DSHS Settles Suit Over 2 Abused Foster Kids

(Thank you, Cheryl, for send this to us.)

DSHS settles suit over 2 abused foster kids

A lawsuit filed against the state Department of Social and Health Services on behalf of two children who were sexually abused by their state-licensed foster parents has been settled for $2.5 million, according to DSHS officials and the children's attorney.

By Christine Clarridge
Seattle Times staff reporter

A lawsuit filed against the state Department of Social and Health Services on behalf of two children who were sexually abused by their state-licensed foster parents has been settled for $2.5 million, according to DSHS officials and the children's attorney.

The lawsuit claimed that DSHS failed to properly "interview, screen and thoroughly research the background and qualifications" of James Harvey Posey and Winnifred Posey before placing two children in their Vancouver, Wash., home.

According to the lawsuit filed last year in Clark County Superior Court, the two children, then ages 3 and 6, were placed with the Poseys for seven months beginning in December 2003. During that time, the lawsuit claims, they were physically and sexually abused.

"The whole case just wasn't handled well," according to Seattle attorney James S. Rogers, who filed the suit on the children's behalf.

Rogers said that Posey had a history that included criminal convictions in Oregon, mental-health issues that necessitated a stint at Western State Hospital and complaints to DSHS' Child Protective Services from his own child.

"The state had a record of [Posey's] daughter, who was 13 at the time, calling CPS to report that her dad was beating her and her mother was striking her in the face," Rogers said. "But the investigator never even talked to her."

Further, according to Rogers, the state placed the two young children with the Poseys even though they had only been licensed to care for one child between the ages of 8 and 12 years.

Two months after the children were placed with the Poseys, Rogers said, the state missed another opportunity to protect the children when they failed to speak with educators at the 6-year-old's school who had called CPS to report the child had marks on her neck that she claimed were made by her foster father.

Sherry Hill, a spokeswoman for CPS, said the state has since changed the way it investigates prospective foster parents.

In 2003, when the Poseys were licensed, the state did national fingerprint-based checks only on prospective foster parents who had lived in Washington state for less than three years.

Two years ago, with implementation of the federal Adam Walsh Child Protection Safety Act, the state began running FBI fingerprint background checks on all potential foster parents, Hill said.

James Posey, now 60, was charged in 2005 with rape of a child, child molestation and communicating with a minor for immoral purposes.

He pleaded guilty the following year to two counts of communicating with a minor for immoral purposes and was sentenced to three months in jail. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life.

Posey could not be reached for comment.

DSHS spokesman Steve Williams said the settlement was agreed to in July.

"It was made in the best interests of all parties, to spare the children the trauma of testifying and to avoid the high cost of further litigation," he said.

Williams said the children, who are now 9 and 11 years old, are in a "stable, loving home with relatives in another state."

Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com

I Hope The Prayers Are Answered

A reader writes:

Pam,

I have court on the 28th. I have battled the state for my 3 kids for 2 years. I cannot go on this way, neither can the kids. I wanted you and your readers to know what I will be stating to the court. This is my statement.

"Your honor for 2 years you have been given the power to do what is considered the best interest of my children. I feel you have failed them. Today it is not your decision but mine that will ensure that they are safe and cared for the way they should be. I am relinquishing them to the care of their current foster-adopt parents.
It is in their best interest to not be separated or moved anymore. And to ensure that you and the department do not continue on the path of destruction in their lives I have made this painful decision.

Today you, the department and the AG will not win.
Love wins. My children win."
Thank you.

(Please keep these kids and me in your prayers. Even though I have not attached a name, the good Lord knows who I am.)

Colville Councilwoman Fights For Her Granddaughter

Remember readers: Councilwoman Barbara Mowery is fighting to get her 3 year-old, blond granddaughter. Both parents want Barbara to adopt their little girl. The department has come around and with new leadership at the top is vacating ridiculous statements that had been generated by the department itself. But, the CASA does not want the councilmember to have her granddaughter! The CASA is not wanting to follow the law which says "families first." I just talked with Region 1 Director
Connie Lambert-Echel just before seeing the following comment that I pulled up for the blog.

The department and the parents will be arguing for the councilmember. This CASA is bent to take the child and place her with someone other than family. There is a complaint department with the CASA program. It doesn't mean horse pucky in King County where they protect and reward CASAs who violate the mandate to place with families first. Maybe it does in Region 1.

"The Councilwoman grandmother who is fighting for her granddaughter had a horrific breakdown of action in court today...
meeting last
Wednesday at which Connie Eckell-Lambert "promised" that in court today the state would back Barbara and move to let her adopt...
CASA says no... and wants to fight it...Kris Randall said it was a moot point if the state is in favor... not happening till, get this... October 13th when they want to have an all day hearing?
WHY?? we had all kinds of promises and hope... now this...
we are stunned...again!
Sincerely,
Diana Williams
Grandparent rights...
Colville, Washington

New Report From Honduras...American Intervention

It was just reported that the U.S. ambassador is helping Zalaya to set up a parallel government in Honduras. I have heard it only from one source.

I noted too, FOX News reported that Moammar Qaddafi and Hugo Chavez have formed an alliance. The United States is backing this unholy cabal in that they will grow the group by one new country with actions in Honduras. This will destabilize our hemisphere and most certainly include Honduras and Mel Zalaya if Obama gets his way.

St. Louis Speech On CPS Centered On Action

First let me say that I was careful not to criticize state workers. They are not the problem. It is the management and "the system." And, in WA State we are "under new management" so we are waiting to see what changes are coming. It has been slow.

Strangely, the resignation of the clown that headed Eastern State mental hospital is a good sign that DSHS head, Susan Dreyfus, is serious about making the system accountable. The director had let a psychopathic killer visit the Spokane County Fair. The psycho escaped into the crowd and has not yet been found. I believe this means he was fired. He would never have had the integrity to leave that salary. If I am wrong...he had integrity...but no common sense.

I looked out at a crowd of mostly women... 150 grassroot leaders from various states. I showed them the KING 5 coverage of the Stuth Case and discussed several problems with that case. (I had so many choices!!)

My job was to suggest solutions. The only thing that will change the system is exposure and leadership willing to follow the law. Oh...maybe a few other things. It went very well. When it is on YOUTube I will let you know! Thanks.

What Did Glenn Beck Say?

Sure you should care what Glenn Beck says. If you like him...follow the message. If you don't...know your enemy. By the way, if you are a leftist...it looks really stupid to vilify Beck without doing anything but name calling. Don't be afraid to articulate your socialism.

Concerning Afghanistan: "Win this war or bring them home!"

About America: America was not made by people who "hope for change." It was made by people who MAKE changes.

About the Rep. and Dem. parties: "We have to reconnect...not with the parties but with our neighbors."

About our future: "We will march ourselves into slavery if we don't peacefully stand up and demand freedom."

What we need to do: "We have to go back to what we believe is right."

Regarding whom he trusts: "I trust my god over my government. I trust my military over my politicians"

What the three chains around his neck say::

1. Question with boldness. Find the answers.

2. Hold to the truth.

3. Speak without fear.

Glenn Beck In Seattle

Here we are. My mom, son, David, and me in line to see Glenn Beck. There were 6,500 people and I knew a whole bunch of them! That made it fun.

I had Glenn Beck's ear for several minutes. I recommended that he talk more about Honduras. After we had a professional picture taken he asked his staff to talk with me about that. Our citizens need to know what The U.S. is doing there. And, FOX News has a better showing than CNN and MSNBC combined. I bet you didn't know that!


Evergreen Freedom Foundation sponsored the highly publicised event.

Honduran Officials Will Take Action To Get Zalaya

Welcome Home Manuel.

The Honduran government has just announced that if the Brazilians don't turn Mel Zalaya over to them they will close the Brazilian Embassy. Who needs the Brazilians in Honduras? They have followed the U.S. in making sanctions and are harboring a criminal who was actually given safe passage out of the country!

Remember the sign in San Pedro Sula. Hondurans have the "eggs" to stand up for freedom.

Hello...Hello...Reader You Need To Wake Up!

I shared a picture of my son being reunited with his kids after being gone for six months. Many, many of our military families have more than 12 months that separate kids from parent/parents. The point of the picture in context of the discussion is that parents and grandparents reunite all the time without a 1 hour visitation, once a month, transition that lasts for months. And, for people who did nothing wrong....like so many situations where CPS takes kids without REAL cause and does not place with relatives like the law requires...there is no need to prolong the reunion and cause anguish for adults and damage to the child/children. The reader somehow comes up with this:

A parent being deployed can hardly be compared to a parent who`s a crackhead. A parent who loves their child wouldn`t wait 4 years to try to get the child back. And, certainly wouldn`t abuse them during visits. Yes, remember there were experts who said the marks on Poca were consistent with abuse. She came back from visits with parents that you are claiming love her so much with suspicious marks on her. The truth was told in the news. I followed the whole story.

