FightCPS does not advocate or condone violence or illiegal activities of any kind.

FightCPS is intended to help people learn enough about the law to be able to successfully defend themselves and their families against false accusations using legal documents and strategies that put parents in a stronger position when they go back to court.

For more information, see the FAQ.



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 The law that started this, CAPTA, must be repealed.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 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.









Bad Child Protective Services agents deserve to be sued.
Represent Yourself in Court: How to Prepare & Try a Winning Case

By Attorneys Paul Bergman & Sara Berman-Barrett

Child Protective Services is shredding families.
The Shredding of Families

By Dr. Lillian D. Dunsmore and Dr. Richard A. Dunsmore

Child Protective Services from a fosterer's point of view.
Memoirs of a Baby Stealer: Lessons I've Learned As A Foster Mother

By Mary Callahan

Protecting Children from Child Protective Services.
Protecting Children from Child Protective Services

By Alan L. Schwartz

Dark Secrets within Child Protective Services
By Teresa Cunio

Psychologists who work for Child Protective Services.
Whores of the Court

By Margaret A. Hagen

Fiction about Child Protective Services.
Custody of the State

Christian Fiction
By Craig Parshall


Search Now:







Fighting Child Protective Services False Accusations


Fighting Child Protective Services False Accusations
Family Rights v. Child Welfare




June 10, 2009

Life of a Foster Kid

Life of a Foster KidWant to read something that will touch your heart?

Check out this new website: Life of a Foster Kid - Foster care in a child’s eyes written by teens, for teens. Click on “My Story” in the side column to read how his life was torn apart by child protective services social workers.

If you’re a teenager you can join the site and share your story with site manager, Jonathan Nickols.

If you have a site you’d like to have featured here on FightCPS, please let me know. My email link is at the bottom of this page.

Filed under: Foster Homes — Linda @ 9:20 pm



April 15, 2009

The Future of the FightCPS Website

I’m grateful that I’ve spent twenty years as an activist exposing America’s sick child welfare system to the light of day.

I’m grateful for the emails and comments I received telling me how much this site has helped. Those testimonials mean a lot to me and always will.

Twenty years ago this month, my fourth child was born in Central California. Before I could leave the hospital a social worker visited my room to talk to me about my history of being battered by my child’s father. Later I learned that while I was there I nearly died, and during that time my child’s father threatened the doctor, so he decided to report us to CPS. I had to leave my baby in the hospital because she was premature, and on the day she was released a social worker picked her up and left a slip of paper on my front porch.

Only a few days later I learned what it was like to go into Juvenile Court to be given a social worker’s report filled with lies. That was the day I realized that our justice system was broken, that social workers could lie and nobody cared - and that they could get away with perjury. That was the day I started learning that our Constitution doesn’t apply in Juvenile Court and that I couldn’t have a jury trial. That was the day I started realizing how ineffective public defenders are for child welfare victims.

Okay - it has been twenty years. I am one of the very lucky ones who fought back, found an activist to help me, and who succeeded in getting my child home again (after eight months of separation.) Lucky me. But I was traumatized to an extreme - not only by my shock at the injustice of the child welfare system, but also by my family’s non-support, my need to cope with being a battered woman, and the end of my relationship with the man who battered me.

Trauma takes a long time to wear off, and twenty years later — honestly, I’m still dealing with it!

When this happened to me I was working as a welfare worker in the same Department of Social Services that contained the CPS agency that attacked and lied about me. I was sickened to learn that my employer allowed these vile social workers in the CPS unit to perjure themselves, violate regulations, and be rude to young, traumatized, suffering parents. My thought was that if they were doing this to me (another DSS employee) WHAT WERE THEY DOING TO ALL THE YOUNG PARENTS WITH LESS EDUCATION AND MONEY THAN ME? I was appalled. Shocked. Disgusted. I wanted to do something to help other parents going through this wretched system of injustice, and from the time my case closed in 1990 until now, I’ve been doing what I could when I could.

