Child Protective Services, CPS, has devastated and destroyed hundreds of thousands of families in America during the last thirty years leaving a trail of broken hearts, broken dreams, and shattered childhoods.
Rather than helping families, government agents have used unconstitutional laws in Juvenile Court to rip children away from their loving parents, break asunder God-given, natural, parent-child bonds, and adopt the children of the grieving out to others who profit financially with large monthly adoption subsidy payments.
Child Protective Services must be stopped! The law that started this, CAPTA, must be repealed. We must work tirelessly to inform the public of this very dangerous travesty of justice. We must keep faith knowing that if there is a God, there is an answer and a way to end this heartache.
Child Protective Services Agents - please come to your senses! Family destruction on false or trivial grounds is wrong, reprehensible, and inhumane.
Fosterers - be aware that for the money you get you are holding much-loved children away from their grieving families while the parents are forced to perform a service plan that is anything but a service to them. I call this hostage holding for the government. This is not kindness - to help misguided government agents destroy family relationships and break loving bonds.
CPS workers and fosterers - I ask that you now give up these unworthy professions and find something more dignified to do with your lives. Let the children of the innocent return to their homes where they are truly valued, adored, and loved by the parents God gave them.
Family rights are God-given rights. And they should not be ignored or postponed. Every moment these loving parents and children spend separated from one another is a torment beyond what anyone should ever have to bear.
It is unworthy of human dignity to allow this terrorism and torture of families to go on without saying something, speaking out, and trying to make a change.
Site mission: To provide information and support for families attacked by Child Protective Services and child welfare agents, especially those families facing false or trivial accusations of child abuse or neglect; and for researchers working to protect natural family rights.
THE CHRISTINE'S TRIAL WILL AIR ON COURT TV, MONDAY JULY 15, TO WEDNESDAY JULY 18, 9:00 am to 5:30 pm Pacific and Eastern time. Any question contact Michelle Richman of Court TV, at 212-973-8903.
In a review of more than 1,000 DCF case files of foster children throughout Florida, the Statewide Advocacy Council found virtually all of the records were disorganized and incomplete.
Some children's records were improperly filed with those of other children. Most files did not identify where the foster-care child was physically located. Three files actually contained what the council's report called ''potential bio-hazardous material'': human teeth.
''The [poor] conditions of the records were systemic and were found in all areas of the state,'' council chairwoman Betty Busbee wrote in a letter to Gov. Jeb Bush.
This is the work of the "professionals" that the USA thinks are qualified to take away our kids! Wake up, legislators! Set our children free!
''Numerous violations of both state and federal laws/rules were found,'' including comingled case files of siblings and improper consent forms for medical treatments and medications.
The investigation -- prompted by a yearlong Herald series documenting that one in three children in state care was prescribed psychotropic drugs -- found problems in foster children's case files that Busbee called ''urgent'' and ``critical.''
Busbee, a 30-year state employee who spent 17 years working with DCF, asked Bush to take immediate action. The governor replied to the council's report in a letter to Busbee Friday, saying he had asked DCF Secretary Kathleen Kearney to meet with council members and discuss their concerns.
This bit about foster children being medicated always upsets me. Another Florida study found hundreds of very young children had been prescribed an adult-only drug, Risperdol... which has never been approved for children. They even have children under six on that drug, combined with other drugs! This is an epidemic of systemic child abuse by the state agents... using the children of the poor as guinea pigs for medical experimentation. We as Americans should be filled with shame that we've allowed our run-away government and uncaring legislators to do this to children. It will take the voices of many concerned people to stop this practice, which I'm sure is present in many of the states, not just Florida. We need to come down hard on the lame-brain legislators who aren't acting to stop this holocaust against children.
`TROUBLING QUESTIONS'
''The recent case of Rilya Wilson has raised very troubling questions about the state's performance in protecting children in the child-welfare system,'' Bush wrote. ``We have taken a hard look at the safety of the children in the care and custody of the state and at the oversight at DCF.
``Through raised awareness, we are striving to resolve these issues quickly and ensure that children in our care are properly supervised and cared for.''
DCF officials did not return calls for comment.
In their nine-page report to the governor, members of the Advocacy Council documented the widespread practice of enclosing signed, but mostly blank, reports of visits to foster homes in children's case files.
Rilya, a 5-year-old foster child from Miami, was last seen by a DCF worker in January 2001.