Hello, hello...reader stay on point. Who brought up crackheads? This blog is about shining the light of day on government wrongdoings. And, for the record...I have never taken a position on Poca. I report by forwarding KING 5 because I respect the work of Susannah Frame. She is a woman of courage. How many other reporters are taking on CPS? And, are there any other readers that slip off the log?

Apparently I wasn't paying close attention. Here is the reader's response: "The comment highlighted on this was written in response to another comment made by someone else, not you Senator Roach. Somebody else made a comment comparing a parent being deployed to Poca`s parents getting her back and how much they loved her. It was only in response to that comment and not what you blogged about."

Why Go Over The Hills Like Che When You Can Fly In With U.S. Help?

If you are a fugitive and you want to safely reside in a country that may imprison you for crimes if caught...the solution is easy. You fly to the American air base outside of Tegucigalpa and take a Brazilian car to the Brazilian the embassy. Brazil does not extradite. I wonder what the U. S. Obama government has arranged as a reward to Brazil.


Brazil’s risky role in Honduras crisis
By Stabroek staff | September 27, 2009 in World News

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil may not have invited ousted Honduran president Manuel Zelaya to take refuge in its embassy there, but opening its door to him is a high-risk bet that could harm its regional leadership ambitions.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s decision to grant Zelaya refuge at short notice at its embassy in Tegucigalpa has thrust Brazil to the centre of the crisis, giving it a chance to take a high-profile role in efforts to end the stand-off.

Manuel Zalaya was constitutionally removed from office by his own party's congress. The United States has removed all humanitarian aide, sanctioned this poor country, revoked U.S.visas for Honduran leaders, and led the effort for OAS and UN rebuke. Let's see. And what are we doing to Iran? We treat potential aggressors better than the friendly, constitutional democracy in Honduras. The United States wants a despot in Honduras.

St. Louis And Back

Got back late last night (a couple of hours ago). Couldn't access the blog there but will catch up tomorrow. So much is happening.

Susannah Frame Hits A Home Run On KING 5 Coverage Of Poca

Investigators: Effort to keep 'Poca' case secret

10:00 PM PDT on Tuesday, September 22, 2009

By SUSANNAH FRAME / KING 5 News

SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. - It's been four-and-a-half months since the day 4-year-old "Poca" hid behind a chair in the place she called home her entire life.

She made it obvious she didn’t want to leave.

That day, armed with a court order, state social workers abruptly removed Poca from her Snohomish County foster parents, Amy and Dick Langley, and her four foster sisters. The Langleys were pegged as troublemakers who complained too much about how Poca’s case was going.

Effects on children moved multiple times
“You would think that as time goes on that the grief would be less and that you would start moving on. It's actually been more. We miss her more,” said Amy Langley. "There's things in our house that are still Poca's. We don't use certain plates, we don't use certain cups, we don't use certain towels. Those were hers. So, it's really hard to have that mother/child bond and not be there every day of her life."

Since Poca was taken away, and put into a new foster home, social workers have let the Langleys visit her once a week. Then - without explanation - those visits were drastically cut to every two or three weeks.

Internationally renowned child attachment expert Deborah Gray says removing a child after all those years is devastating.

"It’s like losing your parents in a car accident, something like that,” said Gray. “They feel at any time, their lives can be torn away from them."

KING

Since the KING 5 Investigators began airing stories about the foster child nicknamed "Poca," the state and other attorneys on the case have been making deals behind closed doors.

She says taking away visits with primary attachment figures can do even more damage, especially if the child may end up going back to that home someday. The head of the Department of Social and Health Services, Susan Dreyfus, has said repeatedly that the Langleys are a viable adoption resource for Poca if they pass an adoption home study.

"If we start making the time frame longer in between visits, then children feel even more acutely abandoned,” said Gray. “And if we look at time frames like three weeks, then that's really too long for a child of this age."

After the KING 5 Investigators started airing stories about Poca - exposing poor practices and errors - it appeared some people didn't want us in the courtroom anymore getting information. Click here to read KING 5's past stories about Poca.

Hearings about children in the system used to be secret proceedings, but now they are supposed to be open to the public.

Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Anita Farris, who is presiding over Poca's case, made it especially difficult.

We've found she told the state and other attorneys involved to not give us court dates.

The judge then contacted KING 5 directly.

She yelled at our producer, incensed we were contacting her clerk to ask for court times. That’s a practice the KING 5 Investigators engage in routinely, without problems from other judges or their court clerks.Then she left two long, angry voice mails for our News Director.

Eventually, in a live phone conversation, she promised at least five times that we could get any court date we wanted by e-mail.

KING

Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Anita Farris left angry voicemails for KING 5, then promised to give us court dates. She never followed through on those promises.That never happened. Since those promises, every one of our inquiries to the court has been ignored.

Sen. Val Stevens sponsored a bill in 2004 that led to opening up hearings about children in the system to the public. She says that's not how the law is supposed to work.

"I can't believe that that's how it's being interpreted. That was not the intent (of the law) and they know it. When there were people in court, it was no longer this star chamber of secrecy and that was my biggest reason (to get the law passed), to hold them all accountable," said Sen. Stevens.

After the judge ignored our inquiries, we were able to get court information from the Director of Communications for the Attorney General’s office in Olympia (see video blog for more).

Also since we began reporting on court proceedings, the state and the other attorneys on the case have been making deals behind closed doors.

They're drafting what's called "Agreed Orders" about what's to happen to Poca, even though last year there was an order from the court prohibiting these deals, which take place without open court hearings.

The judge simply signs off on the Agreed Order: No discussion, no open court, no accountability.

As for Poca and her ties with the people she considered her family, there are no visits currently scheduled with the Langleys.

They check their e-mail time and again, every day, waiting to hear from social workers; waiting to get word if they'll ever see her again.

"That's a bond that can never be broken no matter how long we go without seeing her," said Amy Langley. "Are they going to say, well, now we're done completely? We just don't know."

Update to story: The Langleys have just been notified that their visits with Poca have been cut again. Judge Farris has signed an Agreed Order that they can see her once a month now, for two hours.

On The Road Again...This Time To Deliver A National Speech On CPS

If you are reading this after 8 AM I am on a plane headed to St. Louis and the national Eagle Forum yearly conference. I have been asked to deliver a speech and participate in a Q & A with former Senator Nancy Schafer who has pioneered efforts to control government takings of children.

I hear it is raining so I will take and umbrella!

From The City Councilwoman Who Had Her Granddaughter Taken

From an elected small town city councilmember we learn more. A good woman, the department lied to take her 1 1/2 year-old blond, cute, non-drug affected granddaughter. They threatened to take her 10 year-old granddaughter if she gave them any trouble. Please read.

I am the councilwoman who was "supposedly" going to have 15 minute visits with my grandbaby, and alone. This was to occur after my oldest granddaughter visited her for 15 minutes. When CPS was called on it, they blamed the 15 min idea on my attorney, who stated, "I did not do this." We took what we could get." Then, I was called by a worker, and told that a "prior" social worker had to "update" my psych eval, done last month, in order to assure that I was "SAFE" to visit my grandbaby at all! They pull anything they can pull to intimidate you, frighten you, into crawling into a corner, making you "believe" OMG, something must have been said that was "awful" in my psych eval! Well, little did they know, I had my eval in hand as I had paid for it, and completed it of my own accord. Now, they want my doctor to "change" my evaluation, by stating, "I am not safe." He said, " I can not do that." I will not do that." " I can't go against my own evaluation!"

You must be one step ahead of them, that's for sure! Talk about bully's. Bully's always pick on the weak, vulnerable; the innocent victims. I admit, I have my weak moments, but when I get knocked down, I get back up! Thank you is not enough to say, to Senator Pam Roach for stepping up to the plate! This woman is miraculous! God bless you and your family! Lovely picture of John, and the children!

Thought Problem..OK... Little Thought Problem

It was a hot day so someone wanted a cold Diet Pepsi...fast. The 12 oz portion of Pepsi, in an aluminum can, was placed on its side in the door of the upright freezer. Past experience determined the pop would be sufficiently cold, in that freezer, after 15 minutes, to be refreshing.

The Diet Pepsi was left in the freezer door approximately 10 hours. How long did it take to clean up the mess and how did the Diet Pepsi exit the can?

Inside Honduras

From Bill in Tegucigalpa:(reminder...Zalaya has reentered HN and was helped to the Brazilian embassy by the U.S.)

"Power was cut to the Brazilian Embassy, but they have a generator. They've asked for assistance, and the Americans and U.N. already sent buses and chauffeured 168 demonstrators trapped within the Embassy to their homes. They took food too, but I understand the Police did not allow the gasoline in. That was presumably for the generator. Word has it that few remain inside, including Mel Zelaya, of course. Few, if any Brazilians remain. It's reported that Zelaya and the crew with him have just about taken over the whole house. It must be pretty uncomfortable. The noise kept the neighbors awake all night too. It's a nice neighborhood.

