Who should have access to the information on this site?
I will be doing a series of articles to answer questions asked in a comment posted on March 26, 2010.
The link to that comment: March 2010 Guestbook
There will be one question and answer per post.
This question was asked by a social worker who is upset because I’m giving defense information publicly to people who may be guilty of child abuse.
…
Q: How does your website weed out those who post their rants on here that ARE the guilty ones?
A: This may surprise you, but parents, guilty or not, have a right to information that will help them present themselves in court in the best possible light. Those that are innocent are more likely to get their children returned than those that have actually committed some form of child abuse.
This website doesn’t have to weed out child abusers from falsely accused people. That’s something the judges should be doing. The focus of this site is to provide victims of injustice with information on how to present their cases better in court. They need this information because court appointed attorneys usually do not do an adequate job of protecting family rights.
Since you’re involved with the CPS system as a social worker, you’re surely aware that social workers are trained to present their case in court with a comprehensive report. The caseworkers who write these reports have done so dozens or even hundreds of time and are expert at doing so. In the caseworker corner is an experienced county attorney. They’ve ripped hundreds of families apart – so they’re good at what they do.
On the other side of the courtroom is a confused parent with an attorney who is working for the county he’s supposed to be defending the parent against. This is a clear conflict of interest. These county-paid attorneys are known to help convince the confused parents to sign guilty pleas regardless of whether or not they are adequately good parents. The parents usually know nothing about what to expect or how to defend themselves. Thus the parents give up their right to a trial without ever realizing they have that right!
Once the plea deal is signed, the parents are forced into a service plan that ranges from intrusive and inconvenient, to abusive and detrimental to the family’s well being. For example, many CPS victim parents have lost their jobs because of service plan scheduling conflicts that caseworkers force upon them.
Many if not most of the lawyers these parents have don’t do a thing to help their clients who are taken advantage of in court, and in fact, serve the counties more than they serve their clients.
Furthermore there’s a huge issue with lack of regard for constitutional rights in juvenile court. A criminal accused of murder is given more rights than a parent in juvenile court, where there’s no right to a jury trial, no opportunity to face the accuser, no press and public allowed, and usually, no adequate representation. Constitutional rights are suspended in these cases, ostensibly “for the children.” But obviously it isn’t for the children at all. It is to imbalance the justice system and push through a family destruction agenda thrust on us by whatever evil power is creating the abusive federal child welfare laws.
Because constitutional rights are not allowed in juvenile court, virtually every parent processed through that system, guilty or not, is a victim of injustice. Every single one of them!
Obviously there’s an imbalance here. Parents are used and abused by this legal system and their children are often unjustly placed in foster homes when they could be home with their parents who love them. This is traumatic for both parents and children. And who is there to help, to explain the way the system works, and to show them what they can do to present their cases better in court?
Well, that’s where my site comes in. I give a few suggestions for being proactive participants in their cases, and show them how to get their court appointed attorneys to work for them rather than for the county.
Now if you, as a social worker, have any REAL evidence of child abuse, you can present that in court at a trial. However you rarely do that. In fact, it seems that most CPS victims are run through the system by a coercive court appointed attorney who convinces them to sign a guilty plea and give up their right to a trial. The bait? “Do you want to get your children home sooner? Sign or the judge will be upset with you. etc.” Therefore no EVIDENCE is presented in court, most of the time. That makes your job easy and the parents and children miserable. Of course ‘miserable’ is an understatement. We’re talking about seriously traumatized people whose families have been attacked.
It simply isn’t fair.
If you have real evidence, no child abuser will escape the system. However if your evidence isn’t convincing, the parents should get their children and their life back. And that’s how it should be.
It isn’t up to me to decide who is and who isn’t a real child abuser. I’m just here to help balance the scales of justice a little bit for those falsely accused parents who are lucky enough to (1) find this site, and (2) learn and apply a bit of legal self-defense. If child abusers find the site and use my ideas, I trust that the legal system and any actual evidence you have will suffice.