My main goal at first was to expose, expose, expose. I wanted the public to know what was going on in the social services department. I was fortunately led to a local weekly paper with a similar goal - to expose local government corruption. I wrote some articles. I contacted some child welfare victims and helped a few of them to file for State Administrative Hearings. I burnt out - and needed to turn my attention to raising my two youngest children - both preschoolers at that time.

Next I started a computer bulletin board service (BBS) via the FidoNet network. Anyone here know about FidoNet? I did that for five years and during that time contacted a few child welfare victims including the woman who wrote Don’ts and Do’s When Falsely Accused… she lived nearby and we got together quite a few times. When her case closed she moved out of state.

The internet got my attention next. I was handicapped by my finances - I was unable to afford a worthy computer for quite a few years. I learned to do some webdesign, and in 2000 started the Child Protection Reform Yahoo Group (which I’ve since given away) and next I created Fight CPS And Win - now simply called FightCPS. I’ve been developing this site since October 2000 - almost nine years.

Here’s the bad news (or maybe it is good news) . . . I’m ready to do something else with my life. I feel my most important goal here has been fulfilled. That goal was to expose the system to the American public. I feel that has been done, and that we’ve reached CRITICAL MASS in that now many people are speaking out about the injustice including wonderful state legislators in Georgia and Washington. Also the news media, especially television news, is speaking out to expose the system. That didn’t happen back when I started my activism, twenty years ago. Back then even child murders in the foster system were not carried in the news media, so I’m excited when I see television news commentators exposing CPS injustice. There are also multiple developing websites to cover this issue on the internet now, many more than when I started, and I see the seeds of greatness in some of them. Very exciting stuff! So I know that when I leave, there will be others to take my place and fill in the gaps. My mission here is complete.

I will always feel as I do about the crazy, unjust, and cruel child welfare system. I have not changed but I have other things to do now. I have no more children under age eighteen. I need to focus on other things in my life now.

I don’t know what will become of FightCPS.Com — and am considering all the options at this point. I won’t leave this month or next, but I’m sure by the end of 2009 I’ll no longer be doing this. Therefore I’m ready to hear from other activists or advocates who feel able to own and maintain this website. This will require someone to move the entire site to another server, so I’m looking for someone with confidence and competency in the web skills arena. It also requires someone with outstanding writing skills.

This site has thousands of links pointing to it. It ranks well in the search engines. For that reason, I don’t want to just dump it. I worked hard to make it rank well so that people in need of help could easily find us. I think it is a valuable site for that reason, and that it would be a shame to just close it down. I really want someone else to take it over, love it, develop it, and leave it on the web as a beacon of hope to whoever goes to Google and types in “child protective services”. It is the only anti-CPS site that shows up in the first page of search results.

Anyhow, if you’re someone who could take on this project and make it work, please contact me. I’m interested in hearing from you. My webmaster email link is at the bottom of this page. Please note that if I don’t know who you are, that’s a problem. I don’t want some government-paid disinformation agent to take over this site and subvert its purpose. Getting the right person for site ownership is more important than any other consideration at this point.

Filed under: Fight CPS Website — LindaJoMartin @ 12:35 pm



April 9, 2009

The Open Letters Project

This afternoon I looked at a Squidoo lens about Open Letters… and of course CPS came to mind. If I was to write and complain about anything, it would have to be about CPS!

So here’s a plan. We can all write these open letters…. then I’ll gladly publish them on the front page of this site so long as they are about CPS (on topic) and clean/non-abusive. I can’t publish anything that would bring bad vibes to this site in the form of angry public officials demanding retractions… but perhaps with names removed you could tell a few people off.

Anyhow, you’re welcome to write your open letter and send it to me at: webmaster -at- fightcps.com … and please let me know if you want me to make up a fake name, or publish your real name. Either way is fine with me but if you have an open CPS case I recommend anonymity.

I look forward to reading some great letters. Please everyone, participate! This could be fun and at the same time will be a good way to get some strong feelings off your chest.

If I get enough of these letters, I can put them together in an e-book we could give to all sorts of people needing CPS information … wouldn’t that be cool?

So who will you write to? Your social worker? The foster parent? The Juvenile Court Referee? The psychologist?