Things are quiet here. They say tomorrow will be business as usual.

I hope this is resolved soon. It's hurting the Honduran economy. But we can't go back to a thieving, renegade dictatorship."

U.S. Returned Marxist Zalaya To Honduras

From Honduras this morning. PRR beats any other American news outlet...again!

"I was able to watch the program {Greta Van Susteren on FOX}; and I thoroughly agree with Eagleton. What embarrasses me is that the government of the U.S. is complicit in Zelaya's return to Honduras by allowing him to come into Palmerola, probably on an air force jet. If that isn't proof that Obama wants to destroy democracies, nothing else will convince the Liberal Press. I wish that the interim government would pull the credentials of Hugo Llorens in response to what has happened. I'm a good American citizen and I hate to see my country destroyed, as is happening now."

Palmerola is the U.S. Air base 40 miles outside of Tegucigalpa. PR

Serious Predictions For The Future Of Honduras

From a very good friend, an American who lives in Honduras several months a year:

Pam, thank you for the information. I'm reading LA PRENSA's updates. It looks like they closed 4 major airports (in and out): Tegucigalpa, San Pedro, La Ceiba and Roatan to avoid the coming of INSULZA and his cronies. This is not looking good. These are my predictions 1. They might assassinate Zelaya provoking civil unrest and international intervention 2. Throw him in jail provoking civil unrest and international intervention 3. International intervention and civil war. Could be the spark for a greater conflict. (Chavez and Ortega are ready to Jump in) ( hope I'm wrong)
He will never return to power. 90% of the people in Honduras hate this man. I do not understand how come the USA and the International community can support him returning to power. Take care , Jose

Monday In Honduras

Today, I received a phone call from a friend in San Pedro Sula. She told me about the curfew and we talked about the feeling the Hondurans now have about America which they have loved. The following is an email from another friend in Tegucigalpa:

For most of us in Honduras, this has been an upsetting day. Actually, their was no news until about noon. then a clanger.

Everyone thought Zelaya was going for the big UN show in New York tomorrow. Instead, an informed source tells me, that he came in, disguised as a Brazilian diplomat, and stepped off a Brazilian plane, and was taken in a Brazilian Embassy car to the Brazilian Embassy here in Tegucigalpa. This afternoon, he has called on his supporters to come and protect him. He's been on the Brazilian Embassy roof with a bullhorn. Just the kind of show that Zelaya likes.

Like before, he's doing all he can to provoke a serious incident. With the thought that the UN will send in Peacekeepers to restore him to power.

Why would the U.N. do that? Zelaya has already said he has no respect for the Arias dictate, the "San Jose Accord". Arias mandate Zelaya back the Presidency. with Amnesty. But it did say he could neither be re-elected, or orchestrate illegal changes to the Constitution. Too restrictive for Zelaya. He likes to do it his way. His shadow government is already planning the Constitutional changes, to be made as soon as possible after "Mel" comes back. Chavez and Ortega have already telephoned their congratulations to "Mel" this afternoon.

I'm sure Zelaya wants to get his fingers on the Central Bank funds again. God knows, he has an extravagant life style.

What will happen? Who knows! Insulza, Former Communist, now head of the Organization of American States is supposed to be coming tomorrow, He has been very uncivil to us. I don't expect much good out of it.

Government has been working pretty well since June 28, when Zelaya went to Costa Rica. Now, it may be up in the air again.

But Micheletti seems a bulldog. He has a strong Cabinet, and the support of a great majority of the people with him.

Traffic was very congested this afternoon. A Curfew on the entire Country took effect at 4:00pm today until 6:00am tomorrow. Pretty understandable, given local calls for insurrection from a man who to some seems a messiah.

We're fine. Maybe we'll come through OK. Maybe they'll even succeed in bringing Zelaya to justice.

Never a dull moment!

Pray for Honduras!

Bill

All Hondurans Are Asking

Pam...
What has the USA done with us???
Zelaya is about to install the constituent assembly...they are saying it openly....He’s calling the people to insurrection!!!!
He even said that the does not believe in our November elections!!!! He plans to stay forever!!!!
He came talking like Chavez, same speech!!!
May God forget the people who made this decision and who destroyed a beautiful country that was trying to fight for democracy!
We will see if the same people will have the same actions when Zelaya becomes a dictator...will they come back to take him away???? I don’t think so!
I'm very disappointed and sad...

Vivian

Dear Vivian. This is happening because the Obama administration has willed it so. This is not being done out of ignorance. There is a very evil purpose to what is being done. The American people do not want to abandon you to Zalaya, the Chavez clone.(To my Democrat friends...I have to call them as I see them. I can not be silent on the vital issues of freedom and democracy.)

Zalaya Has Returned To Honduras

Breaking news:

U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly confirmed Zelaya was in Honduras, but could provide no further information.
“We have confirmed that he is in Honduras,” Kelly told journalists, adding the State Department was trying to find out more details of Zelaya’s whereabouts.

Enrique Reina, the Honduran ambassador to the United States, told CNN en Español that he could not divulge exactly where Zelaya was for security reasons.

Rodolfo Pastor, the charge d’affairs of the Honduran Embassy in Washington, said Zelaya was at the United Nations offices in the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa.

(Later in the story it is reported Zalaya is in the Brazilian Embassy in Tegu.)

Reuniting Families

"Where is my daddy? Will he remember me? Does he still love me? Will he like me?

The reunion is at the base bowling alley. Daddy has been gone for 6 months.

The reunion is of my son, Captain John, my granddaughter (4), grandson (2), and their new baby (3 months). The United States military has an interview process for airmen and others who return from deployment. But, they are free to go home with their families after arrival.

Sadie was so happy to see her daddy that her mom said: "Sadie doesn't even know I'm around. She wants to spend all her time with John!" And that is normal!

It would be torturous for everyone involved to have little mini visits that yank families apart again. And, yet, that is exactly what CPS does.

A city council member in Eastern Washington had raised her granddaughter from birth. At 1 1/2 the child was taken from the grandmother with all the attendant lies about her. There is a pattern of how to take kids. I have been working to get a reunification and that may be taking place very soon. But the department suggested that 15 minute visits....once a week...at McDonald's...would be the proper course for reunification. Fifteen minutes for the grandmother and another, separate, 15 minutes for the 10 year-old granddaughter that the council member had been raising.

Separations in the military can be for 1 1/2 years. Sometimes both parents are deployed at the same time. But military reunification is immediate. And CPS thinks 15 minutes once a week...for how long??? They won't say.

Sadie was a little apprehensive at first. But kids warm up fast. I am so sorry for policies that cause misery and stress and harm to children and families.

Can You Know Too Much?

This reader reports what happens when you study up on your rights:

You can study and know the laws inside out and it won't do you any good. I went to a Family Team Decision Meeting for my two grandsons who live in a perfectly fine home. There are no problems and no need for CPS involvement. (The father of the 10 year old has been trying to get custody and that did not work out for him, thus CPS involvement. ) The meeting was brought to an abrupt halt with these words from the "facilitator," Jackie ____:"We have a mother and a grandmother here quoting manuals and trying to assert their rights and we're not going to have it!" With that, she informed us that a Child Protection Team Meeting had already been scheduled to decide on placement of the children. So much for knowing the laws....

WA State Statistics On CPS Cases

From The Washington Policy Center

In Washington State, in fiscal year 2007:

 There were 1,566,400 children under age 18
living in Washington.

 42,300 children under age 18 were referred to the
Children’s Administration and accepted for
investigation. This is 2.7 percent of Washington
State’s child population.

 After a referral is accepted for investigation by the
Children’s Administration, some children are then
placed in out-of-home care. In 2007, about 7,500
children were placed in out-of-home care at least
once.

 On any given day during the year, the
Children’s Administration estimates that 10,000
children were living in out-of-home care in the
custody of the state:

 Of these, just over a third were living with
relatives.

 About two-thirds were living with non-relative foster families or other state-sponsored arrangements.

 About 2,500 children were in formal
guardianships overseen by the Children’s
Administration. Guardianships are considered
“permanent” placements, so they are not included
in the “out-of-home” care numbers.

 In 2007, the Children’s Administration estimates
that 7,200 children left out-of-home care. They
report that:

 4,630 children were reunified with their
biological parents;
 1,283 were adopted;
 394 were placed in new guardianships, and;
 808 had “other” exits, which include those
who reached age 18, those with a transfer
of custody, those with no exit reason, and a
very small proportion that died.

Can A Parent Grieve Too Much Over The Loss Of A Child?

I am very interested in this case. To the person sending this in...please have this family contact me.