As a matter of fact, social workers do NOT show up to court. In fact, my attorney and I DEMANDED that some of this evil government thugs be put on the stand so they could be questioned – their names are: Connie Crawford, Los Angeles County Department of Child and Family Servies and Jennifer Wongyai, a social worker hired by the Orange County Courts. The judge REFUSED to put this child abusing social workers on the stand and also REFUSED to force LA County to abide by the law as well as turn over documents we had demanded. Instead, my child was stolen from me and instead engaged in FOUR YEARS of SEVERE drug abuse before two suicide attempts and finally ending up in a locked facility at age 15. The REAL child abusers are Connie Crawford and Jennifer Wongyai. Had either one of them bothered to look at reality, my child wouldn’t be locked away today.
You are also absolutely correct – the Constitutional Rights of INNOCENT PARENTS are violated everyday and children are severely harmed by monsters like Connie Crawford and Jennifer Wongyai.
Comment by AbusedFather — March 27, 2010 @ 1:22 am
OMG, this is soooooo true! I hadn’t thought about rights for the guilty, since we have been outraged at our innocence being ignored in the interest of county employees proving they are doing their jobs by making everyone guilty and picking only on those who do not have enough money to defend themselves properly. You are right…even the guilty have the right to defend themselves. But even more so, you are absolutely right; bring on the evidence. That is crucial in sussing out the guilty. Thank you for this insightful post.
Comment by Annette — March 27, 2010 @ 5:00 am
Our family is one of those families which has been victimized by the system that is paid to “protect” children. We have done nothing wrong and yet are still separated from my three little granddaughters. I say that the truth needs to be posted somewhere and readily available for people to help fight the injustice brought on many families without just cause. The system needs serious overhaul and until the truth gets out to all that need it, that will not happen. I say keep up the good work.
Comment by LeAnn Addleman — March 27, 2010 @ 5:10 am
Sorry, but a couple lost their babies at birth. They were not drug addicts, they were not alcoholics. They were not criminals. Their babies were taken directly out of a hospital room. They were kidnapped by CPS! That couple never gained custody of their first born because she was a blond, little girl. Please do not assume that just because a couple does not gain custody of their child that they did anything. Please do not add to the myth that a couple must have done something unless you are familiar with the story.
Comment by Gina — March 27, 2010 @ 6:50 am
In addition, in the instances where a couple did either gain or regain custody; the stories I know do not involve where a court simply gave a child back. There was a long drawn out fight. In one instance, a relative actually had to literally state that she would volunteer to beg for the couple’s two children but not by walking into the court but getting down on her hands and knees and begging for the couple. They released the boy but as stated above thier blond little girl was forced into adoption who was taken at birth by CPS. In the other story, the father literally took his daughter back from CPS and fled the country; however, returned and gave the child back to CPS and then CPS eventually released thier child back to the parents but not after a battle!
Comment by Gina — March 27, 2010 @ 7:11 am
I agree 110% with the statement above. Thank you Linda
We need more people like you!!! to stand up in what they believe, the problem is alot of people do not, because they are afraid, of retaliation.
Thank you again!! I am a student, my major is Human Services, graduate in May,2010. I hope I can make a different, one person at a time.
Comment by Beverly — March 27, 2010 @ 7:19 am
I cannot agree with you more. Every word written is the truth of my life. I had a hateful ex-wife who filed 50 complaints in 13 years during a custody dispute and CPS accused me of abusing my son without any evidence. He was five when they interviewed him eight times by five different CPS investigators at his school. I have the money and fought. $100,000 in legal fees. I won a 1,000 foot restraining order against Van Zandt County Texas CPS Department for the gross injustice and numerious violations of civil rights! I could not believe how they twisted the truth to create disgusting lies. Not one CPS investigator felt they did anything wrong while actually breaking the law.