Be as creative as you like. Illustrations welcome!

Filed under: Activism — LindaJoMartin @ 3:09 pm



March 23, 2009

California: CPS Workers With Criminal Records - Exposed in the Sacramento Bee

Back in 1989 when my infant daughter was taken out of the hospital by a CPS social worker, I was aware of at least one person in that department that had a criminal record. He had been convicted of vehicular manslaughter in the death of his wife while he was under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol, and spent a few years in prison. When they let him out he was hired by the county as a welfare caseworker, then promoted to be a CPS social worker. But back in 1989 there wasn’t much said about social workers with criminal records.

Times have changed!

This week the Sacramento Bee published an exposé about CPS caseworkers and social workers with criminal records. The convictions and arrests (with some cases pending) include drug possession, spousal abuse, gang membership, assault with a deadly weapon, and drunk driving. One CPS employee in Sacramento County is a registered sex offender. Last August one family service worker was arrested for stealing gasoline.

Fine people to be deciding which families to decimate!

FIRE THEM ALL… that’s the best thing that could happen!!!

As much as I don’t like the depression, I’m thrilled when I hear of CPS caseworkers losing their jobs. I want families to be safe again.

The Sacramento Bee article: Dozens in CPS have criminal records by Marjie Lundstrom and Sam Stanton, published March 22, 2009.


Thanks to tommixx for posting this link in the FightCPS Message Board Forum, and to ‘cps victim’ who sent it to me in email.

Filed under: California, Media — Linda @ 2:23 pm



March 21, 2009

Washington: Prosecutor Exposes CPS Corruption and Injustice!

I’m going to give you a suggestion and hope with all my heart that you will act on this. Please print out this article and send it to your county’s District Attorney with a suggestion that he investigates your local CPS agency.

Prosecutor alleges ‘pattern of misconduct’ at DSHS

I could not be more excited! This article shows how the Stevens County prosecutor, Tim Rasmussen, spent months investigating CPS in North-East Washington state. He uncovered multiple incidents of severe corruption including:

1. Social workers giving a morphine drip to a baby that was not originally drug addicted.

2. Social workers subjecting children to sexual forensic exams when there were no allegations of molestation or abuse of any kind.

3. Social workers removing multiple children from their homes on very trivial and questionable charges.

Thank you, thank you, thank you Tim Rasmussen! Thank you for taking the time to investigate the complaints of traumatized parents. Thank you from the bottom of my heart and soul.

Do you know how many years I’ve been waiting for this to start happening?


Thanks to dear Marina, one of the moderators at our FightCPS Message Board Forum, for posting the link to this article. You truly brightened my day!

Filed under: Legal Issues — LindaJoMartin @ 11:27 pm



February 4, 2009

UK: Brian Gerrish Interview Reveals The Purpose Behind Government Child Snatching

Today I’m giving you a link to a fairly long video - I hope most of you are able to access it. Most of it is about an organization called “Common Purpose” which exists mainly in the UK, but which apparently has outreach to many other countries… the USA among them. The organization is training people to lead our civilization in the future. All very interesting and pertinent stuff!

At the end of the interview Brian Gerrish starts talking about CPS. Everything he says about the UK CPS is the same here in the USA. Please take time to listen… educate yourself!

Brian Gerrish Interview on EdgeTV

If you want to know why CPS is heartless to both parents and children, this video explains. It also shows that he was approached by families complaining about social services, and at first didn’t believe them, but over time, became convinced. So don’t give up! The more of us that make CPS injustice public, the more likely it is that media personnel will see what’s going on with child welfare.

I believe that the press should be informed of any blatantly false case of CPS child snatching. If you can prove that the paperwork shows CPS malfeasance, is it time to approach the media? It is up to each individual (or couple) to decide. I know how it is . . . many of us, when there’s still hope, hold off from going to the media for fear of enraging the child snatchers further. This is an honest consideration. I waited until my CPS case was closed, and then wrote a series of articles, but I had aligned myself with a local activist well-known for going to the press to expose CPS. It is possible my child was quickly returned because they didn’t want him to write a public article about us.