From a PRR reader:

"Once again, the wonderful Everett dept. has torn a family apart. They lost a baby to SIDS and about 6 weeks later the other children were taken because they felt the mother was grieving TOO MUCH. Are you kidding me? We have something in common. The evil, lying supervisor."

Grieving is different for different people. By the way...has anyone ever heard of someone doing harm to the remaining children when a child dies? Seriously...one in 6 million? If all the kids die then you might hear of a parental suicide. But in your grief you know you have to be around for the others whom you also love and would never harm. My guess is CPS was looking for a reason, any reason...to take the remaining children. I bet we are talking little girls, too. Blond ones? No money in the family? Non drug affected kids?

I think it is important to chase a few of these cases. The new DCFS administration knows that too many kids are being taken. They know that they are not working to place with relatives when kids are removed. These are stated opinions of the new leadership. It is documented that the new leadership will not tolerate lying.

Let's all pray for this poor young mother who lost an infant to SIDS and now has had her remaining children taken. I discussed this with someone I know who counsels grieving children and adults. I hope someone cares enough to watch this young mother. Now she has lost all of her children. Pray for her.

Hugo Chavez Closes Free Press In Venezula

Marxist President Hugo Chavez has been systematically closing press outlets in Venezuela. Criticize the dear leader and he sends in thugs to shut you down. (That is one way to close a station. In the U.S. they suggest yanking a license.)

Chavez has closed 32 radio stations and all but one of the TV stations that have dared to criticize him.

Chavez is mentor to ousted Honduran Mel Zalaya. Given the actions of Zayala before his constitutional removal it is a foregone conclusion among Hondurans that they were next on the list for the removal of a free press.

DSHS Dreyfus Takes Swift Action Reports KXLY Spokane

Susan Dreyfus assumed the post of DSHS Secretary just a few months ago and we are all watching her actions. Of note is the following from KXLY:

DSHS Secretary orders immediate investigation
Posted: Sep 17, 2009

SPOKANE -- Department of Social and Health Services Secretary Susan Dreyfus has ordered an immediate "review and analysis" of the circumstances surrounding the patient field trip to the Spokane Interstate Fair that ended with the escape of Phillip Paul Thursday.

Dreyfus, who coincidentally was in Spokane Thursday on an unrelated matter, has ordered Eastern State Hospital to conduct an "immediate critical incident review over the next 30 days to analyze what went wrong" with the outing which ended with Phillip Paul, a criminally insane killer, being able to escape from hospital attendants that were accompanying the group.

Dreyfus has also ordered an immediate lockdown on field trips involving forensic patients at Eastern State Hospital.

(What about outings for the criminally insane from Western State to the Puyallup Fair? Any of these warm and fuzzy outings going on in other places? The public has a right to know.)

Forensic patients are people who enter the mental health system through the criminal justice system like Phillip Paul.

(When you learn that a mentally ill murderer with a history of escaping is on a stroll through a county fair...there isn't a soul other than those who made the decision who isn't wondering: What the hell were theses people thinking? Who makes theses whole-ass decisions? The issue isn't "what went wrong" with the outing...the issue is who made the decision that the criminally insane get to walk among us? Little kids, the elderly, the disabled, teen girls and boys, lots of people...places to hide...quick actions....I hope Dreyfus investigates the whole policy. And, I think she will.

Sign In San Pedro Sula, HN

Translation:
In Honduras we have no gas nor money but we have eggs. (BALLS in American vernacular)

A reader comments from Honduras on the Van Susteren interview with Micheletti:

I am so proud of Micheletti. He has held the Honduran people together in this whole ordeal. His courage to hold his own against Zelaya and Chavez (who publicly insulted him and said that he was going to take him down) and now against the international community gives Hondurans strength to keep on having hope that we are not going to have to admit Zelaya in Honduras again. He has the three democratic powers working in Honduras like a Swiss watch, and he has got the Finances together too.He is guaranteeing elections and 95% of Hondurans feel safe and happy with him. Everything Zelaya says in TV is false.Nobody is in jail and there have been no deaths

Honduran Home Run For Pres. Roberto Micheletti

Congratulations to interim Honduran President Roberto Micheletti for the great interview on Fox News with Greta Van Susteren.

I was so proud to see this man stand for freedom and democracy. He answered all the questions honesty and I think that showed in the interview. Imagine the pressure. A representative of 6 million people who are up against the U. S. State Department in trying to keep their democracy. This has been an unimaginable situation.

As Micheletti said in closing: God bless America and God bless Honduras.

Denise Revels Robinson------What Do We Know About WA's New CPS Director?

Please Google search Denise Revels Robinson for detailed information.

But, there was one thing that caught my eye in the press release:

During her tenure with Milwaukee County, starting in 1997, Revels Robinson led the way to safely reduce the number of children in out-of-home care from 6,800 to 2,600 by 2003 by accomplishing reunification of children with their families in 70 percent of cases, and 30 percent adopted within 24 months of entering foster care.

Also:
Robinson was in charge when a 13-month-old was killed in foster care and her toddler sibling tortured. The 13-month-old's tragic death is said to be the reason Robinson resigned. Let's see...I think I reported that 11 children in foster care tragically died just in Pierce County alone last year and.....

No one resigned.

Robinson will take the place of Cheryl Stephanie, AKA to PRR readers...Cheryl Steponme. Let's see how this works. Both Steponme and interim director, Randy Hart, were defenders of the broken system. We want accountability. We want truth in the courtroom. We want standing for grandparents in dependency cases. I want a more open system so the public can be the watchdogs that we are expected to be.

Squirrel Carries Dead Mouse Up A Tree

I don't know. I just didn't know they ate mice! I was outside on the top deck and our resident squirrel was moving across the branches in front of me. He/she had a mouse in its mouth. Yes...it was dead and hanging there tightly held as a prise. I am reporting this so environmentalists who read this blog can reclassify these rodents as omnivores. Just doing my duty.

ACORN...Even More Unbelievable Than Borat

I hope you are all watching the ACORN expose on FOX News. If not, you are truly missing something! It is kind of like watching Borat for the first time. (Yes, I have seen it more than once.) You can't believe what you are watching. Like....is this real???

But Acorn isn't a spoof. It is real. You see this and then you have to say..."If this can happen in Acorn...can this level of corruption occur in other areas funded by government?" When you think of Acorn...think about your tax dollars. Borat would wipe is rear end with them. As does Acorn, apparently!

Honduran Readers....FOX News To Air Important Micheletti Interview

I urge all Americans to see the very important interview between Greta Van Susteren and the new interim president of Honduras, Roberto Micheletti. FOX News. Channel 360 on Direct TV.

Thank you FOX News. Congratulations to Hondurans and U.S. expats for continuing your email battle for freedom. This FOX story will alert Americans who have had this important story purposely kept out of the media.

Press harder!! Go to the newspaper blogs and get the issue out there. God bless the United States and Honduras at this import juncture for our hemisphere.

Pam Roach Report Two Months Ahead Of U.S. Media On Honduras!

"No other network has this interview," said Greta Van Susteren, September 15, 2009. Yeah...but Dear Reader, you read about it here and in my article to the Seattle Times two months ago. I sure as heck welcome FOX News to the battle!

An interview between Van Susteren and interim President Roberto Micheletti was to air tonight on FOX News but will air tomorrow instead.

Finally, a large media outlet has done a story on Honduras. FOX News went down to Honduras to interview the new president. Remember, Dear Reader, that the United States has revoked visas for all Honduran leaders! You have to go down there to hear the other side!

The American people need to hear what the Obama Administration is doing to the Honduran people! Let's start talking about this. My Seattle Times article ran July 17, 2009. PRR was the first in the country to expose the cabal to turn this small, poor country over to Marxism! I will next publish an article of despair from a Honduran who once loved America and does not understand why our county has abandoned the constitutional principles for the freedom loving people of Honduras.

Glenn Beck gave a mention. Greta Van Susteren gave an entire interview from Tegucigalpa!

Denise Revels Robinson Announced As Sec. Of WA Children's Admisistration

DSHS Sec. Susan Dreyfus gave me a courtesy call this afternoon to say that in the morning she would be sending out a press release announcing the new Director of Children Administration (CPS).

The new secretary is Denise Revels Robinson and is from Milwaukee area, Wisconsin.

She is a 30 year bureaucrat. Dreyfus has known her for years and has worked with her in the past. She is a member of a black social worker's organization and has been personally approved by the governor.

I do not know if she was vetted by the citizen's committee Sec. Dreyfus set up to interview candidates.

I look forward to meeting and working with the new director.

New Film All In One

From a reader with some helps. (I have trouble with links on this blog! Sometimes it works must of the time NOT.)

"Dear Senator Roach,

I hope this helps clear up some confusion regarding the youtube links to the three part series of the CPS moving in the making.