Comment by Joel Kirkpatrick — March 27, 2010 @ 11:12 am
I have lost my 4 grandchildren to the system. I am the maternal grandmother. my 4 lived in foster care for 5 months now. i am a healthy 47 year old and my 4 where given to my parents whom are 70 years old. my home as well as myself were approved to get the children. at the end i lost and I believe it was retaliation–at first i was afraid to say anything but it got to that point where i had no choice but to speak up. i spoke up against its system-i spoke against the paternal grandmother and her drug addict husband and against him because i witnessed him sexually abuse one of my nieces. i have known this man all my life and has been a life time drug user and the system refused to drug test him. let me clear one thing the paternal grandmother saw the children if 2-3 times a year that was too much. and when she did she’d dropped them off at their greatgrandmothers home. me on the other hand has been a big, big part of their lives. my grandchildren spent every weekend with me, plus some. i feed my 4 every month 2-3 hundred because their father didn’t care to feed my babies–so of course i did what i could to help my daughter and my 4. as it stands now i am not allowed to pick up my 4, take them to the park, out to eat–nothing.
i am allowed to visit at my mothers home and only if my parents are there to supervise the visit. on the other hand the so call grandmother of the year is allowed to pick up my 4 and take them to her home with a drug addict and a sexual abuser husband as long as she supervises the visit–and this was the CPS worker whom said it. then the kids are allowed to be taken to the great grandmothers home, in which there is spousal abuse, drug abuse, a son whom has just been found guilty of 21 counts of sexual abuse and is facing 150 in prison and there are 2 parolies in that home and the cops are constantly there taking them to jail, in which my grandchildren have witnessed. they have witness overdoses and all the above. and in my home me and my daughter live here—drug free and a stable family.
my daughter is in all sports in high school and in in AVID. the system immediately took side with the other grandmother and she has won me but in the long run she will loose because God don’t like ugly and the truth will all come out one day and she will be the embarrassed one in knowing that she married a child sexual abuser. this monday i will call Steve Wilkos show and i will prove to the CPS system and to the world about how the system has fail myself and how my 4 are not being protected by CPS because all that they have done is stolen my kids from me. let me clear one thing my daughter is at fault from the beginning because she started using drugs and lost the children. that’s what i don’t understand they were taken from her and are allowed to go where they are worst off then where they were in the beginning. somebody please help me-i have became so depressed and have lost my happiness in life and worried sick. let me mention one thing one of granddaughter told me that she is not in a car set while in the car with the so called grandma of the year. the system may think that i am nit picking against the other grandma-im not at all, i just want my 4 to be safe because i love them and they are my world in the hands of others who don’t care and are putting my babies in harms way. please help. i have all documents to prove all that i have said. please somebody help me because i feel that i am going crazy for my babies–they need me as much as i need them. they want to come home with me, they cry and beg me to bring them home. please help my grandchildren to keep them safe.
Comment by grandma pumpkin of 9 — March 27, 2010 @ 11:24 am
please call me or email me about what has happened in your case—i will stand up and fight for all of us whom are innocent to the crimes that the CPS system has done against us. i will not sit and have our children taken from us like this. my voice will be heard and this is a promise to myself as well as to everyone hurting because of CPS. please don’t be afraid. this will never end if we don’t put a stop to it. 951 496-7892.
smsanchez9[@]yahoo.com. we will come together become strong and fight for our precious children. Our theme will be called “No more Tears”
Comment by grandma pumpkin of 9 — March 27, 2010 @ 11:43 am
Grandma Pumpkin of 9 – if your daughter’s parental rights are not terminated she can get her life together and try again for custody through family courts. Grandparent rights are not honored as much as parental rights. I don’t know if the expense of a good lawyer would help. In any case, there’s no sense in calling CPS in anymore once this case is closed because obviously they manage to almost always do the wrong things.