There’s lots more about Brian Gerrish and Common Purpose on YouTube.

His website: EU Truth

Filed under: Activism — LindaJoMartin @ 3:06 am



January 24, 2009

Kansas: Sedgwick County Parents Address State Legislators

On January 6, 2009, Kansas parents, family members, and community representatives spoke before state legislators regarding family rights violations and the injustice of social service agencies.

YOU can do this too!

Thanks to the person who sent the links to me.

Filed under: Activism — LindaJoMartin @ 11:44 pm



January 2, 2009

California: 65 Contra Costa County CPS Social Workers Fired

Good news…

Contra Costa cuts 65 child welfare workers

I hope this means the remaining employees will concentrate on truly abused children rather than going after every trivial “neglect” case they can get their hands on - especially if adoptable babies are involved.

There’s a video:

CPS Social Workers Fired

Filed under: CPS — Linda @ 8:32 am



December 21, 2008

Virginia: Kit and Nancy Hey are Still Actively Seeking the Return of Their Daughter, Sabrina Hey

A few days ago I found Kit and Nancy Hey’s amazing photograph on my Gather Family Rights group, and asked for permission to post it here:

Kit and Nancy

I spent some time looking through Kit and Nancy’s website and all Nancy’s articles on Gather.Com. I was especially touched by her photographs of Sabrina on their website, and by the videos of her speech at the 2008 DC Family Preservation Rally.

In her speech Nancy stated that a CPS social worker detained her child, not because Sabrina was in any immediate danger, but because she was miffed that the Heys wanted to consult an attorney before allowing any further intrusions against their privacy.

Sabrina was born on April 3, 2005 and detained at the age of only twenty-two days; the reason given was ‘failure to thrive’ although she was under doctor’s care and eight pounds at the time. Later Sabrina’s mother was accused of having a learning disability that would interfere with parenting, but when I see Nancy Hey on video reading her statement, and on Gather.Com writing articles, I can’t see that there’s any evidence of her being handicapped to the extent that parenting wouldn’t be possible.

This looks like a clear-cut case of injustice, and I hope everyone here will join me in prayers, good wishes, vibrations, energy, or whatever you can give, for this persecuted, wrongfully attacked family. The case is currently being appealed and all visitations have been cut off.

You can click on the picture above to go to Kit and Nancy’s website.

More information about the DC Family Preservation Rally: 2008, 2009. (The 2009 site appears to be under construction.)

[Update: Today I found this link: Child Snatcher Judge - with a photo of the couple little Sabrina was given to. Apparently they had their own baby and Sabrina may be neglected in favor of the natural child.]

Filed under: Legal Issues, Virginia — Linda @ 3:07 am



December 20, 2008

Connecticut: DCF Hearing Reveals Social Worker Cruelty and Family Destruction

A hearing on December 18, 2008 informed Connecticut state legislators of DCF injustice and cruelty to families. One participant, an out-of-state aunt, told legislators that family members were denied kinship care rights because the court ruled they had no bond with the child, a girl now totally separated from her natural family. Many others came forward to tell legislators their stories of injustice, trauma and distress at the hands of DCF caseworkers.

According to the article written by Arielle Levin Becker, State Representative Toni Walker, a Democrat from New Haven, wept and said, “We as a state have failed miserably in this situation.” One hundred and thirty eight people signed up to testify at this hearing, the last hearing of four, and apparently the only hearing allowing the public to testify. People spoke out about rude DCF social workers and unjust family devastation practices.

The hearings were scheduled in response to the death of an infant in foster care last May.

Source: Familiar Complaints Aired At Hearing On DCF by Arielle Levin Becker published on December 19, 2008 by the Hartford Courant.

Filed under: CPS, Connecticut — Linda @ 2:25 am



December 18, 2008

Petitions!!!

