures last month to tell about the sufferings of Nev Moore and others at the hands of social workers at DSS.

They used Moore and MassNews to tell the story on their website about DSS abuse across the entire country.

They reported that, "While the Moores were stuck in a backlogged court system waiting for their case, DSS obtained 200 continuances, or delays, on their case."

Complete story at link above.




posted by Linda for FightCPS.Com at 12:47 PM   

 
Wisconsin: Mother charged with neglect after toddler sips vodka

The 37-year-old mother was released from jail Wednesday, and her children were returned to her, said her attorney, Anthony O'Malley. The woman could face a maximum penalty of 18 months in prison and $20,000 in fines.
O'Malley called the case "overstated and bogus."

This is an interesting article because it tells two sides of the story - one being of the police officer who apparently entered the home after the mother told him to go away, and the other being of the social worker who sides with the mother and thinks everything would have been okay if the police officer hadn't interfered!


posted by Linda for FightCPS.Com at 11:03 PM   

 
A Boy Genius? Mother Admits Faking Tests

Ms. Chapman said Justin never took the SAT's. Instead, she scanned the score report sent to a former neighbor's son into a computer and substituted Justin's name. When Justin, at 3, was given the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised, he completed only 2 of the test's 13 subtests. Ms. Chapman said she later filled in the rest.

Ms. Chapman, who had steadfastly maintained that Justin's test scores were legitimate, said she decided to tell the truth in hopes it would help her regain her son, who was placed with a foster family in late December.

Cheating: always a bad idea.

Ms. Chapman said that although she lied about the records, Justin demonstrated his own abilities in his college and high school work and in the syndicated column he wrote, called The Justin Report.

"The problem is that it's hurting Justin because he is still a really gifted boy," she said.

"I know what I did is wrong, but what social services is doing now by treating him like an average 8-year- old is also harmful," Ms. Chapman said.

He does seem to be gifted, from most accounts... but even if he wasn't, what social services is doing is harmful because it traumatizes the child to be separated from family.

Ms. Chapman said Justin, whom she now sees only in supervised visits of one hour a week, did not like being separated from his best friend, his schoolmates, his room with its blue Harry Potter bedspread and his white cat, Jedi. He did not feel comfortable with his foster family, she said. Ms. Chapman also said she was concerned that he was not receiving the stimulation he needed in the public school he now attended.

This is what most people don't seem to understand. When a child is removed from their home, they lose everything. They lose their non-abusive family members, extended family members, friends, neighbors, pets, toys, belongings, sense of security, and often even their siblings. It is traumatic, painful and emotionally damaging to them. There has to be a better way to serve children.

Ms. Chapman also said that a month or so before taking the Stanford Binet, Justin found a copy of the manual in the University of Rochester library and memorized the answers.

Ms. Chapman said that although she lied about the records, Justin demonstrated his own abilities in his college and high school work and in the syndicated column he wrote, called The Justin Report.

"The problem is that it's hurting Justin because he is still a really gifted boy," she said.

The evaluators said Justin was given an I.Q. test at the hospital and scored "in the average range of intellectual functioning." But they noted that he became very upset during the testing, hiding under furniture, throwing toys and calling the questions "stupid."

Other experts in child development said the results of intelligence tests given when a child was emotionally upset had little meaning.

It was a long article and I left a lot of the story out. If you want to read it and see the boy's picture, click on the link at the top of this article.


posted by Linda for FightCPS.Com at 7:36 PM   

 
FindLaw's Writ - Hamilton: Churches, Children, And Government Money

After ranting about child abuse in church-affiliated state custody facilities, FindLaw commentator Marci Hamilton states:

...churches' bids for complete autonomy, and even for liability waivers, should be denied, and they should be held liable for civil damages, and face criminal penalties, when they were aware of child abuse and did not address it. The Massachusetts' House vote this week to require clergy to report child abuse, which was already required of therapists, teachers, and social workers, is a step in the right direction.

The fact that the churches are accepting public money only adds additional government leverage. For instance, public funds should be automatically cut off as soon as credible complaints are brought. And accessible, fast-moving administrative procedures run by the government, not the church, should be made available whenever it is alleged that children are being harmed.

Wouldn't we love that - if every time we made credible complaints about how our children are being abused in state custody the fosterers immediately were shut down. Instead we hear things like this: My kids were being beaten in the foster home. They had bruises all over them. I took pictures so I have proof. The social worker told me that if I bring my camera anymore I won't get any more visits. She won't move my kids out of that home. I'm so worried about them." I get these kinds of comments in my email regularly.

If the money is to flow equally to religious and nonreligious providers, so should the burdens that come with it - and so should the accountability.

What accountability?

posted by Linda for FightCPS.Com at 5:39 PM   

 
Board asks for more leeway in foster care

Los Angeles County tries to find ways to shirk its duty to supervise children in its custody:

Los Angeles County officials are poised to appeal a judge's ruling that orders social workers to visit the foster care children under their supervision at least once a month.

The ruling also requires court approval of waivers, which allow less-frequent visits.

Supervisors Don Knabe, Gloria Molina and Yvonne Brathwaite Burke said Tuesday that they did not believe the courts should have jurisdiction over the county's waiver process.

Some of the children are being seen only once every two years!


posted by Linda for FightCPS.Com at 1:05 AM   

 
CPS Under Scrutiny After Toddler Murdered

Childrens Protective Services said Tuesday it removed three children from the home of Gilbert and Gracie Escobedo.

Police are investigating the early Sunday morning death of 22 month old toddler Modesto Blanco as a homicide. Police were told Saturday night the boy drown accidentally in the family bath tub. But a search warrant made public on Tuesday said an X-ray showed no fluid in the little boy's lungs. He was pronounced dead a few hours after Police and EMS got the call to 4701 E. Rice.

The search warrant said Modesto suffered bruises all over his "head, torso, and extremities." It also said Modesto suffered burns, and a very specific kind of bruising called petechiae. Petechiae looks like little red or purple dots on the skin, and it can be a sign of extreme trauma.

Lubbock police say Modesto Blanco was in a foster care situation when someone either beat him to death or threw him against a hard object to cause his death.

{.....}

But attorney David Getz, who practices family law attorney in Lubbock, has a different perspective.

"I think if they started being held accountable, and not let their power be abused even when it's in the name of being good, things like this would happen less often. They would look more closely at each case," said Getz

He conceded CPS has a lot of cases and it's not an easy job.

But Getz also said under current laws and regulations it's hard to hold CPS accountable.

To read the rest of the article, click on the link above to go to the ABC28/Lubbock, TX website.


posted by Linda for FightCPS.Com at 12:28 AM