Comment by LindaJoMartin — March 27, 2010 @ 2:00 pm
Move from the victim state to the assertive state of mind. Read the laws and they are listed on the court documents on the bottom and the court rules too. Read the CPS manuals which may be online like in WA state. Read the Family Law Deskbook the one that attorneys read for dependencys. Write a chronological time line of events. Match it up with the legal resources and demand your rights in the case. Federal laws and regulations apply as well as Constitutional rights. Individual state constitutions apply also.
I took steps to defend myself after being told I don’t know what is going on with my case. I have it down and I know just about as much as an attorney and a social worker. I am a paralegal student interested in family law and would gladly work at a law firm that represents parents such as myself and others.
Lastly, these people will have to answer to God for what they done and to hurt children carries a huge judgment. Proceed with documentation of every concern and complaint. Go to the courthouse to read what the judge reads and what the CPS court orders services send to the courts. KEEP THESE PEOPLE ON THEIR TOES AND HONEST! I have my kids returned to me after 7 long years. It has been rough on the kids and me. Thank you Linda Martin for putting this website together as I have been a long time reader and user of the suggestions. Best of luck to all parents I totally understand where you are coming from.
Comment by Debra — March 27, 2010 @ 3:30 pm
Debra! I’m amazed… you got your children home after seven years! What great news!!! Congratulations, and thanks so much for this very helpful comment!
Comment by LindaJoMartin — March 27, 2010 @ 3:34 pm
I never lost my kids because I fought and am still fighting. We were forced to sign an agreement with threats that the caseworker was taking her with her if we did not. I want to sue them for engaging a proven meth head father that had supervised visitations and they were shown court orders and proof and a mother that signed custody of her children over because she was unstable and tried to committ suicide on several attempts. Everything was fine with these two until Cps helped them engage into custody battles of our children. All couseling, parenting classes, etc. were done by us because we did not trust them. It was obvious what they were doing. They had no choice but to close our case and are still harassing us. Listening to false allegations from a meth head father and so on. Its all in the reports we have and funny how the reports are just plain english on everything they did. These perticular caseworkers, I cannot speak for all of them. I do think Cps is needed. But what they have put us through and continue to do so is insane. Underqualified people. Cps workers, investigators, supervisors, etc. are easily hired and put to work no matter what their qualifications are and I doubt very seriously they do background checks. Because They told us they did a background check on all parties. Well in the reports they did only one on me and my wife. The father had over 10 outstanding warrants and has a lengthy history of violence but yet they said he was not a threat. CPS is a serious job. Dealing with children I would definitely not allow anyone from CPS help me in anyway when it comes to my children and it should be the other way around they should be one of the most qualified people to evaluate children and their living environment.
Comment by Justicentx — March 27, 2010 @ 4:15 pm
The system is hiring non-qualified people and then supports them to do so. Question is Would you lie to protect your job? Well I would not but know alot of people that would in the society today. To me It determines your character and if you do so then you should pay for your actions. It is very easy to get a Social worker job. My wife was offered and Practically begged after she turned it down for several weeks through phone calls to take a job with them and turned it down because she did not feel comfortable or qualified enough taking the children out of the homes without knowing why she would be taking the children out of the homes which what her job would be as an assistant to the caseworkers in just the Longview Tx Region and mainly just in Texarkana area. They told her there would not be a day that she would not be working past 7pm including saturdays to pick up children, getting children from homes, possibly cleaning them up which they said wasnt always needed, and transport them to appointments as well as stay with them overnight at a cps office if they did not have a placement for them. This of course was 6 months before they came upon us for the 3rd time because prior false allegations from ex. So they were going to hire her when we had been investigated two times prior.
Comment by Justicentx — March 27, 2010 @ 4:42 pm
How does your website weed out those who post their rants on here that are the guilty ones?
Hello, you are a webmaster of a site that posts information only, You are not in the business of “weeding out”.
I reckon this question was posed by self proclaimed CPS workers who feel that information should not be given to anyone. That any and all information should be controlled by CPS and no others.