Direct Link: http://www.pwnyoutube.com/user/InnocenceDestroyed

Also, if the viewers sign on to youtube at www.youtube.com, then type in Innocence Destroyed they will be brought to the page where all three parts are viewable hope this helps.

This is a very powerful documentary, unfortunately, it only tells part of the story of CPS corruption, but I believe the truth is begging to be revealed. Please senator keep up your had work and commitment to this issue. An avid follower and supporter of your blog.

Part 3 CPS Movie Short

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-BXeYFPKLE

Please Cut and Paste

Part 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhGz5NEPoGs

Cut and Paste Please

Part 1...CPS Movie...Short On YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6_NaGkXXME

This link works. It is a mystery of how I got that to happen! On the others please cut and paste. The producer is asking for feedback. Please post them here. Thanks everyone! Pam

An Update From Nevada RE: Suing of CPS

Reader writes:

"I don't know if these names mean anything to you but I just watched a show called FACE To FACE and there was a lady named Donna Coleman who's here in Clark County, NV with child welfare and she is suing the Department of Child Protective Services for allowing things to happen to children in foster care, and also that the social workers that are being hired are not licensed. There was also a man on the show named Tom Morton who is now the head of Child Protective Services here in Clark County. He's a newcomer and has been in control for about nine months. Another two names mentioned were Barbara Buckley and Rory Clark. They also mentioned a couple of organizations called 'Saint Futures' and 'National Center for Youth'."

(Thank you Nevada. PRR)

U.S. Has Revoked the Visas Of All Honduran Officials

It is kind of hard to defend your position in the United States if the Obama administration will not let you come here to plead your case. Only the leftists are allowed to come here. So much for the freedom of our own citizens to have information.

The Honduras News
Sept. 13, 2009

Commenting on the revoked visas, from judges of the Supreme Court of Justice, the President of the Republic, to businessmen and people defending the Constitution, Villeda said they should frame the canceled visas and hang them in their living rooms, then they could explain to their children and grandchildren, friends and relatives, that is the price for defending the Republic (Honduras).

Mario Villeda is an Honduran politician and member of the negotiating team for the current government of Honduras trying to resolve the political crisis. He also called for the U.S. ambassador to Honduras to leave if he couldn't support the constitutional transition. U.S. Ambassador Llorens is a personal friend of former president Mel Zalaya and Chavez. He is helping to trash Honduras!

Iowa Social Worker Charged With Purjury

This came in a PRR comment and I decided to pull it forward. This is a 2007 Iowa case. It is interesting to note that they have licensed CPS workers there. One Spokane grandfather has been asking for licensure after the state took his...you guessed it...3 year-old, cute, non-drug affected granddaughter.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Social worker charged with perjury

By JOSH NELSON, Courier Staff Writer
INDEPENDENCE --- A Buchanan County social worker was charged last week with three counts of perjury for allegedly filing false child welfare reports to the court.

Marie Mahler, 39, of Cedar Falls, filed three reports between Aug. 27, 2004, and Oct. 7, 2004, used in a juvenile court case that she "knew or reasonably should have known were false" and that the reports would be used by a judge to make a decision in the case, according to court records obtained by the Courier.

Mahler entered a written plea of not guilty Thursday.

According to court records, the case was to determine whether or not a mother's parental rights should be terminated. Mahler repeatedly included misrepresentations of conversations, events and relationships of the people involved with the case, according to court records.

Court records say she claimed that Jesup police officers were called to the mother's home for a drug investigation in August 2004. Records indicate an officer was called to the home not for drugs, but to prevent an altercation between two siblings. No signs of drugs were found.

Roger Munns, spokesman for the Iowa Department of Human Services, confirmed Mahler is an employee of the department. Mahler received her social work license in 1998. She has no record of disciplinary action and still is on active duty, according to department records. She has been a social worker in Buchanan County since 1998.

In a parental rights termination case, the decision is made by a judge, Munns said. People involved in the case, like biological parents, adoptive parents or social workers, can give input to help the judge's decision, he said. It's rare to have people charged with such a crime in these cases, Munns said.

"This is really quite unusual," he said.

Munns did not comment further on the case.

Delaware County Attorney John Bernau has been appointed special prosecutor to the case because of a conflict of interest. The Buchanan County Attorney's Office has represented Mahler in juvenile court proceedings.

Bernau said he couldn't comment on specifics about the case, but said perjury charges often are hard to investigate.

While the offenses occurred in 2004, Bernau said Mahler is exempt from Iowa's statute of limitations law because she is still a state employee. In most felony cases, charges have to be filed within three years of the offense. However, that three-year period begins for state employees only after they are no longer working for the state.

Perjury is a Class D felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

Contact Josh Nelson at (319) 291-1565 or josh.nelson@ wcfcourier. com.

Another Story...Another Little Girl

"We had other relatives contact the department in May after finding out our niece was being moved from our neighbor`s home. She had been placed there for 2 1/2 months across the street from us and we couldn`t see her. My neighbor told me she would look out the window toward our house and say she wanted to go to her home. We knew she was being moved to a foster-adopt home so other relatives wanted her with them until things got worked out with us. They contacted the department in May and she was moved June 8th to the foster home. The relatives were ignored. They have a very nice house in Black Diamond with room for her. My brother-in-law has a heating and cooling business and his wife is a labor and delivery nurse. They don`t have anything bad in their background but haven`t been considered. She needs to come back to us but we figured getting her out of the foster-adopt home would be at least a start."
unidentified reader

Washington Examiner Opinion On USA/Honduras

Democracy under attack - by the U.S.A.
Examiner Editorial
September 11, 2009


America might refuse to honor the upcoming election results of another democratic nation. But our State Department has taken this hostile posture not toward Venezuela or Iran -- where dictatorships thrive through doubtful and fraudulent elections -- but toward Honduras, which removed a usurping president this summer in an action supported by the letter of its own constitution. Nothing has changed about the upcoming election in Honduras. The candidates are the same ones who were running before President Manuel Zelaya was ousted, with the approval of the nation's Congress and Supreme Court. The only difference now is the United States is demanding that the rapacious Zelaya be returned to power. This would punish self-governance and discourage free and credible elections.
etc.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/Democracy-under-attack---by-the-U_S_A_-8224865-58608642.html

If "Families Are Best" Then The State Should Not Systematically Undermine And Lie About Them

"Families are best, even marginal families." Connie Lambert-Eckel, Region 1 (NE Wash. State) Administrator, Sept. 11, 2009 in a phone conversation with me.

"When our niece was taken because of lies pertaining to my husband`s background check, we did get the information counteracting what the dept. said but it didn`t matter to the Judge. My husband didn`t have a felony as they said but he did have a resisting arrest charge from 1982, when he was 19 years old. They still used that and it was allowed by the Judge. The Judge was the one able to make the ultimate decision and she didn`t care about following the laws either." PPR Commenter

My observations:

#1. The judge will always side with the state. (The Stuths were the exception as the state removed their 3 year-old granddaughter from the foster woman on an emergency basis during the trial...Of course..the state still argued for placement with the troubled foster woman. Unbelievable, but true!)

#2 The state does not hold the foster-adopts to the same standard as the bio-family.

#3 The state WILL go back a lifetime and look for anything, but just on the bio family and just if they want the child for someone else. When they find something they embellish and add to the story. That means they lie.

They don't really need to find anything to lie. I could give many examples. They lied about the Stuths. They lied to get a child from the Willards by saying they stole a computer. (No. The judge did not require a judgment from a court. He just believed everything the state said about grandparents who had no standing and could not defend themselves. If CPS said they stole a computer then, by gosh, they did!) CPS lied in the case of a city councilmember in the same district that Lambert-Eckel's administers. In the case of the councilmember grandma...CPS just sat there and let the CASA call her a drug dealer in front of the judge. Of course she is not, nor ever was, a drug dealer! The state knew that and just let it be said. I think the state has a responsibility to the people of our great state and to the family...and the CHILD...to demand the truth! Being an accomplice to a lie gets you the same judgement in the minds of citizens who demand government to be honest.

#4 CPS should tell the judge when they have no evidence that accusations against family members are true and should not make false accusations themselves.

I have been told by DSHS head Susan Dreyfus and by Lambert-Eckel that CPS employees who lie will be terminated. I believe Dreyfus when she says she will do that. The message has at least gotten to Lambert-Eckels. But is that happening? I would like to see the department memo that would have to have been sent to try to right this system. We need open government and the public should know what department policy really is on this very important issue.
If a CASA lies and the state knows it...to let it go unchallenged is being part of the lie. (This may seem a minor point to some. After all, there are too many direct lies to think this is the higher issue. But, I like to think it is the higher standard. Certainly it is one administrators should be be addressing. In court...the judge should be hearing the truth.

The quote from Lambert-Eckels came during the discussion of yet another 3 year-old girl. CPS must have a market for them. Ask to see the gender break down of children in dependency and you will not get an answer.