I know several of you have important petitions out there now and I hope you’ll mention them (with links) in the comments to this post. Here’s one I found out about in email tonight. This one is from the Wheatons - the couple organizing a class action lawsuit. - ljm

Petition to CPS/DPSS - CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT (RIVERSIDE, CA) FOR KIDNAPPING OUR CHILDREN WITHOUT CAUSE

“We are organizing a class action lawsuit against the County of Riverside, the State of California, all states, and the Nation, and all parties involved in unlawfully detaining and holding our children against our will, and without cause. We have documented the deep, imbedded corruption in the social services agencies nationwide. We have filed three lawsuits so far, and are looking for other families who have also been annihilated by this evil. Email us at FightCPScalifornia@gmail.com or go to the link at http://www.fightcps.com/ to join the fight to save our children.”

This is the first paragraph of a lengthy statement of facts. Please read and sign the petition: Class Action Lawsuit Against CPS and DPSS / DFS / HRS For Kidnapping Babies To Sell.

.

Filed under: Activism, United States — Linda @ 11:06 pm



Texas: Foster-Adoptive Parents Face CPS Crisis

The couple in this video said they became foster-adoptive parents so they could help needy children. But soon they were confronted with evidence that children are often not taken from their parents because of true abuse or neglect, but because CPS bureaucrats tend to over-react in order to get children into the foster care system. When a child is placed in foster care, the federal funding streams start, and that’s what CPS administrators want so they can strengthen their jobs and their departments with money from federal resources including the Social Security Fund.

I appreciate that the Gates family allowed their plight to be televised. The Central Index blacklists in every state should be declared unconstitutional. Too many people are listed - not on the basis of what they have done to harm children, but simply on the basis of CPS caseworker opinions. Most of the people listed on the Central Index blacklists have never been criminally charged or convicted of any kind of child abuse or neglect.

This video was posted to YouTube by Shanklinmike who posts videos about the Libertarian Party, individualism, & economic freedom. I recommend his videos to all of you. I just found this video this morning, and now I’m one of his subscribers!

Filed under: Legal Issues, Texas — Linda @ 5:42 pm



December 12, 2008

Washington: CPS Social workers violate kinship care laws

Washington grandparents Doug and AnneMarie Stuth have every right and reason to be caretakers of their three-year-old granddaughter, yet caseworkers at Child Protective Services are making up unreasonable justifications to keep the cute little blonde girl in foster care. They say the Stuth’s aren’t making an effort to support the child’s reunification with her teen mother, the Stuth’s daughter. Yet a KING5 news video report proves they have done everything in their power to help the mother have access to her child.

The Stuths made their case high-profile through going to their state legislators including Senator Pamela Roach, and to the news media. They are fighting the case in court. They are a good example for the many thousands of other grandparents who want custody of their grandchildren who have been placed in foster homes. The denial of kinship care rights to grandparents is one of the worst aspects of current child protective services corruption. CPS agencies want to adopt children out to strangers so they can qualify for federal subsidy bonuses.

Source: Investigators: Grandparents passed over in favor of foster care by Susannah Frame on December 11, 2008, for KING5 News. Be sure to read through all the related content on this article! This is a major exposé!

A word to CPS workers: The word is out… everyone knows how corrupt the CPS agencies are. Come out of your dark offices and admit to the world and to yourselves that you’ve done wrong. Good always triumphs over evil. The love of family overcomes the evil of family destruction. In time you will see this is true.

Filed under: CPS — Linda @ 4:21 pm



November 13, 2008

Florida: Foster parent’s sons accused of molesting younger foster children; CPS ignored first complaint

A ten year old boy in Jacksonville Florida has had his life ruined by a CPS over-reaction to a false allegation. They ripped the boy from his mother, incarcerated him in foster care with foster parent Leticia Rodriguez, and left him to be molested by two teenage boys they’d already been told were abusing children.

The person who made the false allegation went to jail because of it. Unfortunately the Department of Children and Families dragged things out in court and managed to keep the boy away from his mother for four weeks. Time enough for him to be repeatedly abused by the foster parent’s two teenage sons.

Typical CPS social work abuse of children! Even though they KNEW the mother wasn’t guilty they pursued their case to keep a child in foster care and draw on those federal funding streams they love so much.