The principle of this website, if I might opine on same, is based on the Constitution of the United States of Amercia.
To wit; The first Amendment; freedom of speech.
The fourth ammendment; the right to guard against unreasonable searches and seizures.
The fifth amendment: the right not to self incriminate.
The sixth amendment; the right to challange one’s accusers.
The fourteenth amendment- the right for due process.
The Constitution is the law of the land. All persons in this land, especially those in government positions (i.e. CPS workers) are bound by this law.
I am so sorry to note that CPS workers are not taught these doctrines as these are doctrines for which our forefathers fought and died for.
Comment by MaggieC — March 27, 2010 @ 9:12 pm
I believe this is a splendid format ! I look forward to social workers response to your exacting comments.
I have some fascinating facts I hope to publish soon regarding this inept, corrupt and damaging government funded entity. Cudos for being so correct n your commentary.
Comment by D J — March 28, 2010 @ 8:07 pm
To everyone here, Misslinda you are a great women! i respect you very much. And well people we all say the same thing cry and cry, it seems that this CSW target the weak, and not the strong, lets see how do you expose this bastards well, when you go to court, get the CSW reports from the court tell your attorney you want a copy of the reports,! and send them to the local newspapers writters so they can expose this bastards. It seems this dogs get away with this behavior because no one does anything about it, i see people do more for animal rights and plants and trees then for our children, People stop being SCARED!! people the only way to get anyone to do anything about it is, by going to the DAMM DA office and passively of course start protesting, and demanding the District Attorneys office to go after SOCIALWORKERS WHO ARE DIRTY AND PERJURE AND DO THINGS THAT ARE ILLEGAL ,trust me they rather put someone else in the grill then themselfs who claim they are there to represent the people of the state! US!! so start doing that people talking about your situation here aint going to change nothing! this people are laughing at you and having great night sleeps while your children are being, raped, abused, treated like animals , humiliated and abused by this CSW and the places they put the childrens at when they removed them from your home!!
Comment by PEOPLEPEOPLE — March 29, 2010 @ 1:52 am
linda-thank you for responding to my question. the information you provided is insightful and thought provoking for me as a social worker. i was not ‘upset’ only seeking answers. and it wasn’t in regards to you providing defense information to child abusers but offering a forum in which to allow them to influence people who have been wrongly accused. It saddens me to think about how many people hate and loathe social workers. This is my passion; I am proud of what I do. I earned a Masters degree in this field; I am licensed in this field. I do not enjoy whatsoever seeing children away from their families. As a mother, it breaks my heart. But there are situations where it is warranted to save a child’s life. And as quickly as whatever safety issues can be mitigated the family needs to be reunited. I feel that whenever I cannot return a child to a parent, I have failed. I think that whatever other CPS social workers that treat their jobs any other way are doing a disservice. I think that CPS is only as good as the court system and the legislature. We are merely a small player in the big pond. There needs to be more push and “fight” to change the courts and judges and our politicians.
Comment by hardworkingsw — March 29, 2010 @ 12:38 pm
I am a grandma of 2 beautiful little girls who were removed from me due to a complaint from someone who live across the country and is a known mental patient. When CPS knocked on my door one morning at 7 am we had just gotten out of bed and were getting the 4 yr old ready for preschool. The worker never even came into my house. She demanded me to bring the girls outside (it was freezing). She then told me to go in and get them some clothing that she was taking them. I didn’t know anything about my rights against CPS. All i knew is i had fought for close to 3 yrs to get custody of my babies from the parents who WERE abusers.
A friend of mine from Scottland knew what was happening and found the Alex Jones show where he had done an interview with Nancy Schaefer. I contacted her and we spoke in great detail about my case and how there was no case. Through working with her, she tought me how to phone and write to my State Representatives. I was fortunate as I got my girls back in only 5 weeks but it was not for doing it all myself. Mrs Schaefer guided me in what to do, and showed me how to use those people we elected to represent us. She wrote letters on my behalf to judges as well as my state reps.