U.S. Attacks Tourism In Honduras

The United States wants to force this country to it's knees...take a despot or else. Global Travel Industry News reports:

The U.S. is wrong about Honduras tourism

The U.S. government calling for a travel advisory is incorrect and unfair to the people of Honduras. They didn’t do anything wrong and are being punished by the Obama Administration for an exercise in democracy,” said Eugene Albert, owner/developer of Infinity Bay Spa and Beach Resort on the Honduran island of Roatan, who is an American citizen living and working in Honduras. “The Obama administration is asking the Honduran government to go against their own constitution to reinstate [Zelaya].”

“This was all done legally and with due process with the constitution of the country,” insists David Schwartz, Managing Principal of The Management Consortium, a Miami-based developer in the process of creating the Aquarius Roatan Beach Resort and Marina, an 86-acre mixed use project.

Albert said the move had squelched tourism from the United States, even as cruise ship companies continue to allow ships to visit Roatan, the central hub of Honduran tourism. The Canadian government has also refused issuing a Travel Advisory on visiting Roatan.

Etc.

Expat In Honduras Calls It: "Hillary vs Honduras"

The following article is from a Baylor professor and sometimes resident in Honduras. I couldn't have said it better myself. He is part of numerous Americans trying to get word out about Honduras as the administration strangles the people there. For me...it is hard to read. I just can not believe an American president would do this.

The Obama administration declares it won't recognize the results of a free and fair election.by Elliott Abrams
09/04/2009 11:40:00 AM

There is an obvious compromise available to end the Honduras crisis--or there was, anyway, until Secretary Clinton rejected it on Thursday. Honduras 's ejected president Mel Zelaya saw the Secretary and apparently persuaded her that the outcome of Honduras ' next elections must be rejected.

On what basis? None was stated, and no logical basis exists. The next elections will be entirely constitutional and held on time; and the term of office of the ousted Zelaya would end naturally and constitutionally when a new president is sworn in, in January.


The candidates were selected before the current crisis began, and all the parties—including Zelaya's Liberal Party, one half of Honduras 's essentially two party system--are participating. There is no reason whatsoever to doubt that the election can be monitored by international observers (and we could have demanded more of them than usual) and fairly conducted. Honduras 's vote for a new president on November 29 was the obvious way for everyone to dig out of the current mess without hurting the Honduran people and without damaging Honduras 's democratic institutions.

But it was rejected yesterday by Clinton and the Obama administration. The State Department's spokesman said that "Based on conditions as they currently exist, we cannot recognize the results of the election." The irrationality of the words is striking: based on conditions today, we can't recognize the results of a free election more than two months from now on November 29, even if everyone thinks it's free and even if Zelaya's party participates, and even if his term would constitutionally be over anyway.

Remember, it was Zelaya who wanted to screw around with that election, and hold a referendum on that date allowing him to be re-elected in perpetuity--just as his mentor Chavez has done in Venezuela . That's what gave rise to his defenestration. Now Hondurans want to go back to regular elections, but the United States won't allow them to do so?

The argument made around the Organization of American States (which is supporting Zelaya) is that elections conducted under the "de facto regime" cannot be considered fair.


Really? Every country in Latin America that made a transition from military to civilian rule held elections with the military still in charge, yet we don't hear the OAS saying all those elections were phony. Just to take one example, in Chile the dictator Augusto Pinochet was not only president when transition elections were held in 1990, he continued on as head of the armed forces for 8 years after that. Such history is forgotten at the OAS when it is convenient, but facts are stubborn things--even in Latin America .

Etc.

CASA Volunteer Reports Bias In The System

This testimony comes from a signed contributor. I have decided to publish here rather than the comment page. My former 31st District Chair had the same experience. She argued for placement with family and was drummed out. In King Co. they don't call you back again.


"I was a CASA several years ago. I only worked on one case, but that was enough for me to see very clearly that the CASA's job has nothing to do with protecting the child's best interests. When I disagreed with the actions being taken by CPS which were jeopardizing the children's safety I was viciously attacked. Even though I had cleared a background check and attended and passed all the training, I was talked down to and raked over the coals when I gave my testimony in court. My case involved two young children who were taken from their parents at the ER when the mother tested positive for amphetamines. It very likely was a false positive, because a couple weeks later, she was in the ER again and when she was told she tested positive she insisted she had done no drugs and asked for a second test, which came back negative. She was accused of being a "frequent flyer" at the ER obviously hooked an pain meds, but when an ER doc finally took her complaints seriously and ran some tests, she was found to have undiagnosed MS. her complaints had been very real. Nevertheless, the state took her children away and they were never returned, the state now saying she was incapable of caring for them because she had MS! It's a long and shocking story! Once I realized what my "real" function was - to support CPS's decisions, regardless of the facts, - I quit the program entirely."
{signed and email given}

Simple Question Put To CPS...Will There Be An Answer?

All it would really take is a phone call. I finally put the question to CPS in writing. I sent a letter to several individual administrators and did not copy anyone. I had asked over the phone many times to no avail.

Question:

When you take a child do you give the parent/parents a form that asks for the names of relatives where the child/children might be placed? And, if so, what happens to the form?

In every case called in to me the question had not been asked! The little girls are immediately placed in a foster adopt situation. Strange since it is the law that relatives are the first ones considered for placement. Again, the question was NEVER asked in the cases that have come to me. CPS just takes the little girls. It has also NEVER been a little boy! How about a study on gender bias in CPS takings?

In the Stuth Case the judge had called me forward in a court room and I told the judge about relatives wanting little Alexis. The state had completely kept the information from the court! This was information that the CASA blocked and that the state eventually learned but also blocked. The judge was angry about the omission but still left Alexis with the foster woman. I was told by the Kent office that they would not tell the judge about relatives until after the termination!

OK...we all know that if I can't get an answer over the phone or in person that the answer is "No." They do not have such a form. Today I talked with an area administrator who verified that. I had to dig a bit but there was an admission.

Suggested letter to employees at all levels:

RE: Article ___ Section___ of CPS "How to Take a Child" manual.

Dear CPS Worker,
Thank you for your work in protecting children and preserving the families of Washington State. In order to improve our service to children and better comply with state law that requires placement of children with relatives when possible, as of today parents or guardians of children to be removed from a home shall be presented with the following form:

NOTICE OF INTENT TO PLACE WITH RELATIVES
(----- QUOTE OF THE STATE LAW REGARDING RELATIVE PLACEMENT -----)
Parent Name___________________ Name and age of child/children_____________________
Relationship to child?children____________
Name, address and phone number of relatives you believe to be qualified for placement. Please list in the order of your preference._________________________

The culture of this agency needs to change. Eighty percent of the changes are administrative. It does not take a law to enforce a law. In the real world there is punishment if the law is not followed. Respect for the law must be taught.

Niece Taken Through CPS Lie...Aunt Reports

I have talked with this fine woman and exchanged emails many times. Read her story. Combination for stealing a child: Lie in a home study. Take the child. Acknowledge a lie has been committed...keep the child anyway.

"My name is S. T. and I live in WA. State. There is a horrible problem with our Children`s Protective Services here. Our niece was placed with us for 18 months by CPS and taken away because she was promised to a foster-adopt family. I know there is a federal law that is supposed to protect her right to be with family but it is not being followed. We have had a favorable adoption home study done and she still has not been returned.

The director of the Ombudsman said she should not have been taken. Our Governor will not enforce any laws broken. It is all ignored. We aren`t the only family going through this. It seems to be little girls around the age of 3 years old being taken.

They said they took her because my husband had a felony on his record which is not true. We proved that in court but she was still taken.

We have had a local reporter following our story but we can`t have it aired until our attorney gives her approval. If someone could read the Pam Roach Report online, they could see what I`m talking about. There are a lot of families needing help."

(This was a letter submitted to a federal agency because no one in WA CPS would do the right thing. Why? Because they have promised a little girl to someone else and they have the power to make that happen.)

Dear S.T.,Tell your attorney to get with it. Go to the press. Make all the noise you can. This agency will continue to run up your legal bills, damage everyone in your family, and you will lose your niece if you don't do everything you can to fight this.

Dear CPS: You must correct these wrongs. Who lied to the judge? You can only say someone is a felon if you have the judgement from a court. Stop the lies!!! Stop the stealing of little girls!!!

EU Excludes Honduras

This appeared in a larger story in the Honduran News

Europe Excludes Honduras
September 9th, 2009
The European Union (EU) gave a boost to its pioneer program to bring solar energy to remote communities in eight countries in Latin America, but left out Honduras in this round because of the political situation taking place. After the removal of President Manuel Zelaya, the EU suspended all bilateral aid to the country and reduced to a minimum contacts with the current government headed by Roberto Micheletti.