Her caseworker, Deborah Muskelly, was fired for filing fraudulent reports for visits that never took place.
Council members said they also found signed, but blank, documents that provided consent for children to receive both medical treatments and psychotropic drugs -- meaning doctors were allowed to provide such treatments, or prescribe drugs, with no informed consent or approval. Under state law, only a parent, guardian or judge is allowed to provide such consent.
CASEWORKERS' OK
The files showed that DCF caseworkers routinely were allowed to provide consent for treatment and psychotropic drug use for children in their care -- a violation of state law.
''In numerous instances, psychotropic medication consents were missing from the files,'' the report says.
The council even found files in which doctors provided consent so that they could then administer psychotropic drugs themselves.
''That's absurd, and it would be, in my opinion, a violation of medical ethics,'' said state Sen. Walter G. ''Skip'' Campbell, a Tamarac Democrat and lawyer, who tried, unsuccessfully, to regulate the use of mood-altering drugs among foster children in a bill submitted last year.
''And they say my bill goes too far,'' added Campbell, who intends, along with state Rep. Tim Ryan, to reintroduce the bill next legislative session.
The report raised another concern: ''There was virtually no documentation in any of the files about medication side effects, nor was there indication that caretakers or caseworkers had been informed of what to observe and report as possible side effects,'' it said.
POORLY KEPT
In general, children's medical records were poorly kept, the report said. So-called ''Medical Passports,'' designed to follow children from foster home to foster home, were missing from many files, the report said. The records often did not contain current information.
Even the physical location of the child was missing from most files, the report said. Some files contained only the address for a private company under contract with the state to operate foster homes.
Katie Muniz, a Bush spokeswoman, said that problem should have been fixed by a massive effort to visit all kids in state care completed last month.
'Poor note-taking was observed in numerous files, such as, `The kids are all doing fine,' with no other statements,'' the report said. ``Hand-written paperwork was marked through, scribbled out, written upside down, etc.''
In some cases, confidential reports that children in care had been physically abused or neglected were misfiled in other children's case files or ''found loosely stuffed'' into files, the report states.
''The disarray of such foster-care records inhibits the early, ongoing and periodic screening, diagnosis and treatment services of children in foster care,'' the report says.
``Executive action is immediately warranted to prevent [the] threat to the health, safety and welfare of the children placed in foster care.''
Copping out - unable to handle the responsibility - another state hires a private agency to handle fosterincarceration of children:
June 30, 2002
The change will affect 1,400 children, from newborns to teenagers, under DCF care in St. Lucie, Martin, Indian River and Okeechobee counties.
It also means the elimination of at least 43 counselor and support staff positions from local DCF offices.
Robinson said teams of DCF administrators and program staffers will inspect United operations at least once a year. Unscheduled inspections will also be part of the monitoring. Robinson said federal auditors will also track United.
I hope they monitor "United" better than they monitored Rilya Wilson!
Privatization could open new funding avenues not available to a state agency, Robinson said. United would also have more flexibility in how to use that money, unlike a "rigid" state agency.
Oh, so this is about getting "new funding avenues" -- wouldn't you know it? That's what it is always... always... all about. Funding.
Money is what they want.
The players:
One of United's top priorities during the next year is to decide how the DCF responsibilities will be shared by the four non-profit groups operating under the United umbrella. United consists of the Children's Home Society of Florida, Family Preservation Services of Florida, New Horizons of the Treasure Coast and the Exchange Club CASTLE.
The Children's Home Society is a non-profit version of DCF on many levels. The organization, founded in 1902 as an orphanage, today provides a multitude of child and family services.
Family Preservation Services provides counseling programs designed to build family relationships.
The primary focus of New Horizons of the Treasure Coast is mental health care.
Exchange Club CASTLE provides child abuse prevention programs, education for divorced parents and support groups.
The profit:
United will receive $1 million in state aid during the next 11 months to hire staff, furnish offices and develop child-care programs. Robinson said she expects United to hire at least some counselors laid off by DCF.
United should be in full swing by May 2003. If it is, United would begin receiving $7 million to $8 million in state funds normally budgeted for the DCF.
"Change is always difficult to manage," Robinson said. "It will be a big adjustment. We want to make sure the transition is as smooth as possible for the children."
Oh yeah, they always say its "for the children" so please send more money.
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