I learned a lot from her and would like to help anyone else who would like.
Comment by Serenity — April 2, 2010 @ 6:33 am
linda
i respect your plight of changing the movement behind the social service system; I too think that changes need to be made. However your beef needs to be with the people who govern CPS and develop and approve their rules and policies….which would be the state’s legislature. why not have a webiste to promote people making active changes through those avenues? CPS cannot simply “change” the way they go about investigating child abuse reports beacuse they are governed by the state’s policy.
Comment by proudsw — April 3, 2010 @ 9:40 am
ProudSW, the federal legislators won’t help – they are corrupted and don’t work for the people. State legislators are waking up. My focus on this site is to help the victims of false allegations prepare themselves for juvenile court appearances. Activism is a secondary but vital part of my intent. Thanks for your comment.
Comment by Linda Martin — April 3, 2010 @ 12:16 pm
Debra-Hi are you doing? I like the testimony that you shared with everyone. I need some support and hope you can help me. My email is teresa.goin[@]comcast.net. Sincerely, Teresa
Comment by Teresa G. — April 7, 2010 @ 11:27 am
Dear Fellow Citizens,
I can’t tell you how happy to find a site that I believe is actually full of intelligent, knowledgeable and articulate people.
I am currently going through a custody battle with the Department of Human Resources in Alabama. I have been falsely accused by a drug addict after I threatened to leave her. An inept social worker who has been her life long friend encouraged her to push the allegation and the rest is history. Needless to say my children are now in foster care. All charges against me were dropped but DHR still labels me in the negative on their internal registry. I have been trying to get supervised visitation since January. I was supposed to start yesterday and the social worker started increasing the requirements for the ISP. Now the person watching my children is wanting to give them up due to the added appointments. I was never allowed to meet with my children. We need to change this on a federal level. I am spending every dime I make on this effort. I will not stop until I have my children back. My whole life is dedicated to this effort.
Comment by Joe — April 16, 2010 @ 7:37 pm
Hi Joe… I hope you’ll join us on the message board forum to help everyone fighting CPS.
Comment by Linda Martin — April 17, 2010 @ 11:37 am
I am a grandmother fighting oregon for my grandchildren. i have done everything requested of me and still they hold my children. my daughter has fulfulled the “plan” and still no children. they have lied and accused us both falsely. This i can prove if I ever get the opportunity. I understand that this is the worst state for stealing and basically “child trafficing” our children. the bonuses they get for moving kids from foster home to foster home. the abuse these children go thru is appalling and they say it’s in the best interest. no way is this in the best interest of our children. this is all about the money they recieve for stealing children. the logging business is down here so they have to make up for it. so our children suffer. i need help please. i am begging for help. these children are my life.
Comment by phyllis — April 25, 2010 @ 4:52 pm
Phyllis, you can get feedback on your case at our message board – and also try contacting Oregon Family Rights.
Comment by Linda Martin — April 26, 2010 @ 1:49 am
To start off I am a former foster child, now a parent, and a licensed social worker employed by a CPS agency. I was was not abused in any way in foster care. My foster mother was a wonderful woman who helped me heal from the pain, and trauma that my PARENTS inflicted upon me. This does not mean that I am not aware that there are horible foster parents out there, however many who have commented on this site seem to fail to recognize that birth parents are very capable of harming their children in every way posible. If it weren’t for child protection laws and agencies, I would likely be dead right now. Laws, courts, and CPS agencies are extremely important to ensuring that children are not harmed or neglectd by their parents. I am not saying that all families or parents involved with CPS agencies are bad parents, guilty of wrong doing, or should have their children taken from them. Over the years I have worked with some amazing parents who dearly love their children and are extremely capable of raising them, however circumstances in their lives caused things to get out of control (often drug or alcohol abuse). With some services, these parents can correct the paths that they were on and take wonderful care of their children. I truly wish my own parents had worked a “case plan”!