Does anyone here understand why I’m so angry at legislators for not changing the federal child abuse laws? Don’t legislators realize how many children they are HARMING? I sadly believe they DO know it and don’t bother doing anything to help because of some pressure from higher authorities. Tell me it isn’t so! Tell me American children are more important than that!

The mother intends to sue the state of Florida. I hope a lot of pathetic caseworkers lose their jobs over this, and that the state goes broke if it isn’t already.

Florida DCF spokesman John Harrell wouldn’t talk about the eight year old girl foster child who complained about being molested in that foster home NINE MONTHS before the boy stayed there. In all that time, how many other children have been abused? Quite a few, wouldn’t you think?

Source: Foster Child Sexually Abused in Foster Home by Jackelyn Barnard, published on November 12, 2008 by FirstCoastNews.Com (WJXX and WTLV).

Filed under: Florida, Foster Homes — Linda @ 12:24 am



November 9, 2008

Canada: Foster Parent on Trial for Murder of 3-Year-Old Foster Child

An unidentified Canadian foster parent, age 34, is on trial, accused of second-degree murder. Her three-year-old foster child, a Native American boy, died of a severe head injury sustained on January 26, 2007. The foster parent, a nurse, took the boy to the bathroom in the middle of the night and there he either fell and hit his head during a temper fit, or she hit him. The court must decide which is true.

A forensic pathologist, Dr. Bernard Bannach, testified that there was a sudden, unexpected blow to the head causing the brain to rotate within the skull, tearing veins and causing a subdural hematoma. He admitted that this could conceivably be caused by a fall rather than by an abusive blow to the head.

Dr. Alex Levin said the boy’s brain seemed to have been subjected to severe repeated trauma. The boy’s body was also covered with severe bruises including on the feet and lower back - places boys don’t usually bruise themselves.

In his opening statement the prosecutor, Mark Huyser-Wierenga, said that children with similar injuries were involved in automobile accidents or falls from three stories up, and that this injury couldn’t have been caused by anything other than child abuse.

Child protection social worker Edele Kaffo said that she saw nothing wrong with the way the child was being cared for by the accused foster parent. Her opinion was based on telephone calls and home visits between December 6, 2006, and January 26, 2007. Apparently the boy was in the home less than two months. He was taken from his poverty-stricken parents who were allegedly accused of instability, domestic violence, and alcoholism.

The foster mother believed the boy had fetal alcohol syndrome and took him to a pediatrician several times. The boy’s doctor, Dr. Kan Lee, testified that she claimed the boy woke up screaming and saying, “Daddy hurt me” and “Daddy bad.” He said that during the first doctor’s office visit the boy had multiple small bruises on his forehead, legs, and back as well as a cut on his thigh. During the second visit there were two new bruises.

Sources:
Blood-flooded brain led to boy’s death by Ben Gelinas, published in the Edmonton Journal.
No concerns about foster mom, case worker tells Edmonton murder trial by Florence Loyie, published in the Edmonton Journal.
Toddler showed signs of disorder: Foster mother complained of outbursts, court told by Karen Kleiss published October 30, 2008 in the Edmonton Journal.
Blow that killed foster boy was sudden, hard, court hears by Karen Kleis, published October 22, 2008 in the Edmonton Journal.
Ex-foster mother pleads not guilty to murder by Jennifer Yang, published October 15, 2008 in the Edmonton Journal.

Filed under: Canada, Legal Issues — Linda @ 1:11 am



November 8, 2008

Michigan: CPS Social Workers Ignored Mother’s Concerns About the Safety of Her Children in Abusive Foster Home

A foster parent in Detroit, Michigan has been arrested for allegedly molesting two young girls, ages 10 and 12. Robert Carl Davids, 55, may face life in prison for raping the two children who were in his home as foster children.

Their mother lost custody of her five children in 2006 due to a drug raid, but she’s been working on her reunification plan and hopes to get her children back on December 4.

In the meantime she’s been telling Michigan DHS caseworkers that her children were in danger. According to a Detroit News article, she said, “I was making complaints in February 2007 almost every day about the home . . . and I felt no one was taking me seriously.” She thought her daughters were being ‘beaten and sexually assaulted’.