The European Commission hinted that they hoped there is a duly recognized government representative that can sign this agreement for Honduras before December 31st, otherwise, communities will “receive 0.0 percent” of the promised aid which was to cover 68 communities in Honduras.

(Etc.... When the United States backs a despot everyone falls into line. I can tell you this: Hillary Clinton, if president, would not be selling out this country to Zalaya and Chavez.)

Ok, OK...Yes, I Have Been Asked To Be In The Movie

I love a good story of coincidence.

Here's one...when my husband and I were dating in college, we spent an hour going to the classroom doors where our grades were posted. We had no classes together so it was a nice walk around the BYU campus. We each had a six digit student ID number. The grades were posted under ID numbers. It was only after a few postings that I realized we had the same numbers in our ID's...just in a different order!

Here's another one.

This guy calls and says he is doing a movie on CPS. We chat on the phone and I find out that he is self producing the movie. He had done well in business. But, he had not done so well with CPS in TX.

He had been raised in southern CA. "So was I," I said. He told me the city and I said, "Really? That's near where I was raised."

Another quick question: "How old are you?" "So am I," I said.

"I was born in Mercy Hospital," I said. "So was I!" he said.

Then I ventured: "When is your birthday?" "April 25th," he answered.

"You have got to be kidding! I was born April 26th...20 minutes after midnight. Twenty-one minutes earlier and we would have been born the same day in the same hospital!"

So...we settled for the fact that we had bassinets in the same nursery at the same time. Unless you are a twin...that is a coincidence!

Tornado Rips Though Roach's 31st District

"The National Weather Service confirms wind damage in the Enumclaw area was caused by a tornado," reported local news.

Yesterday we did, indeed, experience a torrential rainfall. The tornado was seen on the Enumclaw Plateau but the storm ran right up the middle of the district...Bonney Lake, Lake Tapps, Buckley, Enumclaw. Winds up to 110 mph took down outbuildings.

And, water issues may come to plague us here. Damage at Howard Hansen Dam brings the potential for flooding like we have not seen in decades. The Green River runs through the 31st. District and into the Auburn-Kent Valley. I will be attending area meetings for briefings.

Movie "Short" To Arrive This Week

I just got a call from the L.A. producer of the CPS movie that I previously mentioned. I have been given permission to distribute the 45 minute "short" even though it is copyrighted. I have been asked to be in the 2 hour full-length film.

There are two sides to CPS abuse. This film speaks to the wrongs done to kids in the system: deaths, injuries, emotional damage.

L.A. Daily News Reports On CPS Help Suggestions

Los Angeles Daily News

Expert tells how he would prevent "panic" in foster-system

by Troy Anderson, Staff writer 9/4/09

To prevent a "foster-care panic" in which social service agencies needlessly remove children from homes, foster care expert Richard Wexler offers a few recommendations for the Board of Supervisors:

*Expand any investigation of high-profile death cases to include equal attention to cases of wrongful removal.

*Seek changes in state law to provide for "total transparency," including opening court hearings in child welfare cases, and most case records, to the public and press.

*Establish clear public benchmarks for progress, post the data prominently on the DCFS Web site and commit to measuring DCFS by those outcomes, "not by whatever happens to be on the front page that morning."

*Suspend the use of "structured decision-making" in which computers decide when to remove children based on questionnaires filled out by social workers.

"They need to make clear to front-line caseworkers that wrongfully removing a child from a safe home is every bit as dangerous as leaving a child in a dangerous home," said Wexler, executive director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform in Alexandria, Va.

Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich said he's confident an action the board recently took calling on better information-sharing among various government agencies will help prevent tragedies like the recent ones.

"We need to use these tragedies to improve and upgrade DCFS investigations," Antonovich said. "That's why we are talking about using more modern technology."


Sounds good to me!PRR

Hondurans Have An Eye On America

I asked one of my new email friends in Honduras what U.S. Rep. Connie Mack (he visited Tegucigalpa last month) was now doing:

Straight from Honduras:

"I think he has been very active. I have heard his name mentioned several times with other senators who are critical of the actions against Honduras. I will try and find more info. One thing I know he is involved in is blocking appointments by the Obama administration. It seems like Obama and Hillary are trying to load the Foreign Relations Committee with a bunch of left wing Castro/Chavez sympathizers."

Spy Czar

http://bit.ly/1ZybUe

Chavez in Venezuela does this. He also has shut down the free press. Then, today in the TNT we read about China which now, in addition to other restrictions, only allows comments on blogs if they are signed.

Attack On Honduras Continues

From Honduras News we read:

"General Secretary of the Organization of American States (OAS), Jose Miguel Insulza, who was on a visit to China yesterday, said that all parties concerned in Honduras needed to 'discreetly and properly solve the ongoing Honduran political stalemate. The time is not ripe and conditions are not mature for holding a presidential election in Honduras in November,' he said."

The U. S. supports doing everything it can to remove constitutional government from Honduras. HN remains stable even with the crushing events the United States has supported and caused. The U.S. is preparing to refuse to recognize the results of the fall election. The cast majority of Hondurans can hardly wait for the election to get this mess settled. But, Washington would not be happy with the outcome. Honduras...even those of Zalaya's own party (they are the ones who removed him) do not want Zalaya or a clone in the upcoming elections.

Insider Confirms Back Room Deals Regarding Kids

A reader writes:

"Happens all the time. I was doing drug and alcohol assessments for guardian ad litems. One of them wanted me to embellish on two parent's use and I refused, so she never sent business our way again.
That is how it is done. Back rooms, bargaining, embellishments, etc. etc.
I am supposed to do a mental health evaluation. I was referred to a certain psychologist. As it turns out, this psychologist gives money to the judge I am going before for her campaign. I could see a real conflict of interest here.
They have created a system where it is almost impossible to get a fair hearing. One must get their side of the story in the file then appeal to a higher court. The higher courts go more by the book and while they still have politics going on, have no problem overturning cases if they see fit. Just look at the lower court as a vile step one must go through in order to achieve justice in a higher court. Kind of like wading through cow manure to go milk the cow."

U.S. Cuts Aid To Honduras To Force The Return Of Despot Zalaya

Obama is more of a leftist than a person could imagine elected by the people of our country.

By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writer Matthew Lee, Associated Press Writer – Thu Sep 3, 1:23 pm ET
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration on Thursday cut all non-humanitarian aid to Honduras over the ouster of President Manuel Zelaya, making permanent a temporary suspension of U.S. aid imposed after he was deposed in June.

The State Department made the announcement as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was meeting with Zelaya. Spokesman Ian Kelly did not say how much assistance would be cut but officials have said previously that more than $200 million is at stake. Kelly said it affected "a broad range of assistance to the government of Honduras.

(It saddens me to know what is happening in Honduras and how the American left is doing everything it can to make this democracy fail.)

Obama Backed Zalaya Stole From Starving Hondurans To Live Like A Dictator

Evidence of the Corruption in Zelaya Presidency
THIS IS TAKEN FROM A HONDURAN BLOG SITE. NOTE HOW FORMER ZALAYA WAS SPENDING GOVERNMENT MONEY. There are 19 limps to a U. S.Dollar.

During the Zelaya presidency there was more corruption than at almost any other time in Honduran history. The removal was not only warranted it was an absolute must. Zelaya had not provided the Congress with a budget to be approved for the year 2009 and we were already more than six months into the year when he was removed. As a result Honduras was living on last year´s budget. Many asked why he was doing this and why he had not made the budget. The common question...what was he hiding?

Well audits by the Tribunal Superior of Accounting has some of the results that were released today. It is absolutely embarrassing the abuse of power that Zelaya bent to. It seems all along he thought that he would remain in power so there was no need to worry about audits. If a person were to steal like this from a company they head they would go to jail for embezzlement.

In one month Zelaya spent more than 123 million lempiras for personal use. In dollars that is over 6.5 million in one month. Remind yourself we are speaking about the president of a country that is developing still and is far away from meeting first world expectations. We still have people starve to death every day. This is criminal and should merit human rights abuses. I have to question why no one is asking for us to give international courts evidence of these excesses to investigate for themselves? Just to see if we are telling the truth.

Here are some examples of things he spent excessive funds on in one month:

Robert Meyering 77 million, no information was ever provided on what services he gave.

30,289.50 lempiras was spent on clothing for the president

50,255 lempiras in cigars

40,000 lempiras for unauthorized sculptures

228,330 for oil paints

20,515.57 for repair of a Harley Davidson that is a personal vehicle of Mel.

869,203,062 lempiras for 40 hours of plane rental

2,316,253.43 for contracting of helicopters

100,000 lempiras for wine

2 million lempiras for assesories for Cafe his 100,000 dollar horse

1 million lempiras worth of jewelry for that horse.