Being a parent is an honor and a privelage. Children are not our property. With this said, I also agree that parents SHOULD be well informed of the laws in their jurisdiction regarding childen and families. From reading many of these posts I see a lot of “gaps” in what people are reporting. CPS is only an agent of the system at large consisting of laws and courts. If you really want things to change, change the laws, however keep in mind that there are children everywhere suffering right now because of the abuse and neglect perpetrated upon them by their parents.
Comment by merinda — May 6, 2010 @ 5:10 pm
ProudSW: Your advice was good lip service that would lead us to a dead end. State Legislature would more likely listen to a director of social services for a particular area and to the agency it represents. Therefore, I believe directing efforts in full towards the agency itself and key stakeholders is more effective. When a breaking point is reached these said agencies will then have to go to legislatures themselves. Those legislatures would be more receptive seeing the agencies want the change instead of having to force a change.
“I too think that changes need to be made.”
- Then by all means proceed to the state legislature!
Comment by masoly — May 26, 2010 @ 5:13 am
merinda:
I am sorry that you were abused by your parents. I am very glad your experience in foster care was positive. Every expert of every field in child abuse would have to say that you were very lucky. It is well known that children are abused at an extremely higher rate while in foster care than in the general public.
It is also common to find social workers with the same driving force as your own: an experience of parental abuse, left unresolved and with no recourse, has left them bitter and wanting to punish every other parent in the place of their own.
This is a natural human response to such trauma and so I feel bad that you must go through this and that so many other social workers go through these motions trying to resolve unresolvable past issues. It distorts their ability to see the situations for what they really. It also creates the exact opposite of what you were intending: multitudes of children being torn from their parents and being told their parents were abusive. Your skewed perception puts these multitudes of children right into your shoes.
Please do not work out your issues on people & families who did nothing to you.
Published Opinion for GREENE V. CAMRETA: 9th Circuit Court of Appeals:
“In 2007, for example, state and local
agencies investigated 3.2 million reports of child abuse or neglect. (See U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN
SERVICES, ADMINISTRATION ON CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES.
CHILD MALTREATMENT 2007)
Of the 3.6 million investigations conducted
by state and local agencies in 2006, only about a quarter concluded that the children were indeed victims of abuse.
This discrepancy creates the risk that “in the name of saving children from the harm that their parents and guardians
are thought to pose, states ultimately cause more harm to many more children than they ever help.”
The quote is shortened to fit here but you can find it at:
http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2009/12/10/06-35333.pdf
Comment by masoly — May 26, 2010 @ 5:50 am
I hardly think someone who has been abused should be working for CPS. That alone would win a court case with the right case law. If you were a jury member for and abuse case you would not be able to be a part of a case involving child abuse which is exactly why you shouldn’t be working for CPS. You should be working for a rehabilitation center or something. However, I agree with the author. Everyone has the right to due process and when it is one sided where the state chooses the defender, investigator, or any other state appointed representative it is a major conflict of interest. It is wrong and it is unfortunate that our society is so screwed up and corrupted that we have to either have a government employee or pay thousands and thousands of dollars in an economy where people are living paycheck to paycheck.
Comment by Brandice — June 5, 2010 @ 4:45 am
My daughter was expelled for making a sexual accusation against a teacher on Facebook. Her comment was clearly misinterpreted. The teacher was investigated by our local school board, Department of Education, and Department of children and Families. I suspect that the teacher somehow initiated these investigations so she can now prove civil damages. She has been vocal about not wanting to be a teacher anymore. This may not be the forum for this, but I’m desperately looking for guidance.
Comment by Linda — June 28, 2010 @ 12:21 pm
Linda, you could try filing a civil rights complaint with your nearest office of the Federal Department of Education.
Comment by Linda Martin — June 29, 2010 @ 8:17 pm