Source: Man charged with abuse of two foster girls” by Oralandar Brand-Williams, published on November 8, 2008 in the Detroit News.

Filed under: Foster Homes, Michigan — Linda @ 7:46 pm



Michigan: Dearborn Mother Sues Over 9-Year-Old’s Death in Foster Care

A Dearborn, Michigan mother, Elena Andron, 32, asked for help from social services when she lost her job. She asked that the state help take care of her quadriplegic nine-year-old son, Johnny Dragomir. Unfortunately Johnny starved to death in the Monroe Foster Home in Detroit; owner Mildred Monroe, a registered nurse and dietician, apparently didn’t feed him enough and he died of malnutrition.

Elena Andron has filed suit against the the foster care home and others, asking $30 million in damages.

Andron stated in her lawsuit that when she became concerned about her son’s health she was denied access to him. When he entered foster care he weighed 80 pounds, and when he died, he weighed only 48 pounds. His school teacher didn’t notice any “red flags” and the foster home still has an active license.

Sources:
Mom sues over 9-year-old’s death in foster care in Wayne County court: $30-million suit claims her son starved by Tammy Stables Battaglia, published on November 5, 2008 in the Detroit Free Press.
Lawsuit: Foster Home Starved Boy, 10, To Death published November 3, 2008 on the ClickOnDetroit website.

Filed under: Legal Issues, Michigan — Linda @ 1:03 am



November 7, 2008

Texas: Hannah Overton, Imprisoned Foster Parent, Requests New Trial

Hannah Overton, 30, the Texas foster parent and Christian homeschooling mother of five convicted to life in prison without parole for the murder of a foster child, is asking for a new trial.

She was convicted in September 2007 because she allegedly forced a four year old, Andrew Burd, to drink a mixture of two cups water, salt, pepper, chili powder and Cajun spices as a punishment. Hannah’s version of this is different. She says the child requested the “Zatarain’s Seasoning” and she put it in water instead of on food because he had an overeating disorder. She says she did not force him to drink it as a punishment. Source: Free Hannah Overton Website.

While many more violent foster parents have gotten off with a mere hand-slap, this young woman was sentenced to life without parole even though she had no intention to kill the child. She reportedly panicked when she saw Andrew wasn’t breathing, and waited an hour and a half to call for medical assistance. This is what the prosecutor said made her responsible for Andrew’s death. Source: Woman Convicted In Foster Child’s Death Seeks New Trial published on November 7, 2008 at KWTX.com.

A commenter at Sarah Walston’s blog article about Hannah Overton said that the actual time Overton waited to take Andrew to the hospital was only five minutes, not an hour and a half.

This case shows that foster parenting is a dangerous occupation. For years now I’ve warned people NOT to get involved with the foster care industry because of the risk of false accusations, and because of things like this where foster children die or are murdered, and there must be accountability.

One foster parent wrote on Sarah Walston’s blog:
“This story TERRIFIES me because I currently have 2 foster children living in my home, and now I’m forced to think ‘What IF this happens to ME?’ This story shows how easily some unfortunate twist of fate, can leave someone wrongfully convicted…”

There is a website created by Overton’s Christian supporters: Free Hannah Overton.

My opinion on this is that she got a much longer sentence than she deserved. Without a doubt, forcing a child to drink hot spices is a form of child abuse, and she deserved some prison time if she actually did that, but to put her away for life without parole is far too much time, especially for a young woman who is unlikely to be a danger to society if set free.

Another blog article, Suffer the Children, gives an opposing view, criticizing the “Free Hannah Overton” movement and pointing to perceived flaws in the thinking and writing of those seeking to help her.

For a picture of Andrew Burd: Corpus Christi Couple Charged in Death.

See also: Hannah Overton convicted of killing foster son.

This case has become a favorite cause for bloggers, especially Christian bloggers:
Hannah Overton :: Pray for Hannan Overton :: Release Hannah Overton :: Free Hannah!!! :: Hannah Overton Alleged Salt Poisoning Case :: Urgent Prayer Request for Hannah Overton :: May God Bless Hannah Overton and Family :: Free Hannah Overton :: Free Hannah Overton.