"Team Decision Making" Is Toxic For Families...Claims Reader

From Another Reader:

"The problem with the CASA involvement is the secretive back room discussions about the family that is really holding court without due process. The CASA assigned to our family had very little involvement except to "catch up" on what all the other CPS stakeholders had to say. She would just parrot what she heard everyone else discussing and that's all she could do because there were no personal observations from which to draw upon yet the judge would stop and specifically ask for CASA recommendations.
Within each group there is usually a personality that leads everyone down a certain path in values and decision making. I did an exercise with groups for many years that dealt with these value differences in a court setting.
I would have a class of about 20 people and would subdivide them up into groups of four. I would then give them a role to play and crimes to discuss. One would be a probation officer and another a chemical dependency counselor. There was also a prosecutor and a defense attorney. I would put on the board all the different services and outcomes that could be decided upon with each case. Well, guess what, with five different groups each deciding the same case, there would be five different outcomes.
Afterwards there would be a discussion about the group dynamics and who emerged the leader and how they contributed their personal values to the overall outcome on the different cases. One strong, yet twisted personality can bring in a negativity that can create a significant amount of chaos for large amounts of people. This produces a ripple effect and needs to be addressed within the family courts. It is the main reason I feel that team decision making is BAD along with all the backroom discussion with the judge that shouldn't be done.
I can't even fathom how many families in our country have been needlessly destroyed because of toxic family team decision making."

Thank you for your submission.

Next Up: What Happens When You Have A Complaint Against A CASA?

Please send in to the comment section of this entry...what happened to your complaint. I will write more. But, Dear Reader, you can comment here please.

First Entry:

"I guess I was lucky when I complained about a CASA worker on our case. The prior CASA told me to demand he got back on the case. I didn`t think it would work but it did. Just so everyone knows, this worker has been doing this for 8 years and he himself has said he has seen so much corruption in the past 2 years that after our case is done, he`s done. He is only doing this to help us. The emotional part of it has affected his health. He is a wonderful person and will always be a part of our family. As for the complaint about the other CASA worker, she is still the worker on the case of a different child that was in our care and she is a LIAR. At first, she pretended to be on our side but that changed when we were in court. She is without a doubt,a puppet of the state. She also looks like she is high all the time."

Dear Reader..please call me with the contact information so I can talk to this person at some point. Thanks.

Second Reader Response:

Senator, my prayers are with you. This system will try to tear you apart while never looking at their own tendencies towards the destruction of the family. Warm, friendly, sentimental sounding goals in writing may sway many, but the reality on the front lines leaves a wake of broken people with little recourse.
CASA was born from a need, but has since morphed into part of the problem. I have seen CASAs with severe mental health problems, little to no contact with the family, forceful behaviors with family, overly supportive with boundary violations in others, and on and on. This is not a regulated industry in any sense of the word and should not have the power in the court room that it has.

Third Reader Response:

"NOTHING was done about our complaints with our CASA. In fact the head of the CASA dept. called me at nine p.m. on a Sunday night DEMANDING that I retract my complaints! Even after admitting her knowledge of this CASA's shady past in California. She needs to go as well."

Reader Comments On CASA Program

Go to TVW to hear Monday's "Sunshine Committee" hearing on the WA State CASA program. I have been saying that the public has a right to know who the CASAs are. We should be able to know their qualifications. We should know their financial situation, line of work, education, history of complaints, whether or not THEY have a family, successes and failures in their own family situations, history of drug use, etc. Many of these individuals are wonderful people but many lack training. How are CASAs assigned...really...not just how we are told they are assigned. They should be randomly selected. They are not. Favorites are more offen assigned. Let's see the assignment list!

FROM A READER: "I have listened to the first 30 minutes and I am so disgusted with Linda Katz (Dir. King Co. CASA) saying that she has very few complaints. Let me tell you I know of many complaints. I called the main office over 2 years ago and all I got from the CASA office in Seattle was backlash from the CASA office in Stevens county.

I recommend to anyone who gets in the horrible situation with a dependency to call the CASA office and make a complaint. It is a horrible system. Katz states that if a CASA has a past history with a family they should not be on the case. Well in Stevens county that is not the case. It is a brutal system to go through. You expect that the CASA will represent the child. But, what really happens is they that represent the CPS workers!

I firmly believe that they are a secretive lying bunch of people just like CPS. I have been to court many times and watched CASA. One CASA here actually reads a book while the lives of people are being torn apart.

CASA started in WA. and it needs to end in WA. Since when does a CASA with very little education and 30 hours of training get to make decisions about a family's very heart and soul?"

Ms. Katz: You are more than welcome to comment. You stated on Monday that I misrepresented the number of CASA. I had said 600...you say 360 or so. (I am sure the number fluctuates depending on how many you purge. (Do you purge any? Or, just don't call on the ones you don't like? How is your selection determined? Do you have a list of favorites?) If there is something that you think is not right in my reporting please call me 253-735-4210. That is preferred over taking potshots at an elected official in a public meeting. I have questioned the functioning of the program. You, on the other hand, attack me and my motivations. Looks bad!

Remember, Ms. Katz...you are a public employee and the public has a right to know what you are doing! Instead of burning with anger and accusations about my motivations you should be trying to figure out how you can change your way of doing things to give the public confidence in what your agency does.

In Comment Section Clarity Required

There are over 200 comments that I have not printed. Some use too many names, or are too angry, etc. But, here is one that is a recent example of: "I'd like to answer but...." It is not specific enough for me to answer. Ya gotta give a few more hints.

"Dear Senator,

Can you please reference where you got this write up so I can reference it. Thanks.

I admire and appreciate your work on exposing this troubling issue."

This one was in relation to Honduras. I get all my stuff right out of the country just as though I was interviewing someone there. Expats and citizens there are very well informed. And, they follow the U. S. press. Then, of course, I editorialize based on information I get. So...I get to report and I get to be the ed. God bless America!

(Just heard from this reader who says they were able to find the source. Thanks so much for the kind note. PR)

State The State

Thank you to all the readers who reside outside of the State of Washington. I was happy to learn that one gentleman appearing in the CASA TVW piece had actually come in from California. But, let's try this. If you comment from a state other than WA please put that in the text of the comment. It will be fun to learn where our readers are and what is happening state by state.
Thanks.

Captain John Almost En Route To His Family

It is only days now and Captain John will be home to his wife and my grand kids in Germany. Should we go visit them?...Hmmmm...How long do I have to think about that?

Ask To See The Billable Hours

Dear PRR readers,

If you are currently receiving state sponsored services please ask the department, in writing, to see the billing paperwork from the contracted agency. You are the only ones out there that can nail down any leads on government cheating the taxpayers!

Over Billing Granted To Therapists? State Auditor Will Investigate

A comment from a PRR reader. Truly great stuff! You read it first at PRR.

"Accountability is a big deal and the only way to keep the system honest. I just found out that an agency that is contracted with CPS over billed for services by a huge amount with my family. I just brought the info to the State Auditor. This contracted agency is MAMMOTH and a major player. The investigation is going to have a very interesting outcome.

Intensive Family Preservation Services has two components. The first is therapy and the second is paraprofessional services. Each home visit costs the tax payer $500. Imagine, then, over billing 15 or more hours for therapy and about 40 hours of paraprofessional activities. Then there are all the phone calls and paperwork that get billed separately.

They can do it and get away with it because the client never sees billing that goes to the State. It is the perfect crime.

In my opinion all state billing should get signed by the client, that way they can't bill for services not rendered.

The therapist they sent to our home was slightly whacked. He spoke to us about his problems and barely listened to ours. He came out to our home a couple of times and on the last visit, gave us a duck caller. He said we should use it if we start feeling things escalating. Well, at the billing rate of $500 a visit and all the fake billing that went along with this and the headaches I now face with false statements this duck caller has to be the most expensive duck caller ever in history and purchased by the taxpayer. Is corruption escalating in our government and in particular with CPS stakeholders? QUACK QUACK"

(I will print a response by the department. DSHS...I know you are reading this. Is there a response?)

Let me answer that. I asked Sharon Gilbert a long list of questions. Once this year and also last year at this time. They don't answer questions. It is time for the AG to investigate the agency that the state defends! Thank you dear reader.
Posted by Anonymous to Pam Roach Report at September 1, 2009 2:38

TVW Airs Sunshine Committee Hearing

WEDNESDAY 9/2

10:00 AM - Congressman Brian Baird Town Hall on Health Care

1:00 PM - Office of the Attorney General - "Sunshine Committee"

This is a very long committee meeting. We only meet quarterly so the meetings are four hours long. The issue of opening up legislative offices to disclosure is first. Then there is a one and one-half hour presentation about CASA disclosure. The above time is for LIVE-Tape viewing.

The hearing will also be on the TVW website in which case scroll just beyond the first third of the presentation and you should be able to find the CASA discussion.

Thanks to a good friend for sending this information to us in a more than timely manner!