Other FightCPS articles about Hannah Overton: Texas: Fosterer charged with murdering 4-yr-old boy with hot pepper

Hannah’s aunt posted extensive information on her MySpace blog in which she said part of the conviction relied on a FALSE affidavit filed by a CPS social worker! See: The Wrongful Conviction of Hannah Overton.

What is your opinion? Should Hannah Overton be freed? Should her sentence (life without parole) be exchanged for something less harsh? Or do you think she got what she deserved?

Filed under: Legal Issues — Linda @ 2:29 pm



November 2, 2008

UK: Deceptive Social Workers Keep Father From Son, But Want Him To Donate His Organs!

The Hampshire Social Services caseworkers don’t want us to read this story. In fact, they placed an injunction against the Mail Online news site when they found out the story was in the hands of an investigative reporter there. That was two months ago; the Mail pursued a legal fight to get the injunction lifted so that Michael Shergold’s CPS story could be told.

Michael Shergold, 55, is the father of four children - the three he raised and the one he wasn’t aware of until social workers sent him a letter asking him to get in touch. They told him a woman he’d had a brief relationship with had a child which was taken from her on child cruelty charges.

They found the child an adoptive home in 2006 and didn’t bother contacting Michael Shergold until January 2007 even though he’s lived in the same house for the last 11 years and wasn’t hard to find. At first they strung him along, pretending they would evaluate his home as a permanent home for the boy. The evaluations included a series of invasive questioning sessions.

The true reason that Social Services caseworkers contacted Michael Shergold was that they wanted him to donate one of his organs to the boy because the boy’s mother has already refused. Her reason: she wants to have more children!

Last November a judge ruled that Michael Shergold could not have custody because it would be too disruptive to the child. Was it because he had remarried - this time to an American woman of color? Two days later the child was formally adopted out to his foster parents.

Though Michael Sherwood and his other children are not allowed to see this child, the social worker still wants him to agree to donate his body part so the child won’t die.

The statement Social Services made on this matter is jaw dropping:

“A care order would not have been made had the court not been satisfied that every effort had been made to locate Mr Shergold. We have apologised to Mr Shergold for our failure to find him during care proceedings. All circumstances leading to a child coming into care involve a degree of human tragedy and require very finely balanced judgments to be made. The needs of the child must always be the paramount concern and the judge did conclude that the local authority did its best, when it discovered the difficult situation that had arisen, to communicate with Mr Shergold and establish what contribution he could make to his son’s life.”

What kind of NONSENSE is that? This man was robbed of his child under color of law. Those responsible have apparently committed what I consider a treasonous offense against a British citizen. This is shameful and reprehensible. These social workers and the judge(s) that agreed to this injustice should be held liable and punished.

The mother who concealed this child from Michael Shergold was found guilty of child cruelty, but is allowed to see her son even though he’s been adopted. Mr. Shergold, who is guilty of nothing, and who has a long-time steady job, a stable home and marriage, and plenty of successful parenting experience, is not allowed to see his son. He is only allowed that “contribution he could make to his son’s life” meaning an operation to remove one of his vital organs.

Where’s the justice?

Source: ‘You can’t see your son - but can he have one of your organs?’: how social workers left one man with a terrible moral dilemma by Alison Smith Squire, published on November 2, 2008 in the MailOnline.

Filed under: CPS, United Kingdom — Linda @ 5:25 am


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Constitution

What to do if CPS agents are investigating you

Write to your legislators about CPS

The Good Advocates List

A review of: Protecting Children From Child Protective Services by Alan L. Schwartz

Solomon's Wisdom

A Call For Change - by Joseph Sarandos

Bounty payments for adoptions - how much is your child worth to CPS?

Get your case file using the Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act of 1974

The New Freedom - Orwellian "Newspeak" for a program that will force mental health evaluations on everyone. This is NOT "freedom" - this is about taking away your rights and controlling the minds of children and all other U.S. citizens.